"I hid in that rock crevice behind the Highrock. I had to run because Quietdew almost beat me to it." Tinypaw explained when Crescentpaw asked how she avoided the wolves.

She thought of the cracked stone behind Highrock. Its crevice was deep and narrow, facing toward the dirtplace bramble walls and nearly impenetrable for an adult wolf.

"It was something I thought of before the fact, so I wouldn't expose myself. But I don't think it'll work every time." Tinypaw's meows turned bitter.

"Using the cleft seems to be Quietdew's survival strategy, so she doesn't have to run across the clearing or swarm up a tree with the other cats.

Usually she screams at Emberfawn to join her, but he never does."

"Emberfawn's nice, but I don't like his mom Quietdew. She doesn't like me either." Cheetah added to the conversation.

"Yeah, he's cool. Did you make friends with him?" Crescentpaw asked. Cheetah nodded, then burst out;

"Yeah! He's amazing. He actually asked me to hunt the other day, it was crazy. And he said he likes fishing. He showed me this cool fishing spot underneath a weeping willow tree, and we talked so long the sun almost set without us noticing!" Cheetah giggled.

Crescentpaw purred. "That sounds nice." She was happy for her friend.

"Crescentpaw, I've been meaning to tell you something. It's not good news." Tinypaw looked ashamed, her eyes downcast. The lithe she-cat stared at her paws as they sank into the peaty earth.

"What?" The tabby apprentice's mew was apprehensive.

"Houndspots knows!" She burst out, while Cheetah bounded over a fallen twig ahead of them.

"I... It was my fault. I told him. I screwed up, because he kept pressuring me about my training and asking if something was wrong and saying there must be something off with me, I-"

"Slow down." Crescentpaw's steps dwindled to a stop, as she murmured at her sister with concern.

"It's okay. What happened right before you told him?"

"Well-..." she flattened her ears.

"Houndspots started arguing with me about how I haven't been hunting or changing nests well. I lied and told him I'd had a crush on Tidepaw, so that it would explain the change in my training after we returned."

Crescentpaw nodded. Houndspots would believe it, since Tidepaw had died while they were trapped in the Twoleg nest, and they had found out after their return.

"But he said that was no excuse to perform so poorly in training. He pushed me, and argued, and scolded me. He said that since I couldn't catch a single fish in days, then what was I good for? So I blew up on him," Tinypaw explained. Cheetah turned on her heels and watched with genuine interest, although she had most likely already heard it before.

"I told him the real reason why I'm failing my training. That the twoleg took my claws." she swiped at a leaf-stalk that was growing in her walking path. It flicked back up, unscathed.

"And, surprisingly, his reaction caught me off guard." Crescentpaw stared at her sister, fully invested in whatever came next.

"He said it was okay. Houndspots said that it wasn't my fault, that he would help me hide my secret from the rest of the clan." The she-cats gaze softened thoughtfully.

"I was questioned about my future, though." Tinypaw lifted her velvety black muzzle, whiskers twitching as she scented the wind. "He asked me if I planned to flee the clans, become a loner or rogue or kittypet; if things ever got too bad."

Cheetah opened her jaws to say something, but Tinypaw spoke over her.

"I said no, but that I still don't know my place in the clan." The little she-cat sighed. Her waving tail brushed the honeysuckle shrubs beside them. Their yellow flowers smelt of pollen.

"It sucks. I'm already not regarded as capable as you are, Crescentpaw. I'm small, and I'm not as out-spoken as you guys. Plus I'm finding it harder to catch things without claws..."

"You're just as capable as I am, though, Tinypaw." She touched her sisters shoulder with her tail-tip.

"He asked me if I wanted to be a medicine cat, and all I could say was I don't know!" Tinypaw was tense in her uncertainty.

"I've just never thought of a destiny like that. My whole kithood I wanted to be a warrior and help my clan by hunting and fighting." Tinypaw spoke in a quiet ramble as she opened up to them.

"But if I can't help Riverclan, if I can't catch prey during the long and harsh-leaf bares..." she trailed off.

Crescentpaw nuzzled her, drawing her tail along the she-cat's back.

"It's alright, Tinypaw. You'll learn how to do it. And no matter what, you'll always be helpful. To the clan and to me." She purred.

"Thanks." Tinypaw sighed shakily, returning Crescentpaw's affection with an appreciative nod.

"The day after that, he got attacked by that wolf. And now the other warriors are wanting to take over his training. He won't let them in order to protect me." Something changed in Tinypaw's gaze, a different kind of anguish than what was before. And Crescentpaw could tell that she was thankful for her mentor.

"I didn't expect that of Houndspots," Crescentpaw murmured. "He's an admirable cat for that."

"His wound isn't getting any better," her littermate fretted. "I hope that Starclan can find us a medicine cat soon. Like, by the return of this trip soon."

She nodded.

"Let's hurry then." The three she-cats increased their pace as they left Riverclan territory behind, crossing a flat stretch of boggy land that surrounded the Horseplace. Cheetah's ears were pricked again, and she walked ahead of them with a confident gait.

Windclan territory rose and dipped in a roiling expanse of bendy hills beyond them. The sun had passed its highest point in the sky, and now its slanted, piercing rays were burning off the last remnants of humidity. The earth steamed in places, drying after the long night's rain. Their shoulders grew weary and aching, yet on they walked.

Crescentpaw wasn't inclined to stop and hunt along the way, despite the gnawing hunger that soon befell her. Her stomach protested, but at her direction they all padded on.

The sun began to push shadows farther and farther across the earth, and the Riverclan cats slowed their pace. They were getting closer to the Moonpool. The earth was more compact here, with shorter grasses and course grit underpaw.

"Want to take a break?" Tinypaw asked. The brush shivered in the breeze behind her.

Crescentpaw's haunches were screaming at her to stop. After checking the position of the overcast moon, she shook her head.

"No. We have to reach to the Moonpool before moon-high. Let's keep going before we rest."

However, she found that she regretted her decision after that. The way was so slow-going and sore that Crescentpaw felt a headache coming on.

After they splashed through a shallow Windclan stream she felt a light breeze lifting her fur. Crescentpaw watched the wind tussle the long, furling Windclan grasses. The sky was a sheet of grey, with a few nacreous clouds sprawled across it.

As they stepped into pooling shadows, a treeless valley swallowed them up. Heather lined its rocky edges. Leaving Windclan's territory behind, the cats stepped purposively forward.

"I wish we could have our warriors names," Tinypaw meowed painstakingly. She stepped around some gorse thickets, her footfalls heavy.

"Crescentpaw, do you think we could ask Jadestar to do it? Even though she's Skyclan's leader," Tinypaw asked. She didn't sound very confident in her own question, though.

"It wouldn't lead anywhere if we tried." Crescentpaw flicked a muddy leaf off her paw.

"Jadestar won't appoint any new warriors or apprentices. Not while the clans are without Starclan, and in such a dire situation against the wolves."

"So that's why Oatkit and Rainpaw look way older than their names..." Tinypaw grumbled, probably annoyed at another dead end.

"Well, maybe Starclan will appoint Riverclan's new leader soon, and they can give us our warrior names."

"Why not just do it yourselves?" Cheetah asked abruptly, and the two littermates turned on their heels.