Lionstep stalked out of the leader's den, fur on end. His eyes blazed with anger. Dawnstar, Mousetuft, Dawnmoon, and Leaftail followed him. They all looked ruffled. Cinderpaw followed her mentor forward.

"What's happened?" asked Cloverdapple.

Lionstep's claws slid into the soft ground. "It's RiverClan!" he spat.

Before Cinderpaw could ask what he meant, Dawnstar leaped upon the Great Pine, a large tree branch that had fallen into ShadowClan's camp many moons ago. She was quite obviously forcing her fur flat. "Let all cats old enough to hunt gather beneath Great Pine to hear me words!"

At her call, Emberstripe and Stonetalon, old mates, rose from their places at the edge of the clearing where they had been basking in the sun. Nutleap dragged his old tired paws from the elders' den, looking quite sleep-deprived. Darkhawk, Silverwave, Foxheart, Haybelly, Gorsethroat, and Icepaw were already in the clearing. Leopardsnow trotted out of the medicine den, smelling of herbs and dust. Hazelmoon strode out from the warriors' den. Spottedpaw came from the apprentices' den. Ratpaw pulled himself from the fresh-kill pile. Cherryfrost came from the nursery, struggling to keep Birdkit, Sunkit, and Seedkit in check.

Confident everyone had gathered, Dawnstar continued, "WindClan has informed me that RiverClan and ThunderClan have been causing disturbances at the borders. They say we should be cautious. And they say SkyClan hasn't renewed their scent markers in four sunrises."

Cinderpaw's heart started. Silence followed. Dawnstar must've sensed the rising tension and the urge each cat had to yowl out, because she addressed the WindClan warriors before anyone could make a move. "We thank WindClan for warning us. Now, if you would please leave us. I must speak with my deputy and senior warriors."

"Maybe you should speak with your elders for once," someone grunted from behind.

But Dawnstar didn't seem to notice, or if she did, she did well to hide it.

"Protect your Clan above all else," the WindClan deputy muttered darkly. Then he dipped his head, turned, and left, Dawnmoon and Leaftail on his tail.

Cinderpaw felt an eerie twitch on her spine and neck. Her fur pricked slightly. Would ShadowClan be safe?

***

Spottedpaw's eyes widened as he bit into his lizard. He was telling a story one of the elders had told him. "Nutleap said that the Dark Forest then attacked the Clans!"

Cinderpaw scoffed. "The Dark Forest attack is about as real as the so-called Firestar!"

Ratpaw snorted. "Yeah! Like, who would honestly believe in a fire-pelted cat that was born to save all the Clans?"

Emberpaw nodded in ascent. "I agree, we're not kits anymore." His voice was muffled through the feathers of his finch.

Icepaw shifted uncomfortably. He looked like he had something to say, but the small, white tom kept his jaw clenched shut.

Cinderpaw rolled her eyes. "Come on, Spottedpaw," she snorted to the golden tabby tom, "you can't seriously believe in nursery tales created to scare kits, can you?"

Spottedpaw defended himself, "I never said I believed it! All I said was that Nutleap told it to me."

"You should be ashamed of yourselves - all of you!"

Cinderpaw jumped and spun around. Stonetalon was standing by the fresh-kill pile. He must've heard it all. "Disgracing the name of a hero!" he spat.

Cinderpaw swallowed her mouthful of lizard and lifted her chin. "What? Even if he was real, he was ThunderClan. Who cares if we respect him or not?"

Stonetalon's hackles rose. "He saved all five of the Clans! He was real, and he was born to be a hero to all. Not just ThunderClan. That's why he was born a kittypet! Now, you five better start showing some respect! If it weren't for him, you wouldn't be here now."

Cinderpaw clamped her jaws shut. Anger fizzled beneath her pelt. He was humiliating her and her friends.

Copperfoot strode out of the warriors' den. She must've seen the ruffled pelts, because she tilted her head. "Something wrong?"

Cinderpaw was about to tell her there was nothing to worry about, but Stonetalon snapped, "Your kit needs to learn her place in this Clan." With a flick of his tail, he stalked back towards the elders' den.

Cinderpaw growled lowly. Why should she show any respect for a dead cat who believed he owned the forest?