Thank you for taking the time to read my story- this is my first fanfiction, so be kind, please? If I'm good at it, which I don't think I am, really, it's only because I've done a lot of role plays.

Long ago, before the ThunderClan, RiverClan, ShadowClan, and WindClan, there lived the LightClan, DarkClan, GreyClan, and FireClan...

Flashpaw struggled against the raging river as it threatened to sweep her away to the StarClan above. She had been sent to collect mushrooms, but they had been on the other side. She had tried to cross the slippery log, but fell into the river. Now she thrashed wildly, trying to keep her head above the water. As she was carried along, fighting for her life, she saw a shadowed figure standing a short distance away. "Help!" she cried, digging her claws into something. What it was, she did not know.

The form stalked over to her and Flashpaw heaved a sigh of relief, thinking herself saved. Then, however, she noticed who it was. It was one of the DarkClan warriors! Just the same, she called out to him, wondering what he would do. Unfortunately for the young apprentice, he smiled a wicked smile full of yellowed teeth. He did nothing, then reached out a paw. Flashpaw thought he was helping her, so she tried to take it. He swung it back, and hit her hard across the muzzle, listening delightedly to her distraught wails. He slashed her face, leaving a trickle of blood, and that was all Flashpaw could remember.

-----

Flashpaw blinked her yellow eyes open, wondering briefly where she was, then familiar sights, scents, and sounds greeted her as she realized she was in the GreyClan camp. A golden she-cat with a streak of white on her face sat next to her, applying cobwebs on Flashpaw's injuries. "Sunpelt!" said Flashpaw. "What happened?"

"Well, let's just say it's a good thing Treelegs found you when he did," meowed the medicine cat in her strange, distant voice. "He was out patrolling the area when he heard some yowling, and smelled your familiar scent. He said he smelled the DarkClan warrior's scent, too, and sneaked up on him. Apparently, he attacked Coldeyes and sent him running, then pulled you out of the river and brought you here." She sighed tiredly, as if she couldn't speak anymore.

"Old Coldeyes, huh? He should know better than to trespass, especially alone," murmured the silver cat.

The medicine cat did not reply. She simply continued tending to her cuts and scratches till she said, "That'll do for now." Then she backed away and turned to look up at Silverpelt.

"Thanks, Sunpelt," purred Flashpaw, standing up and creeping towards a thick clump of ferns. Suddenly, something caught her eye. A light grey tom with dark tabby stripes was looking at her. "There you are," said Flashpaw. "Thanks, Treelegs. Sunpelt explained what happened."

The warrior cat nodded silently, swishing his tail. Flashpaw padded under the ferns and towards her nest, nodding her head as two awake cats meowed very quiet hellos, not wanting to wake the other three sleeping cats.

-----

"Come on, get up," mewed a cheerful voice.

"Let her sleep!" snapped an agitated one. "She's injured. She can train tomorrow when she has her strength about her."

Flashpaw opened her eyes and staggered to her feet. "That's okay, Needlepaw, I'm fine," she said.

"Are you sure about that?" asked Needlepaw warily.

"Sure I'm sure," meowed Flashpaw.

"Okay, you heard her, let's get a move on!" meowed the cheery tom, called Lightpaw, swishing his tail. Needlepaw frowned and padded out of the apprentice quarters, the other cats following her. Flashpaw left the others and padded over to a blue-grey she-cat with one white paw.

"Okay, Flashpaw," she meowed, "I want you to go hunting in the river and see how many fish you can catch. You already know the technique, now let's put it to the test. I'll be waiting."

Excited, Flashpaw dashed away, eager to prove her new fishing skills. Then she paused and remembered she had been swept away last night. She shook her head and told herself she'd just find a shallow part to hunt for fish in. Finding a calm, shallow part was easier than she thought, and in no time she was sitting poised, waiting for a fish to pass by. Soon she saw one, a fat, gold one, and in one quick swipe she had it out of the river. She repeated this act to get as much fresh-kill as she could, till she was satisfied she had enough. Padding back to her mentor, she dropped a fish in front of her, and said, "There's plenty more where that came from." She had to make quite a few trips to get all the fish, but that was the price to pay for catching a good bunch.

When she was done collecting the fish, her mentor nodded approvingly and meowed, "Bring these back to the camp, and then you can be finished for today."

"Okay, thanks, Bluestorm," meowed Flashpaw, picking up a fish, and one by one, she returned to camp and brought them all back to the elders. Hungry, Flashpaw scampered off to catch herself something, too. Outside the camp, she could hear the tiny scurrying of a mouse, and smelled its distinctive prey-scent. Stalking on light paws, she came closer and closer to it, until she was but a tail-length away. By then, it was too late for the mouse to escape. She scooped it up in her paws and killed it with one quick bite. She ate it quickly, then returned to camp to get some rest. She was pretty tired.

Walking into the ferns, she saw one cat already laying there, flicking her tail back and forth. "Hello, Flashpaw," meowed Needlepaw in a dull, tired voice.

"Hello, Needlepaw," purred Flashpaw. "How did your training go?"

"Oh, I was being taught how to fight with cleverness. It was tiring, but Surefoot said I did well. So, how did your training go?"

"Oh, I, uh, caught a few fish," sighed Flashpaw, wishing she would've gotten a chance to fight.

"Well, that's something," yawned Needlepaw. "At least you didn't have to do what I did. And trust me," she added, noticing the odd look on Flashpaw's face, "you're not ready for it quite yet."

"Why not?" questioned Flashpaw.

"You haven't been training long enough," was Needlepaw's simple reply. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I really must go to sleep..."

"Okay," meowed Flashpaw, just as two of the other apprentices padded into the sleeping place, one of them Lightpaw, the other one Slashingpaw. They climbed into their nests, murmuring brief hellos to Flashpaw and Needlepaw, then drifting off. Flashpaw watched them for a time, then felt herself falling asleep as well.