Chapter II

"Uh-oh..."

A very angry warrior stood before the two apprentices. Icepaw's mentor, Frost-tail, was very well known for her punishments.

"You two know you were supposed to come for training, you haven't had it for days! I thought you'd appreciate that rain, what with all that time it gave you to goof off and do whatever it is you children do!"

Icepaw stuck out her chest indignantly. "I'm not a children."

Frost-tail sighed. "That's child." Icepaw gave her a bewildered look. "I knew that..." Icepaw added.

"Com'n you two. I still have to find the others. No doubt crossing borders and lying in the thunderpath and getting themselves in mortal peril and probably killed..."

They ignored her. It was easy once she started ranting. They exchanged knowing glances and Cherrypaw gave an audible sigh. "Too good to last."

Icepaw nodded. She looked up at the sky. The last of the dark gray thunderclouds left just at the horizon. The sun showed it's face for the first time in days. It was up in the very top of the sky. Icepaw wondered just how far on the sky went. Maybe forever.

She was shaken out of her daydreaming when she tripped on a rabbit hole. Cherrypaw steadied her with her hind leg. It wasn't the first time she tripped. In this exact spot. She looked at her friend. "I'm considering filling that thing in."

Icepaw searched the ground. She kicked an ant mound over the hole. "Even more incentive not to trip anymore..."

They were interrupted by a squeal. Frost-tail was peering into a bush. She reached in and dragged out a fluffy gray apprentice. "Stonepaw, where's that friend of yours?" Frost-tail asked.

Stonepaw defiantly (and quite mock innocently, too,) "Who?"

Frost-tail grated her teeth. "Clovepaw. You're always following him around."

"He's not here. I'm no traitor. And who says I'm following him around?" she grinned.

Frost-tail narrowed her eyes. "Come on. You're going home. I'll find that disobedient little..." and she went off ranting again.

Stonepaw wandered over. She surveyed the mud on Cherrypaw's flank and Icepaw's snout. "You two fall in the mud again?" then she thought for a moment. "No, Icepaw, I guess you tripped."

Icepaw kneaded the ground sheepishly. They reached the camp where Cherrypaw's mentor, Adderstrike, trotted over. He was the deputy of DawnClan, making it a bit of an honor for Cherrypaw to be his apprentice and a bit of a burden when she misbehaves. "And just where have you been?"

Cherrypaw searched her head for a completely innocent answer, but Icepaw responded first; "Having fun."

Adderstrike opened his mouth to reply, but the words stuck in his throat and he gawked, mouth still open, straight past the nervous apprentices.

Icepaw was probably about to remark on how stupid he looked with his mouth hanging open like that until Cherrypaw choked. She, too was looking above her head. Icepaw followed her gaze.

She stepped back. Where just five minutes ago the sun was high up in the top of the sky, it was now gone. And instead of the brilliant blue sky, it was blood red.