I ain't dead. I swear.

Cats/Clans (c) Me

Warriors (c) Erin Hunter

January

The forest gloomed eerily in the darkness. Rotten mushrooms spoiled the tree roots and the mighty oaks were nearly black in their decaying state. The leafless trees covered the sky, but Cracklepaw knew that there were no stars gleaming out tonight. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the noises of the darkness. Beyond the natural creaking of the ominous place, Cracklepaw faintly heard the soft crunching of dead leaves to his left. He held his breath as the noise suddenly stopped. He waited until he heard a swooshing of air—

"Not this time!" Cracklepaw sneered as he ducked just in time for a white paw to lash over his ear. He arrogantly gleamed at the white tom who furiously swished the ground with his tail. "You may have taught me a lot, Sparrowheart, but Whisperwind's guidance still reigns. There is nothing that can get past my ears."

The white tom's blue eyes glimmered in the darkness. "Well done, Cracklepaw. However, Whisperwind can't teach you everything." He abruptly lashed out with claws unsheathed and batted the young apprentice in the cheek. Cracklepaw reeled away, blood dripping off where his mentor struck him. "And next time, don't act so cocky. I'm the one in charge here, and you still have a lot to learn."

Cracklepaw gingerly wiped the blood off with a paw. "Yes, Sparrowheart," he grumbled. He recalled nearly two moons when the white tom finally revealed himself to Cracklepaw. While Whisperwind taught him how to be a warrior of WaterfallClan during the day, Sparrowheart taught him how to the strongest warrior of all the Clans during the night. And he wasn't stupid: he heard enough tales from Cloudsky, the elder, about her notorious brother who tried to destroy WaterfallClan. Here in the Dark Forest, only the strongest and most ambitious cats dared to train. Besides, with all of Cracklepaw's training, he could defeat any cat in battle! He'd be the greatest warrior WaterfallClan's ever seen!

Sparrowheart glanced up and then twitched his ears. "It's nearly sunrise. You better head back. Whisperwind will want you soon. Remember to practice that front paw strike from earlier."

Cracklepaw nodded. He didn't know how Sparrowheart knew when daylight was arriving. The night seemed to rule over the lands of the Dark Forest. Then again, maybe that's why it's called the Dark Forest.

With a blink of his eyes, Cracklepaw was back in his nest. His nest was covered in a soft white frost. Outside, he heard Oddscar preparing the day's patrols.

"Molepad, take Whisperwind, Stoatshade and Harvestclaw along with your apprentices to check the RowanClan border," Cracklepaw heard Oddscar's frigid voice above the harsh wind of leaf-bare. "We've been detecting a multitude of RowanClan scents on the frozen river."

Cracklepaw couldn't help but suppress a moan. He really didn't want to leave the warmth of his nest, but he knew better than to mess with Whisperwind. He stiffly got out of his nest and poked his brother with a paw.

Barkpaw blinked and suppressed a yawn. "What?" he half growled and half mumbled.

"We're going on patrol," Cracklepaw explained as he headed out of the den. "So get up."

Barkpaw sniffed and curled back into his sleeping position with his tail wrapped around his muzzle. "You don't tell me what to do," he heard Barkpaw mumbled beneath his thick fur.

"Fine, get snapped at by Whisperwind," Cracklepaw growled. "See if I care if you get your pelt shredded." He didn't wait for his brother to respond and headed out of the den.

Whisperwind was first to greet him. "Where are the other apprentices?" he coldly demanded and glanced at shroud of den ferns and brambles.

"Still sleeping," Cracklepaw replied. He tried to fluff up his ragged pelt at an attempt at keeping warm. The leaf-bare wind threatened to chill him to the bone.

The gray tabby tom bore his teeth and made his way towards the apprentices' den. Cracklepaw couldn't help but smirk and head for the fresh-kill pile. There was nothing left but what looked like the remains of a blackbird. Treepaw was already there slowly eating on a frozen water vole.

"Great StarClan, I can't wait until new-leaf!" Treepaw exclaimed and shivered.

"Ditto," Cracklepaw remained.

"I'm tired of eating all land prey, but food is food I suppose," Treepaw went on.

"Really? Land prey is great. It's not all slimy and wet like fish," Cracklepaw insisted.

"Do you want the rest of my vole?" Treepaw offered.

Cracklepaw shrugged and ignored his rumbling stomach, but he couldn't take prey from Treepaw. "I can eat later. Oddscar will send out a hunting patrol soon."

"If you say so," Treepaw replied. She nervously glanced around the camp at their thin Clanmates. "It's been a rough leaf-bare."

"It has."

"Several cats are ill because of the lack of prey and there's nothing Lakesplash nor Skippool can do about it," Treepaw continued.

"It's a good thing there aren't any kits around," Cracklepaw added. He hurriedly went on when Treepaw gave him an odd look. "I mean, kits are great, but they wouldn't last in this weather." He decided to change the subject. "How's training?"

"It's great," Treepaw nodded thoughtfully. "Hawkpaw and I are supposed to become warriors by the middle of new-leaf."

"That's good…" Cracklepaw trailed off. Since when did it get so awkward to talk to Treepaw?

"What happened to your cheek?" Treepaw suddenly inquired.

Cracklepaw uneasily wiped the blood off his cheek with a paw. He forgot that whatever wounds he'd acquired in his dreams would show in the real world. "Must've been a few thorns in my nest last night," Cracklepaw lied.

The light brown tabby apprentice was about to reply when Whisperwind called for his apprentice. "I guess I'll talk to you later then," Treepaw responded quizzically, but Cracklepaw was already gone.

Cracklepaw met up with his mentor and the other members of the patrol right outside the camp. "We're going to patrol the RowanClan border today," Molepad informed. "RowanClan scents have been detected on our side of the border on the river."

"RowanClan cats are dumb enough to cross the ice?" Wasppaw sneered.

"Well, it's the only place that's not marked," Stoatshade commented. "Perhaps they thought they could cross there legally."

Harvestclaw snorted arrogantly. "What did Oddscar expect us to do? Mark the ice?"

"We'll see when we get there," Whisperwind meowed.

As the patrol headed out, Wasppaw finically dipped his paws into the snow. "Yuck! This snow keeps getting stuck to my paws!" He began walking stiffly. "It feels weird."

Barkpaw laughed. "You're walking like a turtle! And you're kinda fat like one, too."

"Am not!" Wasppaw snarled and reared up on Barkpaw.

"Enough you two," Whisperwind called from the front. "You're scaring what little land prey there is left."

"But I don't like land prey," Wasppaw insisted and kicked a bunch of snow forward that landed on Cracklepaw's back. "So why should I care?"

"You'll care when the entire Clan ends up starving," Whisperwind hissed. "Now pipe down!"

"Geez," Wasppaw mumbled under his breath. "Who put prickles in his nest this morning?"

Cracklepaw sent Wasppaw a death glare, but the newly made apprentice wasn't looking in his direction. Growling, Cracklepaw focused his attention on the scents all around him. Closing his eyes and trying to ignore his chilled body, Cracklepaw detected the scents of Mistflower and her hunting patrol. They were fresh, so they must've left before they did. He also detected Vixenspeck and Blackspring training their apprentices, Hawkpaw and Lilypaw, yesterday.

"Oomph!" Cracklepaw yelped as he accidentally rammed into Harvestclaw. He hadn't realized that they had reached the RowanClan border already. "Sorry…" he muttered, but Harvestclaw wasn't paying attention.

"Molepad, Harvestclaw and Barkpaw, go remark the border," Whisperwind commanded. "The rest of us will check out the river."

"Are you scared, Cracklepaw?" Wasppaw teased as they approached the frozen river.

"I'm never afraid!" Cracklepaw shot back. "I just don't like the water."

Wasppaw sniffed distastefully as if he had a bad taste in his mouth. "How can you be a WaterfallClan cat and not like the water? Are you sure Stoatshade is even your father? Barkpaw resembles him more than you do."

"Barkpaw and I have the same pelt color, minnow-brain!" Cracklepaw growled. "And of course Stoatshade is my father!"

"Really?" Wasppaw questioned. "He doesn't seem to act like it."

"Shut up," Cracklepaw grumbled. Wasppaw smirked knowing that he hit a nerve. He went on while still smiling.

"Does it bother you that Stoatshade hardly acknowledges you? Do you feel as if you've failed him?"

"Shut up!" Cracklepaw growled with more rage in his voice. He wanted nothing more than to claw that stupid smirk off the younger apprentice's face, but something held him back.

"Whisperwind," Harvestclaw called and hurried across the ice to where the other two toms were located with the rest of the patrol behind him. "We've found traces of fresh-kill on our territory, and there's a patrol coming."

"RowanClan?" Whisperwind inquired. Harvestclaw nodded and Whisperwind drew his lips back to a snarl. "We'll wait here for them. Barkpaw, go wait with the other apprentices on the shoreline. The rest of you wait here with me. We're getting to the bottom of this."

"Ooh, a fight!" Wasppaw whispered as Barkpaw hurried to join them. "I'm betting on Whisperwind."

"We don't know if there'll be a battle yet," Barkpaw informed, but he dug his claws into the solid ground. "But I'm hoping."

Wasppaw peered onto the ice, but did not step on it. "How do the warriors know if it's safe to step on?" he asked.

Barkpaw shrugged nonchalantly. "They listen for something, I guess."

Finally five cats approached the WaterfallClan toms on the frozen river. In the lead was a blue-gray she-cat with steady amber eyes. Behind her, her warriors growled and snarled at the WaterfallClan toms. She raised her tail for silence. "What seems to be the problem, Whisperwind? We usually don't find patrols waiting for us on the border."

"This is about the border, Bluedusk," Whisperwind growled. "Your cats have been crossing into our territory through the river!"

"Upon further investigation, we also found traces of feathers as well, signifying that your cats have also hunted on our territory," Molepad informed with a snarl.

"You dare accuse us of doing such things?" Bluedusk calmly remarked, but her warriors hissed and growled behind her. "What makes you think we would do that?"

"Well, for starters you're on the ice," Harvestclaw growled. "And the facts don't lie."

"You calling us liars, fish breath?" a ginger tabby she-cat with brown paws threatened.

"Would you rather settle this with Turtlestar at the Gathering instead?" Whisperwind remarked before Harvestclaw could reply. "I'm sure ThistleClan would love to hear this."

"Go right ahead," Bluedusk insisted. "They would love to hear about a weak point in WaterfallClan's border."

"It's not our fault that you don't mark the frozen river," a dark brown tom with white paws hissed. "You're just asking for us to march on in."

"So you admit to crossing the border?" Stoatshade pressed. "RowanClan scum!"

"What are you going to do about it?" a blue-gray tom jeered. "Mark the ice with your scent marks? You know that doesn't work. Or, how about using a line of sticks to neatly line out the border? Like trees will stop us."

"Or how about our claws?" Harvestclaw growled.

"Or your blood?" Stoatshade threatened. "We can work with anything."

"That's what we'd figured," Bluedusk calmly responded. "RowanClan, attack!" Upon her command, several more RowanClan warriors appear from the snow drifts and bounded across the ice. The four WaterfallClan toms were completely surprised and caught off guard.

"Wasppaw! Go fetch help!" Whisperwind yowled as two RowanClan warriors pinned him down onto the ice.

"But Whisperwind—" Wasppaw began, but Cracklepaw roughly shoved him with his shoulder.

"Just go, you minnow-brain!" Cracklepaw hissed. Finally with a nod of determination, Wasppaw fled away as fast as his little paws could carry him.

"Come on!" Barkpaw growled to his brother. "Let's go fight!"

"On the ice?" Cracklepaw questioned, but his brother was already screeching into battle. Cracklepaw pushed back his fears and dashed onto the ice after his brother. He was quickly intercepted by a gray tabby apprentice with blazing amber eyes. "Get off my territory!" Cracklepaw hissed and raked his claws at the RowanClan apprentice. The RowanClan apprentice merely growled and retaliated with a few blows of his own. Unfortunately, Cracklepaw's claws slipped on the ice and he was left vulnerable to his enemy's attacks.

Fight back, you minnow-brain! Sparrowheart's raging words surged through Cracklepaw's brain. You're much stronger than him! Lead him back to the shore where you have the home advantage!

Struggling against his opponent's blows, Cracklepaw somehow managed to get to his paws and slid towards the shore. Great StarClan, when did these RowanClan cats get so skilled at ice training? he couldn't help but think. As soon as his paws touched the comforting shoreline, Cracklepaw vanished into the dead undergrowth and prayed that his blood didn't leave a trail. He heard the RowanClan apprentice arrive on the shore and sniff around. Remembering his training, Cracklepaw crouched down and stalked forward until he was a tail-length away from the gray tabby apprentice. With a screech of pure rage, Cracklepaw launched himself from the snow drift and pummeled his adversary to the ground. Blow after blow his opponent stood no chance. With no ice to misguide him, Cracklepaw easily dodged the apprentice's attacks. With one final frontal paw strike, the gray tabby apprentice collapsed onto the ground. Cracklepaw stood there proudly glaring down on his finished opponent.

Now finish him! Sparrowheart roared.

Finish him? Never before had the thought across Cracklepaw's mind. He couldn't kill a cat. It was against the warrior code! I can't! I'm…I can't make myself do it.

Then you're no more powerful than your strongest Clanmates.

"A-Are you going to kill me?" the gray tabby apprentice whimpered. Cracklepaw didn't realize that his claws were firmly planted into the frozen ground and that his gaze harden at the apprentice.

"…No, I'm not," Cracklepaw shook his head, but then lowered so that he stared right into the eyes of his frightened opponent. Something stirred inside of him…something he'd never felt before. Was is the feeling of having this adversary tremble at his paws? Or was it power? "But listen to me closely. If I ever find your scent marks on my territory ever again, I'll make sure we meet again in battle. Do you understand?"

The mortified apprentice eagerly nodded.

"Now, get out of my territory before I rip you to shreds!" Cracklepaw roared. The apprentice promptly go to his paws and dashed away. Back on the ice, Cracklepaw heard the sound of more WaterfallClan warriors dashing over the ice and chasing away the RowanClan warriors. He decided to check on them and found Turtlestar leading the chase against the defeated Clan.

Treepaw came up to him while he was licking his wounds. "Are you okay?" she asked, her voice filled with concern.

"I'm fine," Cracklepaw insisted as he licked his paw.

"It's shame that I missed this fight," Treepaw meowed in awe. "Wasppaw said that you nearly killed another apprentice. Was he right?"

Did the apprentice watch him from the shadows? Cracklepaw shook his head. "No. I'll never kill. I just wounded him enough to frighten him. We can't have those RowanClan mutts coming back."

As Treepaw shrugged, Cracklepaw went back to the memory of overpowering that apprentice. He longed to feel that same sense of power once again.