Chapter 7

Author's Note: Again, I apologize for the late posting of a new chapter. School's killing me, and finals are coming up.

"Lightningpaw!" Swifttail padded into the apprentice's den. "Wake up!" she snapped, loud enough to make said apprentice flinch and awaken. "Hey! Oh...uh...I'm coming. I'll be in the clearing in a bit." The warrior sat down, licking a brown paw. "In a bit isn't fast enough. Come on!" Lightningpaw slumped and reluctantly followed.

Lightningpaw flicked her ear. Now that a moon passed, Batpaw was an apprentice, and Sootpaw's warrior ceremony was creeping up his neck. Snowstar had said it would be soon, but he did not say the exact date, much to Sootpaw's disappointment. He seemed to be restless about becoming a warrior. "I want to be Sootclaw, or Sootfrost." he kept muttering. "But at this point, I'll accept 'Sootcat'. I don't care."

Lightningpaw had finally begun to hunt with Swifttail, though for her at least, battling was easier. She constantly chased away most prey when she tried to catch it.

A skittering of tiny paws came fluttering across the ground nearby, Lightningpaw picking up the sound immediately. She dropped into a hunter's crouch and eyed where the pitter-patter was coming from. A vole. She unsheathed her jet-black claws and leapt at it, snapping its neck quickly. Proudly walking to Swifttail with the vole in her mouth, she dropped it at her paws. "How's that?" Swifttail's green eyes flashed. "Nicely done, but that's only one vole." Lightningpaw nodded. "Yeah, I'll get more! You can count on it." she purred.

Running off, she snuck around and checked for scents. Lightningpaw kept her paws light on the snow, her tail steady. She smelled an odd frog-scent, though it seemed strangely familiar. Crouching, her blue eyes narrowed, and she tried pouncing just as she did with the vole. Swifttail followed her gingerly. "Stop twitching your ear." she whisper-hissed. "The frog'll hear you."

Lightningpaw flattened her ears to her head, unsheathing her claws again. She crept up to the frog, preparing to pounce.

She leapt. And heard a she-cat's voice.

"Pardon me, apprentice!" A sharp mew hissed. Lightningpaw swallowed, meeting the brown eyes of a large red-furred tabby she-cat. Suddenly, Lightningpaw recognized her.

It was Robinfeather: Ratpaw's mentor at the Gathering. Of ShadowClan. Lightningpaw's blood turned to ice.

A dark brown tom snarled towards Robinfeather, sneaking out. "Great job. You gave us away. And you were the one who thought this would be a good idea." Several ShadowClan cats slid out of icy parts of the edge of the territory.

Swifttail snarled and yowled "What are you doing on IceClan?!" She unsheathed her claws, and after looking to her mentor, Lightningpaw followed. Robinfeather frowned. "We were peacefully trying to get Mudfoot's kits home." Lightningpaw gulped. "What do you mean? What do Mudfoot's kits have to do with breaking the warrior code?!"

A ginger tom lowered his head and arched his back. "Do you get it, yet?" Swifttail flinched and her pupils shrunk. "That means-" Three kits stood under a gray she-cat with worry in their eyes. Graykit, Softkit and Whitekit. "Yes." the gray she-cat flicked her tail. "Mudfoot's their father."