Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors. Hmmm...

So, this is Chapter 7. Part of this is sort of indicating towards the action yet to come. They'll be some. But first, chaaaaaracter conflicts! -dramatic music- By the way, if anyone likes Invader Zim or X-Men Evolution, I have a couple of stories of those.

Chapter 7: Unexpected

Stripedpaw was bored. She knew that her warrior ceremony was that night, but she couldn't help feeling bored in the morning and afternoon. She was stuck watching Darkbranch mentor Midnightpaw. Hawkfur was mentoring hunting with Stripedpaw before, but his sister called him back to camp and he left her with the two dark-colored cats. Midnightpaw was a strange fighter, lunging and pouncing with swift, light and airy movements and hitting with heavy, hard-as-a-rock paw movements. Stripedpaw thought that if she was Midnightpaw's mentor, she'd be downright confused within an hour of watching her fight.

"No, you're not doing it right," Darkbranch said as he easily lifted himself from under Midnightpaw's uneven pin. With one swift paw movement he had Midnightpaw on her back. Stripedpaw loved watching the skinny, lanky tom move smoothly like water with his fighting moves.

"See, if I were your enemy, I would jump on you right now. So work on your pins, alright?" he said.

Midnightpaw sighed. "With who? You're not always available, and not all cats are willing to spend their hours pinned down." It was the first time Stripedpaw had heard the blue-black she cat talk all morning.

"You have no idea!" Darkbranch laughed.

Stripedpaw couldn't believe the two got along so well, being what she thought were opposite personalities. Midnightpaw was secretive, shy, and dark. Despite his pitch black fur, Darkbranch was brighter inside. He spoke and was friendly with all the cats and playfully teased whoever he was talking to. He talked to everyone while Midnightpaw only talked to a few people.

Stripedpaw was getting bored watching the two practice, so she gathered the mouse she caught and wandered back to camp. It would be sundown soon enough.

Stripedpaw was back at camp when she heard a rustling in the bushes. She turned around and found herself face-to-face with an unfamiliar cat. She could tell immediately from his scent that the white-silver colored cat was from FlowerClan.

The two just stared at each other for a minute, unsure of what to do next. The white tom was probably surprised he got caught, and Stripedpaw was surprised she caught him.

All of the sudden, Stripedpaw's emotions came boiling to the surface. "And just WHAT in the name of StarClan are you DOING in OUR territory?" she hissed loudly.

The dark-eyed tom remained annoyingly calm. "Uh, well… I got lost between borders, you know… and I decided that while I was here, I may as well get some hunting in." Stripedpaw saw the small fresh-kill pile at his feet.

He continued with ease, not realizing the anger Stripedpaw felt. "And I guess that I was just going to…" he was going to continue speaking, but he was interrupted by Stripedpaw, who swatted him in the face with her claws. He bled from three small cuts on face, and they stained his white fur.

"THAT'S NO REASON! Lost! Are you kidding me! No cats get 'lost' to the point where they drift into other territories! Just get out of here! And leave that fresh-kill behind!" Stripedpaw growled.

Now the tom got bothered. "But I caught it! Why should I leave it behind?"

"BECAUSE THAT'S OUR PREY, YOU MOUSE-BRAINED FOOL!"

She was about to yell at him more, but all of the sudden, another cat jumped through the bushes behind the white FlowerClan cat. With one quick movement, the tom rolled out from under the new fighter before she could plant herself on him.

"Yellowpaw?" Stripedpaw asked, looking at the new fighter.

"Yeah, I heard you yell," she responded while swinging at the tom. But he was just swiftly dodging her movements.

"Stop it, both of you!" Stripedpaw hissed. "Yellowpaw, calm down, I have it under control. And you, you arrogant tom! Get out of here! Get!"

The tom finally left, leaving his pile behind.

"Stripedpaw, what do you mean you had it under control? He was from FlowerClan. I recognized him from a gathering. He can't go to any gatherings anymore."

"Why not?" Stripedpaw asked.

"Because he was rude and disrespectful. Don't change the subject. Look, when cats blatantly cross over the territory like that, you have to send them out!"

"Well, he said he was lost..."

Yellowpaw spat. "Pffft! Lost! Yeah, right! You didn't believe that either! He was just having fun hunting our prey in our territory. Don't let his charm convince you."

"I wasn't going to let him convince me! Why, what would you have done? Fought him by yourself? He was older than us!"

"Yes, I would've fought! Why, are you getting angry at me for this? This is part of being a warrior!"

"Because I don't want you to get too cocky, that's all!"

Yellowpaw froze and looked at Stripedpaw. "I…can't believe it! You're as bad as my father! What, you think I'll just go killing off random cats? Because I dodge a couple more attacks than the other apprentices? Because my claws can dig a little deeper than the others? Because it takes me a few seconds less than the others to the pin a cat down?" Yellowpaw's voice was filled with hatred and anger. Her hackles were up. "I'm not STUPID! StarClan believes in me! It's about time you should, too!" Frustrated, Yellowpaw ran off towards camp.

Stripedpaw just stood there all alone. Sluggishly, she picked up the strange tom's fresh-kill pile and took it back to camp for her own clan. Maybe the other clan cats would like the two rabbits in the pile, but she had lost her appetite.

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