Hey!!! I'm doing alternate POVs, but I won't be doing Cloverpaw yet until…well, something happens. Thanx everyone for reading and reviewing and such. Special thanks to zphergirl for some storyline ideas, and xxcrowysnextmatexx for the awesome reviews and constructive criticism. I have decided that most of the chapters will be in Dewpaw's POV.

Chapter 3

Dewpaw's blue eyes widened. "Really?"

Hazelstep, her mentor, purred. "Yup. You'll be the first out of your litter to go on a border patrol. I honestly think you're ready."

Dewpaw's tail flew up. "Thank you, Hazelstep! Who else is coming?"

"Lightpaw, Thorntail, and Silverstorm are coming," Hazelstep replied. "We're all going to meet at the thorn tunnel soon, so get some fresh-kill. I'll see you later."

Dewpaw nodded and padded over to the fresh-kill pile, selecting a plump vole, and joined Feathercloud, who had sat down with a mouse.

"Hi, Feathercloud," Dewpaw purred, biting into the vole. "I'm going on my first border patrol today!"

Feathercloud's blue eyes lit up. "Really? That's excellent, Dewpaw!" She licked her daughter's black head, then mewed, "Maybe you can even go to the Gathering tonight."

Dewpaw nodded, hopeful. "I'm sure Cloverpaw will get to go," she remarked, almost scornfully. "She always gets the special treatment. Besides, her mentor is Smokestar."

Feathercloud shook her head. "Dewpaw, Cloverpaw may be better at some things than you-"

"And prettier," Dewpaw muttered.

Feathercloud hissed crossly and went on, "She may be better at some things than you, but it doesn't mean she gets special treatment. I'm sure there's something you're better at than she is. Now, instead of complaining, why don't you prove yourself so that Smokestar and Ashenfur will let you go to the Gathering?"

Dewpaw lowered her head. "Yes, Feathercloud. I'm sorry."

"Good," her mother purred. The silver and white she-cat licked Dewpaw's head. "I'll see you later, Dewpaw. Have fun on the border patrol."

Dewpaw nodded her thanks as her mother padded toward the medicine cat's den. Why would she go there? Did she hurt herself? Is she sick? she thought, confused. She was distracted when a loud meow came from the thorn tunnel. "Come on, time to go!" Hazelstep called.

She gulped up the rest of her vole and trotted over. Lightpaw, Thorntail, and Silverstorm were already there, waiting for her. "Sorry," she said hastily, her ears pinned down in embarrassment. Her first border patrol, and she was late!

"Come on," Silverstorm said, leading the way into the forest.

As they padded toward the WindClan border, Lightpaw walked alongside Dewpaw. "This is your first time on a border patrol, right?" Lightpaw mewed.

Dewpaw nodded nervously. "What happens if we meet an enemy border patrol?"

Lightpaw shrugged. "Most of the time, we just politely say hello and move on. Don't worry, there's five of us."

Dewpaw purred. "Thanks."

Lightpaw nodded and bounded over to her sister, Hazelstep, mewing something. Dewpaw glanced around. They were getting closer to the WindClan border. She padded over to Thorntail.

"Hi," she said.

Thorntail purred. "Hey, Dewpaw. Excited about your first border patrol?" The black she-cat nodded, and looked ahead. She could scent WindClan! They were almost at the border! "We're almost there!" she said excitedly.

Thorntail nodded. "Good job."

Silverstorm sniffed at the borders suspiciously. "No one has crossed the border here," she mewed. "Let's renew the scent markers."

Afterward, Silverstorm ordered, "To ShadowClan!"

Thorntail sighed. "Hopefully, they don't try to take our territory again."

"We've always had border problems with ShadowClan," Hazelstep mewed impatiently.

Silverstorm nodded in agreement. "They never seem to give up. One of these days, there's going to be a big battle."

"And ThunderClan'll win!" Lightpaw declared.

Thorntail purred at his apprentice, but Silverstorm narrowed her eyes.

"Lightpaw, don't be so sure. ShadowClan has many strong warriors," the senior warrior mewed. "Now come on, to the ShadowClan border." She flicked her tail and bounded ahead.

~oOoOoOoOoOo~

When they got to the border, Thorntail bristled right away. "They moved the border again!" he hissed.

Leafdapple nodded gravely. "They have. Again."

Hazelstep let out an impatient hiss, and Lightpaw sighed. Dewpaw's eyes stretched wide, and she glanced around at the others uncertainly.

"What are we going to do?" Dewpaw asked.

Silverstorm sighed. "We're going to have to tell Smokestar." Then, she stiffened. "I scent a ShadowClan patrol!"

Dewpaw drank in the air and nodded in agreement. "I smell it too!" Thorntail nodded and snarled as a fiery ginger tom, along with a brown she-cat and a grey tom, appeared.

The ginger tom, who was obviously leading the patrol, hissed, "ThunderClan!"

Silverstorm snarled, and Thorntail bared his teeth.

"You moved the border again, without ThunderClan consent!" Silverstorm yowled angrily.

Dewpaw cringed when the ginger tom unsheathed his claws.

"We'll fight for the land," he said, deadly serious. "We need more prey."

"Back off, Rustyheart!" Thorntail hissed. "Just run back to camp like the kittypets we know you are!"

Rustyheart bristled. "Say that again!"

The brown she-cat that stood behind Rustyheart murmured something quietly.

"That's Sparrowfeather, Blackstar's mate," Lightpaw whispered to Dewpaw. "And that grey tom is Coldpelt."

Dewpaw glanced back at the ShadowClan cats. Sparrowfeather was trying to hold Rustyheart back. Coldpelt looked confused and upset, but he didn't insult ThunderClan.

Silverstorm sighed and said quietly, too low for the ShadowClan cats to hear, "I don't want a battle. But there may be one. Dewpaw, you're the fastest and smallest of all of us. If they do start a battle, you run back to camp. Tell Smokestar what's happening, then bring back reinforcements, okay?"

Dewpaw nodded, her heart twisting with apprehension.

"Is she trained enough for battle?" Thorntail asked.

Hazelstep nodded. "She can fight."

Thorntail gently licked his daughter's ear and murmured, "Be careful, Dewpaw."

The black she-cat gave a tiny nod, and her breathing grew shallow.

"You'll be fine," Lightpaw mewed comfortingly. "You're as fast as WindClan!"

Rustyheart suddenly jumped away from Sparrowfeather and hissed.

Finally, Coldpelt took action. Dewpaw strained her ears to hear.

"Rustyheart, don't attack them. Nothing good will come out of it. Besides, they outnumber us," the grey tom growled. "Come on, let's go."

Rustyheart shot a glare at the ThunderClan cats before turning away and padding after his Clanmates.

Dewpaw let out a sigh of relief.

"That was close," Hazelstep muttered.

Silverstorm nodded. "Thorntail and I will stay behind to move the border back to where it should be, and you three go on to the RiverClan border. We'll meet at the Sky Oak."

Hazelstep nodded. "Okay." To Lightpaw and Dewpaw, she mewed, "Come on," and led them toward RiverClan territory.

"Bye," Dewpaw mewed to her father and grandmother.

~oOoOoOoOoOo~

"I doubt any cat has crossed the border," Hazelstep said as she studied the stream flowing by in front of her. She sniffed at the land on ThunderClan's side and nodded, confirming herself.

"Can we go back to camp now?" Dewpaw asked. "My paws are sore, and I'm hungry!" Hazelstep purred. "It's your first patrol, you need to be patient."

Lightpaw nodded. "Besides, we're going to head to the Sky Oak now, right?"

Hazelstep nodded and swished her tail. "Come on, Silverstorm and Thorntail must be waiting for us."

As Dewpaw padded behind her mentor and fellow apprentice, she noticed, Hazelstep and Lightpaw look the exact same! They both have the dark grey pelt. But Hazelstep's eyes are blue, and Lightpaw's are green, like Cloverpaw's.

Then she began thinking about her sister. I wonder what she's doing. Maybe she's training with Smokestar. Or she could be hunting. Then she realized that the Gathering would be tonight. Yes! I hope I get to go!

Dewpaw looked around and saw the large branches of the Sky Oak overhead. However, Silverstorm and Thorntail were nowhere in sight.

"Where are they?" Lightpaw mewed, wrinkling her nose with confusion.

Hazelstep shrugged. "I don't know. They should've been here by now." Then her ears perked up. "I hear something."

Dewpaw listened, her senses alert. "It sounds like…cats fighting!"

Hazelstep narrowed her eyes and listened again.

"She's right!" Lightpaw yowled. "It's that way, toward the ShadowClan border!" She pointed with her tail.

"Dewpaw, go get reinforcements!" Hazelstep hissed, springing into action. "Lightpaw, come on! I'll bet you ShadowClan attacked!"

Dewpaw glanced around frantically before shooting toward camp, her heart fluttering with fear. As soon as the thorn tunnel came into view, she yowled, "Attack! ShadowClan attack!"

The cats in camp looked up, alarmed.

"What's going on, Dewpaw?" Ashenfur asked.

As she panted and gasped for breath, she explained the situation, about how Silverstorm and Thorntail had stayed behind to move the border back, and how ShadowClan had attacked. "They need reinforcements!" she concluded.

Ashenfur nodded. "Let me tell Smokestar. Meanwhile, Dewpaw, take Snowstorm, Cloudpaw, and Thistlefang back to the battle."

Dewpaw nodded, and the chosen cats followed her out of camp. Cloudpaw ran alongside his sister.

"Are you okay, Dewpaw? You seemed really panicked back there," the white and grey tom said.

"I'm fine," Dewpaw replied. "Besides, it's not time to worry about me right now, we have to defeat ShadowClan!" They ran into the clearing at the ShadowClan border, and the fresh wave of ThunderClan cats leapt into battle.

Dewpaw swiped her claws at a golden she-cat, hissing. "Get off our territory!"

The she-cat, who was probably an apprentice, yowled, "This land belongs to ShadowClan!" She slashed her claws against Dewpaw's nose.

Dewpaw hissed angrily and kicked the apprentice off of her with her hind paws, then whirled around and clawed the ShadowClan apprentice's ear.

The golden cat let out a wail and leaped at the black ThunderClan apprentice. "You're dead!"

Dewpaw dodged the golden she-cat's outstretched claws and tripped her. The ShadowClan cat landed on the ground with a thud, then got up, her green eyes narrowed.

Dewpaw purred with satisfaction. "Come and get me!" "Oh, I will," the apprentice hissed. She leapt at Dewpaw again, but the ThunderClan cat twisted out from under her and clawed her belly.

The ShadowClan cat whimpered and raced away, leaving Dewpaw to look around, her blue eyes wide.

There were eight ThunderClan cats against nine ShadowClan cats. Then she saw something that made her stop dead.

Silvestorm was sprawled out on the ground, her hind leg twisted and bloody. Forestlily was defending her mother by chasing away any enemy cats that got near her. Dewpaw went over to help her aunt.

"Thanks," Forestlily nodded, panting. Then she leapt at Sparrowfeather.

Dewpaw cringed as Rustyheart charged at her, his green eyes full of blind fury. She hissed and swiftly moved to one side, hissing.

"Get away from her!" came a yowl.

It was Thistlefang, her uncle! She let out a grateful purr as Thistlefang knocked Rustyheart away from her and pinned down the warrior.

Rustyheart writhed in Thistlefang's grasp, then leapt up. Thistlefang took a step back, growling.

Rustyheart plunged into the mass of fighting cats, back toward ShadowClan territory.

Suddenly, a grey she-cat, supposedly Cinderash, the deputy of ShadowClan, yowled, "Retreat! ShadowClan, retreat!" She glared at the ThunderClan cats and declared, "You may have won this time, but we'll get you later!"

Dewpaw let out a breath of relief and looked around. Silverstorm was still in the horrible state. Thorntail had a gash in his shoulder, and Hazelstep had some scratches. Everyone else had a few scratches here and there, but no one else was seriously injured like Silverstorm.

Dewpaw turned her attention to her grandmother, who was struggling to get to her paws. Forestlily was helping her up, but she fell back to the ground with a yowl of pain.

"Is she going to be okay?" someone mewed fearfully.

Dewpaw turned to see her little brother standing beside her, his mouth agape. "I'm not sure," she shrugged, her tail low.

Forestlily's amber eyes had a panicked glaze in them. "We have to get her back to camp!" she yowled.

Snowstorm scurried forward to help. She and Forestlily both helped Silverstorm to her paws, then let her lean on them as they led her toward camp. Silverstorm's blue eyes were glazed over with defeat as she limped on three legs.

"I feel so bad," Dewpaw whimpered. Cloudpaw licked her ear.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine, I'm sure Mosspelt and Frostpaw will do their best."

Dewpaw nodded. "Hopefully."

Hazelstep approached them. "Come on, we're heading back to camp. Are any of you hurt?"

Both apprentices shook their heads.

~oOoOoOoOoOo~

Dewpaw heard Thorntail, Hazelstep and Smokestar talking.

"They fought very well," Hazelstep purred.

Thorntail nodded. "It's true. They really do deserve it."

"Good," Smokestar mewed, purring. "Then I'll tell them now."

"What are they talking about?" Cloudpaw asked, prodding his sister's back with his paw.

"Yeah," Lightpaw mewed. "What are they talking about?"

Dewpaw shrugged. "Something about fighting well. I'm not sure."

Cloverpaw sighed. "It's not fair, I didn't get to fight in the battle." She rasped her tongue over her fur and complained, "Smokestar should've let me!"

Dewpaw ignored her sister, rolling her eyes. I wonder what happened to Silverstorm. She's been in the medicine cat's den for a while now.

She looked up with surprise when Smokestar padded over to the apprentice's den, where the four apprentices sat.

"I heard you three fought well," he purred. "I'm letting you three go to the Gathering tonight."

"Really?" Cloudpaw gasped. Then he ducked his head in embarrassment.

"That's right," Smokestar mewed.

Cloverpaw hung her head and sighed unhappily. Her mentor noticed and said, "Don't worry, Cloverpaw, get to go, too."

Cloverpaw purred. "Thank you!"

"Thank you," Lightpaw meowed. "Thank you, Smokestar," Dewpaw mewed, dipping her head respectfully.

The smoky-grey, almost black, tomcat nodded. "You three did very well today. We were able to move the borders back to where they belong and taught ShadowClan a lesson." His eyes clouded for a moment. "But…I'm not sure what's going to happen to Silverstorm," he said quietly, referring to his deceased brother's mate.

Dewpaw remembered, a while ago, when she heard about the leader before Smokestar. His name had been Lionstar, and he had been Smokestar's brother. He was Silverstorm's mate, also Thorntail's father. He was her grandfather. However, he and his mother had passed away from a rare sickness a few moons before Feathercloud had given birth to her.

"Hello, are you listening?" Dewpaw blinked and looked around. Smokestar had left, and Lightpaw was watching her with confusion and irritation. Cloverpaw and Cloudpaw were looking at her.

"What? Sorry," Dewpaw mewed. "What did you say?" "I'll show you everything at the Gathering!" Lightpaw purred. "All the leaders, the other apprentices, the deputies, and the senior warriors!"

Dewpaw nodded. "That's great! I can't wait!"

Lightpaw nodded, then looked up. Thorntail was standing at the entrance of the apprentices den. Some fresh herbs were plastered on his shoulder, but other than that, he looked fine.

"I heard you four are going to the Gathering," he purred. He gazed fondly at his apprentice, then at his kits. "You better get some rest so you won't be tired at the Gathering." He flicked his tail and padded toward the leader's den.

"He's right," Cloudpaw mewed. "Let's get some sleep." He curled up and tucked his nose in his tail. The other four apprentices nodded in agreement and did the same.

I know, it's not much of a cliffy! But it'll get much better! Thanks everyone for reading! Now it's time to review!!! Give me feedback, be it good, bad, random, whatever.