AN; Well, I wasn't exactly planning on updating again today. And this chapter's mood might swing around a bit. I'm listening to an Imagine Dragons Pandora station, and my writing is sort of based off the mood of the music. I guess I sort of explained that already when you read that sad chapter with Stumpyfoot. Yeah... blame Battlestar Galactica's sad music with that one. Here is chapter 11. If you remember from earlier, you might already know what happens here. So, see 'yall at the end! Yahoo! Safe and Sound by Capital Cities is awesome. Listen to it. :) I'll let you know when a song changes so you know why mood might swing a bit.

Chapter 11

Fawnpaw paced the clearing as she waited for Ravenstar to exit. She knew that the black she-cat was likely to run down the apprentice's request. After all, Feathernose had already lost Smallpaw. Was it really right to let him lose his other apprentice as well? Besides, if she did gett her wish, Fawnpaw's mentor was likely to be Heatherwhisker, and the pale brown tom was thinking about retiring to the elders' den soon. She didn't want to disrupt his last few moons as a warrior by being his rambunctious apprentice. (Talk You Down, The Script)

She had told Gingerwhisker and Stonedrift, and of course her mother was heartbroken. The ginger and white she-cat had always dreamed of her daughter becoming a ground dasher like her, but Fawnpaw knew Stonedrift was proud. He had alwas wanted more cats to follow in his pawsteps. It had been a while since a ShadowClan tunnel runner had been leader, or deputy, even.

But Stonedrift was practically leader already. Everycat in the Clan knew Ravenstar was weakening, becoming older and older every day. Especially after the deaths of her two children, Quiettongue and Stumpyfoot, she must have been utterly horrified. Yet she seemed somewhat calmer after their deaths.

Fawnpaw looked up from her pacing. She had been staring at the ground, and now Riverpaw had entered the camp after a short walk to reflect on things. (Home, Phillip Phillips. Aww, yeah!) The gray tabby tom had been avoiding her for the past three days. He seemed upset about Smallpaw's decision to change. She hoped her changing of ranks might cheer him up, but it was doubtful.

Riverpaw had never been Fawnpaw's best friend, as he had almost been back in the nursery. He was always ignoring her when she talked to him. Fawnpaw was beginning to believe it was a hopeless love. Riverpaw was usually calm, but when he was angry, his anger swelled to his edges and seemed to spill out, filling the whole Clan. The gray tabby tom seemed to be living up to his name.

Surprisingly, he gave Fawnpaw a greeting nod before padding into the apprentices' den. (White Blank Page, Mumford and Sons) Acornpaw emerged, but her was shoved aside as his sad brother was going the other way. The reddish brown tom glanced sheepishly at Fawnpaw as he padded by, but when she didn't return the glance, he let his tail droop and drag unhappily on the ground. Fawnpaw wondered what was up with him. Was he okay? Please, StarClan let him not have a crush on Smallpaw as well!

But that idea didn't seem right. Acornpaw had never shown any interest in Fawnpaw's black and white sister. Now that she thought about it, Acornpaw didn't seem to talk to Copperpaw and Mosspaw that much either. He avoided her a lot, though. Does he hate me? Did I do something wrong? Of course these thoughts crossed young Fawnpaw's mind. But she couldn't think of anything she had done to make him angry at her. (Boston, Augustana) (OMG, this song is so perfect for an Acornpaw or Riverpaw POV right now! Too bad this is about Fawnpaw... :( )

Finally, Ravenstar emerged from her den beneath the roots of the tree that the Long Branch stuck out of. She was watching Fawnpaw, her gaze seemingly intent. The elderly leader had always been extremely interested in the youngest apprentices, but not so much as to really care about their personal lives. When the black she-cat gave Fawnpaw a nod, the brown apprentice jumped up excitedly. Was it now? Was she becoming a tunnel runner's apprentice? Her questions were answered as Ravenstar climbed slowly up to the Long Branch. She stumbled at one part, but quickly steadied herself.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather beneath the Long Branch for a Clan meeting!" she called, her voice quieter and weake sounding than usual. It shook with old age.

The Clan seemed slow as they emerged from their dens. Most of them were still recovering from the shock of Stumpyfoot's death, and even the kits, usually jumpy and excited, were slow and tired. Fawnpaw took her seat beside Riverpaw. Maybe it really was his sadness that was making the Clan like this. At least her had decided to show up at the meeting. Only Fawnpaw and Ravenstar, however, knew what was going on.

"Feathernose, I know you have just lost Smallpaw as your apprentice," Ravenstar began, her voice cracking as she spoke. (Look After You, The Fray. Wow. All these songs are seemingly... sad. huh.) "This meeting will be hard for you, as it involves Fawnpaw's decided destiny. She has chosen to stop her training as a ground dasher so that she may become a tunnel runner. Now, the decision for Fawnpaw's mentor took some thinking, and there was only one good choice. Heathernose, you are old. You say you will retire soon, so Fawnpaw will not be your apprentice. I hope your last moons as a warrior are lived in peace. Crowflight. You are too young. And you say you do not want an apprentice. Rockfall, you just became a warrior," she added as the dark gray and black tom opened his mouth to speak. "You're out of the question. I suppose my only choice is Stonedrift. May you pass on all your wonderful skills and qualities to young Fawnpaw."

Fawnpaw stared in surprise as her father stood up. He gave a small nod to the ShadowClan leader, bending down and touching noses with his daughter. Fawnpaw saw him give Gingerwhisker a slight smile, and her mother let out a purr as the Clan shouted her name. "Fawnpaw! Fawnpaw!"

The brown apprentice sat back down and looked up at her Clan leader, waiting to see if there were anymore announcements. "Also," she meowed. "Lakepaw, Acornpaw, and Riverpaw have reached the half-way mark in their training. Tomorrow I will assess their hunting and tracking skills, and Acornpaw will show me through a few of the tunnels that run through our territories. Snowheart and Tallwhisker, please prepare your apprentices for the assessment."

She flicked her white-tipped tail, and the Clan was dissmissed. Acornpaw was the first to speak to Fawnpaw, who was absolutely excited about beginning her tunnel runner training later that day or tomorrow. "Yes!" Acornpaw exclaimed as he approached her. "Now we can train together! You'll love the tunnels. Snowheart says that some of them were dug by the WindClan tunnelers back in the time of the Great Leaders." (Dirty Paws, Of Monsters and Men)

Fawnpaw nodded, listening intently. She was amazed that tunnels from the time of the Great Leaders were still standing. Usually tunnels collapsed after a pawful of seasons went by and their walls and floors wore away. The cats that had dug them clearly had taken care of those tunnels if they were still there.

"Well, I'm not surprised you two would start talking about the tunnels right away," Stonedrift purred as he approached. "Sorry, Acornpaw, but I'm going to have to take her off your paws now. We've got to see some of those tunnels, eh? But hey, Snowheart isn't training you today. You can tag along, if you'd like to. We won't mind, would we, Fawnpaw?"

The brown she-cat shook her head and followed the more experiences tunnel runners out of the camp. Stonedrift took her to where a small opening in the ground was in view. "Good thing us tunnel runners are so small, eh?" he meowed, looking back and winking at his daughter. Fawnpaw shrunk away in embarassment before ducking into the tunnel after her mentor and friend. They both clearly knew where they were going. (Run For Your Life, The Fray. Wow. They're pretty popular, huh?)

Inside, the tunnels were extremely dark. Fawnpaw asked her father to wait as she widened her eyes, taking in any light there was. Pretty soon, the tunnels began to lighten up a bit, and she followed the toms down the long tunnel. Fawnpaw felt the ground slope down beneath the large white paws, which would soon become permanently stained with dirt and mud and other dirty substances.

The tunnel soon opened up into a large room. "This is the main-frame of ShadowClan," Stonedrift explained as Fawnpaw came, blinking, into the brighter area. "Us tunnel runners keep a store of prey down here, and we use it to get to any other tunnels that run through our territory. That tunnel," he added, pointing at a tunnel that sloped slightly upward, "leads back into the ShadowClan camp. It's the one we'll be using tomorrow. And down that way," he continued, nodding to the tunnel Acornpaw was sitting beside, "goes underneath ThunderClan territory to a place they call the Sunningrocks. Stupid ThunderClanners. And RiverClanners, for that matter. Why they continue to fight over those useless rocks, I'll never know. We should be heading back. Your ceremony was quite late, and it'll be getting dark soon." (Kids, MGMT)

Acornpaw and Fawnpaw nodded in agreement, and they followed the gray deputy back down the tunnel from where they had come. Now that she knew how dark the tunnels were, she'd be ready tomorrow. Fawnpaw vowed to become the best tunnel runner the Clan had ever seen. Better, even, than her own father.

AN; Honestly, I have no idea how long that chapter was. I don't know if the mood changed like predicted either, though. Well, only four more chapter 'till you guys get to vote! Oh, I'm so excited! After this, though, I'm going to continue working on New Moon. Sadly, I'm deleting the stories I can't work on anymore. I just have too many! Funny. This is an Imagine Dragons station, yet I haven't heard one Imagine Dragons song yet. Wah! I wish it would just play Radioactive or It's Time already! Those are my favorites. What are yours? I'm interested in you guys! Oh, not in that way... Awkward! Well, I'll update later. Until then, peace! And happy Aussie Sunday!

~Greecexcats527