CHAPTER 3
"Very good," Reedfeather purred, his eyes shining as I completed my last battle move.
I dipped my head. "Thanks! I worked really hard on that one!" Yeah, with Silverhawk. Guilt sored through me. It had been a whole three moons since I met the real StarClan cat. And I hadn't got one visit from anyone.
"You're ready for your assignment!" Reedfeather was pacing now. "It'll be tomorrow. I promise. And I'll discuss everything with Heatherstar. If she says okay then you're going to be a warrior by tomorrow!"
I blinked at him, his excitement overwhelming. "You are sure in a cheery mood..."
"Heatherstar is going to attack RiverClan's camp! We're going to see if we can take some of their land." He grinned. "Plus my apprentice is going to become a warrior! If I could just get you on that attack patrol..." He began mumbling.
The attack patrol? Me? My heart thumped in my chest. I could become a warrior! I could even get my Clan some land. Swiftstar would be so proud...
When Reedfeather began to hiss at himself, I realized we should be attacking ThunderClan's camp since they were the ones who threatened us, not RiverClan.
"Reedfeather? Why're we attacking RiverClan?" I asked, tilting my head to show my confusion.
"What?" He looked up at me, his eyes shining with worry. "Oh yes, because if RiverClan flee their camp, they'll goto ThunderClan, which is when ShadowClan will attack and then we will attack, it'll be complete bloodshed. And," he continued, "we all know how weak ThunderClan is with Sunstar in charge." Reedfeather flicked his tail.
"So, what is the reason we're attacking RiverClan's camp?"
"We want to overrun RiverClan's camp, it'll set fear into them."
"Why?"
"Because we're always known as the weakest Clan, and Heatherstar wants to prove them wrong."
"But that's what we're best at, being weak and little."
"Not anymore."
"But that isn't fair to RiverClan or ThunderClan..." I mewed in disbelief.
"ThunderClan will kick them out after a while, and then RiverClan will have to fight for their land back. That's when the real plan cracks," Reedfeather told me.
"And what is the 'plan'?" I asked in confusion. It felt like he was just avoiding the question.
Reedfeather growled to himself. "I've already said too much. We must get back to camp now. We need to discuss your warrior ceremony!" He raced away and I followed slowly.
***
Dawnpaw raced up to me as we entered camp. "Are you alright?"
I blinked. "Uh, yeah. Why?"
She shifted her paws awkwardly. "No reason... So, did you hear about us invading RiverClan?"
My eyes narrowed but I nodded. Why was she acting so weird? "It sounds great!"
"Besides the fact that it's going to be two days from now and Hawkheart and I aren't prepared for it." She sighed. "We keep asking patrols to come back with some herbs, but they haven't found anything."
I shrugged. "It isn't really the time for herb picking. It'll be Leaf-bare in less than a moon." I glanced at the darkening sky.
She nodded. "So, are we cool?"
I caught a glimpse of Shrewclaw, Redclaw and Cinderpaw entering camp, but my attention remained on Dawnpaw. "We always will be. You're my sister, and there is nothing I can do to change that." I walked away to Redclaw.
My father glared down at me, setting down some large leaves. "Yes?"
"I might be a warrior tomorrow..." I mewed up at my father.
"Might isn't good enough," he growled. "You need to know. You're just wasting my time. Cinderpaw has a better chance of become deputy than you do a warrior." He picked up the herbs and walked to the medicine den.
I stared at my father in shock. I had let him be disappointed in me. He wasn't happy with me being his son. Anger and sadness went through me, but I pushed it away and sat down.
"Don't let him get to you, Russetpaw." Cinderpaw was suddenly beside me. "He's just mad that Dawnpaw can boss him around now that she's a medicine cat."
I jumped to my paws. "He's disappointed in me! In case you couldn't tell. He knows I won't pass my assignment tomorrow! I let him down."
"You didn't let him down. When I pass my assignment tomorrow and you don't, I'll make sure he knows you didn't fail completely." Cinderpaw laughed and walked away.
I turned around and walked to the apprentices den, sadness getting the better of me.
***
The next morning I awoke no dream from StarClan or the Dark Forest. I sat up in my nest, looking around. Cinderpaw was gone and so was Tallpaw.
I exited the den. Reedfeather was sitting in the clearing talking to Tallpaw.
"Hey!" I called, walking over. Reedfeather looked up and smiled.
"Ready for your assignment?" he asked.
I nodded. "Let's do this!" There are three, powerful enough to destroy the upcoming darkness. The prophecy flashed in my mind, my heart pounded in my chest and shook it off and followed Reedfeather out of camp. I needed to focus on my warrior assignment.
"You are to find a rabbit, any size or any shape, and you must kill it and bring it back here."
"Is Cinderpaw doing this assignment too?"
"Yes. She should've started a few seconds ago. Remember, I will be watching you."
I walked away, scenting the air. It was colder than usual, but with Leaf-bare coming, it should be.
Something rammed into me and I fell over, rolling back onto my paws I caught a glimpse of the animal. Dog! Heart pounding, I lashed out at it and then turned around, running for my life, feeling the dog's breath on my tail.
"Russetpaw!" I heard Reedfeather screech.
"Save me!" I wailed back, glancing behind me at the dog.
I ran into something and looked up. It was black and very large. Another dog! I panicked as the brown dog tackled me, pinning me to the ground.
A loud unfamiliar battle screech sounded and the weight from the dog disappeared in an instant. Quickly, I stood up went on my hind paws, facing the black dog. I hit it on the head, got down on four paws and tripped him, then took a bite right out of his shoulder.
The dog wailed, pushed me off him and raced away.
"Are you alright?" An unfamiliar large dark brown tabby was in front of me now.
"Y-yeah.." I felt dizzy with confusion. "You're Raggedpelt, right?"
He nodded. "Yes. What about it?"
"You're a ShadowClan cat." I felt panic in my throat. "Are you going to kill me?"
"I am a ShadowClan cat, yes. But no, ShadowClan is WindClan's allies now. Don't worry about a thing." He walked away.
"Hi!" A familiar dark gray-and-white she-cat appeared in front of me, smiling.
"Hollypaw?" I grinned at her. "Great to see you!"
"Hollyflower now. I've been made a warrior!" She sat down. "And this warrior just saved you."
"So, what're you doing here?" I glanced at Raggedpelt who was having a friendly conversation with Reedfeather a few tail lengths away.
"I am leading my first patrol. Foxheart and Archeye went after the dogs. I happened to persuade Raggedpelt to come save you." She nodded at the two warriors walking towards Raggedpelt.
"Thanks..." I mumbled. "ShadowClan is really helpful."
"So, what were you doing anyways?" she asked, shaking her fur out.
"My warrior assignment." I paused. "But I guess I failed..." My eyes flickered over to Reedfeather in disappointment. Redclaw had been right.
I could see Hollyflower flinch. "I'm sorry." She shifted her paws. "I didn't mean to ruin it."
"I was supposed to be catching a rabbit, not a dog." I looked down at my paws in shame. "I guess Cinderpaw was right," I muttered flicking my tail.
"Isn't that your sister?" Hollyflower asked in shock.
"Yeah." I walked over to my mentor.
"Goodbye, Raggedpelt. Thank you for saving my apprentice." The WindClan deputy dipped his head and watched Raggedpelt lead the patrol back to ShadowClan territory.
"So I guess this means I failed my assignment, right?"
Reedfeather glanced down at me. "Yes. But there is always next moon." His eyes showed disappointment.
I flicked my tail and followed him home.
"I did it! I caught the biggest rabbit ever!" When we reached camp Cinderpaw was bragging about her rabbit. "I'm going to become a warrior!" Her eyes traveled to me. "Where's your catch Russetpaw?" she shouted, drawing everyone's attention to me.
I flinched. "Its, um, it should be, um-"
"Yes, Russetpaw, where is your magnificent catch?" Redclaw stood in front of me, his eyes dark with disappointment.
"There is no catch," I mumbled, shifting my paws awkwardly.
Redclaw flicked his tail. "I knew you weren't good enough to be a warrior. Like I said, your sister has a better chance of become deputy than you have of ever becoming a warrior.." He walked to Cinderpaw and praised her.
"Maybe next moon." Dawnpaw was suddenly beside me, her eyes watching Redclaw.
"So I can fail again?" I looked at her. "What was it like to have dad's blessing?"
She glanced at me with her dark blue eyes. "It was peaceful, and sweet. I got praises and he actually loved me."
I closed my eyes, trying to remember his praises, but I couldn't. "He will always love us, Dawnpaw."
"Where's Reedfeather?" Her voice held nothing but emptiness.
"Informing Heatherstar that I failed my assignment," I replied. "It was all that stupid dogs fault."
"Your time will come, Russetpaw." She stood up and walked to the medicine cats den.
Heatherstar was walking towards me. "We'll try again soon, alright?"
I nodded. "Sure." My eyes flicked to Cinderpaw. "What about her?"
The leader followed my gaze. "She'll get her warrior name and sit vigil."
"I'm sorry," I whispered as Heatherstar walked away, feeling like my heart was being pulling out of my chest. Disappointment was flowing through me.
"All those old enough to chase rabbits join beneath the Tallrock for a Clan meeting!" Heatherstar yowled, jumping up on the Tallrock, waiting for everyone to gather.
Everyone entered the clearing, looking up at the leader as she continued, "I, Heatherstar, leader of WindClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn." I saw Heatherstar tense up. "Cinderpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"
"I do," Cinderpaw mewed loud and clear.
Heatherstar looked over at me and paused. "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Cinderpaw, from this moment you will be known as Cinderleaf. StarClan honors your strength and determination, and we welcome you as a full warrior of WindClan." The WindClan leader jumped off the rock and rested her muzzle on Cinderleaf's head while Cinderleaf licked her shoulder.
"Cinderleaf! Cinderleaf!" Redclaw shouted and the rest of the Clan joined in. I stayed silent.
When everyone had quieted down Heatherstar mewed, "She will sit vigil while the rest of us sleep!" She walked into her den and everyone else quickly walked to their dens.
I settled down in my nest, tucking my tail over my nose and closing my eyes. We'll try again next moon.
***
"Wake up, Russetpaw!" Reedfeather's head was in the den and he was looking down at me with irritation.
"What?" I sat up quickly, looking around wildly. He'd kicked me right out of my peaceful dream.
"Time for a hunting patrol, let's go!" Reedfeather left the den and I followed after him, stretching my legs.
Tallpaw and Cinderleaf were waiting at the entrance of camp, talking to each other quietly.
"Finally!" Cinderleaf growled, glaring at me and then exiting camp with Tallpaw, Reedfeather and I following.
I scented the air, eager to show my sister that I was a great hunter. We were near the RiverClan border.
"Rabbit!" I hissed, darting forward I lunged for a rabbit and landed on it, quickly sinking my teeth into the rabbit's neck and killing it. I looked at Cinderleaf who was glaring at me.
"You didn't even have a good amount of time to get in proper position before catching that," she said, rolling her green eyes.
"It was still a great catch," Tallpaw mewed. "Great job Russetpaw!" He nodded at me with a smile on his face.
"Thanks." I glanced at Cinderleaf who snorted and scented the air, walking in a different direction.
"Can I go with Russetpaw, Reedfeather?" Tallpaw looked up at Reedfeather.
"Of course. I'll go catch up with Cinderleaf." Then the deputy padded off.
"What happened to you and Cinderleaf?" Tallpaw broke the silence.
"I don't know." I walked forward, storing my rabbit under a rock and then pricking my ears to listen for another rabbit. "She doesn't like me because Redclaw doesn't like me." I caught scent of a rabbit and got down into a crouch and walked forward, then spotted it. I lunged forward and trapped it beneath my claws, delivering the killing blow.
Tallpaw walked up to me with a rabbit in his mouth. He set it down with my rabbits. "Why?"
I shrugged. "He's disappointed that I couldn't become a warrior with my sister." I paused. "Aren't you supposed to be a warrior soon?"
He nodded. "Tonight I am going to be. Then I'm going to be in the attack patrol when we attack RiverClan." The older apprentice smelled the air and flicked his tail. I knew that Tallpaw was long overdue to become a warrior, but I wasn't sure why Heatherstar was waiting so long.
"Congratulations." I heard fast footsteps racing towards us and looked around us in confusion. Where were they coming from?
"I'm sure you'll be in the attack patrol too. You're really good at fighting..." Tallpaw shifted his paws and pricked his ears, hearing the loud footsteps as well.
"Russetpaw!" Dawnpaw's voice was loud and clear as she jumped into view. "Rats!" she screeched.
I suddenly saw the large gray bodies behind her, my eyes going wide I hissed and jumped over Dawnpaw, batting one away from us.
"What do we do?!" Tallpaw's panicked voice was barley a mew as he lashed out at another rat.
I looked around and realized that there was only one thing we could do. "Run!" I hissed and turned around pushing Dawnpaw forward, we began running.
Fight! Silverhawk's demanding voice was in my head. No! Go away! I pushed forward, trying to run from the rats and the voice in my head. "Help!" I screeched as we raced towards the Thunderpath.
"StarClan help us!" I heard Tallpaw hiss under his breath.
We had reached the Thunderpath, the rats little ways behind us. I raced across, Tallpaw and Dawnpaw following me.
I glanced behind us as the rats quickly followed us through ShadowClan territory.
"Duck!" I heard a voice say and I did as it commanded. Suddenly, cats jumped from the trees, ambushing the rats.
Loud screeches filled the air and I spotted Cedarstar and Raggedpelt fighting in the large group of ShadowClan cats who'd saved us.
"Are you all okay?" Hollyflower's familiar voice made me jump and I turned to her, instantly relaxing as her sofft gaze fell on me
"Yeah." I pushed away my fear. "How did you know we were coming?"
"I watch WindClan sometimes." She flicked her tail and shifted uncomfortably. "We couldn't risk WindClan losing a warrior."
"Thanks." I took a deep breath and turned around to see the rats racing away, a few of them dead.
Cedarstar walked up to me. "Hollyflower made us save you. You're lucky too, because I surely wouldn't have." The leader looked back at his warriors. "You can stay with us tonight."
"I can't!" Tallpaw growled eyes wide. "My warrior ceremony is tonight!" His eyes shone in hurt.
"What about you two?" Cedarstar's head swung to us.
"I can stay," I mewed and felt Dawnpaw nod. I'd rather be with the ShadowClan cats who didn't know how much of a failure I was.
"Cloudpelt, take..." The leader paused, eyeing Tallpaw. He seemed to have completely forgotten the 'paws name for a heartbeat. "Tallpaw home."
A white tom stepped forward, leading the tom to the Thunderpath.
"Follow me." Cedarstar walked forward and his warriors followed as we walked through the pine forest.
When we reached ShadowClan camp his warriors spread out and an unfamiliar white she-cat walked up to Dawnpaw and I.
"Sedgewhisker!" Dawnpaw squeaked. "It's Dawnpaw, from WindClan!"
She paused, looking down at my sister. "Dawnpaw, it's great to see you. Come help me with injuries, okay?" Dawnpaw nodded and followed her into a den.
"Russetpaw?" Hollyflower walked up to me.
"Yeah?" I glanced up at her before sitting down and licked a paw, drawing it over my ear.
"Raggedpelt wants to see-" Raggedpelt bursted through Hollyflower, growling, "Are you insane?! That was a whole pack of rats! You could've killed some of my warriors, rat-brain!"
I flinched. "What was I supposed to do? Let my sister die?"
"Well, no, but don't try to bring them into our camp! How did she even find those rats anyways?!"
"Raggedpelt, don't be too rough," Hollyflower mumbled.
"I don't know!" I glared at him. "But stop biting my tail about it! I thought ShadowClan was WindClan's allies!"
Raggedpelt sighed, bowing his head a little. "You're right. I'm sorry." He turned around and walked away.
I watched him. "Is he always like... that?"
Hollyflower nodded. "Yes. I think he has some anger issues." She chuckled a little and I joined in. "You're going to sleep in the apprentices den with Dawnpaw, okay?" She flicked her tail at the nearest den.
I nodded. "Thanks." I padded to the den and lay down in a nest, closing my eyes.
"Russetpaw! Wake up!" Swiftstar was in front of me.
"What do you want?" I huffed at him. Not a single word for moons and suddenly he appears out of nowhere.
"Don't forget your destiny!" he growled. "There are three, powerful enough to destroy the upcoming darkness." He suddenly disappeared.
My eyes flickered open and I looked around. Dawnpaw was beside me, sound asleep.
Where am I? Russetpaw thought, exiting the den in a panic. This wasn't WindClan's apprentice's den. He suddenly remembered. ShadowClan!
"Good morning!" A gray tabby tom stood before me, smirking.
"Who're you?" I asked, wide-eyed.
"I'm Archeye. You're Russetpaw, right?" The tabby glanced behind him.
"Um, yeah, I'm Russetpaw," I replied, surprised he knew he I was when I had no clue who he was.
"Want to come on a border patrol with me and a few others?" Archeye asked with another glance at some cats.
"Sure! Which border?"
"ThunderClan," he replied leading the way to the other cats.
"Is Russetpaw going with us?" asked a bright ginger tom who I didn't recognize.
I nodded while Archeye replied, "Yes, he is. Hollyflower let's go!" he called as the she-cat entered the clearing from a den.
She padded to us. "Sorry, I was watching Featherstorm's kits for her. They are a rowdy bunch." She shook her fur out, glancing at me. "Come on." Then she led the way out of camp.
As we entered the pine forest, I couldn't help but look around at my surroundings. I hadn't explored any of ShadowClan's territory before.
The bright ginger tom fell in step beside me. "I'm Foxheart," he told me in a quiet voice.
"Nice to meet you." I flicked my ears as I caught a glimpse of a sycamore tree.
"Hollyflower has been giving you special attention," the warrior whispered.
I glanced at him. "She has?" I asked in surprise. She seemed friendly towards me, but she seemed that was towards everyone.
"You must be a rat-brain to not have noticed. She likes to watch you. I've seen her do it, too. Sit in a tree and watch WindClan territory. I always have a feeling that she's looking for someone." Foxheart smirked at me.
"Well, she's a ShadowClan cat and I'm a WindClan cat. And besides, I only like her as a friend." I felt Foxheart tense up and his head flickered over to Hollyflower.
"ThunderClan patrol!" I heard Hollyflower hiss back to us.
I hadn't even notice we'd reached the Thunderpath.
"Hollyflower, how're you?" Thrushpelt was on the other side of the Thunderpath, his eyes narrowed.
"I'm wonderful. And yourself?" Hollyflower was calm and stern, her ears flicking as two more cats appeared behind him, both of them I didn't recognize.
"I'm great. So is ThunderClan." He flicked his tail and his eyes traveled to me. "Did you notice you have a kittypet on your territory?"
Hollyflower hissed at him. "Russetpaw is a guest!" Her eyes narrowed.
Foxheart's pelt bristled and I knew the ShadowClan cats were growing hostile.
"So, ShadowClan is helping kittypets now?" mewed the unfamiliar light gray tabby tom.
"Tawnyspots," a blue gray tom warrior the light gray tabby tom, he glared at him. He looked at lot like Bluefur.
"No, Stormtail. He's right. That is a WindClan apprentice, and he deserves to be thrown out of ShadowClan territory!" Thrushpelt was staring at Hollyflower.
Hollyflower bristled. "You have no right to tell us who can and can't be on ShadowClan territory!"
"Get rid of him or we will." Thrushpelt whipped around and stalked off, Tawnyspots and Stormtail following.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause trouble," I mewed, shrinking back in my fur.
"No! You didn't do anything. It was ThunderClan throwing out more empty threats." Hollyflower lashed her tail. "Come on, let's get back to ShadowClan camp and inform Cedarstar."
"ThunderClan threatened us did they?" Cedarstar's ears were pricked as he listened to the report.
Hollyflower nodded and lashed her tail.
"Well, they'll get what's coming to them soon." The ShadowClan leader glanced at his warriors. "For now we will not attack or talk to the ThunderClan warriors. We cannot make them attack us, understood?"
The Clan muttered their responses of agreement. None of them seemed happy about it.
"Cedarstar." Cloudpool's tranquil voice was loud enough for the whole Clan to look behind them at the entrance, and for me to feel relaxed again.
"Ah yes, you've come for Russetpaw and Dawnpaw." He nodded. "Take them."
As he spoke Dawnpaw entered the clearing from what looked like the medicine cats den. "Cloudpool!" she shouted and raced to our mother excitedly.
"Come on Russetpaw." The she-cat turned around and exited camp with Dawnpaw and I following.
"What were you two thinking?" Cloudpool snapped suddenly, continuing to walk through ShadowClan's territory.
At first I was puzzled, and I realized she meant the rats. "Sorry..." I mumbled.
"Heatherstar is furious!" If our mother was livid, she didn't show it. The shaming seemed to come from Heatherstar herself. "Luckily, she will not be punishing you."
I sucked in a deep breath. I couldn't explained to my mother that her mate was making me feel like I didn't belong. "I'm really sorry. If-"
"How'd it go?" Redclaw was suddenly beside Cloudpool while Reedfeather was beside me.
"It went marvelous." Cloudpool rolled her eyes, giving Redclaw a hard glare. He returned it.
"ThunderClan threatened ShadowClan," Dawnpaw mewed quietly.
Reedfeather growled. "They must know we're planning something." His tail lashed as we jumped over a fallen log. "And seeing a WindClan apprentice with the ShadowClan cats probably didn't help."
The Thunderpath was in sight. "Why did you make Cloudpool come get us alone?" I asked, looking up at my mentor.
"We didn't want to bring a whole patrol because we didn't want Cedarstar to think we didn't trust him," Redclaw replied.
"Do we?" Dawnpaw spoke up now.
"Do we what?" Redclaw's ear twitched.
"Do we trust him, I mean?" Her voice went high-pitched as she spoke the words to our father.
"Of course we do," Reedfeather mewed, eyes narrowed. "But he might think that the attack is a trick. So we're doing everything we can to make sure he can trust us." The deputy stopped, the Thunderpath in front of us.
"I'm just glad my kits are alright!" Cloudpool broke into a purr.
A monster raced past us as I glared at my mother. "Can we cross now?"
"Wait till I say go," Redclaw said, pushing to the front as another monster raced past.
A few moments passed as more monsters raced past us.
"Go!" Redclaw shouted, running across the Thunderpath, Cloudpool, Dawnpaw, Reedfeather, and I following close behind.
I jumped on the other side of the hard surface, heart pounding.
"Is everyone here? Is everyone alright?" Cloudpool was looking at us carefully. "Good. Continue Reedfeather."
We followed Reedfeather and we'd reached Fourtrees. Climbing up the slope we crossed into WindClan territory and from there we ran.
Entering camp everyone in the clearing looked up at us.
"Russetpaw!" A black-and-white tom raced up to me. "Welcome back!"
"Tallpaw, great to see you!" I purred with a big smile.
"Tallpaw?" The tom looked puzzled. "I know of no one in WindClan named Tallpaw. I know someone named Talltail though!" He grinned.
"You got your warrior name! I totally forgot!" My heart pounded in my chest. Next it's my turn, I thought with a nod. "I'm really proud of you."
"Thank you. You'll be the next ceremony." Talltail's eyes sparkled. "I guarantee you." His tail twitched as Heatherstar let out a yowl.
I turned around to look at the she-cat as she bounded up on the Tallrock, yelling the same words, "Let all those who can chase a rabbit join here beneath the Tallrock for a Clan meeting!"
When the Clan gathered Heatherstar continued, "Welcome back Dawnpaw and Russetpaw. I hope your stay in ShadowClan was... wonderful." She paused. "Anyways, as you all know tonight is the night we attack RiverClan camp with ShadowClan. The cats I name off with fight beside us. I will lead one patrol with: Cloudpool, Shrewclaw, and Talltail. Reedfeather will lead a patrol with Redclaw, Cinderleaf, and Russetpaw."
I realized I was holding my breath and I let all the air out. Freezing when Heatherstar's eyes landed on me. I was going to be on the attack patrol.
Reedfeather jumped up on the Tallrock. "RiverClan's camp has two exits. The camp exit and the back way: A small Thunderpath at the back of their camp. My patrol will go around back with Raggedpelt's patrol while Heatherstar's and Cedarstar's patrol will go around front."
My tail twitched with annoyance. "Shouldn't we be entering their camp in a giant circle?"
"What was that Russetpaw?" Reedfeather was glaring down at me while all the Clan turned to look at me.
"I didn't say anything..." I mumbled looking at the ground in embarrassment and shame. I hadn't meant to speak out loud.
"Dawnpaw will join my patrol and Hawkheart will join Heatherstar's patrol." The deputy jumped down from the rock.
I quivered with excitement but couldn't help but feel like we were in way over our heads. Taking over an entire camp? Ridiculous!
"Nervous?" Shrewclaw was in front of me, her head tilted.
"A little," I admitted. "What about you?"
"Well, I admit I am just a little. But this isn't my first battle, so it isn't that scary for me." She flicked her tail in my face.
Russetpaw shook his head. "That makes me feel oh so great." I rolled my dark green eyes.
"You should eat something," she replied. As she turned to leave she sent a glance at me. "Just be careful out there, okay?" Without a reply she trotted off.
"Russetpaw!" Cinderleaf walked up to me, her eyes dark.
"Hi, Cinderleaf." My soul lifted a little. Was she going to tell me to be careful? Insist I stay at her side? "What can I help you with?"
"No, it's what I can help you with. Stay out of my way or I'll rip your throat out, okay?" She smiled and then walked away.
My heart sunk in my chest and I sat down. Cinderleaf will never be my sister if she continues to threaten me like this...
"I'm sorry." Dawnpaw's voice broke off my thoughts. She put down a rabbit. "Cinderleaf doesn't think of you as trouble... But she just doesn't-"
I flicked my tail. "I know how she feels about me." I took a bite out of the rabbit.
"I'm sorry." Dawnpaw ducked her head.
"You know we're okay, right?" My eyes held worry. If Cinderleaf, Dawnpaw, Redclaw or Cloudpool died in this battle, I didn't know what I'd do.
My sister paused. "Are we really?" Her ear twitched.
I shrugged. "I'm okay with whatever path you choose. No matter how ridiculous it is." A smile spread across my face.
"Then I guess we're okay." She stood. "I'll see you after the battle, okay?" She smiled and walked towards Hawkheart.
I finished the rabbit in a few more gulps.
"Ah!" Cherrykit raced into the clearing from the nursery. "Darkness! Darkness is coming!" she shouted, ducking underneath Dawnpaw.
I froze, looking at Cherrykit with wide eyes. There are three, powerful enough to destroy the upcoming darkness. Is Cherrykit the second cat?