Chapter 1

"Petalpaw! Petalpaw!"

Petal raised her head proudly as her fellow DawnClan cats began chanting her new apprentice name. She bounded forward and touched noses with Birchstorm, one of the best mentors she could have asked for. "I promise to be the best apprentice I can be," she said determinedly to him.

"We'll see about that," Birchstorm said, a twinkle in his eyes.

Petalpaw twitched her ears as she heard someone walking towards her. She turned and saw Liliystripe, pride shining in her eyes. "I'm so proud of you," she said.

"Thanks Lilystripe," Petalpaw said. "But remember, I'm an apprentice now, so you can't be shadowing me around everywhere I go."

"I know," she said. Suddenly her voice and gaze turned serious. "I trust you to make the right descisions."

What does she mean? Petalpaw thought.

"Hey Petalpaw!" A cheerful voice called out to her before she could go into much thought. She looked to see her best friend Cloudpaw bounding up to her. She had just apprenticed a few moons before. "Now I can finally share a den with you again! I have to admit, it was a bit lonely in the apprentice den without you. Rainpaw, Barkpaw, and Deerpaw aren't much fun."

"Petalpaw let out a mrrrow of laughter. "And it was definitely a lot quieter in the nursery without you."

Cloudpaw flicked her ear with her tail. "Too quiet I bet."

Before they could finish their conversation, Birchstorm padded up to them. "Sorry to interrupt, but it's time for me to show Petalpaw the rest of DawnClan territory. You'll be surprised by how big it is!"

"Yeah, it's huge!" Cloudpaw exclaimed. "Can I come with you guys? I can show Petalpaw the best places to sun yourself."

"I wish you could, but I think Thornstar wants you and Ivytail to join a hunting patrol with Owlwhisker," Birchstorm said.

"Oh, ok," Cloudpaw said, and went off to join her mentor, who was talking with Owlwhisker. In a way, Petalpaw was kind of glad that Cloudpaw wasn't joining them. She wanted some time with just her and Birchstorm so that she could get to know her mentor better. She followed him through the brambles that encircled the camp, and arrived to a vast expanse of trees.

"Wow!" Petalpaw said. "It is huge!" Everywhere she looked there was a new area to explore. "Where are we going first?" She said, thinking that they couldn't possibly explore it all.

"I was thinking that you could see all of the Clan borders first, get used to their scent, make sure that you won't go running off onto another Clan's territory by mistake."

"I would never do that!" She argued, but the insult was quickly forgotten as Birchstorm beckoned her with his tail. After a minute or so of walking, the trees began to thin out, and she was greeted by a strange musky scent. She opened her mouth to taste the air and wrinkled her nose. "What is that?" She asked.

"That would be DuskClan," he said. "You see that thick layer of undergrowth there? That would be around where the border between our territory and theirs is. Although it changes constantly."

"What do you mean?" Petalpaw asked. Why would it change at all?

"We're sort of in this feud with DuskClan. It's pointless really. We never did anything to provoke them, but Wolfstar just decided that we weren't to be trusted, and now we just hate each other.

"But that doesn't make any sense," Petalpaw said, confused.

"Sometimes I feel that way too," Birchstorm sighed. "But there's nothing we can do about it."

Surely there is? Petalpaw thought. She shook her head. That didn't matter. She followed Birchstorm as he showed her NightClan's and MorningClan's territories. NightClan lived in a barren forest full of bare trees and MorningClan lived on the flat, open grasslands.

"How do they live there? There's no trees for them to climb or give them shelter," Petalpaw wondered.

Birchstorm shrugged. "They probably think it's weird to live where there are so many trees," he said. "Anyway, come on. There's one more thing I want to show before we go back to camp." He turned the other way and led her to a wide wall of bushes. A foul, incredibly strong stench filled her nose, almost making her gag.

"Where are we?" She choked.

"You'll see," Birchstorm answered. They walked through the bushes and were greeted by a huge, straight black path. The stench was overpowering here.

Sunddenly, Petalpaw felt the ground tremble beneath her, and an enormous, shiny creature with round rubber paws ran by them at an incredible speeds. Petalpaw screeched and jumped back, her pelt bristling. "What was THAT!?" She cried.

"That was a monster," Birchstorm said matter-of-factly. Seeing her frightened expression, he added, "Don't worry. They never stray from the Thunderpath. That's what that black stretch of land is. It's very dangerous to cross, and you must never, ever cross it without a warrior. Cats have died here."

"Petalpaw spoke, still trembling. "Why would anyone want to cross it?" She asked in disbelief.

"Because on the other side is the MoonCave. It's where you go to share tongues with StarClan. Usually only medicine cats go there, or leaders when they receive their nine lives, but other cats have gone."

Petalpaw stared in wonder across the Thunderpath, but her concentration was broken when another monster whizzed past. She yelped and jumped backwards.

Birchstorm stifled a laugh. "I think that's enough for today. Let's go back to camp."

Petalpaw wanted to argue, but then realized how tired she was. She was grateful when they entered the DawnClan camp.

"Go get something to eat, and then get some rest. We start training tomorrow," Birchstorm said.

Excitement fizzed through Petalpaw's paws. Training! She couldn't wait. She chose a mouse from the fresh-kill pile and went to go sit with Nutfur and the rest of the elders. They always told the best stories, and she looked forward to hearing one without Lilystripe's supervision. After she thought she wouldn't be able to listen to another story for the next moon, she curled up in her new nest next to Cloudpaw and fell right asleep.

Petalpaw was awoken by Birchstorm the next morning. She was about to protest when she remembered that today was her first day of training. She leaped to her paws eagerly and asked, "What are we doing today?"

"Don't get too excited. You're going to wake up your Clanmates," Birchstorm said laughing.

Petalpaw looked behind her and realized guiltily that Rainpaw and Barkpaw were still asleep. "Sorry," she said sheepishly.

"It's ok. Anyway, today you're going to learn how to hunt."

Hunting! Petalpaw's whiskers tingled with anticipation. "Is Cloudpaw training with us?" She asked.

"She and Deerpaw should already be at the training hollow," Birchstorm replied.

"Then let's go!" Petalpaw cried enthusiastically and bounded after Birchstorm until they reached the training hollow, where Ivytail and Lightningrunner were teaching Deerpaw and Cloudpaw how to chase rabbits.

When Cloudpaw saw Petalpaw she looked up and her expression brightened. "Hi Petalpaw!" She called.

"Cloudpaw!" Ivytail scolded, although her expression was humorous. "You just let the rabbit get away!"

"Oops," Cloudpaw said, looking down at her paws. "Sorry."

"It's ok." It was Birchstorm who answered. "Just make sure it doesn't happen when we're actually going hunting."

Cloudpaw sat up again. "It won't!"

"Now that Petalpaw's here," Lightningrunner chimed in, beckoning to Deerpaw, "Why don't you show her a proper hunting crouch?"

Deerpaw nodded. "Sure," he said, and lowered himself into a crouch.

Petalpaw studied him, gazing over every inch of his light brown fur. She liked the way he looked, his eyes focused ahead of him, looking ready to spring at any moment. She tried to mimic him but kept getting distracted.

Birchstorm shook his head. Cloudpaw snickered. "I don't know what that is, but I wouldn't let my apprentice go hunting with it," she said.

"Sorry," Petalpaw mumbled. She tried again, and this time she knew she had done better.

"Much better," Birchstorm praised his apprentice. "But you'll get more power if you bunch up your haunches beneath you. It'll be a little uncomfortable at first, but once you get used to it, it will feel completely natural."

Petalpaw nodded and did as she was told. "Very good," Birchstorm purred. "Now, stay exactly like that." He grabbed a stick and dragged it to the center of the clearing. "Now see if you can pounce on this stick."

Petalpaw narrowed her eyes as she focused on the stick. She got ready, and quick as a snake, she leaped up and aimed for the stick. But in all her excitement she accidentally put too much power behind her spring. She landed a few mouse-lengths ahead and skidded to a halt, scrabbling in the dirt.

"That's not how you do it!"Cloudpaw said. "I'll show you how it's done." She crouched down low, sprang, and landed perfectly on the stick. "Ta-da!" She said proudly, the stick grasped in her teeth.

"Let me try again," Petalpaw insisted. Cloudpaw set the stick down, and this time when Petalpaw pounced her paws landed squarely on the stick. She smirked at Cloudpaw. Cloudpaw avoided her gaze.

"Nice job Petalpaw," Birchstorm said, and Petalpaw lifted her head proudly.

"Yeah, not bad for your first time," Ivytail said teasingly.

"Yeah, that was pretty good", Deerpaw said.

For some reason, that comment made her even more proud. Why do I care so much about what Deerpaw thinks? She asked herself. She shook her head and asked, "What's next?"

"Next, you're going to learn how to sneak up on prey," Birchstorm said. "If your prey is too far away to pounce on it from where you're standing, then you have to be able to get close enough to it without scaring it away." Petalpaw nodded. "Now," Birchstorm continued, "Start out in your hunting crouch." Petalpaw did as she was told, and Birchstorm's whiskers twitched in an amused way.

"Am I doing something wrong?" Petalpaw asked, worrying that she had messed up already. What if she had embarrassed herself in front of everybody?

"No," Birchstorm said, breaking her thoughts. "It's just that, I'm used to having to tell apprentices to keep their tails still. Obviously I won't have that problem with you."

Petalpaw looked behind her at her stump of a tail. She didn't understand how every other cat could live with a tail, all they did was get in the way of everything. Focusing back on her lesson, she asked, "What do I do now?"

"You want to make sure to move each paw separately, and very slowly. Make sure you place each step carefully, don't step on anything that might make a sound and scare off your prey. And remember, always focus on your prey, don't let anything distract you."

Petalpaw nodded to show that she understood.

"Now, Deerpaw is going to pretend to be a mouse." Deerpaw went and stood at the end of the clearing. "You're going to have to try and sneak up on him."

Petalpaw began to creep forwards, paw by paw, not making a sound. Once she was close enough, she sprang and pounced on Deerpaw, making sure to keep her claws sheathed. "Got you!" she cried. Deerpaw smirked, and before Petalpaw could react, Deerpaw rolled out from underneath her and pinned her down instead.

"Hey, that's not fair! Prey can't fight back!" Petalpaw tried but failed to wriggle out from underneath Deerpaw's strong grasp. So she lifted her paw and swatted hard at his shoulder. Surprised and unbalanced, Deerpaw stumbled just long enough for Petalpaw to leap up and jump on his back, pinning him down again. "It appears you have underestimated me," Petalpaw said in a low, menacing voice.

"All right, all right, you win," Deerpaw said, and Petalpaw let him go.

"Nice going!" Birchstorm said, looking impressed. "Both with the stalking and fighting. You'll be hunting and fighting like a warrior in no time."

"Thanks!" Petalpaw beamed.

Lightningrunner looked up at the sky. "I think that's enough training today. All of you did very well."

"Especially you Petalpaw!" Cloudpaw exclaimed, running up to meet her. "That was a great move you did on Deerpaw."

"Don't get too cocky," Deerpaw said, catching up to them. "Next time, you won't get so lucky." With that he bounded off after Lightningrunner.

As they entered the clearing, a loud wail suddenly sounded near the enterance. Blackfur emerged from the bushes, looking distressed, followed by Reedstalk dragging a large, limp shape in his jaws. Petalpaw realized with horror that the shape was Stormflower, one of DawnClan's newest warriors.

And now she was dead.