3rd POV

Shadow and Rusty continued into the forest and into thunderclan territory though that remains unknown to the fiery tom.

Suddenly the movement of a tiny creature caught the eye of the two cats. They watched it scuttle under some brambles. Instinct made Rusty drop into a low crouch. With one slow paw after another he drew his body forward through the undergrowth.

Ears pricked, nostrils flared, eyes unblinking, he moved toward the animal. Rusty could see it clearly now, sitting up among the barbed branches, nibbling on a large seed held between its paws. It was a mouse. Rusty rocked his haunches from side to side, preparing to leap. He held his breath in case his bell rang again.

Excitement coursed through him, making his heart pound. A sudden noise of cracking twigs and crunching leaves made him jump. His bell jangled treacherously, and the mouse darted away into the thickest tangle of the bramble bush. Rusty stood still as Shadow walked up to Him. They saw the white tip of a red bushy tail trailing through a clump of tall ferns up ahead.

They smelled a strong, strange scent, definitely a meat-eater, but neither cat nor dog. Unknown to Rusty Shadow became tense recognizing it as a tail of a fox. Rusty forgot about the mouse and watched the red tail curiously. Shadow on the other paw watched the situation with caution ready to spring into action if needed.

Rusty started prowled forward. They both heard a noise that came from behind them, but sounded muted and distant. Rusty swiveled his ears backward to hear it better. Pawsteps? he wondered, but he kept his eyes fixed on the strange red fur up ahead, and continued to creep onward hoping that it was just Shadow absorbing the situation.

It was only when the faint rustling behind him became a loud and fast-approaching leaf-crackle that Rusty realized that it was in fact not Shadow and he was in danger. The creature hit him like an explosion and Rusty was thrown sideways into a clump of nettles. Shadow decided to watch the event happen but tensed up and raised her hackles ready to help when needed.

Twisting and yowling, Rusty tried to throw off the attacker that had fastened itself to his back. It was gripping him with incredibly sharp claws. Rusty could feel spiked teeth pricking at his neck. He writhed and squirmed from whisker to tail, but he couldn't free himself. For a second he felt helpless; then he froze. Thinking fast, he flipped over onto his back. He knew instinctively how dangerous it was to expose his soft belly, but it was his only chance.

Shadow narrowed her eyes seeing the risky and stalked forward just slightly. Rusty was lucky—the ploy seemed to work. He heard a "hhuuffff" beneath him as the breath was knocked out of his attacker. Thrashing fiercely, Rusty managed to wriggle free. Without looking back he sprinted toward his home hoping that Shadow would follow. Behind him, a rush of pawsteps told Rusty his attacker was giving chase. Even though the pain from his scratches stung beneath his fur, Rusty decided he would rather turn and fight than let himself be jumped on again.

Rusty skidded to a stop, spun around, and faced his pursuer. Shadow saw this and smiled proudly before examining the attacker not getting a chance earlier because she was to focused on Rusty's safety. It was another kitten, with a thick coat of shaggy gray fur, strong legs, and a broad face. Rusty could smelled that it was a tom, and sensed the power in the sturdy shoulders underneath the soft coat. Then the kitten crashed into Rusty at full pelt. Taken by surprise by Rusty's turnabout, it fell back into a dazed heap.

The impact knocked the breath out of Rusty, and he staggered. He quickly found his footing and arched his back, puffing out his orange fur, ready to spring onto the other kitten. But his attacker simply sat up and began to lick a forepaw, all signs of aggression gone. Shadow seeing the threat is gone decided to simply watch and see how this turns out.

Rusty felt strangely disappointed. Every part of him was tense, ready for battle. "Hi there, kittypet!" meowed the gray tom cheerily. "You put up quite a fight for a tame kitty!" Rusty remained on tiptoe for a second, wondering whether to attack anyway and were Shadow went. Then he remembered the strength he had felt in this kitten's paws when he had pinned him to the ground. He dropped onto his pads, loosened his muscles, and let his spine unbend. "And I'll fight you again if I have to," he growled.

"I'm Graypaw, by the way," the gray kitten went on, ignoring Rusty's threat. "I'm training to be a ThunderClan warrior." Rusty remained silent. He didn't understand what this Graywhatsit was meowing about, but he sensed the threat had passed. He hid his confusion by leaning down to lick his ruffled chest. "What's a kittypet like you doing out in the woods? Don't you know it's dangerous?" asked Graypaw.

"If you're the most dangerous thing the woods has to offer, then I think I can handle it," Rusty bluffed. Shadow shook her head knowing their were much more dangerous creatures out their. Graypaw looked up at him for a moment, narrowing his big yellow eyes. "Oh, I'm far from the most dangerous. If I were even half a warrior, I'd have given an intruder like you some real wounds to think about."

Rusty felt a thrill of fear at these ominous words. What did this cat mean by "intruder"? "Anyway," meowed Graypaw, using his sharp teeth to tug a clump of grass from between his claws, "I didn't think it was worth hurting you. You're obviously not from one of the other Clans."

"Other Clans?" Rusty echoed, confused. Shadow let a low chuckle escape her but made sure that they could not hear her. Graypaw let out an impatient hiss. "You must have heard of the four warrior Clans that hunt around here! I belong to ThunderClan. The other Clans are always trying to steal prey from our territory, especially ShadowClan. They're so fierce they would have ripped you to shreds, no questions asked." Graypaw paused to spit angrily and continued: "They come to take prey that is rightfully ours. It's the job of the ThunderClan warriors to keep them out of our territory. When I've finished my training, I'll be so dangerous, I'll have the other Clans shaking in their flea-bitten skins. They won't dare come near us then!"

Rusty narrowed his eyes. This must be one of the wildcats Smudge had warned him about! Living rough in the woods, hunting and fighting each other for every last scrap of food. Yet Rusty didn't feel scared. In fact, it was hard not to admire this confident kitten. "So you're not a warrior yet?" he asked. "Why? Did you think I was?" Graypaw purred proudly; then he shook his wide, furry head. "I won't be a real warrior for ages. I have to go through the training first. Kits have to be six moons old before they even begin training. Tonight is my first night out as an apprentice."

Shadow narrowed her eyes as she thought back to what he said to her kittypet brother, "Why would he give up so much information to a stranger." Shadow thought as she studied the tom more. He seems to be inexperienced compared to the warriors she ran into in the past.