Updaaaaate! Jeez, this took a while. Enjoy, ravenous fans!

Chapter 8

The morning after the Gathering dawned with a pale sun barely breaking through the dark gray clouds. Snowpaw yawned and stretched out in front of the apprentice's den. When she had awoken, Rainpaw had been gone. Lionmane had said that the pale blue tabby had been out hunting.

Still, what with the possible threat of a ShadowClan attack hanging over every ThunderClan cat's head, Snowpaw was only slightly worried about the mysterious involvement of Rainpaw.

"Snowpaw!" Rubyheart meowed, padding over to her. "The apprentices are going to be fortifying our walls. We can't let ShadowClan break in easily. Take Gingerblaze and Thistlepaw to find some thorns, and bring them back to camp."

"Right. I'll go do that. Are we going to have fighting training later?" Snowpaw mewed, looking up at the scarlet warrior.

"Later, once you've got those thorns. Go on, now." Rubyheart flicked his tail impatiently.

It seemed like the whole clan was ready for an attack. Snowpaw found Thistlepaw and Gingerblaze weaving stems and leaves into the walls of the elder's den.

"One- second-hang-on." Thistlepaw grunted, pushing a twig through a series of gaps.

"You're doing wonderfully, Thistlepaw." Amberfang rasped. "I know that it's all preparation for an attack, but it is nice to not have as many gaps in the den."

"There!" Thistlepaw weaved the twig through a final hole, and then turned to look at Snowpaw. "Did you need something?"

"Yeah, you and Gingerblaze are going to be looking for thorns." Snowpaw mewed.

"In our pads?" Gingerblaze asked.

"No, thorn bushes. We need to take some and put it around the wall not protected by rocks." Snowpaw meowed, looking around the camp. It was starting to get chilly. The first cold winds of leaf-bare were starting to blow.

"Alright. Lets go, then." Gingerblaze padded toward the entrance to camp. Snowpaw and Thistlepaw bounded after him. All the while the group was collecting thorn bushes and dragging them back to camp, Snowpaw was thinking about Rainpaw. Am I just paranoid? She wondered.

A sharp pain in her shoulder broke her concentration. She looked past the thorn bush to see Rainpaw smirking at her.

"Whoops." He jeered. Snowpaw looked at her shoulder to see a huge thorn penetrating her white fur. Already her flank was covered in blood.

"You little-" She was about to leap at Rainpaw when Barkpelt came up to her.

"Ooh, that looks bad. Go see Tawnyflower." The dark tabby medicine cat gripped the thorn in his teeth and pulled it out. A spurt of scarlet blood followed.

"Ow!" Snowpaw winced, rolling her shoulder. It hurt. Badly.

"To Tawnyflower with you. Go on." Barkpelt nudged her in the direction of the medicine cat's den. She stumbled as she walked. More blood followed. More pain. Joy.

"Oh dear. What happened?" Tawnyflower mewed, slicing a greenish root into pieces as the white she-cat walked in.

"Rainpaw pushed a thorn into my shoulder. Ow!" Snowpaw winced as more blood flowed down her flank.

"Come here. I'll clean that up." Tawnyflower began licking the wound, washing the blood off, leaving the fur surrounding the wound a faint tinge of pink. She turned and picked up a wad of cobwebs with her paw. Peeling some off, she pressed the web onto the cut with her other paw. The tortoiseshell she-cat grabbed a chewed up leaf from a pile and placed it on the wound. Another piece of cobweb followed that.

"Thanks. It doesn't hurt so much now." Snowpaw mewed, testing her weight on the injured leg. It wobbled horribly.

"I would go swimming, if I were you." Tawnyflower purred.

"Swimming?!"

"To strengthen your leg. After you swim for a while, your leg will not hurt at all."

"Oh. Right. I'll do that." Snowpaw mewed. She limped out of camp, trodding on a thorn as she did so. "Mouse dung!" She hissed, annoyed. Thankfully, it didn't break her skin, and she padded slowly to the WindClan border. There was a stream there, which Rubyheart had shown her earlier.

Shivering at the thought of what she was about to do, Snowpaw stepped into the water. It wasn't as bad as she expected. The water was pleasantly cool, and lapped around her flanks. She had to lift her head slightly higher to prevent water from getting in her mouth.

The current tugged at her, pulling her down toward the lake. Struggling against the pull, she began to feel the pain in her shoulder lessening. But not entirely.

"Snowpaw? What in StarClan's name are you doing?" Snowpaw looked up. Bluetip was standing a fox-length away, gazing curiously at the apprentice.

"Swimming. Tawnyflower's orders. For my leg." Snowpaw mewed, pulling herself out of the stream. Now it got really cold. She shivered violently. Shaking her sodden fur, she padded over to Bluetip. "Does someone want me at camp?"

"Oh. No, I just stumbled upon you by chance. I needed a break." Bluetip sighed.

"Is something wrong?" Snowpaw asked, looking at the blue queen. She seemed dejected, and her eyes held none of their usual humor.

"No, I-" Bluetip broke off as Pinepelt stalked into the clearing. The pale tabby glared at the pair of them.
"Apprentices are supposed to stay in camp." He growled. "What have you been doing, kittypet? Jumping in the river? Get back to camp, and go see Tawnyflower."

Snowpaw didn't want to argue, so she streaked back to camp without looking back at Bluetip. Why does Bluetip look so upset?

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A few days went by without any hint of ShadowClan on their territory. Flamestar was visibly becoming uneasy by the continual lack of any sign of hostility. Rubyheart had been giving all the apprentices strenuous battle training, and even Moonpaw had given the scarlet warrior some serious cuts.

But Snowpaw was constantly aware of Bluetip leaving camp more and more, and Pinepelt was becoming increasingly nasty.

Meanwhile, her relationship with Stormpaw seemed to be growing. The two of them were inseparable. Whenever Snowpaw curled in her nest, full of anxiety and worry over every tiny detail of her confusing life, Stormpaw would be there, helping her fight off the pangs and shadows that threatened to engulf her.

One day, after a long training session with Rubyheart, Snowpaw walked into the apprentice's den, she found Drizzlepaw sitting in his usual nest, staring absently into space.

"Hey." Snowpaw sat down next to him.

"Hi." Drizzlepaw sighed. "Listen, Snowpaw. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What?" Snowpaw mewed, curious.

Drizzlepaw sighed again. "What's it like to be in love?"

"Where's this coming from?" Snowpaw meowed, surprised.

"Well…" Drizzlepaw sighed yet again, gazing absently at the roof of the den. "To tell you the truth, I think I'm in love with Moonpaw. I can't seem to stay away from her. At first, I thought it was pity, but this is so much more. It feels like my heart is going to rip itself apart." He looked at Snowpaw, an almost pleading look in his eyes. "Am I wrong? Is it wrong to love her?"

"No. It's not wrong. She needs someone like you, to help her get over her fear." Snowpaw heard the words, but it was as if a stranger was speaking them.

"Really?" Drizzlepaw asked, his whole body lightening, as though hit by a ray of purest sunlight.

"Yes." Snowpaw mewed, unable to bear the pain building in her heart at Drizzlepaw's words. He had a chance, at least. Moonpaw was clanborn, which was much more then she could say. Pinepelt wouldn't mind if his youngest son fell in love with a clanborn cat. Stormpaw would have a falling out with his father and brother if he openly declared his love for her.

Sometimes it seemed like her kittypet past was dragging her down further every day. After her rather depressing conversation with Drizzlepaw, Snowpaw went to talk with Moonpaw.

"H-hi S-S-Snowpaw. D-d-d-did you k-know t-that D-Diamondclaw w-was talking w-with F-Flamestar about m-my w-w-warrior c-ceremony?" She stammered.

"Really?" Snowpaw was surprised. Then again, she is the oldest apprentice. She became an apprentice about a moon before Oakpaw and Thistlepaw.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey meet beneath the Highledge for a clan meeting!" Snowpaw looked around, surprised. What was Flamestar calling a meeting for?

Once the cats had all gathered, Snowpaw saw Moonpaw positively bouncing up and down with excitement. Flamestar crouched upon the Highledge and yowled.

"Cats of ThunderClan, we gather today to honor an apprentice who has spent nine moons devotedly following the Warrior Code, and is now deserving of the title of warrior."

"Moonpaw, please come forward." As the white she-cat moved forward, trembling with glee, Snowpaw caught a glimpse of Crowclaw. The black tom was stiff with fury.

"Do you, Moonpaw, accept and pledge yourself to the Warrior code, and will follow and honor it to the end of your life?"

"I-I do." Moonpaw stammered from joy, not fear as she gazed up at Flamestar.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name! Moonpaw, from this moment you shall be known as Moongaze. StarClan honors your determination and loyalty, and I commend you to StarClan as a warrior in your turn!"

Moongaze bowed her head, smiling broadly.

"Moongaze!" Darkpaw yowled.

"Moongaze!" purred Cloudbush, who had emerged from the nursery, and was looking at her daughter with so much pride, Snowpaw thought that she might explode.

As Flamestar leapt down from the Highledge, and Moongaze was obscured by cats congratulating her, Snowpaw saw Crowclaw crouching in a corner. The dark tom's eyes were slits of fury, and Snowpaw felt a surge of unease as Moongaze padded over to the fresh-kill pile.

What would Crowclaw do now that his daughter had done the thing he had most opposed?