A few days had passed, and Fernpaw had continued to distance herself from Mosspaw to "work on her training". Mosspaw had been sorrowful and angry the first day she had rejected him, but now he barely cared anymore.

            I don't love Fernpaw, he thought. I have to work on training.

            He awoke in his nest, glancing around. Fernpaw had already left the den.

            Stop thinking about her, he thought. She's none of your concern.

            With that, he stretched, padding out of the apprentice den. Smokestar was already up, sharing a squirrel with Cloudfur, his deputy and brother.

            "Oh, there you are, Mosspaw," Smokestar said, glancing up at the tom.

            "Are we ready to train?" Mosspaw asked. Focus on training, focus on training.

            "Are you sure you don't want to get something to eat first?" Smokestar asked.

            "I'm fine," Mosspaw said. "Please, can we just start training. I want to be the best warrior ever in SnowClan!"

            "It takes a lot of time...and you need to keep up your energy," Smokestar said, pushing a mouse towards him.

            Mosspaw groaned, gobbling the mouse up quickly. He was done within seconds, waiting only now for Smokestar.

            "Boy, do you have an enthusiastic apprentice," Cloudfur laughed.

            Smokestar nodded, rising from the ground. "All right, let's go," he grumbled.

            Mosspaw bounced up and down, following Smokestar out into the forest where they would begin to train.

            "So, what are we going to learn today?" Mosspaw asked, excitement bursting through him.

            "Patience," Smokestar said.

            "Huh?"

            "Becoming a warrior, catching prey, learning moves, it all takes patience. Something you lack," Smokestar said, looking straight at Mosspaw.

            "I'm patient!" Mosspaw argued.

            Smokestar laughed. "No, you aren't," he said, swaying his tail as he walked away. Mosspaw followed, catching up to him.

            "I am patient!"

            Smokestar did not say anything, but instead stopped several pawsteps away from a rabbit.

            "I'll get it," Mosspaw whispered.

            "No, you must use patience. The rabbit is coming in this direction. If you go after it now, you'll scare it away."

            "Not if we angle around it. We could surround it, so that way it couldn't escape!" Mosspaw pointed out.

            "Perhaps, but this is a lesson you need to know," Smokestar instructed.

            Sighing, Mosspaw and Smokestar sat motionless in the forest as the rabbit slowly made its way near them. Each second felt like an eternity, and it was as if the rabbit refused to move.

            "Can't we just go after it?" Mosspaw groaned.

            "No," Smokestar said.

            Sighing, they waited longer and longer. Finally, Mosspaw couldn't take it anymore. He leapt at the rabbit, beginning to chase after it.

            The rabbit, scared and frightened, ran away from the unpatient Mosspaw, squirming into a small hole.

            "Fox dung!" Mosspaw spat, clawing at the hole.

            "If you had patience, you'd be able to get that rabbit," Smokestar grumbled, padding past Mosspaw. "I say we work on some battle moves right now. Do you agree?"

            Mosspaw nodded, padding away from the rabbit hole that concealed the prey inside.

            The two padded through the forest, Mosspaw keeping his eyes out for any sign of prey that he could catch...without waiting for it.

            As they came to a clearing, Smokestar stopped. "NightClan," he grumbled.

            Mosspaw wriggled his nose at the horrible smell of the NightClan cats. "Why is their scent all over here? I don't see any cats."

            "No, they're all gone," Smokestar said. "I should've known. They've been in this clearing, catching prey no doubt. They've been wanting this clearing for awhile now, for hunting purposes. It seems that they've ignored the borders."

            Mosspaw unsheathed his claws. "Stupid mouse-brains! What are you going to do about it, Smokestar?"

            "Nothing for now," Smokestar said. "We'll redo the borders, and if they cross it again, we'll confront them."

            They walked through the clearing, marking the borders once more. Mosspaw growled as he saw the bones of the prey that they had caught. Thieves.

            I'll have to tell Fernpaw about this, Mosspaw thought. He then shook his head. No, Fernpaw didn't want to be around him anymore, and he didn't care about her anymore.

            After marking the borders, Smokestar decided to stay in the clearing with Mosspaw, just in case any more NightClan cats wanted to show up to steal more prey.

            They began to practice fighting moves, mostly just practicing old ones that Mosspaw had learned, though Smokestar taught Mosspaw a few more as well.

            "What happens if NightClan shows up? A battle?"

            "I hope not," Smokestar growled. "Now come on. Let's see your attack moves."

            Mosspaw nodded, leaping at Smokestar. Smokestar dodged, Mosspaw landing on the ground beside him. Mosspaw then rolled over, beginning to claw at his paws, knocking Smokestar down. Before he could get up, however, Mosspaw stood up on top of him, claiming victory.

            "Marvelous!" Smokestar congratulated him.

            Mosspaw smiled, getting off the tom. "Do you think I'd do well in a real battle?"

            "Maybe," Smokestar said. "Let's just hope you never have to."

            "But isn't that the real reason we become warriors?" Mosspaw asked. "To battle against one another?"

            "No," Smokestar replied. "The real reason we become warriors is to protect our clanmates. Battles may be fought, but it is out of the loyalty to our clan, not just the fun of it. Battles are terrifying, Mosspaw, and you'll never know how terrifying you are until you experience them."

            "Have you ever been in a battle, Smokestar? I'm sorry, that's a silly question," Mosspaw said.

            "Several, actually," Smokestar said. "But my first battle was the worst. You've heard those kit stories about Moonstar and MoonClan, have you not?"

            "Oh, I've heard them," Mosspaw said. "Those are real?"

            "Yes," Smokestar replied. "The battle against MoonClan happened when I was only a young apprentice, around your age. It was terrifying. Those cats were blood thirsty and cruel. Unlike regular clan cats, they would kill any cat in their way. I had several wounds, though I survived. My littermate was not so lucky."

            "Oh, I'm sorry," Mosspaw said. "I didn't know." There was a split pause, then Mosspaw spoke again. "Did my mother do well in the battle?"

            Smokestar stiffened. "Yes, yes she did. She could not rescue my sister, but she did bury her before she became crowfood."

            "Were you in a different litter than Skycloud?"

            "Yes," Smokestar replied. "My siblings and I were the younger litter. Skycloud, Petalnose, and Cloudfur were the older litter. We both have the same parents, just different litters."

            Mosspaw's question had finally been answered, but he had began to question Smokestar's past. Smokestar had already mentioned that his sister died, but he had said siblings in his litter, not sibling. Did he have more littermates that died? Or were they still alive? Mosspaw decided it was best to stop asking questions.

            "Shall we train now?"

            Mosspaw nodded. They trained throughout the day, Mosspaw attempting to master his moves. There was no sign of any NightClan cat in the clearing for they had probably seen Mosspaw and Smokestar and were smart enough to stay away.

            At the end of the day, the two headed back to camp, and Mosspaw anxiously looked around for Fernpaw. He spotted her sharing a squirrel with Waterdrop, and it sounded like they were discussing training.

            Stop thinking about her, Mosspaw thought.

            Sighing, he padded back into the apprentice den, lying down in his nest. He just wished that Fernpaw- why couldn't he stop thinking about Fernpaw?

            He closed his eyes, ignoring his growling stomach. I wish Snakekit was here, he thought. I wish Ginger was here, Skycloud, Mossclaw, everyone...I wish everyone was still alive. More thoughts consumed him until he finally fell into a blissful sleep.