"Watch it!" Singingbird snapped quietly at her apprentice. "You are about to step on a stick," she warned. Drizzlepaw looked down and realized that his mentor was right. He adjusted his position slightly and looked at his mentor.
"Why is Darkstar making us attack RiverClan and ThunderClan?" Drizzlepaw whispered, his eyes wide. "It's not like the Clan is going hungry, so why do we need all the extra territory he wants?"
"Darkstar has high hopes for the future of ShadowClan," Singingbird replied, her eyes still trained on the RiverClan border in front of her. "He's also got this idea that he's been working on with Rushstar. Now be silent so RiverClan won't see us coming!" Singingbird ordered, her voice low. They were hidden in a bush across the thunderpath that marked the border with RiverClan. Beside them Specklefur and Splashpaw lay with them, waiting to ambush the RiverClan patrol. Singingbird sent a quick prayer to StarClan that her apprentice would do well, so that she would gain some recognition in the Clan as a good mentor. She really wanted to impress Darkstar with this fight, and prove her worth as a warrior.
"Remember to let me lead the attack, and when we win Darkstar wants us to steal some prey to prove a point," Specklefur reminded them quietly. Singingbird nodded determinedly and felt Drizzlepaw trembling with nerves beside her. She laid her tail gently across his shoulders in an attempt to calm him down.
"Relax, Drizzlepaw. I know you will make me proud," Singingbird breathed into his quivering ear.
"Are you sure this is right?" Drizzlepaw meowed anxiously. "Barkfur said that StarClan will not be happy with us."
"This is what we were told to do. A lesson that you must learn before you become a warrior is to never question the word of your leader," Singingbird said firmly. Suddendly a rustling in the bushes startled them into silence, and a pale gold RiverClan she-cat padded past their hiding place and stopped.
"Snowpaw, come here for a sec-" the RiverClan she-cat was cut off by Specklefur who barreled into her side, viciously knocking her breath right out of her. Singingbird remained in the bushes, waiting strategically for a victim to walk into her awaiting paws. She didn't have to wait long. A brown tabby tom burst into the clearing, growling like all of StarClan was fighting with him. It didn't matter to Singingbird, she was a ShadowClan cat through and through, and right now she was overcome with bloodlust.
Singingbird let out a fearsome battle cry and pounced on the RiverClan tom's unsuspecting back. She dug her claws in and held on as he tried desperately to shake her off. Singingbird bared her teeth and was about to bite the back of the tom's neck when an orange blur shot out of nowhere and knocked her to the ground. Singingbird looked up to snarl at her new opponent and stopped dead.
"Firestar?" Singingbird gasped. It couldn't be true, there was no way a cat of StarClan could just charge in like that! But the other cat looked just like all of her elders described him to be. . .
And then her opponent shifted out of the glaring sunlight, and Singingbird saw that it was actually a young orange and gold she-cat who just happened to look a lot like the Great Firestar. Singingbird snapped out of her trance when she saw her apprentice leap ferociously onto the mysterious she-cat, and the two apprentices rolled away locked in fierce combat.
Singingbird shrieked in pain as she felt claws raking down her spine. Spinning around furiously she saw that the brown tabby tom had gotten his bearings.
"The Great Firestar?" he taunted, circling her. "Have you been daydreaming little ShadowClan kit?"
That did it. Roaring with out of control rage, Singingbird lunged recklessly at her rival, who neatly side stepped her uncontrolled attack and cuffed her sharply on the back of her head. The fight would have been his, for Singingbird was now stumbling around vulnerably trying to get back into position, but he chose to give her a second chance. That made Singingbird even angrier. Either this cat was incredibly chivalrous, or he was just toying with her.
"Ready for a nap, you codeless traitor?" The brown tabby growled, and he feinted left, confusing her because his quickly adjusted his position to aim low. Singingbird felt her paws being swept out from beneath her, and the next thing she knew she was on her back.
"I hope your warrior ancestors have some mercy on you, because right now I have none," he hissed, and then Singingbird's world went black.
What Singingbird saw next would haunt her dreams for the rest of her life. It was her Clan; strewn across a field of dead, brown grass. Each cat was lying in an awkward position, as if they had just collapsed on the spot where they stood. They all looked devastatingly weak and underfed. But what really frightened Singingbird were their eyes. They didn't look like those of the Clanmates that she grew up with. Their eyes were dead and uncaring; as if whether or not they were alive or dead it made no difference to them.
"Don't let this happen, Singingbird." A tortoiseshell she-cat stepped lightly towards her. "You have the power to prevent this from coming true."
"What do you mean? Who are you?" Singingbird asked, not taking her green eyes off of the scene before her. "Am I about to join StarClan? Did that tom actually kill me?"
"No, you're still alive," the tortoiseshell she-cat purred with amusement. "And I am Tawnypelt, one of your warrior ancestors. I've got something to tell you, Singingbird."
"I don't see Rosebud," Singingbird commented, looking around the dead field once more for her sister. "Or myself, for that matter."
"That's because you and Rosebud are going to go on a journey, with some other cats from different clans." Tawnypelt explained. "You must go on this journey, and save ShadowClan from this awful fate. At the next gathering, you and Rosebud are to meet the other cats and start on your journey together. Just wait until the gathering's over, and stay on the island."
Singingbird hesitated. She recognized the name Tawnypelt; she was one of the old chosen cats who led the Clans to their forest home. She wasn't so sure if she could do the same.
"Believe in yourself, Singingbird." Tawneypelt reassured, as if reading her mind. "And remember, this journey will be difficult. You'll have to make some life-altering decisions for yourself and your Clan. Just remember that StarClan have faith that you'll make the right choice." Tawneypelt's words were starting to echo, and the image in front of Singingbird was starting to fade.
Singingbird opened her eyes to the sight of Barkfur's den. The old medicine cat was bent over Splashpaw, carefully wrapping cobwebs around the gray she-cat's leg. Singingbird tried get up, only to feel a paw push her back down again.
"Rest, sister. You've been through a tough fight." Rosebud whispered gently. Singingbird looked up at her sister's caring blue eyes and instantly felt a little better.
"Rosebud, I saw Tawny-" Singingbird was rudely interrupted by Barkfur shoving a clump of herbs into her open mouth.
"Talk later, rest now." Barkfur ordered gruffly. Singingbird chewed the bitter herbs obediently, glaring at the stale old medicine cat. Rosebud settled down next to her injured littermate, and began to bring her up to date.
"The attack was a failure; none of you came out on top. Even Specklefur lost against Dawnsoul," Rosebud shook her head sadly. But it was nothing compared to how ashamed Singingbird felt. There was no way she'd impress Darkstar now.
"What of Drizzlepaw?" Singingbird asked through gritted teeth.
"He held his own against Sunpaw… for awhile. She beat him, though. She gave him a couple of nasty scratches, too." Rosebud admitted. Singingbird groaned and buried her face in her paws. "You did well, Singingbird! Eagleheart is a senior warrior with quite a reputation, and you gave him some welts to remember you by."
"He destroyed me." Singingbird whimpered pitifully. Rosebud pressed against her comfortingly.
"But you put up a good fight." They stayed like that for awhile, Rosebud softly comforting Singinbird in her time of need. Finally Singingbird drew a shuddering breath.
"Listen, Rosebud. There's something we have to do at our next gathering…"