Ivypool's POV

Ivypool stumbled back to her camp in ThunderClan territory, missing her sister and wanting revenge. She'd already killed Crowfeather.. but she needed to kill someone else, her anger wasn't going down.

"Dawnpelt and Tawnypelt are considered dead, for mentioning StarClan! They will be slowly tortured." Mapleshade screeched.

Ivypool shivered, thinking about Dawnpelt and Tawnypelt being slowly killed, claws being pulled off, fur being ripped, gashes slowly being made.. She fell into her nest, and thought about ThunderClan.

Would Whitewing and Birchfall approve of what I'm doing, killing mercilessly? She wondered. Probably not, but they'd understand. Life or death. Ivypool didn't know when she fell asleep, but awoke to some cat stepping on a twig.

She tried to go back to sleep, but then realized that it wasn't the ThunderClan camp, and someone had stepped on a twig, it was the Preyless Games, a predator planning to kill her.

She instantly got into a defensive crouch, eyes darting all around her for the sight of danger. She looked in a bush, and saw fur.

She leaped at it, clawing. The cat let out a screech of 'Ivypool'! When Ivypool loosened her grip in surprise, the cat bolted away. Tigerheart!

He stopped suddenly, and stood. Ivypool leaped for him again, digging her claws into his shoulders and pinning him down.

"Hello, Tigerheart. Fancy meeting you here." Ivypool meowed.

"Please.. ally?" Tigerheart choked out. Ivypool tipped her head thoughtfully, but didn't make the mistake of loosening her grip a second time. Dovewing, what would you have done? Dovewing would've allied with him, because she loves him and he could help, especially if she was alone. "Okay, but you must do what I say, or you will die." Ivypool meowed, letting Tigerheart go. "A true Dark Forest warrior would've killed him" Mapleshade whispered over the winds. Ivypool shook her head. Was she imagining things? I'm not a Dark Forest warrior, and I'll never be. I'm not a dark-hearted cat. She argued silently. Tigerheart was grooming. "Go hunt. Now. Come back a few minutes before sunset." Ivypool ordered. Tigerheart looked as if he was about to protest, jaws gaping, but clearly thought better than it. He turned, and went into the forest. "Don't eat anything while you're hunting, bring it back to me first!" She howled after him. Ivypool saw the silhouette of a nod in the distance.

Stoatpaw's POV

"Stoatpaw! We've gotten your ground hunting and tree-climbing skills good, so let's try water, like RiverClan!" Pebblefoot meowed.

Stoatpaw cringed at the thought of going into the water.

"You never know when you might need fishing." Pebblefoot continued.

"I think it'll be helpful to know how to swim, just in case, but not fish.." Stoatpaw meowed, trailing off when he saw the hurt look in his unofficial mentor's eyes.

"Actually, I think I'll need both. In case, you know." Stoatpaw meowed, correcting himself. They walked to the small lake, where there was no force of water.

"Let's start with swimming, because it's more important than fishing, as you said before." Pebblefoot meowed, eyeing Stoatpaw with a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. Stoatpaw opened his mouth to protest it, and fell into the water. The cold water washed around him. He flailed around in the water. I'm going to die! Pebblefoot is so cruel..

"Pebblefoot! Help me!" he yowled.

"Try standing up." Pebblefoot suggested calmly. He waited to sink further into the river, but just felt smooth stones under his feet. Stoatpaw felt hot embarrassment flood into his body.

"It's only the shallow part." Pebblefoot meowed, looking very amused.

"Okay, I didn't know!" Stoatpaw meowed, only seeming to provoke more laughter from the gray warrior. "Pretend you're in the forest, and Blackstar has sent you to go out to get marigold with Littlecloud. But you see WindClan warriors, and Littlecloud sends you back to warn camp. Run as fast as you can!" meowed Pebblefoot. Stoatpaw imagined it, and began to trash wildly in the water. He propelled himself forward slightly.

"Not quite like that." Pebblefoot meowed, sighing as he leaped into the water.

"Churn your legs as you are running, not as you're going crazy of pain. Make them coordinated in water, as in land. Push one leg down, and lift the other. Do it smoothly, and make it have a rhythm, do the same movements every time you swim." Pebblefoot meowed. Stoatpaw pushed his legs down and up, as Pebblefoot had said, keeping his head up. After a while, he felt it getting easier, though his legs were burning of tiredness.

"Good job! You're in the deep end!" Pebblefoot yowled. Stoatpaw glanced down, and saw the void of water. His legs froze, and he started sinking.

"Stoatpaw!" Pebblefoot yowled. He fell down, feeling his lungs burn. He felt teeth attach to his scruff. "Stoatpaw. Are you okay?" Pebblefoot demanded. All Stoatpaw could do was moan. He blacked out. When he woke, he found himself in a mossy nest.

"Stoatpaw!" Pebblefoot meowed.

"I mastered swimming." Stoatpaw meowed, pawing at the soft feathers in the bedding.

"Are you okay?" Pebblefoot meowed.

"Yep, can I try again?" Stoatpaw asked.

"Sure.. just.. face your fear. Better to do it now when I can save you if you sink, then face it when an enemy is after you." Pebblefoot meowed. Stoatpaw followed Pebblefoot to the pond. He looked down while swimming, and fought off the panic as he reached the water void.

"Come back!" Pebblefoot yowled. Stoatpaw splashed, paws churning the water in rhythm.

"So when you fish, don't let your shadow fall on the water, or the fish will know where you are. When you see a fish, shoot a paw out and plunge it into the water and grab the fish. Either kill it with your claws or do the killing bite on it. Make sure to do it fast." Pebblefoot meowed.

"Look, there's one!" Pebblefoot meowed, using his tail to point at the incoming fish. Stoatpaw leaned to the side, so his shadow didn't fall on the water, and hooked his claws in as soon as the fish was close enough. He grabbed the fish up, but it's slimy scales helped it slither out of his grasp, and it swam away faster than Pebblefoot could swim. Stoatpaw let out a sigh.

"Kill it fast, or better, drop it onto land and kill it." Pebblefoot meowed. The next time, Stoatpaw spotted the fish first. He shot out a paw, slicing through the water to the fish. The fish turned tail, but Stoatpaw was able to grab it and drop it onto the leaves. He sank his claws into it, feeling satisfied.

"Good job! Now you get to try it." Pebblefoot meowed, nudging his catch toward him. Stoatpaw cautiously bit into the fish, and he liked the soft flesh, and the watery flavor.

"What do you think?" Pebblefoot asked, anxiously.

"Good!" Stoatpaw exclaimed.

"Wait." Pebblefoot hissed.

"Since we've moved to RiverClan territory, we're near Ivypool. Is that her?" Pebblefoot whispered, nodding at a figure in the brambles.

"Well, let's just attack. We might be able to take her out." Stoatpaw meowed.

Pebblefoot's a strong warrior, well known.. we just might...

"Wait. Don't." Pebblefoot meowed, his tail swishing the ground.

"Water!" Pebblefoot yowled, panicked as he realized the river was flooding. It was flooding fast.

"Come here! Glad I taught you how to swim now? Follow me!" Pebblefoot yowled. Stoatpaw pushed his paws through the water, pelt still wet from swimming.

"Let's go to ThunderClan territory." Stoatpaw suggested.

"No. It's not safe there, the lake has flooded ThunderClan territory.. " Pebblefoot meowed, still swimming. Pebblefoot's speed increased.

"Ivypool of ThunderClan is dead, drowned!" yowled Mapleshade.

"Let's go to WindClan territory. The moors are high, and the water won't reach too far in there." Pebblefoot meowed, paddling toward WindClan territory. By the time they reached WindClan territory, Stoatpaw was exhausted, and ready to sleep.

"Don't go to sleep yet, lick your fur dry. Or you'll get sick." Pebblefoot meowed, his eyes more serious than Stoatpaw had ever seen them before. Giving himself a through wash, he fell asleep on the soft grass.

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter :)

We're getting really close to the end of the Preyless Games, but there will be an "After the Preyless Games" book, or maybe I'll add chapters onto this. About the reviews.. I can't find them in my review section, sorry for the no replies on the reviews. By the way, sorry for not posting, I just didn't have time.

Don't forget to review :)

~Waterfall~