Swiftlily; would you mind explaining to me how I can fix that? I did look through the story and saw one of the things that make her seem like she's perfect, which is her saving Sunpelt and Silkpaw. Hopefully I can avoid doing that in the future. XD Thank you for pointing that out!

Shmancy-Fancy-Kitteh; that's a good idea! I've sort of planned out the story in my head, but I might add that in :)

violentyetpretty; thank you for the compliments and for reviewing! :D

Chapter 7

"We should be heading back," Silkpaw purred. As Silkpaw raced back to camp with her friend, she realized she was losing a friend in Snowpaw. I'll have to deal with that later, she thought.

As they lay in their nest, Silkpaw mused over the recent events until she finally went to sleep.

"Where am I?" she whispered to herself. Silkpaw looked around and caught a glimpse of movement. Is that a cat? Silkpaw wondered. Her question was soon answered as a ginger tom stepped out of the shadows.

"Welcome to StarClan territory," the tom meowed, while others behind him nodded their heads. "I am Redfur, Maplepaw's father. It is nice to meet you."

"Tell me why you're here, for Maplepaw's sake," Silkpaw demanded.

"I was murdered secretly by a ShadowClan cat – Darkfur," he meowed calmly.

"I'm Jetstream," a silver she-cat murmured as she appeared from behind Redfur. "I was murdered secretly, too, by that same cat."

"But . . . why?" Silkpaw asked. Suddenly she jerked awake.

"Wake up!" Maplepaw yowled into Silkpaw's ear for the third time.

"Okay, okay!"

As Silkpaw got up, Maplepaw mewed, "You've been tossing and turning all morning! What's wrong?"

"I had a dream! I saw your father, and he said he was murdered secretly by Darkfur of ShadowClan," she gasped, out of breath.

"What?" Maplepaw cried, and she stared in Silkpaw's eyes with an intense hatred.

Stormstar's head came into view in the entrance of the den. "Maplepaw, Silkpaw; we are going to train at the Training Hollow."

"Come on!" Silkpaw exclaimed, nudging Maplepaw out of the den.

"Good, now, attack Maplepaw," Rainstorm ordered. Silkpaw jumped into the air, landing on Maplepaw's back, and with sheathed paws, slashed at her backside. Maplepaw threw her off her back and charged at Silkpaw. But Silkpaw was too quick; she stepped to the side, dodging Maplepaw's attack, and struck her flank. The ginger apprentice lashed out at Silkpaw's muzzle in return. They both tussled for a while until Silkpaw had Maplepaw on the ground.

She was about to deliver another hit when Stormstar yowled, "Stop! You both were good; now, let's go back to camp and grab a bite or two," he meowed, amusement light in his tone.

Almost a moon later . . .

It was the night of Maplepaw's second Gathering and she was to go, along with Cloudstripe, Silkpaw, Moonfur, Mossleaf, her apprentice Smokepaw, and Stormstar.

The ThunderClan cats charged to Fourtrees with Stormstar in the lead. They paused the last few tail-lengths at the top of the slope. Then Stormstar signaled to his Clan with a flick of his tail, and the ThunderClan cats plunged towards Fourtrees, where cats were already beginning to gather.

"Silkpaw, come on! I want you to meet Shadepaw!" Maplepaw exclaimed, racing into the crowd.

They weaved through the maze of cats, searching for the ShadowClan apprentice.

"Maplepaw!" came a lively voice. Silkpaw turned and spotted a handsome black tom trotting towards them.

"Hi, Shadepaw! How have you been since the last Gathering?" Maplepaw asked.

"Well fed, that's for sure!" He eyed Silkpaw. "Who's this?"

"I'm Silkpaw, thank you very much," she huffed.

"She's my friend. Hey, be careful - there's a badger loose. My patrol had to fight it off!" Maplepaw mewed.

"Actually, she saved Sunpelt's life!" Silkpaw exclaimed.

"I would have risked my life for any ThunderClan cat," Maplepaw argued.

"You're a hero!" Silkpaw meowed.

"Silkpaw . . ." Maplepaw began. The white she-cat gave her a grateful glance, and Maplepaw rolled her eyes. "Anyway, we saw the badger, I'd say, a moon ago?"

"There you are, Silkpaw!" A sleek brown tom approached the group.

"Hey, Branchpaw! This is Shadepaw of ShadowClan, and my friend, Maplepaw. Stormstar introduced her last Gathering," Silkpaw mewed.

"Greetings, Maplepaw and Shadepaw." Branchpaw turned to Silkpaw. "I heard all about the badger incident. Were you in it?"

"No, but Maplepaw was! She saved Sunpelt's life! Thank StarClan!" Silkpaw exclaimed, apparently still rambling on about Maplepaw and her heroic acts.

"Who's that?" Maplepaw asked. A silver she-cat had caught her attention. She was sharing words with Moonfur beside the Great Rock that stood in the center of the clearing.

"That's Iceheart, our new deputy," growled Shadepaw.

Maplepaw's fur stiffened as she remembered the previous ShadowClan deputy, Darkflower, and how she died by the Thunderpath. Stormstar had found her body and ShadowClan had mourned over it. Fortunately Maplepaw was saved from having to say anything by a blue-gray tom's bounding onto the top of the rock to start the meeting.

"There's Skystar now!" a cat whispered.

"Shhh . . ." the she-cat next to him silenced.

When the cats in front of the Great Rock settled, Stormstar spoke. "A moon ago a patrol of mine discovered a badger in ThunderClan territory. They fought it off but it is still in the forest. Be alert, because it may be roaming in your territory." He let an eerie silence follow, then continued. "Prey has been promising, and all has been peaceful since."

Duskstar stepped forward, brushing past Stormstar to stand on the highest part of the rock. "Our previous deputy has gone to hunt with StarClan. We mourn the death of Darkflower, who would have made a fine leader. She died saving a wandering kit that would have strayed onto the Thunderpath. We now have a new deputy – Iceheart. She has proven to be loyal and wise and courageous. That is all."

She backed off, allowing Shadestar to speak. "We have scented badger and found its tracks, but it appears to have left. The river has many fish and we are extremely well fed. Ashtail's kits will soon be apprenticed, and they are very eager to learn." Shadestar beckoned for Skystar to speak.

"We have a wealthy amount of rabbits and the days are warm. We also have two new warriors: Gorsepelt and Thrushfur. Ashpaw has just begun his apprenticeship and we are very proud of him. All is well this greenleaf – so far."

The Gathering began to break up as cats prepared to travel back to their camps. Maplepaw joined her Clanmates as they charged back to camp.

"Very good! That was much better," he praised, shaking his pelt and raising a cloud of dust. "That's enough training for today."

Maplepaw heaved a sigh of relief as their training session ended. Stormstar seemed a little tired but still slipped easily out of the hollow. Maplepaw scrambled after her mentor, her muscles aching and her head spinning. She was exhausted and ready to sleep for a moon.

But a surge of energy flowed through her when a panting Snowpaw raced up to them and meowed urgently, "RiverClan is fighting ThunderClan for Sunningrocks!"

If I get three or four more reviews I will definitely update tomorrow or the day after! :D Also, I keep all my reviewers updated by PM, so just tell me if you don't want me to do that. :)