Disclaimer: I do NOT own Warriors. Erin Hunter does.

Lynxpaw looked over at his brother once he and his new mentor went to sit beside them. The black/orange tom moved closer to his brother, licking his cheek and purring softly. Swiftpaw looked up and gave a small smile, but it soon faded as he caught whispers behind him and his brother.

One-Eye turned her head towards the normal cats with a hiss and slid out her claws, the beginnings of a growl building in her throat.

Dappletail narrowed her eyes and didn't look away, her tail lashing. The two mollies started each other down before finally Dappletail sneered and stalked away, flicking her tail for the others to follow.

One-Eye and Sandspirit watched the group before turning to their apprentices, Lynxpaw was sitting straight, looking ready to face any challenge while Swiftpaw sat hunched over, his shoulders shaking lightly.

One-Eye took a deep breath before beginning to walk to the camp entrance. The other three cats tilted their heads before the senior warrior looked back.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's take the young ones out to see the territory!"

The brothers blinked then looked at each other before Lynxpaw dashed forward. Even Swiftpaw was smiling and followed closely after his litter mate.

Sandspirit was the last to follow, looking over to Darkstripe and Lionheart who smiled and dipped their heads to her.

"You'll do fine. But if you even need any help, we'll be glad to give advice." Darkstripe said, chuckling softly.

Sandspirit let out a breath and nodding before turning her head as she felt someone brush against her side. Firepaw.

"When you get back, tell me everything. Please?" The sound of her voice lowered as she flattened her ears, her eyes downcast.

"We'll have even less time to spend together. Now that you have a kitling of your own to teach."

Sandspirit blinked as she took in Firepaw's words and leaned to brush her muzzle against the ginger molly's. "Oh sweet Firepaw, please don't worry! Even if I'm super busy, I will make time for you."

Firepaw tried to smile before it soon faltered. "You just came back and now you'll be off again, with an apprentice. Heartseeker is gone and now..."

"I'll always make time for you, Firepaw. I promise." Sandspirit said firmly, moving to press her body to the slightly younger cat's. "I won't forget about you."

Firepaw rubbed her cheek against Sandspirit and sighed, bit tried to smile anyway. She only looked away when Darkstripe called out to her. The young apprentice blinked before moving away.

"Remember, you promised." She told Sandspirit as she walked away. The paler molly watched her go before trotting after One-Eye and the rest, smiling to Lynxpaw and waving her tail.

"Let's go!"

XxXx

"And here is Fourtrees, where the Clans gather in peace and share news of the past moon." Sandspirit was telling her apprentice, watching as Lynxpaw looked all around the empty hollow. He must be imaging it full of cats.

"Soon you two will attend your first Gathering. It will be something you remember forever." One-Eye said, chuckling softly before turning her back slowly.

"What are the other Clans like?" Lynxpaw asked Sandspirit, staring up at her expectedly. The pale molly blinked before smiling a little.

"Well, I can't tell you much, because I only spent time with one ShadowClan cat and one WindClan cat for the most part. And...it was surreal. You'll have a chance to meet them on your own at the Gathering."

The new mentor decided to stay quiet about what the end of her journey was like with the WindClan leader. She didn't want to scare her first apprentice.

The group continued in silence, One-Eye and Sandspirit each taking time to mark out certain locations and landmarks, and it wasn't long before the the night air began to chill even the adults and Sandspirit was the one to call the tour to a halt.

"It will be different in the sunlight, but now you've seen our territory and all that we have to defend. I think it's a good idea that you two rest now. In the morning, I think I'll start you off with tree-walking, Lynxpaw. You're going to need every ounce of sleep for tomorrow."

Lynxpaw smiled up at her and while it was a bit slow, he dashed off to find his place against the sleeping pile. Swiftpaw was slower but followed after his brother after One-Eye promised to take him hunting.

After they were gone, Sandspirit turned to the older female. " Do you think I did good? I didn't mess anything up, did I?"

One-Eye corked a small smile and flicked Sandspirit with her tail top. "You did fine, the real test is tomorrow. But remember, don't be afraid to ask for help. He is your first apprentice after all."

XxXx

"Don't try to rush it, you'll end up falling and hurting yourself at that rate!" Sandspirit was telling Lynxpaw as the apprentice had tried matching her pace in tree walking.

The young tom snorted as he couldn't do it and sulked, looking at his mentor who stood at the end of her branch, the wind making it sway gently. Sandspirit stood unaffected.

"Take your time, there's no reason to rush. These things take time. We may be the masters of tree walking, but you must still exercise caution. Now, try it again, slowly."

Lynxpaw grumbled before looking at all the branches next to him. Twitching his whiskers, the black/orange tom jumped without even taking a moment. He thought he would be able to make it but instead slammed hard chest first onto the branch.

He hissed, seeing Sandspirit moving and hauled himself up before she could reach him.

Lashing his tail, Lynxpaw jumped again, growling. "Slow down, Lynxpaw!" Sandspirit cried after him but the tom ignored her.

"No! I can do this! I don't need help!" He protested, going for a downward jump but as he landed, his forepaws slipped off the branch, leaving him hurling towards the ground.

Sandspirit leapt after him, jumping from tree limb to tree limb with blinding speed. She moved fast enough to be below him and jumped with enough force to crash into him and send him crashing into the solid side of tree trunk. He lay stunned on a thick branch.

Glaring up at the stunned apprentice while standing sideways a little further dawn, Sandspirit walked up to Lynxpaw.

"What did I just tell you?! You could've been seriously hurt!" The mentor growled as Lynxpaw slowly got into a sitting position, his head down.

"I wanted to impress you. I have to show you I can be strong. If not, then how can I protect my brother and the rest of you?" The apprentice retorted, his ears flat as he glared at Sandspirit for a moment.

Realization dawned and Sandspirit sighed softly. She slowly got up and walked down the tree trunk, beckoning Lynxpaw with her tail to follow her. While her movements were practiced and easy, Lynxpaw's descent was jerky at best and absolutely halting and time-consuming at worst. She would have to work him harder to get used to tree walking.

Once they were on the ground, Sandspirit turned to her apprentice and motioned for him to sit. "I understand where you are coming from. But you are a new apprentice, the way the Clan is acting doesn't need to weight so heavily on your mind. Let us warriors handle it. Just focus on your training."

Lynxpaw shook his head at that, growling softly, making Sandspirit blink. But she kept quiet, allowing Lynxpaw to speak.

"I can't just focus on training! Not when every time I am looked at, I see disgust or hatred! It's not fair! We have done nothing to them, why do they treat us like this?!"

Sandspirit sighed softly while her tail flicked, shaking her head she chose her words carefully. "They feel betrayed, because we hid what we were to them. And they think that we will turn out the demons outside the Clans, like we cannot be trusted. They are afraid and they chose to cover that fear with malice and aggression."

Lynxpaw curled his lips and slid out his claws. "They can't just lump is all together like that! We haven't done anything! It's not fair!" The young tom leapt to his paws, bristling in anger.

Sandspirit got to her paws and pressed her body against Lynxpaw's, wrapping her tail around him. "It's not fair, but it's something we have to put up with. And until then, we must prove that we won't hurt them."

Lynxpaw buried his face into his mentor's fur and tried hard to keep his feelings in check, but his shoulders began to shake anyway and he let out a small whimper of anger and pain.

"Why...? We shouldn't have to prove...anything! We're a Clan!"

Sanspirit remained by his side, closing her eyes against the lump in her throat. She couldn't answer, and only curled her body tighter against the young tom.

For a long time, the pair stayed together like that until eventually Sandspirit led them home. As they walked through the thorn barrier, Lynxpaw lagged behind, his head down. Sandspirit stopped to wait for him, but the tom didn't say a word as he passed. He walked on until he reached Firepaw and Graypaw, who were chatting and instinctively looked over to the new apprentice, but when Lynxpaw only curled up and said nothing they turned to Sandspirit.

The young mentor followed her apprentice, noting he kept his distance from the others and moved to sit next to Firepaw, sighing.

"We talked about the other half of the Clan has been treating us and he is not taking it well. Leave him alone for a while, give him time to himself." Even as she spoke, Swiftpaw walked in from the entrance, carrying prey with One-Eye by his side. The pale molly watched as the black/white cat sprinted over to his brother, even hopping a bit but was quickly stopped by the dull look in Lynxpaw's eyes when he looked up at Swiftpaw.

The two brothers bent their heads close together and quickly, Swiftpaw's tail started to twitch. While she couldn't hear what they were saying, Sandspirit noticed the flash of claws from Lynxpaw's paws and the worried expression crossing Swiftpaw's face. Both young cats looked to their mentors and Sandspirit tilted her head when Lynxpaw jumped to his paws and marched right over to her. At the same time, One-Eye was just sitting down, but her gaze stayed on Swiftpaw as he slowly followed after his brother.

"I want you to teach me how to fight. Now! I can't let my brother or any one of us be hurt by them!" Lynxpaw said, jerking his head to where Runningwind and Dappletail sat eating together.

"We have to be able to protect ourselves! I know you said we should prove ourselves, but we shouldn't have to! But we have to keep ourselves alive! I can't...I don't want to be at their mercy! I'm not a monster, but if I have to fight I will!" Lynxpaw said, lifting his chin to Sandspirit while Swiftpaw gave a tiny nod beside him, his head bowed and his shoulders hunched.

Sandspirit blinked then turned to One-Eye, who only let out a small breath. "There's no argument in that. I will teach you Swiftpaw. But you must not turn your fangs on your Clanmates. Not unless you have to. It won't solve anything and it'll only scare them more. If you feel frightened and I'm not around, find Lionheart...or Darkstripe."

"Or me! I'll look after you, Swiftpaw." Lynxpaw growled, before licking his brother between the ears.

Sandspirit looked from one apprentice to the other, seeing Swiftpaw's meek but determined face paired with his brother's more ferocious scowl. There was nothing she could do but smile a tiny bit. It was all within service to protect, she knew. But there was still something she had to say.

"I understand where you're coming from. But this isn't something you can just bite or claw at. Even if it's wrong, never attack your Clanmates unprovoked. I will teach you how to fight, but in line to this, it is only for protection. One day, it will come that you no longer have to protect anyone from your own Clan. One day, there will be peace. But until that day comes, I will give you everything you need to be strong and to defend everyone you care about."

A/N: Hey guys, long time no upload. Still don't have a reliably working computer so please forgive any errors. Hope you like this chapter, the next one will come when it comes. Though perhaps in the next chapter it will be from someone else's perspective? Find out in the next one and until then as always, enjoy.