3

Amberpaw's first day as an apprentice was exhausting. She lay at the side of the camp, recalling what had happened that day. They had gone on a tour of the whole territory. I didn't know the forest was so big! They shared a border with ShadowClan and ThunderClan. WindClan was on the other border of ThunderClan, and RiverClan was on the other border of ShadowClan.

Spottedmist had told her about the other clans, too. ThunderClan was always sticking their noses in the other clans' business, even though it was their old leader, Firestar, who had saved SkyClan when they fell apart. ShadowClan was stealthy and couldn't be trusted. WindClan was fast and chased rabbits on the moor. And last but not least, RiverClan could swim and they hunt fish in the lake.

Amberpaw felt like that was all pretty easy to remember. Being an apprentice is easy so far.

she padded over to the fresh-kill pile and chose a shrew. she finished in a few quick bites.

"Amberpaw?" Spottedmist called.

Amberpaw looked at her mentor. "Yes, Spottedmist?"

"What did you think of your first day as an apprentice?" she asked

"It was great!" exclaimed Amberpaw. "I didn't know the forest was so big!"

"It's even bigger than that," responded Spottedmist. "The forest goes on for longer than we can count. There's also the sun-drowned place. The water there goes longer than we can see."

"Wow," she said. "I guess we can never know the territory outside the clans."

"And there was another forest, where Firestar lived when he came to save SkyClan," she said.

"How far away was it?" asked Amberpaw.

"Do you remember those mountains we saw when we were at the lake?"

"Yes," Amberpaw recalled the distant mountains she had seen. It seemed like it would take moons to get there.

"The forest was past those mountains."

"What! That's impossible!"

"It's not."

"The Tribe of Rushing Water lives in the mountains."

"I've heard about them," Amberpaw remembered the elder's tales of cats that lived behind a waterfall.

Spottedmist looked up at the sky. "It's getting late," she said. "You should go get settled in the apprentices' den."

"Okay." Amberpaw padded to the apprentice's den. Brakenpaw and Sprucepaw had already made her and her siblings a nest. She felt a rush of appreciation for the two toms. Rosepaw and Eaglepaw were in their nests. Rosepaw was sleeping, but Eaglepaw gave her a friendly flick of her tail. Amberpaw settled into her nest. It did not take long before she fell into a deep sleep.

"Amberpaw, wake up!" her mentor's voice sounded at the entrance of the den.

"What's happening?" she asked. "Is ShadowClan attacking!?"

"No, we're going on the dawn patrol."

Amberpaw could see the dark sky through the branches of the den. Brackenpaw, Daisypaw, and Sprucepaw were sleeping around her. The new apprentices were fast asleep too. Eaglepaw stirred but did not wake. Amberpaw scrambled out of her nest to give her fur a quick grooming, then she quietly slipped over to where Hazelslip and Rosepaw were sitting along with Emberleap, the patrols' leader, Spottedwisker, and Honeyfur.

"Ok," said Emberleap. "Let's go."

Emberleap led them outside camp and into the forest. The lush undergrowth and the towering trees made the forest feel beautiful despite the darkness of the morning. The cool wind around was soothing. She loved hearing the animals chirping and scampering around.

She began to wonder how WindClan could live with the sky so near, or how ShadowClan could live in a place where no light came through the dense cover of needles. Why does my clan have the name SkyClan when WindClan was closer to the sky than us?

"Spottedmist, why are we called SkyClan when we're not close to the sky?" she asked.

"No one knows how the clans got their names," she answered. "I've heard that the Clans are named after their first leaders, but that's probably just a legend."

Amberpaw wondered how the clans had even formed in the first place. Did a bunch of rouges just join together?

They continued walking until they reached the ShadowClan border. The stink of their scent made her gag.

"Why does ShadowClan's scent have to smell like fox dung!?" she asked.

"They probably think we smell like fox dung," replied Honeyfur.

"I wish they didn't though. It makes it unpleasant for everyone who has to be near them."

But before they could say any more, a voice sounded behind her. "What's this I hear about ShadowClan smelling like fox dung?" A ShadowClan warrior stepped into view on the other side of the border. "Not some SkyClan apprentices being disrespectful, I hope." Fore more cats emerged from the bushes behind him. Two of them looked to be older apprentices, about the same age as Brackenpaw and Sprucepaw. If it came to a fight, which wasn't unlikely, they would have the upper hand.

Amberpaw opened her mouth to reply, but Spottedmist spoke before she had the chance. "We don't want trouble. It's only her second time near the border, Ashwing. She is not yet used to the scent."

"I don't care if it's her first time or her tenth," he replied. Amberpaw could sense the anger in his voice. "You should teach your apprentices to have more respect toward the other clans." Amberpaw glanced over at her sister. Rosepaw was as terrified as she was of the ShadowClan cats. She wanted to move closer to her, but she was stiff with fear.

"You have no right to tell us what to do with our apprentices!" yowled Honeyfur.

"I'll do whatever I want," he replied. "As long as I'm on this side of the border, you can't do anything to stop me."

Honeyfur took a step toward the border, growling at Ashwing.

Emberleap leaned over and whispered to Honeyfur, "You'll only make trouble." Honeyfur stepped back to the rest of her patrol.

"Come on," Emberleap said to the rest of the patrol. "It's not worth a fight."

"Running away, SkyClan," taunted Ashwing. "Not so tough now."

Despite his mocking tone, Emberleap led the patrol back to camp. The other ShadowClan joined him in his mocking. As they walked away, everything grew silent except for the crunching of dead leaves underneath their paws. The birds still sang their songs, but it somehow seemed quieter.

When they reached camp, their clanmates looked at them. They could sense something was wrong. Emberleap started to go to the Pinestar's den underneath the old cedar tree. Eaglepaw bound over to Amberpaw and Rosepaw.

"How come you two look so scared?" she asked.

"ShadowClan," she replied.

"What about ShadowClan?"

It was Rosepaw who replied this time. "We nearly got into a fight."

Emberleap came out of the leader's den. Amberpaw heard her ask, "Will you make an announcement?"

"No," replied Pinestar from inside his den. "It's not serious enough yet."

Amberpaw felt sick. If she hadn't been talking about ShadowClan's scent, there wouldn't have been any trouble. If it came to a battle, it would be her fault. Have I led my clan into destruction?