"Thieves!" Coalfur shouted across the border to the patrol of RiverClan cats.

"We did no such thing," a dark ginger tom shouted back. "That water vole was on our territory!"

"But it was killed on our territory," Amberpelt meowed, calmly, fixing the patrol leader, the tom, in a cold demanding glare. "You should never have crossed the border."

"Running past some scent markers doesn't change where the prey came from!" a black she-cat with white paws and a white smear up half her face called back. "Prey doesn't know about the borders!"

"But you do!" shouted Whiptail. "Which is why you have to obey them!"

"There's no way to tell where the prey came from originally," Cloudfrost meowed. "We can only judge based on where it was killed, and this vole was killed on WindClan territory." He pawed the piece of prey in question for emphasis.

Canyonpaw sat back with Silverpaw, watching nervously as the warriors argued. Neither apprentice felt it was their place to be part of this argument. Across the border, the RiverClan apprentices did not feel the same way. Both the amber-colored tom and the sleek gray tom were hissing and spitting at the WindClan patrol, which outnumbered them six to four.

"The odds are against you in this fight," Amberpelt meowed. "Not only do we have two more warriors than you, but you'd be up against the WindClan deputy." Her eyes sparkled with pride and mischief as she mentioned her title. Silverpaw could see that Amberpelt saw no problem in having a battle over this piece of prey.

Both patrols were at the edge of their territory and far from their camps; the number of cats would remain about the same if a battle broke out. WindClan had the upper hand. And we're right, Silverpaw added to herself.

"Don't be so sure," the dark tabby tom hissed. "Just because you're the deputy doesn't mean you're better than us."

"Everything is fine as it stands," Cloudfrost meowed, drawing the vole closer to him. "You are on your side of the border, and we are on ours. The prey is where it belongs. Go home."

"That vole is ours!" the black she-cat yowled, her claws digging into the ground.

"Are you willing to fight fore one measly vole?" Coalfur asked.

"RiverClan will fight for whatever is ours!" the gray apprentice jeered.

Silverpaw extended her claws and fixed the apprentice in her gaze. When the battle broke out, this was her target. It would be her first real battle; nervousness fluttered in her belly like a hundred buzzing bees, but she quelled it with the overwhelming anticipation of a real fight.

"Then you have no quarrel with us," Amberpelt said to the apprentice. "This vole is ours, leave."

The dark tabby flicked his tail and leapt at Amberpelt. The WindClan deputy reared back to dodge and Coalfur and Cloudfrost moved in from either side of her to pin the RiverClan warrior down.

"Fishpaw, get help!" the black she-cat cried before hurtling herself into the battle.

The gray apprentice nodded and raced off.

Silverpaw gasped. That apprentice was going to he her target. And if he went to get help, the battle could quickly turn in RiverClan's favor. Without even thinking, Silverpaw lunged across the border after Fishpaw.

"Silverpaw, wait!" Amberpelt cried, but she was attacked by the black she-cat, and could not do any more to stop her apprentice.

Silverpaw pelted on, gaining steadily on the RiverClan apprentice. He was much slower than a rabbit, and Silverpaw knew this chase would be easy. Suddenly her paws began to slip and became heavier with each step. The ground underpaw was getting wet and boggy the deeper they went into RiverClan territory.

Fishpaw bounded along, running among the reeds that grew in the marshy land. Silverpaw attempted to follow in his pawsteps, but could not keep a steady pace in doing so. The RiverClan apprentice's experience beat her here. "Now I know why his name starts with 'fish,'" she muttered, "only a fish could stand this nasty land!"

Up ahead, Silverpaw saw a dark tangled mass. At first she ignored it, focusing on not drowning on land. As she got closer, she could see that it was the roots of the tree bridge; they were near the island. Silverpaw had no idea how far the RiverClan camp was from the Gathering place, but the marshy lands couldn't go that much further, could they?

They passed the tree bridge and Fishpaw began to veer away from the lakeshore. Silverpaw was relieved, thinking that the going would soon be easier. The ground underpaw began to get a little firmer and Silverpaw could see an area up ahead where the reeds were gone and guessed that was solid ground. Fishpaw leapt onto the reed-less area and took off with a burst of speed.

Silverpaw pushed on with all her might, getting slowly closer to solid ground. Fishpaw was getting further out of sight, since his route was now much easier. Finally, Silverpaw felt grass and firmness underpaw. With a leap, she tore off over the land after Fishpaw. Her paws pounded hard on the ground, but the blood pulsed in her ears even louder and stronger. She dug her claws into the earth with each step, pulling herself faster along, closing the gap with the RiverClan apprentice.

A squeak of fear escaped Fishpaw's mouth as he turned his head and saw how close Silverpaw was to him. "Fox-hearted WindClan cats!" he cried.

"Thieving RiverClan apprentices!" Silverpaw hissed, snapping her jaws at Fishpaw's tail, which was barely out of reach.

Fishpaw squealed again and pulled his tail closer to himself, but he could do nothing more to save himself.

Silverpaw leapt forward and bowled the RiverClan apprentice over. The pair rolled on the ground, hissing and spitting. Silverpaw wasn't sure what she had wanted to do anymore. She knew she couldn't let him get back to camp and bring help. Was she just supposed to slow him down until Amberpelt could drive off the rest of the patrol?

Fishpaw lashed out for her throat. Silverpaw reared back like she had seen Amberpelt do against the RiverClan tabby. Fishpaw snapped at her underbelly which was right in front of him now. Startled, Silverpaw dropped down on top of the other apprentice, pushing off with her hind legs, trying to get over him. Fishpaw, in turn, reared up, flipping Silverpaw over his back. Silverpaw put her forepaws out to stop herself, but landed mostly on her head then flipped to her back.

She laid there, partially winded, while Fishpaw whirled around and stood over her. He raised a paw, claws gleaming in the afternoon sun, to slash her. Silverpaw gasped and rolled to the side just in time.

"What's the matter?" Fishpaw hissed, "can't defend yourself? That's all you WindClan cats are good for, running away!"

"Good thing I'm good at running," Silverpaw panted, rising to her paws, "otherwise I wouldn't 've caught you."

"You've only caught a world of hurt!" Fishpaw yowled, lunging at her again.

Silverpaw was caught slightly off guard, and leapt to the side, landing awkwardly and collapsing. Fishpaw was on her in an instant, standing over her so she couldn't attack or flee.

"I'll teach you to chase me!" Fishpaw hissed.

"I don't need you to teach me!" Silverpaw spat, her many bouts with the WindClan apprentices teaching her to always be ready with an insult, "you're no good at it anyway!"

Pure rage flashed in Fishpaw's eyes and he pulled his paw back to strike.

"Fishpaw!" the yowl froze both apprentices in mid-battle. Silverpaw was relieved for it, until she saw where it had come from.

The RiverClan patrol was returning to the camp, looking battered and beaten, Amberpelt had won.

"What, I caught her!" Fishpaw said, getting off Silverpaw. "Isn't this a good thing."

"We lost," the other apprentice sighed. "Let her go."

"Now no one said that," the tabby warrior in the lead said, eyes flashing with triumph.

"You can't keep me here!" Silverpaw spat, scrambling frantically to her paws. "Amberpelt 'll save me!"

"Not in time," a deep mew came from behind Silverpaw, making her whirl around with a start.

Standing there was the large black tom that had sat beside the roots at Gatherings. The RiverClan deputy, Largebelly.

"Largebelly," the black she-cat gasped, "what are you doing here?"

"I thought I heard fighting cats," Largebelly replied. "And I was right. Good work, Fishpaw. This apprentice will make a good hostage."

Silverpaw's eyes widened with terror. She was going to be a prisoner to an enemy Clan! No! This can't happen! she thought, desperately. She tensed her muscles to run away, but she was getting tired. There was no way she could out run them over that nasty land near the border. If they were anywhere near as good as Fishpaw, she would be doomed. No! I have to go back! Amberpelt will worry! And I was going to see Tigerstripe after this! I have to get back!

"Now, are you going to come quietly?" Largebelly demanded. "I would hate to have to kill you. So young, it'd be quite a shame." He flexed his claws, examining them with confidence as he did. "And aren't you a friend of one of our apprentices? Dapplepaw, right? Would you like to see her? You can spend nights in the apprentice's den with her until we sort things out with WindClan."

"S…sort things out?" Silverpaw mewed tentatively.

"Well they're going to have to give us some territory to get you back," Largebelly meowed. "Lillystar will have to renegotiate the border with Stormstar."

Silverpaw trembled as the RiverClan warriors moved closer to her. Not only did the power of the older cats scare her, but she did not like the idea of casing so much trouble for her Clan one bit.

"Let's take her in," Largebelly commanded. "Nice an easy," he said, but his sly grin betrayed a mockery signifying that he could care less about her well-being.

Silverpaw stifled a whimper as the RiverClan warriors moved in even closer, this time not stopping. Her instincts and her mind telling her to run, but after chasing Fishpaw and then fighting him, she doubted that she could escape. I won't go down without a fight! she thought, confidently, but not a real fight. She wondered if there was a way around the boggy land between her location and home; there was no way she could outrun RiverClan warriors in her current condition through a place like that. But I don't have the energy to run around looking for a way. And what if there is no way?

She crouched down and bunched her muscles as if she was going to attack the RiverClan warriors closing in on her. Their confident smirks told her they knew that attack was futile. Fishpaw in particular seemed overjoyed with this outcome.

Silverpaw's eyes flashed around from cat to cat. The patrol was closing in on her left, and Largebelly stood alone on the right, moving in with the others. Silverpaw knew what she had to do. Forcing all her energy into a leaping start, Silverpaw darted to the right, straight passed Largebelly.

Caught off guard, the RiverClan deputy lunged for her, but she nimbly dodged his massive paw. "After her!" he cried.

The RiverClan warriors raced past him in pursuit of Silverpaw, but Largebelly remained there. Silverpaw guessed the deputy did very little running.

Silverpaw kept her eyes focused ahead looking for any signs of trouble: a patrol, marshy land, anything. She also hoped to keep her mind off her aching paws, but even she could not ignore the painful screeches that seemed to come from her muscles with every step. Pain pulsed through her legs and she feared her paws would suddenly refuse to go further and she would fall. She dug her claws into the hard earth in an attempt to pull herself further along. She yowls and thudding paws of the RiverClan patrol were steadily fading, but Silverpaw didn't dare stop or even slow.

She bounded over a rise with ease and hesitated at the top. A wave of horrible smells washed over her before she even reached the crest of the hill. She easily identified the tang of the Thunderpath and the reek of ShadowClan, but there was another scent that reached her, one she had yet to identify. She peered down from the hilltop and saw quite a few strange sights. First there was a Thunderpath, but it went right into the lake. Upon closer inspection, she saw that the black stuff that made up the Thunderpath did not go all the way, but stopped at what looked like a very small Twoleg nest. After the nest she saw what must be a Twoleg halfbridge; there was one in WindClan territory as well, but it was broken.

Silverpaw's ears twitched as the yowls of her pursuers reached them. Without a second thought, she darted down the slope and slipped underneath a Twoleg monster that was crouched beside the Thunderpath. She crawled on her belly until she was under the Twoleg monster that crouched on the other side of the first one. It's belly was hot, and Silverpaw recoiled back suddenly when her fur brushed against it. She ducked behind one of its massive black paws and peered out under the first. She could just barely see the top of the slope. Four cats appeared on the crest and Silverpaw could just make out their meows over the occasional yowl of a Twoleg.

"Her trail leads down there," the light meow of the black she-cat came first.

There was a hiss, then the deeper meow of a tom. "She's either crossed the border or got caught by the Twolegs. Either way, there's no more we can do. We'll have to report this to Largebelly."

The paws of the cats turned and headed back the way they had came; all but one set. Silverpaw could tell from the gray fur and the smaller size of the paws that they belonged to Fishpaw. He let out a hiss towards Silverpaw before bounding away after his Clanmates.

Silverpaw breathed a sigh of relief. But how long until she could head home? The wind was blowing towards RiverClan territory, so as soon as she left the safety of the jumble of scents, the RiverClan patrol would be on her in an instant. Should she just keep going the way she was going? She'd reach WindClan soon enough.

The monster beside her came to life with an ear-splitting roar. Nearly leaping out of her fur, Silverpaw tore off away from the monster as fast as he legs could carry her, her past exhaustion forgotten. She raced across the black stuff that made up the Thunderpath and dove into the covering of some bushes. She heard the startled gasps of Twolegs as she ran past, but didn't even bother to look up.

Safe at last in the undergrowth, Silverpaw sat, panting heavily. This was much more exercise than she was used to, and it was definitely more frightening. A scuffling on the ground drew her attention, and in response pangs of hunger gripped her belly.

But this is RiverClan's territory, Silverpaw thought, I can't steal their prey. She remembered the reason she had gotten in this mess in the first place. Again, hunger pains surged through her. Who knows how long it'll be before I get home and get to have some fresh-kill. RiverClan was just here, so there's no way they'd catch me. Besides, what's one little squirrel?

She dropped into the crouch her mother had taught her so long ago, and began to stalk the prey. She was amazed at how sloppy she had become at forest hunting since her days as a rouge when she had hunted in both ThunderClan and WindClan territory. Still, the squirrel didn't scurry away, and as Silverpaw peeked out from the bush, she could see its fluffy brown tail.

She bunched her muscles and wriggled her hunches--a kit-like habit she had yet to break. The pangs of hunger seemed to intensify with the anticipation of catching something. She sprang and pinned the back half of the squirrel in her forepaws.

"Back off, prey-stealer!" came a hiss so close, Silverpaw could feel the breath of the cat.

Silverpaw looked up and was face-to-face with a snarling, brown tabby she-cat. Following the apprentice's forepaws, she saw that they had ensnared the front half of the squirrel. Mouse-dung!

The apprentice's fury faded only slightly as confusion arose. "What's a WindClan cat doing all the way over here!"

"I…it's a long story," Silverpaw mewed, unhooking her claws from the apprentice's catch. "I'm just trying to get home."

"Doesn't look like it!" sneered a dark gray tom as he and three other warriors approached the two apprentices. "Looks like you were stealing!"

"I…I'm sorry," Silverpaw nervously studied her paws. "I know I shouldn't, but I was so hungry. You're not gonna take me to Lillystar, are you?"

The four cats looked at her like she had just grown a second tail. Silverpaw was equally as confused with what she had said or done. Finally the cream-colored she-cat, Oatleaf, spoke.

"This is ShadowClan territory," she said. "We're taking you to Phantomstar."