Thanks to everyone who's been reviewing this story! Here's a new chapter for you to enjoy.

Note: In my story, Tawnypelt was Appleheart's mentor.

While Birchclaw was dreaming of Appleheart, she was dreaming of him. The ThunderClan tom sat right next to her, as he'd done at the Gathering. He was whispering such comforting words into her ear…

"Appleheart!"

"Huh… wha?" she stammered sleepily as a paw prodded her side. "Oh, it's just you."

"Just me?" Tawnypelt twitched her whiskers. "Is that what I am to you now that you're a warrior?"

Appleheart stifled a grin. "No, oh Great One," she meowed sarcastically.

Tawnypelt snorted. "You're beginning to sound like Marshpelt."

Appleheart nudged her old mentor. "That's because you always made us train together!" She mewed.

Tawnypelt twitched one ear. "Come on, Russetfur wants you, me and Toadfoot to do dawn patrol." She padded out of the den; Appleheart followed.

Toadfoot was lying in a patch of sunlight, usual because the camp was mostly shadowed by broad pine trees. He stood up lazily as the two she-cats approached him. "Hi there, Appleheart," he casually greeted his sister.

Appleheart pushed her muzzle into his fur. "Oh, come on," she meowed. "Just because we're warriors, doesn't mean we can't still be brother and sister."

Toadfoot blinked slowly, a barely audible purr escaping him.

"Where are we patrolling then?" Appleheart meowed, her light green eyes bright. She had suddenly realised that if they were going to patrol the ThunderClan border, they might run into Birchclaw…

Appleheart shook her head. Why was she thinking like this? He was an enemy warrior, for StarClan's sake! All the same, she couldn't help feeling slightly disappointed when Tawnypelt said "We'll be patrolling the RiverClan border."

Toadfoot nodded. "Shall we go, then?"

The three cats set off through the shadows of the pine forest. Dappled sunlight lit their fur and their eyes shone in the muddled darkness.

"So," Tawnypelt asked. "How was the Gathering?" The tortoiseshell she-cat had stayed at camp last night.

While Toadfoot immediately started explaining everything that had happened at the Gathering, Appleheart began to dream about Birchclaw again. The strength he'd held in his shoulders… his light brown tabby pelt… those amber eyes…

"And Appleheart sat next to a ThunderClan warrior," Toadfoot jolted Appleheart out of her daydream.

"Really?" Tawnypelt asked, surprised.

"His name was Birchclaw," Appleheart glared at her brother. "We played together on our journey to this territory. We haven't seen each other since we were kits."

Tawnypelt's eyes glowed with sudden understanding. "I remember that! You two and Marshpelt loved playing with Birchkit - Birchclaw now."

Appleheart felt uncomfortable. This talk of Birchclaw was making her think of the ThunderClan tom even more. She suddenly remembered something else. "I'm not the only one who sat with a cat from another Clan!" she meowed triumphantly. "Toadfoot and Marshpelt sat with Minnowpaw and Pebblepaw of RiverClan!"

Tawnypelt looked expectantly at Toadfoot, who just shrugged. "We got along really well," he explained.

"Did you see any other ThunderClan cats at the gathering?" Tawnypelt turned to Appleheart. The pale tabby she-cat thought back to last night.

"I saw Ferncloud, Birchclaw's mother," she said slowly. "And Firestar and Brambleclaw, of course." Remembering that Brambleclaw was Tawnypelt's brother, she added "He looked very healthy."

"I saw Berrypaw, Rainwhisker, Leafpool, Whitecloud," Toadfoot listed all the ThunderClan cats quickly. "Oh, and Ashfur was there too."

"Ashfur?" Although the she-cat sounded disinterested, Tawnypelt's green eyes suddenly shone more brightly than before. "How is he?"

"He's fine," Toadfoot replied, oblivious to the tortoiseshell's interest. Appleheart couldn't help wondering why Tawnypelt was paying so much attention to news of the grey tom. Maybe it was because Ashfur loved her brother's mate, Squirrelflight.

The three cats found no trouble at the RiverClan border, so the patrol headed back to the camp, silent this time. Tawnypelt quickly reported to Blackstar that they had seen nothing wrong. "No sign of RiverClan cats or Twolegs."

Blackstar looked thoughtful. "Could I spare you to go hunting, then?"

The half-Clan she-cat nodded. "I'll hunt over by the Pine Clearing. Appleheart, do you want to come with me?"

Excitement rose in Appleheart's throat. The Pine Clearing was very close to the ThunderClan border. She might see Birchclaw again!

"Sure, Tawnypelt," she meowed calmly, trying to hide her sudden burst of happiness. It slowly died away as she realised that she would be with Tawnypelt - a she-cat who tried not to have any contact with any member of ThunderClan, just to prove that she was a loyal ShadowClan cat.