A/N: I'm back with chapter uno...un...ichi...one. Enough with counting. Here, you go, get comfy and enjoy. Although, I'm quite positive this won't be long.

Chapter One

The forest held the scent of rain. That was expected, seeing how it had rained for two continous days. Pale light shone through the leaves in patches, barely making any difference in the visibilty.

Stormpaw slipped through the undergrowth, personally grateful for the lack of sun. It provided a little bit of extra cover for hunting. His ears pricked at the sound of scuffling close by in a clump of bracken. He parted his jaws to take in the scent.

A shrew, about two fox lengths away. Dropping into a crouch, he crept slowly towards the bracken, taking extra care to keep his tail still. Taking a large leap, he caught the shrew in his paws, giving it a quick bite to its throat.

Compared to the rest of the prey he had caught, this was rather small. He shrugged and began to track down the rest of his fresh-kill.

It was mid newleaf, the perfect time for hunting. The Clan was well fed and both greencough and whitecough were gone from the camp. There couldn't be anything to break the peace. Not that he could think of anyway.

He picked up the last of his catch, a particularly hairy squirrel and began the trip back to camp. As he wove his way through trees, a gray she-cat caught up to him.

"Fernpaw, what are you up to." he asked, his voiced muffled.

"I'm having my hunting assessment. Foxclaw thinks he's hidden himself, but I know he's hiding in that abandoned fox den," she mewed, raising her voice a bit. Stormpaw spotted a flash of ginger move between the trees.

"Wait, are you-?"

"Oh yeah! It's my warrior assessment! If I pass, I'll get to be a warrior."

"So...that means more room in the apprentices' den," Stormpaw gasped, his eyes lighting up.

"Not for long. Lilypetal's kits will be apprentices soon. So you gain three for one," Fernpaw purred in amusement, "Listen, I've got to finish taking this, of else I'll never become a warrior. See you later!" She took off in the opposite direction, towards the ShadowClan border.

Stormpaw continued on his way, stopping occaisonally to catch the odd scent. Could Lilypetal's kits really be that old by now? What happened to the squirming kits, the much quieter ones? Reaching the entrance to the ThunderClan camp, he slipped through, taking care to keep the prey intact. As he brought it towards the fresh-kill pile, a series of conversations reached him.

"But I want to be an apprentice now!" That would be one of the kits undoubtably.

"Hush, you have a bit more time before you're ready for such responsibilities," his mother gently reminded him.

"I'm telling you, this fox had to have been as big as a tiger!"

"Now you're just making things up. There hasn't been a fox here in moons."

"I can't believe I had to clean out the elder's den again! That's one too many times for me."

Stormpaw left his catch, making a beeline for the apprentices den. He knew that most apprentices would be done with their duties by this time.

"Hey, Stormpaw! Have you seen Cloverstar's kits lately," a brown tabby tom called from the back.

"No. Why, are they growing branches or something? What did you do to them, Tigerpaw," he gasped in mock horror.

"Oh ha ha. No, I was just asking."

ThunderClan's leader, Cloverstar, had recently given birth to a litter of kits. While that kept her away from her duties, she left tose up to her deputy, Stoneclaw. It was still her who made the final decision though.

Suddenly a sharp cry rang out from the camp.

A/N: Dun dun duuuuuun! Well, there's another one, because I have no life other than the one's devoted to fanfiction about cats.