Hiya! It's Mystic here and here is a long chapter for you guys. I've started school so updates will be less frequent (HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE!) and I'm really sorry but I have to actuall do the homework this year. *rolls eyes* DO YOUR HOMEWORK PEOPLE! I went to a Panic! At The Disco concert a few days ago and I got this awesome shirt and overall it was amazing! Unfortunately I missed Brendon Urie doing a backflip so that sucks. WHY DID I TIE MY SHOOELACE AT THE EXACT WRONG MOMENT!

Thanks to my reviewers!

Chapter 33

Dawnpaw's POV

Dawnpaw watched as Cloverpaw walked to the gathering as Dawnpaw sat in the camp. Redpaw sat near some of the warriors that hadn't gone to the gathering. Why can't I go? Oh wait… Dawnpaw remembered when she had accused the ShadeClan leader of killing cats and by the way she had reacted, Dawnpaw was knew she was right. Sunstar had killed a cat but who?

"Hey Dawnpaw" a silver tabby meowed walking slowly up to her large belly swinging as she approached.

"Hi Leafp- Leafbreeze" she meowed correcting herself. "How are you?"

"I'm okay. As you probably know by now-"

"I know" Dawnpaw replied and stared into the auburn eyes of her friend. Her friend had not been able to attend the gathering unlike her littermates to announce her new warrior name. "It's -" the brown apprentice started but stopped to search for the right words. "It's okay."

"Thank you" Leafbreeze sighed in relief. "Gingerfur… she has taken it the wrong way, she still won't talk to me."

That's because she's a piece of fox dung Dawnpaw thought but she felt the guilt linger on her short fur when she thought about the day she had refused the ginger cats apology. "She'll come round" Dawnpaw meowed deciding on her words.

"I hope so" Leafbreeze murmured and looked at the empty nursery. "Sagefrost will be in there soon."

"Yeah, The Clan needs more kits. Cloverpaw would say it is a good omen" she purred thinking of the tabby.

Leafpaw purred in agreement. "I wonder how many she will have."

Dawnpaw flicked her tail without responding and left to the empty apprentice den. All she does is talk about kits! I need a break from her. Maybe I'll see Nettlespark again tonight.

Dawnpaw walked over to her nest at the edge of the den, far away from any cat and settled down into a sleep.

"You came" Nettlespark meowed. The large tortoiseshell tom stood in front of Dawnpaw as she heaved herself to her paws. The gloomy trees and dead bracken loomed over the two cats as they walked side by side. "I will be showing you around here today. There are other Dark Forest cats who would like to meet my new apprentice."

Apprentice? Is that what I'm considered now? Do they have a camp here or is there a field of cats everywhere? What does he mean by new apprentice?

"What do you mean new apprentice? What happened to your last one?" Dawnpaw asked. A shiver of fear spread down her body as green eyes locked onto purple.

"He didn't make it."

Dawnpaw stepped back and flexed her claws. Did Nettlespark kill him? "It wasn't me" he added flicking his tail. "He was fighting weakly and got his throat slit. If he moved faster the accident wouldn't have happened."

"What was his name? Does this happen all the time?" Dawnpaw asked quietly.

"No" he answered ignoring the first question. "That is the only case I know about and now he walks with pitiful StarClan cats who forgave him" Nettlespark growled. "Anyway, we are here."

Dawnpaw paused at the sight she saw. The cats, both living and dead, where lined up on each side of the clearing. What's going on?

"Quickly" Nettlespark hissed quietly. "Get in line next to me."

"But why?"

"Now!" he snapped. "It looks like you will be meeting out leader." Dawnpaw growled but stood next to her 'mentor' and waited. The cats were silent and Dawnpaw quickly groomed her chest fur. If she was meeting all these cats she should make a good impression right?

"Cats of the Dark Forest" a cat yowled and Dawnpaw looked where the voice was coming from. She expected a large muscular tom but instead there was a small dark grey she cat, hardly bigger than Dawnpaw.

"Bow" Nettlespark hissed as the cat walked up to her. Dawnpaw hissed back and stared into the amber depths of the leader's eyes that were now level with her face.

"Looks like we have a fighter" she purred but her eyes narrowed. Dawnpaw studied the figure in front of her. She looked young, maybe she was the same age as Brightflower and Honeytail. "I like your spirit young one" she mewed. "What is your name?"

"Dawnpaw." The cats eyes flashed with an unknown emotion and she smiled revealing her sharp teeth. "I've heard about you from your father" she mewed and flicked her tail at the cat behind her.

Sure enough it was Dawnpaw's torturer and her heart skipped a beat as she looked in his ice blue eyes. She had been too focused on the leader to realise her fear was standing a fox length away.

"My name is Sorrowsong" she mewed and walked away her tail sliding under Dawnpaw's cheek. "Be careful with that one Nettlespark" she warned without turning around.

"I will be" he answered and side glanced at Dawnpaw. "Let's go otherwise you will wake up soon."

Dawnpaw nodded and remembered she was taking the second half of guarding the camp tonight. "Let's start of easy" Nettlespark mewed. He flicked his tail signalling her to attack him. "Show me what you got."

Dawnpaw watched as the dawn patrol walked into camp prey hanging from Snakefang, Sweetbriar, Honeytail's and Smokepaw's jaws. The ginger foster mother placed her tail on Dawnpaw's shoulders and led her into camp. "Your shift is done, most of the cats are awake. Eat something then rest." She ordered and licked her over the ears. "No training for you until after sunhigh" Sweetbriar mewed and left to talk to the deputy.

Dawnpaw stumbled to the fresh kill pile, tired from guard duty and training with Nettlespark before.

"Hey Redpaw!" Patchtail called. Dawnpaw turned to watch her sister pad out sleepily from the I'l

"Oh Patchtail it's you" she mewed and yawned. Now seeing it, Redpaw was looking tired too, maybe she didn't get enough sleep… Wait! She wasn't in her nest last night when I woke up for my shift! She must have left camp, what was she doing?

"Do you want to come hunting with me later" he asked. Almost every cat knew that the new warrior loved the dark orange and dark grey cat. Every cat except Redpaw.

"Uhh sure! I'll ask Icestrike if I can after battle practice with everyone, even Cloverpaw! Flamestripe says she needs to learn how to fight so if rouges or dogs attack she can defend herself. I'll be right back" Redpaw meowed turning away from the tom.

Dawnpaw felt a twinge of jealousy. All toms were chasing after her, even Ashpaw, yet Dawnpaw was left alone. Stop thinking like that! I don't need a tom to comfort me, I have my friends and Nettlespark and… Darkflame.

As if StarClan had summoned him, Dawnpaw felt a tail tickle her flank and she spun around saw her official mentor. The tom's orange eyes shone as she purred greeted him. "I hear you are doing battle training today, I have decided to come" Darkflame meowed.

"Will you get to be my mentor again!?" she asked her heart skipping as Dawnpaw thought of spending time with the tom and away from her abusive father. Darkflame will protect me! Troutshadow will never hurt me now!

"No I'm sorry Dawnpaw, I'm not well enough yet" he meowed licking his shoulder. "And- don't you think it'll be better if Troutshadow is your mentor?"

"What?" she snapped and lashed her tail, her eyes flashing with fury. "No! No! You have to train me don't you understand? You are my mentor and not him."

"Come for a walk with me" he simply replied and walked out of camp. Dawnpaw hesitated but had no choice but to follow him.

"Are you okay?" Cloverpaw asked bounding up to her.

"No I'm not okay! Darkflame wants to resign from being my mentor."
"Well Troutshadow is a good mentor" Cloverpaw mewed. "You have improved a lot since he's been training you, gotten faster, hunting better… Darkflame is still too injured to do much. His wound has healed but he almost died, he is still weak."

Dawnpaw looked at her white paws, hardly hearing her sister. "Don't you know what he does to me?" Dawnpaw asked quietly her body shaking in fear.

"What do you mean?" Cloverpaw asked. Dawnpaw turned around and walked out of camp but she could hear the concern in her sisters voice. "Dawnpaw!"

The light brown apprentice heard heavy paw steps come closer so she blinked the tears from her eyes and ran.

What has happened to me? I'm not the cat I used to be. I'm living a life of pain and fear, yowling for help, but can no one hear me? Not Cloverpaw, not Leafbreeze… Not Darkflame.

"You came" a voice mewed reminding her of the first words that the tortoiseshell tom said to her in her dreams. But this time it was Darkflame.

"I'm sorry Dawnpaw" he mewed.

"If you're sorry you should be my mentor" she growled.

"I can't I'm not strong enough to train you yet, you need a strong cat to train you not me" he meowed and looked at his paws.

"I hung out with many cats that lie Darkflame, and I can pretty much tell the difference by now and you are lying to me" she growled.

"Fine" he growled. "I can't mentor you."

"That's not an answer" she snarled.

"I just can't okay? I would go too soft on you" he mewed and stepped closer to her until he was in front of her. To meet his gaze, Dawnpaw tilted her head upwards. "I wouldn't be good enough."

"You are good enough for me" she mewed breathlessly. Her body spiked with energy and she could feel her heart beat faster as the tom lay his tail on her shoulders. Darkflame looked down and whisked his tail of her.

"I've already talked to Snowstar about it and she has agreed. I'm sorry Dawnpaw" he mewed and his eyes shone with sadness that even Dawnpaw couldn't argue. She opened her mouth to speak but the scents of DustClan apprentices and their mentors as well as both medicine cats hit her nose.

"It's the battle training group. Shouldn't you join them?" Darkflame asked.

"I don't need them, I'm better than all of them including their mentors" Dawnpaw mewed playfully.

"So are you better than me?"

"You're not a mentor anymore" Dawnpaw purred. She expected to feel angry but instead the only thing she could think about was Darkflame. His eyes, his face, his body…

Suddenly a flash of dark brown-grey flashed before her eyes and she was bowled over. "Are you sure you are better than me?" he asked pinning her down.

"You are an exception" she purred and wrapped her tail around his.

"Hey Dawnpaw!" Smokepaw mewed and walked into the clearing. "I could scent you over here and- oh I'm sorry, have I… interrupted something?" The grey tom look sheepishly at his paws.

"No it's fine" she mewed. "Let's go beat them" she meowed to Darkflame.

"Let's go".

Aww Dark x Dawn is so cute! RIP Dawnpaw, looks like Troutshadow will stay as her mentor for the next four moons.

~Mystic