"And then he took me out into the forest," Cinderpaw was telling Emberpaw about how Dawkhawk had taken her out.

"I wish I had come," sighed her brother.

"You two should be resting." It was Copperfoot. "Tomorrow they're going to show you around; you'll have to be up early, and if you sleep in, you'll get no breakfast."

"That's no fair," muttered Emberpaw.

"Being a warrior isn't fair," she flicked her ginger tail tip over his ear.

Cinderpaw grumbled but slid off to the unfamiliar apprentices' den. It was warm inside. Ratpaw was already dozing when they came in, but he jumped and his eyes slid open as they entered. "Oh, hi, guys," he mumbled sleepily.

"Looks like you had a long day," remarked Cinderpaw.

He yawed. "Patrolling, hunting, battle training . . . you know, the usual."

But she didn't know. Cinderpaw looked at him for a moment, his dark brown pelt blending into the shadows, amber eyes opening and closing in fatigue. No cat looked more like a ShadowClan cat than he.

"So. . ." Emberpaw glanced around. "Where do Cinderpaw and I sleep?"

"Huh? Wha-?" Ratpaw opened his eyes again. "Oh. Uh. . . Make a nest anywhere, I suppose."

"Thanks," yawned Cinderpaw. She and Emberpaw curled up near each other. She stayed awake longer, listening to the gentle snoring of Ratpaw and the heavy, steady breathing of Emberpaw. She waited up until Spottedpaw and Icepaw came in and groggily flopped into their nests. It wasn't until their breathing came to a slow and steady rhythm that Cinderpaw fell deeply into sleep herself.

***

"Cinderpaw!" Emberpaw hissed, making Cinderpaw start awake. "Wake up! It's past dawn!"

Cinderpaw leapt to her feet. "Mouse-dung!" she hissed. Her fur was rumpled, and her eyes were dull. "Sorry," she muttered when she saw her mentor poke her head into the apprentices' den.

Cloverdapple purred. "Don't worry, we don't expect you to be perfect on your first day." She jerked her head for Cinderpaw to follow her out; the gray kitten obeyed.

Lionstep trotted up. "Where is my apprentice?" the magnificent tom asked.

"Right here," Emberpaw's ginger head poked out of the apprentices' den. He padded out. "May we eat breakfast before going out?"

Cloverdapple looked thoughtful. "Well, you should be taught a lesson for keeping your mentors waiting, right, Lionstep?" The small tortoiseshell's voice was light. She sounded like she was joking, but Lionstep didn't.

"Actually," Lionstep declared haughtily, "I agree. ShadowClan cats must be strong: missing breakfast won't kill you; weakness will."

Cinderpaw puffed out her chest, trying to feel bold. "You can't blame the apprentices for being named at moonhigh! It was Dawnstar's idea, after all."

Lionstep fixed her with a cold stare. "Watch your tongue, kit," he snapped.

Cinderpaw was startled by his rudeness. She stumbled back until she landed on her rump. Cloverdapple stepped between deputy and apprentice. She lashed her tail once, a warning. "That's enough, Lionstep. She has a point, after all."

Cinderpaw was now thoroughly frightened of Lionstep. Shouldn't deputies be kinder to their Clan? She wasn't looking forward to the day he'd be leader.

Cloverdapple swept her tail around her smokey-colored apprentice. "I think Cinderpaw and I will go out alone today."

Cinderpaw cast a sad glance at Emberpaw. She had hoped to spend her first day with her brother. The ginger tabby shuffled his paws uncomfortably in the dirt. Cloverdapple padded towards the entrance. Cinderpaw rose to join her. So far, she grumbled, being an apprentice is nothing like I imagined.

"You've got quite the mouth on you, don't you?" mewed Cloverdapple. The pretty tortoiseshell was padding at uneven speeds - sometimes fast enough that Cinderpaw had to jog to catch up, sometimes slow enough Cinderpaw had to pause to wait for her mentor to catch up

She shrugged. "I guess."

Cloverdapple picked up the pace until she was trotting. "Don't mind Lionstep. He can be a jerk sometimes, but he loves his Clan, and would do anything to protect it."

"How come you're allowed to talk to him like that?" Cinderpaw inquired. "I mean, he is our deputy."

Cloverdapple snorted. "Because he's my brother."

Cinderpaw nodded once. "Okay." The bushes to her left rustled loudly. She froze, fur bristling. "What was that?"

At that moment three wiry cats with a strange scent slid from the ferns. She gazed at each of them, trying to memorize their looks: a white tomcat with a gray nose and flecks and blue eyes; a fluffy white she-cat with yellow eyes; and a pale brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes.

Cloverdapple hissed, moving protectively over Cinderpaw. Cinderpaw crouched beneath her small mentor. They didn't stand a chance, Cinderpaw realized with a quiver of fear. But the cats didn't look hostile. Cloverdapple hissed, "What do you want, mange-pelts?"

The tom with the gray nose stepped forward. He appeared to be the leader of the patrol. "We-"

A yowl cut him off as Darkhawk, Ratpaw, Gorsethroat, and Icepaw burst through the trees on the opposite side. The patrol moved protectively around Cinderpaw and Cloverdapple.

Gorsethroat slid his claws out threateningly. "What are you doing here, Mousetuft?"

The tom, Mousetuft, didn't appear at all ruffled by the hostile tones. Cinderpaw realized with a start that odd scent must be WindClan. She wrinkled her nose. Did they ever groom? Or was that their natural scent? "We've come to speak to Dawnstar."

The patrol allowed their fur to lie flat. Gorsethroat nodded to the fluffy she-cat. "Dawnmoon." Then to the brown she-cat. "Leaftail." Then he turned back to the WindClan tom. "And just what does the WindClan deputy have to do with the ShadowClan leader?"

"Important business," Mousetuft replied curtly.

Ratpaw let out a hiss, but Darkhawk silenced him with a warning flick of his tail.

"Then let's go," Gorsethroat jerked his head towards the camp. The two patrols followed him.

Cinderpaw started to go, but Cloverdapple called her back. "But I want to know what's going on!" she protested.

"Well, that's too bad." Cloverdapple's tail flicked back and forth as she scented around. "If it's something an apprentice needs to know, Dawnstar will let us know when we return. Until then, let's track this scent back to the border."

"Why?" She tilted her head.

Cloverdapple let out an exasperated sigh. "It's important we make sure those WindClan flea-brains didn't take a battle patrol over the border."

Cinderpaw nodded, feeling suddenly important. "So what you're saying is, we're saving the Clan!"

Cloverdapple purred in amusement. "Yes, that's what I'm saying. Now, Cinderpaw, follow the scent."

"Me?" Her eyes widened in disbelief. "But-but I'm just an apprentice!"

"Yes," Cloverdapple agreed with an amused twitch of her whiskers, "an apprentice with the weight of the Clan on her shoulders."

Cinderpaw's shoulder fur bristled in unease. What does she mean by that? Her mind reeled. She shook her head and sniffed at the ground. "I. . . uh. . . smell WindClan?"

Cloverdapple rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm quite aware of that. Now follow it."

"Oh," embarrassment jabbed at Cinderpaw's stomach, "right." She padded to the bushes they had appeared through. She brought her nose to the ground, allowing the strong, unpleasant scent to fill her nostrils. She padded forward. "They came form this direction."

"Very good," Cloverdapple was at her side. "Lead on, Cinderstar."

Cinderpaw giggled. "I like that! Cinderstar, noble leader of ShadowClan!"

Cloverdapple let out a mrrow of laughter. "Maybe someday, kit. But for now, find out where those flea-ridden WindClan mange-pelts came from!"

Cinderpaw blinked as they continued walking. "You sure hold a lot of hostility towards WindClan."

"As well I should," Cloverdapple mewed. "My parents died in a battle with WindClan."

Those words silenced Cinderpaw. Darkhawk and Copperfoot were back at camp! She sped up. She needed to hurry this up and get back to camp! Would they be okay? Were those cats trying to attack ShadowClan? What if-

"Cinderpaw!" Cloverdaple snapped.

She jumped. "Uh, what?"

Her mentor looked far from pleased. "You've veered off the trail by three fox-lengths!"

Cinderpaw blinked. She tasted the air. Sure enough, she was nowhere near the WindClan scent. "Sorry!" her pelt pricked with embarrassment.

" 'Sorry' does not prevent battles," Cloverdapple growled. She allowed her fur to lie flat, closed her eyes for a moment, as though calming herself. Then she opened those bright blue eyes again. "It's fine. You're just an apprentice. You made a mistake, that's all."

Cinderpaw nodded. "Let's go!" She ran back to the trail. The scent was overwhelming. She wrinkled her nose. "Yuck," she muttered.

They padded on until the sun was high overhead when they finally reached a place where the trees gradually got thinner, changing to mostly willows. Yet another scent clogged Cinderpaw's nostrils. This one didn't have the same windblown scent as the WindClan cats'. It had a more watery, tangy scent.

"They went through RiverClan rather than ThunderClan. That's odd. . ." observed Cloverdapple.

"What does that mean?" Cinderpaw stared off into the unknown territory.

Cloverdapple shrugged. "I don't really know. Probably nothing. Come on, let's get back to camp."

Cinderpaw followed her, but hesitated. A chill crept over her. She couldn't shake the feeling that there was a darker reason they came from RiverClan rather than ThunderClan. ThunderClan was, after all, the quicker way.