The sunlight was brightening gradually as the sun crept up into the rosy sky. Dawnberry sat underneath the large tree that served as Rainstar's den. Above her, a large, low-hanging branch free of any leaves served as what DewClan called the Low-Branch. It was where Rainstar made all of his announcements and sometimes he went up there just to simply relax. The cream tabby sitting a respectful distance from the roots heard a slight rustling inside and turned her head to spot her leader padding sleepily out. "Good morning, Rainstar," she greeted, dipping her head as he stretched.

"Good morning, Dawnberry. How are you?" The brown tabby sat next to his deputy, his drowsy eyes sweeping over the camp.

She flicked her tail, following his gaze around their home. "I'm fine. The dawn patrol went out and now I should go wake up my lazy apprentice," she reported, standing up and stretching.

Rainstar purred in amusement, not minding that she had abruptly ended their conversation. "Good, and let's hope he wakes up this time!"

Dawnberry shook her head in exasperation. "Yes. I swear, he's the laziest apprentice this Clan has ever had!"

The brown tabby leader flicked his tail. "Not true," he argued. "I remember Minkfur was pretty lazy as an apprentice. When her mentor gave her the day off, she would sleep until sun high!"

Dawnberry just laughed in response and padded to the apprentice den, shaking her head in amusement. When she reached the leafy bush, she sat down and pricked her ears. "Kestrelpaw!" she called. "Wake up! We're going on patrol!"

A brown and white head popped out of the low hanging bush. It was Kestrelpaw's sister, Acornpaw. "Sorry Dawnberry, but Kestrelpaw ate a bad piece of prey last night and he has a bellyache," she apologized. The she-cat walked out of the den, her delicate paws pressing into the damp dirt.

Dawnberry sighed. "Did he go see Mistlefur?" she asked the apprentice.

Acornpaw shrugged. "I'm not sure, but he was tossing and turning all night," she meowed, blinking her black rimmed eyes.

Dawnberry considered this information. She knew Acornpaw was trustworthy, but Kestrelpaw could be very persuasive. Having made up her mind, she nodded. "Okay, I'll let him rest then. You can go on patrol with me. Go get something to eat before we leave."

Acornpaw nodded. "Okay, Dawnberry." She trotted off to the fresh-kill pile, which was looking a bit bare. The cream she-cat made a mental note to send some cats on a hunting patrol. A couple other warriors lingered around it, but not the ones that Dawnberry wanted to go on her patrol.

The cream tabby deputy padded to the warriors' den and poked her head inside. She spotted the sleeping forms of Blueclaw and Honeystrike, Acornpaw's mentor. Walking inside, she prodded them both with a paw. Blueclaw leaped up and looked around frantically, eyes wide and claws unsheathed. "Is BreezeClan attacking?" he hissed, naming their most troublesome neighboring Clan, and dropping into a crouch, tail lashing.

Dawnberry rolled her eyes. "No. BreezeClan is not attacking. I just want you to go on patrol."

Blueclaw sheathed his claws. "Oh," he said, strangely disappointed. "Who am I going with?"

Dawnberry poked Honeystrike again. "Honeystrike, me, and Acornpaw," she replied.

Honeystrike raised his head, now awake. He yawned widely and swished his tail sleepily. "I think I heard you wrong. You just said I was going on a patrol with Blueclaw."

She shook her head. "No, that's right. We're going on a hunting patrol."

The fluffy orange and white tom stared at Dawnberry. "You can't be serious," he hissed. "I am not going on patrol with that stubborn mouse-brain!"

Dawnberry looked sternly at Honeystrike. "Don't talk about your Clanmates like that. You're going on patrol with him. No arguing. Now, go get something to eat." With that, she padded out of the den. She knew it might be some trouble to have both of them on patrol considering they're mortal enemies, but they were good warriors. Dawnberry's stomach growled, but she pushed it away, knowing other warriors needed to eat first. She looked around the clearing, seeing the dawn patrol had returned. She walked over to a handsome dark grey tom. "Anything to report, Wrenfeather?" she asked.

Wrenfeather shook his head. "Pretty quiet out there. We did smell a fox though, it smelled like milk. Might be a mother fox or a kit," he reported, meeting Dawnberry's amber eyes.

Dawnberry nodded in thanks, ignoring the fluttering in her stomach.. "Okay. I'll keep an eye out for it," she mewed. Wrenfeather dipped his head to her and padded away. Dawnberry let out a shaky breath, shook her head, and trotted to the center of camp to sort out patrols. "Minkfur, Softpelt, Spottedclaw, go on a hunting patrol by the meadow. Hollypelt, take Puddleleap and Darkwillow to patrol the BreezeClan border," she commanded. The cats all nodded and went about preparing to leave, the mentors summoning their apprentices to go with them. Dawnberry watched with satisfaction until a small voice at her side made her jump.

"When are we leaving?" Acornpaw asked, her small head tilted to the side as she questioned the deputy.

The cream tabby gestured at Honeystrike and Blueclaw, who were ignoring each other as they picked up some prey. "As soon as they finish eating," she replied.

Soon, the toms joined them, still ignoring each other. Dawnberry rolled her eyes and turned around, flicking her tail as a gesture to follow. "Let's go," she meowed. She trotted out of the gorse tunnel, already sniffing the air for prey. Catching the scent of vole, the tabby grinned and dropped into a crouch. She slowly pulled herself forward, each pawstep silent as a mouse. Her ears swiveled, listening for her target. A patch of grass rustled and Dawnberry's eyes darted to it. Angling herself correctly, she bunched her hindquarters and leaped. The vole let out a small squeal as the predator sank her claws into it's back. With a quick nip, she killed it.

"Nice catch," Honeystrike praised as she buried her kill.

"Thanks," she replied. "Alright, Honeystrike, Acornpaw, you go hunt by the stream. Blueclaw and I will go by the MudClan border. Meet back here once you have enough prey." Acornpaw and Honeystrike were good hunters, and Dawnberry figured that she and Blueclaw would refresh the borders while they were at it, especially seeing as she hadn't sent out a MudClan border patrol.

Honeystrike nodded, then turned to Acornpaw, not noticing as Dawnberry and Blueclaw vanished into the bushes. The two cats quickly moved across their territory towards the border, killing squirrels and mice. Padding into a clearing as she followed a mouse trail, Dawnberry let out a surprised noise as she realized she was now at the MudClan border, shocked that she and Blueclaw had already come this far.

Dawnberry sniffed the air, not smelling prey nor cat. With a start, she realized the scent markers were stale. "How long have they been like this?" she muttered to herself. The she-cat started marking the border, mentally cursing herself as to how she was a terrible deputy and should've been watching this border. When she was finished, she beckoned to Blueclaw and padded away to collect their prey, silent while she thought. Suddenly she stopped. "The MudClan scent markers were stale as well," she realized. "But why?" the cream deputy wondered aloud.

Blueclaw gave her a concerned look. "What's wrong, Dawnberry?" he asked.

The deputy shook her head. "Nothing," she replied, but her mind was swimming with confusion. I've got to tell Rainstar when we return to camp, she thought.

A yowl split through the trees and Dawnberry and Blueclaw exchanged an alarmed look before dashing off to the source of the sound. Trees blurred as Dawnberry sprinted as fast as she could, and long, leafy branches extended like claws to brush against her pelt as she skirted bushes. The scent of blood suddenly hit Dawnberry and she slowed down. She realized they were near the stream. That's where I sent Honeystrike and Acornpaw to hunt. A sense of dread rose in her and she padded around a bush to see a horrifying scene.

There was blood and fur everywhere. It looked like a murder scene. In the middle of the small clearing lay Acornpaw, her small body bleeding from several wounds. Honeystrike crouched by her body, trembling and licking her wounds. He looked up at the two cats. "There was a fox," he whispered, eyes wide.

Dawnberry rushed forward, seeing a faint rise and fall of the unconscious apprentice's chest. Thankfully, the wounds weren't that deep, and it seemed like most of the blood in the clearing was from the fox. Honeystrike must've attacked it quite harshly. "She's still breathing," she assured the grief-stricken mentor. She pushed her nose underneath the she-cat. "Let's get her onto your back and back to camp."

Honeystrike nodded and crouched down, allowing Blueclaw and Dawnberry to push Acornpaw onto the golden tom's back. Once she was on safely, Dawnberry pressed against Honeystrike to help support Acornpaw. Slowly, they started their journey back to camp.

~/~

The scent of fear and blood filled the air. Below that, a faint lingering fox scent followed the cats back to camp. Dawnberry sent Blueclaw ahead to tell Mistlefur to prepare. The blue-pelted warrior cast a worried look at Acornpaw before sprinting away.

Looking back at their precious cargo, Dawnberry saw that the multiple wounds on Acornpaw's small body had nearly stopped bleeding. She glanced over at Honeystrike, who was next to her helping support his precious apprentice. His expression was grim and blood had seeped into his fur and begun to dry, matting the long golden strands.

As the camp entrance came into view, the guard stationed outside of the camp rushed over. "What happened?" Toadstorm demanded, her tail flicking worriedly.

Dawnberry pushed past the young she-cat. "There was a fox attack, and Acornpaw is seriously injured. We're taking her to Mistlefur."

Toadstorm stepped aside to let them pass. "Poor mite. Hope she's okay," the spotted she-cat murmured as they walked by.

The small patrol walked into the camp, weariness weighing them down almost as much as their worry for Acornpaw. Padding across camp, they ignored the various murmurs and curious looks, instead going straight to Mistlefur's den. Once inside, they set her down on a nest that had been pre-prepared for the small tortie.

Mistlefur appeared at the entrance to the den, Blueclaw on her heels. "Honeystrike, go get some wet moss so she can have a drink when she wakes up," she mewed briskly.

Dawnberry smiled gratefully at the prickly medicine cat; she liked that Mistlefur had left out an if. She was so confident that Acornpaw was going to be okay. Satisfied that everything was under control, she left Blueclaw with Acornpaw and walked out of the medicine den only to run into two apprentices.

A sand colored tom looked up at her with dark, concern filled, amber eyes. "What happened? Is she okay?" He spoke in rapid succession, his eyes wide. Webpaw, a dark brown tabby, stood next to him. He seemed concerned, but not as upset as Sandpaw.

Dawnberry nodded. "She'll be fine. Don't worry." she soothed. "Mistlefur is tending to her right now. Go get something to eat and sit tight. You'll be able to see her soon."

Sandpaw nodded, his ears flattened. It seemed her words hadn't done much to help, but he turned around and padded to the fresh-kill pile, his brother following at a much slower pace.

Dawnberry smiled affectionately. It looked like the beautiful Acornpaw already had a suitor. Her thoughts turned dark however, as her worry returned. But what if she doesn't make it? Then she would never get her warrior name, or have a mate and kits. With worry churning in her belly, the she-cat padded out of camp to collect the prey she and Blueclaw had left behind, her dark thoughts following.