Chapter 1

The sun was high in the sky, but the shadows cast by the tall pines cooled the ground, and the breeze carried the scent of leaf-fall. Ice blue eyes glimmered in the shadows, fixated on a trembling clump of bramble. Now...!

"Rainpaw!"

A streak of black fur came hurdling out from the roots of a great maple tree, barreling into Rainpaw mid-pounce.

The apprentice let out a frustrated hiss as he whirled to face his attacker, his tail lashing vehemently. "What's the big idea? I was about to catch a huge mouse!"

In front of him, Scorchpaw sat, his tail curled neatly around his paws. His sleek black fur shone in the sunlight, and his eyes—the same ice blue as Rainpaw's—sparkled with mischief. "Tigerstar sent me," the black tom shrugged as if that was explanation enough.

Rainpaw rolled his eyes, twisting to smooth the ruffled fur along his spine. "I assumed as much," he muttered mutinously between licks. "Hold told me to hunt until sunhigh, though."

Again, Scorchpaw shrugged. "He wants you for battle training. He told Blackfoot that any apprentice he trained would have already caught plenty by now…" He paused, then continued slyly, "You have caught plenty, haven't you?"

"Of course I have, mouse-brain!" The mostly white tom swatted his brother playfully over the ears. "And I would have had one more…"

"Never mind that now," Scorchpaw jumped to his paws. "I'll help you carry your catch back to camp, Tigerstar and Blackfoot are already in the training hollow."

"Why didn't you tell me that first?" Rainpaw spat, scrambling to his paws. Tigerstar wasn't the most patient cat in the forest—especially when it came to training. Rainpaw hurried to collect his catch, blinking gratefully at his brother as the other apprentice took what Rainpaw couldn't carry and helped him bring it back to camp. With the fresh-kill deposited, the two apprentices raced to the training hollow where their mentors—ShadowClan's leader and deputy—were waiting.

Tigerstar stood as they skidded to a halt in front of them. "It must have been an impressive hunt to have taken so long," he growled.

"It was," Scorchpaw assured the huge tabby.

"It took both of us to get it back to camp in one trip," Rainpaw added eagerly. Tigerstar dipped his head.

"Good," he rumbled. Rainpaw felt his paws warm at the praise. Tigerstar wasn't an easy mentor to please, even on his best days. "Now let's make sure your fighting skills are as sharp as your hunting skills."

"I won't go easy on you," Scorchpaw taunted as they moved to face each other in the middle of the training hollow.

"Good!" Rainpaw launched himself at his brother, and the two fell into a whirl of fur and barely-sheathed claws. Scorchpaw had gotten faster; instead of making his weak points stronger, he tried to cover them. That won't be good enough! Just when Rainpaw felt victory was nearly in his paws, Tigerstar stood.

"Enough."

They broke apart immediately. Rainpaw sat heavily, trying to regain his breath while Scorchpaw shook his head—clearly still seeing Silverpelt after the last blow Rainpaw had landed on the side of his head. Tigerstar turned to Blackfoot while the two apprentices caught their breath.

"Scorchpaw is progressing well," the huge tabby acknowledged. "In your next training session, make sure that he's always using both of his paws. He's fast, but Rainpaw's eyes don't miss a thing. He can't always use speed to cover his weak spots. He must grow stronger."

"Yes, Tigerstar." Blackfoot dipped his head. "Should I still go meet the sunhigh patrol?"

"Of course," Tigerstar flicked his ears towards Scorchpaw. "And take Scorchpaw with you. I only wanted Rainpaw to get in a good warmup before our training session. It is refreshing to see how strong our young apprentices are growing."

Blackfoot murmured an agreement before standing and beckoning his apprentice with a sweep of his tail. "Come. We'll have to hurry to meet Boulder and Wetfoot."

As soon as the others had left the training hollow, Tigerstar turned to his own apprentice. "What do you have to say about that sparring match?"

Rainpaw sat calmly in front of the huge tabby. "I wasn't prepared for how fast Scorchpaw is," he admitted truthfully.

"Obviously," Tigerstar growled. He began pacing in front of the younger tom, his tail tip flicking restlessly. "You are sharp, strong, and quick on your paws, Rainpaw. But you must always be prepared to meet a warrior that's sharper, stronger, and faster than you!"

"I will be," Rainpaw promised. He didn't blink under his mentor's cold scrutiny.

"Good," the great tabby moved to the middle of the clearing and crouched low to the ground. "Then prove it."

Rainpaw sprang almost before the words had left Tigerstar's lips, and still his opponent was prepared. When his first attack fell short, Rainpaw immediately danced back a couple of paces, lashing his tail as he circled his opponent carefully. I have to be more careful. Tigerstar isn't going to fall for the same tricks as Scorchpaw. That in mind, he narrowed his eyes, fixing them on Tigerstar's shoulders. As quick as lightning, Rainpaw shot forward. When Tigerstar raised a paw to swat him away, the gray and white apprentice ducked and rolled to the side. As soon as his paws touched the ground, Rainpaw jumped, soaring over his mentor's broad shoulders to land behind him. He whipped around and raked his claws harmlessly through the fur on his mentor's hind leg. When Tigerstar began to whirl around to counter him, Rainpaw slithered between his paws like snake, gathering all of his strength and thrusting himself upwards, sending the huge tabby sprawling sideways. I'm going to be sore tomorrow! Without missing a beat, Rainpaw leapt on top of his mentor, pressing a paw to his leader's throat.

"Good," Tigerstar panted, pushing his apprentice away with a wide paw. "I like how you used your paw instead of your jaws for that attack near the end—it didn't leave you vulnerable to my counter like it would have if you had done it correctly."

Rainpaw sat, catching his breath. "Is it incorrect if it's better?" He challenged.

Tigerstar's eyes flashed approvingly. "You're already thinking like a warrior." He shook himself off, then paced back to the center of the clearing. "Now come at me again, and this time, unsheathe your claws properly. You won't defeat any opponent by combing their pelt for ticks!"

It wasn't until the sun was nearly gone that Tigerstar called for them to head back to camp. Rainpaw followed his mentor unsteadily, limping heavily and struggling to keep his eyes open. Still, he held his chin high. Tigerstar had a limp of his own, and Rainpaw was particularly proud of the chunk of fur missing from his mentor's throat. Tigerstar waited for his apprentice just inside the camp, still looking proud.

"Take whatever you'd like from the fresh-kill pile," he ordered as he flicked his ears towards the pile of prey.

"Thank-you, Tigerstar," Rainpaw rasped. As he began moving forward, Tigerstar stopped him by laying his tail across his shoulder.

"And you will be attending the Gathering in three nights' time."

All of the wariness left his paws as the tabby and white apprentice spun to face his mentor. "Really? But I've hardly been training for a moon."

Tigerstar nodded. "It will be my first Gathering as ShadowClan's leader—it wouldn't do for my own apprentice to miss it."

"Thank-you, Tigerstar," Rainpaw bowed his head.

"Tell Scorchpaw he will be going as well. It's important for us to show the other Clans that we are not weak from sickness."

"Yes, Tigerstar!" Rainpaw hurried to the fresh-kill pile, where he picked out a large crow. He raced to the apprentices' den, where Scorchpaw and Rowanpaw were both already eating.

Scorchpaw seemed to choke on a bite of fresh-kill as his brother approached. "What in StarClan's name happened to you?"

Rowanpaw's hackles bristled uneasily. "It looks as if you've been raiding border patrols."

Rainpaw shook his head as he settled beside his brother. "I was just battle training."

"With your claws unsheathed?" Rowanpaw hissed.

"What of it?" Rainpaw shrugged uncomfortably. "It's not all that bad—besides, it's not like we'll have our claws sheathed in battle."

Scorchpaw shuddered. "Blackfoot tells me to unsheathe my claws sometimes, but he never unsheathes his."

Rainpaw rolled his eyes. "Don't be such a kit," he muttered as he plucked feathers from his fresh-kill. He took a huge bite before continuing, "Anyways, look at Tigerstar. It's not like he was just pushing me around."

"I suppose," Rowanpaw still seemed uneasy, but as he finished his lizard, the older apprentice sat up and began licking the mud from Rainpaw's wounds.

Rainpaw continued eating in silence, appreciating his denmate's gentle work. He must be thinking about Brokenstar…

Rainpaw and Scorchpaw had been born after the tyrant leader had been driven out of the Clan, but he vividly remembered the stories that Darkflower would tell them to make them behave. He had trained kits before they reached their sixth moon, often pushing them too hard and killing them. And when he ran out of kits in ShadowClan, he began stealing them from other Clans.

I don't think Tigerstar is like that, though…

The great tabby had come to them six moons after the fire, when sickness was ravaging the already weakened Clan. They had already lost Cinderfur and Stumpytail, and Nightstar was barely clinging to his last life when Littlecloud returned with a cure from ThunderClan's medicine cat, and Tigerstar had come—just as StarClan prophesized—and offered to make them strong again. He welcomed warriors that had once been rogues, like Boulder and Russetfur, as well as some that had served Brokenstar, like Blackfoot. It made some uneasy, but after a moon of hard work and loyalty, no cat could doubt that it had been a good decision. They had even less cause for concern when Tigerstar returned successfully from the Moonstone with his name and nine lives.

He's done nothing but make us stronger. Surely the other Clans will see that at the Gathering in three days.

With a gasp, Rainpaw sat up, choking on the bite of fresh-kill he had been working on. When he finally managed to swallow, he jumped to his paws. "I almost forgot!"

Scorchpaw looked up from burying the bones of his meal, and Rowanpaw jumped back from the younger apprentice. "Almost forgot what?" The black tom ventured, his eyes as wide as an owl's.

"We've been chosen to go to Tigerstar's first Gathering as ShadowClan's leader!"

"We have?" Scorchpaw's ice blue eyes lit up like stars. "We've only been training for a moon though…" He glanced guiltily at Rowanpaw, but the older apprentice was nodding in understanding.

"He wants to show the other Clans that ShadowClan has not been made weaker by the sickness," he murmured thoughtfully. "If he shows up with newly named apprentices and warriors, no Clan can doubt that he means it when he says ShadowClan will be great again."

"Isn't it exciting?" Rainpaw paced restlessly around the other two apprentices.

"It is," Scorchpaw purred. "But you'd better get some cobwebs and ointment for those wounds if you want to make ShadowClan seem strong at the Gathering."

Rainpaw rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright." He buried the bones from his meal quickly. "I'll be back before you can say 'newt'."

Runningnose didn't look nearly as surprised as Scorchpaw and Rowanpaw had. "Be more careful," he murmured as he licked ointment into the wounds. Rainpaw gritted his teeth as it seeped into the cuts.

"It's really nothing," he muttered. "Tigerstar probably needs the cobwebs more than me."

Littecloud's whiskers twitched as he helped his mentor. "We've already seen to Tigerstar. He couldn't stop talking about how well you were doing."

"Really?" Rainpaw blinked incredulously at the apprentice medicine cat. The small tabby hummed an agreement.

"Yes," Runningnose sighed. "Don't let his expectations push you too far though."

"I won't," Rainpaw promised, flexing his claws. His expectations don't stand a chance. I'll achieve and surpass every single one of them!