Chapter 2

"Airpaw! Airpaw!" Airpaw opened his dark gray eyes as some cat continued to hiss his name. Glancing at the entrance, Airpaw spotted Reedtail staring at him from the entrance of the apprentices' den. The apprentices' den, Airpaw thought to himself, excitedly, Finally he was an apprentice. "Airpaw, come on! Voleheart is leading the dawn patrol and asked that I bring you to show you the territory."

"Of course, Reedtail," Airpaw meowed, scrambling to his paws as he followed his mentor out of the den. Outside Airpaw stared at the beauty of JayClan's camp. The sun had just peeked over the horizon staining the island red. Airpaw's own fur glowed amber instead of his usual dark brown pelt. My first dawn patrol, Airpaw thought excitedly as he padded over to Voleheart and Darkpaw.

"Reedtail, Airpaw," Voleheart growled, dipping his head to the warrior and apprentice. Beside him, Darkpaw was staring at them with cool eyes, not even blinking as his gaze passed over his younger brother. Darkpaw always tried to intimidate Voleheart's personality when the two were together. Airpaw glanced at Reedtail and wondered if he should start copying his mentor's aggressive nature. "Airpaw, I trust your first evening in the apprentices' den was enjoyable?"

"It was. Thank you, Voleheart," Airpaw dipped his head politely to Voleheart. JayClan's deputy nodded and with a glance at Reedtail, the two warriors took off, Darkpaw pelting behind them. Shocked at how fast the three cats moved, Airpaw ran hard beside them, finally catching up with Darkpaw. "Are they always this fast?" Airpaw panted.

"Don't worry. You'll get used to it after a couple times out with everyone," Darkpaw hissed, his own breath coming out in short gasps. Airpaw nodded and was about to put on a burst of speed when all three cats stopped suddenly. Airpaw had to dig his claws into the ground to keep from sliding away from his Clanmates. Darkpaw rested a tail on Airpaw's shoulder and asked, "You okay?"

"Not use to going so fast and stopping so quickly," Airpaw panted, earning a chuckle from Darkpaw than was cut short as Voleheart glared at him. Airpaw glanced at Voleheart and wondered why Darkpaw's mentor was so hard on his apprentice. Darkpaw was a great cat; strong, fast, all the key parts of being a warrior. Maybe Voleheart was judging Darkpaw too hard... after all he was Woodstar's son. Everyone probably expected him to become one of the best warriors in the Clan. Airpaw felt the same pressure on his shoulders.

"This is the treebridge, Airpaw," Voleheart hissed, flicking his tail towards the fallen tree and Airpaw's eyes widened. All kits had heard stories about the treebridge which served as the entrance to JayClan's camp. Even thought it was a part of the camp, it was a strict rule that no kits went near it, in fear of falling into the lake. "Darkpaw, will show you how to climb up it."

"Darkpaw?" At Voleheart's words, Reedtail's eyes had widened and he looked quite surprised. "Voleheart, are you sure about that? After all, Darkpaw is an apprentice just like Airpaw. Maybe it would be better if one of us showed Airpaw how to do it. After all, Voleheart, we are the mentors and we should be training them."

"Very well, Reedtail, since you don't think Darkpaw can do it-"

"I can do it!" Darkpaw growled and before any cat could stop him, he jumped onto the tree, steadying himself with his tail. Darkpaw took a couple paces forward before turning to face the other cats, "See I can do it! Airpaw, really its not too-" Darkpaw had taken another pace forward and ended up sliding off the tree, splashing into the water below.

"Darkpaw!" Airpaw called and Reedtail sprang from beside him, diving head first into the lake. Airpaw glanced at Voleheart and saw that his gold eyes were wide as neither Reedtail nor Darkpaw emerged. "Reedtail! Darkpaw!" Airpaw shrieked and suddenly Reedtail's head broke through, his jaws clamped around Darkpaw's scruff. Voleheart scrambled forward to help him and grabbed Reedtail by his scruff, heaving both warrior and apprentice onto dry land. Airpaw bounded forward to stand over Darkpaw's limp body and whispered, "Darkpaw?"

"Wake up you," Voleheart growled, poking his apprentice in the stomach. Airpaw turned to glare at how rude Voleheart was being until he noticed that his gold eyes were wide with terror. Was he really scared that something bad had happened to Darkpaw? His fear had Airpaw's stomach doing flips and the brown apprentice hovered over her brother. Suddenly Darkpaw's sides heaved and he coughed up a good pound of water, his black eyes soft with exhaustion and fear as he glanced up at the other cats. Airpaw gave his brother a gentle lick on the ear and Voleheart hissed, "You okay, Darkpaw?" Darkpaw nodded. "Can you head back to camp?" Again Darkpaw nodded. "Then go and see Talonclaw. Tell him to make sure you aren't going to get sick."

"Voleheart, I think one of us should go with-"

"No its okay," Darkpaw growled weakly, standing on shaking paws. "I can see myself home." And with that Darkpaw stumbled forward and out of sight. Airpaw was tempted to follow him and then realized that if Voleheart thought he could get home alone he must be okay. Voleheart's calmness had Airpaw taking smaller breaths and soon all worry disappeared from the young cat's mind.

There was silence for a couple moments before Voleheart growled, "Shall we continue on with the tour?" Reedtail nodded and Voleheart jumped onto the tree without a look backwards. Reedtail flicked his tail, showing that Airpaw should go next. Airpaw jumped and found that the tree wasn't as high as it looked. Sinking his claws into the bark, Airpaw slowly walked across, aware that Reedtail was behind him the whole time in case he ended up slipping. No one wanted a repeat of Darkpaw.

Once the group of cats jumped off the tree together, Reedtail took the lead where Voleheart brought up the rear, his ears flickering in every direction, guarding his Clan. After a couple paces, Reedtail brought Airpaw to a halt and growled, "Seasons upon seasons ago this was RiverClan's territory. Now- for us- it is probably one of the best places to hunt. It's also good because it is so close to our camp which means we don't have to carry our prey back long distances."

"Towards that way is ShadowClan territory and then past that is ThunderClan's," Voleheart chimed in, flicking his tail to the west. "ThunderClan's territory is a good distance away, but they have some of the best trees for climbing. Its a whole lot more useful than ShadowClan's territory. ShadowClan territory is filled with rogues that some believe are descendants from the original ShadowClan."

"If those rogues might be descended from ShadowClan then why aren't they a part of JayClan?" Airpaw asked curiously. After all, Airpaw was a descendant from some ShadowClan warriors as was almost everyone in JayClan. Woodstar's grandfather had been the last ShadowClan warrior before JayClan was created, but that was seasons ago. Brokenheart's paw steps had disappeared from the earth.

"Because when ShadowClan as well as the other Clans were destroyed some cats thought it was for the best. They decided that since they no longer had to live by the warrior code, they could do whatever they pleased," Reedtail explained, "It came as a pretty nasty shock for them when they realized that JayClan was around. Woodstar had attempted to offer the rogues places in the Clan, but they- like their ancestors- do not want anything to do with the warrior code."

"What about WindClan's territory?" Airpaw questioned, glancing towards the east where the rolling hills were. WindClan was the only Clan that Airpaw didn't share blood with although many of her Clanmates did. Talonclaw's ancestor had been Crowfeather, a WindClan warrior who had been Voleheart's relative as well. That made Voleheart- the aggressive deputy- and Talonclaw- the gentle medicine cat- distant kin. How weird bloodlines are, Airpaw thought to himself.

"WindClan?" Voleheart asked as though he had forgotten all about the other Clan. "WindClan's territory is good for hunting as well, but its so far away that it is must simpler to just hunt in RiverClan territory. However when leafbare hits, we won't say no to journeying the extra distance to get prey." Voleheart paused and then added, "The Moonpool also is in WindClan's territory, but that's only for the Clan leader and medicine cat." Airpaw's eyes widened. Every kit in the Clan had known about the Moonpool; a place of great worship that existed even in the times of the four Clans. "Woodstar and Talonclaw also usually bring a body guard so maybe when you become a warrior you will have that privilege of accompanying them. It is of great honor."

"Indeed," Reedtail growled before turning to Voleheart, "Since this is a patrol why don't we take Airpaw on a little tour of WindClan's territory? We can only head towards the Moonpool and back again?"

Airpaw was predicting that the aggressive tom would protest, but to his surprise, Voleheart nodded and meowed, "That's actually not a bad idea, Reedtail. I'm also curious about where our rogue brethren have gone to. Patrols haven't seen anything of them for the past quarter moon."

"But that's a good thing isn't it?" Airpaw whispered quietly, causing all eyes to snap towards him, "I mean if the rogues aren't attacking us then that's good right? That means no more fights will happen at least for the moment."

Reedtail shared a glance with Voleheart before meowing gently, "Yes, it is a good thing that no more fights are breaking out, but now we don't know what the rogues are doing. At least before we knew that they we attacking us. Now we can only guess."

"An attacking enemy is always better than a hidden enemy," Voleheart growled, "That's always been my motto. The rogues could be planning to attack us or they could be gathering reinforcements. Woodstar believes that they might be attempting to live in peace, but he has always seen the best in cats. I think we can't assume that we are out of trouble yet."

"No?" Another voice hissed and all three cats whipped around, spotting two cats slowly stalking there way towards them. One of them was a giant tom with huge black paws. There was a scar stretching from his jaw to his shoulder that proved he was no stranger to fighting. The other was a brown tabby who- while more slender than her accomplice- had hard muscles on her thin legs. The snarling Voleheart and bristling Reedtail told Airpaw that these were two of the rogues.

"Toby, Squirrel," Reedtail growled and Airpaw was amazed at hearing his mentor talk with an edge of politeness. He must be trying to avoid a battle, Airpaw thought to himself. "We have allowed you to hunt on your ancestors territory, but we thought we made ourselves clear that this side of the lake is ours. Begone! You don't belong here!"

"Ah, but if something is there for the taking why wouldn't we try to seize it? Especially since it is so poorly defended?" The tabby- Squirrel- snarled, stalking about to the warriors, Toby flanking her. Airpaw shrunk behind Reedtail, fear of the rogues alive in his gray eyes.

"You speak of poorly defended when we outnumber you?" Voleheart growled, his tail lashing furiously as Toby and Squirrel made a circle around them. "If it comes to a fight, you can be assured that we will send you back to your territory with your tail in between your legs. That is if we leave your tail intact, vermin!" Airpaw glanced at Voleheart's livid face, astonished that the rogues could stare him straight in the eye. If it had been Airpaw, he would have darted back to JayClan's camp so fast, begging for Gingereye.

"No, no, fool. I believe it is you who is outnumbered," Toby snarled, stopping behind the Clan cats, making their heads turn. "I can match you both in strength while Squirrel could easily shred your kit here!" Toby stalked up to Airpaw and swiped at him, making the new apprentice squeak in fright. "Oh look, Squirrel, it is afraid!"

"That's my son you're talking about," All heads turned to look at Gingereye who was stalking forward with Orangepelt and Waterpaw behind her. The group of she-cats stopped nearby and Gingereye continued, "Toby, Squirrel, you spoke of being evenly matched well tell me, are you evenly matched now?" Airpaw stared at his mother in shock, surprised that Gingereye could have such a commanding tone.

"You may have us beat for now, Gingereye, but we will be back and next time with more allies!" Squirrel snarled before she slunk into the shadows with Toby. As quickly as they had come, they had vanished.

"Let's go home," Voleheart growled before leading the way back to camp, the group of cats following him. Airpaw brought up the rear, glancing back at WindClan territory, disappointed that he hadn't gotten to visit the Moonpool.

"Are you waiting for the sun to set, Airpaw, let's go," Waterpaw meowed impatiently and Airpaw was about to follow when a strange voice- that was not his sister's- hissed,

"Four will take one and make five, making history repeat itself. Thunder will fall on the lake and the Clan of birds will be no more. The end is now."

"What do you mean, Waterpaw?" Airpaw asked, knowing it wasn't his sister who said anything, but there wasn't anyone else around.

Waterpaw looked back at him, her orange eyes sparkling with confusion, "What are you talking about, Airpaw? I didn't say anything." Waterpaw paused and then added, more concern in her voice, "Are you hearing things, Airpaw?"

"No," Airpaw muttered with a shake of his head before following Waterpaw back to JayClan; back to his new responsibility as an apprentice.

A/N Well what did you think? Fairly long for me, I must say.