Sorry for such a long wait guys, this chapter is a little longer and school has kept me busy. I was also lacking inspiration so this chapter is a little boring but I promise the next one will have plenty of action! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Chapter 3

The light gray tabby opened her mouth and breathed in the many scents of the forest. Some were familiar and sweet while others were foreign and stank. The cold wind ruffled her fur and she shivered.

"What do you smell, Dawnpaw?" A dark brown tabby she-cat crouched next to her.

"I smell... something foul... yuck, what is that Treeflower?" Dawnpaw wrinkled her nose in disgust at the new scent.

The bigger cat purred with amusement. "That would be Shadowclan, we are right near their border. Come, let's go closer." She led Dawnpaw closer to the border until they came to a long stretch of black ground. It stank just as bad as the Shadowclan cats, if not worse.

"That's the Thunderpath. Monsters travel on this and they are very dangerous," Treeflower explained. "But don't worry, they usually never leave the Thunderpath so you should be safe from then," she added as the smaller cat gave her a frightening look.

Dawnpaw approached the Thunderpath slowly and sniffed it, then laid one paw on it. It was hard and ice cold and felt rough under her paw. All of a sudden she felt a rumbling under her. A loud roaring sound came from a little further down the Thunderpath. It was a monster.

"Dawnpaw, get back!" Dawnpaw jumped back quickly as a monster roared down the Thunderpath. She shivered with fear and sunk into the shadows. "It's ok Dawnpaw. Come on, let's go explore some more."

The two cats turned away from the Thunderpath and padded away, their paws leaving foot prints in the thin layer of snow. It was the day after Dawnpaw's apprentice ceremony. She was excited to be going out to explore the forest with her mentor, Treeflower for the first time. Her siblings, Nightpaw and Eaglepaw, were also made apprentices but they insisted that the three of them go out separately. Dawnpaw agreed though she was a little sad. She used to spend so much time with them, but she knew that she wouldn't be as much anymore.

As they walked further, Treeflower showed Dawnpaw the Great Sycamore, a huge tree that was not far from the Thunderclan camp. Treeflower said that it was a great place to catch prey and to practice climbing. They trudged along further until Treeflower signaled with her tail for Dawnpaw to stop.

"Now, be careful, we are approaching Snakerocks. Deadly snakes live there and they can kill a cat as small as you with a single bite. Many cats have died from snake bites because they were not careful enough," Treeflower explained. Dawnpaw was led closer and then she peered around a bush to see a large rock covered in snow. Since it was leaf-bare, there were not many snakes out, but she did see one or two. The two cats quickly turned away and moved on.

Treeflower showed Dawnpaw where the twolegs lived, the Owl-tree, and the Sunningrocks, which were fought over by Thunderclan and Riverclan constantly. Dawnpaw learned all the different scents off the forest and the cats and the other things that lived there. When they arrived at the Riverclan border, they sat to rest for a little. Dawnpaw licked her paw and ran it over her ear.

"So, how do you like the forest so far?" Treeflower asked.

"It's wonderful! I've never ventured this far before...," Dawnpaw replied thoughtfully.

"Then you should see it in greenleaf and newleaf, it's even better! Can I ask you a question Dawnpaw?" Treeflower said with uncertainty in her voice. Dawnpaw nodded. "How do you feel about your sibling, Eaglepaw and Nightpaw? It seems like you live in their shadow a little... do they push you around or anything?"

Dawnpaw shook her head. "They don't push me around, and I don't mind that they are better than me right now. I learn from them too. I know some day I will be just as great as them, if not greater! You'll help me with that though, right?"

Treeflower purred and smiled. "Of course! So tell me, do you smell any prey?" Dawnpaw sniffed the air and opened her mouth, drinking in the scents. There was not much- a faint trace of badger and Riverclan. Dawnpaw now understood why all the cats hated leaf-bare so much. When she was a kit, she would always be the first one taken care of. Now that she had to catch the prey, and hunt for her clan first, she understood.

"Nothing," Dawnpaw told Treeflower.

"It's ok, I didn't really expect you to smell anything... go back to camp and I'll try to find something to bring back," Treeflower assured her. Dawnpaw nodded and ran off.

When she arrived back at camp, Eaglepaw and Nightpaw were sitting in front of the apprentices den sharing tongues and eating a squirrel.

"Hello guys, how was the first day of training?" Dawnpaw asked, settling down besides Eaglepaw.

"It was cold! But it was fun too, look I caught this, try some! It's not great but it's better than nothing," Eaglepaw answered, pushing the squirrel to Dawnpaw. She sunk her teeth into the thin squirrel. She didn't realize how hungry she was until now.

"It's a little stringy, but it will do," Dawnpaw purred. For the rest of the day, the three apprentices shared tongues with each other and helped the elders and Rosecloud with whatever they needed. Dawnpaw thought it was one of the best days she ever had. She curled up in her nest next to Nightpaw that night and fell asleep in an instant.

Dawnpaw slid her paws over the cold ground, her eyes were narrowed in concentration as she stalked the mouse that was scuffling through the undergrowth. When she finally got close enough, she pounced. The mouse didn't even see her coming and she killed it with a bite to the neck.

"Well done, Dawnpaw! You are becoming a fine hunter!" Treeflower meowed, appearing out of no where. "You did well today, let's go gather the rest of the fresh-kill and then we can go on a patrol."

Dawnpaw nodded. It had been almost two moons since she was made an apprentice and Treeflower told her that it was time for a hunting assessment. She had achieved one of her goals: she was a better hunter than Nightpaw and Eaglepaw. At least that's what many of the Thunderclan cats told her. Treeflower said it was because she was smaller and swifter.

She had caught a decent amount of prey considering it was the end of leaf-bare- three small mice, a squirrel and a large rabbit. They dropped the prey into the fresh-kill pile at camp. It was slowly getting bigger as newleaf got closer.

"Can I go get Goldenpaw and Pantherheart to come patrol with us?" Dawnpaw asked. Treeflower nodded and Dawnpaw ran to get Goldenpaw, a golden brown tom who was a couple of moons older than Dawnpaw and a good friend, and Pantherheart, a sleek black tom who was Goldenpaw's mentor. They met back up with Treeflower at the camp entrance then as soon as they were all ready, they set out. The four headed toward the Shadowclan border. Goldenpaw and Dawnpaw trailed behind their mentors.

"So how's training going? You just had an assessment right?" Dawnpaw glanced over at Goldenpaw. He was large for an apprentice, bigger than his brother Mousepaw. His muscles rippled under his golden pelt with every paw-step.

"Yes, it went well. I caught a lot of prey," Dawnpaw replied. "No surprise there," Goldenpaw mewed. "You're a better hunter then all of the apprentices!" Dawnpaw looked down at her paws in embarrassment at his compliment.

"Thanks, but I'm not that great," Dawnpaw replied. "Yes you are. You will be a great fighter too, but probably not as great as me," Goldenpaw purred. They walked on until they came to the Shadowclan border. Pantherheart sniffed the air then shook his head is confusion. Dawnpaw sniffed the air too. She not only smelled Shadowclan, but Windclan too. There was something else... blood!

"This isn't good," Treeflower murmured. "There must be a battle going on!"

"Well let's go help!" Dawnpaw suggested, her paws tingling with excitement. She had never been in a battle before, or even started practicing her fighting moves with Treeflower yet.

"No, we can't intervene. This is not our battle and we can't afford to possibly loose any warriors," Pantherheart meowed. He looked at Treeflower. "We'll mark the borders first and let Windclan know that we still remain strong, then we must go report this back to Smokestar." When they finished their job and headed back to camp, Treeflower and Pantherheart went to report to Smokestar and Goldenpaw went to get the large rabbit that Dawnpaw caught earlier from the fresh-kill pile. He sat in front of the apprentices den about to dig in when he beckoned Dawnpaw over with a flick of his tail.

"Want to share?" He asked. Dawnpaw nodded and sat next to him and took a large bite out of the rabbit. "So what do you think of the Windclan/Shadowclan battle going on?" She asked after a few moments of silence.

"I don't know, but since it was Windclan in Shadowclan territory, it looks to me as if Windclan were the attackers. That hardly ever happens. Windclan almost never invade another clans territory alone, especially not Shadowclan. But we should be on a careful lookout; if Windclan defeat Shadowclan, they may come after us next," Goldenpaw ventured.

"I agree, maybe Treeflower will finally start battle training with me now!" Dawnpaw meowed hopefully.

Suddenly, there was a yowl from the other side of camp. Dawnpaw looked over to see Smokestar climbing to the the top of HIgh Rock. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, join beneath the High Rock for a clan meeting." Goldenpaw took the last bite of the rabbit and then walked over to the High Rock with Dawnpaw. The Thunderclan cats started to appear in the clearing. Most of them except for Pantherheart and Treeflower looked like they had no clue what was going on. Dawnpaw had a feeling that the gathering was about Windclan.

"Cats of Thunderclan," Smokestar began. "Pantherheart and Treeflower have just told me some news that could possibly threaten the safety of our clan. While they were on a patrol near Shadowclan border, the smelled Windclan and blood. This can only mean one thing- Windclan have attacked Shadowclan." A murmur of surprise rippled through the crowd of cats. The news was very hard to believe.

"This also mean that Thunderclan can possibly be in danger of being attacked as well," Smokestar continued. "We can not put it past Windclan to invade our territory too if they defeat Shadowclan. This is why I want extra patrols along the Shadowclan and Riverclan border, and I want those patrols to go up and check Fourtrees at least three times a day for any fresh signs of Windclan. Mentors, make sure your apprentices are well trained for battle and there must be at least four cats per patrol. You may carry on with your duties now."

The crowd began to thin out. "I knew it," Goldenpaw mewed. "There's no doubt in my mind that Windclan will try attacking us."

"I agree, but what if-" Dawnpaw's statement was cut off by Treeflower calling her name. "Oh sorry Goldenpaw, I better go see what she wants." Goldenpaw nodded his head and Dawnpaw padded over to her mentor.

"How about we start battle training now? Unless you're too tired, I know you had a busy day," Treeflower meowed. Dawnpaw looked up at the tabby she-cat with excitement. She was a little tired but she was eager to learn. "No, I'm not tired! Let's go!" The two she-cats padded out of camp. Now my warrior training has really begun! Dawnpaw thought.