"Emberpaw! Wake up!" Hawkwing's sharp voice quickly cut through her stupor.

She had just had a strange dream, about a gray cat with stars in his fur.

"W-what?" she mumbled. "Dawn patrol." Hawkwing replied.

Why's he in the nursery? Emberpaw wondered. He's acting like I'm an apprentice.

Suddenly, Emberpaw remembered last night, and popped out of bed.

"Yes, Hawkwing." she quickly said.

Hawkwing purred. "That's the spirit. Now, let's go. Clovertail, Bouncefire, and Pebblepaw are waiting for us."

He had a dreamy look in his eyes when he said Pebblepaw, and Emberpaw realized he liked her.

She chuckled, and ran over to where the border patrol was waiting.

"When are you having kits?" Emberpaw asked Hawkwing slyly.

"Cheek!" he cried, and tweaked her whiskers. "For that, you're cleaning the elders' ticks until moonrise."

But Emberpaw noticed his fur was hot with embarrassment.

"No scents." reported Bouncefire. "Should we head back to the gorge?"

"Um, right." said Hawkwing. Emberpaw guessed this was the first time Hawkwing had led a patrol.

"Can I learn some battle moves with my brothers?" she asked. Hawkwing considered it.

"Good idea." he mewed finally. "Go see if Cloudmist, Sharpclaw, and Blossomheart will let them."

"Okay." said Emberpaw cheerily, and went to the warriors den. Inside was Cloudmist and Rockwhisker.

"Cloudmist?" she asked nervously. "Can Heronpaw train with me?"

"Sure." Cloudmist said standing with obvious effort.

"Cloudmist!" Emberpaw gasped. "You're going to have kits!"

"I know!" Cloudmist exclaimed excitedly. "I already told Echosong. She said they were coming in a moon or two. They're mine and Rockwhisker's-"

"Um, I'll go now." interrupted Emberpaw. "I have to go get Smokepaw and Ferretpaw."

"Okay."' said Cloudmist, then turned to whisper something into Rockwhisker's ear.

Emberpaw looked away, and saw Smokepaw and Sharpclaw eating from the fresh-kill pile.

"Sorry, gotta go." she meowed hurriedly. "Hey, Smokepaw? Sharpclaw?" she asked, padding up to the SkyClan cats.

"When you're done, can you meet Hawkwing, Cloudmist, Heronpaw and I in the training grounds? We're battle training."

"Sure," said Sharpclaw comfortably. "Okay, bye!" Emberpaw said, and rushed off.

In the training grounds, Emberpaw met Hawkwing with Ferretpaw and Blossomheart.

Eventually, Sharpclaw, Cloudmist, and their apprentices showed up. "All right," said Hawkwing.

"First I want to show you the hind paw double paw hit. Observe."

Hawkwing stood on his hind paws and, quick as a snake, he lashed out with both fore paws.

"It's a pretty basic move, so I think you'll master it easily."

All the apprentices started trying it out. "Your balance is natural, Emberpaw." complimented Sharpclaw.

"Yes," said Cloudmist. "But try doing it faster."

"Attention, apprentices!" Blossomheart cried. "Since you've mastered that pretty well, I'm going to show you the hunting crouch." She quickly flattened herself and crept forward. "Now you try it." She directed the apprentices.

"Ferretpaw, pull your paws in for a better leap," said Hawkwing.

Blossomheart observed Emberpaw. "Tuck your tail lower."

"Now," said Cloudmist, "Leap!"

Emberpaw, Smokepaw, Ferretpaw, and Heronpaw all leaped towards a bunch of ferns, with varying degrees of success.

Ferretpaw ended up in a clump of bracken two tail-lengths away from the cluster of fronds, Smokepaw landed right in front of it, and Emberpaw and Heronpaw landed in it.

"Good job!" Blossomheart congratulated the siblings. "Remember, a mouse will feel your pawsteps vibrating the ground, so step lightly. And a rabbit will hear you, so be very quiet."

"Hey, Emberpaw!" called Hawkwing, rushing up to her. "We're going on a hunting patrol with Sandynose and Macgyver. I know it's a lot packed into one day, but it's all part of exploring the territory."

Hawkwing told her.

Hmmm, Emberpaw thought. Her brothers had told scare-you stories about daylight warriors like Bellaleaf, Harrybrook, Billystorm and Macgyver.

Not that Emberpaw believed them, of course, but she still had doubts about their loyalty. At least Sandynose and his sister, Plumwillow, were Clanborn, even if he was a bit grumpy.

"Are you coming?" asked Hawkwing. "Yes." she responded, feeling happier than she'd ever felt in her life.