This took a little too long to write, but now it's finished. I'm sorry if it's a little bland. The next chapter will be more interesting. Read and Review!

Redpaw POV

"You know, if you wanted to return to camp with all of your fur, you could have just asked," Redpaw told Berrytail, putting on a completely innocent expression, to which Berrytail glowered at him, nursing the missing patches of fur on his flank.

Beside him, Cinderpaw was having trouble holding back her amusement, but it shone in her light blue eyes. However, Cloudtail wasn't doing a thing to hide his chuckles. He had asked the new warrior to aid in their battle training and Redpaw had gladly practiced his leap and hold technique in which he had promptly torn some of Berrytail's fur out after he had tried to shake him off.

"Cheer up, Berrytail," Whitetail called from across the sandy training hollow. She had showed up with Robinpaw, Stormfur, and Bravepaw just before Redpaw had littered the ground with Berrytail's fur. "It could have been worse."

"Yeah, I could have flattened his enormous ego," Redpaw muttered to Cinderpaw quietly, causing her to mrrow in light laughter. "Though, I don't think even Cloudtail is big enough to do that!"

"I heard that!" Cloudtail exclaimed, glaring playfully at Redpaw and Cinderpaw. This sent Cinderpaw into another fit and Redpaw snorted.

"What're you going to do about it?" he challenged, knowing very well that the white warrior could plow him down if he wanted to.

The fur on Cloudtail's back fluffed up so that he looked even twice his normal size and looked as if he had rolled into a bank of snow and it had permanently clung to every strand of fur. Instead of being intimidated like he should have been, Redpaw murmured to Cinderpaw, "Now that's the meaning behind the word furball."

"Um, Redpaw…shouldn't you take it easy? I've seen Cloudtail fight and it doesn't fair very well for his opponent." Cinderpaw's eyes had widened with anxiety and she edged away from Redpaw to get away from Cloudtail's intended path to him.

"He won't kill me," Redpaw replied with certainty, still not afraid. "I'll be fine."

That was when Cloudtail had darted forward, leaping at him with paws outstretched. With only a heartbeat to think, Redpaw rolled to the side to dodge the attack, but Cloudtail had expected that and as soon as he landed just a tail-length away, he reared and came down on Redpaw.

Only, Redpaw wasn't there anymore. Where his shoulders had once been, Cloudtail's paws were pressed to the ground and he was growling in frustration. He had thought he had him. Turning his head, Cloudtail spotted Redpaw sitting a couple of fox-lengths away. He was mildly confused at the sudden shift in surroundings and was a little light-headed but was otherwise okay.

And that surprised him.

Just like Cinderpaw, Redpaw had seen Cloudtail in battle. Despite his size, he got around fast and his blows were as swift as lightning breaking across the sky. He hadn't seen Cloudtail falter and hadn't exactly felt his own paws moving, either. All he felt was panic and just a little fear at the prospect of being bruised and battered.

"Wow!" Robinpaw exclaimed, having seen the whole thing along with everyone else. "I've never seen a cat move so fast! Redpaw that was amazing!"

Redpaw blinked. So he had fled from Cloudtail. The only question was how he had done it so fast.

"I think we're done for the day," Cloudtail announced after a moment of silence and Redpaw was relieved that none of them had asked any questions. Turning to Cinderpaw, however, he could see that she was yearning to interrogate him, the unspoken questions in her searching gaze as she met his.

Redpaw looked away and he fell into step behind Cloudtail and Berrytail. Cinderpaw's gaze seared his pelt, but he didn't look at her again until they were back at camp and they separated from the warriors.

"What was that about?" Cinderpaw hissed, leaping in front of him and blocking his escape to the apprentices' den. Over her shoulder, he could see Birdpaw and Dawnpaw sitting together just outside the den.

Redpaw shrugged. He wanted to know what had happened just as much as she did. "I don't know. It's never happened before."

"You were standing in one place one heartbeat and then you were gone the next! How can you not know?"

"Look, Cinderpaw, if I knew what was going on, I would have told you. You don't have to pester me about it," Redpaw retorted and he slid past her as she stiffened at his harsh tone.

Sighing in relief, Redpaw padded toward his siblings. As he neared, however, he realized that Dawnpaw was upset and Birdpaw was attempting to comfort her. By the expressionless glaze over Dawnpaw's eyes, though, it didn't seem as if it were doing any good.

Birdpaw looked up from her attempts to earn Dawnpaw's attention and his presence evoked a sigh of relief from her. She rounded Dawnpaw and met Redpaw halfway, her gaze saddened and worried.

"What's wrong with Dawnpaw?"

"I don't know. She's been like this all morning," Birdpaw told him, glancing at Dawnpaw. "She didn't eat anything when she woke up and has just been sitting there since then."

"Did something happen yesterday?" Redpaw asked her. They had gone on patrol together with their mentors.

Birdpaw shook her head. "No, everything was fine. She even caught a huge squirrel yesterday when we were hunting. I've never seen her like this."

"Did you ask Squirrelflight about it? Or maybe Sorreltail?" Redpaw suggested. After all, it seemed like a she-cat thing to him.

"Sorreltail gave Dawnpaw the day off and Squirrelflight is away on patrol," Birdpaw meowed, still anxious. "I'll ask Squirrelflight when she gets back but I'm just really worried about Dawnpaw. This isn't like her to just fall apart."

"Isn't it obvious?"

Redpaw and Birdpaw both jumped at Berrytail's mew that had surprised them both. Redpaw turned to give the cream tom a glare. "What do you know about Dawnpaw?"

Berrytail ignored his harsh tone and instead lapped at a paw nonchalantly. He looked up at them. "Some cat broke her heart."

Birdpaw narrowed her eyes at him. "What would you know about heartbreak?"

Berrytail snorted. "Hazelsplash went through the same thing when she was mooning over Thornclaw."

Birdpaw and Redpaw shared a glance. Hazelsplash mooned over Thornclaw?

"But Hazelsplash got over him, right?" Birdpaw asked desperately.

"Yeah, of course after a little bit," Berrytail told them. "Well, nice chat, but Honeypaw is waiting for me…"

As Berrytail trailed away from them, Birdpaw sighed in relief. "At least now we know what's wrong. I'll try talking to her now."

She left Redpaw alone to his thoughts. And what murderous thoughts they were. I told Mouseclaw that he better not hurt her, he ranted silently, pacing back in forth, lashing his tail with every turn. I swear to StarClan that if he is the reason for all this, I'll kill him, go to StarClan, and kill him there too.

"Redpaw? Everything okay?"

Speaking of…Redpaw turned slowly to face the cat he had once thought of as a trusted friend. Meeting Mouseclaw's gaze, he was glad that the tom was smaller than he was. It would make intimidating him so much easier. Mouseclaw flinched under the intense scrutiny and a glimmer of fear gleamed dimly in his eyes.

"Did you do something to Dawnpaw?" he questioned tersely.

After first recovering from Redpaw's obvious display of dislike, Mouseclaw tilted his head to the side just ever so slightly. "What do you mean?" He sounded genuinely bewildered.

Redpaw gritted his teeth so as to not growl in impatience. "Dawnpaw is over there, heartbroken. I told you not to mess with her. So, I repeat, did you do anything to her?"

Mouseclaw blinked in realization. Quickly, he shook his head. "No! Of course not. Besides, I got over her a little while ago."

Redpaw's muscles relaxed and he unclenched his teeth. "You got over her?"

"Yes. I figured that since she would hardly spare me the time it was pointless to try to win her over," Mouseclaw meowed. Then he shivered. "By the way, you are terrifying when you're angry."

Redpaw felt a surge of smugness at his ability to intimidate. Then, his triumph was smashed by confusion when he realized he still had no idea why Dawnpaw was heartbroken the way she was. Who had hurt her? Since when did Dawnpaw have a crush on any cat?

As Mouseclaw changed the subject to something else completely different, Redpaw still found himself plagued by these musings.

Dawnpaw's POV

Sun beams gleamed through the gaps in the plump canopy above the forest floor. Down the worn path that wound through the trees, two cats strolled. Their bodies were pressed close beside each other and their fur always brushed with every step. A pelt of shorter golden tabby fur mingled with his curtain of longer gray and white fur. Her striped, golden tail encircled his white tail.

After several heartbeats of bird song, The golden she-cat purred and she came to a halt. The gray and white tom didn't question this. He just rounded her and leaned down to press his muzzle against her ear. "Sundapple, I love you," he murmured, his warm breath stirring the short hairs inside her ear.

Though he couldn't see, she knew that he felt the shivers that swept through her. "Oh Cloudwhisker," she breathed, looking up into his warm, affectionate dark blue gaze. "I love you too."

Cloudwhisker purred in content as he closed he eyes for a heartbeat before they opened again. "I love you," he repeated, his purr still emanating from his throat. "You and only you."

Dawnpaw gasped as she keeled over, feeling the aching wave of pain rip through her chest. She trembled, having curled into herself. The vision had only strengthened her feeling of loss for Cloudwhisker. It also fueled the betrayal, and the thought that gnawed at her mind that told her that her relationship with Cloudwhisker had never truly been real enough to him. All he cared about was that his dear Sundapple was gone, and because she looked like the she-cat she had taken her place.

"How could you do this to her?"

The snarl brought Dawnpaw to focus and she suddenly realized that she hadn't woken up in the apprentices' den where she'd fallen asleep, but that she was in StarClan. The voice, though, caused a shiver of dread to go down her spine.

Even if Mistymoon had been friendly with her during her visits to StarClan, the she-cat was just too much like Cloudwhisker. They shared the same dark blue eyes that had been filled with such love in her vision. Only, that love had been for Sundapple. Dawnpaw had never seen such a large amount of emotion like that in him when she had been around him. Sure, he'd been affectionate, but never that loving.

Blinking her stinging eyes, Dawnpaw straightened. She was hidden behind a wall of ferns. Peering through the leaves, she realized in horror that Mistymoon had been growling to Cloudwhisker. Oh no.

"Why are you just so…so…careless!" Mistymoon hissed, her eyes ablaze with fury. She pushed her face close to his and he shrank back away from her, his own eyes betraying his pain.

"I didn't mean to hurt her," he protested sharply, his eyes flashing.

"And yet you did," Mistymoon retorted. "She's hardly eaten for days now and she refuses to leave the camp. Cloudwhisker, she's slipping away. What you did is literally eating away at her from the inside."

Cloudwhisker looked away from her sharply. He closed his eyes tightly and visibly trembled. When his eyes opened again, Dawnpaw was surprised at the misery swimming there. Sighing, he dropped his chin onto his chest. "I never meant to hurt her."

Surprisingly, Mistymoon's gaze softened. "How could you believe that she wouldn't be affected by you leaving her? Cloudwhisker, imagine if she were Sundapple now. Imagine the hurt in her eyes."

"I don't have to," Cloudwhisker growled bitterly. "I've already seen it. In the time that I had with Sundapple, I never hurt her like I have Dawnpaw. Why is it so different now?"

Mistymoon regarded him sympathetically. "Everything is more difficult. For one, she's in ThunderClan and you remain in StarClan with the dead. You exist only in her dreams. But now, you not only live in her dreams, you dwell within the nightmares that plague her daily."

"I know," Cloudwhisker whispered, sounded hollow. "I shouldn't have led her on and then broken her heart when she least expected it. It was cruel and I'll probably never get a chance to tell her how horrible I feel."

Dawnpaw wanted to feel happy that he was suffering for what he had done, but she couldn't. No matter how much his actions had wounded her, she still couldn't wish anything like that upon him. She cared for him too much.

So, with a deep breath, Dawnpaw stepped though the ferns in just one, swift movement. "Cloudwhisker?"