Chapter One

The cool air rushed through my spotted fur as I raced through the damp, lush forest. I laughed and pushed myself forward, kicking my speed up even higher. The rest of the cats in the clan watched me zoom by with wide eyes and amazed expressions plastered on their faces. The only cats who were cheering for me were my friends Goldenpaw and Silverpaw, who were brother and sister.

"Go Cheetahpaw!" I heard them yell. I grinned, and sped on ahead.

I was just about to turn around the apprentice den (the hardest turn in my course), when the orange body of a tomcat stepped into my path. I planted my paws in front of me as my claws shot out, scraping the soft earth. Dust shot out behind me as I came to an abrupt halt in front of the cat. I looked up at his face; it was my older brother and mentor, Lionblaze.

Lionblaze smiled down at me with a look of amusement of his face. I rolled my eyes and gave a little hiss. He had ruined my course.

"Lionblaze!" I meowed, trying to sound as annoyed as possible. "You made me mess up! I've been practicing that turn for days!"

"Unexpected obstacles help you improve." The older cat smirked. "But anyway, I wanted to let you know. A couple of us are going out on patrol and-"

I cut Lionblaze off. "And you want me to come?!"

My brother sighed. "No. You're going to stay here, and we'll do some hunting practice when I get back." He said firmly.

"Fine… whatever…" My head drooped. I was never allowed on patrol with the rest of the warriors. There had only been a few occasions when Lionblaze would take me to the border.

I sadly watched Lionblaze and the others leaving the camp, darting into the brush. I sat down on the cold ground, kicking a pebble across the dirt. That's when I got an idea. An amazing idea! But I would need my friends to help…

I once again found myself racing through Thunderclan camp. I looked around, searching for my two friends. I found them outside the apprentice den, and I quickly stopped and went up to them.

"Hey Cheetahpaw!" Goldenpaw trotted up to me happily. "Did you finish your practice?"

"Almost… but Lionblaze messed me up." I said angrily. "But anyway, my bro and the other warriors left on patrol, and they never let us go, right?"

"Yeah! Mapleleaf never lets me go!" Goldenpaw exclaimed. "What about you Silverpaw?"

"What?" Silverpaw shook her head. She hadn't been paying attention. "Oh, uh yeah…"

"So, we need to prove to our trainers that we can hunt and fight just like they can!" I struck a daring pose." And the way we need to do that is… crossing the border!"

My friends gasped. All of the apprentices knew what how dangerous it was to trespass on the land of the other clans. And we knew there were huge consequences for doing it.

"That's… That's…" Goldenpaw stuttered. "I- I don't think that's a very good idea…"

"Aw come on! It'll really show 'em that we're brave and strong too! And if there's any trouble, we'll just run right back over the border!" I encouraged.

It took a lot of convincing, but soon enough I had Goldenpaw on my side. Silverpaw? Well, she was another story… Silverpaw had always been a rule follower, and she wouldn't budge. Goldenpaw and I tried everything, but she refused. But I knew one thing that would get her to follow us.

I sighed. "Well, come on Goldenpaw. I guess Silverpaw isn't gonna come…"

Goldenpaw knew I was onto something. "Yeah, I guess not. We'll just have to go over the border alone without out friends to help us…"

This began to agitate Silverpaw. She fidgeted her paws and ears, and finally, she agreed to come.

So, the three of us, just young apprentices, set off into the forest undetected by the other cats. And we were completely oblivious to the dangers that lay ahead.