A/N: Again, thanks to those who reviewed! Oh, another thing: I know in almost every chapter, I have some text bunched together. I read through my stuff about three times on WordPerfect and it isn't bunched, but I get it on here and it bunches up. I change it, I tell it so save changes, and yet it still comes up bunched together. I'm aware of it, I can't fix it. I've tried to fix it an oodle of times, but it simply will not behave, so that's why text comes up bunched.

Disclaimer: Do I really need to say it?

Chapter Seven

"Well, at least he's gone now."

"For what, another two moons? We'll be made warriors too, and we'll have to den with him until we're old and stiff, and quite possibly until we're dead."

"Do you always have to take a pessimistic view on things?"

"I don't always; just when it concerns him." Sunpaw swiped her tongue over her shoulder. "And being around him," she added as an afterthought.

Badgerpaw had been given his warrior name of Badgerclaw. He now sat in the center of the camp, keeping his eyes fixed on the camp entrance. It was plain he had not been pleased with having Morning present at his ceremony; he didn't think "captive spies" should be permitted to watch Clan traditions. Sunpaw had pointed out that Morning was watching Clan traditions every day.

It was three days since the Tribe had attacked and Morning had relayed her information about what was being planned. The gray she-cat stayed just outside Treeshadow's den, always looking around nervously, hardly saying anything. Rainpaw, who was kind to everyone, had tried to talk to her, but to no avail.

Sunpaw yawned and stretched, trying not to wince as her still-healing wounds throbbed slightly. She ran her tongue over her paw and drew it over her face.

"What warrior names d'you think we'll get?" she asked the other two.

"Whatever Lightningstar decides to call us," answered Icepaw. "He could call you Sunsnout if he wanted to."

"Let me rephrase. What warrior names do you want?"

"I'm fine with anything, so long as it suits me," said Icepaw. "I wouldn't necessarily like the name Iceheart because it doesn't fit me."

"I'd be okay with anything," said Rainpaw. "Leaders consider apprentices' warrior names before their ceremony comes; whatever name I get, I'll know Lightningstar considered it carefully."

"What about you?" asked Icepaw.

"Well, definitely not Sunsnout. I want something that describes both my personality and my appearance."

"Good thing you're going for appearance, too," said Icepaw off-handedly, "because I can't even begin to think of a warrior name that would describe your personality alone."

With a mock-angry hiss, Sunpaw cuffed his head with her claws half-sheathed.

As they curled up to sleep along with Shadowpaw and Nightpaw, Sunpaw yawned and smiled to herself. She fell asleep thinking of warrior names for her and her friends. Her final thought was how much she'd enjoy sitting vigil with Icepaw beside her.

;-;-;-;

Sunpaw emerged from the den, flexing her claws and gazing up at the trees. The leaves were broadening now, and many were taking on a deeper shade of green. Wildflowers were blooming throughout the forest, filling the woods with more scents than just dry earth and cold moss.

Taking a deep breath of the sweet air, Sunpaw wished she had the time to lay down in the sunlight and do absolutely nothing. Normally she was always looking for something to do while listening to Rainpaw telling her to stop looking for something to do, but the past few days had been non-stop work. The camp wall had only just been fully rebuilt, and all the warriors kept sending out the three youngest apprentices on hunting missions. Shadowpaw and Nightpaw, who was the oldest now, were in battle training. When they weren't hunting, Sunpaw, Icepaw, and Rainpaw were on patrols.

"You'd think with new-leaf here, they'd stop sending usout to hunt again every time we set paw back in camp," Sunpaw had said the day before.

"Well, there's more prey, isn't there? We need all we can," Rainpaw had responded.

"She's going to refuse to see the logic in that," mentioned Icepaw, who overheard as he strolled over to deposit his own fresh-kill on the pile.

Pushing her forelegs against the ground and raising her hindquarters, Sunpaw gave her back and leg muscles a long stretch before straightening up. A flash of orange caught her eye, and she turned to the nursery. Orangestripe had come hurrying out of the bushes, running under the branches of Treeshadow's den. A minute later, two tabbies, one dark gray and one dark orange, hurried back over to the nursery. Her pulse quickened with excitement; Yellowflower must be kitting!

Rainpaw, who had come up beside her, seemed to be thinking the same thing. Her pale blue eyes were bright and her tail tip twitched back and forth. Lightningstar slipped out of his den, and Sunpaw ran over to him.

"Lightningstar! I think Yellowflower is kitting!"

He looked over at the nursery. "That is good news," he said. "Is Treeshadow with her?" Sunpaw nodded. "Good. And before I forget, you and your friends are being assessed today."

"So soon?" Rainpaw asked him after she bowed her head in greeting.

"With-," he cast a glance at Morning across the camp, "with the Tribe attacking, I need to know how you three are progressing with your training. If you are doing well, I will consider allowing you to go to the next Gathering." The next one was in three days.

"When do we start?" asked Sunpaw.

"Wake up Icepaw, then meet me at the top of the slope when you are ready." He went to talk to Mudspeckle.

"What about me?" asked the tom in question, coming over to stand by his sister.

"Oh, good, you're awake, we're being assessed today," Sunpaw said in a rush.

His deep blue eyes brightened. "Where are we going?"

"Don't know yet," Rainpaw answered him. She kneaded the ground nervously. "Oh, StarClan, I hope we do alright."

"Stop worrying," Sunpaw told her, giving her an affectionate nudge. "We've been training for over a moon."

The small white she-cat stared at her. "It's not like you to be that optimistic."

"What can I say? I'm a bundle of surprises."

;-;-;-;

"Rainpaw, you will go south, along the Pine Grove trail. Icepaw, take the eastern trail towards the Star Lake. And Sunpaw, you will go west, across the Rock Valley, to the edge of Clan territory. If any of you catch any trace of the Tribe or the fox, come straight back here immediately," Lightningstar said. "You have until sundown to catch as much prey as you can and bring it back here. Go."

Three apprentices, one golden-red, one silver-white, and one snow-white with a gray tail, each turned in different directions.

Confidently, Sunpaw traced her route in her mind and padded along it. Keeping her mouth open to draw in scents, she was halfway to the Rock Valley before prey-scent even wafted across her nose. Falling into the hunting crouch, Sunpaw peered through the undergrowth and saw the short brown pelt of a rabbit. Pulling herself slowly towards it, she waited. Then, so quickly that all that could be seen was a red blur, she shot towards it and finished it off with a single bite. Stowing it under the bush which it had been nibbling at, Sunpaw carried on.

By the time she reached Rock Valley, it was nearly sunhigh. She had added a robin, two mice, and a fat vole to her list of caught prey, and hoped she would be able to catch considerably more before the day was done. Taking only a moment to plot which rocks she would jump across, Sunpaw began leaping across the aptly named Rock Valley, which was a wide expanse of large granite rocks, the biggest being many fox-lengths long.

As her paws hit one gray slab after another, she wondered why Lightningstar had sent her here. Birds did touch down on top of the rocks, but it was too dangerous to go jumping after them. Normally, Sunpaw liked a bit of danger to spice up the ordinary, but the risk of losing her footing and falling hard on a large, pointy rock was a bit too much. Besides, with the sun rising, her pelt blazed brazenly against the mottled gray boulders, so much so that the most blind bird could see her coming.

When she thumped down from the last rock and back onto grass at the other end of the Valley, a powerful crow smell smacked her across the face. Peering around the maple that stood beside her, Sunpaw could it as it hopped across the ground. Flattening herself, Sunpaw judged the distance that lay between them. If she stayed under the shadow of the maple and moved quietly enough, she might be able to reach it with a good leap.

Moving as slowly as she could without wasting too much time, Sunpaw crept around the base of the maple. She didn't know how well crows could smell, so she hoped the nearby clump of blooming clover would be enough to disguise her scent. When she stopped, there was a distance of about three tail-lengths between her and the bird. It raised its wings, suddenly sensing the young cat, and Sunpaw threw herself at it. After a short struggle, the black bird died, and Sunpaw was left trying to shake off the feathers that stuck to her tongue.

;-;-;-;

As the sun moved further across the sky, the ThunderClan markers grew weaker and weaker; this was not an area that was diligently patrolled. As she brushed against a tall thistle, Sunpaw stopped, bent her head, and sniffed curiously. There was cat-scent around the base of the thistle, but it was so old that only a few traces of it lingered. Sunpaw could discern that the cat was male, not ThunderClan,older than she, and had not been in this area for over a half-moon.

A holly bush growing a fox-length over the border rustled suddenly; Sunpaw dropped to the shadows. As she watched, a long-bodied gray tom slipped out from among the spiky leaves. He kept his gaze trained on the ground. While he was not fat, he was plumper than most Clan cats; undoubtedly a loner who ate everything he caught. Following him with her eyes as he walked slowly along, Sunpaw tensed as the ash-gray tom halted and raised his head.

He looked left into the ThunderClan forest, but did not see the sun-furred apprentice. Hesitantly, he took two steps closer to the border, sniffed deeply, and took another step. Certain that this tom was about to intrude, Sunpaw shifted and prepared to attack the tom. He had taken enough steps forward as to have his forepaws on the dividing line between the two territories, but Sunpaw did not attack. Deep within her, an unusual feeling, almost an instinct, told her to leave the tom be.

As she rose from the ground, the sun broke through the clouds and struck her. The sudden blaze of golden-red attracted the tom's attention. As he met her gaze, Sunpaw found herself looking into deep, emerald-colored eyes.

Eyes that came extremely close to mirroring her own.

For several heartbeats, the two cats held the gaze of the other. Dimly, Sunpaw realized why she hadn't detected the tom before he stepped into her vision: the air was still. Not even the slightest breeze stirred the forest. With no wind to carry scents, neither cat had been able to smell the other.

She knew she should chase the tom off. But still she felt that thing inside herself, an almost-instinct to not harm the cat who stood before her. She was unable to move, and if she hadn't known better, she would have expected to see roots sprouting from her paws and anchoring her to the forest floor.

In a sudden flash, the gray loner whirled around and bolted back into his own territory. Some of his scent drifted over to Sunpaw, but as she sniffed, she could not identify the tom. Turning slowly, she padded deeper into her own land, remembering her purpose.

;-;-;-;

"Great StarClan! How'd you catch that?"

Near sundown, Icepaw came trotting up to the slope, holding his tail like a banner. From his jaws dangled an emerald-headed mallard. Setting it down, he said, "There was a whole flock of ducks at the Lake. This one was floating in the shallows." Upon closer inspection, Sunpaw could see his face, paws, and belly were wet, and water still dripped off his whiskers.

"That's quite the catch," meowed Sunpaw.

"It was really slow," he said modestly. "Besides, you caught a crow."

"Sure did," Sunpaw purred, raising her tail.

Icepaw rolled his eyes. "At least I had the decency to be modest."

"You expect me to be modest? Tell me, how long have you known me?"

Before he could answer, Lightningstar and Rainpaw came padding up the slope. The Clan leader was helping the white apprentice carry her prey, which, though it did not consist of a large bird like the other two, was still impressive in amount.

As the four cats paraded down the slope into the camp, they were greeted with appreciative mews and nuzzles as the Clan saw how much fresh-kill was being brought in. After the elders had been fed, Sunpaw, Icepaw, and Rainpaw settled down together outside the apprentices' den.

As they ate Sunpaw's crow, Lightningstar padded over. "You will all be going to the next Gathering," he told them. "Since all three of you performed spectacularly today, you will have the day off tomorrow, but you will have training the day after. Enjoy the rest."

Sunpaw laughed triumphantly, while Icepaw yowled, "Yes!" and Rainpaw purred loudly. As her gaze roamed over the camp, Sunpaw's eyes fell on Morning, who still sat silently outside Treeshadow's den. The sight of one gray cat reminded her of another, darker gray tom with deep green eyes. As she thought of the loner she had seen, his scent again filled the air around her, though she knew he was nowhere near the camp. The scent was still unfamiliar, but Sunpaw felt as though she should know it.

As she curled up to sleep, the tom stayed in her mind. Throughout the night, the gray tom followed her in her dreams, as did his scent. And still she did not know him.

;-;-;-;

Dreaded is the day in which two who are kin meet each other's eyes...and each sees a stranger.

-Anonymous

A/N: I thought I'd take this moment to say that while I appreciate your reviews more than I can say, I'd really like to know what I could improve on. I do like how I'm being told that my story keeps getting better, I truly do, but still...what isn't good? What could be better? Oh yes, to swing to a totally different topic, about the little warrior names discussion at the beginning of this, I do have warrior names chosen for all three of them. And no, Sunpaw will not be called Sunsnout.