Sorry it took so long to get up, but I've been swamped with school projects lately. Well, thank-you to Lugirox, Darkness of the Eclipse, Silverstream rox, feirce fire, Kawakage, Hawkfire111, and CindyKayla (another new reviewer :3) for reviewing. I hope you like it, it's a big battle chapter, and one ThunderClan warrior dies...but it's during a major battle, and isn't of The Artist's doing.

Chapter Eleven

Hawkpaw crashed through the undergrowth as quickly as possible. Cindershadow was still back there, possibly having to face three skilled WindClan warriors.

His paws carried him as quickly as they could, but camp was still ages away. Hawkpaw shut his eyes tightly, and continued running. As he climbed up a ravine, he snagged his claw on a root, sending him tumbling.

Dead leaves and sand went flying as he landed on his back. This sent him into a coughing fit, and his head hurt. Shaking it off, he got back up to his paws, and winced as he put wait on the damaged paw.

Blood was oozing from the wound, making a small puddle where he stood. "Great StarClan," he hissed, and gave his paw a few licks, and carried on. He ignored the pain that shot up through his leg each time he placed it on the ground.

If Cindershadow were in danger, he'd make sure that he helped her out. Just the thought of WindClan warriors invading ThunderClan land made his fur crawl, and a bile rise in his throat.

His eyes were narrowed as he pushed through the dense brush, and the brambles tugged at his pelt. He stepped on something sharp along the way, but he didn't notice any continual pain, so he figured it was nothing.

At last, the gorse tunnel came into view. He pushed through it and yowled, "Bramblestar, Bramblestar, WindClan have invaded!"

Bramblestar sprang up from his position at the fresh-kill pile, and nodded. He gathered the cats together, and flicked his tail for Hawkpaw to come over. "What exactly happened?"

"Cindershadow and I were hunting by the WindClan border, and we saw a few warriors cross the border. We couldn't handle them alone, so she sent me up here to get help," he explained, panting.

"I understand. Rainwhisker, Whitewing, Squirrelflight, Birchfall, go to the border and fight," he mewed, and the four cats dashed out of camp. Hawkpaw's fur was bristling, and he wondered if he would be chosen to help fight.

Over the quarter moon of rain, he had had three battling sessions with his father. Brightheart had decided to quit with battle training, because the techniques she used were very different from the techniques he should learn.

That meant that he was more powerful than before, and could be of use during a battle.

"I'll lead a second patrol," Bramblestar continued. "Thornclaw, Ashfur, Berryleaf, Mouseclaw, and Hawkpaw, you'll come with me. When WindClan is winning, we'll spring out and defeat them!"

Hawkpaw let off a purr, his claws itched, his first battle! He couldn't wait! It seemed strange that he wanted to fight; it was somehow in his blood. I am Tigerstar's grandson. He figured.

Bramblestar's patrol padded down the ravine after the first patrol. Hawkpaw led them to the exact site where he had seen the WindClan intruders. Rainwhisker's battle cry erupted into the air, and echoed through the territory.

Hawkpaw's blood ran cold as he realized that he could kill a cat. Not at that exact moment, but later in his training, he might have to kill. I guess I don't get that from my grandfather, he thought.

On Bramblestar's orders, Hawkpaw crept forward, and saw a horrible sight. There were five ThunderClan warriors battling against at least ten WindClan warriors. He narrowed his blue eyes, and dashed back over to Bramblestar.

"We're losing, we have to help," he panted. "Five to ten, we'll lose if we don't fight!"

Bramblestar nodded, a hint of knowledge in his amber eyes. "Alright, ThunderClan is losing on our own soil. Let's give these WindClan warrior's a fight they will remember!"

The patrol yowled their approval, and flooded into the clearing. Hawkpaw was confused by the screeching of cats, and the flying of fur. In the writhing mass of fangs and claws, Hawkpaw could barely tell who his enemy was.

Claws hit Hawkpaw on the back of the head, and he stumbled down. Regaining his focus, he turned to face a wiry brown she-cat. She was smaller than him, but he remembered that WindClan cats were born smaller, so she was probably his age.

"Kittypet lovers!" she spat. "You must be the kin of Bramblestar, Hawkpaw right? Yeah, well you're part kittypet too, worthless trash that shouldn't even be in the forest!"

Her heather blue eyes were narrowed, and her fur was raised along her spine. Her claws connected with his cheek, and in his startled state, he didn't feel the pain.

At last, the pain set in, and he saw a chunk of his fur hit the ground. The battle was now on, and he wouldn't give in. His size was superior to her, but his agility was no match for hers.

He threw himself at her, and landed on dirt and thorns. Hawkpaw let off a light hiss, and caught the she-cat with his hind claws. She stumbled for enough of a moment for him to retaliate.

His fangs connected with her leg, and she squealed in pain. Blood gushed out of the wound, and splattered onto the brown and green ground. This only seemed to make the she-cat angrier.

She stood up on her hind legs, and brought her front paws down on him. They were thorn sharp, and stung as they connected with his head. An oak tree loomed nearby, and Hawkpaw seized it as an opportunity.

He lowered his head down a bit, and charged forward. The she-cat crashed into the tree, and a sickening crunch soon followed. She fell limp for a moment, and then blinked her blue eyes open.

"You really are a brutal murderer, just as my mother told me," she spat, and hauled herself up onto her paws.

A wave of guilt crashed over Hawkpaw, and he stepped forward. "Do you need any help?" he asked, his eyes clouding.

"No help from you. The most you can do for me is to rot in The Place of No Stars," she hissed. "Heathertail was right, you are filth."

"Lionpaw, are you all right?" a dark gray tabby tom with amber eyes asked the she-cat.

"Fine, father, I'll be fine," she mewed back, and walked off.

Hawkpaw blinked a few times to clear his head, and then turned back to the battle. A ginger tom was overpowering Cindershadow, and Hawkpaw began to grow angrier.

He dashed over to the she-cat, and she nodded in response, whispering, "Let's teach him a lesson."

Hawkpaw remembered the moves they had used in a combo against Bramblestar during one of his battle training days. From the look in her blue eyes, Hawkpaw knew that they were going to use that move.

Cindershadow lunged towards his neck, and distracted the tom, while Hawkpaw dashed underneath of him. He began fiercely clawing at the tom's exposed underbelly, and he let out a caterwaul of pain.

Soon, Hawkpaw couldn't breathe. He realized that the tom had dropped all of his weight on top of the young apprentice. "Get off of him!" Cindershadow shrieked, and clawed harshly at his sides.

The tom didn't give up, though, and in turn, raked his claws down Hawkpaw's back with his hind legs. Everything was starting to go fuzzy for Hawkpaw.

Black spots gathered in his eyes, and he could see a bright light. As the spots clouded up more and more of his vision, the light was being blocked out too. He yearned to go towards the light, and prayed he could.

In a split second, his vision snapped back, and he was back in the forest. Cindershadow's fangs were connected to the tom's neck, and blood was oozing down from the wound.

Cindershadow let out a shriek, realizing what she had just done. "Oh no," she cried, looking down at the lifeless tom. This had been the first time she had ever killed, and that was the truth.

Now in hysteria, she collapsed onto the ground, a choking ball of sadness. Hawkpaw nudged her back onto her paws, and whispered, "Go back to camp, we'll be alright."

She nodded, and made her way back up to camp. Hawkpaw let off a purr, feeling that there was truth in his words, but in reality, there was not. As he faced the battle once more, he realized that he had been horribly mistaken.

He saw one ThunderClan warrior lying in a pool of blood, and several others fleeing away, horribly wounded. The worst of all was his mother, Squirrelflight. A broad-shouldered WindClan tom was fiercely damaging her.

Hawkpaw let out a screech of fury and dashed over to his mother's aide. He head-butted the tom, and bowled him over. Blinded by anger, he was clawing through the tom's fur, gray patches flying everywhere.

Finally he realized that he had won, and he stepped off.

"H-Hawkfrost?" the tom whispered, his amber eyes full of nervousness and fear. "I thought you died, there were rumors that you had a lover, but, oh StarClan, save me!"

With his tail between his legs, the tom dashed back towards the WindClan border. Bramblestar's yowl silenced everything in the clearing. "Retreat, ThunderClan, retreat!"

All of the cats looked up from battle, and the ThunderClan cats, dashed away. One stumbled over the body of the dead cat, and she grabbed him by the scruff, aided by another to drag him back to camp.

Hawkpaw let out a sigh, and followed his leader back to camp. He took one glance back at the MoonPool stream, and saw WindClan cats spraying every tree and every fern with their scent.

The battle had been lost, and so had their territory. With all of the recent deaths, ThunderClan had grown weak.

Hawkpaw was only eight and a quarter moons old. He wouldn't become a warrior for another four, maybe even five moons. It took a long time, and it would be ages before ThunderClan was back to its strong and bold state.

Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it. Please review, and I'll try to update soon. I'm going on a skiing trip tomorrow, so I might be typing on the drive up to the mountain. Well, please review, and ~Sayonara~!