Hey guys! I'm back! Sorry for the long wait, I just finished moving, but there isn't internet at the new house, so I have to drive to the old one(which still has internet) if I want to even access the web. So I finally had time to write the chapter and post it today! I was originally planning for this chapter to be about a page and a half, but it ended up being about five or six. Now on to reviews!

Amberstorm233- Thanks! I agree: I think that Ivypool and Tawnypelt deserve to be leaders.

LunaNight9- Yeah, a lot of people either picked Ivypool or Tawnypelt

NightmareTheFoxWitch- Yes, I agree: Ivypool is one of the top candidates

Hollystar: Thank you! Yes, Tawnypelt is pretty awesome!

IeniraShur'tugal- Into The Wild is one of my favorite series too; and I know that it is called the Prophecies Begin now, but I didn't know when I wrote the chapter.

LittleGrayOwl- I think that Sandstorm would be a pretty good leader, too! And thank you!

Guest- Squrrilflight would also be a pretty good leader; as she is Bramblestar's deputy

So I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Here we go!

"Snowpaw…Snowpaw!" Heathertail thrust her head into the apprentice's den,"Snowpaw!"

The white tom drowsily lifted his head, "Waa?"

Heathertail huffed, obviously annoyed. "Wake up! Dawn patrol came back ages ago, and you are supposed to come to training with me."

Snowpaw scrambled to his paws, looking ruffled, "I'm sorry! I didn't know, and I was just so tired from yesterday, and-"

His mentor cut him off, "I understand. But next time, be sure to wake up earlier."

Snowpaw nodded.

"Now let's go! We have a lot to do today."

He watched his mentor withdraw her head from the den.

"Well, are you coming or not?" Heatherclaw called. Snowpaw shook his pelt out, sending scraps of heather and bracken flying everywhere. He hurried out of the den and looked around for his mentor. Snowpaw's eyes got big as he gazed around the camp, taking in all the new smells, and sights. Cats of different sizes and colors were milling about; some heading out of camp, and others sitting around talking with their Clanmates.

"Hey! Newbie!" A grey and orange tom waved his tail at Snowpaw, gaze warm and friendly. The apprentice's eyes widened in surprise as he stumbled over to the tom.

"He-hello?"Snowpaw stuttered. He didn't expect someone to be kind to him.

"My name's Aspenfang! Welcome to WindClan!" Aspenfang motioned to another cat: a cream she-cat sitting a few tail-lengths away. "Come over and meet Snowpaw, Creamfur."

The pretty she-cat nodded and shared a few words with another she-cat next to her. She padded over to the two cats and sat down next to Aspenfang. "Welcome!" She purred.

Snowpaw nodded at her and meowed, "Thanks."

Creamfur shared a look with Aspenfang. "So-"

"Snowpaw!" Heatherclaw's agitated yowl sounded from behind the white apprentice. He flinched as he remembered about the training session.

"I thought I told you to follow me, not keep me waiting by talking to other cats." The deputy slid her angry gaze to the two warriors in front of her. "And you two. You should have known that I was taking him out training!"

Aspenfang and Creamfur dipped their heads to the grey she-cat. "Of course, Heatherclaw." Aspenfang meowed.

"We are sorry." Creamfur added. Heatherclaw nodded and cuffed Snowpaw's ear.

"Let's go." She led the way out of the camp, tail lashing. Snowpaw scampered after her, shooting an apologetic look over his shoulder at the two warriors, sitting side-by-side, watching apprentice and mentor walk out of the camp.

"Um…Heatherclaw. I'm sorry about…you know…all of this." Snowpaw mumbled, "It's only my first day, and I already messed up."

Heatherclaw stopped and turned around, looking at Snowpaw with sympathetic eyes. "It's okay, Snowpaw. I understand; you have no need to worry, but next time, try to wake up a little earlier." She turned around and set the pace at a trot, heading down a slope. The wind ruffled Snowpaw's white coat, and stung his eyes. He blinked a few times, his eyes finally getting used light, and growing big as he fully took in the bright blue sky and golden hills. The moor really is beautiful.

"Keeping up, Snowpaw?" Heatherclaw called back.

"Of course! I'm not a helpless kit!" The apprentice shot back.

"Ok, then." Heatherclaw purred. "Let's turn it up a notch."

Heatherclaw switched from a trot, to a sprint. Her grey pelt disappeared into a swath of heather, only her tail poking up through the tendrils. Snowpaw let out a sigh and blundered after his mentor. The sweet scent of peat and heather filled Snowpaw's nose and overwhelmed him. But he pushed ahead, shouldering his way through the sweet-smelling plant. Finally Snowpaw broke through into open ground, exhausted. He slid to a halt and shook his pelt out. Heatherclaw was sitting quite a few fox lengths away, grooming her flank.

"Not so cocky now, are you?" She smirked. Out of breath, ribs aching, and sides heaving, Snowpaw grumbled and stomped over to where his mentor was sitting.

"Haha. So funny." The white apprentice hissed sarcastically. Heatherclaw rolled her eyes.

"Let me give you a tip, Snowpaw. Right now you are running like prey. What you need to do is curve your spine, and with each stride, reach forward with your front paws, while tucking in your back ones. And then as you bring in your forepaws again, push off with your hind legs. Speed is key, but you have to learn to control it."

Snowpaw screwed his eyes shut, trying to remember all that Heatherclaw said. "Curve spine, tuck in back legs, reach forward with front paws…" He nodded, opening his eyes again. "I think I got it."

Snowpaw looked around wondering where to start.

"Here follow me." Heatherclaw meowed, turning towards the left, and leading her apprentice to a clearing. "This is where you will be doing most of your training."

Snowpaw grunted in acknowledgement.

"Start with two laps. And remember what I told you!"

The white tom nodded and started running around the edges of the clearing, sticking close to the tall grass. He gradually picked up speed until he was gliding across the ground. Snowpaw concentrated on curving his spine and reaching forward with his front paws, every stride he took. The apprentice looked down and saw the grass a blur under his paws.

"One more lap!" Snowpaw heard Heatherclaw yowl. He let out a purr of happiness as his paw skimmed across the ground, barely touching; everything around him a mix of greens, blues and yellows, streaming together. Suddenly, Snowpaw skidded to a halt, seeing Heatherclaw come into view a few tail lengths in front of him.

"Very good!" She purred.

"Thanks!" Snowpaw replied, eyes wide with exhilaration. He hopped up and down, winding circles around his mentor. 'What's next? Can we go hunting? More running?"

Heatherclaw rested her tail on his back. "All in good time. But how about now, you take a break while I tell you a little about the Clans."

Snowpaw's tail drooped. "Ok. But then can we go running again?"

The elegant grey she-cat purred, "We'll see."

Heatherclaw and Snowpaw stopped to lay down in a small clearing surrounded by heather and bracken. The deputy sat down on a small boulder while her apprentice lay down on the grass to groom his dirtied fur.

"Ok, let me start out by saying that there are four Clans: WindClan-that's us-, ThunderClan, RiverClan, and ShadowClan. We share borders with RiverClan and ShadowClan. We are not-"

"Hey, how will I tell the difference between WindClan scent and other Clan scent?" Snowpaw interrupted.

Heatherclaw sighed. "Because RiverClan smells like stale water, ShadowClan smells like pinesap and dank moss, and ThunderClan smells like wet leaves and bracken. And no more interrupting, until I finish!"

Snowpaw wrinkled his nose, and nodded.

The grey deputy continued. "As I was saying, cats from other Clans are not allowed to cross into our borders, and vise-versa. We are not allowed to take mates from other Clans: you must be loyal to WindClan, and WindClan alone. Also, the word of the Clan leader is law; you should never defy your leader; it is against the Warrior Code and is very disrespectful."

"Wait! So if Eaglestar told us to launch an unprovoked and ruthless attack on RiverClan camp, we have to do it? No matter what?"

Heatherclaw sighed, "Sadly, yes."

Snowpaw tilted his head, confused, "But isn't that kinda unreasonable, and really stupid?"

"Yes. But it is part of the Warrior Code."

The white apprentice grumbled angrily. "But what if the leader makes kits go into battle, or unfit cats fight fight?"

"Then the Clan would probably rise against the leader and stop their tyrannical rule." Heatherclaw sighed, "Snowpaw, you have to be logical. If what the leader is doing is against the warrior code, then of course we can defy them."

"Oh, ok. Continue."

Heatherclaw nodded and flicked her tail. "So as you know, the leader is responsible for the Clan; he –or she- decides when and if the Clan goes into battle, who gets who as a mentor, what their warrior name is, and in WindClan's case, whether they become a Tunneler or Moor Runner. Leaders also have nine lives."

Snowpaw's jaw slackened, "Nine lives?"

The deputy nodded, "Yes, nine lives. StarClan grants leaders nine lives so they have the wisdom and strength to lead their Clan properly."

"StarClan?"

"StarClan are our warrior ancestors. They guide is in hard times and watch over us."

"Are you sure that StarClan exists?" Snowpaw asked.

Heatherclaw sighed, "Yes. Of course StarClan exists! You will see for yourself when we visit the Moonstone."

The deputy saw her apprentice open his mouth to ask a question. "The Moonstone is where we go to speak to StarClan and where leaders receive their nine lives."

The white tom stared questioningly at his mentor. Heatherclaw let out a purr of amusement at her apprentice's expression. She continued,

"Leaders appoint a deputy. Deputies are second-in-command of the Clan. They sort patrols and give guidance to the leader if necessary. When the leader dies, the deputy takes his or her place as leader then appoints a new deputy."

Snowpaw asked, "And you're deputy, right?"

Heatherclaw nodded. "Now on to warriors. Warrior protect the Clan: they hunt and fight. You, as an apprentice, are training to become a warrior. When warriors become too old to carry out warrior duties, they move into the Elder's den. As an elder, they relax, tell stories to kits and apprentices, share wisdom with the Clan, and get cared for. It is basically a reward for all they have done for the Clan.

"Apprentices, like I said before, train to become warriors by learning to hunt and fight. Apprentices either train as a moor runner, or a tunneler. You are training as a moor runner. Moor runners catch prey above ground and fight. Tunnelers also fight and catch prey, but they hunt underground instead of above ground. Tunnelers in addition to hunting and fighting, create and dig new tunnels.

"Apprentices also care for the elders by fetching new bedding, killing flees and ticks, and collecting water."

Snowpaw wrinkled his nose in disgust and protested, "Do I have to do that? It sounds horrible! I don't want to kill fleas and ticks!"

The grey she-cat shot a reproachful look at Snowpaw. "You will do it; you don't have a choice. Every apprentice has to."

He grunted in response, not happy.

"Clans also have medicine cats and queens. Medicine cats treat illnesses, battle wounds, normal wounds, and interpret signs from StarClan. However, they are not allowed to take a mate or have kits."

"Doesn't that get kind of lonely?" Snowpaw asked.

"They have other duties to worry about and a mate would just distract them. At least that's what the medicine cat code says." Heatherclaw responded.

"Finally, I will talk about queens. Queens are she-cats who live in the nursery while pregnant with kits. After their kits are born, the queen has to wait until the kits are six moons old –at that time they become apprentices- before she can return to warrior duties."

Snowpaw raised his tail. "I have a question: how long does an apprentice have to train before they can become a warrior?"

"It depends on how good the apprentice does in training. But the time span is normally five or six moons."

Snowpaw nodded.

"Ok, let's head back then; the sun is setting and you haven't eaten all day." Heatherclaw meowed.

She jumped down from the boulder, stretched, then ran in the direction of where camp was; Snowpaw followed. When the two WindClan cats reached the camp, Snowpaw suddenly realized how hungry he was; he walked over to the fresh kill pile, grabbed a mouse, and found a spot in the camp still warmed by sunlight. Snowpaw bent down and took a bite of his mouse. It tasted much different from the mice his father caught for him outside of Clan territory; instead of skinny, stringy and unappetizing, this mouse was rich and musky, like peat and saplings.

"Hey, Roguepaw." Sneered a voice from behind him. Snowpaw stiffened, Owlpaw.

He whipped around. "So now it's Roguepaw, hm? What happened to loner scum? Did you decide it wasn't fitting anymore? Are we naming each other after what we used to be? Because if so, I have some pretty good names." Snowpaw pointed to a pale tabby tom next to Owlpaw. "Punypaw." And then to the other light brown tom, "Mewlingkitpaw," and finally, to Owlpaw,"Patheticpaw."

Owlpaw and his followers narrowed their eyes and growled softly.

Snowpaw put on an apologetic look. "Oh, I'm sorry. I must've gotten your name wrong, Owlpaw, because you're still pathetic."

A dirt-streaked black tom passing by snickered. "He sure showed you up, Owlpaw!"

Owlpaw hissed in frustration. "You're going to pay for that. And at least I'm pure-Clan cat!"
"Oh yeah? And what good has that done for you?" Snowpaw retorted. (A/N Sorry guys, I don't know if that made sense.)

"Snide, worthless, scum" Owlpaw growled as he stalked away, defeated, with his henchmen following behind him. Snowpaw grinned to himself, and took another bite of his mouse. He finished it in a few more ravenous bite. The white apprentice stood up, looking around, and spotted a black she-cat padding up to him.

"Hi!" She mewed.

"Hello." Snowpaw replied.

"The name's Fernpaw."

"Snowpaw."

Fernpaw laughed, "Yes, I know. How's your training going? I see you are a moor runner."

"It's going pretty well! I learned about the ranks in a Clan today! Did you know that Eagletsar has nine lives!?"

"Yeah. Remember I was raised in WindClan?" The friendly apprentice purred.

Snowpaw sighed, "Oh yeah, I forgot I'm the only one who doesn't know any of this stuff."

Fernpaw ran her tail over his spine, "Hey, its ok, it's fun to refresh my memory every once in a while."

The white tom nodded. "Oh, Fernpaw; what are you training as?"

She lifted her muzzle proudly, "I am training as a tunneler."

"Cool!" Snowpaw meowed, "What is it like working underground?"

"Why don't you see for yourself?" Fernpaw replied, suddenly excited. "I'm the only tunneling apprentice at the moment, so it would be nice to have some company for a while. Besides, every apprentice is supposed to spend at least a day underground; to learn basic tunneling skills."

The white tom pictured himself digging tunnels underground, walking in the paw-steps of generations upon generations of WindClan cats before him. "Sounds fun! I'll talk to Heatherclaw about it tomorrow!"

The black she-cat bounced up and down in excitement, "We can even go hunting! I can teach you how to chase rabbits underground! I'm pretty new to it myself, but my mentor knows what she's doing."

Snowpaw smiled, "I can't wait!"

Fernpaw's green eyes sparkled, "Awesome! So, see you tomorrow!" She turned away and headed towards the apprentice den. Snowpaw stood up and stretched. Then he flinched as a sharp pain stabbed at his stomach. I must've eaten too fast. Either that, or this new kind of prey isn't settling well with me. Snowpaw suddenly remembered that there was a medicine cat that could help him. As Snowpaw headed to the other side of camp, towards the medicine den, he thought to himself, I'm glad I joined WindClan. I think my life will be pretty good. But little did he know, things would only get worse.

HEYO! I hope you guys like the chapter!

QOTD- What do you guys think about Fernpaw?

So I decided to do an Allegiance chapter. BUT, I also decided that I am not going to do SkyClan, becasue it wouldn't make sense; considering this story takes place inbetween Mapleshade's Vengance and Tallstar's Revenge. So keep an eye out for that! Thank you for tuning in, and until next time, hasta la vista, baby!