It happened so quickly. One hearbeat I was in Leafpool's den, and in the next I was tearing out of the camp entrance, anger pushing my paws through the powdery snow. I wasn't thinking. My mind was at something of an angry boil, churning and overflowing. I was too overwhelmed to speak, even as I passed the Sunhigh patrol—Hollypaw, Ashfur, and Brambleclaw—returning. Hollypaw nodded with surprise as I scrabbled past them, and Brambleclaw mewed something softly to Ashfur.

I kept running, until my shortage of breath forced me to stop. I skidded to a halt, a mouse-length away from running into a tree, and panted. The ground underpaw was soft and marshy, and the snow had disappeared. A few trees--bony black skeletons—loomed around me. The scent of rats and crowfood was strong.

I'm in ShadowClan's territory. In my haphazard emotional state, I felt more curious than frightened. I padded to a patch of bog weeds, licking the foul mud off of my paws. How did I get here?

I'm not sure how long I sat there, staring up at the eggshell-blue sky, but a rustling in the bracken awoke me from my silent reverie. The scent of ShadowClan tingled in my throat. A patrol! I thought, looking up at the reddish-pink sky. It must be the sunset patrol…

"ThunderClan?" a vaguely familiar voice sounded from nearby, followed by the soft squelching of pawsteps in the frosty mud. "ThunderClan! I know you're there!"

I flattened my ears, and my claws sunk into the marshy turf. The voice sounded like that of a younger cat, and the sound of the pawsteps were too soft and light to be a heavy cat, like an experienced warrior. A cat I've scented before, though, I pondered. An apprentice, perhaps!

A ginger head poked through the reeds, and a pair of glowing hazel eyes flashed at me. My heart gave a leap, and I sprang backwards, hissing.

"Lilypaw?" The ShadowClan cat slipped into the patch of marsh, staring at me. The apprentice's small, lissome build was illuminated in the scarlet rays of the sunset.

"How do you know my name?" I demanded, raising one paw.

The apprentice rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Lilypaw," he sighed. "It's Flamepaw. From the Gathering, remember?"

I flinch as I sort of recall his ginger pelt, his green-blue eyes. "Fl-flamepaw," I stammer out at last. The scent of ShadowClan presses in on me, and I remember that this isn't a Gathering, and Flamepaw isn't my friend—there's no truce, and he's my enemy.

"What are you doing?" Flamepaw demanded again. "Mouse dung! Are you a spy?"

I came dangerously close to rolling my eyes. An icy breeze pierced my fur and brang to me the stench carrion, but luckily no fresh ShadowClan scents. "Er, would you believe me if I said it was an accident?" I suggested, curling my tail up.

"ShadowClan doesn't have time for accidents!" Flamepaw burst out. "You're spying, for StarClan's sake! Get out of here!"

I flinched, but anger got the best of me. "Stop it!" I growled. "Just…just let me go back, okay? You don't have to be so horrible."

"You're an enemy!" he retorted, his head held high and hazel eyes a-glitter. "I'm supposed to be horrible! You're lucky I haven't gone back to camp to send a patrol on you!"

Fear, like a shard of ice, made my blood run cold. He's not just a mouse-brained apprentice, I reprimanded myself. Well, he kind of is. But he could bring his Clan down on me.

"Going now?" Flamepaw suggested. His head came down until his eyes were level with mine, green meeting sky blue. I forced myself to look back, ignoring the fear and bile rising in my throat.

"Alright, fine!" I hissed. "I'm going now! Happy?" I turned tail, sprinting in the opposite direction, the marsh squelching under my paws. The moon rose from the black shadows of the Twolegplace, and I flinched at the time. I wondered if the Clan was looking for me, but that thought was pushed aside by the others that pulsed through my mind, a thousand a second, like ants squirming towards an anthill. I was vaguely aware of the shadows, the familiar scent of the oak trees, that began to roll around me, the scent of Hollypaw and Brightheart as they watched me, mystified, sprint past them towards the camp.

As I pushed past the bramble walls, heart thudding, I looked around. The snow had been pushed to the sides of the camp, and the fresh-kill pile had been restocked, though it was still leaf-bare depleted. I headed towards the pile and bent my head to grab a mouse, though a voice halted me, making me squeak.

"Lilypaw! Where've you come from?"

A pair of amber eyes glint fiercely, and Leafpool's mild scent washes through my mind.

"Uhh," I murmured guiltily. "Look, I was just"—I stop in fear of embarrassing myself, turning away from the fresh-kill pile. "I was just out for today."

"The entire Clan's been wondering where you were," Leafpool scolded, flicking her tail against my shoulder. "Brightheart and Hollypaw just went out looking for you, and Cloudtail and Whitewing were poking around the Twolegplace earlier on. The woods are dangerous in leaf-bare. Don't you know that?"

Leafpool's chastising prickles my fur like thorns. "Sorry," I mumble. "Should I go out and bring Brightheart and Hollypaw back?"

"You think that'll make it all better?" Leafpool suggested fiercely.

I shrug noncommittally. I sure blew it, didn't I? I thought of saying.

"Honestly, Lilypaw, Firestar will want to know that you're safe. Come with me."

I follow her, stooping to lick mud from my paws. A fresh shock of horror runs through my body when I realize I still smell like ShadowClan's territory. I know it was just an accident, but will Firestar think of it that way?

"Come now, Lilypaw," Leafpool growled. "And maybe you can explain to Firestar what you've been doing poking 'round in ShadowClan territory?"

A/N: Writer's block I might edit/update this chapter in the future.

Apolo