Hope you guys enjoy our next chapter from Flurry's point of view again. We're right on the verge of getting into the really interesting stuff. It's taking all of my willpower to build up to it instead of jumping right in to all the drama and angst and adventure I have planned XD

Chapter Three

-Flurrypaw-

Flurrypaw slowly opened her eyes. Her whole body ached, and her head stung like crazy. It was nighttime, and the forest was quiet aside from the occasional chirp of crickets. Flurrypaw tried to remember what had happened. The fox! She sprung to her paws, which she immediately regretted as it sent sharp pains splitting through her head. She was covered with blood, both hers and the fox's. She swallowed, her eyes landing on Lakepaw, laying perfectly still a few tail-lengths away.

"Lakepaw?" her voice came out as a hoarse whisper. She rushed frantically to her friend's side, her heart pounding wildly. "Lakepaw come on, please be okay," she murmured, giving her friend a gentle nudge.

Lakepaw's deep blue eyes opened sleepily. Flurrypaw let out a laugh of relief. "You're okay!"

Lakepaw sat up, her paws barely supporting her weight. "You look awful," she told Flurrypaw, her eyes shining with worry.

"I'm fine," assured Flurrypaw. "But how did we survive? Why did the fox leave?"

Lakepaw studied the ground. The silence stretched. "You… don't remember anything?" Lakepaw asked slowly.

"I just remember the fox," answered Flurrypaw, shaking her head. "I think I banged my head pretty hard. I don't know any of the details."

Lakepaw examined the dried blood behind Flurrypaw's ear and grimaced. "That was a pretty solid hit," she commented. "You fell on a rock- but you saved me."

"I did?"

"The fox attacked us and was about to kill me, then you pushed me out of the way. That's when you hit your head," Lakepaw explained.

Flurrypaw was confused. She laughed hesitantly. "But Lakepaw- what happened after that? Why did the fox leave?"

Flurrypaw studied Lakepaw as the small black she-cat shifted uncomfortably, at an evident loss for words.

"Lakepaw?" persisted Flurrypaw. "What happened while I was knocked out?"

"Um, nothing. The fox… got bored of us, I think. And left."

Flurrypaw tilted her head. "Lakepaw… that fox was starving."

"I think maybe it saw a rabbit," Lakepaw argued. "Easier prey, I guess?"

Easier prey than an unconscious cat- and, well, Lakepaw? Flurrypaw thought suspiciously. But she saw no point in further arguing. She sighed and conceded, "Okay. Now we need to get back to camp. I'm sure they're worried sick looking for us."

"I'm sure they could care less if I never came back," Lakepaw muttered saltily, getting to her paws.

Flurrypaw frowned. "Don't say that," she mewed kindly. "I would care, at least."

Lakepaw smiled, her eyes glowing softly. "I care about you too," she murmured. "I-I mean-" she stopped. "Where's Ferntail?"

"I don't know," Flurrypaw realized.

"Maybe she went back to camp?" Lakepaw mewed.

"Yeah…" Flurrypaw shrugged. "We need to head back. We really need to have Emberlily look at these wounds."

"Flurrypaw!" the cries echoed in the clearing. "You're alive!" Even though it was the middle of the night, almost the entire Clan was awake. They swarmed Flurrypaw and Lakepaw as they stumbled into the clearing. Emberlily, the medicine cat, pushed her way through the crowd.

"Give them some space," she ordered, her voice clear and controlled. "They're quite battered up."

"Why is everyone still awake?" Flurrypaw asked, puzzled. "Are they all waiting for us?"

"Well, yes…" Emberlily trailed off. "But there's something else."

Flurrypaw caught sight of something… no, someone… lying perfectly still in the middle of the clearing. "Is that a body?" she whispered.

"Flurrypaw-" Lakepaw said. Lakepaw had already realized, but Flurrypaw refused to believe it. She sprinted to the middle of the clearing.

"No-" Flurrypaw collapsed in front of Ferntail's lifeless body, tears flooding into her eyes. "She can't be dead, she can't be!" Her tears were falling faster now, her breath ragged.

"I'm so sorry," Lakepaw said in a soft voice.

"Lakepaw-" sobbed Flurrypaw. "What do I do? She was my mentor!"

"I'm right here," murmured Lakepaw, pressing herself against Flurrypaw. Tears were welling in her eyes as well. "I… I'm right here."

They sat in silence for what felt like forever, until Flurrypaw's eyelids grew heavy and she dozed into an uncomfortable slumber.

Flurrypaw once again found herself in that dark place she so often dreamed about. She could feel night cool grass under her paws, and a soft wind rustled her fur. "Hello, Flurrypaw," a soft she-cat's voice greeted from the darkness.

"Why can't I see you?" Flurrypaw asked, feeling her way towards the voice.

"It can be difficult to connect with some cats," the voice responded.

"Why?"

"Do you know who I am?" the voice asked, ignoring Flurrypaw's question.

"You're StarClan," Flurrypaw mewed hopefully.

"Mm. Very good."

"But why can't I see you?" Flurrypaw persisted, annoyed by the constant overwhelming blackness.

"In time, Flurrypaw, we will be revealed to you. But you must learn to trust us first," the voice said warmly.

"Trust you?" Flurrypaw echoed. "But you won't tell me anything."

There was no response. Just the empty void of sleep. Flurrypaw sighed, pondering the she-cat's words. Does this shadow voice deserve my trust?

She found herself in a state of semi-consciousness. Her eyes were closed and she couldn't move, but the words spoken around her lingered in her head and penetrated her dreams. She heard Lakepaw, talking to who she presumed was Emberlily. "We found her body near camp," Emberlily was saying. "She was killed by the same fox who attacked you."

A wave of grief washed over Flurrypaw. The encounter with the voice in the shadows had entirely distracted her from her mentor's passing.

"I just can't believe you survived it," the medicine cat was remarking.

"Yeah. Flurrypaw was so amazing. It was all her," Flurrypaw heard Lakepaw respond.

But it wasn't all me, thought Flurrypaw, something else happened that Lakepaw isn't telling me about. Somehow, Lakepaw saved me.

"Without Flurrypaw… I'd be dead," Lakepaw continued.

She's hiding something. Flurrypaw thought, before sliding into a deep sleep.

"You're awake!" Lakepaw was lying across from Flurrypaw, her eyes bleary with exhaustion. Sunlight filtered in through the mossy entrance to the medicine den. Emberlily was sorting herbs in the back of the den, and turned around at Lakepaw's words.

"How long have I been asleep?" Flurrypaw asked, sitting up. She glanced at the bright sun outside with concern.

Emberlily replied, "Not long enough. You're going to need a lot of rest to recover from those nasty wounds."

Flurrypaw frowned. Everything came back to her in an instant and she let out a small gasp. Ferntail. The fox. My wounds. Lakepaw.

She looked back to the apprentice. "Are you okay?" she mewed.

"I'm fine. Just worried about you."

"That silly apprentice hasn't slept a heartbeat all night. She insisted on watching you and staying by your side until you woke up," Emberlily chastised. "Exhausted now, aren't you Lakepaw? And you've got wounds to heal! That's one good friend you've found for yourself, Flurrypaw."

"I know," Flurrypaw answered, smiling at Lakepaw. Lakepaw yawned widely. Flurrypaw leaned forward to put a paw on top of Lakepaw's. "Get some sleep. I'm okay."

Lakepaw nodded, yawning again. In a few heartbeats of laying her head on the nest, she

was out cold.

"Breezestar wanted to see you," Emberlily told Flurrypaw. "Whenever you're feeling up to it, of course."

"I'm fine, really," Flurrypaw mewed. "I'll talk to Breezestar."

Emberlily nodded and disappeared, returning a few minutes later with the ShadowClan leader. He was large, broad-shouldered, and white, but his pelt was covered with dozens of gray and black blotches. His eyes shone a clear, light blue. He looked exactly like…

"Hey, Dad." Flurrypaw twitched her whiskers, knowing the nickname annoyed him.

"Hello, Flurrypaw," Breezestar mewed awkwardly. He seemed distracted. He turned to Emberlily. "Will she still be able to be a warrior after an incident like this? Or will we have to retire her to the elders den forever? Maybe she could become your assistant if the workload isn't too much for her with her injury," he rambled, as if Flurrypaw wasn't lying right behind him, able to hear every word.

Emberlily sighed, obviously used to this kind of behavior from the leader. "She's fine, Breezestar. It was just a minor head wound. There doesn't seem to be any lasting damage, she'll just need to rest for a few days."

Breezestar didn't look convinced. In fact, he seemed even more distraught. "She would have made such a strong warrior," he continued. Flurrypaw rolled her eyes.

"She can continue her warrior training, she'll just need another mentor-" Emberlily pointed out.

"Now she'll never amount to anything," snarled the tom angrily.

Flurrypaw's eyes shone with hurt. "What are you talking about?" she said defensively. "I'm still just as strong as ever. It was just a small injury- I'm still the warrior I was!"

Breezestar spat on the ground. "You're no warrior," he growled. "You're never going to be a warrior. You're a useless, good-for-nothing piece of crowfood."

What in StarClan is wrong with him? Flurrypaw thought, terrified. Why can't he understand that this injury isn't stopping me from becoming a warrior?

"Please," she begged, "Just give me a chance to prove to you that I'm still strong! Give me another mentor- let me train to be a warrior!"

Emberlily observed silently, obviously too intimidated by the furious leader to stop him. Flurrypaw waited, trembling, for a response.

"Very well," Breezestar said through clenched teeth. "I will mentor you."

Flurrypaw swallowed. She had never really had a relationship with Breezestar. They had just acknowledged each other's presence and been done with it. But now a side of him was revealed to her that she had never seen before. She hated the idea of being mentored by Breezestar, but if it was her only shot at becoming a warrior… she had to take it.

Breezestar... definitely has a few issues. What did you guys think of this chapter?

In response to reviews:

KrazyKube, yep, Wasptalon is a cliche but he's VERY important to Lakepaw's character development. I'm glad you find Lakepaw's power interesting! It's only going to get better, I promise.

Mintflight, we love a good cliche XD Like I said in another response, this interaction is going to be key later on.

CookieCat, I know it's treason but I actually haven't read past Shattered Sky. However, my brother has been filling me in so I kind of know what you're talking about haha. I heard they made my favorite character, Finpaw, evil? Lmao