The sun rose as usual and Ravenflight was still awake. Sandstorm sat beside him, trying to hide her constant yawns. Dustpelt was half asleep, and groggy. The three warriors cast long shadows, the sun giving little light. But at last, it was dawn.
Whitestorm and Tigerclaw exited the warrior den and padded over. "You three can get some food and sleep now, and talk." Whitestorm mewed, dismissing them.
Sandstorm nudged Ravenflight's muzzle towards the sunrise. "Isn't it pretty?" she meowed softly.
Ravenflight stared at her. "Yeah. It is." He yawned and padded over to the fresh kill pile. He grabbed a water vole and flicked his tail. "Sandstorm, want to-"
Dustpelt nudged Sandstorm. "Here," he meowed, dropping a squirrel at her paws, "Share with me." Ravenflight felt his blood boil, and knew their was competition.
"Oh… okay." She meowed, and sat beside the dark tabby tom. She dipped her head down to chop a piece of squirrel meat. Ravenflight watched with bitterness and partly lost his appetite, eating half of the food, and leaving the rest for whoever wanted it.
He padded into the warrior den to see Fireheart and Graystripe waking. "How are you?" Graystripe meowed.
Ravenflight glared at his paws. "I'm fine. Just fine."
"What is it? You're a warrior now, aren't you happy?" Fireheart asked.
"I'm just dandy. Perfectly all right." He yawned. "Just tired."
The toms nodded understandingly. "Okay, see you later today. Maybe we can go on our first patrol together as warriors?" Fireheart suggested.
"Sure," he meowed, then curled into a ball and stared at the light. After a bit, Sandstorm and Dustpelt entered. Dustpelt plopped down and nudged Sandstorm, who lay beside him. Ravenflight snorted. She was just playing mind games with me. I can't believe I trusted her…
Ravenflight pondered over this until his eyelids grew heavy, and he entered the dream realm.
Ravenflight padded through the undergrowth, searching for something unknown to him. Suddenly, the trees, undergrowth, and forest in general melted away under his feet, and he saw the sandy terrain of a desert. Before he could even wonder what had happened, he was hit by fierce winds filled with sand. The sand pelted hard against him, and he yelped with pain, trying to seek shelter. The winds died and Ravenflight started coughing madly, his eyes swollen as dust clogged his windpipe. Just when he thought he'd die of air loss, the dust seemed to disappear. He gasped for breath, but his relief was not long, for fire sprang up from the desert sand and engulfed him, burning badly. Then the land beneath his paws vanished, and he half fell, half floated in a world of shadows. Then a crimson tiger appeared and lunged at him. Ravenflight screamed in pain as it soared through his heart. The image of the blood-tiger vanished, and he was left in a half-asleep condition. Stars suddenly shined overheard, and all around him, like he was floating in the sky.
Then Spottedleaf appeared. "Spottedleaf!" he cried out, and tried to get over to the beautiful she-cat. But he couldn't move. His legs were locked. The she-cat opened her mouth and spoke. "The sand storm will baffle you, the dust will irritate you, the fire will burn you badly, and the tiger will leave his final mark." Before he could ask for reason, the world vanished in a swirl of darkness.
