A/N: Songs I wrote this chapter to:

Someone Like You by Adele

Team by Lorde

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Nightfeather flicked her tail impatiently, gaze cool as she watched Cloudpaw and Sunpaw training. They both seemed to be coming along quite nicely, despite their common weakness. The two littermates were both impatient and reckless.

Echowing nodded, pride evident in her blue eyes. "Perfect, Sunpaw. When you fight in a real battle, you must stay on your paws at all times. Find a cat's weakness. Be observant. And then, use that knowledge to strike."

Snowstripe smiled. "You can come in now, Nightfeather. Apprentices, I want both of you to attack. Remember, claws sheated."

Nightfeather bunched her muscles and leaped into the clearing. She smirked at the two apprentices. Echowing had asked her to seem cocky so she could observe how the apprentices would react.This would be easy.

Yes it will. Enjoy every scream they emit as you rip into them, Nightfeather.

Nightfeather let out a gasp, and the horror must have been evident on her face, because Snowstripe cast her a confused glance.

"Are you alright?" She inquired.

Nightfeather shook away the unsettling thoughts, still a bit unnerved. "Y-yeah. Let's start."

Sunpaw and Cloudpaw both sank into crouches, letting out hisses and growls. Nightfeather glanced at them, a bit amused as she analyzed their stances. Sunpaw was too low to get enough power into his jump, and Cloudpaw was positioning his tail incorrectly. These were both fatal mistakes. The black she-cat watched as they both leaped at her, paws outstretched.

In a flash of black, she slipped underneath them and whipped around, knocking them into the ground. Sunpaw writhed in her grip, but it was no use.

Echowing padded forward. "Good job, you two-"

Sunpaw let out a squeak of pain. "Nightfeather! You're hurting me!"

Nightfeather gave him an incredulous look, and looked down. It seemed he was right. Blood was welling from beneath her claws. She sheated them with a gasp. "Sunpaw! I'm sorry, it was an accident, I didn't mean to-" she blubbered.

Echowing cut her off. "It's fine, accidents happen."

Nightfeather must still have looked guilty, because Sunpaw rubbed his cheek against her leg. "It's fine!"

She swallowed and nodded. "Yeah. T-thanks."

Snowstripe gave her a strange look before flicking her tail. "Alright then. WindClan will be here any minute. Sunpaw and Cloudpaw, go get a bite to eat."

Sunpaw bounded away, Cloudpaw hot on his heels. Echowing followed after them.

Nightfeather turned to Snowstripe, guessing that the white-striped she-cat wanted to talk.

"Nightfeather," she started in a hushed tone. "Guess what? I saw Dawnpaw!"

Nightfeather gave her a confused glance and dug her claws into the ground. What was she talking about? Dawnpaw was dead. "That's... not possible."

Snowstripe nodded, eyes flashing with longing. "I saw her in my dream." Her tone softened, and Nightfeather could detect a bit of sadness. "I miss her so much."

Nightfeather nodded and forced herself to crack a grin in a feeble attempt to lighten the mood. Although Dawnpaw was evil and tried to kill her, she was too young to die. Maybe she could have changed, the black she-cat mused silently.

Snowstripe sighed. "Alright then. Let's go."

The white-striped she-cat turned around and padded behind the bushes, tail drooping.

》》》》》》》》

Nightfeather felt her belly rumble and glanced longingly at the fresh-kill pile. It was cold for green-leaf, but leaf-fall would be here soon. Prey was running short. The island was too small to provide for a whole Clan. She scanned the clearing. Snowstripe and... Mistflower were sharing tongues. Their loud purrs could be heard across the clearing.

Echowing and Sunpaw were both doing some quick battle training. Runningpaw was watching them, eyes flashing. And Thornpaw...well, Thornpaw was too busy getting a thorn in her paw.

Nightfeather purred a little at her joke. Thornpaw had just limped into camp, wailing dramatically about how her pad hurt and how she could hear StarClan calling her. The little cutie.

A voice sounded behind her, but Nightfeather recognized it in a heartbeat. She turned around to see Sparrowwing looking down at her.

"Rainheart wants to see you," he mumbled, looking quite bored.

Nightfeather dug her claws into the ground, trying not to show any sign of weakness. His yellow eyes, usually full of warmth, were cold as ever. He was still mad. She missed the times when he wasn't so... distant.

"Listen, Sparrowwing-"

The tabby tom cut her off. "I don't want to hear it," he snapped. "You made it very clear how you felt before."

Nightfeather glared at him. What was wrong with this tom? "I'm trying to apologize. If you're too stubborn to accept it..." she trailed off, not wanting to say it.

Sparrowwing narrowed his eyes. "What, Nightfeather? Rainheart hates me for being with you. I," His voice cracked, and Nightfeather couldn't help but feel a rush of sympathy, "I don't know what to do. There's... I don't..."

Nightfeather bit back a hiss. "So if I get between you and your brother, I'm suddenly a problem? Y-you told me you loved me!"

Sparrowwing sighed, and in that split second, Nightfeather saw past his humor and cheerful composure. She saw a tired and sad tom.

"I'm sorry. But...maybe we rushed into this. We're young." Nightfeather knew him, and this wasn't just about their age.

Nightfeather stepped closer, voice almost a whisper. "Stop lying to me. What's wrong? Whar happened?"

Sparrowwing took a step back. "I-I d-don't know," he meowed hurriedly, looking flustered."

Nightfeather glanced around. Cats were staring at them, some looking annoyed, others sympathetic. She searched until she found one. Rainheart. The gray tabby tom looked smug and happy at the same time.

Nightfeather took a deep breath and turned back to Sparrowwing. "So?" She croaked. "What are you saying?"

Sparrowwing frowned and flicked his tail. "I... I think we should... take a break. You know."

Nightfeather closed her eyes as her heart seemed to shatter. Had every promise been false? Every 'I love you' was a lie. "Okay," she meowed, voice cracking. "Fine. Go."

The cats watching began to awkwardly turn away. Nightfeather bit her lip and turned away. She couldn't stand to look at his face anymore. He had lied. She hated how he made her feel. Like she was worthless. Like she was just another obstacle in his life that needed to be pushed aside.

"Oh, Nightfeather..." She heard a sympathetic voice and looked up.

"Did you see it coming?" Leaftail inquired gently, turning around. Nightfeather slowly padded after her.

"No!" Nightfeather answered. "This is all Rainheart's fault." Just by listening to herself, she could tell that she sounded desperate. Desperate to blame someone? She thought.

Leaftail sighed. "You changed in the last few days. He didn't like that. As for Rainheart..."

Nightfeather shook her head. "He's a liar. I thought he loved me. He told me he loved me." Her tone was bitter.

Leaftail avoided her gaze and sat down. They were at the very edge of the clearing, shaded by weeping willows.

"Nightfeather, I know I shouldn't tell you this..."

Nightfeather immediately stiffened and narrowed her eyes. "What is it?" She inquired sharply.

Leaftail winced. "There's someone else..." she whispered.

Nightfeather stared at her, jaws open. That wasn't possible. "What? Who? How do you know?"

Leaftail squirmed, and Nightfeather could tell she didn't approve of their conversation. "I... I walked in on them. " she paused. "Sparrowwing and a rogue. About half a moon ago."

Nightfeather felt her vision began to blur. "No... Why..."

Leaftail got up and wrapped her tail around the black she-cat. "I'm sorry, sweetie. They didn't know I saw. In my opinion, you were better off without him. He's unfaithful."

Nightfeather got up and shook her off. "Thanks f-for telling me," She stammered, mine hazy. This was all too sudden. Sparrowwing? With another she-cat? It was almost unimaginable. He was so sincere with her. Nightfeather desperately tried to push it out of her mind. Maybe she could confront him later, get some answers.

"Now, Nightfeather. I don't want you to do anything brash. Got it?" Leaftail said firmly.

Nightfeather glanced at the brown tabby she-cat, but was cut off by a cry.

"WindClan are here!" Mistflower was standing in the center of the clearing. Behind her stood a long line of warriors and apprentices.

Nightfeather took in the cats, eyes wide. They all had a skinny, lithe build, and many of them had long legs. She glanced down at her own paws. They were bigger than that of WindClan. She had seen them before, but it seemed different this time. They all looked so fierce.

Flamestar steped forward to give Shadestar a respectful dip of her head. The pale brown tom returned the gesture.

"We have come." She meowed crisply.
"As if we have to be told," Nightfeather whipped around in the direction of the hiss. An annoyed Addertooth was glaring at the moor cats.

Shadestar nodded. "Yes. Did you scout out the border?"

A brown she-cat with long whiskers stepped forward, tail stiff. "Affirmative. The borders were clear, though we did notice a bit of activity by the lake. There were strange scents, mixed with those of RiverClan. Rogue scents."

A black tom stood beside her. "Yep. I led the patrol to ShadowClan. We stopped by the border, because there was a patrol. They were hostile."

Shadestar seemed to roll this information over in his head before lifting his tail. "Alright then. Mistflower will lead the first patrol. You will travel with WindClan, and launch the main attack."

Mistflower padded forward, gaze cool. "Pebblepelt, Addertooth, Echowing, Wolffur, Leaftail, Rainheart, and Sparrowwing, you're on the main patrol. Echowing, would you like to bring Sunpaw along? Rainheart and Wolffur, you too."

Echowing shook her head. Rainheart copied her, but Wolffur nodded. "Yeah."

Sunpaw and Thornpaw hissed, but Runningpaw looked a bit cheerful. He bounded forward to stand beside his mentor.

Shadestar started again. "I'll be leading the next patrol. Nightfeather, you'll be coming. Snowstripe, you're guarding camp with the apprentices. Flamestar?"

Flamestar turned to her Clan. "Yes. Alright. The patrol will consist of Owlbelly, Branchclaw, Larkflight, Kestrelpaw, Cinderleaf, Darkfur, Antleg, and Woodpaw."

Nightfeather watched, a bit excited to be working with another Clan. A gray and white tom stepped forward next to her, followed by a dark brown tom with a lithe build, a silver tabby she-cat, a pale brown she-cat, a white tortoise-shell she-cat, a black tom with gray stripes, a dark russet tom with stubby legs, and a brown tom with white paws. They all didn't seem too pleased by the size difference. Nightfeather suddenly felt a little awkward, and stepped closer to her leader. He looked down at her, a bit amused.

Flamestar flicked her tail. "Mintlily, Raystrike, Featherbreeze, Heatherpaw, Snakefang, and Treepaw, you're with me. Everyone else, stay to guard the island."

Shadestar faced her. "How about your camp?"

Flamestar raised her chin. "The rest of my cats are guarding camp."

Grudgingly, Shadestar nodded and turned back to his patrol. "Alright then. The main patrol will attack directly, using a route we have already figured out. My patrol will linger to secure the border before joining. Flamestar's patrol will ambush the ShadowClan camp. My patrol will later join them. Any questions?"

Nightfeather glanced around her. Every cat looked astonished at the plan, and she couldn't help but share their surprise. There was an awful lot of activity and holes. What if they were too late?

A cat she identified as Owlbelly raised his tail. "Are you sure that's a good plan? What if the ShadowClan camp has more cats than the RiverClan camp?"

Flamestar eyed him. "That's why we have messengers. WindClan messengers, infact."

Owlbelly looked absolutely mortified. He dipped his head and gave her a quick apology.

Shadestar pricked his ears curiously. "Messengers?"

Flamestar frowned. "I apologize. I must have forgot. Yes, we have three messengers to travel back and forth."

Shadestar sighed. "Alright then. Everybody, let's go!"

Nightfeather looked up to see Mistflower's patrol dissapear behind the line of bushes. Her breath caught in her throat as Sparrowwing's gaze boared into hers. She narrowed her eyes, hoping he got the message. The brown tabby tom gave her a cool nod before padding away.

What do you think about this development? Don't worry, it'll matter soon. X3

Also! SnowstripexMistflower? Yay or nay?

I really like it!

god my story sucks.

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Sorry guys! .-.

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