Disclaimer: If I owned Warriors would I be writing this?

Hi again everyone :D

Sorry for the super long wait... :(

I hope you haven't all forgotten about this story? :)

So, on with the chapter!

Enjoy.

Chapter Three

~ Only the Beginning ~

"Slash, duck, lunge, retreat, repeat," Fireheart chanted. "Slash, duck, lunge, retreat, repeat."

I gritted my teeth and slashed at Brackenpaw's shoulder (keeping my claws sheathed, of course!) but he dodged my paw. "Hey!" I complained. "How am I supposed to fight you if you keep dodging my attacks?"

Brackenpaw stared at me. "Do you think that in battle an enemy warrior is just going to stand there and let you attack him?" he pointed out. His fur was dusty like mine was from the wrestling match we had just had on the ground (we were in the Sandy Hollow) and we were both panting heavily, but I was determined not to give up.

"Fireheart," I meowed, "He's not letting me attack him." I glanced over at my mentor to see amusement glimmering in his eyes. Seriously?

All he would say was "Slash, duck, lunge, retreat, repeat," over and over.

I huffed. Fine, I would do it myself. Turning back to face my brother, I narrowed my eyes thoughtfully. He was crouched close to the ground, watching me carefully. I dropped into a crouch that mirrored his and begun to circle him. I blocked out everything else, just focusing on Brackenpaw. I could see uncertainty in his eyes. I allowed a look of satisfaction to seep onto my face. He had no idea what I was doing. Then again, neither did I – but he didn't have to know that.

I was about to spring when a snort from behind me made my head snap round. I saw Graystripe struggling to keep a straight face while he watched me, and then I saw him lose the struggle. The gray warrior burst out laughing.

"Graystripe," Fireheart began to reprimand his friend but I just rolled my eyes. It was so typical of Graystripe. Ignoring him I turned back to Brackenpaw but my focus had been lost and I tripped over my own paws. Recovering once more I began creeping towards my brother. If anything else dares disrupt my concentration...

Suddenly, I heard a rustling sound in the trees above me. I ignored it, not wanting anything else to distract me.

"Uh, Cinderpaw..." Brackenpaw mewed. "You might was to look out," he warned. He was staring at something above my head with wide eyes, but I scoffed.

"I'm not falling for your mousebrained tricks," I replied. "You can't distract me that easily." I put one paw in front of the other, pulling myself along the ground.

"No, seriously. Look up," Brackenpaw tired again as the rustling increased.

"It's probably just a pigeon," I dismissed the noise. I was just about to leap when I heard a sharp Crack! My head shot up and I didn't even have time to close my eyes before something black was falling out of the sky. In less than a second it landed on me, squashing the breath out of me as I hit the ground.

"Cinderpaw! Cinderpaw, are you okay?" Dimly, I could hear somecat calling my name. Everything was dark; I couldn't see anything. When I tried to twitch my paw I was horrified to realise I couldn't even feel it. On top of me was a heavy weight, pressing me down so I couldn't move.

"Get off her, you rogue," another voice spat, but it seemed to be coming from far away.

Suddenly the weight on top of me vanished and I drew in a long, shuddering breath. I blinked as light flooded my vision and I twitched my paws. I could feel them again! Then I sprang up, looking around wildly. But all I could see were trees...

"Uh, Cinderpaw? We're behind you," my brother meowed slowly. Bristling with embarrassment, I slowly turned to see Brackenpaw and Graystripe staring at me in concern. Behind them was Fireheart, and he was holding a young black cat by its scruff. I frowned. Why did that cat look so familiar? Then I was suddenly swamped by Brackenpaw as he charged at me.

"Cinderpaw, you're okay!" he gasped, licking my head.

I scrambled backwards. "Ew Brackenpaw, you messed up my fur," I complained, but then I smiled at him. "Don't worry, I'm fine. What was that, anyway?" We both turned to look at Fireheart.

The black cat had wriggled free of my mentor's grasp and was now staring defiantly at him. Recognising him at last, I inwardly groaned. Raze. I might have guessed.

"What was that for?" Raze spat at Fireheart.

Fireheart was staring at Raze in shock. "You! What are you doing here?" Then Fireheart narrowed his eyes. "Were you spying on us?" he growled.

Raze shook his fur out and raised his head. "No," he shot back. "I was bored so I decided to come and crash your training session," he announced.

"You were bored," Fireheart repeated slowly, not buying the excuse.

I opened my mouth to say something, but then I stopped and closed it again. After all, what could I say?

"A rogue, deep in our territory?" Graystripe questioned suspiciously. How did you get so far in without a patrol picking you up?"

Raze shrugged carelessly. "Oh, those patrols are easy enough to dodge," he replied causally as he looked around, taking in his surroundings with wide eyes.

Fireheart and Graystripe had a whispered conversation, leaving Brackenpaw and I to watch Raze. I glared at him until he looked at me, and then I continued to glare at him. What are you doing? I asked him silently. Are you trying to start a fight?

"This is your last chance, kit," Fireheart spoke up eventually. "The next time we find you on our territory, we fight. Understand?"

Raze blinked innocently. "Perfectly," he mewed.

Graystripe hissed. "We should just chase him off now. You can't trust rogues; who knows what they're planning?"

"So why be lenient then?" Brackenpaw asked Fireheart curiously. "I thought we're supposed to chase intruders away."

Fireheart nodded to my brother. "Yes, that's true, but he's just a kit. There's no need for unnecessary violence if he leaves us alone from now on," the fiery orange tom reasoned, keeping a careful eye on Raze.

Raze yawned. "Well, this has been interesting," he meowed insolently, "but I really must be going. Good day," he finished, beginning to stroll away into the trees. Before he disappeared, he cast a glance at us over his shoulder. To the others I bet he looked innocent, but when his eyes met mine he seemed to be trying to communicate some sort of message to me I flexed my claws in frustration as he then carried on walking. What were you trying to tell me? I wondered agitatedly. I'm a very curious cat, and I couldn't bare not knowing what Raze had been trying to say. Suddenly I leaped forwards, curiosity firing my spontaneity, and gave chase after the small black cat.

"Cinderpaw!" Fireheart yowled after me, "What are you doing?"

I paused, skidding to a halt. Raze was already out of sight and I didn't want to lose him but I didn't want to get into unnecessary trouble either. "Chasing him off – he needs to learn his lesson," I replied.

Fireheart and Graystripe exchanged glances. "Okay, but remember: no fighting," Fireheart told me firmly.

"Sure, see you back at camp!" I called before chasing after Raze again.

When Raze saw me catching up to him he suddenly began running and well, and I gritted my teeth. He wasn't going to get away that easily! My paws tore at the ground as I sped past bushes, under trees, and over logs. I finally caught up with him at the border. He had slowed down to catch his breath so I bundled on top of him, pinning him down.

"Oi! Geroff me!" Raze growled, struggling against my strong grip.

I narrowed my eyes. "No. Not until you tell me what that was."

Raze glared at me. "What was what?"

I sighed in exasperation. He was so infuriating! "What that, back there, was. You know, the whole 'I was bored so I decided to crash your training session' thing," I elaborated.

Raze's eyes widened. "Oh, that," he said.

"Well?" I asked, waiting for an explanation.

"Are you going to let me up?" Raze hedged, refusing to say anything else until I finally gave in and scrambled off of him. The black tom sat up, shaking out his ruffled fur and giving his chest a couple of brisk licks to smooth it down. I stared at him, waiting patiently. "What? I was bored," he shrugged, noticing my look as his tidied his pelt up. I was sceptical and he must have seen it in my eyes because then he added, "Besides, I want to show you something. Follow me." He set off, trotting in the direction of the Twolegplace.

I began to follow him but my fur prickled as if I was doing something wrong. "Where are we going?" I called after him.

"You'll see," he replied mysteriously. I had no choice but to run after him if I didn't want to be left behind.

When we reached the very edge of the Twolegplace however, I halted. "Raze," I called. He was bounding on ahead but paused when he realised I was no longer behind him.

"Come on, it's not that much further," he encouraged me with a flick of his tail.

I shook my head. "I can't," I meowed, fidgeting with my paws and not meeting his eyes. "I'm no kittypet; I can't just go into the Twolegplace – I don't belong there. It's wrong," I muttered.

Raze heaved a sigh and made his way back to me. "Am I a kittypet?"

I looked up at him. His eyes glimmered with badly concealed impatience. "No…" I mewed hesitantly.

"Am I a rogue?"

I wasn't sure where he was going with these questions, but I nodded anyway.

"Do I belong in Clan territory?"

"No."

"Did I go in anyway?"

"Yes, but-"

"Was I punished?"

"Well, not really, but-"

"Exactly. Nothing bad happened. Yeah so that fire cat-"

"Fireheart," I interjected.

"Fire cat," Raze continued, "told me off. So what? Nothing bad happened."

"I guess," I replied, still unsure.

Raze nudged me. "Hey, if you're worried about some big, bad alley cat beating you up then I'll protect you," he assured me.

I gave him an incredulous glance. "You? Protect me? You couldn't even protect yourself, let alone me as well," I scoffed.

Raze grinned. "We'll see about that. So, you coming? Unless you're scared…" he teased me.

"What? No way!" I pushed past him, bounding over the border with my fears laid at rest.

Raze led me down several grey 'streets' and round several corners, through several alleyways and behind several 'houses' until I was sick of seeing grey everywhere. Grey walls, grey ground, grey sky. Even the few cats I had seen were grey (yeah so I can't talk, but still…). I was utterly lost and relying on Raze completely not to get us lost when we eventually stopped as what looked like a dead end to me.

"Smart move, genius," I congratulated him sarcastically, "you got us lost!"

Raze was studying the wall in front of us, which was the back of a 'house' as far as I could tell, when he turned to face me with a smirk. "Nuh-uh, I know exactly what I'm doing. Now watch closely and do exactly as I do," he told me.

I frowned. "What are you going to…" I began, trailing off as Raze backed up and suddenly ran at the wall. Jumping, he appeared to grab the wall with his claws and push off, leaping higher and gripping the wall again. In this manner he reached the top of the wall in several leaps and bounds. At first I thought he was literally jumping up the wall but upon closer inspection I saw grooves and small ledges which a small cat (like Raze or me!) could use to boost themselves and climb the wall. "Cool! Now it's my turn!" I mewed, excited to try it.

I backed away just as Raze had done, wiggled my tail in the air, and then ran at the wall. Unprepared for having to grasp the ledges and grooves at the right time I found myself scratching thin air as I fell backwards again. Hm. This was going to be harder than I had thought.

After several more failed attempts, a lot of teasing, and a little guidance from Raze, I finally scaled the wall and pulled myself up next to the grinning tom.

"I don't know why you're so full of yourself," I muttered, bending my head to give my chest fur a few disgruntled licks. "I bet you've done this plenty of times whereas this was my first time."

Raze shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose." I gave him a look and he relented slightly, "Oh fine, you did better than I did on my first time, happy? It took me a quarter moon of practising to be able to scale it without my father's help," he admitted, scowling.

I flashed him a smile and he looked surprised. "What?" he asked, confused.

"Admitting your shortcomings and being humble about it – even after a lot of prompting – is something I think all respectable cats need to be able to do," I replied lightly. Raze blinked in surprise. "So why are we up here anyway?" I added before he could say anything.

A secretive look stole over his face. "You'll soon see," he told me, uncurling his tail from his paws and standing up. "Come on," he said over his shoulder, beckoning for me to follow him.

I did as he asked and he led me along several roof tops and mini walls that were high above the ground. If I had been lost before, I was now so utterly disorientated that if he asked me to, I wouldn't even be able to find my own tail. And I thought my sense of direction was pretty good… The one thing I did notice though was that we were continuously heading upwards, getting closer to the sky with every leap.

Finally Raze raised his tail, signalling me to halt. "Are we here yet?" I asked, trying to keep the impatience from my tone. We were standing at the base of a small, Twoleg-made slope. At the top I could see a ledge but nothing more than that.

"Yes," Raze told me with a grin. "At the top of this tower, we will have reached our destination."

"Tower?" I asked, confused.

"That slope in front in us. I've seen your territory, so I figured it was about time you saw the land that's going to be mine one day," Raze explained. "Go on, she-cats first and all that mouse-dung," he said, nudging me forwards.

Before I began the ascent I glanced at him over my shoulder. His eyes held little expression so I couldn't resist saying, "Aw, who knew you were such a gentle tom?" before haring up the slope, leaving Raze with a miffed expression on his face. I laughed to myself as I reached the top, but the sight that awaited me instantly took my breath away and made me forget everything else. "Wow."

I looked around, turning a full circle on top of the 'tower'. I realised I was standing n top of the highest point in the whole of the Twolegplace, and all the tiny little dens and Twoleg figures and other Twoleg items looked like they were the size of a kit's claw. The colours all merged into one another and I had to remind myself to breathe. "It's beautiful," I whispered.

"I know," Raze's voice made me jump. I had been so focused on the scene spread out before me that I hadn't heard him come up behind me. Raze sat down next to me and I copied his movements, not tearing my eyes from the sight before me. "One day, I'll rule all of that," he told me smugly, wrapping his tail around my shoulders and gently pulling me towards him so I was snuggled up against him. I didn't mind though; because of the lack of the shelter the wind was extra strong up there so I was glad of the extra warmth.

"Really? But it's vast! Huge. Enormous. Gigantic. Amazing," I replied, taking in the sheer size of the Twolegplace in disbelief. "How could one cat rule all of that?"

"Simple," Raze mewed, pressing against me. "My father has ensured the loyalty of every single rogue in this place. Deserters and betrayers have to answer to him. And when he can no longer rule, it will fall to me. All my father's cats will listen to me and obey me then," he explained. I listened with rapt attention. He sounded proud – he had all of this, the whole Twolegplace, that he would one day rule. "So what do you think?" The uncertainty in his tone took me by surprise. I realised he was anxious to hear my opinion as if it meant a lot to him, although I couldn't begin to guess why that might be. We didn't even know each other that well yet...

"I think," I began, drawing it out as I finally tore my gaze from the scene below me to look into Raze's wide, (badly-concealed) anxious eyes. "I think that knowing you're one day going to be the ruler of all this is going to make me strive harder than ever to become the leader of ThunderClan and rule the forest, so that I can rival you in everything," I finished with a determined glow in my eyes.

Raze smiled. For the first time, a genuine smile – no smirk, no smug look, just an actual, real smile – appeared on his face. "I'm glad," he murmured. "This is why I like you so much Cinder: you push me to be the best I can be. Because I am going to be the best leader this Twolegplace has ever seen, I can guarantee you that," he told me. "When I'm leader of the Twolegplace and you're leader of your Clan, there'll be no stopping us. Raze and Cinder: the unbeatable duo, the best leaders ever in the history of best leaders!"

Raze's enthusiasm was catching and just as much as he claimed I was encouraging him to be the best that he could, he was also encouraging me. "Definitely," I promised, linking my tail with his. "Let's never forget this day, and this promise we're making," I suggested.

"Right," Raze nodded. "We're the best of friends and nothing can ruin it."

How naïve we were back then. How innocent. As we curled up on the roof of that tall Twoleg den discussing our dreams and hopes for the future, we had no idea of the pain and suffering which lay in store for us.

Our meeting like that was so wrong and inappropriate in so many ways. There was no chance StarClan was ever going to let me get away with it. I should have known the peacefulness was not going to last.

After Raze showed me the way back to ThunderClan (it was a long trip back, but easier going downhill and worth it in the end), we stood at the border hesitant to say goodbye. However we promised to meet up again the next night before finally parting ways.

The moon had come up by the time I arrived back at camp. Fireheart, Graystripe and Brackenpaw were all waiting for me in the clearing with worried expressions on their faces along with Bluestar and my mother. Thinking quickly, I lied and said that I had got too caught up in chasing the rogue off our territory. Feeling terrible for being dishonest, I said that I had gotten lost in the Twolegplace and only just found my way out. Because I couldn't tell them the truth. If I did Bluestar would exile me from ThunderClan for sure.

So I went to my nest expecting to be weighed down by a heart heavy from guilt, when in fact my only feelings were light and joyous. I felt like I was walking on air. I had just had the best time of my life with Raze and it seemed that happy feeling was the most dominant at that moment. Not that I was complaining.

So I met with Raze a couple more times. I became tired during the day but instead of letting sleep drag at my paws my tiredness lent hyper energy to me and although my clumsiness was increased, no-one suspected I wasn't getting enough sleep.

Life seemed perfect.

But having the best of both worlds is never an option. Soon, something will happen to force you to choose one or the other. I wasn't ready to choose. I wasn't ready to give up one world. But I had no choice. My perfect life came crashing down around my ears not a moon later and it was all my fault.

Still this was only the beginning of the torture I would then have to endure for the rest of my life as punishment for those few misbegotten meetings with that handsome rogue.

Author's Note: Sooo... Whaddya think? Seeing as this story is supposed to be as cannon as possible, can anyone guess what's going to happen next? Who knows what Cinderheart is talking about in the last section?

Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed it and feel motivated to review! *Hint* *Hint*

'Til next time,

~ Jay