Chapter 3

I've gotten a review!

Maripaz6: First off, thank you for all the good feedback and questions! You definitely help me out a ton by reviewing!

For your question about the cat that is mentioned in the summary, the answer will come in this chapter or the next. So far, it is known that Sparrowpaw has a deep-rooted hatred for RiverClan, which only comes second to his hatred for WindClan. In the books, WindClan and ShadowClan were always the rival Clans. Sparrowpaw has a reason for hating them both, which I'll go in depth into later.

As for Reedpelt, the medicine cat, he will come into play in a chapter or two. During the events that occur in Sparrowpaw's perspective (this isn't the type of story that changes perspectives every chapter, just to keep things relatively simple and not too confusing for the reader), Reedpelt is trying to figure out the message that his mentor has given him. This is extra hard for him because neither of the cats mentioned are in RiverClan (Just a little hint for you c:).

Oh, by the way, I just realized I didn't put Sparrowpaw in the allegiances! Sorry about that. *Sparrowpaw – Broad-shouldered, dark brown tabby tom with scars on his nose and orange-amber eyes)

Thank you so much for reviewing and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Sparrowpaw rolled over in his nest, stretching himself out. The sunlight peeked through the tangle of bracken, making his dark tabby pelt seem less intimidating. Sparrowpaw scowled as he managed to see Rockpaw practicing battle moves in the clearing. Hmph, the voice sneered. Clearly it was temporarily residing in his head instead of the Dark Forest... for now.

It had been two moons since the first training session and every night, Sparrowpaw snuck out to the Stone Circle to sleep. Roseclaw, his Dark Forest mentor, had never told him exactly why, but Puddlestep, who had recently been turned a warrior, only caught him once, while she was on vigil. I won't get caught again, he vowed silently.

Across the clearing, Nightpaw and Fuzzypaw, the two new apprentices, shared a mouse with Jaypaw. A few tail-lengths away, Beesting dozed lazily in the sunshine, her belly round with unborn kits. Sparrowpaw rose to his paws and stretched out, his mouth opening in a yawn. Shaking himself to get rid of the stray pieces of bracken left in his pelt, he padded across the clearing, his belly empty.

Sparrowpaw bent down and gulped down a tiny finch hungrily. A sweet tang filled his mouth and, his eyes widening, he spat it out. What was that?

As he stared down at the fresh-kill, he noticed a mashed up red substance. His eyes filled with horror. I've been poisoned!

"Snakefang!" he yowled, darting to the medicine cat den. As he crashed in, he spotted Tawnyheart snuffling through a pile of leaves. Her green eyes narrowed with confusion as he babbled about the poison.

"You've been poisoned?" she mewed after he had finished, her ear twitching with amusement. "And which WindClan cat snuck into camp and put deathberries into your prey?"

"I ate something I shouldn't of, mouse-brain! Give me something before I shove those herbs down your mouth!" he hissed, his hackles rising. Tawnyheart's ears flattened in mock fear, her paws trembling in exaggeration. Sparrowpaw's claws unsheathed, but he stopped himself from unleashing his fury on the young medicine cat and just bared his teeth in response.

"It's just a fruit," she spat, her tail flicking as she turned over the half-eaten finch. "A cherry, to be exact."

"Thanks a lot," he mewed, his eyes rolling.

"You're welcome," she mewed coolly, turning to groom her creamy fur. Sparrowpaw rolled his eyes again and stalked out of the den, his tail lashing.

How dare she mock me like that? When I'm leader, she'll be shaking in fear!

"Owlfeather, Puddlestep, and Foxflame," the ShadowClan deputy, Raggedfeather, mewed behind him. "Mothpelt is leading you on a border patrol near Owlrocks."

Sparrowpaw turned around, forgetting about Tawnyheart. "Can I come?" he pleaded, his claws flexing. Raggedfeather gazed at him in surprise, but flicked his tail and nodded to Mothpelt, the speckled gray tom who was leading the patrol. "Sparrowpaw wants to help the Clan."

Is that sarcasm? Sparrowpaw didn't have enough time to respond. Mothpelt was already disappearing through the camp entrance. Wait up! He thought, his ears flattening. Is every cat in this camp mouse-brained or what?

…

The sun rose high above the trees as Sparrowpaw followed Owlfeather and Foxflame, who were in front of the patrol, their eyes narrowed and focused. Mothpelt was talking casually with Puddlestep, although Sparrowpaw could already see the tom's amber eyes sparkling with excitement. Why don't you just confess your love on this very patrol?

Sparrowpaw suddenly heard a rustling noise, and the scent of heather flooded his nostrils. Whipping around, he let the group get ahead of him. His eyes narrowed with suspicion as he spotted a reddish-ginger pelt crouching near the tall, dry grass, just on the border between ShadowClan and WindClan.

"Hey!" he hissed. The WindClan cat's ears twitched, and then she turned and looked at him, her startlingly bright green eyes narrowed. "Get off our territory!" he snarled, unsheathing his claws. He drew himself to his full height and flattened his ears.

"I'm not on your territory," the cat replied calmly. Sparrowpaw's heart stopped. What's she talking about? She met his furious gaze without flinching. Looking behind him, sure enough, the thin trail of dirt that separated the two Clan borders was right behind his back legs.

"In fact, you need to get off our territory," she mewed, her eyes boring into his pelt. Sparrowpaw's pelt prickled strangely, and his paws tingled. This is weird.

"Fine," he spat, his tail lashing. "But if I smell you once-"

"Yeah, yeah," she rolled her eyes. "You'll shred me like the scrawny rabbit-eater I am."

Sparrowpaw glared at her. Why is she such a know-it-all?

"Harepaw told me about you," she mewed as she disappeared into her territory. She poked her head through the grass again, her green eyes narrowed. "You've become a bit of a big, mean badger with the WindClan apprentices."

"Good," he hissed, his hackles rising. "Tell them that if I ever see them, I'll pull out every hair of their pelts, one by one, until they're as hairless as a pink rabbit."

The she-cat nodded, her eyes gleaming. Sparrowpaw hissed again, his ears flattening. Is she trying to get shredded?

"Sparrowpaw!" a voice broke his train of thought. He turned around to see the brown tabby pelt of Owlfeather as he padded towards him. "Quit mooning over nothing and come. The patrol can't continue without you."

His pelt fluffing out in embarrassment, Sparrowpaw followed Owlfeather through the thick layer of gorse.

Eventually they came across the pile of stones that rested in between ShadowClan and WindClan territory. Sparrowpaw's claws sheathed and unsheathed. What was that she-cat's problem?

You were on WindClan territory, the voice growled. Of course she's going to outsmart a cat that's all claws and no brains. I've taught you better than to rush into battle without a thought.

I just wanted to defend our territory! He thought, his pelt bristling. Sparrowpaw pushed the voice to the back of his head as he padded towards Foxflame.

"This is ShadowClan territory!" the fiery she-cat hissed, her tail lashing. Sparrowpaw rushed to their side, his eyes narrowing. On the opposite end of the Owlrocks, a group of cats stood, their teeth bared and their ears flattened. Sparrowpaw's claws unsheathed. This is ours, you skinny fleabags!

"ShadowClan brought the kittypet!" a sleek, light brown tom sneered, his amber eyes gleaming with contempt. "Is your mother here, or has she finally run off with that snobby, soft kittypet of hers?"

"I'll shred you!" Sparrowpaw yowled, his eyes burning into the WindClan deputy's. He struggled as Foxflame and Owlfeather held him back, their pelts bristling. "Let me fight him!"

"Yeah!" one of the WindClan apprentices stalked out, his white pelt sticking out among the mostly brown and black pelts of the other cats. "Why doesn't he fight me? He's been causing trouble with WindClan lately, and I could use some practice."

"Not on my watch!" Mothpelt hissed, his eyes narrowing as he held down Sparrowpaw. "No apprentice will fight each other."

"Why?" the brown tom mewed, his eyes filled with suspicion. "Can't the kittypet defend himself?"

"I'm not a kittypet!" Sparrowpaw howled, breaking free of Mothpelt's grasp and leaping at the white apprentice. Bringing him down with his paw, the two wrestled on the ground and a battle erupted. Cats screeched and clawed at each other, but Sparrowpaw didn't care. He only wanted the blood of the scrawny fleabag that decided to call him a kittypet on his paws.

"Even ThunderClan kits know about you being a kittypet!" the tom hissed, swiping his muzzle. Blood sprayed onto the peaty soil as Sparrowpaw stared up at him. "Your mouse-brained leader shouldn't have told every cat in the forest about your traitorous roots. You don't even deserve to be a ShadowClan warrior."

"Shut up and fight me without the taunts!" Sparrowpaw hissed, raking his side with his claws. The white tom leaped out of the way and barreled into him, his eyes blazing with contempt. Sparrowpaw ducked and counterattacked, slamming his paw over the tom's head. He landed face-first in the soil, but another cat quickly attacked him again.

He stared up at a tall golden she-cat. Stupid WindClan cat! I'll shred you!

The she-cat picked him up by the scruff and shook him violently, causing him to feel disoriented. The white tom leaped over to him and bit into his tail. Letting out a yowl of pain, Sparrowpaw tried to wriggle free, but the same light brown tom from before slammed him into the ground again, his eyes glittering with malice.

"We don't allow traitorous kittypets into the forest," the tom snarled in his ear. Sparrowpaw spat at the tom, struggled, and then swiped at him, slicing his nose. The tom yowled with agony and stepped back.

"Shred him," the tom ordered, his muzzle stained with blood. He stared at him through narrowed eyes before leaping back into battle. Coward!

The white tom continued batting at his muzzle, and the golden she-cat shook him by the scruff. Sparrowpaw's vision was blurred, until suddenly, he was dropped.

"Leave him!" a voice hissed. Sharp teeth sunk into his scruff as he was dragged towards his clanmates, who were retreating into the forest. He tried to attack, but his paws failed him.

Weakling, the voice growled. This is pathetic.

Sparrowpaw was too exhausted to even listen to the yowls of his clanmates as they disappeared in the forest. Will they leave me here?

Well, that's it! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please make sure to review and follow the story if you haven't already to get a notification whenever I update! As always, thank you for reading!