As Winged Claw awoke the next morning, he saw that most of his denmates had already left and he was the only one left in the den, a grey pelt pushed its way into the camp and Winged Claw immediately recognized the scent of Marigold Breeze, she saw he was awake and let out a sigh of relief. "Hey, you, you're finally awake." She lifted her snout proudly. "Arctic Sun sent me to fetch you. She says you're to go on patrol with her and Wolf Dusk. You better hurry, she looks impatient." She backed out of the den, and he quickly stood up, grooming himself as quickly as possible and rushing out of the den and over to where Arctic Sun stood, her ears flat with aggravation and her tail lashing impatiently. "Finally! Why on earth did it take you so long to get out of your nest?" She snapped; her fur bushed. "Oh, hop off my paws, Arctic Sun, like you've never been late to anything before, every cub has." He rolled his eyes at her, and she snarled. "He's got a point, you were late to your own ceremonies, both times, it's not like you can chastise him any more than you can yourself." Her father butt in, his silky black fur ruffled by the wind and his tail tip twitching impatiently.  "Now are we going on this patrol or not?"

They ended up asking another fox to join their hunt and she padded along happily with them, it was Missing Bird, she had been relieved to be free of her cub mother duties and had begged to come on the patrol with them, claiming her cubs, and Winged Claw's littermates, had driven her up the wall with madness. Wolf Dusk had sighed but agreed to let her come with them and she had sagged in relief, thanking him endlessly. "So, where on the moor are we going today? By the Tribe of Smooth Waters border? Or maybe by the People's place? With all the fences and trees? Maybe by the Tribe of Stealthy Catchers?" She never stopped talking, like a kit excited to leave the hollow for the first time. Wolf Dusk answered as patiently as he could. "Those are all good ideas, Missing Bird, but we're not border patrolling today, we're hunting, I was going to let Arctic Sun lead the way since it is her patrol." He looked uneasily back at Winged Claw who just shook his head with an amused gleam in his eyes, unlike his mother who had blue eyes, Winged Claw's were green. Arctic Sun cut in gruffly. "If you're all ready to shut up now, I was going to take us to the Monster Paths. A lot of rabbits burrow there, and I've scented cat there recently which means we're losing prey." She glared at all three of them, daring them to challenge her, and when no fox did, she nodded and relaxed. "Good, now let's go kill us a cat and bring it home for the cub mothers." She whipped around and took lead, leading them to the Monster Paths, dropping into a sort of crouch when they got close enough to see it and signaling her warriors to do the same, and Winged Claw saw what she did, a cat, chasing the tribe's prey across their territory. She very quickly barked out an order the second the cat came close enough, and they all dashed for it, however, Missing Bird went for the rabbit, they pounced on the cat and landed in a tussle with it, it was a plump cat with green eyes and orange fur, eventually they managed to kill it, although the wounds would need cleaned before they could safely eat it.

Wolf Dusk and Winged Claw carried the cat between them and when they pushed through to the camp, they brought it to Dark Flower, their Mender. As they set it down, he turned to look at the fallen cat and narrowed his eyes. "I'm sorry, why have you brought a cat into the camp?" He looked at Wolf Dusk instead of Winged Claw and he took it as a sign to stay silent. "It's a treat for the kit mothers, but first we need you to check the wounds to make sure that it is safe for them to eat, no sickness in the belly or anything. Can't risk harming the mothers." He sat down and Dark Flower grumbled, he didn't want to look at the wounds, but he did anyways, parting the fur with his massive paws and sitting back down. "I'll have to lay a poultice on them for a small amount of time, come back to me before high sun, it'll be ready then."

They left his den and Winged Claw raised his tail at Arctic Fire in greeting as he passed and dipped into the cub mothers' den, as he looked around, he noticed that one of the cubs was missing, attempting not to cause an alarm, he quietly asked. "Proud Creek, where's Light Dream?" He sat next to her, and she mumbled as his voice woke her. "She's out with her father in the training clearing, he wants her to be the best warrior that our Tribe has, despite my multiple attempts of arguing." She laid her head down in her nest again and curled herself tighter. "Now shoo, leave me alone, and take your littermates, they're obnoxiously loud." She huffed, obviously agitated. He shook his head but called quietly for them. "Badger Wing, Hunting Creek, Swift Dream and Leaping Cloud, come on, I'm taking you out of the nursery." He padded out of the nursery and stepped out of the way as all four of the cubs bounded past him and started tussling as soon as they could. He sat down and wrapped his tail around his paws, watching them play fight and barking at them whenever they got too close to a warrior's paws or the fresh kill pile.

Eventually the cubs tired themselves out and their ears and tails drooped, walking back into the nursery and laying down next to Missing Bird's belly. She looked at him, grateful for keeping them busy, and proceeded to curl around them to help them sleep. Winged Claw looked around the camp and saw Dawn Night and Moving Wind arguing at the far side of the clearing, he couldn't make out what they were arguing about, and he had no clue why his leader would be fighting with her own mother. Eventually, Dawn Night's head drooped, and she shook her head in defeat. Arctic Sun called him over, her blue eyes bright with admiration and excitement. "Come quickly Winged Claw!" Slowly, he padded over and she quickly grew impatient, forcing her own way towards him, his claws itched, and he sat down, waiting for her to scamper over.

She was practically bouncing on her own feet when she announced that she was going to her first Moon Rise. He stared at her and swished his tail. "Yeah? I'm excited for you. But I doubt you'll be able to do much while you're there. All we do is meet with the other tribes and discuss what's happening. How many kits there have been born, deaths, cadet announcements and such. It's really not all that big of a deal." He started to groom himself and shook his head. "Don't be such a sourpuss! It's my first one considering my training was severely delayed because of that stupid Thundering Cries tribe fox." She spat when she brought it up. "I'm grateful at least one littermate stayed behind with me to see the end of my training." She looked around the camp, her eyes searing into his fur, warming his pelt. He rolled his eyes and glared at her, his tail twitching impatiently.

When the time for the Moon Rise came around, Winged Claw found himself surrounded by Dark Flower, Lost Flame, and Wolf Dusk. Arctic Flower was bouncing on her paws around Arctic Fire, their pelts a stark contrast, her fur blended, mostly, with the dark sky while his shone pure white in the moonlight. Moving Wind growled and barked, and the foxes all streamed out of the camp, their bushy tails streaming behind them like a silent wind. The night air was cold and damp when they arrived at the hollow and it was packed full of warriors from each tribe. Arctic Sun pressed closer to Winged Claw when she shivered and bushed out her fur, it blended with the night sky, snuggling closer into Winged Claw, she shivered, her teeth chattering. "It's a cold night tonight, but it will be a splendid time for sharing tongues with the other Tribes." Arctic Sun nodded at him and glanced around, her eyes landing on a Thundering Cries Tribe fox, her fur bushed out defensively and she raised her lips in a snarl. "Keep your fur on, you won't have to share tongues with him or anything." He ordered fiercely.

She seemed reluctant to relent but looked away, her eyes darting around the clearing. Winged Claw only heard his leaders report. "We are expecting a litter of cubs soon from Misty Flower and Lonely Sky." He dipped his head, seemingly reluctant to share anything else about his kit and her mate. The other leaders nodded and congratulated him, and they leapt down from where they perched. Winged Claw watched as Arctic Sun ran over to her brother, Weasel Roar, who was deep in conversation with a Thundering Cries warrior. He followed slowly behind her but was interrupted by a fox from the Tribe of Smooth Waters cut in front of him, a Stealthy Catchers fox beside her. "Hey Winged Claw, long time no see!" She greeted him but stayed no longer than she needed to, running off once more with the Stealthy Catchers fox behind her. Winged Claw shook his head and walked over to Arctic Sun and Weasel Roar; his ears pricked as he picked up their conversation. "Why must you insist I take him as a mate? He's a no-good lazy fox!" Arctic Sun cried in protest, Weasel Roar laying his tail on her shoulder. "I see the way that you look at him, Arctic Sun, it's no secret that you're fawning over the boy, even our leader has seen the way you look at him." Weasel Roar nudged his sister as Winged Claw neared.

"Winged Claw-!" She looked shocked as he approached. "Hey, it's getting colder, can't we go home now?" She asked, her eyes desperate. "We can but we have to wait for Moving Wind to give the signal, she's talking with the other leaders right now and it would be disrespectful for us to interrupt her." As soon as he finished speaking, Moving Wind yowled, letting her Tribe know she was ready to head home. They gathered together and shifted their paws restlessly, waiting for Moving Wind to give the signal to return home. She nodded at her Tribe, and they all leapt out of the hollow, streaming back to their territory. Arctic Sun raced beside Winged Claw, letting out small barks of laughter every few heartbeats, "Are you excited?" Winged Claw called to her, she looked at him, her eyes brightening, "This is the most fun I've had in moons!" She dug her claws into the ground and pushed off harder, yipping loudly, her muzzle pointed up at the sky as they raced across the moor. 

As they crawled into their dens and laid down, Arctic Sun pressed her muzzle into Winged Claw's pelt, her breathing stirring his fur gently. "Goodnight Arctic Sun." He murmured, lightly stirring her ear fur.