I am so sorry I have not updated for a while! I promise, I have not lost interest in this story, and this is one of my favorites I have been writing, but I have been soooooooo busy with school, homework, dance, school, dance, school, homework, school, sleeping, eating, school, dance, homework, school, and did I mention school? *cries* I want to write! :(

Review replies:

Amberflame805- Thank you!I tried to come up with a good line for like, 10 minutes. X3

rainpool777- Yay! *high fives* SUGAR IS AMAZING! RainxStorm forevah

ZM- Rainpaw= ThunderClan. Stormpaw= WindClan. Yep.

ScipioPB- Thanks!

CandyHeart13- :)))) Thank you so much! :D

IJayI- Llamas! XD :) Congrats on being the 100th reviewer!

Dawnlight25- I am so sorry I haven't updated in a while :( I will try even harder, even though school gets in the way. HOMEWORK WHY?! Thanks for reviewing! :) And thank you for not giving up on my story!

Silverstar- Thanks! I have an... interesting... plan for the mountains... *cackles maniacally*

LakeStream- I had a typo mistake too when I typed that Stttooorrmmpaawww. That's what I meant by I'm not sure what that was. Thank you for reviewing!

Mnaseer2001- Than you! :)

Silverwillow of the Freljord- :) If FFN allowed emojis, I would put a giant smiley face emoji :) Thanks so much! :)

I will not freak out. I will not freak out. 112 REVIEWS?! OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I AM FREAKING OUT!

Rainpaw: Eradrin, are you done yet?

Me: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...

Rainpaw: Eradrin...

Me: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...

Rainpaw: *covers Eradrin's mouth* The readers want to read now!

Me: Fine. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...

And onto the story:

"Can we get moving?"

Rainpaw rolled her eyes at Runningpaw's complaint. "If you hadn't noticed, we're stuck in front of a Thunderpath!" She snapped.

Runningpaw sighed dramatically. "I know. It's just, I'm so nervous, being outside the Clan like this. Everything is so strange. I'm so scared!" She widened her eyes innocently at Stormpaw, who was waiting next to Rainpaw, and pressed herself against him. "I need a big, strong warrior to protect me from the wild!"

Rainpaw snorted in disgust, and Stormpaw twitched his ears. "Oh, Runningpaw, you're right! Why don't you go walk next to Rushingwind or Ashwhisker!" He exclaimed.

Runningpaw sighed, obviously disappointed. "Well, I suppose..." She padded away, tail drooping the slightest bit.

"She's forever doing stuff like this." Stormpaw mewed irritably to Rainpaw. "And every time I want to do something by myself, she just pops right up and barges in! And no, I do not like her!" He added as Rainpaw glanced meaningfully at the gray tabby she cat.

"Well, I think she-"

"Go!" Rainpaw was suddenly cut off by Rushingwind's yowl. Mouse-dung! I missed the command to cross! She sprang from her stand-still, raced over the hard black surface. Swiveling her ears around, she searched for the sound of approaching monsters but heard none.

Suddenly something caught her leg and flung her to the ground. Rainpaw gasped as pain shot up her leg, and looked down to see that it was trapped in a small crevice in the ground. She wrenched it out and started to limp off of the Thunderpath, but froze as the ground began to shake and a dull rumble in the distance turned to a loud roar. A monster swiftly exploded out of a nearby tunnel, its bright, unnatural pelt gleaming in the sunlight. She flattened herself to the ground, shaking with fear.

"Rainpaw!"

Suddenly someone sank their teeth into her scruff and dragged her away from the approaching monster. Breaking out of her trance, she scrabbled to her paws and raced away, spotting Stormpaw beside her.


Rainpaw fell, trembling, on the grass next to the Thunderpath. Flowerstem hurried up to her and began covering her face in licks. "Rainpaw? Rainpaw, are you okay?" Rainpaw could feel her mother quivering.

Flowerstem turned and look at Stormpaw with gratitude. "Thank you for saving my kit." Her mew cracked.

Stormpaw nodded, then turned to Rainpaw, his eyes narrowed with anger. "How could you do anything so stupid?!" He snarled.

Rainpaw flinched, taken aback. "Sorry," She muttered. He rolled his eyes, then turned around.

Ashwhisker padded up to her. "Can you walk?" He demanded, glancing at her shoulder. Rainpaw pushed herself to her paws, and slowly pressed her paw to the ground. She felt her face tense, then relax as the pain melted away like dew in the sun.

"Yes."

Rushingwind pushed past Ashwhisker. "Great. We'll continue the journey." He summonded the ground with a flick of his tail, and they followed him, chattering like starlings.

Rainpaw started to follow, and somehow found herself padding beside Stormpaw. She shot him a glare, and lifted her head defiantly. Stormpaw sighed. "Look, Rainpaw." He mewed. "I'm sorry for being harsh. I just worry about you, that's all."

Rainpaw relaxed. "Mouse-brain." She murmured and touched her tail-tip to his ear. He broke out in a quiet purr.

"You two seem to be getting along fine." Ashwhisker commented. Rainpaw groaned inwardly and turned to face him. He was staring at the pair with narrowed eyes flashing accusingly at Rainpaw.

"She was just telling me how her brother slipped in a stream trying to catch a squirrel." Stormpaw quickly improvised. Rainpaw silently thanked him.

Thrushpaw overhead. "I was so embarrassed. Mossflame was furious." He mewed. Rainpaw sighed with relief that her brother wasn't giving anything away.

Ashwhisker stared at them for a moment, then turned back to the group.


The sun was started to sink by the time Rushingwind announced where they would stay the night. The apprentices swarmed together in the small hollow in the middle of a clump of trees. "Come on, Lilypaw." Graypaw muttered to his Clanmate. "Let's get with our Clan." Lilypaw rolled her eyes.

"Can't we hang out with everyone else instead of being isolated at least once?" She purred sweetly.

Graypaw hesitated, then grunted, "Fine."

"Yes!" Lilypaw squealed in triumph, then mewed loudly, "Hey, Rushingwind! Can we hunt?"

"Sure, but be back before nightfall." He answered, before turning back to his discussion with Flowerstem, Dustbreeze, and Firebreeze.

"Right." Lilypaw meowed. "Thrushpaw, want to hunt with me?"

Thrushpaw started, eyes wide, before slowly meowing, "Sure."

Graypaw let out a small hiss. "Oh, and Graypaw."

Rainpaw stifled a mrrow of amusement and turned to Stormpaw. "Would you-"

Suddenly Runningpaw cut her off. "Hey Stormpaw!" She squealed. "Do you want to hunt with me?" She broke into a loud purr, batting her eyelashes at him sweetly.

Rainpaw felt the fur slowly raise along her spine, and she made an effort to keep it flat. Stormpaw glanced uncertainly at Rainpaw. "I kind of wanted to hunt with Rainpaw..."

"That's alright!" Runningpaw mewed brightly. "We can all hunt together." She glanced at Rainpaw with fake friendliness, but on the inside Rainpaw knew she was a whisker away from clawing Rainpaw's face.

"I'll just go hunt with Rainpool and Streampaw." Rainpaw meowed coldly, and stiffly turned away to join the two cats at the edge of the clearing, ignoring Stormpaw's look of hurt.


Hunting went well with Rainpool and Streampaw. The two she-cats gladly welcomed her into their hunting party, and they had found a nearby stream filled with cool, clear water. Rainpaw had taken a long drink, and Streampaw and Rainpool began to hook fish out of the water. The three cats made friends instantly, and Streampaw had even shown Rainpaw how to fish. It had taken some time, but she eventually got the hang of it and managed to grab a medium-sized fish out of the water. They had called it a pike, and apparently it was Pigeonfeather's favorite.

Now they dragged three fish ad two mice into camp. Hunting is richer up here, Rainpaw decided. Cats don't come here as often, so they don't take as much prey. And that leaves more for us, even though its leaf-fall.

As Rainpaw gazed around the makeshift camp, she realized the others had not been so lucky with hunting. Thrushpaw, Graypaw, and Lilypaw each had a mouse, which was ok, Runningpaw and Stormpaw had only managed to bring back a scrawny shrew.

Rainpaw dropped her catch on the small pile of fresh-kill, and padded over to Runningpaw and Stormpaw. "Bad luck." She mewed sympathetically.

Stormpaw glanced sideways at her. "Runningpaw wouldn't stop chattering like a flock of starlings." He grunted. "She startled two mice and a rabbit." He lashed his tail furiously and glared at the she-cat.

Runningpaw, oblivious to his anger, continued to talk until Rushingwind gave a loud yowl. The cats turned to look at him, their eyes gleaming in the darkening light. "We leave at dawn. I will take the first watch, Dustbreeze the second, Firebreeze the third, and Flowerstem the last." He leapt up a nearby oak tree and curled up in the crook of a branch.

Rainpaw backed away, and joined her circle of Clanmates. She curled up and flicked her tail over her eyes, letting sleep claim her.


Rainpaw awoke to Rushingwind's yowl. "Time to go!" She quickly scrambled to her paws and began licking her fur, smoothing it down, then joined the other cats in the center of the clearing. Rushingwind glanced at the rising sun. "We've lost daylight. Hurry!"

Rainpaw snorted and turned to Stormpaw, who had appeared at her side. "Is he always like this?"

He shook his head. "I suppose he's just excited about the journey."

Rainpaw nodded, then began to follow the group of cats who had pulled ahead. She broke into a swift trot, and suddenly they broke into a sunny field. White, fluffy clud-like creatures dotted the landscape. "Those are sheep." Stormpaw told her, and she wrinkled her nose.

"They smell awful."

He let out a mrrow of amusement, and they ran even faster to catch up to the group. Suddenly they stopped, and Rainpaw dug her claws into the ground to avoid crashing into Ashwhisker's haunches.

"What is going on?"

Flowerstem turned back to look at her, her eyes glittering with fear.

Rainpaw stiffened as she felt small tremors in the ground of approaching animals, and tasted the air, wincing as a rank stench bathed her tongue.

Howls erupted across the field, and Rainpaw padded to the front of the group, trying to get a better view. Her heart almost stopped at what she saw.

Dogs!

Sooooooo, did you like? Please review! Winxclubfan1 and Silverwillow of the Freljord, your OCs will be coming next chapter! :D