Chapter 2

I watched Deathpaw go into the den. She was lucky she didn't have a day like my first day. I didn't see the territory until the next day. That day wasn't the best either. The same cat ruined both days for me. Flurrytail.

"I'm glad her apprenticeship has gotten off to a nice start," Silentstorm said, as if reading my mind.

"She had a much better one than me," I said. "Then again, mine wasn't at all normal."

"It wasn't," Silentstorm agreed.

"Most cats don't have several cats who want them dead," Songheart said.

"Then you guys aren't most cats anymore," I sighed. "Sorry for that."

"Sorry? None of this is your fault. We chose to help you," Silentstorm said. "I don't regret it."

"I don't either," Songheart said. "I doubt you chose to have enemies."

"She would have left a long time ago if she didn't want enemies," a cat said from behind me.

I jumped and turned around. "Will you stop doing that!" I said.

"Since when do I listen to you?" Flurrytail asked. "I heard you talking about me. I figured I could give my opinion on the subject."

"Since when did we want to hear your opinion on Silkshade?" Silentstorm asked. "You can go now."

"You know I'll leave when I want to," Flurrytail snapped. "You all know my forces are growing. How many cats are on your side? Only four I know of. And you wouldn't tell anybody else, would you?"

"If you keep yowling your stupid warnings we already know about all of RainClan will know you're plotting murder," Silentstorm said.

What Flurrytail was saying is true. News that I'm part kittypet spread like wildfire and most cats don't think I should be a warrior. Duskpelt sure hasn't had cat's approval either. Snakeheart and her apprentice Molepaw were still nice to me, but that was about all from the other clans. Even some other cats in my own clan, although they were nice to me, were not treating me like one of them.

"Well, I have better things to do than talk with a kittypet," Flurrytail said.

Silentstorm sighed. "NightClan is dividing within," she said. She walked off to the warriors den.

"She's so negative sometimes," Songheart said. "There's so much more to life than what she sees." She followed after Silentstorm.

I wasn't tired. The sun hadn't set yet. I walked out of camp. I needed some space.

Life had changed so much for me in the past moons. I'd discovered who my parents were. I met a new enemy with revenge on her mind. I met a cat who loved me and was murdered by his supposed friend. I was still the same cat I was, I just know a lot more. And have more cats to watch out for.

Flurrytail has more cats than before. I don't know how many rouges she has recruited. Just thinking about rouges has me smelling them.

Cats leapt out of the bushes. That was no scent of my imagination. Five of them. I am a bit outnumbered. They all had size advantage and experience by the looks of it.

No one had attacked yet. They had me surrounded and were waiting to spring into battle.

"What do you want?" I growled, trying to sound menacing. "Get off NightClan territory!"

"It's none of your business what we do!" a tom hissed.

"We do as we please," another tom said.

"And you sure aren't going to stop us!" a she-cat laughed.

They had formed a tight circle around me. They started slashing at me. They did it one at a time as if they were playing some sort of game. I'm not some stupid prey! I jumped up and spin in a circle, slashing at their faces.

As I was landing one of them knocked me onto my back and held down my limbs. I was hissing and spitting furiously. As much as I struggled the tom's weight was to much. His breath smelled like crow-food. What should I do from here?

A cat jumped out of the shadows onto the tom holding me down. He was knocked off me and I scrambled to my paws. I wondered what NightClan cat had come to my aid. What I saw wasn't a NightClan cat. Snakeheart had come and rescued me.

We stood tail to tail. We were still outnumbered. We dodged and slashed and bit. I saw that our moves were much better than theirs. They threw their weight around and slashed out at exactly where you were, not paying attention to where you were going. Our wits eventually beat their brute strength. They fled into the night which had fallen by this time.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Hello to you too," Snakeheart said.

"Hi. What are you doing here?" I repeated.

"Saving your pelt by the looks of it," she said. "I heard some commotion and scented the foul odor of rouges. I heard your voice, saw a bunch of cats surrounding you, and figured you needed help. You obviously did."

"Thank you. I'll make sure to tell Wingstar about this. I don't want war with SunClan because you saved my life," I said.

"Looks like I've caught two mice with one slash," Flurrytail said, stepping out of the underbrush with Coldclaw at her side.

"Your friends, I assume? You haven't got any cat yet," I growled.

"Sister," Coldclaw said.

"Coldclaw," Snakeheart said.

"I was hoping to get Silkshade alone for once, but I can't say I'm surprised," Flurrytail said. "She always needs some cat to look out for her."

"You never seem to be alone either," I stated. "And you are always sending in other cats to do the majority of the work."

"I am working with my brain and strength. If we relied on brute strength where would that get us?" Flurrytail said. "Now down to business. Getting rid of you once and for all."

"I'd get out of the way if I were you," Coldclaw said to his sister. "You don't have to get hurt."

"And neither do you," Snakeheart said.

"How about we go back to our camps and nobody gets hurt?" I suggested.

"And how about hedgehogs fly. It's not your decision to make, kittypet," Flurrytail spat.

A cat put paws over our mouths. "Hush and it will all be over quickly," a voice I recognize as Murderscar's snarled.

Flurrytail and Coldclaw were coming toward us with their claws unsheathed. I saw Snakeheart's jaw move. Murderscar leapt back, her pad ripped. She jumped at Snakeheart. Coldclaw and Flurrytail both lunged at me. I rolled out of the way.

Flurrytail stopped. "Cats are coming. We need to go," she said. Murderscar, Coldclaw, and Flurrytail quickly vanished into the shadows.

Snakeheart and I lied exhausted for a moment before either of us went to sit up. Duskpelt came out of the underbrush with a few other cats.

"What's going on? What was all the noise about? We could here it back at camp!" Duskpelt asked me. He saw Snakeheart. "What's a SunClan cat doing here?"

"If you'd give me a moment to explain I will," I said.

"Hold up," Silentstorm said. "Silkshade is obviously injured. I say we take her to Dawnfur."

"Get Snakeheart some help as well. She saved my life," I said.

"I should get back," Snakeheart said. "My clan will be worried!"

"Our camp is closer. Some of those wounds need treatment," Duskpelt said. "You are right, Silentstorm. They can tell their story later."

We walked back to camp. Snakeheart was leaning on Silentstorm. I was determined to hold my own weight. We walked through the entrance.

Duskpelt and Silentstorm walked us to the medicine den.

"Dawnfur!" Duskpelt called.

"What is it, brother? It's the middle of the night!" Dawnfur complained. She noticed me and Snakeheart. "Injuries! What were you two doing? Honestly, I'm always treating injuries now!"

She got to work. I had nothing too bad. Snakeheart had a deep gash across her back.

"You'll both be fine. Now at the moment you have a cat who wants some answers," Dawnfur said.

Wingstar walked into the medicine den. "What happened this time, Silkshade?" she asked. "And what does this SunClan cat have to do with it?"

I launched into the tale of how the rouges attacked. I purposely left out the part after that with Flurrytail.

"So, Snakeheart, you crossed the border because you thought someone was in trouble? What if it had been SnowClan and you ended your clan in a war?" Wingstar questioned.

"I know the foul scent of rouges. I know what a cat in trouble sounds like," Snakeheart answered. "I don't want cats to be murdered when I can help them."

"Just don't go crossing the border whenever you feel like it," Wingstar said. "Is she fit to go back to her clan, Dawnfur?"

"Not alone. I'd say escort her to the border and wait for a patrol to tell them what went on last night," Dawnfur said. "Might want to thank them somewhere. It might help our neighbors attitude."

"That's a fine idea. I'll send her with the dawn patrol," Wingstar said. "I think I have learned something tonight."

"What?" Dawnfur asked.

"Don't let Silkshade go out alone! Every time she does something happens. And someone has to save her," Wingstar teased. That was more true than she realized.

"On a more serious note, I would advise cats not to go out alone. There have been so many rouges around," Dawnfur said.

"I'll tell everyone that tomorrow," Wingstar said. "Now I'll go get some sleep." She left.

I soon fell asleep.

"You two can not come in right now. She's sleeping," Dawnfur said.

"We're basically family! We should be allowed to see her," Silentstorm argued.

"It can wait until later," Dawnfur said. "You must have something else to do."

"I'm awake now," I said.

"Alright, you two can come in. I have to go do something. Sit with her while I'm out," Dawnfur said.

"Okay," Silentstorm said.

"Thank you!" Songheart said.

As soon as Dawnfur was out of the den Silentstorm asked, "What happened last night? Tell us everything."

I gave a full recount of what happened. They listened intently to the whole thing.

"So you had to be saved twice last night," Silentstorm said. "Things can't get better, can they?"

"You can't be going out alone like that!" Songheart said.

"Wingstar doesn't want anybody going out alone right now," I said. "With so many rouge attacks she thinks it will be safer this way."

"All of these attacks have been on you whether others were with you or not. Flurrytail is using everything at her disposal. Please don't leave camp unless you have to," Silentstorm said.

"Fine, I won't," I agreed. "Now let me ask a question. What were you and that patrol doing?"

"There were loud noises of fighting cats. It was enough to wake a few of us up. Duskpelt took us to see what it was all about," Silentstorm said. "Thank StarClan he did! You and Snakeheart would have died if we hadn't scared them off!"

"How does Flurrytail alert them so fast?" Songheart asked.

"It sounds like they do a lot of waiting around on our territory," Silentstorm said.

"That's a question we can't answer," I said.

We sat silent for a moment. Dawnfur walked in. "You two have other things to do. Go find Duskpelt if you don't," Dawnfur said. "As for you, you'll be spending the day in here resting."

I curled up and fell to sleep.