A/N Hello again, Fwirl here! Not much to say, so please enjoy the chapter. Oh, and I apologize for my last chapter, I hadn't realized it was so extremely short. -_-'

Chapter Nine

Larkpaw lead the way back to the RiverClan camp through WindClan's territory, Stormpaw, who usually took the lead, trailing sullenly behind her. She had been silent and gloomy the entire way so far, so Larkpaw assumed that her sister had had an even worse time fighting than she had. Then again, she didn't feel like talking much either; this battle hadn't been as exciting as she had at first thought it would be.

They moved at a quick pace, not fast enough to be considered running, but fast enough that they would reach camp long before RiverClan's battle patrol did. Larkpaw wanted to say something to comfort her sister, but nothing came to mind, and she didn't even know what was wrong, so she kept quiet.

When they finally crossed the border separating RiverClan's territory from WindClan's, the two sisters could no longer hear the sounds of battle ringing in their ears like the perpetual peal of a sparrow's call. "Let's sneak in through the gap behind the apprentices' den," Larkpaw suggested as they neared camp, finally speaking up. "That way we can make it seem like we were in camp all along if we slip into the den and pretend to sleep."

Stormpaw nodded, but she didn't really seem to be listening at all. Sighing, Larkpaw stealthily crawled through an opening behind the apprentices' den that only a few cats knew about, making sure that her sister followed behind her. Once they were behind the den, the two young apprentices pushed aside some branches and crept in, pushing the misplaced foliage back into place so it looked as if it hadn't been moved at all.

They looked around, but no one else was in the den. The two cats headed over to their nests and settled down, but Larkpaw noticed that Stormpaw was picking at her moss in frustration. "Something wrong?" Larkpaw finally prompted, speaking softly.

Stormpaw jerked her head towards Larkpaw, as if just realizing she was there, and opened her mouth as if to speak, then abruptly shut it. "No, the battle was just tough," she muttered in reply, though Larkpaw knew it was something more than that.

"Tell me when you're ready to," Larkpaw mewed, then curled her tail over her muzzle as she tried to drift into a light sleep. She could feel Stormpaw's pelt bristling next to her, then flatten. The last thing she heard before she fell asleep was Stormpaw's even breathing that announced that she had fallen asleep, despite her worries.

What woke Larkpaw up wasn't the cry of Leopardstar calling a Clan meeting, or even the incessant prodding in her side. It was the feeling that something was very wrong.

Squinting her eyes, Larkpaw looked up to see Nettlepaw about to prod her again to force her into consciousness. In an instant, Larkpaw was on her paws, her tail flicking behind her in irritation. Without looking at Nettlepaw, she turned to see Stormpaw waking up. "Wha's goin' on?" she mumbled, hardly coherent.

"Leopardstar called a Clan meeting," Nettlepaw answered before Larkpaw could even reply.

"Oh, the battle!" Stormpaw exclaimed, suddenly awake again with a strange spark in her eyes. "What happened?"

"Leopardstar will probably tell us," Larkpaw interjected; she didn't want to hear from Nettlepaw how the battle had turned out. She pushed her way out of the den and into the center of camp, feeling her sister's confused gaze follow her out.

Most of RiverClan had already assembled, and out of the corner of her eye, Larkpaw could see Graymist practically glaring at her from across the clearing. Keeping her gaze forward, Larkpaw acted as if she hadn't noticed and took a seat next to Beetlepaw and Otterheart. Stormpaw and Copperpaw came to join her, both of them oddly subdued.

"RiverClan cats, we went to help WindClan after ThunderClan attacked their camp," Leopardstar started when everyone had gathered. Larkpaw noticed Mistyfoot near RiverClan's leader, but she was looking intently at Stormpaw, who was pointedly averting her eyes. "ShadowClan joined the fight on ThunderClan's side shortly after we arrived. We…were forced to retreat."

Yowls of dismay rang through the camp until Leopardstar couldn't be heard. "Enough!" she called so loudly that a few birds in nearby trees flew off their perches, startled. "We have only lost this battle, but next time, it will be different. We should be thankful that no cats died." An odd light entered Leopardstar's eyes, then disappeared as she blinked.

Confused, Larkpaw looked to her sister, thinking that she would seem the same puzzled expression on her face, but Stormpaw was kneading the ground, her lips bared in a silent snarl. "That is all," Leopardstar finished. She padded off to her den, leaving behind an uneasy Clan of cats.

Mistyfoot padded over to Stormpaw and Larkpaw as the cats dispersed, then stopped and gave Stormpaw a meaningful look before glancing at Larkpaw. Stormpaw shook her head quickly as if she had just been asked a question. Baffled, Larkpaw kept switching her gaze between the two cats until Mistyfoot started talking to them.

"Stormpaw, Larkpaw, you know you weren't supposed to be at that battle," Mistyfoot reprimanded. Larkpaw felt a sinking feeling in her stomach; had they been spotted by RiverClan's deputy during the battle?

"Larkpaw wasn't there," Stormpaw hastily interjected. "I snuck out of camp by myself."

"That's not true, I was with Stormpaw at the battle," Larkpaw declared, angry. She didn't need her sister to protect her from the consequences of her actions; she was acting just like Nettlepaw! Plus, she was being so weird and secretive, like she knew something but didn't want to tell Larkpaw. Suddenly, she found herself very angry and frustrated without really knowing why.

Mistyfoot glanced at the two of them, then went on. "I'll have to report this to Leopardstar," she informed them. Of course, Larkpaw thought contemptuously. Because you just have to be perfect for your Clan; it would be against your morals not to tell on us. "She'll decide on your punishment. For now, I want you both to stay in camp until you're told otherwise. Am I understood?"

"Whatever," Larkpaw muttered.

"Yeah, yeah," Stormpaw all but snarled at the deputy. Larkpaw considered how odd of a reaction that was, but decided she didn't care about it right now. She was so frustrated that she didn't even talk to anyone, including her sister, as she padded back into the apprentices' den.

Stormpaw didn't even try to talk to her sister as she settled back down in her nest. Larkpaw was about to lie down in her nest when someone's head poked inside the den. "Larkpaw, can I talk to you?" It was Nettlepaw.

"Go away," Larkpaw hissed, acutely aware that Stormpaw was right next to her.

"It'll only take a minute," Nettlepaw promised.

Hesitant, Larkpaw slowly came out of the apprentices' den and followed Nettlepaw as he led her to the space behind the apprentices' den where she and Stormpaw had sneaked in earlier. He stopped and turned around to face her.

"Go on," Larkpaw prompted, sitting down and wrapping her tail around her paws.

"I wasn't treating you like a kit earlier," Nettlepaw burst out. "I just didn't want you to get hurt; you haven't had much battle experience and you still need a lot of work on your fighting moves."

"Are you saying I can't fight?" Larkpaw snarled indignantly, her fur bristling.

"No, don't be mouse-brained!" Nettlepaw replied.

"So now I'm a mouse-brain?" Larkpaw fumed, now standing up. "Why did you want to talk to me if all you're going to do is insult me?"

"It isn't my fault you're taking what I'm saying the wrong way!" Nettlepaw defended, his tail flicking in frustration behind him. "It's like you don't even want to try and understand what I was trying to do back there!"

"Yeah, well maybe I don't!" Larkpaw retorted, then turned her back on the apprentice. "Just leave me alone!" With a bound, Larkpaw was back in front of the apprentices' den, and about to duck in when Leopardstar came out of her den, Mistyfoot trailing behind her.

With only a glance Larkpaw could tell that her leader was upset. Her fur looked ruffled and her ears were pricked attentively. Catching Larkpaw's gaze, she nodded for her to come over to her. Reluctantly, Larkpaw padded over to Leopardstar while Mistyfoot walked past her to the apprentices' den, presumably to get Stormpaw.

Larkpaw didn't look at Mistyfoot as they passed; only stared ahead. She knew she was in for a scolding by the way Leopardstar was pacing agitatedly in front of her den. Awkwardly, she stopped in front of her leader, but the RiverClan leader didn't seem to notice her. It wasn't until Stormpaw and Mistyfoot joined them that she stopped and turned to face them.

"You two snuck out of camp," Leopardstar accused. "Do you know what could have happened if you had been injured, or even killed? You need to think before you decide to do something as stupid and idiotic as that."

"We were only trying to help our Clan," Stormpaw offered meekly, her head down but her eyes watching Leopardstar attentively.

"If your help was needed, I would've asked it of you," Leopstar mewed coldly. Stormpaw didn't say anything this time, for which Larkpaw was secretly grateful for. Even though she respected her sister for pointing out their reason for joining the battle when they weren't supposed to, she didn't want to get into any more trouble than they were already in.

"What will their punishment be?" Mistyfoot prompted Leopardstar.

She looked at Mistyfoot as if just noticing her presence, then turned back to the two miserable sisters. "You'll be looking after the elders until the next Gathering," Leopardstar told them after a pause of consideration. "You'll fetch them fresh-kill, clean out their nests, and do anything they ask you to."

"Yes, Leopardstar," Larkpaw and Stormpaw chorused obediently.

Leopardstar nodded. "Good," she said, already starting to walk away. "Next time, follow my instructions more carefully."

As Mistyfoot passed by them, she gave them a sympathetic glance, but Larkpaw turned away scornfully. Why should she be sympathetic? She was the one that told on them, after all, and even suggested that Leopardstar should punish them!

Nauseated with all of her anger and confusion, Larkpaw looked at Stormpaw, hoping that maybe her sister could so something to ease her mind. But no, her sister was staring off into the distance as if she wasn't even there. As if she didn't exist.

Letting out a hiss of frustration, Larkpaw went to the entrance of the camp, then remembered what Mistyfoot had said earlier about staying in camp until further notice. Who cares? she thought. Larkpaw changed direction and slipped out through the dirt place tunnel before running through the stream and into the forest.

It felt good to have the wind whip through her fur and dodge the undergrowth that tried to trip her up as she passed, and for a moment, she forgot all of her irritation. She stopped when she reached the lake, breathing heavily from the run. It was almost dark, the first stars of Silverpelt starting to shimmer into life in the sky. She felt calmer somehow looking at them, and she just stood there for an immeasurable amount of time.

Shaking her head at herself for disobeying Mistyfoot, Larkpaw ran back to camp in a daze, hardly aware of slipping back into camp and into the apprentices' den. When she was once more in her nest, everything flooded back into her. With a groan, Larkpaw closed her eyes and tried to sleep as easily as she had when she was still a kit.

A/N Okay, I know it was a kind of lame chapter, and Larkpaw seems very OC, but Shadow and I agreed that Larkpaw shouldn't find out yet, thus giving me hardly anything to write about. Okay Shadow, you're next!

~ Fwirl