Silentpaw only stopped running when he was sure Gingerpaw and Shadedpaw weren't following him. The crickets chirped and the smell of the sea was accompanied by the gentle crashing of waves on the beach. Panting heavily he took a moment just to sit. He was alone in the dunes at night. Above him swathes of stars glinted and shimmered, thousands if not millions of Starclan warriors dancing in the sky. Concentrating hard he tried to reach out to Lilytail, ask her if she was okay, ask her if she would just talk to him.

But he was left without a response, his own skull and thoughts being his for the first time since his apprenticeship had begun. He missed hearing the little comments, the advice. Just the fact that someone understood him. He glanced up at the stars, if Lilytail couldn't talk to him maybe Starclan could help. All the stars above could do was continue to glint.

He felt exhausted, his brain was overwhelmed and his body overexerted. He considered going back to camp. Not tonight, he needed space. An empty rabbit warren seemed to beckon to him, the dark entrance would likely lead to a warm dry place for tonight. He'd go back just before everyone else woke up.

"Gingerpaw, keep up! Crabfang is moving faster than you and he's recovering from an injury" Brambledip snapped impatiently, clipping the back of her feet with an uncaring paw. Glowpaw peered back at her, an awkward look on his face. Speeding up to a gentle trot she scowled ahead, refusing to acknowledge Brambledip. The bags under her eyes were a giveaway she hadn't slept well. Shadedpaw was tired but nothing like she was.

She'd been worried sick for Silentpaw, she'd lay awake, listening for the sound of pawsteps tiptoeing into camp. When she woke up she saw him by the elders den picking ticks off Troutfin's greasy back, so at least he'd made it back home. The way he'd looked at her, she felt like she was looking at an older cat, a cat that had seen too much. More than ever she wished he could talk. "Early night for you Gingerpaw, can't stay up chatting if you want to be a warrior" Cloudfang chipped in, probably trying to make light of it.

"Probably busy chatting to Shadedpaw" Glowpaw jeered tail was leering close to her face so she bit it in retaliation. The young tom yelped and bolted forward into Ghostfalcon. "Glowpaw, be sensible" The she-cat muttered.

They followed the same path to the beach, weaving between old pine trees to the compacted sand of the beach. Cloudfang limped and lay down, Ghostfalcon and Brambledip placing themselves down next to him. "Today we'll be doing another fighting exercise. We've assessed your current skill level and today we'll be teaching you some fighting techniques" Brambledip informed them. "Ghostfalcon and I will show you a mock fight. Afterwards I want to see you fight to see if you've observed key moves"

Ghostfalcon and Brambledip stepped away from the rest of the group, each assuming a fighting stance a couple of foxsteps away from each other. Brambledip arched his back and let off a menacing hiss. Ghostfalcon leaped without hesitation, her paws outstretched, grappling onto Brambledips shoulders. Bowling him over, his white soft belly was exposed and she pummeled it violently with her back feet. Gingerpaw saw every muscle in Brambedip's body ripple as he kicked the cream she-cat off.

Ghostfalcon hurtled, sand spraying as her body impacted with the sand. She barely had a few seconds to coordinate herself. Brambledip charged at her. With a premeditated swipe of his forepaw, he took her front legs from underneath her, causing her to lurch forward. The second time he swiped she lifted her front feet off the ground. With a single lunge she brought her paws forward and brought her jaws around his neck.

Brambledip batted her off, a scowl on his face. It was clear that the demonstration was over, but he'd been planning on winning it. Ghostfalcon blinked slowly at him. "Right then. Glowpaw, Gingerpaw your next. I want to see what you've learnt" Brambledip ordered. Glowpaw willingly assumed the position as Brambledip and Ghostfalcon took the observer seat again. Gingerpaw plodded with a sigh and stood ready to fight. Glowpaw didn't give her much time to think.

The large mass of white fur hurtled into her. The air was knocked out of her and she was left wheezing as Glowpaw dug his teeth into her shoulder. "Gingerpaw strike upwards with your feet!" Crabfang yelled encouragingly at his apprentice. Taking his advice she thrashed at his stomach. It wasn't powerful enough to make him fly but it was to make him stagger away. Adrenaline had kicked in, her former tired demeanor dissolved. Without mercy she took a powerful jump above her opponent , paws aimed at his head. A hearty 'thunk' noise was accompanied by Glowpaw's muffled howl as she mushed his face into the sand.

"Gingerpaw!" Brambledip roared. Nervously she backed away as the mackerel tabby intervened. Glowpaw pulled his head from the sand, coughing and spitting out grains. His eyes appeared sore and red. "Did I once in that demonstration do that!?" He hissed, pushing his face into hers. Her ears flattened to her skull as she cowered. "No" was all he could mumble. "But I thought maybe using some other tech-" Brambledip snarled, cutting her off.

"That's not how Duneclan fights, It'll never be how Duneclan fights! You call yourself a Duneclan cat, you can't swim and you fight like a-" He cut himself suddenly at the end of the rant. Gingerpaw had pressed herself into the sand as he loomed over her, feeling confused and hurt by his outburst. Shadedpaw had his mouth open, angry green eyes fixed on the warrior. "Brambledip! There's no need for that, not copying exactly what you did isn't a crime! Finding new ways of defending yourself isn't a crime" Crabfang boomed assertively. He stood unbalanced but with a look of pride as he defended his apprentice. Gingerpaw looked back at her mentor with large eyes.

"I think you're being too harsh, that's all. You're always very hard on her and it comes across as malicious. I doubt you mean to come across that way but as an outsider looking in it looks like your nitpicking" Crabfang said passively. Ghostfalcon gave a small nod, avoiding eye-contact with Brambledip. The mackerel tabby stared back at his fellow warriors through slitted eyes. "Very well then-" Was all he managed to say but Gingerpaw was convinced he was biting his tongue and holding back an array of venomous words.

Gingerpaw padded back into camp with Shadedpaw. Brambledip had shaken her. It just seemed so aggressive and unnecessary for something so mediocre as a battle move. Shadedpaw had walked alongside her, his long black fur mingling with her ginger pelt. The rest of the training session had been awkward, Crabfang continued as if nothing was wrong, Brambledip brooded, Ghostfalcon became nervous and Gingerpaw felt miserable. Crabfang had limped back to the medicine cat den for some pain relief, Ghostfalcon had gone to share tongues with Adderhide and Brambledip had stormed off into the warriors den.

Willowheart appeared from the nursery, trotting over to the two apprentices. "Hello Shadedpaw, nice to see you!" She smiled and spoke in that classic mum-sees-friend-voice. "I'm alright thanks, you?" He dipped his head politely. "Ah lovely of you to ask, I'm good. Do you mind if I speak to Gingerpaw?" Her mother's purple eyed gaze fixed on her and she felt a lump begin to form in her throat like a stone. Shadedpaw looked at Gingerpaw and then back at Willowheart uncertainty. "Of course, see you later" Without thinking Gingerpaw rubbed her cheek against his as a goodbye. The tom seemed to tranfix on her for a moment. "By-Bye then" He hurried off, leaving Gingerpaw to face whatever fire her mother had for her.

Willowheart smiled pleasantly enough and gestured with a flick of her tail to the camp entrance. Gingerpaw padded side by side with her mum, a dreadful sense of uncertainty building. The only noise around them as they slowly promanaded down to the rockpools on the beach was the wheeling of cackling seagulls and the sea battering the cliffs unmercilessly. Gingerpaw dragged her feet in the sand, trying to ebb away from her mother's side.

Willowheart sighed. "Why did you leave camp with Silentpaw and Shadedpaw last night?" She asked suddenly. Gingerpaw's eyes widened with the realisation they'd been spotted. She opened her mouth, her brain having no time to process the information to create a legitimate sounding lie. "Don't try to make something up, tell me the truth" Willowheart stopped walking to turn and face her daughter. "Please don't get cross, I've already had my head bitten off today by Brambledip' Gingerpaw paused guiltily 'We went and checked out the ashfields, nothing dangerous or weird happened" The last part was a fabrication, Silentpaw having another fainting episode wasn't normal.

"But why? Was it just because you were told not to go so you decided to go anyway?" Willowheart questioned sternly. Gingerpaw scuffed a pawful of sand around and tried to avoid her mother's eyes. "No! I had a dream about it. I wanted to go there but couldn't so I went in real life, please don't be angry" Willowheart's expression softened as she stared out to sea. "I'm not angry, part of me admires the bravery of going to a place like that at night. All I'm asking is that you don't go again"

Gingerpaw tilted her head. "Why?" She inquired. "Nighstar received a message from Starclan about the place being forbidden. She takes the message seriously and anyone caught trespassing is punished. Quite severely. It's not worth the risk, you don't want to see Nighstar angry" Willowheart shivered and her eyes were grave. "Promise me you won't go back"

Gingerpaw didn't want to promise. She did want to go back and she certainly didn't understand why Starclan would ban living cats from going there. Nothing bad- actually Silentpaw had a bad experience with it, but maybe Silentpaw's fainting was just him, not the ashfields. But on the other paw her mother was asking for her to promise and it's not like you could just say no. "Fine. I promise" Gingerpaw signed disappointedly. Willowheart smiled fondly and gently batted her daughter's ear. "Thank you"

Reviewer responses!:

AzurineCielo67: Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm so glad you like Silentpaw and Gingerpaw and I'm glad your enjoying the story. Brambledip is a bitter cat generally but he takes it out on those two in particular.

Succulentsofa: Thank you! I was hoping for a more morbid vibe on the last chapter especially because of Lilytail's death. I think I'm better at writing dark things, might just be because I enjoy darker themes and warriors has plenty to explore.

This chapter definitely felt more like a cooldown one, I'm excited for the next chapter. I struggled writing it as my mum was playing music really loudly on the computer and wouldn't turn it down. Luckily I have some really good earplugs lol. Thanks for reading and reviews are hugely appreciated.

Question of the chapter: What punishment do you think Nightstar has in place for visiting the Ashfields?