Lionpaw blinked, confused.

He tried to organize the thoughts in his mind, but there were too many of them. He needed to clear his head so he could understand it better.

So he and Icepaw were siblings. He was deaf, she was blind. They both hated the three 'gray' bullies. Stonestar was their enemy (in a way).

Then he had his sister's mentor, Goldenfeather. She had said she was an Ember. But what exactly was an Ember? A cat who was born with special senses that could discover Gemini.

Lionpaw's thoughts were getting jumbled again. He shook his head. A Gemini was a cat with a twin or sibling. They were probably very close, and they were both Gemini.

What he didn't understand was why StarClan wanted to get rid of them. Were they afraid of Gemini? Could they possibly be stronger than StarClan? Lionpaw could hear the past, and Icepaw could see the future. No one but Goldenfeather knew about that.

So he and Icepaw had been in Flame? That meant Mothwing, the legendary medicine cat of the old Clans, was a Gemini. Then why did StarClan spare her and not Hawkfrost? Why did he go to The Place of No Stars first?

Lionpaw was getting confused again. He couldn't understand anything! Frostdawn was a Gemini? Had StarClan sent that badger to kill her? Why did the badger seem so familiar? Why was he even worried about a stupid badger in the first place?

That led him to another thought: his father. Goldenfeather had said that Fireclaw was an Ember. Did that mean he would kill Icepaw and him? But Fireclaw was their father! He wouldn't do something like that!

Would he?

Lionpaw was shaken out of his thoughts when something bumped into him. He looked up and saw Icepaw flicking her tail and trying to push him. His nose twitched as he scented Stonestar. Goldenfeather was trying to get them away. They were in DawnClan territory, but they were still near the border.

Icepaw and Lionpaw and Stonestar were not exactly on good terms. Their Clan might accuse them of not being loyal to the Clan (though they were completely loyal) and he would try to punish them. The reason behind that was probably because Icepaw and him had humiliated Stonestar, and he was trying to get them back. In his opinion, Stonestar was very hot-headed and arrogant.

Lionpaw pressed against Icepaw and tried to guide her and follow Goldenfeather. They couldn't be spotted or scented by the Clan leader. He was going on some sort of evening stroll, and he couldn't know that they were out of the camp.

He felt Icepaw stop moving, and he knew that she had heard Stonestar's voice. His heart thumped and he hoped that his Clan leader wouldn't be too angry. Lionpaw couldn't see Goldenfeather, though. He swallowed and turned around. He saw Icepaw's tail out of the corner of his eye.

'Stonestar is saying-' His sister usually signed that so he could understand who was speaking and who wasn't. 'What are you two doing out here?'

Lionpaw tapped her tail quickly. 'We're preparing for the assessment.'

He felt Icepaw's body vibrating slightly as she spoke. He pressed against her, waiting for her to tell him what Stonestar was saying.

'Stonestar-' Icepaw's tail shook as she signed. 'Since you're so enthusiastic about it, why don't we do it now?'

Lionpaw felt angry. Why was Stonestar being so unfair? Even though his and Icepaw's mentors were making them go through rigorous training, it still wasn't enough. They needed to know more; they needed to be trained properly. But he wouldn't let Stonestar know that he was upset.

Instead, Lionpaw met Stonestar's eyes with fierce determination. He knew what Icepaw would say next. It would be something that he would want to say too.

'Of course.'

Lionpaw felt satisfaction course through him when he saw Stonestar's eyes flash with anger and frustration.

Icepaw's tail swished around. 'Stonestar is going to assess us himself. We'll have to do our best-we'll have to do more.' She was saying that the Clan leader was going to give them a hard time. He would try to find a mistake, no matter how small.

Lionpaw nudged her, acknowledging her. 'I think we have to split up. Remember to use your nose.' He tapped her before bounding away. He glanced over his shoulder and saw that Stonestar had already disappeared. Lionpaw's assessment had begun.

He took in a deep breath, scenting the air. He caught the scent of a vole and something else. Lionpaw narrowed his eyes. What was this strange smell? He stiffened. It had the traces of a cat and twolegs. He wrinkled his nose as the scent grew stronger. He couldn't stand the stench of twolegs.

Lionpaw realized that this strange scent was that of a kittypet. What was a kittypet doing on the DawnClan border? Lionpaw swallowed. What should he do? Find prey or find this intruder? It would be more impressive if he used the fighting techniques he knew. Knowledge was his strength. He had strange flashbacks about cats that lived in the old Clans. With all of his knowledge of fighting and strategy, he could easily win.

And that's what Lionpaw decided.

He slid into the shadows, stepping as lightly as he could. He was deaf, so he would have no idea if he made a noise or rustled a leaf. He would need to count on his sight and sense of smell to help him. He took in a deep breath and glanced around. He then crept forward, the strange scent getting stronger and stronger.

Lionpaw winced as he felt a leaf crunch underneath his paw. Mouse-dung! He swallowed, hoping Stonestar didn't catch the mistake he made. He straightened his shoulders and continued on.

He squinted as he approached the edge of the border. He glanced around again and froze. Lionpaw had found the intruder. It was a brown and white tortoiseshell she-cat with eyes the color of golden honey. She was obviously much more experienced than him. He would have been slightly intimidated by the bigger and older she-cat if it weren't for the bright green collar around her neck.

The weird thing all kittypets wore: a collar. Then he noticed how plump she was. He let out a low growl. How dare this fat, lazy kittypet cross the border? It was already hard enough to get food; the Clan didn't need another cat to feed, especially a kittypet.

The kittypet had noticed Lionpaw. She seemed happy and she mewed something. He growled in frustration. He couldn't understand anything that she was saying! Was it not obvious?

He crouched low, his tail flicking back and forth. He would chase her out of his territory. Lionpaw felt satisfied when he saw fear flash in her eyes. He bunched up his muscles and leapt. As soon as he charged at the kittypet, she took off. Lionpaw dug his claws into the ground as he sped after her.

The kittypet swerved, trying to shake Lionpaw loose. He bared his teeth and circled around to cut her off. His heart sped up when he saw a flash of fur. Relief coursed through his when he saw it was Icepaw. She must have had some sort of vision, because she chased after the kittypet with such determination that he thought she could see. He shook his head and focused. They were chasing the kittypet, but she wouldn't turn out and leave DawnClan territory. Lionpaw changed course, trying to lead her out.

Icepaw stopped running, and this confused the kittypet. Lionpaw saw his chance, and he pounced on the trespasser. She opened her mouth, and he was pretty sure that she was making quite a racket. He hissed.

'Never come back here again!' He flocked his tail. Lionpaw knew that the she-cat couldn't interpret his tail signals, but he was sure she got the message. She lashed out with a paw, hitting Lionpaw on the nose. He staggered, phosphene floating around in his vision. He growled and did a quick countermove; he felt the his claws tear through the she-cat's stomach. Lionpaw watched as she stood up quickly and dashed right hack over the border, out of DawnClan territory.

He felt satisfaction course through him. Lionpaw glanced around to check on his sister. He wanted to congratulate her for helping chase out the kittypet. He saw her a few badger-lengths away and he bounded towards her.

'Great job! You really did amazing!' He tapped her excitedly.

'Lionpaw...' His heart sank when he saw Icepaw's tail slowly move. He began to sniff her, trying to find the injury. His heart sank even lover when he realized that her neck was torn. The wound looked bad. Blood was oozing out, and it looked like whatever had punctured her neck had almost gone straight through. He winced.

Lionpaw glanced up when he saw Stonestar and Goldenfeather. His tail flicked back and forth. He hoped they understood.

'She's hurt! We need to help her!'

Lionpaw grabbed Icepaw's scruff and began to pull her toward the camp. He saw Stonestar haul her onto his shoulders.

He no longer felt happy or energetic; despair was beginning to rose up inside of him. Was Icepaw going to live? Had she lost a lot of blood? He hoped that StarClan would be merciful.