It's back, after weeks of being on hiatus! Now that the first book of my Night at the Museum fanfiction is written, I can turn back to my other three stories.

Review Replies:

a moon's shadow: Interesting guess! We shall se, won't we? And that means a lot to me, thank you!

Wolf of the Indians: Interesting guess! You and a moon's shadow both think Tigerclaw would be good for her. Thanks for input and support :)

You guys probably just want to get straight to the story since it's been gone so long, right? Well, here's your wish! Chapter 5!

Chapter Five

"I'll show you the warriors den next." Greypaw meowed as the three apprentices padded from the fern tunnel.

"Who are these two?" A voice growled behind them.

"Darkstripe." Greypaw turned and tipped his head.

"Who are they, Greypaw?" Darkstripe repeated.

"We're the two new apprentices." Tinypaw answered his voice tense.

Darkstripe was a sleek black and grey tabby tom, with blue eyes. Rosepaw instantly disliked him, mainly for an incident that happened three moons ago.

"I'm Rosepaw and this is my brother Tinypaw." Rosepaw finished. Her voice was nearly a growl.

"Ah. Thistlestar talked about you." Darkstripe sniffed. He suddenly looked at them closer and flattened his ears. "Hang on. I remember you. You," he pointed to Tinypaw with a claw, "came into the forest three moons ago. Adderfang had me attack you. And you," he turned to Rosepaw, "chased me away from him when I chased him to the border of your territory."

"Glad you remember us." Rosepaw growled dryly.

Darkstripe hissed and raised a paw, claws unsheathed. "I should finish what I started. ThunderClan has no need of runts."

Suddenly a blue grey streak shot in front of him. "Enough, Darkstripe!" Bluefur hissed.

"Interfering again?" Darkstripe spat.

"Go look at Longtail. These two gave him those injuries." Bluefur growled.

Darkstripe looked around and froze as he saw Longtail. Rosepaw couldn't hold back the smug grin. Darkstripe clenched his teeth and stalked off, ears flattened and tail lashing. Bluefur turned to the apprentices, an apologetic look on her face. "He's so arrogant and ruthless, just like his mentor."

"I've never liked him anyways." Rosepaw sniffed.

Tinypaw nodded furiously in agreement. Bluefur smiled. "I'll leave you to your tour." She headed back to her mate and kits.

Greypaw coughed. "Warriors den." He meowed awkwardly. He led the way over to a large bush.

The warriors den was a large was a large bush that had a straight view of the gorse tunnel. Greypaw explained that the older warriors and the deputy sleep near the center of the bush, where it was warmest. The newer warriors slept around them. He then led them to the fallen log. Sheltered by the log, five elderly cats crouched in the soft grass growing by the log. A small pile of prey sat beside them. A big dark brown tabby looked up. "Hello, young'uns."

"Hello, Halftail." Greypaw meowed, dipping his head.

"These are the new apprentices?" Meowed a pale grey she-cat.

"Mhm." Tinypaw meowed. "My name's Tinypaw and this is my sister, Rosepaw."

"I'm One-eye." Meowed the pale grey she-cat. One of her eyes was clouded, which is how she got her name.

"I'm Dappletail." Purred a once pretty tortoiseshell she-cat.

"Halftail." The big dark brown tabby meowed simply. He flicked his tail, reveling that half of it was missing. "Wonder why?"

Dappletail purred. The grey tom with very small ears dipped his head. This was the cat that had also sensed Ravenpaw's return. "I'm Smallear." A wry smile crossed his face. "Hard to figure out why, right?"

All the cats laughed. A small black and white tom dipped his head. "And I'm Patchpelt."

"It's wonderful to meet you!" One-eye purred.

"Have you eaten yet?" Smallear asked.

The three apprentices shook their heads.

"There's enough here, so help yourself." Smallear meowed. "Dustpaw and Sandpaw are find hunters. One-eye, would you mind if these apprentices shared some prey?"

The pale grey she-cat shook her head. Dappletail purred before Smallear could ask her. "I think I speak for us all when I say we don't mind.

"Thanks!" Greypaw meowed eagerly. He took a large mouse from the pile and a smaller one. The large mouse he set at Rosepaw and Tinypaw's paws. "You guys tasted mouse yet."

"No." Tinypaw admitted while Rosepaw shook her head.

The scents of the mouse made Rosepaw's eyes shine. She was ecstatic at the thought of eating her first meal in her new home.

"In that case, you take first bite!" Greypaw purred.

Side by side, Rosepaw and Tinypaw took a bit of their mouse. Rosepaw purred instantly as the flavors sang on her tongue. The mouse was juicy and tender—so much better from what she used to eat!

"Well?" Greypaw prompted. "From that purr, I take it you like it."

"Amazing!" Tinypaw mumbled, his mouth full

"Fantastic!" Rosepaw agreed, also mumbling around her bite.

Greypaw grinned and bit into his mouse. As they ate, they listened to the elders talk.

"I wonder when Thistlestar will appoint the new deputy." Smallear sighed.

"He has tons of time, provided it's before moonhigh." One-eye commented.

"I remember the day Thistlestar himself was appointed deputy." Dappletail purred.

"Oh yes, I do too!" Patchpelt meowed eagerly. "It wasn't long after he lost Snowfur. Poor cat. They loved each other a lot."

"He won't be happy appointing a new deputy. Redtail served him long and well, and they'd been like father and son." Halftail observed.

"The choice is quiet obvious." Patchpelt meowed.

Rosepaw didn't know who they were talking about. Maybe Whitestorm, his son? Or Darkstripe? After all, the sleek black and grey tabby had avenged Redtail.

"Thistlestar has three, wonderful choices." Dappletail purred.

As Rosepaw flicked her tongue around her muzzle to catch the remaining traces of mouse, Thistlestar's voice echoed around the clearing. Cats formed a group at the foot of the Highrock. The elders and the three apprentices joined the group. Redtail's body sat at the center of the clearing.

"A new deputy must be chosen." Thistlestar meowed, his voice thick with grief. He gazed at his clan. "First, however, let us give Redtail a moment's silence. Tonight, he is back with his friends and family."

The cats gazed at the sky, where the first few stars were starting to appear.

"Now, ThunderClan's new deputy." Thistlestar meowed. "I say these words before the body of Redtail, so he may hear and approve my choice. Lionheart will be the new deputy of ThunderClan."

The Clan purred and chanted Lionheart's name. "I am honored, Thistlestar." Lionheart rumbled.

Thistlestar dipped his head. "Redtail was also Dustpaw's mentor. There must be no delay in his training. Darkstripe, you will mentor Dustpaw. Adderfang was your mentor, and while he is no longer with us, I expect you to pass on all you know."

Darkstripe dipped his head and touched noses with his new apprentice. Dustpaw gave a weak, pain filled smile, but it faded quickly. Thistlestar jumped down from the Highrock and sat next to Redtail's body. Dustpaw, Sandpaw, Smallear, Spottedleaf and Willowpelt joined him.

"C'mon. We should get some sleep." Greypaw meowed. The long haired grey tom led the way to a thick bush of ferns beside a tree stump. "The apprentices eat by this tree stump." He meowed."

"How many apprentices are there?" Tinypaw asked curiously.

"Not as many as normal, I guess." The grey tom answered. "You, me, Rosepaw, Ravenpaw, Sandpaw and Dustpaw. You two helped swell the numbers a bit. Bluefur's kits will help too." He laughed. "I honestly don't if we have enough cats to mentor them."

"How do you mean?" Rosepaw asked, sitting down and sweeping her tail over her paws.

"Well let's see…" Greypaw started. "Tigerclaw has Ravenpaw, Lionheart has me, Whitestorm has Sandpaw, Darkstripe now has Dustpaw, we don't know which cats will mentor you two, and then we have three more cats to get mentors. We don't have that many open warriors."

Rosepaw began to respond, but she was cut off by a deep, rumbling meow. They spun around to see Tigerclaw looming over them. "You three have training in the morning." He meowed.

"But Rosepaw and Tinypaw don't have mentors!" Greypaw protested.

"No." Tigerclaw agreed. "However, since Ravenpaw is resting, you three Lionheart and I will be taking you on a tour of the territory. Thistlestar should have mentors chosen by then."

Rosepaw shrugged. "That works."

Tinypaw and Greypaw nodded assent and Tigerclaw flicked his tail before padding away. Greypaw led the new apprentices inside the apprentice den and directed them to empty nests. Rosepaw sank into her gratefully, exhaustion from the day catching up with her. With Tinypaw pressed against her back and Greypaw's snores, she quickly slipped asleep.

There we are! Sorry for making you all wait for it so long, but I could not focus on it while I was writing Enter the Highlands. I couldn't focus on any story, for that matter..

QotD: Who do you think Rosepaw's and Tinypaw's mentors will be?

AotD: I think she'd be good with any of them.