Chapter 1

"Until she has earned her warrior name, she'll be called Stealthpaw." Leopardstar sat on a large rock looking down at her Clan; I sat at the foot of the rock. I was eight moons old and was getting named an apprentice. Because I was the smallest when I was a kit my mother, Mosspelt wanted to keep me in the nursery for a longer time, I'd also had greencough just as soon as I was about to get made an apprentice. My brothers, Mintfur and Sagefur, who were already warriors, were looking at me proudly. They'd gotten to be apprentices' one moon early and were RiverClan's newest warriors- they'd just sat their vigil two sunrises ago. My mother was sitting nearby and wore the same expression that my brothers had on. My father was sitting next to Blackclaw. He had his head bent low and was speaking very low. Blackclaw gave a curt nod and Hawkfrost sat straight up. My father and I shared the same dark tabby fur and the same white chest fur. I was his copy. The only things different from us were our eyes and our bodies. Hawkfrost had light blue eyes and I had bright blue eyes. Our bodies seemed to differ a lot because he had a muscular form while I had a thinner slender one. He also had taken a special liking to me because I was his only kit that looked like him. My brothers had a dark gray pelt and my sister had light gray fur. Hawkfrost was normally the cat who told me the stories about the Great Journey, Tigerstar, LionClan, TigerClan and LeopardClan.

Leopardstar was looking at the sun. "Blackclaw," She mewed, turning her attention back to the ceremony. "Now that Beechfur has become a warrior, you're free to take another apprentice. You're a fierce and loyal warrior; please pass this on to Stealthpaw." Blackclaw stepped forward and I scampered up to meet him in the center f the semi- circle that sat in front of Leopardstar.

"Certainly," Blackclaw promised and we touched noses. He led me back to the place where he and Hawkfrost were sitting. I took a seat next between my father and my mentor and waited for Leopardstar to continue.

"Mistyfoot, sort out patrols," Leopardstar mewed curtly, jumped down from her place on the rock to her den underneath it. Mistyfoot sat up right away and began giving orders to the other cats. I noticed that some of the warriors were giving her hostile glares and were a little reluctant with following her orders.

"Blackclaw, what are we going to do now?" I sprang up and started racing around him. He must've put his paw out because the next thing I knew, I had run into it. I shook my pelt and then pranced impatiently in front of him. "I want to learn how to fish, and fight and how to do everything!"

"In time you will be able to." Blackclaw responded. "Today we're going to take a tour of our territory. That way you can see the best places to fish in and places that you'll have to watch out for." He stood up and flicked his tail towards the river. "Come, you can eat later." We padded out of the camp and immediately ran into two streams. One was larger than the other. "To go where we want to go, we're going to need to cross the larger one." I nodded although I preferred that we cross the littler stream because that one I could've jumped and only gotten a little wet; now I was going to have to wade through some of it. "Come, the water is faster than the stepping stones." Blackclaw stepped in and I followed. I put my forepaws in the water and quickly took them out again.

"The river's cold!" I gave the water a little dab with my paw. "It's like snow!" Blackclaw purred.

"The river's supposed to be cold!" He paused. "Just get in; the water gets warmer when you've been in for a while." He flicked my ear with a wet paw. "Let's go, we're wasting time." I charged in the water. Even though the river looked deep, we never really had to swim. The water was a grayish black and it smelled like moss.

"Blackclaw, what's ShadowClan smell like?"

"They reek; they have a strong sour smell. Don't worry, we'll smell them soon." Blackclaw began running very fast. I had to run twice as fast to catch up with him." By the time we reached the marshes Blackclaw turned around and swept his tail over my shoulder. "You run very quickly." I purred. I had mud all over my belly and my paws but I decided that if I was going to be a real warrior, I'd need to get my paws dirty.

"If you do that again, I'm going to have to just walk, that made me tired! I could sleep for a moon now!" I sat down and sniffed. It was a funny smell; it was a mix of Twolegs and cats. "What's that smell?"

Blackclaw opened his mouth to draw in the scent. "It's just a kittypet."

"Kittypets, don't they steal our prey and leave us hungry? Isn't that the same with rogues?" I suddenly remembered my father and Voletooth talking about the rogues that came from the Horse-place. "They kill us, don't they?"

"Yes, they do, when you see one of them, chase it out of our territory because they hurt you as well as your Clan. A piece of stolen prey can cause the death of a Clan mate." I gave a shudder as I saw a flash of my kin dead because of a rogue. Blackclaw gave my shoulder a few licks. "Don't worry; if you drive them out of your territory, then you'll be fine." I nodded and sprang up.

"What next?" I asked.

"I want you to see the horse-place for yourself." Blackclaw disappeared from a tangle of reeds and I jumped in after him. "That's it." He pointed, with his nose, to a Twoleg nest and a bunch of wooden pegs around it.

"What are they?" I asked. There were big brown things inside the wooden peg.

"A horse," Blackclaw growled in disgust. "It's like a kittypet." I licked my lips.

"I'm hungry; can you show me how to fish?" Blackclaw shook his head. "Let me show you the island first." He led me to an island off the border. "That's where we gather at the full moon." I nodded and mewed again.

"Let's fish." I crouched down and began stalking my mentor's twitching tail. I pounced on it and bit down hard. "See?" Blackclaw hissed and I ducked my head. "Sorry," I muttered.

"You had your tail up; it's supposed to stay down, that way your prey doesn't see you coming and you were up wind." I tried again and this time I let my tail drag in the marshes.

"Today you're learning the territory, tomorrow we'll fish." Blackclaw mewed firmly.

"Poke," I mewed softly. I purred as I amused myself. "Let's go!" Blackclaw rolled his eyes and we started going more to the Twoleg place. "Blackclaw? Are we going to run into dogs?" I tried as hard as I could to now tremble with fear. I was also trying to hide my fear scent.

"No, I hope not." Blackclaw was then gave me a lick on the ear. "Don't be so scared. We're almost near the WindClan border. I don't want to let them smell you." Blackclaw began to pace around me. "We're not going to run into anything." He promised. I nodded and then followed him reluctantly. Blackclaw purred, "You're as difficult as your father said you'd be!" I tipped my head to one side. When had Blackclaw and Hawkfrost had time to talk? Then I remembered them talking during my ceremony.

"What?" I hissed coolly. "I'm not difficult!"

"Yes, you're becoming just like your father every minute you talk. I remember when he was an apprentice. He had such a mouth!" I purred, finding it hard to believe my father, the loyalist warrior in the Clan, mouthing off to his mentor, Leopardstar.

"I am not!" I argued, I was going to say more on the topic but Blackclaw shoved his tail in my mouth and I started choking on his fur. "Why'd you do that?" I hissed with a mouthful of fur.

"We're near the WindClan border." Blackclaw explained. "Use your nose and tell me what you smell." I nodded and opened my mouth to scent the air better.

"I smell hills and moorland," I mewed and I drew in another breath. "Rabbits." I muttered. "Yucky!" Blackclaw nodded.

"Good," He praised me. "The rabbit smell is their scent. Let's go now. I need to show you the ShadowClan border." I gave a curt nod and spun around to take lead, although Blackclaw was ahead of me in a few quick leaps. He was licking his forepaw when I caught up to him. He led me to a place that was just grass; it had bushes and things around it. Two cats were at the center of it, Pebblepaw and his mentor. I stepped onto the grass and felt the love of it going to my paws. It was soft and squishy so that if a cat fell onto it, it wouldn't hurt.

"This is called the clearing. We'll do battle practice here and then other things." Blackclaw swished his tail around. "Hurry up, we're supposed to be back by now and I still need to show you the other Clan territory that borders us." He left the clearing, making me rush after him. There was a stream again that bordered our camp and came from the lake.

When we got to the stream again we dove in. This time I was ahead of my mentor.

"You're becoming quite a swimmer for not wanting to go in earlier." He remarked quietly. Blackclaw ordered me not to leave his side when I drew in a sour and foul smell. "ShadowClan." He murmured. "See that Thunderpath? You never will go across that unless Leopardstar orders you. You're also never supposed to steal prey, so if it crosses the border then that's just too bad.

"That's our territory. Stay away from the lake, the Thuunderpaths and the Horse-Place." I nodded. He gave himself a nod.

"Blackclaw, I'm hungry!" Blackclaw rolled his eyes and snarled. "A warrior never complains about being hungry! They wait until their Clan has been fed!"

"Oh really?" I retorted, "Well, incase you're blind, I'm only an apprentice!" I flattened my ears, "I am also very hungry!"

"Give me another mouse-dung retort and you'll be cleaning out the elders' ticks and other things for a whole moon." Blackclaw sounded angry so I decided to drop it, even if I was complaining in my mind. "Come, we're going back to the camp." I twitched my ears to show I heard him. When we got back to camp it was almost dark out.

"Stealthpaw," Minnowpaw, another apprentice, mewed. "Come eat over here!" She was pointing to a patch of reeds and cattails. Her brothers Pebblepaw and Pouncepaw were eating next to her, along with Cherrypaw.

"Blackclaw," I mewed, "I'm going to eat now." Blackclaw gave me a firm glance. "Can I?" I added.

"Yes," He muttered. He flicked his tail and padded off to the nursery to see his mate, Tinytail. I sprinted over to Minnowpaw.

"Hi," I mewed to the other apprentices. Dapplepaw, a small tortoiseshell, dropped a silver fish at my paws. "There, I thought you might be hungry." She sat down and began grooming my ears as I ate my fish quickly.

"I bet I can run faster than you." I mewed with a mouthful of prey. Minnowpaw and Pebblepaw flicked their ears. "Let's race." I remembered the words that Blackclaw said to me earlier that day.

"No you can't, Minnowpaw can outrun us all." Pouncepaw flicked his tail lightly over her muzzle.

"We've already tried a bunch of times." Pebblepaw added. Cherrypaw stood up and mewed. "Let them have a race, and then we'll see who really the best is."

"Good idea," a light brown tom was coming towards us. He called over his shoulder. "Blackclaw, come here." Blackclaw narrowed his eyes crossly as he just was going to get something to eat. A gray she- cat popped her head out of the nursery and mewed something in his ear. Blackclaw nodded and padded up to us.

"What?"

"Your apprentice has just challenged my apprentice." Beechfur explained.

"Really?" Blackclaw's ears flicked with interest. "What are they challenging each other to do?" I pawed the ground embarrassed.

"I challenged Minnowpaw to a race." I muttered and my eyes fell to a small dandelion. I felt a wave of shock and pride burst from my mentor. I looked up.

"Good," Blackclaw praised.

"What's going on?" A sharp mew came from behind Blackclaw. Hawkfrost pushed his way into the crowd. "Blackclaw," Hawkfrost ordered, "What's going on? Beechfur, aren't you supposed to be on sunset patrol?" Beechfur nodded. My brain started whirling. It was as though Mistyfoot wasn't even deputy.

"These two apprentices have decided to have a race," Blackclaw explained. He flicked his tail at me and Minnowpaw.

"Isn't she too young?" Hawkfrost mewed. "She only started her training today." Blackclaw shrugged. "So? She's fast for a kit."

"No," Blackclaw mewed. Hawkfrost looked thoughtful.

"We could make this a competition." Hawkfrost mewed. The warriors near, who had been listening from a distance, walked over to get more details. "We can have the two apprentices have a race; they can start at the beginning of the horse-place and have them run to the stream." The warriors gave their approval. Leopardstar and Reedwhisker were coming in from the sunset patrol. They joined the small gathering.

"What will the winner get?" I demanded. Blackclaw, Hawkfrost and Beechfur glanced at each other.

"You'll get first pick off of the prey pile." Blackclaw decided.

"No," Beechfur growled. "That's not a good enough reward. If we're going to have fun with this then they should get something really good."

"Yes, they shouldn't have to watch over the elders for a whole two sun rises." Hawkfrost piped up. "That'll make it more competitive."

"That's a good idea." Leopardstar mewed, "Although, I'm surprised that you didn't take the race to me." Her voice was icy. "Hawkfrost, Blackclaw, I expected better of you, you're senior warriors now." They both dipped their heads.

"I'm sorry," Hawkfrost apologized. "You were out on patrol and we thought it was going to only take a moment to get this sorted out, that way we could tell you when you came back." Leopardstar nodded.

"I agree; that the winner can skip two days of caring for the elders." The warriors behind her nodded and parted to their dens. "The race starts at sun- high!" The warriors left for their dens. The apprentices rubbed their muzzles on my pelt and then on Minnowpaw's.

"I just thought we were going to have a race." Minnowpaw muttered to me. "I never thought it would become something much bigger." She turned around and pushed her way through the reds that shielded the apprentice's entrance to the den. I followed my way into the den and sniffed out a place to sleep. In the corner there wasn't a smell or a cat in the nest. Some cat had put moss down in it and I curled up in it. My tail was tickling my nose. I closed my eyes but I couldn't sleep. Wonder if I lose? I'm not that quick! Today's my first day training, how am I going to beat a cat that's been training for a moon longer than me? I'm only a kit! I closed my eyes and tried to not imagine what would happen if I lost. Hawkfrost would look at me with dismay. My brothers would tease me about how I didn't try hard enough. And my mentor, he'd think I was a waste of time. I opened my eyes and got up. I can't do it, I'm not fast enough. I was about to go and tell Leopardstar that I wasn't ready when I heard a voice.

"You can do it, you are fast enough, and you've just got to believe it," the voice was a deep growl, one that I've never heard before. "The race will give you a chance to prove yourself." A large cat with dark tabby stripes like mine appeared. He looked just like my father. Instead he had amber eyes. But other than that, he had Hawkfrost's strong shoulders and all of his looks, just like I did. He was kin, he was related to Hawkfrost. "Now listen to me, you're going to win that race." He paused. "Have you ever had a dog on your tail?" I shook my head. "Well, they have sharp teeth and will kill you in a bite, just run as if you had one of them on your tail. Also, stay closer to the lake; there are not as many trees you'll have to dodge." I narrowed my eyes.

"Have you told Minnowpaw?" I asked, even though he was kin, he shouldn't have helped me cheat. The giant tabby shook his head.

"I'm helping you," The cat mewed. "You've got potential, I can see it. You can do this race and win. With my help and your potential, you're going to make a strong leader. But first you've got to believe you can." My brain was racing. I tried to remember what my father said about the cats that were his kin. Then it came to me.

"You're Tigerstar, aren't you?"

"I am." He mewed, "Go to sleep now, and remember, you can do anything if you set your mind to it." I nodded and the cat disappeared. I fell asleep instantly.

***

"Wake up!" A sharp yell came from somewhere but I was too tired

"No, go away." I muttered to the cat. A sharp prod dug into my tail. "Wake up, it's nearly sun high!" I sprang up and looked around wildly. There wasn't anyone in the den but me and a ginger she- cat. "Hey, it's good you're awake. Blackclaw was asking for you." I nodded, remembering what Tigerstar had said last night. I went out into the camp; everyone was busy, trying to get some last moment things done before the race. Leopardstar came up to me.

"Mistyfoot is going to take you and Minnowpaw out to the horse-place; you're going to race from there to the camp. I'll be at the finish line, waiting for you two." She paused. "We've marked the way with shells so you won't be able to get too lost." She padded away after I dipped my head respectfully.

"Stealthpaw," a blue- gray cat called. "Come here, we're leaving now." I flicked an ear and walked over. Tigerstar's words were replaying in my mind.

"You can do anything if you set your mind to it." I muttered to myself when I was out of earshot of everyone else.

Mistyfoot set out on a trot while we followed a little more slowly. I ran ahead of the other two cats, ignoring their calls. As I ran I did notice that there were shells that were placed in a line. When I got to the end of the trail I sat down. I wasn't really running and I wasn't out I breath. Mistyfoot came with Minnowpaw right behind her. I could tell she was trying hard not to pant. We took our running position, Mistyfoot in the middle. I had taken her right side like Tigerstar had told me to do. Mistyfoot was looking at the sky. "Ready?" She asked. We nodded and Mistyfoot mewed softy. "On your marks," she raised her voice a little. "Get set," she was nearly yelling. "Go!" At her command I was aware that my paws were already racing. I stole a glance at Minnowpaw, she was right there with me. I veered over to where she was running. Our pelts brushed and we shot each other a quick glance. "You're doing well," I mewed to her. She flicked and ear and raced ahead. There was a rock in front of her but she was likely to jump over it. I have to get her to run into that rock! After thinking about it quickly I knew my only chance of getting her to trip was to keep her preoccupied. Vaguely, I was aware that Mistyfoot was behind us, making sure we didn't attack each other.

"So, Minnowpaw, I heard you dared Pouncepaw to drink that Twoleg stuff, didn't you ever think that it was poison? Didn't it ever cross your mind that you shouldn't have gone exploring?" I said this all very fast and very quiet so that Mistyfoot couldn't hear me. "You're a mouse- brained idiot!" We were near the rock now. "Didn't your mother ever tell you that bringing home something a Twoleg made was bad? You piece of fox- dung! I can't believe you did that!" I spat the last few words out, very quietly.

Minnowpaw let out a yowl of fury and at that moment she tripped, putting me ahead of her by a couple fox- tails. I could smell the stream and I could hear the water rushing down some of the rocks and some of the cats talking. I ran harder. I glanced over and saw Tigerstar running next to me. "You're doing well," He growled and he disappeared as I reached the reeds that led to the camp. I pushed through them and ran up to Leopardstar. I ran right past her and into the cold stream. I lapped up some water before I went up to Leopardstar and sat next to her. My chin up proudly.

"Good job," Leopardstar murmured in my ear. Hawkfrost, Blackclaw and Reedwhisker came up to me. All three of them praising me and giving me wild licks. "Are you ready to train today?" Blackclaw asked. "I can teach you how to hunt today. With your speed and your senses, you'll be a quick learner." Another cat padded up to me, it was Mothwing, our medicine cat and my sister's mentor.

"Hold on, Blackclaw, she's still young, she really shouldn't have run that race. She's as old as a kit."

"I am not a kit!" I protested loudly. "I am an apprentice that just won a race!" I took a step forward to bat

"You mean cheated!" Minnowpaw snarled. She sprang to my side, Leopardstar right behind her. "You cheated!" Hawkfrost narrowed his eyes, and Blackclaw's mouth hung wide open.

"I did not cheat!" I gasped and pretended to sound shocked. "What? Why would I do that?" I closed my eyes getting them to look hurt. I opened them, hoping they had a pain in them. "Minnowpaw," I whispered, I laid my tail tip on her shoulder. "I can't believe that you'd think that!" Minnowpaw's bristling fur made me back up.

"You piece of Fox- Dung!" Minnowpaw sneered. "You couldn't beat me if you didn't cheat!" She began to get ready to leap at me. Beechfur put his tail in front of Minnowpaw to stop her from bowling into me.

"Minnowpaw," Beechfur scolded. "Stop!"

Leopardstar's eyes were narrowed and her tail was flicking curiously. "Mistyfoot, tell me, did you see any cheating going on?" Mistyfoot shook her head.

"No, they both had a fair race, no cheating was seen."

"You've got too much pride!" Beechfur hissed to Minnowpaw, "Just because Stealthpaw might've been faster than you, you had to lie about her cheating! That's disgraceful behavior for any cat!" Minnowpaw hung her head. Pebblepaw, Pouncepaw, Dapplepaw, and Cherrypaw all rushed up to me and congratulated me on winning.

"Don't forget," Blackclaw mewed loudly. "Minnowpaw's got to help the elders for two sun rises!" Warriors gave curt nods at Blackclaw's words. Minnowpaw shot me a glare full of enmity. I knew at that moment that I had lost one cat as a friend, but I had become respected by all of the others. Hawkfrost had his eyes narrowed as he stared at me. It was as though he was reading my mind. I turned away and padded away with the other apprentices. Ready for moons of sleep, I padded into the camp, going to sleep in the corner of the camp with sunlight. I saw a corner or reeds close by the nursery, I padded to that spot and lay down on some reeds after I pulled them down. I tucked my paws underneath me and was about to rest my head when my father walked up to me.

"Did you really cheat?" Hawkfrost mewed firmly. "You can tell me, I won't tell anyone, I promise." I hesitated. My father has never told any of my secrets before. Like the time I was going out of camp and the time I was going to go and try to hunt.

"Yes," I muttered. "It really wasn't cheating though," I mewed in a rush to defend myself. "I just distracted her so she'd trip, that's not cheating." Hawkfrost's expression was clouded so I couldn't tell what he was thinking. "Besides, if it won over the respect of my Clan mates, why wouldn't I want to do it?" I pause and added. "That race could be the difference of me being deputy or not being deputy." Hawkfrost nodded.

"You did well, you're clever." He licked my ears and stood up. "Winning that race was a good idea." I purred and rested my head on my paws, deciding that I didn't need to wash until tomorrow morning.