Chapter Two

Fallen leaves were crushed underneath our paws as we tramped through the dense forest. I sniffed the air. We were getting close to the border.

Goldenpaw quicked his pace and caught up to me. "Which border are we crossing?"

I peered through a clearing in the bushes. I nodded to it.

Silverpaw started to shake when she saw it. "Sh- Shadowclan?"

I grinned, and shot forward out of the brush. I let my claws scrape the Shadowclan dirt. It felt just the same as the soil on Thunderclan, but it bore the scent of Shadowclan cats. I tasted the air and listened to the sound of the forest. Soon, I felt Goldenpaw by my side. We looked back to see Silverpaw staring through the bush at us. Her eyes seemed to be pleading, Come back… Please come back here… Suddenly, her eyes went very wide with fear.

"Lookout!" Silverpaw cried, leaping from the bush. But she was only able to shove her brother to the side.

Before I could turn around to see what Silverpaw had seen, I felt sharp claws being pressed into my chest. They pierced my skin, and I winced in pain. I was shoved onto my back, and held down. I looked up, and I found myself staring into sharp yellow eyes. The eyes stood out against the black fur of the feline attacker. It was a tom, and he hissed, pinning his ears back. I struggled under his weight, but he was too strong.

Goldenpaw quickly reacted. He screeched, and jumped onto the black tom's back. Goldenpaw bit and clawed the attacker, who in turn tried to throw him off. Silverpaw rushed to my side.

"Cheetahpaw! Are you alright?" My friends cried, helping me up.

"Yeah Silverpaw. I'm fine…" I murmured, looking up for Goldenpaw.

Silverpaw had an alarmed look on her face," You're bleeding!"

I hadn't noticed the steady trickle of blood that was dripping down my shoulder until she had pointed it out. Silverpaw quickly rushed over to a bush and took a few leaves in her mouth. She chewed them up and then began to spread them on the wound. I protested, but the silver coated apprentice was hard at work. Soon enough, the cuts on my shoulder were covered and no more blood dripped out.

I was amazed. Where had Silverpaw learned that? There was no time to ask. I sprung into action, racing around Goldenpaw and the attacker in an ever tightening circle. Goldenpaw saw what I was doing and he quickly leapt away. Now it was just me and the black furred tom.

The Shadowclan cat was very confused, as I closed in on him. He had most likely never seen anything like it. Soon enough, I was close enough that I could spring onto him. And I did just that. I shot out of my circle and landed atop the attacker. Goldenpaw helped he hold him down.

The cat did not want to give up. He struggled, clawing the air and hissing. But it was no use. Finally, the cat stopped moving.

"Alright, alright!" The tom's voice was raspy, but it sounded young. No doubt he was an apprentice. "Let me up!"

We obeyed.

"What are you doing here, Thunderclan cats, and who are you?" The black cat arched his back.

"Well," I began. "I'm Cheetahpaw. This is Goldenpaw and that's Silverpaw. Who are you?"

The mysterious cat was hesitant. "I'm… I'm Darkpaw… But why are you on Shadowclan territory?"

I told Darkpaw why we had come. He listened attentively. He even nodded a few times. Maybe the apprentices in the other clans were having the same problems we were.

When I finished my story, Darkpaw just rolled his eyes. "I never have those problems 'cause I'm the son of our leader. I can do whatever I want."

I gasped. Did he just say what I thought he said? If he was Nightstar's son… Then he was my cousin! What a lot of clan members didn't know is that Goldenflower and Tigerstar had another son, not just my father, Bramblestar. His name was Nightheart, and he fought his way to the top of the ranking until he became the leader of Shadowclan.

"If you're the son of Nightstar, then we're cousins!" I exclaimed.

Darkpaw gave a little hiss and cocked his head. "How?"

"I'm Squirrelstar and Bramblestar's daughter!" I told him. My mother had become leader of Thunderclan after my father had died.

This left us just to stand there, staring. I had found my cousin, the rest of my family barely there. It was just me, my mother and my two brothers. No one else. But now, there was Darkpaw.

Hello Warriors fans!

As I explained in the description, I am new to warriors. I have only read the first few books, and have searched Warriors Wikia for information I didn't know. So yes, if you find any mistakes, please let me know. I'll respond and explain whether or not they were intentional. XD

Hope you enjoy my story, ZapWBolt