Okay, here's chapter 5! I've made it longer than my previous chapters so enjoy:)

Shadefrost sprang. The rabbit was dead before it could even squeak. Lifting her catch in her jaws, she returned to where Lilacpaw was watching her with awed eyes. "That was a good catch! You're such a good hunter Shadefrost."

Shadefrost dropped the rabbit onto the pile of prey, caught earlier in the day, and frowned. "It was nothing." Throughout the hunting trip, Lilacpaw had been exceptionally nice to her. Not one bad word had come out of the apprentice's mouth. Shadefrost was beginning to suspect that some cat had drugged Lilacpaw's fresh-kill.

"The sky is beginning to darken," Lilacpaw pointed out. "We should be getting back to camp or we might miss the announcement on who is going to the gathering."

"Yes, I suppose." Shadefrost laid her tail on Lilacpaw's shoulder. The brown tabby winced slightly at the touch.

"What?" she asked.

"I just need to know," Shadefrost mewed. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"What do you mean?"

"You were never nice to me when I was an apprentice, so why now?"

Lilacpaw sighed and crouched on the floor. "Swiftclaw has made me bitter and twisted," she murmured. "He makes me see things differently."

"What do you mean?"

The apprentice frowned for a while and then mewed, "Like with Jadepaw."

Jadepaw had been Lilacpaw and Venompaw's sister. She had been killed by Cloud but in a battle previous to the one that had claimed the life of Rustpaw. Lilacpaw had experienced much grief at her sister's death and had blamed Shadefrost for not saving her when there was nothing the she could have done.

"Inside," Lilacpaw continued. "I knew that you were not responsible for Jadepaw's death but Swiftclaw had taught me to hate you and so I blamed you. I'm sorry."

Shadefrost shook her head, not understanding. "If Swiftclaw has made you this way, then why don't you just avoid him?"

Lilacpaw smiled a sad smile. "I suppose I love him. I know that there is a good cat there. I just need to bring it out."

Love was crazy, Shadefrost concluded.

"Anyway," Lilacpaw meowed, changing the subject. "Can we get going? I really want to go to the gathering. It'll be my first one if Fallenstar picks me." She picked up a mouse and a sparrow and started off in the direction of the camp. Still confused, Shadefrost followed. What was it that Lilacpaw saw in Swiftclaw? How could she love the sly tom?

Shadefrost entered the camp, her jaws laden with prey. Lilacpaw padded in just after her. As they walked to the fresh-kill pile, they were halted by Hollyfrost. "Shadefrost, Lilacpaw, well done! That's more prey than we've had in moons."

"It was Shadefrost really," Lilacpaw commented. "She's an amazing hunter."

Shadefrost shuffled her paws. She wasn't used to receiving praise from Lilacpaw. "You did well too Lilacpaw," she meowed, returning the compliment.

Hollyfrost purred at them both. "You did really well. Lilacpaw, could you take some prey to Lilyface and Breezewing in the nursery? They need to be fed."

Lilacpaw nodded and Hollyfrost padded away to sit with Shrewfur, her mate.

Lilacpaw started towards the nursery but Shadefrost blocked the way with her tail. "I'll take the fresh-kill to the queens," she offered. "You go and get some yourself. You deserve it."

Lilacpaw stared at her with gratified eyes. "Are you sure? I can easily take it."

"No, it's fine. I haven't visited the kits in ages anyway."
Lilacpaw nodded. "Alright. Thanks Shadefrost. I'll take the rest of the catch to the pile."

They parted, Lilacpaw heading towards the fresh-kill pile and Shadefrost padding to the nursery. Slipping her head inside, Shadefrost breathed in the calming scent of milk that always resided with kits and queens. She pushed herself through the thick thorn entrance, purring as the warmth in the nursery soaked her black and white fur.

Lilyface was lying nearest to the entrance. She was the mate of the brave deputy, Whitepelt. Whitepelt had been killed a few moons ago and the clan missed him dearly.

Lilyface's two kits, Emberkit and Sagekit were curled up in the curve of her belly. Emberkit was the more boisterous of the two and was ginger like her mother. Lynxpaw was absolutely devoted to Emberkit and the two of them looked destined to become mates.

Sagekit was small for her age and extremely skinny. She strongly resembled Whitepelt, with the same white coat and golden eyes as her father, and was allergic to meat. Swallowfeather had to feed her a diet of insects and plants to keep her alive. However, Sagekit was not allergic to cat meat because, as Silkpaw had concluded, if she was she would be allergic to herself. This was good as it meant that the white kit could become a full warrior in the future, even though she would not be able to hunt.

As Shadefrost approached, Lilyface welcomed her with a purr. "Hello Shadefrost."

"Hi Lilyface. How are Emberkit and Sagekit?"
"They're fine. Is that fresh-kill you have there?" When Shadefrost nodded, the ginger queen mewed, "Could you place it by my head, you know to keep it away from Sagekit." She looked sadly at her smallest kit.

Placing a rabbit where Lilyface had indicated, Shadefrost mewed, "Are you okay?"

Lilyface blinked the sorrow from her eyes. "I'm fine. It's just, well I worry about Sagekit sometimes. In a moon, Emberkit will become an apprentice but I don't know if Sagekit will be big enough to join her. I wander if she'll be okay with staying in the nursery for a while longer. I don't know how she'll react."

Shadefrost nodded sympathetically. "I'm sure that she will be big enough Lilyface and if she's not then I'm certain she'll be fine. She's a strong cat, you know, maybe not physically but definitely mentally."

Lilyface nodded and gave Sagekit a tender lick on the head. The white kit squirmed in her sleep. Lilyface sighed. "I suppose you better go and see Breezewing. Suckling five kits has to be taking its toll on her."

There was an amused purr from the other side of the den. "It is!" mewed Breezewing. "I'm starving."

Shadefrost hastened to make her way over to the silver queen. Breezewing was Fallenstar's mate but only three of the kits that she suckled were theirs. Those three were slightly older than the other two. They were called Rainkit, Dewkit and Wispkit.

Rainkit was larger than his two siblings. He had a light grey pelt speckled with flecks of white. Right now, he was asleep, curled up in a tight ball.

Dewkit, on the other hand, was very rarely asleep. She was the only she-kit in the litter but was much louder and mischievous than her brothers. She sported a light grey pelt, like Rainkit, but instead of white flecks she had white paws. She was presently playing with her mother's tail, chasing after it as Breezewing swayed it from side to side. As Shadefrost watched, she pounced on the tail and pinned it down squealing, "I have you now Ripplestar! Hand over the prey!"

Wispkit was... weird. He was far too quiet for his age and his eyes often glimmered with unknown secrets. He was different to his brother and sister as he was a dark grey tabby with dark blue eyes compared to Dewkit and Rainkit's light blue ones. He was currently staring up at Shadefrost with those shadowed eyes that made the new warrior want to turn away.

Breezewing also suckled two other kits whose mother, Fembrook, was dead. Shadefrost had been friends with Fembrook and pain shot through her heart whenever she thought of the beautiful silver she-cat. It had been Fembrook's beauty, in fact, that had been her downfall. She had fallen in love with the CaveClan warrior, Blackwing, a few moons before her death. She had been heavily pregnant with his kits when she had gone to visit him at the border between their territories. There resided the deep gorge (the one that Creekfall had fallen into) with a roaring river at the bottom of it. The river cascaded down into a waterfall and carried on far beyond the territories of the clan cats. Along the side of the waterfall were a lot of rocks, piled on top of each other, which were a quick way up and down the drop that the waterfall created. These were called the Waterstones and they were very slippery in leafbare. Fembrook had tried to descend the Waterstones to reach Blackwing but she had slipped and fallen to the ground below. Shadefrost had found her unconscious along with Silkpaw and Ratclaw, Fembrook's brother. Silkpaw had been able to deliver Fembrook's kits before the queen had passed to StarClan. Blackwing had been devastated but had not blamed his kits for his mate's passing. He had named them Mintkit and Webkit before returning to CaveClan. Shadefrost had not heard of him since.

Both Mintkit and Webkit were asleep now, curled close to Breezewing's belly. Webkit was black and white, larger than his sister by some margin. He looked a lot like Blackwing.

Mintkit was a small, dusky grey she-kit. She looked more like Fembrook although her pelt was darker.

Breezewing smiled as Shadefrost dropped a sparrow and a vole at her paw. "Thanks loads Shadefrost," she mewed, vigorously digging into the vole.

Shadefrost smiled and moved to tenderly nose Webkit and Mintkit on their small flanks. "Are they okay?" she asked.

"Perfectly fine," Breezewing answered between bites. "Their eyes opened last night. Webkit has gorgeous amber ones and Mintkit's are pale green."

"Just like Fembrook's," Shadefrost murmured quietly.

Breezewing stopped eating at her words. "Yes." The two she-cats bowed their head momentarily for their lost friend.

Shadefrost felt a yank on her tail. "Ow," she gasped spinning around.

She saw Dewkit, her tiny teeth fixed in the white fur of her tail. "Gotya'" the grey she-kit mewled.

Breezewing sighed. "Dewkit, what have I told you about respect for warriors. It was bad enough when you did it to Fallenstar!"

"Yeah but father didn't mind. He said it tickled," Dewkit complained.

"Dewkit," Breezewing warned.

Dewkit sighed and dropped Shadefrost's tail. "Sorry," she mumbled.

Shadefrost nosed Dewkit playfully. "That's a good aim you've got there. I can see someone's going to make a great warrior."

"Yeah," Dewkit mewled. "I going to be the toughest, meanest warrior ever. The mice won't stand a chance!"

"I'm sure you are." Shadefrost made her way to the exit of the nursery. "I'll come see you soon Breezewing, Lilyface," she called over her shoulder.

As she exited the den she heard Dewkit say, "Shadefrost is well cooler than you mother. That's why she's Shadefrost. Shadefrost, get it?"

Shadefrost let out a mrrow of laughter and stepped out into the cool air.

Her stomach grumbled ravenously, begging for food like a starved kit. She padded over to the fresh-kill pile. Finchwing and Lilacpaw were already there. Shadefrost greeted them with a flick of her tail and then picked a thrush from the pile. As she settled beside Lilacpaw, Finchwing mewed, "Hey Shadefrost, how's things?"

Shadefrost took a bite from the thrush, purring as the warm meat slid down her throat. "Better than they have been," she answered, partly lying. It was true that she was finally putting Rustpaw's death behind her but Foxwhisker's secrecy was not helping with her attempts to get back to her normal self.

Finchwing smiled. "Well that's good. How about you Lilacpaw?"

Lilacpaw looked quite surprised to be addressed. "I'm good now that I've eaten something," she said, scuffing her paws. "I hate leafbare. You never have a full stomach."

Shadefrost nodded empathetically. "Yeah, well it'll be over in two moons," she meowed. "And then it'll be newleaf."

Lilacpaw nodded and then got to her paws. "If you'll excuse me, I want to go and visit Venompaw. Swallowfeather said he woke up at sunrise." She padded towards the medicine cat den.

Shadefrost watched her go, trying to convince herself that it was perfectly normal for Lilacpaw to want to see her brother. But she could not push away the thought that, after moons of hatred, the brown apprentice still held a grudge against her.

Finchwing swallowed a bite of mouse. "Hey good," she whispered, drawing close to her sister. "I need to talk to you about tonight."

Shadefrost frowned. "What about it?"

"The gathering! Scorchstorm will be there. We need to talk to her."
Shadefrost shook her head. Scorchstorm was her blood mother but she still felt that Daisypelt, the cat that had brought her up, was her real mother. "I'd rather not," she murmured.

"Shadefrost," Finchwing complained. "We have to tell her about Flamefur and Rustpaw."

Shadefrost flinched away from that idea as well. "I'd rather not," she repeated, imagining how Scorchstorm's face would crumple when she heard that her mate and her son were dead.

Finchwing frowned, obviously irritated. "Please don't make me do this on my own. I don't even know if I'm going to the gathering."

Shadefrost laid her tail on her sister's shoulder. "Alright Finchwing, I'll tell her but I won't enjoy it."

Finchwing looked immensely relieved. "Thanks Shadefrost." The two sisters stayed like that for a while, relishing their closeness and then Finchwing got to her paws. "I'm going to find Creekfall. He can help us with Scorchstorm."

Shadefrost nodded. "Okay." Creekfall was the only cat in WoodClan who knew about the relationship between them and Scorchstorm. Polarstar, the leader of CaveClan, and his warriors, Talltail and Talonclaw also knew but they had never mentioned it.

She started to eat again. Her stomach was filling up for the first time in moons. As she tore a wing off the thrush, she saw Shadowheart and Sootwhisker enter the camp and walk side by side to the fresh-kill pile. She blinked in surprise at how close they were, so close that their pelts were almost brushing. Shadowheart picked a vole off the pile and sat beside Shadefrost. "Hey Shadefrost," she mewed cheerily.

Shadefrost was so amazed that she inhaled a feather. She coughed and spluttered until it came flying out her mouth. Sootwhisker, who had settled beside Shadowheart, stared at her concerned. "Are you okay?"

Shadefrost gasped for air. "Fine," she panted. Shadowheart? Happy? What had Sootwhisker done?

Shadowheart took a bite of her vole. "We tracked the rogues' scent today. You'll be glad to know that there was no sign of them or Lark."

Shadefrost had regained her breath enough to stare at Shadowheart confusedly. "That's good," she meowed. "You're happier than normal."

Shadowheart shrugged. "I suppose I am. I just really enjoyed it today." She looked at Sootwhisker, purring.

Sootwhisker's eyes shone. "I'm glad you liked it," he mumbled, looking at his paws. He looked up at Shadowheart nervously. "Do you want to hunt with me tomorrow?"

Shadowheart smiled. "Yes I would."

Sootwhisker's whiskers twitched happily. He hesitantly scuffled nearer to the black she-cat. Shadowheart did not draw away but instead pressed her pelt against his.

Watching the two black cats together made Shadefrost purr. It was good that Shadowheart had Sootwhisker to help her become happy again. She had grieved over Rustpaw for far too long. She picked every last scrap of meat from her thrush. It would be the last meal she would have until next sundown.

As the sun began to sink from the sky, Fallenstar emerged from his den and leaped up onto the Oak tree, where all the announcements for the clan were made. His voice rang out across the camp. "May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here under the Oak tree for a clan meeting."

The cats of WoodClan began to emerge from their dens and gather in a huddled group under the Oak tree. Shadefrost went to sit at the back of the group. As she past the nursery, she saw Dewkit's tiny head poke out from the nursery. There was a shout, muffled by the thick wall of the den, and Dewkit's head suddenly disappeared as she was pulled back into the nursery. Shadefrost purred. She had to admit, it would be fun mentoring Dewkit and she would certainly like to in the future, but she was not sure that Fallenstar would trust her with his kit. He would probably pick a more experienced warrior like Shrewfur.

As she sat down beside Icestorm, Fallenstar yowled, "I will take these cats to the gathering: Hollyfrost, Silkpaw, Rootheart, Shrewfur, Foxwhisker, Creekfall, Shadefrost, Finchwing, Lilacpaw and Lynxpaw."

Shadefrost gasped in surprise. She had not been expecting to go to the gathering. She ran the list of names through her head. The fact that Rootheart was going didn't give her much pleasure. Neither did Foxwhisker. The ginger tom was acting weirdly and Shadefrost knew she would have to confront him sometime. She was happy for Lilacpaw and Lynxpaw, however. The first gathering was always a great experience.

Icestorm, on her right side, mewed, "You better be going Shadefrost. That's if you don't want to be left behind."

Shadefrost nodded. "Bye Icestorm."

Icestorm waved her tail in farewell and Shadefrost ran to join the patrol of cats just as they filtered out of the camp.

So what did you think? Review plz:P

Does anyone have any ideas for Lilacpaw's warrior name. I just realized that I have no idea. She won't become a warrior for a while but I like to plan ahead:)

Thanks to all who reviewed: CRAZEDREADER96, Scorchwind, NessieXJacob-Mossfeather, Blossomgleam, Pebbleclaw, Jellybean is me, Fawntail and Frostingtail. Thanks SO much:)

I'll try to update as soon as I can. My exams will be over by next week so there'll be more updates. YAY!

Plz review!