Hey guys! Sorry I didn't update as much as I could've yesterday; season premiere of Dance Moms came on! LOL that's my favorite show. Anyways, I really appreciate the followers and reviewers! PLEASE review, guys. It really means the world to me. I'm sorry if I sound like a review whore, but really, don't you feel great when you get a review? :) Here's chapter 9, in Streampaw's POV! Enjoy!

xxx

CHAPTER NINE

"Do you really think we'll find anymore tansy?" Streampaw asked as she padded alongside her mentor through the forest.

Pebblefur shrugged. "I really can't say. The cold really takes a toll on herbs. I'm not desperate for tansy; I have some, but it's just not enough to last through this leaf-bare. I feel like it's going to be a really cold one."

"Where are we headed?"

"Near the abandoned Twoleg nest," he replied. "That's the best place to find it."

Streampaw shivered as a chilly wind ruffled her pelt; she wondered if it would snow soon. She'd never seen snow, only having lived through green-leaf and leaf-fall, but she heard cats talk about it sometimes; by the way they described it, it sounded wonderful.

"You really can't explain why Nightpaw and I have the same dreams?" Streampaw suddenly blurted.

Pebblefur inhaled deeply. "No. The only thing I can think of is because you're sisters."

"Nightpaw told me that she asked our other littermates yesterday," Streampaw explained, "and they said they didn't have any weird dreams."

"I don't know, then," Pebblefur sighed. "Oh, I can smell some! Over here." He squeezed between two bushes, approaching the abandoned Twoleg nest, and motioned with his paws to a tansy plant.

"Wow, there's more than I expected!" Streampaw mewed, sniffing at the plant. It was only a tad bit dried out, but it would definitely still work.

"I'll be right back; I think I smell catmint." Pebblefur stretched his neck, sniffing the air. "You gather as much tansy as you can." He scurried into the bushes.

Streampaw began picking the tansy, letting its scent fill her senses. Tansy had always had a very comforting smell to her, although she wasn't quite sure why.

The snapping of a twig startled Streampaw, and she glanced up wildly. A silver pelt was just barely visible through the leaves of the bushes.

"Pebblefur?" Streampaw called out quietly, feeling her fur prickle. She prayed it wasn't a rogue.

Suddenly, a lithe silver-and-black tom stepped out of the bushes. Streampaw scrambled backwards, her heart thudding.

"Oh, I am sorry!" the tom mewed. "I did not mean to frighten you."

Streampaw crouched low to the ground and fluffed out her fur, attempting to look menacing. "Wh-who are you? What are you doing on ThunderClan territory?"

"ThunderClan?" he echoed. "I do not know of 'ThunderClan'. My sister Mist and I live right behind here." He motioned to the Twoleg nest. "Our mother was killed by Talon not too long ago, so we have been living here."

Talon? Streampaw pricked her ears. Could that be one of the rogues? She scanned the tom; he looked older than her, but not much. He had a slender body, sleek pelt, and long whiskers and legs. He had no muscles and looked rather scrawny, to be quite honest.

"You…you are not one of them, are you?" The tom backed up, his fur bristling a bit and eyes widening. Streampaw shook her head. "No. ThunderClan is against the rogues, too. And me, I'm just an apprentice. A medicine cat apprentice, to be exact. I don't know how to fight at all."

"Nor do I," the tom chuckled. "Is this ThunderClan you speak of…good? Are they nice cats?"

Streampaw nodded. "Yes. Well, they wouldn't be too nice to you if they found you wandering our territory." She flicked her ears. "I shouldn't be talking to you. I'm a loyal ThunderClan cat." She glanced around, tasting the air for Pebblefur; he was still a ways off. "All right. I won't tell my Clan about you and your sister, so long as you stay over here. Don't go past the Twoleg nest."

The tom bowed his head. "Thank you very much, kind she-cat. My sister and I appreciate it greatly." He turned and started back for the nest.

"Wait!" Streampaw called. "What is your name?"

The tom's blue eyes twinkled. "Riddle." He bounded back behind the Twoleg nest, leaving Streampaw stunned.

xxx

"The rogues have been scented again," Pebblefur mewed, "so I need to start teaching you the basics of fighting."

Streampaw bristled. "Fighting? I thought medicine cats didn't fight!"

"Well, they don't, but every medicine cat learns a bit of fighting, just to protect them if they are ever attacked." Pebblefur stepped out of the trees, Streampaw following, to a sandy area. She could see Shadepaw and Hawkpaw having a mock fight, and more impressively, Graystream and Blazepaw a little further off.

"This is the training hollow," Pebblefur announced. "Come over here and we'll start."

Streampaw followed him, feeling a little nervous. She was too clumsy on her paws to fight! What if she couldn't get the moves down?

"First, let's start with the simplest battle move there is," Pebblefur meowed, "the front paw blow." He demonstrated it, whacking an invisible opponent in the head with his forepaw. "Now you try."

Streampaw tentatively lifted her forepaw off the ground and copied his move unsurely. "Like this?"

"Very good," Pebblefur praised. "Now this is the front paw strike. It's very similar, but the claws are unsheathed and it's in more of a downwards motion, like this." He raked his claws through the air.

She repeated the move, imagining a cat's face there, and shivered.

"You've got it." Pebblefur was about to demonstrate another move, but hissing and spitting made the two gray tabbies turn.

Hawkpaw and Blazepaw were locked in battle, both looking very serious. Blazepaw leapt at Hawkpaw, but the gray tom slipped underneath him and batted at his hindquarters with his forepaws. Blazepaw landed messily on his paws, and while he regained his balance for about a heartbeat, Hawkpaw flung himself at the ginger tom, rolling in the sand until Hawkpaw landed on top of the older apprentice, his forepaws at Blazepaw's chest and neck.

Shadepaw cheered. "Way to go, Hawkpaw!"

Streampaw watched as Blazepaw squirmed out from Hawkpaw's grip, looking angry that he'd lost to a younger apprentice.

"Both of you did very well," Brackenclaw, Hawkpaw's mentor, praised. "Blazepaw, you just spent a little too long regaining your balance." He turned to his apprentice. "Hawkpaw, where did you learn to slither under his belly like that? That's a very advanced move!"

He shrugged. "It's just an instinct."

"Your brother is an amazing fighter," Pebblefur murmured. "How long has he been training? Half a moon?"

Streampaw nodded, still in awe. How did Hawkpaw learn those moves? She watched as Brackenclaw led him out of the training hollow, Hawkpaw's tail lifted proudly.

"Do they fight with their claws out?" Streampaw asked, feeling horror creep across her pelt. Neither tom had a scratch on him, but…

"No. Never in training." Pebblefur stretched and then turned to face his apprentice. "Ready to keep going?"

xxx

"They're still alive. They're not dead!"

Now yowls of fury filled Streampaw's ears and she shuddered. Cats were chanting, "Kill them! Kill them!"

Kill who? Who did they want to kill, and why were they constantly haunting Streampaw's dreams?

The forest. Streampaw sighed in relief as she shrieks stopped and were replaced by the sounds of cricket song.

A shiny Twoleg object gleamed in the moonlight, teeth sparkling, almost tempting Streampaw closer. The fox trap. She glanced around; where was she? She was in ThunderClan territory, but right along the ShadowClan border. That's strange. I remember Nightpaw telling me that the fox traps were near green-leaf Twolegplace.

Streampaw sniffed at the ground, following the strange Twoleg scent until she found another fox trap. Two? Something flashed in the corner of her eye. Three?

She began to feel as though something weren't right. Why were the traps so close to the ShadowClan border? Streampaw noticed that the earth had marks in it, as though something had been dragging along the ground. The drag marks led right up to the fox traps, each one coming from the same direction—from green-leaf Twolegplace.

Did some cat drag these here? Streampaw wondered as she padded right up to the border, the Twoleg path. To trap any ShadowClan cats that cross the border?

Something pulled her back to the fox traps. She stared at it, noticing that the grass around it was pulled up and sprinkled over it to look more disguised. Streampaw lowered her head, sniffing at it, and felt her belly drop when she picked up a familiar scent.

Hawkpaw.

xxx

Oooh! Big cliffie here! First of all, who is Riddle? Second of all, how does Hawkpaw know those battle moves? Is he just naturally talented at fighting? And lastly, why did Streampaw pick up Hawkpaw's scent near the fox traps? Hope you enjoyed this short chapter, and have a great day! Don't forget to review if you liked it! :D