Yes this chapter is very short. Sry for not posting for so long….

Sandpaw awakened to find the apprentices' den dark and cold. She was very excited for today was the day she and Snowpaw were to start their actual 'training', not just borders, as apprentices with her mentor Lunarlight. She stepped outside to smell the brisk morning air.

Seeing that it was early she walked back into the den and gave her fellow apprentice Snowpaw

a gentle cuff over the head. Snowpaw's eyes jerked open to find Sandpaw staring down at him. "Was that you?" He said between confusion and a yawn.

"Well is there anybody else that is actually up?"

"What... you mean to say you woke me up for no reason what so ever!" She could tell that Snowpaw was not a morning cat.

"Well... there is a reason. You see I want to show Lunarlight that we are the best apprentices. Well… I'm already am the best, but I don't want YOU to make me look bad. She said with an evident smirk on her face.

"Yea… well how are we going to do that?" Snowpaw shot back rather rudely, his voice laced with venom. He was mad a Sandpaw for waking him up, and now she was insulting his skills as an apprentice.

"Well we could go exercise and maybe practice a little!" Sandpaw said rather shyly "Might as well as I'm already AWAKE!" Snowpaw answered. "Besides…I need to let all my anger out." He gave Sandpaw a cuff over the head.
They rested in the training hollow after a fight that Sandpaw easily won. "Hey, Snowpaw… you are a… pretty lame fighter."

"Well we were only made apprentices a day ago, so we are still practically kits."

"How can you think so negative you mousebrain! That's not what you should be thinking. You should be thinking that you are an apprentice so you're practically a warrior!" Sandpaw looked back at him with pity and disgust.

"Fine... but still I bet I'm better than you at hunting."

"Why would you say that?" She said in a dangerous type of voice.

"Well, I've been out hunting with my mother 2 whole times." Sandpaw was immediately submerged in a wave of laughter.

"Ha ha ha... that's… it?" Sandpaw scoffed "I have been out over 10 times!"

"What... but... but... well, never mind. Fine, teach me 'O great one' said Snowpaw sarcastically.

"Fine. The first thing that you have to know about fighting it how to doge blows. Sometimes, something is so strong that the only thing that you can do is doge its' blows. Something huge like... I don't know…."

"When did you learn that?"

"My mom told me, except… it was more about bad...gers."

Sandpaw tried to hold back her tears, just as a picture of Nightkit's last moments floated through her mind. "Sister…its no use. Sandkit I'm dying as you speak." No... no, no! Not again please! "No…no use…good bye... I love you. I won't for get you Sandkit." "Nightkit…." She meowed mournfully. Snowpaw's gentle purring brought her back. "So…err…. what were the words that your mother said?" "Well... she told me to look at the size of the… badger, and… um… not to try to withstand the assault…and…and… if you can dodge it, then dodge it. She also said, that you're not stronger than the badger, but you can always run away." "Sandpaw! You said what you dreaded to say... you confronted your fears... like I was telling you about yesterday."

"Hey… your right, I did. Well… anyway you have to be able to dodge so let's practice. I'll be the bloodthirsty badger and you have to do is dodge all of my blows."

They practiced for a while. The Snowpaw stopped. "Wait, there is something odd." Sandpaw sniffed the air out of instinct. "It is our clan." Then Sandpaw shrieked. "Ahhhh! their coming our way!" They listened for a while and then they heard a sharp voice in the distance.

It was Lunarlight's battle cry. They both gasped and then whispered. " Dawn patrol" "If they find us we'll be in so much trouble then they heard the paw steps of charging cats. The whole dawn patrol knew that someone was out there. They turned are around to run. They only got a tree length away when then saw a familiar face... Lunarlight!

Ha ha ha ha ha ha nasty cliffy….

Till next time…

(..) Bladenfang