Get off of me you stupid furball! yowled Silverpaw as Rainpaw pinned him down onto the soft grass. Silverpaw pushed her off and shook the scraps of grass from his fur. Great StarClan, Rainpaw! he exclaimed, still panting from the struggle he had with his sister. When did you become a fighter? Rainpaw raised her head with pride. Finally, she felt as if she just might make her clan proud. From Silverstream, she replied confidently. Over the past few moons, Silver-stream had taught her almost everything a warrior needed to know. It hadnt taken long for her to become the best fighter among the other apprentices and a fair amount of the other warriors. Can you teach me that move you used? Heavypaw asked, scurrying over to Rainpaw. She agreed and padded over to the training area. She sat down in front of Heavypaw, who was crouching in front of her in a fighting stance. Remembering how Silverstream had started teaching her to fight. Now, she started, attack me. Hesitantly, Heavypaw sprang at her with immense force, but Rain-paw was too quick for him. She leapt to the side, leaving the tom to crash onto the ground. You have to be quicker, she told him as he brushed the sandy dirt off of him-self. Rainpaw wasnt sure how much faster the young tom could move, though. The heavyset cat had always had a bit of trouble keeping up with the clan, but his strength had always made up for it. As soon as Heavypaw was ready, they proceeded with the lesson. It was nearly sun-down by the time they had finished. Rainpaw had taken time to help out each of the three apprentices with their fighting skills, even her stubbornly proud brother, Silverpaw. The apprentices waded through the shallow water that sur-rounded the RiverClan camp. Rainpaw scrambled through the tunnel into the camp. Almost instantly, Dreamcloud, her mother came padding up to her. There you all are! Dreamcloud meowed. She began to lick Silverpaws ears affectionately. Mother! Silverpaw hissed. Im not a kit anymore! Im nearly a warrior! Dreamcloud merely rolled her eyes and took off toward the warriors den. Shadepaw, Heavypaw! a voice called. It was Stonefur, Shadepaws mentor. Standing beside him stood Loudbelly, Heavypaws mentor. Are you two up for a pa-trol? You bet! yowled Shadepaw, bounding toward the two older toms. See you later, Rainpaw, Heavypaw meowed, and he followed after Shadepaw. Seeing the affection in his eyes reminded Rainpaw of the tom she had met at the Gath-ering. Fernpaw. She had been thinking of him a lot lately. Whenever she closed her eyes, the black ShadowClan cat popped into her mind. No matter how much she tried to shake this feeling of longing toward the tom, it would not go away. How can some-thing so wrong, seem so right? Rainpaw thought to herself as she padded over toward the fresh-kill pile, and joined Silverpaw outside the apprentices den.
Silverstream and Rainpaw headed toward the river. The two cats had split up from the hunting patrol so they could hunt together. Rainpaw saw Silverstream as one of her closest friends. They could tell each other anythingwell, almost anything. Al-though she trusted her mentor, Rainpaw couldnt bring herself to reveal her feelings for the ShadowClan tom. The two she-cats had almost reached the riverbank when they heard a yowl of joy coming from the other side of the water. Peering out of the bushes, the cats could see a group of ThunderClan cats standing at the top of the hill that marked the border between the two Clans. There was one big ginger tom, a small bracken-colored ap-prentice, and a gray she-cat apprentice. Then, streaking down the hill, was a long-furred gray warrior. He was headed straight into RiverClan territory! Rainpaw instinctively raised her hackles, and prepared herself to attack the in-truder. The gray tom leapt onto the frozen river, and spun with glee. What a mouse-brain! Rainpaw thought. She couldnt wait to taunt the ThunderClan warrior for acting like a kit, when suddenly The icy ground gave away and the tom fell into the freezing water. Silver-streams muscles tensed. The ginger tom began to bound down the slope ready to leap in after his Clanmate, but before he got to the bank, Silverstream shot out of the bush and dove into the water. Rainpaws heart jolted when she lost sight of her mentor in the rapids. A moment later, she appeared, holding the warrior by the scruff. She pulled him onto the soft shorebank. Rainpaw leapt out of the bushes to help pull him out. He laid there shivering, sneezing every few minutes, his pelt drenched. Rainpaw glanced at her mentor, begging her to tell her what they should do. But Silverstream didnt seem to be aware of anything. She just sat there, staring blankly at the suffering cat. Her eyes were clouded with sympathy. Rainpaw stroked her tail across Silverstreams flank, and it seemed to bring her back to the real world. Realizing Rainpaw and the ginger toms presence, she began to look at the gray tom warily. Raising her hackles, Silverstream spat. You idiot! What are you doing in my territory? The gray tom smiled, obviously embarrassed, Drowning? Cant you drown yourself in your own territory? Silverstream asked, a mis-chievous glint in her eyes. But who would save me there? he said, twitching his whiskers. The two cats stood there, staring at each other. The ginger tom announced that they had to get going. Be-fore scampering off with his Clanmates, the tom turned and meowed, Thank you along with a glance that seemed to say more than Rainpaw could tell. Silverstream dipped her head in response, and warned him to get out quickly. As soon as she was sure they were clear of RiverClan territory Silverstream turned to her apprentice, picked up the fresh-kill they had collected earlier, and began to head for home. Just out-side camp, the Rainpaw stopped her mentor and asked, That ThunderClan cat, you like him, dont you? Silverstream stared at her for a moment, looked back in the direction of the river, and sighed. Yes, she purred. Yes, I do.