Badgerpaw woke to a chill in the air. She shook herself and glanced around. The other apprentices were still asleep, and she couldn't yet see the light of dawn.

She stretched and stood, leaving the den. She carefully stepped over Palepaw and Thistlepaw, and poked her head out, looking around. She noticed that leaves were fluttering down from the branches above camp like the wing feathers of a startled bird.

Leaf-fall is finally here, she thought. Only a few moons to leafbare.

She found herself wondering about how harsh leafbare really was. Could it really be so cold that the lake turns solid? What even was snow?

Badgerpaw almost laughed at her kitlike curiosity. She emerged fully from the den and looked around camp. Fernleaf was standing guard at the camp entrance. Raventail was grooming himself beneath highledge, glancing up every few moments, waiting from Redstar. Other than the two toms, it seemed everyone else was asleep.

Her boredom made her paws itch, and she padded up to Raventail. Despite her nerves around the deputy, she needed something to do.

"May I go on one of the dawn patrols when it's time?" she asked.

The dark tom regarded her for a moment. "I suppose," he meowed. "I'll wake Featherleg when I'm getting everyone else."

"Thank you," Badgerpaw meowed, dipping her head. She felt very relieved that the tom hadn't snapped at her about him making the decisions for patrols. "How much longer will it be?" she added a bit hesitantly, unsure about testing her luck with questions.

"A bit longer," he meowed. "Redstar is having a Clan meeting before I send anyone out."

Badgerpaw tipped her head. "Why?"

Raventail shook his head. "I don't know. He just told me last night to wait for him for me to assign patrols."

She heard pawsteps and glanced up, seeing Redstar exit his den onto the highledge. The great ginger tom looked across the empty camp before making the call.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the highledge for a Clan meeting!"

After a few heartbeats, cats slowly began to emerge from their dens, looking tired and prodding each other awake. Badgerpaw felt a bit pleased with herself as she watched the other apprentices stumble out of the den.

"We all know that WindClan has been pressing our borders," Redstar meowed. "This is unacceptable. We must make it so the gain of this territory is not worth their effort.

"We will start having constant guards along the WindClan border. The patrol sent at dawn will stay until sunhigh. Sunhigh will remain until sunset, sunset until midnight, and midnight to dawn."

The cats' murmurs rippled across the clearing. Badgerpaw slightly regretted asking for a dawn patrol now.

"WindClan will not be allowed to cross the border," Redstar meowed, "but you must not be confrontational. You are only permitted to attack when you see their paws on our side of the stream. Is that understood?"

The warriors murmured in assurance.

"Raventail, you may now assign the patrols for this morning." Redstar jumped down. "I am going hunting. Fernleaf, Heathertooth, come with me."

The toms stood and followed their leader, though Badgerpaw noticed her grandfather looked slightly irritated, as he had guarded camp all night.

"Spottedwing, Berrypaw, Yarrowpelt, and Blossomwhisker," Raventail called. "You will be guarding the WindClan border until sunhigh.

"Come on now, Raventail," Spottedwing meowed. "That will be ages. What about training? Berrypaw needs to work on hunting in trees-"

"Follow orders, Spottedwing," Raventail hissed crossly.

The tabby's whiskers twitched, but he turned and lead his patrol to the bramble barrier.

"Featherleg, Badgerpaw, Quickstorm, and Smokepad, you will be marking the ShadowClan border," Raventail meowed.

Badgerpaw felt a surge of relief. She wouldn't have to stand guard until sunhigh! Thank StarClan.

"Well come on then," Featherleg meowed, raising his tail for his patrol to follow. "Off we go."

Badgerpaw bounded after her mentor. "I woke up early this morning," she meowed proudly. "I asked Raventail if I could go on a dawn patrol."

Amusement sparkled in Featherleg's eyes. "Thank you, my dear apprentice, for making me wake up early."

"Let her be glad," Quickstorm meowed. "You used to wake me up this early for training."

"When I was younger and had the energy for it," Featherleg meowed.

Smokepad purred. "You barely finished his training when you got Badgerpaw as an apprentice," he pointed out. "It wasn't that long ago."

"These bones are still older," Featherleg meowed, his voice taking on a croaky tone. "I fear it's off to the elders for me soon."

Badgerpaw's eyes widened. "No!" she cried. "You aren't old!"

"Maye not quite as old as the elders," Featherleg relented. "But I'm still one of the oldest warriors in ThunderClan."

"I could never see you retiring," Smokepad meowed. "You've always been too restless of a warrior to enjoy the many moons of peaceful dozing all day."

"The restlessness might finally be catching up to me," Featherleg admitted. "I have a few more seasons, but I'm tired."

"You can't retire too soon," Badgerpaw meowed, trying not to sound desperate. "I need to lead a patrol with you in it, so I can boss you around for once."

"Don't be rude, Badgerpaw," Smokepad chided, but Featherleg was purring.

"Alright then, Badgerpaw," he meowed. "I won't retire until you've lead me on a patrol. I promise."

"We've nearly reached ShadowClan," Quickstorm meowed.

Featherleg flicked his tail. "No reason to get tense," he meowed. "They agreed only two nights ago that we would be allies in the coming moons."

"Still," Quickstorm meowed. "The wind is blowing this way, and I can smell one of their patrols."

They reached the border and Featherleg marked a tree just before two brown tabbies and the young warrior, Moleclaw emerged from the bushes.

"Spiderstripe," Featherleg meowed, dipping his head politely in greeting to the brown tom at the head of the patrol.

"Featherleg," the tom responded. "How is the prey running?"

"Well," the silver cat responded. "I hope the same for ShadowClan?"

"Of course," Spiderstripe meowed, flicking his tail. "How is the situation with WindClan?"

Featherleg paused for a moment, and Badgerpaw realized that he was trying to figure out how to say that they were still crossing without making ThunderClan sound weak.

"Their scent remains across our border," he meowed finally.

The brown tabby she-cat spat. "WindClan! They're senseless, if they think they're in the right."

"It's Ashstar who's senseless," Smokepad meowed. "Maybe some of the warriors think like her, but most of them are just following orders."

"Even still, they're breaking the code to do it," Spiderstripe meowed. "But ShadowClan won't. We will stand by RiverClan and ThunderClan on this matter."

"We thank you for that," Featherleg meowed, bowing his head.

They continued along the border, walking the opposite direction as the ShadowClan patrol. Badgerpaw was relieved that they had friends in ShadowClan, but the fact that they needed them was scary to her. It meant that there really was something coming- WindClan wasn't going to relent.