Chapter Two: Death at Dusk

The wind tugged at her fur as Nightpaw and Hollycloud made their way to SkyClan border. "Now," meowed Hollycloud, "do you know why SkyClan had its name?"

"Because they can always see the sky since there are no trees to cover it?" asked Nightpaw eagerly.

"Exactly," replied Hollycloud with a tender expression on her face. Already they had passed through the Willow Grove, where the four Clans meet under a full moon for a gathering, the gorge of the river, the border of StoneClan territory, and now they were on their way to patrol the edge of TorrentClan on their tour of the territory. As they neared closer to the river, they could already hear it splashing and raging. Hollycloud explained that in leaf fall, when the fish swam up the river from the Great Water, bears would often come to feast on them. They would usually stay clear of cats though.

The rest of the day was spent practicing fighting moves with the other apprentices, sharing tongues, and lastly, falling in a much deserved sleep.

The next day, all of the apprentices were taking to the meadow for training. The short spongy grass was perfect for allowing the apprentices to practice their moves. When sun high came, Nightpaw was performing a hunter's crouch for her mentor. She was learning the right way to hunt mice. Her concentration was shattered as she heard a loud smirk from behind her.

"Ha! You couldn't even catch a leaf with that much noise!" Nightpaw turned around and scowled at the culprit: Mountainpaw.

"Ignore him," Cloverpaw murmured in her ear. Once they were back in camp, Mountainpaw and Duskpaw had gone on a patrol of the SkyClan border.

"Thank StarClan he's gone," remarked Nightpaw. Knowing who she meant Cloverpaw nodded. That day the two sisters decided to share tongues with Ripplingpaw. They hadn't had much time to talk to her with their warrior training and her medicine cat training.

"Listen," Ripplingpaw mewed lying down in the cool short grass of the camp clearing, "I think something is wrong. I overheard Dewpetal talking urgently to Shadestar about a dream she had. I'm not sure what it was about though."

"Thanks, sis," replied Cloverpaw, "We'll keep our eyes out." At that, Eaglepaw walked up and turned to Nightpaw.

"Sorry," he apologized, "about my brother today in the training meadow. I always hate when he does stuff like that."

Nightpaw let out a purr of amusement. "No big deal," She replied warmly. Suddenly a yowl of horror arose from the other side of the camp. Nightpaw turned around to see Shiningpelt racing toward the patrol that was just entering the camp.

"My kit! Oh my poor kit!" she wailed, eyes pools of grief. The four cats leaped up to see what was the problem. The deputy, Heatherstorm, was dragging a lifeless body with mangled fur toward the center of the clearing. Once she got a good look at the cat, she could just make out the features of Duskpaw under the wounds and blood.

"What could have happened to him?" Dawnpaw exclaimed, devastated. Heatherstorm stepped forward.

"Since there wasn't a hunting patrol out, I sent Duskpaw and Riverstone ahead to catch a mouse or two. They were to meet us at Willow Grove." All eyes turned on Riverstone.

"I-I didn't noticed he'd trailed off," he stammered, head bowed. "I was stalking a vole and the next thing I knew, he was gone." Shinigpelt continued glaring at him for a moment longer before she looked at Shadestar who had started to speak.

"From what Heatherstorm tells me, I suspect that there is a rogue on our territory." Gasps of shock arose around the clearing. "I want all patrols to take extra caution and make sure to report any scents of a rogue or other signs straight to me." With a flick of her tail she stalked off to her den summoning Dewpetal to follow. The cats started thinning out as they finished sharing tongues with Duskpaw for the last time.

Again Shadestar appeared from her den, but this time, summoned Nightpaw, Cloverpaw, and Ripplingpaw, her kits. The three apprentices could see a glimmer of worry in their mother's eyes. As they entered her den, she began to speak. "There is something I want you three to know about this rogue on the territory. His name is Blizzardfur…"

Uh oh! What will happen next? Who knows? Well pleeeease R&R! And don't worry, next chapter is coming soon!