Russetfur paced around the camp. Lizardpaw- Lizardstripe, now, had been made into a warrior shortly after Whitewater's vigil ended, and word had spread that Crowtail's kits would be apprenticed by sunhigh. After that, Raggedstar was leading a patrol to WindClan, and Russetfur was part of it, or so he had let slip. The patrol was doubling as an assessment for Nightpaw and his littermates.

As the sun climbed higher in the sky, Raggedstar finally emerged from the shadows of his den and summoned the Clan after jumping to the Great Pine. Crowtail and her litter, all of their pelts glistening with a fresh cleaning, came running, and Russetfur sat down next to Vinekit. She whispered sadly, "I wish Nightpaw was a warrior so you could be my mentor, Russetfur." The warrior licked the kit's ear but did not reply.

"Cats of ShadowClan, you all know what has befallen Lizardstripe, and I have decided to take a patrol, led by myself, into WindClan today. The cats that will join me are Clawpaw, Russetfur, Nightpaw, Oakfur, Brightpaw, Cedarheart, Stumpypaw, and Whitewater. Shadepaw, you will be the runner if we need more warriors. You will stay at Carrionplace and bring more warriors if it comes to a fight. Lizardfang, if that arises, I need you to bring as many as you can but leave a few to protect the queens and kits. That being said, I now approach a happier topic; the apprenticing of Crowtail's kits!" Raggedstar announced.

Vinekit looked at Russetfur excitedly, and the dark ginger she-cat smiled back. "Owlkit, Duskkit, Skykit, Frogkit, and Vinekit. You have reached your sixth moon and it is time for you to become apprentices. May StarClan guide your paws until the day comes when you have strength enough in you to become warriors of ShadowClan. Until then, you shall be Owlpaw, Duskpaw, Skypaw, Frogpaw, and Vinepaw. Cedarheart, because of WindClan, you were deprived of your apprentice. For this, I give you Owlpaw as your next apprentice. Teach him well, and hone his skills until he is as great the warrior who caught his namesake."

Raggedstar winked at Russetfur and Vinepaw nudged her slightly. "Duskpaw, your mentor will be Poolcloud, a she-cat who has proven herself many times as more than just a loving queen- a fierce warrior who would give her life for her Clan. May she pass on those qualities to you." Poolcloud touched noses with the young she-cat, and Russetfur noticed that some gray hairs were showing on her muzzle. Skypaw was apprenticed to Lizardfang, and Frogpaw to Blackfoot. Last was Vinekit. "Jaggedtooth, you did a fine job mentoring Rowanclaw, and I am sure you will do as well in mentoring Vinepaw." The black and white she-cat touched noses with the huge warrior without nervousness, only a fiery determination.

After the cheering that had commenced for the new apprentices had died out, Raggedstar put on a stern face. "Those of you that I just named as apprentices, you will remain in camp until the patrol to WindClan returns, and protect the camp if your mentors order you to. Owlpaw, listen to Lizardfang with Skypaw for now, as Cedarheart will be with us. Patrol, we leave as soon as you have some food in your bellies. Hurry it up!"

Russetfur made her way to the fresh-kill pile, where Whitewater joined her. "StarClan willing, there won't be a battle. But I am afraid." the white warrior told her, quoting Russetfur's own words from the previous battle with WindClan.

"I am too," Russetfur said seriously. Every battle she fought in gave her more injuries, and she had so many reasons to stay in ShadowClan that the last thing she wished for was to join StarClan now. "But with you on our side, Whitewater, those mad-as-hares WindClan cats don't stand a chance." the dark ginger cat tried to cheer her up.

The one-eyed warrior gave a weak smile and the pair spoke no more, eating in nervous silence. As they finished, Cedarheart and Nightpaw joined them, the former pressing against Whitewater comfortingly. The rest of the patrol members were milling about anxiously until Raggedstar rounded them up and left the camp, patrol in his wake, silently.

"Oakfur, Russetfur, flank me. Whitewater, Cedarheart, you're on the fringes. Apprentices, at the back. Shadepaw, we're coming up on Carrionplace, so run ahead and find a place that you can stay hidden, but see and hear us, and run fast if need be. Our lives may depend on it. " Raggedstar ordered, and the cats started to move into position.

Shadepaw said determinedly, "Yes, Raggedstar." She dashed to the Carrionplace, and Russetfur was glad to see that the young she-cat was very swift.

Whitewater and Cedarheart nuzzled briefly, and the gray tom whispered, "You'll be fine. I'll protect you." Whitewater nodded, obviously scared. Normally the tough queen would reject any sort of act like that, as Cedarheart very well knew, but she had lost her eye the last time she fought with WindClan, and it was all too likely that Talltail would be there, as deputy.

Raggedstar signaled, his tail rippling, for the cats to move forward slowly. Quiet as can be, the ShadowClan cats moved across the border and onto the moor. The huge tom was tasting the air, and when they were at the foot of a hill, he seemed to scent something, for he urgently signaled to get down by flattening his tail. Russetfur opened her jaws and she too scented nearby WindClan cats. The wind was not in ShadowClan's favor, so when the voices that had just come into range had cut off abruptly from laughter into alarm, they were not surprised. The cats, probably a hunting patrol since there were only two warriors and a young apprentice, crested the hill.

The cats were Talltail and two Russetfur did not recognize. The WindClan deputy, his long tail poofed up a little from the sight of so many warriors, called down, "Raggedstar! Why have you brought a patrol of your warriors onto WindClan territory?"

Climbing the hill swiftly, his warriors doing the same, Raggedstar looked him in the eye and replied, "Take me to Heatherstar." The she-cat beside the black and white tom flinched.

"Heatherstar died a few suns ago. I am Tallstar now, leader of WindClan." he spoke proudly.

Apparently unable to resist, Oakfur muttered sarcastically, "Really? I thought you were going to lead RiverClan." Raggedstar silenced him with a flick of his tail, but the ShadowClan leader's whiskers twitched in amusement.

"Very well. Tallstar, one of your warriors has committed a heinous crime on one of my apprentices. Her life will never really be the same, and WindClan is to blame. Of course, that's not the first time this has happened, " Raggedstar gestured to Whitewater, who had evidently regained her confidence and was now glaring at Tallstar furiously, her tail whipping back and forth and the fur along her spine bristling. "but I cannot let this continue to happen, especially outside of battle! I want Mudclaw." The dark tabby tom demanded.

Tallstar finally looked away from Whitewater and told him, "While I express my regret for the injuries inflicted on this warrior, I do not believe I know what you are speaking of when you say you want Mudclaw."

"That miserable excuse for a warrior raped Lizardpaw!" Russetfur snapped furiously, before reprimanding herself. She shouldn't have said that, but Raggedstar would have anyway.

The black and white tom's eyes widened. Expecting him to be surprised or angry, the cats were furious when he instead replied, "By this 'Lizardpaw's' word, I presume? More likely she couldn't resist a tom in your own Clan and made this up to cover up her own stupid mistake." His voice was calm, but had a slightly dangerous edge to it.

Yowls of protest came from the entire ShadowClan patrol, but Raggedstar quieted them. "Tallstar, I trust the word of my warrior, and Lizardpaw never wanted kits or showed any interest in any of the toms. She wanted only to be a warrior, and nothing more, and Mudclaw has taken that away from her. I demand that he be punished, or all of WindClan will reap what he has sown in his place." The tom's eyes narrowed to fierce slits, and his claws dug into the ground.

"Is that a threat?" Tallstar inquired, his voice low.

Chin high, the larger of the two toms, stepped forward. "Mudclaw." Raggedstar growled.

"I will not hand over one of my warriors for you to do as you please with him, especially for a crime I doubt he would commit. As you say you do, I trust my warriors." The WindClan leader replied tersely. Unable to handle the infuriating talk that Tallstar was spewing, Clawpaw sprang forward and bit into his shoulder. Swiping his long claws down the apprentice's face, Tallstar took him by the scruff and threw him down. Clawpaw, bleeding heavily, shot back to his paws to attack again, but Raggedstar dragged him back.

Oakfur came forward to restrain Clawpaw, and Raggedstar hissed, "You have three days, Tallstar. If I do not hear of results, my warriors and I will come for Mudclaw." The large tabby turned his back on Tallstar, and the patrol followed him back onto ShadowClan land. Clawpaw stumbled along with the aid of his mentor, as his eyes were clouded with blood.


A/N: Sorry sorry for the short, anticlimactic chapter. I couldn't figure out what the hell to do for the last four hundred some words of this, so I just skipped it. Thus the stupid cutoff place. However, now that this lame chapter is over with, I can get to the next major point in the story (I was trying really hard to put it off this long, so while it might STILL be premature, I once had a layout where it took place like five chapters ago... I'll not taunt you anymore. The next chapter (since it actually has a point) should be up pretty quick! Also, don't blame me for how badly screwed up my timeline is; even the Hunters make mistakes- I discovered today that Heavystep, that warrior from RiverClan, died three separate times in the series! Ha ha, I feel like writing a story about him JUST for that, but I probably won't since it wouldn't make sense anyway. Finally, I am looking for a beta for a story of mine, not one that I've published yet, but don't volunteer if you might flake out on me like my last two betas have. If you feel up to it, let me know. If not, I'll look for someone on the beta search thing.