Ooh, Stormcloud MUST be plotting something!!! ;) Why else would she seem so out-of-character??? ;3

I PROBABLY won't be writing the next chapter today; we'll just have to wait.... and see. ;3 I WILL try to update 100 Tales, though. ;)

ANYWAYS, I hope you like it! Enjoy! :D :3 :) :)

Chapter 11: Arguing

Windypaw stared. "Wait, but…. what?! This was supposed to be my and Smallpaw's first dawn patrol!" Her voice rose to a shrill wail.

"Yes, but there are other things to life, too; rather than doing the dawn patrol and risking the chance that he will die or suddenly wake up and attack us all, why don't you guard him and make sure he doesn't do that?" Stormcloud purred.

"O-Okay," Windypaw stammered.

"Brilliant," Stormcloud purred.

Smallpaw stared desperately at Windypaw. She stared back. Windypaw could imagine him thinking, But what if he wakes up and kills us? We're not experienced fighters!

Miraculously, Mousefur stepped in at that very moment.

"You don't have full control here, Stormcloud," she mewed menacingly, glaring at the younger warrior. "You obviously haven't thought of what would happen if he woke up and decided to try to take over the territory. These two young apprentices would be no match for him—he could just kill them and go off on his own. And we need these apprentices; besides, how do you think Windypaw's mother would feel if she died?" She paced back and forth in front of Stormcloud. "Since you seem so eager to protect the territory, you can guard the injured cat."

Stormcloud's eyes widened. "But—what?!" she gasped. "You are not the deputy! You don't have as much authority over me as you think you do! We're equals!"

"Ah, that's where you're wrong, my friend," Mousefur purred. "Since I am older than you, I know what's best and what Creamstar would want. Creamstar wouldn't be too happy if he found out that one of his youngest warriors made a bad decision and two of his apprentices were killed, and I did nothing about it!"

"But we're more experienced with this dawn patrol stuff!" Stormcloud argued.

"But I'm more experienced with what Creamstar would want!" Mousefur hissed.

"QUIET!!!" Windypaw's yowl startled the two she-cats out of their fight. "Nothing is accomplished if we just keep fighting. Absolutely nothing!" Her eyes blazed blue fire. "I'm pretty sure that Smallpaw and I can handle Hawkfrost, if you really want to go on the dawn patrol, Stormcloud. Right, Smallpaw?"

Smallpaw trembled slightly. "Er…. right. We'll be f-fine."

Mousefur stiffened slightly. "You think so?"

"Yes; we'll be fine," Windypaw assured her. "Just…. you can go, now; and we'll alert you if anything's wrong. Okay?"

"Okay," Mousefur murmured. One could see that she was having second thoughts about all this. "You can stay, and guard him. You do realize that you'll be missing out on your first dawn patrol, right? You should be—mmph!"

Stormcloud had covered her mouth with a paw. "Let's just get going," she snarled. "No time to waste."

"Um—okay," Mousefur muttered. "Just let go of me already!" She whirled away from Stormcloud and started walking off. "Be safe!" she called back, over her shoulder.

"We will!" Smallpaw and Windypaw chorused.

The two she-cats went sauntering off along the border, bickering playfully.

Smallpaw and Windypaw sat down beside the injured cat's body to wait.