Twigpaw limped along, trying not to hurt her paw any more than it already was. She had sprained it while she wasn't looking where she was going.

"You okay?" Gingerpaw had tried to become friends with Twigpaw on the journey, and Twigpaw tried really hard to like her.

"Yeah. I just slipped, that's all." Molepaw was padding alongside Gingerpaw, and his presence irritated Twigpaw. She didn't want to see or hear him ever again.

"Are you sure you're alright? Leafpool could put some herbs on it." Gingerpaw was trying to be helpful, but she was only annoying the tabby apprentice.

"I'm sure, but thanks for the concern." Twigpaw focused on the ground ahead of them as they walked along. She tried to ignore the lovey-dovey apprentices beside her, but apparently her irritation was shown on her face.

"Why can't you just be happy for us?" Molepaw meowed.

"Because ever since Gingerpaw came to ThunderClan, you've been treating me like a fox!" The large apprentice just looked at her.

"So?"

"You never used to! I actually thought we were friends! But it turns out that we weren't!"

"We were until you made me look like a fool!"

"When did I make you look like a fool," Twigpaw hissed. "I never made you look like a fool!"

"Remember when I got stuck in the entrance to camp?" Twigpaw remembered when Squirrelflight had to apply herbs to his pelt to safely get him untangled.

"Yes."

"And you laughed at me. It made me feel… I hated you. You made a mockery out of me." Molepaw swatted a pile of leaves as they walked. Gingerpaw seemed uncomfortable, so she made an excuse to leave.

"I'll give you two some privacy," she mewed. The ginger cat quickened her pace to catch up with the rest of the patrol.

"I never meant to make you feel that way! Even I would've laughed if I got caught in the brambles!" Twigpaw was genuinely surprised that she had hurt him that bad.

"Well, you did." Molepaw looked away, embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, Molepaw." He looked up at her, and for a second she saw the old Molepaw; sweet, sensitive, and understanding. But then his expression turned back to the cold and sheltered Molepaw that she knew now.

"Well I love Gingerpaw now, so there's nothing that you can say or do to ever win me back." Twigpaw stared at him, hurt and confused, as he ran away and caught up with his soon-to-be mate.

She stared at him, heartbroken. Was she really so stupid as to think that he'd choose her over Gingerpaw?

"Are you coming, Twigpaw?" Bramblestar was staring back at her.

"Yeah." She followed the leader as they caught up to the rest of the patrol and kept trying to find SandClan.

"There it is!" Pouncetail's yowl made Twigpaw jump. They'd all been traveling for a little over a day now, and Twigpaw was tired and thirsty. No one had seen any water for a while.

"Where?"

"I don't see it!"

"There! It's over there," Bramblestar yowled as he took the lead once again. The patrol followed their leader, kicking up sand as their paws thudded against the barren ground.

Bramblestar was the first to enter the camp, and the more senior warriors followed. Next came the newer warriors, and finally, the apprentices.

Twigpaw looked around the camp. The dens were holes dug into the ground, and there was a small hole in the center of camp. A couple things were thrown in it and covered in a thin layer of dust.

"Who are you?" A slender she-cat was standing atop a huge rock at the edge of the camp. She was slightly darker colored than the sand all around them, and her eyes blazed an icy blue.

Bramblestar dipped his head.

"We come from four Clans far away from here. Clans you may know." The she-cat just flicked her tail.

"Name them."

"Some of us are from ShadowClan," Tigerheart said as he puffed out his chest.

"And some of us are from RiverClan," Pouncetail mewed proudly.

"Don't forget that some of us are members of WindClan too!" Breezepelt had been annoying everyone on the way there, and apparently he wanted to annoy SandClan, too.

"And the rest of us are from ThunderClan," Bramblestar rumbled.

"Well, nice to meet you all, but I don't think we can fit all of you in here…" There was a total of sixteen cats there. The other three Clans were all represented by three warriors and their leader. ThunderClan was the only Clan that was represented by three apprentices and their leader.

"We came to learn from you. One of my old friends visited me and said he had met you on the way here. He said that he recognized some of the cats here and that they looked like cats that had either died or left our Clans long ago." He looked around and then spotted a white she-cat that he had never known in his lifetime, but Bluestar had once knew very well.

"Snowfur!" The she-cat looked at him in bewilderment.

"My name is Snowbird, not Snowfur." Everyone else in the patrol began to look around and screech names too, but none of the SandClan cats were actually them.

"Spottedleaf!"

"Oakheart!"

"Reedwhisker!"

"Firestar!" All the cats in the clearing looked frightened now. Were they just seeing things, or were they actually there?

"STOP! I can assure you, we have never met any of you before," the she-cat leader yowled. "Quit this nonsense or leave!"

"We're sorry," Mistystar dipped her head. "We would like to learn the ways of your Clan. Learning is good where we come from."

The sand-colored cat looked down at her.

"Very well. My name is Sandstar."

"I am Bramblestar," the leader purred.

"Mistystar," the blue-grey she-cat meowed.

"Onestar." Apparently he was too good for Sandstar, because he couldn't even look at her.

"My name is Blackstar." The tom seemed happier than usual.

"Nice to meet all of you. Let's get to learning."