**Okay, so I have to be honest, this is not my favorite chapter I've written thus far. I don't particularly like it. Hopefully YOU guys like it! :) Other news, I think starting from this chapter forward, I'm going to start doing Warriors Trivia with each chapter I post! You can write your answer to the trivia in the reviews (as well as a review of the story!) Thanks guys for reading and enjoying!**

(Trivia below)

Chapter 10

Talonpaw was on edge from the moment they left the gathering a few nights before. There was something going on in the forests, and no one knew what it was. Traps everywhere, cats going missing. Everytime she thought about it, her whole body went cold. She wasn't the only one, either. The whole clan had changed. Breezepaw was still recovering in the medicine cat den, and there was no real word if she would actually make it through. She hadn't been conscious since the accident, but her breathing had evened out, and her wounds were beginning to scab up and heal. Whitesnake was hopeful, but he didn't want to get anyone's hopes up. No one was allowed outside of the clan in groups smaller than three, and apprentices had to have warriors with them at all times. Harepaw was miserable, blaming himself for not being able to stop Breezepaw from being hurt. Everyone else was concerned for Sootpaw.

Talonpaw was sitting in front of the apprentices den, staring out across the clearing, trying to collect her thoughts. Training had been halted, until the apprentices that were missing were found. Cobrastar didn't think it was smart to be off guard in the training hollow, not when danger was around. The only time cats left the camp were for border patrols, and Vipertooth had initiated a new patrol to track down all the traps in the territory to try and break them all, so no more cats got hurt. Talonpaw hadn't been out of camp since the gathering, four days before. She had visited Breezepaw earlier, leaving the den disappointed that her friend was still asleep. Harepaw was out now, on one of the patrols. She sighed. She had never heard of anything like this happening in the forest. There were no stories or legends passed down through the clan. For the most part, the only danger the clans had were to themselves. Now, there was an outside threat. It was even more important that the clans stopped fighting now. There was no way they could fight off whatever was out there, when they were fighting each other.

"You look like you've got a lot on your mind," Talonpaw jumped at the voice interrupting her thoughts. When she looked up, she saw Longspot standing over her.

"I'm just thinking about everything that is going on right now," she said quietly, shrugging. Longspot nodded, taking a seat next to her and drew a paw over his face slowly.

"It's terrible. Poor Sootpaw."

"Poor everyone. The ones who were hurt in the traps...and the missing apprentices. It's awful." Talonpaw frowned, shifting uncomfortably in her spot, her mind trailing to the problem again.

"Don't worry, Talonpaw. I'll protect you," Longspot teased, bumping her with his shoulder and looking at her with a glint in his eye.

Talonpaw felt her fur get hot at his words. Since she had been in the clan, her interactions with Longspot had gotten much friendlier than the other cats in the clan. She was really close with Breezepaw and Harepaw, but with Longspot it was different. She felt nervous around him, and when he came and talked to her, it felt like her problems would just start to float away, with one look. She shuffled her paws, trying not to let it known that she had a little crush. Not only did she feel like he didn't return those feelings, she felt guilty for having them. She wasn't here to meet anyone, even if he did make her feel like she was floating in the clouds, she wouldn't be in this clan forever, she didn't need to make permanent...friends.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Maybe you can eat another trap," she teased. "How's your stomach by the way?"

"Hey! It was a legitimate method!" Longspot defended himself, cuffing her over the ears, but his eyes were glittering with amusement.

"Well-" Talonpaw began, but she was interrupted.

"Longspot," it was Molewhisker, approaching from the warriors den. Her tailtip was flicking, and she sent Talonpaw a weird look. "Vipertooth wants us on a patrol. She said we can choose who our third is."

"Okay, sure. What're we patrolling this time?" Longspot asked, standing up.

"She wants us to start by the RavenClan border and go up towards LionClan, looking for traps."

"Sounds great. Talonpaw, do you want to come with us?" Longspot asked, looking down at her, and she could have swore there was a hopeful glint there. Another rush of heat washed over her, but she nodded. Before she could respond, however, Molewhisker spoke again.

"Wait, I was going to ask Squirrelnose-"

"Why bother Squirrelnose? Talonpaw's right here, and she wants to go." Longspot shrugged. "I want her to come."

"Oh, you do?" Molewhisker nodded, her tone curt. She shot another weird look at Talonpaw, but didn't say anything else. She shifted to face the entrance of camp, her tail lashing now, and began to walk away. Longspot watched her for a moment and then turned back to Talonpaw, looking confused. Talonpaw shook her head. She could guess what was bothering Molewhisker, but she didn't want to say anything. It was too embarrassing. Besides, it didn't even matter. Molewhisker didn't have anything to worry about.

"Let's go," she said instead, taking off after Molewhisker.

After leaving camp, the trio walked in silence for a while. Molewhisker led the way through the undergrowth, and Longspot took up the rear. Talonpaw kept her ears pricked, listening for anything that might be trouble for the patrol. Every once in a while, Molewhisker would send resentful looks over her shoulder, but never said anything. They reached the RavenClan border without any words, and they investigated around every bush and tree, making sure there were no traps nearby. Talonpaw got a faint scent of two-legs - something she was familiar with, since the two-legs lived on the other side of her home territory - but it seemed like the two-leg had just been passing through. They hadn't left anything in its wake. Talonpaw still couldn't help the cold shiver that went down her back.

"Scary, isn't it?" Longspot whispered behind her, and she jumped. "Sorry."

"It's okay. You're right. No matter how much we try to joke it off, this is so scary. Two apprentices are missing," Talonpaw agreed, looking around the forest. Molewhisker was snuffling through a bush nearby, her ears pricked up, probably eavesdropping.

"Does it make you miss home?" Longspot wondered.

"Not necessarily home," Talonpaw admitted. "I'm worried for my friends."

"Me too. Everytime a patrol is out for too long, I wonder if they're going to come back at all," Longspot said quietly, his tail drooping into the dirt. "At least no one in LionClan has been hurt by the traps."

"That's not their fault-" Talonpaw began hotly, but he stopped her with a soft look.

"I'm sorry, that's not what I meant," Longspot reassured her. "Talonpaw, can I talk to you about something? Something a little personal?"

"Sure," Talonpaw nodded.

"See...I have this problem…" Longspot began, looking around awkwardly. "There's someone in the clan that...I…"

"Guys, let's go. This area is obviously clear," Molewhisker said suddenly. Her tone was sharp, and her eyes felt sharper than the teeth of the traps. Talonpaw actually felt scared under her gaze, like the other she-cat was going to leap on her and tear her to shreds. "Longspot, do you think you can scout ahead a little bit? Make sure we aren't caught off guard by something?"

Longspot shot Talonpaw a quick look, but nodded.

"Sure, Molewhisker." he looked one more time at Talonpaw, and she felt her skin prickle at the gaze, and then he bounded off. Molewhisker glared at Talonpaw one more time, and then turned to follow. Talonpaw frowned, kind of wanting to tear the other she-cat to shreds now, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she followed the other two in silence. She should have just stayed at camp. There was too much going on in the clans right now for her to be worried about anything like this. All she wanted to focus on was making sure the clan was safe, and no one else got bitten by those traps.

A few days later, the clan was struck with good news. Breezepaw had finally woken up, and she seemed to be in good spirits. The clan praised Whitesnake, and they praised Harepaw as well. If he hadn't gotten her back to camp so soon, who knew if she would have survived! The apprentice's spirits lifted tremendously after this. The only problem was that Sootpaw was still missing, and that was still a dampening on the mood. Still, no one was allowed out without two buddies. Apprentices were able to begin training again, but only for a short period of time every few days. Cobrastar was still a little on edge about everything. Talonpaw was just relieved Breezepaw had finally woken up.

"So, did you have any dreams? Like weird dreams?" Talonpaw asked Breezepaw. She was laying down beside of her friends nest in the medicine cat den, sharing tongues with her, and talking.

"I don't remember anything! The last thing I remember is talking to Harepaw about what a pain in the tail Vipertooth is, and then I woke up in here, feeling really sore." Breezepaw answered, shrugging. "I don't even remember the trap biting me!"

"That's so lucky, though. You didn't feel any of the pain,"

"I guess. It's a little unsettling, that I was out for so long," Breezepaw admitted. "And I remember nothing. It's weird."

"It was good though. That way Whitesnake was able to treat you without any interruptions," Talonpaw said.

"And Sootpaw's missing?" Breezepaw continued like Talonpaw hadn't said anything. "He's so energetic, and really loyal. He's way in over his head, anyways. He thinks he has the power to solve everything. He's been like that since the nursery,"

"He sounds like a great addition to the clan-"

"Reckless is not a great addition. That's all he is, is reckless," Breezepaw sighed, her eyes filling with sadness. "But his heart is so good. That's what makes him a great addition."

"You two must have been close," Talonpaw observed.

"Sootpaw kind of had trouble with Harepaw and Ashpaw. He has a little too much energy for them, but he's still so young. I felt bad for him, he's really sweet,"

"Hey, they'll find him. Don't worry," Talonpaw assured her friend, laying her tail across Breezepaw's spine. "He'll be back here safe and sound."

"Okay, Breezepaw needs some rest now, Talonpaw,"

Talonpaw looked up to see Whitesnake entering the den, his eyes gentle. Talonpaw nodded to him respectfully, looking at her friend and giving her a quick lick on the ear good-bye, and then shuffled out of the den. It was nearing night now, the sun already having sunk beneath the treetops. She looked around the clearing. Longspot was lounging with Sandfur by the warriors den, sharing tongues over a half-eaten vole. He spotted her looking at him, and waved his tail, inviting her over to join them. She quickly looked away, pretending she hadn't seen it. She hadn't really spoken to him since the patrol with Molewhisker. It had been too awkward and complicated, she didn't need to worry about romance anyway. There was too much going on right now, and all she needed to focus on was learning about this clan so she could go home. Home… she thought to herself. Feels so different to say it now.

Home meant something different to her. It pained her to admit it, but now when she thought of the word, her mind did not go back to LionClan. She didn't have any clear vision in her mind with the word. It was just a word she used now, that meant nothing. She was confused. Her friends, her family, they were all back in LionClan...but for some reason she didn't feel like that's where her heart was anymore. It felt like she was born in the wrong clan, she had made the wrong friends. It was the worst feeling for her, to have everything she'd once known to be true, ripped out of her and changed. Maybe it was easier to live with SnakeClan, but she didn't want it to be. She wanted to love LionClan. She was loyal to LionClan, but her heart seemed just as confused as her head was. She sighed, trudging over to the apprentices den to try and take a nap. Her head was starting to hurt with everything going on in her mind, she needed to rest. She slipped into the apprentices den, finding it empty, and her shoulders sagged in relief. Thank goodness, she thought, curling up into her nest. Let's dream of fat rabbits and swimming! She thought hopefully to herself as her eyes closed, and she fell asleep.

**Question 1: We'll start easy. Who are Whitestorm's parents?**