Chapter 3

"Slash! Roll! Duck! And- No, Moonpaw, you've got it all wrong."

Moonpaw shook the dust off herself before looking up at her mentor with dismay.

"

You idiot!" Shadeclaw growled. "Try again! When you roll, its on your shoulder, not your back."

Moonpaw did the move again, unfortunately rolling on her back.

Shadeclaw cuffed her on the ear, sending her sprawling.

"What did I tell you?!"

"S-sorry, Shadeclaw," Moonpaw stuttered. Great StarClan I sound like Archpaw!

Well, that really wasn't true. Archpaw had totally improved over the last two moons, and his coat was shiny and his eyes bright. Moonpaw was happy that her brother had made such an improvement, but now, he was a lovesick cat mooning over Swallowpaw.

Moonpaw snorted. Don't get me started on Swallowpaw! The furbrain she-cat who couldn't see past her own shining fur was just as bad with Archpaw.

"Shadeclaw!" a voice called and Gingerfur burst into the clearing. "Amberstar is calling a meeting- Its time for the Gathering!"

Moonpaw regarded the pretty ginger she-cat, one who was obviously in love with her strong mentor.

"Fine! Stop our training!" Shadeclaw snarled. Moonpaw was glad he had something else to take his anger out on. Her mentor was hard to please and quick to anger, and she had the little scratches and nips to prove it.

Beastpaw had regarded one of her many tiny nips one night and had told her to go see Tinyfeather. Moonpaw had, and had lied to the medicine cat about the scratches, claiming to have fallen in a bramble bush.

As the three cats ran into the camp, Amberstar was organizing cats to go to the Gathering.

"Gingerfur, glad you're here, you can come too. Shadeclaw, you also with Stormcloud, Peatfur, Buzzwhisker, Overstep, Fallowgrass, Archpaw and …"

"Moonpaw."

At the sound of her name Moonpaw looked up. Stormcloud had said her name unexpectedly.

Amberstar nodded. "And Moonpaw."

As the Clan leader led the way out of the clearing, Moonpaw noticed Thornpaw looking rejected.

Licking his ear, Moonpaw whispered, "It'll be your turn next time."

As she bounded away alongside her Clanmates, her very paws tingled in anticipation.

"ThunderClan is doing well," Sunstar coughed. "We have a new apprentice, Thistlepaw, who is here today. Prey is bountiful, even in this time of leaf-fall."

Amberstar stepped forwards. "ShadowClan is thriving. We have three new warriors, Overstep, Wolfheart, and Buzzwhisker, and three new apprentices, Moonpaw, Thornpaw, and Archpaw."

All the Clans yowled the new names and Moonpaw felt a tingle.

They're cheering for me!

After Breezestar announced the two new apprentices in WindClan and Streamstar told of the passing of one of their elders, Barkbreeze, the Clans started to mingle.

Moonpaw turned around when a heavy weight slammed into her.

A gray tabby tom with bright eyes was looking at her apologetically. "Sorry!"

Moonpaw licked her rumpled chest fur. "It's ok. What's your name?"

"Lonepaw. I'm 9 moons old. You?"

"Moonpaw, 7 moons old, ShadowClan." she said.

Lonepaw's widened. "Cool!"

The two apprentices looked over to where a black tom with amber eyes and a large broad shouldered tom with scars were in a scuffle.

"Jagpaw!" Lonepaw sighed.

"My older brother," he explained to Moonpaw, gesturing to the amber-eyed tom.

"Thistlepaw!"

Moonpaw looked behind her to see a gigantic ginger tom glaring at her. Pushing her out of the way roughly, he stalked over and grabbed the other 'paw, who had to be Thistlepaw roughly around the neck.

"Fool!" the ginger tom spat, giving the apprentice a cuff.

"Firestorm, I'm so sorry." Another tom was saying. "Jagpaw didn't know-"

"Shut up Flightwind. Take your weakling son out of my sight."

Flightwind grabbed Jagpaw and pushed Lonepaw along with him.

The green-eyed apprentice shot Moonpaw a sad glance before following his WindClan Clanmate away.

Moonpaw stared up at Firestorm, who was gesturing to a tortoiseshell tom and talking to Thistlepaw.

"You're my son, and you need to behave! When I am Clan leader, I will not tolerate such behaviour!"

Firestorm called over the tortoiseshell. "Coldbreeze I expected you to teach your apprentice about such things."

Coldbreeze was obviously frightened of the gigantic ginger tom, and stuttered "S-sorry, Firestorm, I'll teach him…"

Moonpaw slunk away, eyes wide as she thought of Firestorm. He was so scary!

Then she thought of her own mentor, Shadeclaw. Now there was another scary cat.

Moonpaw shivered as she saw Tinyfeather talking to Bramblesong, the ThunderClan medicine cat.

'Fire burns out the Sun..'

That had to be the most ominous part of that terrible Prophecy, aside from the "Darkness of Ambition' part.

As cats began to file out of FourTrees, Archpaw came up to her.

"Did you see Fallowgrass and Overstep sitting so close to each other?" her littermate said knowingly about his mentor and the handsome black tom with yellow eyes.

Moonpaw tuned him out as she thought of the Prophecy. Why couldn't she shake that terrible feeling of Firestorm and Sunstar?