Nightwhisper is padding behind his fellow Shadowclan warriors when a yowl splits the quiet of the dawn. The patrol races to catch up, scattering the leaf-litter as they reach a small hollow that lies directly on the border between Shadowclan and Riverclan.

Down in the hollow is a Shadowclan warrior, pinning a small, tortoiseshell cat by the neck. The smaller cat yowls and flails, claws unsheathed and swinging wildly in the air. The leader of the Shadowclan patrol, a lithe tabby named Larkclaw, hisses angrily at the warrior to let the tortoiseshell go.

In the distance, the patrol can hear yowls ringing from Riverclan territory, obviously looking for their missing clanmate.