Chapter Eighteen

The air was getting colder as morning arrived for the new warriors sitting vigil. At several points in the night, Cloudsong had looked like she was going to fall asleep. Much to Skyfeather's chagrin, Shadowstorm had nudged his sister awake most of those times. The look he received was more than priceless.

"All right you three, you can get some rest." Skyfeather breathed out a sigh of relief when Halfcloud approached them. Halfcloud purred in amusement at the sight of their exhausted looks. Only Cloudsong didn't look nearly as tired, but she tried her best to fake it.

"Thank StarClan, I thought my tail was going to freeze," Cloudsong muttered the moment they were allowed to speak. Skyfeather shot her a look of amusement as they padded towards the apprentice's den. Then she stopped herself when she realized where Shadowstorm was headed.

"We're warriors now," she reminded her friend. "I think we're supposed to head for the warrior's den." Cloudsong looked at her skeptically before nodding in agreement, trying to hide her embarrassment.

Cloudsong quickly followed her as the two made their way to the warrior's den. Finding a nest wasn't as easy as Skyfeather was hoping. Cloudsong had found one right next to Halfcloud. She spotted Shadowstorm sleeping further away from everyone else, but the urge to stay further away made her turn away. Finally she found a nest near the entrance that was empty, and curled up to catch some sleep. Hopefully she wouldn't have any nightmares.

...

"Wake up." Skyfeather groaned when she felt a paw prodding her side. "Wake up!" Suddenly a claw struck her, and Skyfeather jumped to her paws in shock. Her eyes widened in annoyance when she saw Cinderstorm standing there, eyes narrowed with outrage. "You're sleeping in my nest, mousebrain!"

"I didn't know," Skyfeather mumbled, noticing that the nest had been rather uncomfortable. Maybe that was why Cinderstorm was always so cranky. Cinderstorm suddenly huffed and raked her claws across Skyfeather's muzzle, causing the white she-cat to flinch away.

"Don't ever sleep here again," she snarled, shoving Skyfeather away.

Skyfeather blinked when she realized just how harsh Cinderstorm was being. She glanced around and noticed that no one seemed to be around. Where was anyone when this was happening? Cinderstorm needed to be put in her place, in more ways than one.

"You have no right to push me around like that," she growled, ignoring the icy glare Cinderstorm gave her. "I'm sick and tired of being treated like foxdung by you, and it ends now."

Cinderstorm narrowed her eyes once more. For a moment the den was full of tension, until suddenly Cinderstorm leaped to her paws and tackled Skyfeather out of it. Skyfeather held back a hiss of surprise when she landed on her back. Cinderstorm wasted no time in jumping her, digging her claws into Skyfeather's belly as she struggled to stand up.

With as much effort as Skyfeather could muster, she kicked with her back legs and managed to push Cinderstorm off, sending her flying into a nearby tree. The ginger she-cat let out a screech of pain as she tried standing up again.

"Cinderstorm, Skyfeather, what is the meaning of this?" Goldenstar's yowl stopped both she-cat's in their track. "I expected better from the both of you!" Her eyes narrowed as she looked at both cats with outrage.

"Sorry Goldenstar," Skyfeather murmured, feeling more than just ashamed by her retaliation. "It was my fault, I shouldn't have antagonized Cinderstorm." She was fuming with anger as she looked at Cinderstorm, who didn't even seem fazed by the fact that she was taking the blame.

"I suppose that's good enough of an apology," Cinderstorm snorted. "I certainly hope you've learned your lesson."

With that being said, she slipped back into the warrior's den, looking seemingly unharmed. Skyfeather felt her fur bristling with outrage when she realized what Cinderstorm had said. Goldenstar was still watching the tension until finally Cinderstorm was gone. Then her gaze flickered back to Skyfeather.

"You better have those wounds tended to, they look bad," she meowed. Skyfeather nodded and limped over to the medicine cat's den, ignoring the cautious looks Goldenstar kept giving her.

I won't let Cinderstorm get away with this, Skyfeather told herself, ignoring the pain that was threatening to overwhelm her. Nightwing was already standing outside the medicine cat's den when he noticed her approaching.

"This is getting ridiculous," he mumbled after noticing her wounds. "How many more times must I use my herbs to heal your wounds?"

Skyfeather's fur bristled in embarrassment when he said that. She was more embarrassed because he had a point. Nightwing had spent most of his time and energy on healing her injuries when she first arrived in the Clan. And now he was using any herbs he had left to heal wounds she shouldn't have received in the first place.

"I'm sorry," was all she could say. Nightwing only shook his head and led her into his den. Skyfeather couldn't stand looking at him as he observed the wounds Cinderstorm had inflicted.

"What was it this time? A fox, or a badger?" he asked after realizing just how deep her wounds were. Skyfeather did her best not to wince when he gently pressed cobwebs against them.

"It was nothing," she hissed through gritted teeth. "I just got caught in some brambles, and ended up scratching myself in more ways than I realized." Nightwing narrowed his eyes suspiciously, knowing full well that she was lying. But luckily he didn't say anything, much to her relief.

She held back a sigh of relief when Nightwing was finished applying his herbs. "You're not doing any hunting with wounds like that, at least not today," he ordered.

She was about to protest when she thought better of it. If Nightwing didn't think it was safe to go out hunting, than he was probably right. Besides, there were other things she could be doing inside camp.

With that thought in mind, Skyfeather limped over to the other side of the clearing, as far away from the warrior's den as possible. She tried to ignore the anger and hurt that clawed at her heart when she saw the ginger she-cat glaring at her smugly. Cinderstorm flicked her tail once and led a hunting patrol away from camp once more cats were gathered around her.

"What happened to you?" Cloudsong asked in shock when she joined her. Skyfeather resisted the urge to glare at her.

"Nothing happened," she hissed irritably. "I ended up getting caught in some brambles; their thorns scratched me up."

Cloudsong looked at her skeptically, but before she could ask anything else, she was approached by Halfcloud.

"I want you to join the border patrol; we need to step them up and ensure that CaveClan hasn't crossed the boundaries," he instructed, giving Skyfeather a cautious look. "And I am guessing that you won't be joining us on any of these patrols?" he asked after looking down at the cobwebs covering her belly.

Would you all just shut up already? She wanted to yowl that in the worst way. But she kept her jaw clenched shut and could only glare back.

"Skyfeather, what really happened to you? You look so spooked!" Cloudsong pressed on, touching her shoulder with her muzzle. Halfcloud only rolled his eyes at his daughter's sudden change in attitude.

"Nothing. Happened." Skyfeather said the words through clenched teeth, ignoring the shocked and hurt look Cloudsong gave her. She staggered back to her paws and stalked away, leaving the two cats standing there.

If I tell them what Cinderstorm did, she'll only make things worse, she realized bitterly. I've got to deal with this problem on my own, one way or another.

She hated the feeling of being so alone. Ever since Redflower had abandoned her in CaveClan, she hated it. It reminded her too much of what Whiteflower had done to her. And of what she was left with when Brackenpaw had attacked her.

"Skyfeather." She flinched when she recognized Shadowstorm's voice. She turned around to see the sleek-furred black tom staring at her in concern. "Cloudsong told me that something was wrong." Again she rolled her eyes and glared at him.

"Since when have you started caring about how I feel?" she demanded, letting her fur bristle slightly. Shadowstorm didn't even flinch under the harsh look she gave him.

"Because you hurt my sister," he growled, sounding irritated with her attitude. "And…. And maybe because I do care about you, in more ways than one."

All Skyfeather could do was gape at him in shock. She wasn't even sure what to say. Shadowstorm had just said something that made her realize she wasn't as alone as she first thought. But all of a sudden it was almost too much for her.

Without warning she backed down and padded through the camp's entrance, trying to hide back the shock that threatened to overwhelm her. She shook her head and padded into the undergrowth, clenching her teeth as another bolt of pain surged through her.

My wounds aren't completely healed, she had to remind herself as she slowed down. Nightwing was going to kill her if he found out that she had gone against his orders. But the last thing she wanted was to be seen in camp. Especially after what Shadowstorm had said. StarClan, I need answers, she begged silently.

But her questions were met with silence. Skyfeather looked down at the ground one last time before glaring at the sky. What use was StarClan if they couldn't even answer a single prayer? She growled at the thought and stalked away, realizing that she wouldn't get anything here.

"Skyfeather?" She stopped at the sound of Goldenstar's mew. Skyfeather looked into the canopy of leaves to see the WingClan leader staring down at her sympathetically. "When Cloudsong told me that something was wrong with you, I had my suspicions that Cinderstorm was up to no good." Skyfeather blinked in surprise when Goldenstar jumped down from her perch to join her. "She has no right to treat you that way. No one does, in fact."

"I-I…. What did Cloudsong tell you?" Skyfeather couldn't help but ask. She was concerned that Cloudsong might have put herself in danger by telling Goldenstar what Cinderstorm was doing to them. But Goldenstar only shook her head and looked at Skyfeather calmly.

"I would not worry about Cinderstorm, at least, not anymore. She won't be bothering anyone for quite some time," she explained. "Let's get back to the Clan, shall we?"

Goldenstar gestured to the direction of camp, and Skyfeather was quick to follow. Her ears were still flattened with unease as she limped back towards the camp. Goldenstar stayed by her side the entire time, making sure she didn't injure herself any further.

Skyfeather glanced around curiously and noticed for the first time that Cinderstorm was cleaning out moss from the elder's den. She stifled a purr of amusement when she noticed the other apprentices were staying behind, watching the entire scene.

"You'll never believe what Goldenstar did to Cinderstorm!" Flightpaw purred when she noticed Skyfeather standing there. "She gave Cinderstorm two moons of apprentice duty, and Cinderstorm has to sleep in the same den as us!" She was meowing loud enough for the entire Clan to hear.

The glare Cinderstorm gave her was enough to make Skyfeather almost roll over with laughter. Clearly she wasn't expecting Goldenstar to just punish her. Especially with something as severe as this. Maybe now Cinderstorm would finally learn to keep her claws sheathed.

"Take care of yourself now; Cinderstorm's meow is worse than her bite," Skyfeather warned her before limping away. She turned in time to see Flightpaw's eyes go wide as the moon with fear.

If Cinderstorm is as intelligent as she claims, than she will know better than to hurt them, she told herself.

She was thankful that Cloudsong had helped her out in the end. And hopefully things would turn out okay between the two of them. She wasn't sure what she would do without a friend.

AN: Sorry for the long wait, it's been quite the busy week for me. Plus we finally got Netflix, so I've been kind of watching anything I can online XD So here's the next chapter, hope you all enjoyed it :D

Lightclaw's Shadow - Ashwhisker can be a bit too stubborn if you ask me :P Plus he's got more than one reason behind his attitude towards her.

Wyldclaw - Yeah, Leafstorm is a great mentor :)

Foreststar of WindClan - She really does, doesn't she? And yes, they do need to meet... I have something big planned for the next few chapters. And don't worry, you're not rambling :)

Ginger Pup - Thanks, and I'm glad you like it so much!

Guest - lol It's okay. Yeah, clipping wings off is never a good thing.

boscyboo - No problem! I really liked what you did with the cover, it's cool looking :)