<sup>The night, thank god for the night. The blistering sun was gone, though the heat seemed to linger on the earth. It wanted to pain those who suffered from the burning fingers of the orange predator. Yet the moon was kind, it was gentle, it was the prey. It never seemed to hurt those that wandered out into it. Yet the kindness of the moon brang shadowy, dark creatures to bask in it's silvery fingers. The moon's fingers were gentle, and tickled those with kindness like a Queen would do to her Kit. It didn't wish to harm but rather guide, guide the lost back onto the path they started on. Yet there were the ones, who didn't want guidance...who didn't want the chance to be guided back towards the right path. They purposely wanted to stray from the right path, off onto another's. They went by a certain name tonight, Autumnclan.

Minty green pools showed from the brush. Could it be....no it was just a feline. Her front stilts slithered from the bush, shoulders soon pushed their way out. The whole frame of the she emerged from what seconds ago was just eyes. Whipcord gave a silent flick, moving like a rattler, ready to attack. Gleaming eyes behind her soon became silhouettes, standing beside their leader...Winterclan would not be invaded tonight. A straying Apprentice had quickly caught Springclan's scent on their territory and ran back straight to camp...Styxstar was informed, and the alien .VS. predator mode sunk in. A patrol of the finest warriors was quickly roused out of their sleep, but the clan stayed silent. They would stay silent through the night, aware of the danger they were in...waiting, and ready.

The patrol of seven cats moved at a quick dance. Their pads hit the hard red ground, they made no sound, as the crickets chirped their endless melody. Somewhere out there lay their enemies, and a fight would soon break out between them. The scent was still of Winterclan cats, the hot sticky scent of the Winterclan cats dieing in the sweltering sun, no other cats were here. Her feelings told her otherwise, but the way things looked, it would be an okay idea to head back to camp. Tilting her skull back towards her Warriors, Styxstar flicked her tail in annoyance, they would return to camp. Her body pivoted, her stilts taking her in the opposite direction of which she came. The she felt as if eyes were burning in the back of her skull, and soon the presence of another hooked to her pelt. A loud, yowl interrupted the night as translucent knives dug into the Leader’s pelt. Let the games begin…

Skeleton twisted and contorted as she prepared to fight back. Pools watched the scene unfold of cats fighting, Springclan(aliens) .vs. Winterclan(predator). The predators would win, they would win. Stilts lifted her frame into the air, and she fell back. Her weight wasn’t much but it should be enough to get the pesky Springclanner off of her back. She wished to hear the sound of crunching bones in her acoustics, but sadly it never came. Allowing a mighty roar from her kissers she pulled herself from the cat, who seemed to flee back towards the group of Springclanners. Styx hated to stop the fighting here, but if this could be stopped she’d try to stop it.”STOP! ” ,her voice rang over the fighting of the cats, hopefully it would be heard through the hisses and yowls. Some cats turned and stared while others continued the battle. God why were some cats imbeciles. A low growl came from deep within her orifice.

Nobody stopped, the battle would continue, blood would continue to be shed, cats could lose their life, and Springclan would be taught a lesson. The predator of the skies would wake to find blood, and the scent would linger in the hot air. The battle raged on, through the night, all the while the moon crying its invisible tears and singing its song of mourning. It seemed like the fighting would have no end, and finally the battle ceased to nothing. The cats from each side were slick with blood from the other clan mixed with their own, and their sides heaved as they gulped up the dirty air. So the battle had ended, but the tension between the two clans was still present. Styxstar allowed her pools to plunge into the group of Springclan cats. Leave our lands, reinforcements are only a few moments away...we could easily take you., her voice was quiet but assertive and commanding.

Her acoustics flickered as she waited for the reply that would come from any cat with so much as a pea for a brain. Sighing she heard the reply float into the air We will be back, and we will be ready….and you will fall. Baffled a crazy laugh escaped her kissers and echoed in the night air. She felt as if her eyes were betraying her as she saw the clan of Swamp walk off. They wouldn’t be back, would they? Could she really hold them to their word? Of course she wouldn’t be getting her clan ready for war but she would be increasing the patrol sizes and making sure the security of the camp was higher than normal. All Winterclan needed was cats to intrude into their camp and take their numbers down…kill a few cats. Sighing Styxstar let the cats go, she couldn’t muster the strength to go chase them down. A few of her warriors crowded around and began asking if she was okay. All the leader could do was nod her skull in a yes motion ,and hope she was.

As the cats made their way back to the camp, the moon still shone. It guided the cats back home, to their camp, to the other cats that cared about them. Its gentle fingers touched the scratched and bleeding bodies of the cats, allowing its blood to flow into their system, to give them strength to continue on. Their Medicine Cat would treat them in the the den as soon as they made it back to camp. The moon began to slip away, retreating to its safe haven, away from the yellow predator it feared. A squall rustled the green leaves on the trees, shook the flimsy branches, and brushed against the pelts of the cats. The first battle was over, both clans had won, each thinking they were the one with the high cards in their hand. When the real game came, who’s hand would produce the winning cards?</sup>