ShadowClan buzzed with anticipation in the days following the gathering. Sedgestar had near constant patrols on the WindClan border so that every tree there strongly held the mark of ShadowClan. But, it seemed like WindClan wasn't going to take the blatant signs of ShadowClan aggression lying down, and they responded with increased border patrols of their own. But, besides a few minor scraps between the ShadowClan and WindClan border patrols, the threat of battle remained on the future's horizon, looming like a storm.

Grovepelt ordered that all of the apprentices get as much battle training as possible before the inevitable clash, and so for the seventh day in a row, Frostpaw found herself trailing after Swoopstrike, along with Pinepaw, Poolpaw, Autumnpaw, and their mentors, heading towards the Burnt Sycamore.

"I can't wait to tear WindClan to shreds!" Pinepaw growled, her black fur bushed out in excitement.

"Did you see how puny they looked at the gathering?" Poolpaw asked, swatting at the air in front of him like he was fighting an invisible WindClan warrior. "I've caught squirrels bigger than them!"

"They're going to regret ever messing with ShadowClan!" Autumnpaw declared, dashing ahead from the rest of the group to be the first to enter the clearing around the Burnt Sycamore.

Poolpaw and Pinepaw were hot on his paws, but Frostpaw followed her den-mates much more slowly, hanging back with the group of mentors.

She didn't understand why they were so excited. Her stomach clenched in anxiety as she thought of the coming battle. All she could think about was her or one of her clan-mates getting hurt or killed, and she didn't see how that was something to be eager about. Frostpaw lingered at the edge of the clearing, watching the three siblings pounce about with each other.

"Not as excited as the other apprentices, huh?" Grovepelt asked Frostpaw, startling her slightly.

She blinked up at the deputy. The senior warrior looked down at her with a kind expression on his greyed, grizzled face, and Frostpaw felt a bit more at ease.

"No, I guess not," she meowed, looking back out at the tussling apprentices.

"Why?" Swoopstrike broke in with a harsh voice. "The duty of a warrior is to fight for their clan. You should be honored to battle for ShadowClan."

Frostpaw flinched, her ears flattening.

"I never said I wouldn't fight," she protested. "I—I'm just worried about anyone getting hurt."

Swoopstrike gave a derisive snort.

"Being nervous isn't a crime," Grovepelt said in a patient voice, giving Swoopstrike a pointed look.

The deputy turned to Frostpaw.

"I find, the older I get, the more worried I become before every battle," Grovepelt meowed.

"When I was a new apprentice, I was just like them." Grovepelt nodded towards the other apprentices. "Excited to fight. To prove myself. To stand up for my clan and family."

One of his ears twitched back slightly.

"In many ways, I'm still like that. I still will fight to protect my clan. But, that reckless sense of invulnerability I had as a young cat is gone."

A somber look crept across the deputy's face.

"I've seen too many friends and family pass on from this world to still feel that way," he said. "It becomes harder to sharpen your claws before battle when you can't help but wonder what friend won't be coming home afterwards."

Frostpaw gazed at Grovepelt's weathered face with a quiet sense of fear and wonder.

How many battles has he seen? How many friends has he lost? Did he once have a mate? Kits? Where are they now? …What happened to them?

Grovepelt's gaze slid over to Frostpaw, and he looked at her out of the corner of his eyes.

"You are still a young cat," he meowed. "But, you have experienced much more tragedy in your life than you den-mates. That's why you understand that you are not invulnerable. And, knowing that is nothing to be ashamed of. Although it does make it harder to charge into battle… when you know fully well that you can die. So, you must be braver than them."

Grovepelt nodded towards Pinepaw, Poolpaw, and Autumnpaw.

"Because they don't understand," Grovepelt said in a quiet voice. "Or, at least, not yet."

Grovepelt strode forward without another word into the training clearing.

"Stop rolling around like kits," Grovepelt said loudly, interrupting the sibling's tussle. "Battles are not a game!"

Grovepelt turned towards Frostpaw, flicking his tail at her.

"Come here. We will be doing paired fights before practicing more specific battle techniques," he meowed. "We will start with Poolpaw and Frostpaw. And, Autumnpaw and Pinepaw."

Frostpaw slowly padded over to the rest of the group, taking her place next to Poolpaw. Poolpaw squared himself up to her, fluffing out his black and white coat.

"Ready? Begin!"

The apprentices practiced fighting all morning. Frostpaw was pleased that she was able to hold her own against the slightly larger Poolpaw, but she grew a bit more nervous when around mid-morning, they switched partners, and she was paired with Pinepaw.

StarClan, why couldn't I have gotten Autumnpaw instead…

The black she-cat narrowed her amber eyes at Frostpaw. Pinepaw was smaller than Poolpaw, making her and Frostpaw about the same size, although Frostpaw's longer coat gave an illusion of bulk. But, while Pinepaw didn't have size on Frostpaw, Frostpaw knew she did have a burning desire to beat her into the dust.

"I'm not going to go as easy on you as Poolpaw did, Dirtface," Pinepaw snarled in a soft voice so the mentors couldn't overhear.

Frostpaw narrowed her eyes at Pinepaw, but didn't reply.

"First apprentice to pin the other wins," Grovepelt announced to the group. "Remember, WindClan cats are small, but fast. They are most dangerous when they have the space to move around. In closer quarters though, we can easily overpower them. Keep these techniques in mind as you practice."

Frostpaw nodded. She shifted from paw to paw. Her muscles were already aching from all the wrestling with Poolpaw, but she knew she couldn't battle Pinepaw without putting up a good fight, or she'd never hear the end of it from the annoying furball.

"Begin!"

Pinepaw sprung at Frostpaw like a coiled snake. Rather than dodging her pounce, Frostpaw faced it and rolled with her as Pinepaw barreled into her chest, electing a squeak of surprise from Pinepaw at the unexpected lack of resistance.

"Come on, Frostpaw, put up a fight!" Swoopstrike snarled from the sidelines as the two of them went tumbling.

"I said not to get yourself caught," Grovepelt's disapproving voice added.

Frostpaw ignored them as she and Pinepaw tumbled head over tail with the momentum from Pinepaw's spring. Frostpaw wrapped her paws around Pinepaw's shoulders, and as Frostpaw rolled back to the top of the tumble, she suddenly locked her muscles, digging her hindpaws into the soft, marshy ground. She jerkily halted the somersault and shoved her forepaws hard into Pinepaw's shoulders to pin the wiggling apprentice to the ground.

Frostpaw felt a surge of satisfaction as she stood over Pinepaw.

"…Frostpaw wins!" Grovepelt's presently surprised voice was saying when Frostpaw felt Pinepaw violently jerk under her paws, ripping herself from Frostpaw's grasp.

Pinepaw scrambled back to her paws and sprung at Frostpaw with a snarl, her paws flashing with blows. Frostpaw ducked, her ears stinging as Pinepaw's paws swiped them.

"Stop that! Did you hear? Frostpaw won!" Frostpaw heard Swoopstrike snap.

"It's alright, Swoopstrike," Frostpaw heard Grovepelt reply. "Let's see how this turns out."

Frostpaw set her jaw.

Fine. Pinepaw wants a rematch, so I'll give her one.

Frostpaw sprung out of Pinepaw's reach, dodging back towards the Burnt Sycamore to give herself a moment to breathe, but Pinepaw was relentless, following Frostpaw. Frostpaw swiped at paw at Pinepaw's muzzle, but the she cat dodged and retaliated with a sweeping lash of her forepaws, knocking Frostpaw's legs out from under her.

"Oomph!" Frostpaw's breath was knocked out of her as she hit the ground, but she quickly scrambled back to her paws.

Frostpaw saw Pinepaw crouching, preparing to leap on to her and pin her to the ground. Frostpaw's gaze quickly flashed as she looked around for an escape route. Her eyes settled on the old knobby branch several tail lengths above her head. And, as Pinepaw leapt, so did Frostpaw. Frostpaw slightly startled herself with the height of her leap upwards as she easily sprung onto the branch of the tree, digging her claws into the old, burnt bark for purchase.

Pinepaw gaped up at Frostpaw, her brow furrowing.

"Hey! That's cheatin—ow!"

Pinepaw was cut off as Frostpaw dropped back down on her from the tree and the two of them went tumbling again. Frostpaw nipped at Pinepaw's paw as they rolled, and she could feel Pinepaw batting at her belly with her paws. Frostpaw twisted, trying to escape Pinepaw's grasp, but the she-cat had twisted her paws deep into Frostpaw's long fur and dug in tight.

Frostpaw gasped as Pinepaw yanked on her fur, her skin stinging from the tug. With a final powerful surge, Frostpaw managed to yank herself free, although she left a few clumps of fur behind in Pinepaw's paws.

With an annoyed growl at her burning pelt, Frostpaw darted forward to swipe at Pinepaw's ears, but she ducked. Frostpaw quickly retaliated with another downward strike on Pinepaw's head, but the blow was grazing. Pinepaw snapped at Frostpaw's ankle as she pulled her paw back away.

Frostpaw's gaze slid around Pinepaw and her eyes narrowed as she noticed she and Pinepaw had switched positions, so now the other apprentice was closer to the Burnt Sycamore.

I can limit her attacks if I trap her against the roots.

Frostpaw flashed forward with a snarl, swiping a paw at Pinepaw's face. Pinepaw flinched backwards to dodge, and Frostpaw followed her, pressing her relentlessly to herd her towards the Burnt Sycamore. Pinepaw let out a quiet squeak of surprise when she went to take another step back away and her hindquarters bumped the twisted roots of the tree.

I've got her! Frostpaw thought, flashing forward again with another blow.

But, to her surprise, Pinepaw wasn't going to give in that easily, and the black-furred she-cat made a wild leap at Frostpaw, bowling her over. Frostpaw gasped in pain as Pinepaw kicked her stomach as they flailed and tumbled. But, it was Pinepaw who ended up on top this time, shoving Frostpaw to the ground with a growl.

"I win," Pinepaw snarled.

"That's enough," Grovepelt's voice rang out.

Pinepaw loosened her grip, and Frostpaw quickly shrugged Pinepaw off of her, pulling herself back to her paws. Frostpaw and Pinepaw stumbled away from each other, both panting. Frostpaw eyed her opponent, making sure that she wasn't going to spring at her again.

Grovepelt padded up to the two of them. He nodded approvingly at Frostpaw.

"Well done with that first round, Frostpaw, and with thinking about leaping onto the tree. A good surprise can often be the best attack. I expect one day you'll be expert at our shadow ambushes," Grovepelt meowed.

Frostpaw felt her chest puff out in pride at the comment, her stinging pelt from her yanked fur fading from her mind.

"Although your strikes need some work. They are messy, like you're indecisive about where to hit. Strike with conviction, don't hesitate," Grovepelt added.

Frostpaw dipped her head to the deputy.

"Yes, Grovepelt," she meowed.

Grovepelt turned to Pinepaw.

"You have a lot of spirit, and you never give up, which is a brilliant trait in a warrior," he said. "But, you need to learn to be more observant of both your surrounds and your enemy. Frostpaw used her environment to her advantage, and that is a vital component to winning a battle. And, as for observing your enemy, if you can gauge your enemy's attacks then you can guess what they will do next. Watch their eyes. Where their gazes go often betray their thoughts."

Pinepaw dipped her head.

"Yes, Grovepelt," she mumbled, tail-tip twitching.

"You've all done very well," Grovepelt said, raising his voice and turning towards Autumnpaw and Poolpaw, who had also stopped practice fighting to address them too. "We will head back to camp and take a break for now. See to it that Snakeeyes and Amberberry are fed, as well as the elders, then get some fresh-kill for yourselves. You all deserve it."

Swoopstrike approached Frostpaw as Grovepelt headed off in the direction of camp.

"We'll practice your strikes together this afternoon," Swoopstrike grumbled. "But... good job."

"Thank you," Frostpaw said, her tail curling up slightly.

Swoopstrike gave a curt nod and strode away after Grovepelt.

Autumnpaw bounded up to Pinepaw and Frostpaw, his amber eyes excited.

"Did you see me shove Poolpaw's muzzle into the ground?" Autumnpaw meowed, snickering. "I think he swallowed some mud!"

Pinepaw just huffed instead of replying, shoving past the two of them and striding off after Poolpaw and the mentors in the direction of camp. Frostpaw flinched as Pinepaw slapped her face with her tail as she walked by her.

"No, I missed it," Frostpaw said to Autumnpaw as the two of them padded off after them, making up the rear of the patrol.

But, Autumnpaw didn't seem to be listening to her. He was watching Pinepaw stride away from them with a furrowed brow.

"Hey, what's got your fur in a twist!" Autumnpaw meowed to her back.

Pinepaw shot them a scorching look from over her shoulder.

"That rogue," Pinepaw hissed. "Embarrassed me in front of Grovepelt!"

Frostpaw's ears flattened.

"What are you talking about?" Frostpaw argued. "You won the last round!"

Pinepaw just snarled instead of replying.

"Yeah," Autumnpaw chimed in. "I heard him say that you both did good jobs! He complimented you!"

Pinepaw stopped walking, turning to hiss at the two of them, baring her fangs.

"How dare you defend her! You don't understand!" Pinepaw spat. "Grovepelt is the deputy and my mentor. I have to impress him! But, instead I let myself be beaten by a rogue! How is that not embarrassing?! What is he going to think of me now!"

"Stop calling her that," Autumnpaw snapped, the dark ginger fur down his back prickling in irritation.

"I'm not a rogue," Frostpaw growled quietly, breaking in. "I've lived in ShadowClan almost as long as you. And, I've been training exactly as long as you have! Why would you expect to be a better fighter than me?"

Pinepaw just growled in response to her question.

"Just because you live here now, doesn't make you one of us," she spat.

Pinepaw whirled around and ran off into the forest.

It was close to sun-high by the time Autumnpaw and Frostpaw made it back to camp. The rest of their group had arrived a little before them, and Poolpaw trotted up to Autumnpaw and Frostpaw with two frogs in his jaws.

"Pinepaw and I have the elders if you two want to take the nursery," Poolpaw mumbled around the fresh-kill in his mouth. "It's probably for the best if we split up. I don't know what happened, but the way Pinepaw looks right now, she'll kill you both if she sees you."

"The nursery is fine with me," Autumnpaw meowed with a twitch of his tail.

Autumnpaw and Frostpaw headed to the fresh-kill pile. He grabbed a squirrel and Frostpaw picked up two mice before the two of them padded over to the thorn bush that sheltered the nursery. As they padded towards the entrance, they had to dodge back as Rowanheart brushed his way out, emerging suddenly from the den.

"Are those for the queens?" he asked.

Frostpaw and Autumnpaw nodded, mouths too full to speak.

"Great!" Rowanheart said, his eyes lighting up. "Snakeeyes just had our kits this morning! I bet she's starving! Let's go in! I'll show you them!"

Frostpaw's irritation towards Pinepaw faded some in the face of Rowanheart's clear joy about his new family. Frostpaw purred and followed Rowanheart into the den.

Rowanheart led the way towards Snakeeye's nest. The white-furred queen was curled up, evidently sleeping, but she stirred as her mate approached.

"Back so soon?" she murmured in a playful voice. "I thought you had patrols to be on. Or, is Sedgestar giving you the day off in honor of the birth of his grandkits?"

"I'm heading off soon," Rowanheart said with a purr, gently head-butting his mate's side. "But, I ran into these apprentices with fresh-kill, and I wanted to show them our kits!"

Frostpaw padded up to Snakeeyes, dropping the mice she was caring at her paws. Snakeeyes' blue and green gaze flickered to Frostpaw.

"Hello, Frostpaw," she said with a friendly blink. "Thank you for the mice. Would you like to see the kits?"

"Yes," Frostpaw purred.

Snakeeyes moved her tail, revealing three tiny kits at her belly. Frostpaw purred happily at the sight of the cute, healthy kittens.

"This is Featherkit," Snakeeyes said, gently laying a paw on a fluffy tortoiseshell she-kit.

"That's Yewkit," Rowanheart said, leaning over to rasp his tongue over a silver striped tom.

"And, this is Lizardkit," Snakeeyes purred, touching her last kit, an all white tom.

"They are very cute!" Frostpaw purred.

"Maybe we can be their mentors when they become apprentices!" Autumnpaw said excitedly, padding over to Frostpaw to gaze down at the new-born kits after delivering the fresh-kill he brought to Amberberry.

"But, why would Sedgestar pick us?" Frostpaw asked. "When they are made apprentices, we'll have been warriors for less than a moon!"

Autumnpaw nudged Frostpaw's shoulder with his muzzle.

"Don't be such a downer!" Autumnpaw teased. "We can always hope!"

Frostpaw and Autumnpaw left the nursery after the fresh-kill had been delivered to the queens, although Rowanheart lingered behind, evidently reluctant to leave his mate and kits again and head out on that patrol.

As Frostpaw and Autumnpaw headed back towards the fresh-kill pile to grab some food for themselves, Frostpaw found her mind stuck on Snakeeyes, Rowanheart and their kits. Seeing the little family together, Frostpaw couldn't help but thinking about her own mother. And, the mystery of how Paledusk knew her.

I remember when I was a tiny kit, May was living on her own. While she was living like that, there's no reason to think that she didn't bump into clan cats like Paledusk from time to time.

But, Frostpaw remembered the way Paledusk looked at her. It wasn't just a look of surprise at seeing an old friend or acquaintance. He looked at her like he had just seen someone come back from the dead.

Frostpaw wasn't stupid, and knew there was another option. The reason that he was so shocked. She had never met her father, and had always assumed him to be another rogue… but just maybe…

Frostpaw shook her head.

But, if Paledusk is my father, then why am I in ShadowClan? Why wouldn't I be in SkyClan with him? May would've went to him when she needed help.

It didn't make any sense. In the faint memories Frostpaw had of when May talked about her father, her words were always fond. If May had been able to take Frostpaw to him, why wouldn't she?

Frostpaw's tail twitched anxiously.

Maybe he didn't know about me? Did May not tell him?

Frostpaw clenched her jaw.

Would May do that?

Frostpaw wanted to wail in frustration.

An image of May appeared in Frostpaw's mind.

It was true that Frostpaw hadn't known her mother long, but she always had loved her fiercely, and when they had been together, Frostpaw had felt like she could unequivocally rely on her. But, now Frostpaw felt betrayed. Her mother had died and left her here alone. And, not only that, she had left her with this mystery hanging over her head. What if Paledusk was her father? Frostpaw had enough problems trying to get her clan-mates to trust her without having to worry about them thinking she would betray them to Paledusk and SkyClan at a twitch of a whisker.

Frostpaw imagined confronting her mother.

"Why did you do this to me?" Frostpaw hissed in her mind at May.

The image of May in her head just gazed at Frostpaw with sad blue eyes.

"Are you alright?" Autumnpaw's meow cut through Frostpaw's thoughts.

They had reached the fresh-kill pile, and Frostpaw realized that she had been digging her claws into the marshy ground. Frostpaw shook her head, shaking off her thoughts like clinging cobwebs.

I have no reason to worry about Paledusk. There's no proof about anything. Getting myself worked up about it is just frog-brained.

"Yeah, sorry. Just thinking about WindClan," Frostpaw mumbled the lie.

She couldn't risk telling Autumnpaw her real thoughts. What if he found out that May and Paledusk knew each other, and then he became suspicious of Frostpaw? Autumnpaw was her only true friend in the Clan; Frostpaw couldn't lose him.

Autumnpaw blinked at her sympathetically.

"Don't worry. Once we're through with those rabbit-brains, they'll be so scared of ShadowClan that they won't ever bother you again," Autumnpaw said, giving a quiet growl.

Frostpaw nodded along with his words, although she wasn't sure that hostile WindClan was the biggest of her problems. Frostpaw chose a mouse to eat, and Autumnpaw picked a lizard for himself. They carried their food over to the edge of the camp and settled down to eat on one of the more grassy patches in the camp to keep their fur from getting too damp from the marshy ground. Frostpaw tried to keep her thoughts off of May and Paledusk as she ate, not wanting Autumnpaw to question her on her emotions again. She was soon properly distracted when Autumnpaw flicked his tail to draw her attention to Grovepelt and Sedgestar. The leader and deputy had just emerged from Sedgestar's den beneath the Oak Tree, and their heads were bent closely together in earnest conversation. Sedgestar finished the discussion with a firm nod to Grovepelt before turning and bounding up the side of Clanrock while Grovepelt settled at the base.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gathering beneath Clanrock for a Clan meeting!" Sedgestar yowled, settling down on the boulder.

Frostpaw's ears twitched up in interest, and she rose from her crouched position over her half-eaten mouse to gaze up at ShadowClan's leader. Frostpaw saw the moss covering the medicine cats' den at the base of Clanrock sway as Clearstream and Elmclaw pushed their way out of it, settling down in the clearing. The rest of their clan-mates followed, appearing out of dens or looking up from sharing tongues or prey. Rowanheart emerged from the nursery, taking a seat a few tail-lengths away from its entrance. Frostpaw spotted Pinepaw and Poolpaw appearing from the elders' den, followed by the elders themselves.

Frostpaw noticed that there were a few warriors missing from camp who must be out on patrol, but most of the cats were in camp. Sun-high was ShadowClan's least favorite time to be out of camp. It was when the day was the brightest and the hottest, so they much preferred to nap, eat, and share-tongues, saving their energy for late night patrols and hunts. But, Frostpaw figured with the increased patrolling on the WindClan border, Sedgestar had cats out even at sun-high.

Sedgestar's short fur ruffled in the cool breeze that blew through the ShadowClan camp as he gazed down at his clan-mates from Clanrock.

"As you all know, WindClan grows more aggressive on our borders each passing day," Sedgestar said. "The time is approaching for our attack. We cannot wait much longer and potentially give them the chance to strike first."

ShadowClan yowled their agreement, some cats leaping to their paws in eagerness. Sedgestar waved his tail for silence.

"I've been in close discussion with Grovepelt, Clearstream, Elmclaw and some of our clan's senior warriors, and we've come up with a plan. We will wait for the next cloudy night, when there are no moon or stars to see by, and then we will strike," he said. "First, we will launch an attack on their camp. But, I want no WindClan nursing queens, kits, elders or medicine cats to be harmed, understood? Don't go into those dens. We are teaching WindClan a lesson about who is the stronger clan, not seeking to harm innocents."

There were nods and murmurs of agreement.

"We won't linger in their camp long. After we attack the camp and give them a good scuffle, I want to raid their fresh-kill pile. We'll grab as much food as we can carry and run back to our border. I expect WindClan will be incensed, and they will follow us there. But, that's where we will have a second patrol waiting, where we will ambush them again," Sedgestar finished.

"Who's going to be on the camp attacking patrol?" Thornheart called out, his tail held high in excitement.

"I will assign cats when the night comes," Sedgestar said, his amber eyes gleaming in the sun-light. "For the next few days, everyone keep up duties as normal, and make sure you are getting plenty of fresh-kill and rest. I want everyone in prime shape when the time is right."

Author's Note:

Sorry this chapter was put out a few days later than I intended. I got busy with visiting family last week, which put my writing a little behind. To all the Americans out there, I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving!

I also wanted to say that I'm just really liking writing Sedgestar's character. One of the reasons that I wanted to set this story in ShadowClan rather than having Frostpaw being left in any of the other Clans is that I feel like in the books, ShadowClan cats are always the default "bad guys" with their leader being like the "Big Bad." Which I think is silly, like why do they always have to be the evil ones? There's nothing inherently wrong with being ShadowClan, right? And, I'm just having a lot of fun making them the protagonists and crafting a ShadowClan leader that is like the epitome of what ShadowClan is described to be— proud, independent, not afraid to fight. But, also wise, clever, fiercely loyal to his own, and not dumb or just straight up evil for no reason. Anyways, small speech over, thanks for reading, see you next chapter!

Reviews:

Mad Hat Dragon: Thank you! And, I'm so happy to hear that you also enjoyed Silk's Reign and Lightning's Destiny. I don't think I will return to Silk's Reign because I feel like I've told all of her story that I wanted to. But, as for Lightning's Destiny, I'm still on the fence about if I want to do a sequel for it or not. At times I really miss writing about Lightningfire and Wolfshade, but as of right now I don't have any good ideas in mind for a sequel plot. Although, I've been toying with the idea of maybe writing a story with their kits as main characters… I don't know if it'll actually happen though because I've got several other more fleshed out warrior stories in mind that I want to get to :)

BrightMind: Thanks! Paledusk and Frostpaw won't see each other for a little bit since we have to deal with this WindClan drama first. But, we are definitely getting a ShadowClan/WindClan showdown next chapter!

Brian.H.H: Thanks so much! And, good question! In the short story "A Leader Who Sought Peace," which this story is based off of in the field guide "Battles of the Clans," when Morningstar is begging the other Clans for food, Sedgestar has this line about how ShadowClan is bigger than the other clans, so they have no food to spare. But, they also didn't seem particularly aggressive about exploiting ThunderClan for prey (like how WindClan was.) So, I took that to be that to mean that ShadowClan right now is bigger than the other clans, but not so big that their territory can't sustain them (so like the other clans are unusually small.) They, however, are definitely heading that way now in my story. Currently in the story, though, it's late new-leaf/early green-leaf, so prey is running well, and they won't have to worry about it too much yet. But, as winter approaches, the lack of prey is definitely going to be an issue for them. (Which Sedgestar is already well aware of. He is not one to pass up an opportunity for free prey, which is why he ordered a raid on WindClan's fresh-kill pile.)

Kitty-Guardian Dorothy: Lol yeah no other leader can throw a sassy smack down like Sedgestar!