Hi, hello, nice to see ya. I've got another chapter here for y'all. I hope you like it!

Review Replies:

succulentsofa- Haha, we'll see. And yeah, they might be. Thanks!

dragonbreathjr.- No, I do not think he's okay…Anyway, thanks!

Mintflight0245- Yeah, me too! Thank you!

Chapter 6:

Skypaw woke up in the morning and yawned, stretching his forelegs out in front of him. The blue-gray tom dug his claws into the moss of his nest as he stretched, letting out another yawn as he did so. Skypaw heard someone call out his name from outside the Apprentices' den and stood up, shaking out his pelt before heading out of the den. When he got outside he saw his mentor, Ivylily, waiting for him.

"Yes, Ivylily?" Skypaw asked, immediately fully awake. Skypaw couldn't wait to go hunting, or go on patrol, or do battle training! He really needed something to do.

"We're going hunting," his mentor informed him, her tail flicking back and forth patiently as she waited for his response.

Skypaw's eyes lit up. "We're going hunting?!" He exclaimed excitedly, trying his hardest not to dash out of camp right away.

"Hold your horses," Ivylily chuckled. "You should groom your fur first. I don't want cats thinking my Apprentice is a rogue."

Skypaw frowned. "No one would ever mistake me for a rogue." He said and puffed out his chest proudly.

"Yeah, sure." Ivylily nodded, a smile on her face. "Groom your fur."

"Fine," Skypaw sighed and gave his chest fur a few licks. "There."

His mentor rolled her eyes good naturedly and started to pad towards the exit of camp. "Try to keep up."

Skypaw nodded and ran to catch up with her, slowing to a walk when he was by her side. "Don't you think it's weird?" He asked.

"What's weird?" Ivylily inquired, looking down at him.

"What happened at the gathering." Skypaw answered, his eyes wide with curiosity and interest.

"Yeah…" Ivylily nodded hesitantly. "But I don't think it's anything we have to worry about. It's probably just a prophecy about nighttime that StarClan came up with to scare us."

Skypaw raised a brow at that, but didn't say anything else. Suddenly, he saw the leaves of a bush rustling a few fox-lengths ahead, and froze. Ivylily saw it too, because she crouched down and gestured for Skypaw to catch whatever was in there. Skypaw nodded and lowered himself to the ground, slowly creeping forward and trying not to step on any dead leaves or twigs.

The blue-gray tom leapt forward, slamming his paws down on a mouse as it tried to run out of the bush. He bent down and killed it with a swift bite to the neck.

"Good job!" Ivylily praised him. "That mouse never stood a chance!"

"I know," Skypaw smirked proudly and padded back over to his mentor, the mouse dangling from his jaws.

"Go ahead and bury it so we can take it back to camp later." Ivylily instructed him. Skypaw nodded and did as he was told, digging a shallow hole in the ground, dropping the mouse in there, and then covering it back up with dirt.

"Let's see if we can find anything else!" Skypaw smiled and ran off deeper in the forest.

"Slow down!" Ivylily called out, chasing after him. "You're going to scare all the prey away!"

Skypaw sighed and stopped running, slowing his pace to a walk. Ivylily caught up with him and frowned.

"You have too much energy sometimes," she huffed. Skypaw just shrugged.

After a while of searching, Skypaw found a blackbird picking at seeds on the ground. He smirked and crouched down, creeping forward as slowly as he did before he caught the mouse. Skypaw was about to pounce and kill it when he stepped on a twig. The bird, now alerted that Skypaw was there, flew up into the air and started towards the ShadowClan border.

But Skypaw wasn't going to let it get away that easily. He chased after the blackbird, swerving between trees and bushes. The Apprentice wasn't paying much attention to where he was going, and instead was focused on catching that blackbird.

"Skypaw! Get back here!" Ivylily called out, chasing him. Skypaw didn't listen and continued to chase the blackbird. When it had flown low enough to the ground, Skypaw leapt high up into the air and caught it in his jaws. He brought the bird down, ignoring the loud squawking noises coming from it. He killed it with an aggressive bit to the neck and smiled proudly.

He'd never caught a bird before. It was rather exciting.

"Skypaw!" Ivylily shouted angrily and Skypaw flinched.

"Yeah?" He asked, turning around to face her. He suddenly smelled ShadowClan scent and wondered if he accidentally crossed the border.

"You almost crossed into ShadowClan territory!" Ivylily growled. "What were you thinking?!"

"I just wanted to catch this bird," Skypaw mumbled, relaxing slightly when Ivylily said he had almost crossed into the other Clan's territory.

Ivylily sighed. "Whatever. Let's get back to camp now."

"Okay," Skypaw nodded. But then he stopped and looked around. The ShadowClan border was a few fox-lengths away, far enough where he would hardly be able to smell their scent. But it was very strong right where he was standing…

"Ivylily," he said hesitantly.

"What?" His mentor asked gruffly.

"I don't think ShadowClan scent is supposed to be this far into our territory…"

Ivylily sniffed around, and her eyes widened after a few moments. "You're right…" She said. "We have to tell Vinestar about this. Let's get back quickly. You never know who might be hanging around…"

Skypaw nodded and the pair raced back to camp, the blackbird dangling from Skypaw's jaws. They forgot to retrieve Skypaw's mouse…

The two got back to camp quickly, and Skypaw dropped his mouse on the fresh-kill pile while his mentor went to inform Vinestar about the ShadowClan scent. Skypaw was about to head to the Apprentices' den to relax when his friends, Sleekpaw and Jaypaw, ran over to him.

"Why did you two come running back to camp so quickly?" Jaypaw asked immediately.

"Yeah, why did you?" Sleekpaw tilted her head.

"Okay, I'll tell you, but be quiet about it." Skypaw said, his voice low. He didn't know if Vinestar would want it to get out to the whole clan that ShadowClan was being threatening yet. "Ivylily and I scented ShadowClan scent on our side of the border."

Sleekpaw's eyes widened. "You did?!"

"Why can't those disgusting fox-hearts stay on their side of the border?" Jaypaw growled.

Skypaw rolled his eyes. "They're not that bad." He muttered. "I'm sure a new Apprentice just accidentally crossed the border. It happens all the time!"

"Still," Jaypaw muttered. "You can't trust a ShadowClan cat."

Skypaw wondered if that was true…

Well there's that chapter. Sorry it took so long, writer's block sucks.

I hope y'all enjoyed this, and let me know if you did in the reivews! Constructive Criticism is appreciated!

-Phoenix