DISCLAIMER: I do not own Warriors.

Chapter 7

ShadowClan

Skullpaw pushed through the entrance to camp, carrying a limp frog in his jaws. He padded over to the fresh-kill pile, placing his prey down and staring curiously in front of him.

Bearstripe, Blackpaw, Frenzypaw, and Pondripple were digging a hole underneath Fallen Tree, occasionally sticking their heads inside and pulling them out again.

"Have you all gone mad?" Skullpaw called to Blackpaw, eyes full of amusement; he watched as Blackpaw backed out of the hole, shaking dirt off of her head.

"No," Blackpaw panted; she sneezed. "we haven't." She flicked her tail to Duskstar's den, where Dewheart was repeatedly going in and out with herbs in her jaws.

"Duskstar ordered us to dig a hole here to store prey. The heat in the ground will keep fresh-kill from becoming wet or frozen when the snow comes."

Skullpaw wrinkled his nose. "We've never had that problem before." He remarked. The fresh-kill pile was located beneath a shady grotto at the right corner of camp, usually shielded from wind and snow by the pines that had surrounded it. Now, the pines were stark and bare against the sky, and Fallen Tree cut right through the grotto; Skullpaw understood.

"All right." He nodded. "You need another paw?"

Blackpaw opened her mouth to reply, but closed it again and slit her eyes. She growled at something behind Skullpaw, and Skullpaw turned around to see his brother strutting over.

"Hey, Blackpaw. You need any help digging the prey-hole?" Deathpaw meowed as he trotted toward them. Skullpaw rolled his eyes.

"No. Skullpaw was going to help me." Blackpaw replied flatly. Her tail started to swish back and forth when Deathpaw didn't leave. Skullpaw looked over at his brother and saw a glint of frustration beneath the coolness of his gaze.

Deathpaw rolled his eyes. "Skullpaw? Please. He's hardly strong enough. Why, just the other day I saw him run his head into a tree; he fell right over and began to cry..."

"That wasn't yesterday!" Skullpaw's fur fluffed up in indignation and anger. "I was hardly three moons old!" Deathpaw smirked. Skullpaw looked behind him and saw that Frenzypaw and Singedpaw were snickering a little ways away.

Skullpaw squeezed his eyes shut and forced himself to calm down. His brother was only trying to tick him off...he just had to regain control...

"Besides," Deathpaw sighed, standing and turning away, "with his smarts, I bet he couldn't even figure out where the prey goes; in the snow or in the hole..."

Forgetting his struggle to keep in his anger, Skullpaw unsheathed his claws and leaped at his brother. Deathpaw turned around, snarling, and the two brothers tumbled in the dirt.

Skullpaw felt something grab his scruff, and he was suddenly thrown off of Deathpaw. Skullpaw landed with a thud on the hard-packed earth, winded and wheezing.

"What are you two doing?" Bearstripe yowled; Skullpaw staggered to a standing position, and with a rush of guilt and disappointment faced his mentor who was standing a little ways away.

"It hurts! My ankle!" Deathpaw wailed. Skullpaw turned to look at his brother, seeing him lying on the ground a couple of tail-lengths behind Bearstripe. Leopardclaw, just exiting the warriors' den, bounded to Deathpaw's side, helping him up and mewing words of comfort.

Bearstripe glared at Skullpaw. "What's the matter with you? Attacking a Clan mate, let alone your own brother?"

Skullpaw hung his head, but only to hide his bared teeth. Here he was, getting punished for something Deathpaw started, while his brother was off getting pampered in the medicine den for a wound Skullpaw never gave him! It hardly seemed fair!

That fox-heart had it coming! Skullpaw longed to scream, but he bit his tongue and listened to Bearstripe lecture him.

Bearstripe was pacing. "I've told you time and time again not to fight with your Clan mates, yet you refuse to hold in your anger." Skullpaw felt Bearstripe cuff him over the ears, and heard him hiss, "And I thought you had matured." Bearstripe turned and stalked off.

Skullpaw looked up and saw him speaking with Softfur a little ways away. He shut his eyes tight; he had tried to hold in his anger. His brother was simply the problem.

Skullpaw felt something warm press beside him. He looked to his left and saw Blackpaw sitting beside him, a fuming look of rage behind her eyes.

"I can't believe it." She growled, swishing her tail back and forth in agitation. "This isn't right. Deathpaw always gets to push you around, only to have you push him back in self-defense; and you're the one who gets a scolding."

Skullpaw didn't answer. He was too intent on Bearstripe's conversation to acknowledge what she'd said; Skullpaw winced when he heard his mentor's voice raise, and caught the word "confinement" on his lips.

"Hold on." Blackpaw stood and started padding over to Softfur and Bearstripe. Skullpaw watched in amazement as Blackpaw spoke to them, seeing Softfur nod and Bearstripe sulk. After a few moments, Blackpaw and Softfur padded up to him and sat down.

"As punishment, you will go without prey until sunrise tomorrow morning." Softfur mewed, and Skullpaw stifled a groan. It was only morning, and he hadn't even eaten a piece of prey yet today.

A question nagged at the back of Skullpaw's mind. "What about Deathpaw?"

"Deathpaw," Softfur exchanged a glance with Blackpaw, "will clean out the elder's den and tend to them for the rest of the day. Blackpaw told me about how he was unjust to speak about you so harshly, and said he deserves at least some form of consequence as well." Softfur purred in amusement.

Once the deputy had left, Skullpaw turned to Blackpaw in amazement. "How'd you get her to change her mind?"

Blackpaw looked smug. "Girls just have better social skills." Blackpaw's tail brushed under his chin as she passed by him, headed for the apprentices' den.

Skullpaw awoke in the apprentices' den that night, awakened by his growling stomach. He groaned and stretched, heading outside.

The air was crisp for green-leaf, and Skullpaw shivered as a biting wind chilled his fur. Leaf-fall was closing in, and Skullpaw looked worriedly at the budding pines; would the first of the frosts kill what little growth was just beginning to show itself?

Skullpaw shook his head; he didn't need to worry about that now. He had enough to handle already.

Skullpaw quietly slunk across the camp, checked his surroundings, then slipped through a hole behind the elders' den, out of camp and free for the night.

Back in the apprentices' den, Deathpaw stirred in his nest, disturbed by the movement of his brother leaving the den. He blinked opened his eyes and stretched, poking his head out of the entrance in time to see his brother's snow-white tail disappear behind the elders' den.

With a growl, Deathpaw slit his eyes and padded out of the den, tracing his brother's scent and following him out of camp.

Skullpaw followed the familiar trail toward the RiverClan border, scenting the MonsterPlace and spotting a ginger shape beneath the half-bridge. He bounded over, slowing to a trot as he caught Napoleon's eye a few tail-lengths away.

"Good evening." Napoleon purred. Skullpaw dipped his head respectively and sat down across from his part-time mentor.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Skullpaw asked.

Napoleon twitched his whiskers in thought. "I wanted to speak to you about your task..."

"Is there something wrong? I'm doing my best, sir. I try to keep contact with the others, but it's harder now that the Clans are back to their territories..." Skullpaw trailed off, noticing he was rambling. He straightened, trying to regain his dignity.

"Nothing's wrong, Skullpaw. It's simply what to do next." Napoleon chuckled, a hollow sound that raised the hairs on Skullpaw's neck; this was a cat that meant business.

Napoleon yawned, as if bored. "I'm only going to say this once, so listen hard. I've gathered a lot of information already on who you're working with, but I still need more if I'm to help you become leader. You'll meet more challenges as you grow older, wiser, stronger; you - all of you - will need training to face and conquer these challenges."

"What exactly are you suggesting?" Skullpaw mewed slowly, confusion taking over his calm air of pride.

Napoleon tapped his tail-tip up and down on the ground. "Merely that you let me meet these friends of yours."

Skullpaw gulped, doubt suddenly overtaking him. Why was he doubting Napoleon? He had known him for such a long time, he would never hurt him...but still, the thoughts of the fire invaded his mind.

"You're a hero, throughout RiverClan, ThunderClan, and ShadowClan, because you saved that kit. You're popular now; Duskstar is impressed with your work in the fire, in the investigation of Rabbitsteps, and with your determination to help your Clan be strong again. Don't you see, Skullpaw? I'm only helping you achieve your goal."

Napoleon hadn't even hesitated when Skullpaw suggested the fire could've killed his Clan that day. Was he really the one to trust?

Skullpaw nodded. "I'll...do it."

"Good. Now I - " Napoleon's ears swiveled for a moment, his nose twitching. "Someone is here..."

Napoleon padded slowly past Skullpaw, who craned his neck to look behind him. He heard something shift, and suddenly something leaped on him from behind, knocking Skullpaw backwards. Skullpaw gasped, winded, and opened his eyes wide with surprise as the new cat pinned him down.

"So, this is where you run off to. I never knew you could be so sly." Skullpaw shut his eyes in frustration. No; he couldn't have followed him...why had he even left the nest...

Napoleon rounded the bend again, a smirk of amusement spreading across his face. "Well, well. Who's this? A friend of yours, Skullpaw?"

Skullpaw pushed the new cat off of him, shaking out his fur. His tail drooped in defeat. "This is my brother, De-"

"Pleasure to meet you, sir. The name's Deathpaw." the new cat dipped his head to Napoleon, slapping his tail over Skullpaw's muzzle.

"I see." Napoleon's eyes flashed with amusement. He turned to Skullpaw, curious. "You never mentioned you had a brother before. I have to wonder why?"

Skullpaw breathed a frustrated sigh as Deathpaw spoke again. "My, my. How rude of him. Yeah," Deathpaw shoved against Skullpaw playfully, but ended up making Skullpaw stagger on his paws, "Ol' Skully and I are real close." Skullpaw rolled his eyes.

"So..." Deathpaw sat down. "Who are you, anyway?"

Before Napoleon could answer, Skullpaw stepped between them. "Go home, Deathpaw. You don't belong here." Skullpaw growled flatly. He wasn't going to let Deathpaw take anything else away from him; first his pride, and now this. This was the only thing Skullpaw had that Deathpaw didn't and Skullpaw intended to keep it that way.

Napoleon laid his tall-tip on Skullpaw's shoulder. "Why not?" He gestured to Deathpaw, green eyes full of something Skullpaw couldn't recognize; was it...recognition? Was Napoleon impressed?

"Thank you." Deathpaw mewed, and sat down. Skullpaw sat beside Napoleon, sulkily thinking of what he would do to Deathpaw when they returned to camp.

After what seemed like a moon had passed, the sun finally began to rise over the horizon.

"Well, it seems our time is up." Napoleon stood, stretched, and began to say his goodbyes. Deathpaw called off to him heartily, Skullpaw mumbled a defeated farewell, and Napoleon bounded away toward the winding Thunderpath leading to TwolegPlace.

"He seemed nice. What was his name, again?" Deathpaw mewed as Skullpaw and him padded back through the forest.

"Nothing." Skullpaw grumbled, kicking loose pebbles behind him. He couldn't help but get the feeling that Deathpaw's appearance had shaken his relationship with Napoleon; he felt his brother had made it crumble somehow, but he couldn't place quite how he had done it.

"Why so grumpy? Did you eat a bad pigeon or something?" Deathpaw put on a look of mock surprise on his face and stopped walking. "Oh, that's right, you couldn't eat at all yesterday."

"What about you? You're paw has been healing awfully fast for only being sprained and cut yesterday." Skullpaw snapped back, unable to contain his annoyance.

"At least I wasn't the one who started the fight in the first place." Deathpaw shot back. It took all of Skullpaw's strength not to trip him.

Again, sooo sorry for the delay. I'll try to update faster, but with finals coming up...I doubt I'll get very far. O_o I'll try my best, though, and you never know what might happen! ^_^'