Thank you to everyone who is reading this story. I appreciate any constructive criticism you may have. Enjoy!

Q.O.T.D.: Why does Icepaw hate Frostpaw so much? (It's not just because of Goldenpaw)

Disclaimer: Warriors belongs to Erin Hunter. The original plot isn't mine, it comes from an unfinished fanfiction called "Redemption" by Moonbirds. Enjoy!

Chapter 3

"Frostpaw! Icepaw! Frostpaw! Icepaw!" the clan cheered as Frostpaw and Icepaw were led into the crowd by their new mentors. Frostpaw had known who her mentor was going to be, but pretended to guess along with Snakekit and Birdkit. She was a lot happier that she got Rosethorn in this life than in the previous one. Rosethorn was one of the most senior warriors in the clan and she was very strict. The old Frostpaw hadn't cared about bettering her skills and only cared about sharing tongues with Icepaw and Goldenpaw. Now she was excited that she got the chance to improve. Goldenpaw and Dustpaw were made apprentices two moons ago, their mentors were Treenose and Larksong. During the same ceremony, Webpaw, Nightpaw, and Lilypaw became Webface, Nightsky, and Lilycloud. One moon later, Sandpaw became Sandstep.

"Hey Frostpaw!" Snakekit and Birdkit bounced over to her. "You'll come visit us in the nursery still, right?" Birdkit asked.

"Of course," Frostpaw purred. 'I know Snakekit will become the medicine cat, so it'll be good to have him under my paw. Birdkit has long legs and a lithe body, she was a natural hunter if I can recall. She will be well respected among her clanmates.' Frostpaw thought to herself. Over the past four moons, she had studied each and every one of her clanmates. She had figured out their strengths, weaknesses, and worth. 'I know who to "befriend",' Frostpaw thought smugly.

"Congratulations!" Goldenpaw meowed to Icepaw and Frostpaw. Frostpaw bounced around excitedly and chattered about being in the same den as him again. She could see Goldenpaw and Icepaw share an annoyed glance, but ignored it.

"You two can go get your nests ready," Fawnspots, Icepaw's mentor, said gently. "We'll be waiting for you by the entrance." Frostpaw and Icepaw nodded and went off to the apprentice's den. Inside she saw Dustpaw carefully weaving feathers into one of the nests.

"Hey Dustpaw!" Frostpaw greeted. Dustpaw jumped and turned around.

"Frostpaw! Um… I was just… you know… I mean… I was… getting your nest ready…" Dustpaw stuttered and trailed off. Frostpaw inwardly rolled her eyes at his over obvious crush on her. But she brushed up against him and purred.

"Thanks Dustpaw," she said with as much sincerity as she could muster. 'He's a good fighter and pads after me like a kitten after his mother. Best of all, he and Goldenpaw are brothers! I could maybe include him in more of my plans…' Frostpaw's thoughts led her into darker territory, but four moons of practice had perfected her outer mask and made it impenetrable. Because of this, she also became extremely adept at reading cat's expressions. It was almost laughable at how much of their inner thoughts were broadcasted on their faces. Frostpaw could feel Dustpaw shaking and she pulled away. Icepaw watched the scene with narrowed eyes. 'Icepaw is smart enough to realize that I have changed in some way, I have to be careful,' Frostpaw pretended not to notice. "Let me help you with your nest Icepaw."

Once Frostpaw and Icepaw were done with their nests, they met Rosethorn and Fawnspots at the entrance to camp.

"Took you two long enough," Rosethorn growled. Fawnspots just shook her head at Rosethorn and gave a reassuring smile to the two apprentices. The four she-cats headed out of camp and into the forest. Frostpaw pretended to gape and wonder at the huge trees while Icepaw just scowled. Rosethorn let Fawnspots take the lead and she explained important landmarks. Soon they came upon a huge thunderpath. Frostpaw could tell Icepaw was scared. 'She's decent at hiding it but I can tell by the way her whiskers twitch that something happened to her on the Thunderpath. A long, long, time ago… I could use this to my advantage,' Frostpaw thought.

"This is one of our borders since it's too dangerous to cross. We don't patrol here as often as our other borders, but we still scent mark it," Fawnspots explained. The two apprentices were then led to the border marked by a stream, then the one at the edge of a twolegplace, and lastly the one where the fields begin. By the time Frostpaw and Icepaw got back to camp, they were both exhausted. Rosethorn's whiskers twitched with amusement while Fawnspots gave them a sympathetic glance.

"You'll get used to it soon," Fawnspots promised and sent them off to eat. 'I'm so out of shape,' Frostpaw thought frowning to herself. 'I need to work on that.' Goldenpaw padded up with a couple of mice in his jaws.

"Share?" he asked.

"No thanks," Frostpaw said. Goldenpaw and Icepaw looked at her in surprise. "I'm so tired right now I could sleep for a moon," she explained to them so they wouldn't get suspicious. Goldenpaw shrugged and turned to Icepaw while Frostpaw padded to the apprentice's den. Once she knew they weren't watching her anymore, she circled around and settled in the shadows near the pair so she could listen in to their conversation. They were talking in hushed whispers and Frostpaw strained to hear them.

"She's changed somehow," Icepaw whispered to Goldenpaw.

"Really?" Goldenpaw tilted his head to the side. "How?"

"She just doesn't seem as interested in you as before and she spends a lot more time with other cats," Icepaw hissed back. "If she doesn't like you anymore, she may be harder to fool and we will have to change our plans."

"What do we do?" Goldenpaw asked.

"You'll have to pretend you're interested in her, spend time with her, and make her like you even more," Icepaw said getting up. Frostpaw hurried back to the apprentice's den and curled up in her nest. When Icepaw and Goldenpaw entered, it seemed like she had been there the entire time. The two settled down into their own nests and fell asleep. Frostpaw however was going over what she had learned. Immediately, she had an idea. It would be risky and had a chance it wouldn't succeed, but she knew it would ruin Icepaw and bring her down.

"Today we will be learning how to hunt," Rosethorn said to Frostpaw and Icepaw. "Show me your hunting crouches." Icepaw's crouch was awkward and lopsided. Frostpaw smirked and went into a perfect hunting crouch. Fawnspots and Rosethorn both looked at Frostpaw in surprise and amazement.

"Yours is perfect Frostpaw," Fawnspots complimented. 'Good thing I haven't forgotten how to do everything,' Frostpaw thought. She could see Icepaw shoot her a murderous glare before putting on a fake smile.

"Wow Frostpaw, how did you learn to do that," she asked innocently.

"The older apprentices showed me how," Frostpaw shrugged.

"Let's see how well you can stalk real prey now," Rosethorn said and led her away from the training hollow. Fawnspots and Icepaw stayed behind and continued to practice the basics. Soon they spotted a mouse searching for food. Frostpaw got into the hunter's crouch and Rosethorn bent down beside her. "What do you have to check before catching any prey?" Rosethorn asked in a low voice.

"WInd direction," Frostpaw answered.

"What do you have to do to stalk a mouse?"

"Light pawsteps, they can feel vibrations in the ground."

"Good, now go," Rosethorn hissed and Frostpaw crept towards the mouse. She was out of practice, but she had done this many times over in her previous life. She made sure her pawsteps were light and not to brush against any leaves of twigs. Once she close enough, she wriggled her haunches and pounced. The mouse didn't stand a chance and Frostpaw delivered the killed bite to the back of the neck. She trotted back to Rosethorn who had a glimmer in her eyes.

"Impressive, just what I expected from Finchstar's daughter. You have the hunting skills of seasoned apprentice," she commented. Frostpaw glowed under the praise. It was hard to get compliments out of Rosethorn after all. When they returned to camp she got swarmed with praise. Even senior warriors congratulated her on her catch. Frostpaw just dipped her head respectfully to all of them. She saw Icepaw slink in a little later. Obviously embarrassed at being outshone by her happy-go-lucky, idiot sister. 'Oh I have much worse things in store for you Icepaw. You better watch your back.'

About a moon into her apprenticeship, Frostpaw decided that her training was going way too slowly. She had to improve her fighting skills, not just hunting. So she started sneaking out of camp at night to practice. She built up her endurance until she could sprint around the whole of Forestclan's territory. She practiced making her pawsteps so light that she could be right on top of a cat and they wouldn't even notice. She went over all of the fighting moves that she remembered from her previous life and perfected them. She masked her scent so that she wouldn't leave a scent trail and her senses sharpened so that she could detect the slightest change. She got little sleep, but it was worth it. She needed to be ready when Icepaw finally struck.

"You are excelling in your training Frostpaw," Rosethorn said one day as they returned to camp. Frostpaw had caught a squirrel, three mice, two birds, and a rabbit. When they reached the camp, Goldenpaw immediately bounded over and congratulated her on her catches. Frostpaw fought back the urge to growl and instead just dipped her head. "Put your catches on the pile, then we're going out again," Rosethorn meowed gruffly. Frostpaw turned and dumped her catches on the pile and picked the squirrel for herself.

"Hey Frostpaw, do you mind if I share with you?" Goldenpaw asked. Frostpaw shook her head and he sat down. They ate together in silence until Goldenpaw blurted out, "You're acting different now." Frostpaw tilted her head in mock confusion.

"I am?" she asked innocently.

"Yes, you seem more mature now and… I don't know less… excited I guess," Goldenpaw said and ducked his head. Frostpaw smirked to herself inside her head.

"Well, becoming an apprentice just changes cats I guess," Frostpaw meowed and started cleaning her whiskers. Goldenpaw just nodded and just pressed uncomfortably close to her side. Frostpaw leaned away and Goldenpaw, noticing this, quickly got up.

"Sorry, I-I have to go," he said before racing off. Frostpaw watched him go, 'This may be even easier than I thought.'