Night Whispers/Chapter 18

==Chapter description==
:Lionblaze works to patch the elders' den with leaves, trying to stop drafts of wind from chilling inside the den. He hears Sandstorm cough, but she insists that she's just swallowed a snowflake. The warrior thinks about how Birchfall and Toadstep have been working to gather leaves for the patching, and thanks them when they return with more. They ask if he needs more, and Lionblaze replies that he can patch the back of the den as well if they get some. Toadstep and Birchfall leave, and Mousefur adds that he better do a good job because she was cold last night. 
:Brambleclaw comes over to Lionblaze, asking him to lead a hunting patrol near the WindClan border. He asks if that's smart, but the deputy insists that they need to be taught a lesson about chasing prey in ThunderClan's territory. Lionblaze agrees, so Brambleclaw assigns Cinderheart, Leafpool, and Dovepaw to go with him. The warrior gathers his patrol together and heads out of camp. Lionblaze isn't happy he has to patrol with Cinderheart, and does his best to avoid Leafpool. He leads them out of camp and near the WindClan border, telling Dovepaw to stop yawning because she's so tired all the time.
:As they near the border stream, he sends the rest of his patrol to hunt up past the brambles. Lionblaze hears rustling, and turns to see Crowfeather and Breezepelt hunting. He hides behind a bush, watching as the black warrior swats at a thrush. However, the bird falls into ThunderClan territory, where Lionblaze kills it. Breezepelt protests that it's his, but he replies that it's not on WindClan land. Lionblaze says he can come and get it then, and the black warrior jumps across the scent markers. They start to fight, and the ThunderClan tom quickly pins Breezepelt. The two toms continue to tussle, Breezepelt's blood spattering across the snow.
:Leafpool shrieks at them to stop, demanding to know how Crowfeather can watch his own sons fight. Nightcloud stalks out of the bracken, insisting that her mate only is father to Breezepelt. The black warrior prepares to strike at Lionblaze, but Leafpool darts in the way and his blows hit her instead. Lionblaze watches in shock as Crowfeather hauls Breezepelt off of her, reminding the she-cat that she chose her Clan. Leafpool meows that she did love him, but he counters that it wasn't enough. Nightcloud drags Crowfeather away from Leafpool, but he turns on the black she-cat with a hiss. Breezepelt darts between them with a wail of protest, telling him to leave his mother alone.
:Lionblaze feels sick, thinking this has gone way beyond a border skirmish. The three WindClan warriors leave, saying they can have the puny bird. Lionblaze wonders if he should stop fighting Clan cats since can't be injured, and Dovepaw's accusation of him cheating echoes in his mind. He turns to the rest of his patrol and insists they continue hunting, and outwardly defends his decision to challenge Breezepelt. Cinderheart says that he's the one who changed everything between them, and he feels frustrated because the prophecy isn't his fault. The patrol catches a good haul and brings it back to camp. Many cats are appreciative, commenting that the fresh-kill pile looks like a pile again. 
:Lionblaze stares across the clearing, thinking about Leafpool and Cinderheart. He hears Sandstorm coughing, which prompts Brightheart to fetch Jayfeather to check her over. The medicine cat discovers that she has whitecough, and Leafpool offers to go get feverfew. However, Jayfeather disagrees, since their patch at the abandoned Twoleg nest will die if any more is gathered. He insists that he'll be the one to decide when they use herbs, since he's the medicine cat. Tension fills the air between him and Leafpool, but she stalks away to the warriors' den. Firestar asks what happened on patrol today, and Lionblaze reports that he won a skirmish over prey. However, he silently thinks that the fight was really about poisoned feelings, and thinks it might be a good thing for each Clan to face the upcoming dangers alone.
==Characters==
===Major===
 
===Minor===
===Mentioned===
==Notes and references==
fr:Des murmures dans la nuit/Chapitre 18
Category:Omen of the Stars arc
Category:Chapter subpages
Category:Night Whispers