Spotpaw woke up to paws shaking her up.

"Uh, Brightpaw, stop shaking me!"

"It's me, Stormclaw. We're going on a border patrol."

Jumping up, the tortoiseshell and white she-cat immediately hared outside. Stormclaw followed more slowly and laughed.

"Glad to see you so eager. Flashstar told me to take you and two other cats, so how about… Thistlestripe and Frondwillow?"

Not waiting for Spotpaw to respond, the gray tom called the two other cats over.

Frondwillow yawned as she approached. "Border patrol?"

Nodding, Stormclaw turned to Spotpaw. "Do you think you'll be up for the walk? We're just marking the WindClan border."

Spotpaw bristled with indignation. "I'm not a kit!"

Thistlestripe purred. "Just let us know if we're going to fast, we'll slow down."

Frondwillow nodded kindly.

Spotpaw shook out her fur. "I'll be fine."

Stormclaw shrugged and led the way out of camp. Trailing behind the rest of them, the tortoiseshell and white apprentice felt annoyed.

I'm an apprentice! I can handle walking. When Thistlestripe was Thistlepaw, no one acted like he was a newborn kit.

Forcing her fur to stop bristling, she focused on following the patrol. Thistlestripe and Frondwillow were chatting softly, and Spotpaw cocked her head as she watched them.

"Just wondering, if we talk, won't we scare away any prey?"

Thistlestripe turned and shook his head. "On a border patrol, we first have to mark the scent lines. After that we can catch prey." His tone turned teasing. "Or if you're just trying to politely point out that Frondwillow and I are talking too loud, you can just say so."

Spotpaw quickly shook her head. "No, I was just wondering about prey."

Thistlestripe chuckled and turned back to Frondwillow.

Nearing a patch of sandy moor, Spotpaw wrinkled her nose. The flat land seemed to stretch as far as the eye could reach. There weren't any bushes or trees to stalk behind.

"How do they hunt? The prey would see them coming from far away."

Frondwillow shrugged. "I guess they're just quiet and they pray to StarClan that the prey doesn't happen to turn around suddenly and spot them."

Stormclaw padded up to the last tree standing between the thin trees and the open moor. He rubbed his cheek against the trunk, and looked over at Spotpaw.

"You can rub your scent on that log. Don't lose any fur though!"

Purring, Spotpaw padded to the log Stormclaw was pointing at, and rubbed her pelt against it.

Thistlestripe went over to a large rock standing nearby and did the same, while Frondwillow put her scent all over some smaller trees.

After they finished, the patrol headed back to camp.

Thistlestripe poked Spotpaw on her shoulder.

"Now we'll be quiet. If there's any prey, we can catch it now."

Spotpaw nodded, wishing she had learned to hunt already.

As they neared camp, Stormclaw crouched down low. He beckoned to Frondwillow with his tail. "Grouse," he murmured.

Frondwillow's eyes lit up, and she quietly circled the bird from the back. Stormclaw twitched his ear once they were in position, and the white she-cat immediately shot forward.

Alarmed, the bird rose with desperate flaps of its wings, but Stormclaw was too quick. Rearing up on his hind legs, he used his paws to knock it out of the sky, and delivered the killing bite as it flailed on the ground.

Thistlestripe stepped forward and picked it up. "Nice catch," he purred.

Spotpaw also bounced forward. "That was awesome! I can't wait until I can do that! When can I do that?"

Stormclaw flicked his tail. "Soon. Maybe tomorrow. Almost definitely within this quarter moon."

Spotpaw hopped with excitement. "Make it tomorrow, please!"

Frondwillow twitched her ears at Stormclaw. "You'll be having your paws full with this one."

Stormclaw purred. "It's been a while since I had an apprentice. They used to keep me in shape."

Reaching the entrance of camp, Thistlestripe dropped the grouse on the prey pile.

Flashstar bounded over to the patrol. "Nicely done! Did you mark the border?"

Stormclaw nodded. The black and white leader looked thoughtful. "Do any of you three feel up to leading or participating in another patrol?"

Thistlestripe stepped forward. "I can."

Flashstar looked around the awake cats. "Creamflower!"

The ginger tabby rushed over. "Yes, Flashstar?"

"Can you take Thistlestripe and Pebblepelt hunting near the ShadowClan border? Yesterday Featherberry said she smelled a mouse nest. Actually, bring her too, since she knows where the nest is."

Creamflower nodded respectfully and gathered up Pebblepelt from where she was sharing tongues with Sunpetal. Featherberry was already waiting for the patrol near the entrance of camp. She went over to Flashstar.

"Flashstar, about the patrols…"

The RiverClan leader turned around. "I'll take care of that. Even the deputy should enjoy some hunting. Relax a bit."

Featherberry nodded and followed her patrol out of camp.

Flashstar flicked his tail. "Stormclaw, Frondwillow, go get something to eat. Spotpaw, if you'll come with me?"

Curious, Spotpaw followed her father to the leader's den. "Flashstar?"

The black and white tom sat down. "I have a question. Do you think Featherberry is a good deputy? I'm wondering whether I should replace her or not."

Spotpaw stared at her father. "I think Featherberry is a great deputy! And even if I had a different opinion, shouldn't you ask your senior warriors like Redstripe?"

Flashstar frowned. "I wanted my daughter to have a voice in this too. I just feel like Featherberry seems to be trying to be the RiverClan leader already. She often takes over my jobs, and once she even called a Clan meeting from the High Boulder."

Spotpaw's tail twitched. "I really don't know. Please ask someone else."

As she turned to leave, her father's voice called out behind her, "If I replace her, I was thinking about Stormclaw. Would you approve of that choice?"

Spotpaw slowly spun to face Flashstar. "He's reliable, gives good praise, and is good with the younger cats. And he's very kind to the elders and queens. He's not too stern but not too soft, either. If you replace Featherberry, he would make a good choice."

Flashstar nodded approvingly. "Very well. You may leave. I think Brightpaw might be back. Share some prey with her."

Spotpaw hurried outside. Sure enough, her sister's cream pelt flashed next to Ivynose's ginger one.

Brightpaw turned and saw Spotpaw. "Spotpaw! Do you want to share a fish?"

The tortoiseshell and white she-cat's eyes widened as she saw the first fish on the prey pile for many days. Then she shook her head sadly.

"Let's bring that to the elders. You and I can have a vole."

Brightpaw also drooped, but obediently grabbed the fish and brought it to the elders' den.

From the prey pile, Spotpaw could hear Palewhisper's surprised and pleased meow. Bringing a vole to the side of the clearing, Spotpaw waited for her sister to come before speaking.

"So, are you looking forward to the Gathering?" Brightpaw nodded in excitement, taking a biteful of vole before answering. "Yes! What about you?"

Spotpaw purred, catching onto her sister's obvious joy. "I am too. But I think maybe it'll be more interesting since it's our second one, not our first."

Brightpaw shrugged. "A Gathering is a Gathering. There are Clans and cats. I don't think it'll be that different. But really, getting to meet everyone is so strange but fun. The WindClan cats stink, though."

Spotpaw finished up her portion of vole and stood up. "Not so much as ShadowClan cats do, though."

Brightpaw's ears turned red as they'd done the night before, a slight look of annoyance flashing over her face.

Dismissing it as a trick of the sun, Spotpaw playfully flicked her sister's ear.

"I'm going to take a nap. Maybe we can go hunting together later."

Still trying not to seem offended by the comment against ShadowClan cats, Brightpaw nodded. "Maybe we can."