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Chapter Eighteen

Lionblaze stood atop highrock assigning that morning's patrols. He scanned the cats in the clearing; most of the Clan was just starting to pad sleepily out of their dens.

"Brightheart, Poppyfrost and Foxleap, I want you to check the abandoned twoleg nest." Brightheart gathered the other two warriors and led them out of camp. Lionblaze glanced around.

"Toadstep, Rosepetal, and Sandstorm, take Amberpaw and patrol the WindClan border, we still haven't figured out why they didn't go to the Gathering." Sandstorm padded into the apprentice den to find Amberpaw, and Toadstep and Rosepetal finished their meals quickly. Seedfall and Lilywish hurried eagerly towards him.

"What about us?" called Seedfall. "What can we do for our first patrol as warriors?" Lionblaze considered the options. Someone needed to clean out the elder's den, but he decided that he could ask Ivypool to tell Snowpaw to do that. Seedfall and Lilywish deserved to at least go on real patrol for their first one as warriors.

"You two can go hunting near the Sky Oak." Lilywish's eyes lit up.

"Great! We'll be back by sun-high." Lionblaze's whiskers twitched with amusement for her enthusiasm. Bramblestar walked out of his den. He paused when he saw Lionblaze.

"Have you organized the patrols?" Lionblaze nodded. Bramblestar looked pleased.

"Were you planning on doing anything yourself? I need someone to go hunting." Lionblaze glanced at the fresh-kill pile and saw that it looked quite empty.

"I sent out Seedfall and Lilywish, but I could go as well." Bramblestar nodded.

"I made the right choice when I made you my deputy. Well, I'm off to visit Squirrelflight. By the way, your kits are very cute, if you get the time, you should go see them later." Bramblestar bounded away, leaving Lionblaze feeling happy. Bramblestar thinks I'm a good deputy! He raced away from camp and into the forest. He crouched down when he spotted a mouse, and began to creep forward. But before he could pounce, an orange she-cat, her belly round with kits, darted out of the bushes. Lionblaze reared up in surprise.

"Who are you?" he mewed in shock. The she-cat stared nervously at him.

"I am Thunder." She replied.

Dovewing stretched luxuriously in her nest, but as she cat up, her muscles screeched in protest.

"You should stop going on secret midnight adventures, Dovewing." She murmured to herself. She glanced at Daisy out of the corner of her eye. She just wanted to make sure she was still there. Last night, after she couldn't find Daisy in camp, she'd gone looking for her. Dovewing had slunk through the undergrowth, following her scent trail. Finally, the trail stopped in a small clearing. Dovewing heard voices, and crouched behind a tree, hoping they wouldn't see her.

"It's just as much your fault as it is mine!" that was Daisy's high-pitched mew, followed by a much lower and vaguely familiar voice.

"I'm sorry, you're right, we're both to blame." Dovewing inched forward, trying to get a glimpse of the tom, but they were both hidden in the shadows.

"But what about our kits?" cried Daisy.

"I'll love them as much as any other kit." Replied the deep mew. Dovewing's heart started racing. This was the father of Daisy's kits!

"So they're expected to grow up without knowing who their father is?" her voice was shrill.

"I'll try to visit them as often as I can. I promise they'll know who I am." Then his voice got quieter. "They just won't know that I'm their father." Daisy sighed.

"This is mostly your fault, just remember that. I've got to go before someone realizes I'm gone." Too late. Thought Dovewing.

"Wait!" called the tom. "I still love you." When Daisy spoke again, her voice was bitter.

"But what about her?" she spat. There was a long pause, and then she mewed, "We can't meet anymore. No one can know about you, about us." We can't meet anymore? Dovewing thought. Is this a cat from a different Clan? Or a loner? Or a rogue? Who is it? She scented the air, trying to see if she could smell a different Clan, but all she smelled was pure ThunderClan.

"Very well." The tom's voice was sad. "I promise I'll see you again. And our kits too."

Dovewing snapped back to the present as she heard a commotion in the clearing. Cinderheart sat up in her nest.

"What do you suppose that's all about?"

Ivypool curled up in her nest, hoping to dream her way into StarClan again so she could glean more information. However, when she woke up, she was standing among a patch of stinking toadstools.

"Of course." She grumbled. "When I don't want to come here, that's when I wake up in the Dark Forest." She lifted one paw in disgust and shook of the mud. She was about to try and wake up, when she heard a screechy mew echo through the slimy trees. Ivypool gasped and scrambled into a rotting hollow log. She peered out cautiously. A silver and black cat that Ivypool had never seen before paced around in front of a brown tom. The silver one seemed to be in charge and was speaking to the brown one.

"Have you done your job, Peatclaw?" The brown tom that Ivypool assumed was Peatclaw nodded.

"Yes Silverhawk." Silverhawk looked pleased and malicious at the same time.

"So you have awakened all of the ancients?" Ivypool shuddered to think there were evil ancients as well as good ones. Peatclaw nodded, his eyes narrowed in triumph.

"Good. Very good." Hissed Silverhawk. "I assume you and the rest of our warriors will train the younger ones to be as strong as we are." Ivypool shifted in confusion. Younger ones? Peatclaw's eyes glittered evilly.

"I can assure you they are loyal to StarClan no longer." Ivypool stifled a horrified gasp. They were training the young StarClan cats? She crouched lower as two more cats dragged in a black and white tom, who looked about the size and age of an apprentice. Silverhawk bared his teeth at the apprentice.

"Hello, there." He sneered. "Aren't you glad to join our ranks?" The small tom shifted his paws nervously.

"Um, I don't really..." Silverhawk leaned over in mock concern.

"What's the matter? Don't tell me you don't want revenge for not being made a warrior when you deserved it?" The apprentice straightened up a bit.

"I guess I do." He mewed in a small voice. Silverhawk smirked.

"I thought you might say that." He then turned to one of the cats who had escorted the apprentice. He was a small black cat, with a glint in his eyes.

"Glad you could join us." His purr was razor sharp.

The dark forest is rising! Omg! R&R please!