CHAPTER SIX:

Secrets Revealed

Emeraldpaw woke up and decided to lay there for a little while longer. He had stayed up later by the body of Foxpaw. He knew Shroudclaw was responsible for the murder and Emeraldpaw hated him for that. He knew that Emeraldpaw could be in the same place as Foxpaw if it wasn't for Skyheart coming at the right time.

Emeraldpaw thought for a while finally got up and went out of the apprentices den. He saw Sparrowpaw and Rainpaw sharing a large thrush and talking. They noticed Emeraldpaw and nodded to him. "Come and share this thrush with us." Rainpaw greeted.

Emeraldpaw sat down next to Sparrowpaw and took a bite of the thrush. It tasted great. Emeraldpaw remembered when he had eaten the rotten mouse and wondered if that was the only piece of prey that had been tainted. The thought quickly left his mind as they began to talk. "Skyheart told me that we're going to be learning battling moves today!" Sparrowpaw told Emeraldpaw excitedlly.

"When are we going to start?" Emeraldpaw asked.

"When we're done eating!" Sparrowpaw mewed excitedly. Emeraldpaw stood up and looked around for their mentors. He saw them talking, most like about what moves to teach the apprentices.

Emeraldpaw and Sparrowpaw left Rainpaw behind and ran toward their mentors. Emeraldpaw, feeling sorry for his sister, looked back and called, "I'll teach you everything I learn!" Rainpaw smiled at him.

"Are you two ready to go?" asked Skyheart.

"Yes!" Sparrowpaw and Emeraldpaw answered together.

Dawnsun and Skyheart led them to the training hollow. "Today we'll be learning the lightning strike today." Dawnsun meowed.

"This is how it goes." Skyheart mewed. "I'll demonstrate on Dawnsun." Dawnsun started walking away. "First I track the enemy through the forest. Obviously we wouldn't use this during a battle but it's useful for getting cats that are getting away." He kept walking until he was right behind Dawsun. "It is very important to wait to attack until your patrol leader gives the signal. If your on your own make your best judgement. Then, you pounce!" He pushed down with his hind paws and sprang out landing on top of Dawnsun's haunches. He knocked her down and held her too the ground.

"That's not very cool!" Sparrowpaw groaned. "That's boring!"

"That's not the whole thing!" Skyheart mewed. He started running away. "We pretend to retreat. The enemy thinks we've given up. But we don't run far. We stay quiet and watchful, waiting until the invading cats relax, assuming that we've disappeared into the forest to lick our wounds. They won't expect us to attack them again so soon, not here. After all, lightning doesn't strike in the same place twice. But we do! We attack again, as hard and as fast as before!"

"Now that's cool!" Emeraldpaw remarked.

Suddenly they heard a loud shriek, like someone being hurt, and then a battle cry. It was Tomstar's battle cry. "Come on!" Skyheart mewed frantically. "We're being attacked!"

Emeraldpaw and Sparrowpaw sprinted, getting in front of Dawnsun and catching up to Skyheart. They ran into the camp and saw a frenzy of battle. Skyheart and Dawnsun leaped into the battle immediately. Emeraldpaw checked out who was in the battle. He recognized two of the cats who had been with Shroudclaw when he had tried to kill him. Then he saw Shroudclaw battling with Tomstar.

"Get out of our territory, Shroudclaw!" Tomstar hissed at the warrior.

"I fight for AshClan!" Shroudclaw growled swatting at the leader. Suddenly, Emeraldpaw was tackled to the ground.

"Hello, little kit. I remember you!" a voice mewed. Emeraldpaw looked up and saw the cat that must've been Shroudclaw's number 2 cat. Emeraldpaw kicked up with his back legs and scratched the cat's belly. Emeraldpaw noticed that he only scraped the surface, leaving to small of a wound for the cat to stop. Suddenly a white tom ran up to him. "Leave the kit alone, Coniferleaf!" the tom mewed. "Shroudclaw said to get rid of Skyheart, Tomstar, and the warriors, not any kits!"

Coniferleaf leaped off him. "You're lucky, kit! I'll get you someday!" The tom leaped onto Owlfeather and wrestled him to a ground. Emeraldpaw leaped into the frenzy and threw Coniferleaf off of Owfeather.

"Thanks." Owlfeather grunted gaining the upper hand against Coniferleaf.

"No problem!" Emeraldpaw yowled running toward his mentor, who was pinned against the ground by a cat he didn't recognize. The cat smelled of crow-food. Emeraldpaw leaped onto the cat's haunches and knocked the cat over, letting Dawnsun take his place on top of the other cat.

Suddenly, Emeraldpaw heard another battle cry and watch as new cats flooded into the BrambleClan camp. Not more enemies! Emeraldpaw mewed dismayed. Then he noticed the new cats were attacking the rogues and Shroudclaw's group. He figured they must be either StrayClan or SkyClan because he knew what AshClan smelled like.

Emeraldpaw continued to give his clanmates the upper hand in the battle until Shroudclaw's shriek rose. "Retreat!"

The opposing cats bolted out of the camp hurriedly.

Tomstar walked up to an old gray cat that had led the other Clan in. "Thank you, Skystar." Tomstar mewed his thanks to the StrayClan leader. "BrambleClan may not have won this battle if it wasn't for you."

"We didn't come to help you." Skystar mewed. "We came to talk about a recent happening. We found one of our apprentices, Minepaw, dead on our border with AshClan and wondered if you would want to join us in fighting them. They must be taught a lesson."

"It is not AshClan." Tomstar told the other leader.

"But it was on the border and the body reeked of AshClan scent!" Skystar pointed out.

"Shroudclaw is responsible for that apprentice's death, not AshClan. Shroudclaw also killed one of our apprentices and just led that attack." Tomstar informed Skystar.

"This is disturbing news." Skystar mewed, accepting the truth. "Is it okay if my warriors and I stay here for a while, while we rest from the battle."

"Fine by me." Tomstar mewed. "What do you think, Skyheart."

"Sure." Skyheart mewed.

{SPARROWPAW'S PERSPECTIVE} Skyheart called Sparrowpaw over. The BrambleClan deputy was talking with the StrayClan leader. "Sparrowpaw, it's time that I told you about my past. I used to be a StrayClan cat."

"How is that possible?" Sparrowpaw asked.

"My mother was in BrambleClan and my father was in StrayClan." Skyheart mewed.

Sparrowpaw looked at Skystar. Why is he here? "Why is he here?" Sparrowpaw asked Skyheart.

"He's my father." Skyheart mewed. "He raised me in StrayClan until the old BrambleClan leader wanted me to go to BrambleClan to be with my mother instead."

"And why are you telling me this?" Sparrowpaw asked. He wondered why the elders hadn't already told him all about it.

"Because you're my apprentice and over the next few moons we'll be very close so I didn't want to be keeping secrets from you." Skyheart mewed. When Sparrowpaw did not reply Skyheart kept talking. "You may now go and talk to your friends."

Sparrowpaw nodded and went off to talk to Emeraldpaw and Rainpaw. He didn't think that the fact that Skyheart was from StrayClan was that big of a deal but whatever.

He found Emeraldpaw and Rainpaw talking to two StrayClan apprentices, Hollowpaw and Windpaw.

"This is Hollowpaw and Windpaw." Rainpaw introduced Sparrowpaw to the other apprentices. "This is Sparrowpaw."

"Hi." Sparrowpaw mewed to the other apprentices and they greeted him back.

They talked for quite a while until Skystar annouced they were leaving. But then he kept talking. "Also, I would like to ask if Skyheart would like to rejoin StrayClan?"

"Why would he do that?" Tigerstripe leaped up in defense of the Clan deputy. "He's not a traitor!"

"I'm his father." Skystar growled at the young warrior. "Stay out of this."

Tigerstripe stepped back with shock and let Skyheart speak. "No, father." Skyheart mewed. "I will not join you. I am deputy of BrambleClan and proud to say that they are my Clan. You put up no fight to keep me and I don't see you as my father. I'm sorry, Skystar. I'm fine where I am."

Skystar stepped back shocked then beckoned for his Clan to leave. "If that's how it is, fine." Skystar sounded hurt. "Goodbye, son. Remember I will always love you, no matter if you don't love me."

Sparrowpaw saw no expression on Skyheart's face as his father left, along with the rest of StrayClan.