The sun was high in the sky by the time Shadewhisker and I were crouched nearby the fresh-kill pile, sharing tongues as we discussed a schedule for the training of our apprentices. It is getting close to the time that they are given their warrior names, which is very fortunate for us...as we need a great amount of warriors to go against Suntail and his band of rogues. I hope that Whitepaw can prove to me that he can posses the great amount of strength that I believe he has. A yowl of distress broke out in the clearing, Shadewhisker and I noticed that it came from Blockheart. We bounded over to him. "What's the matter?" I asked, urgently. "It's Stonetail! She's missing!" I relaxed for a moment, remembering that Stonetail had left out earlier to go hunting. Blockheart's love for the pale ginger she-cat never went unnoticed, but sometimes I think he's a little overprotective towards her. "Stonetail left to go hunting, Blockheart. I'm sure she's fine." I reassured him. "She has been out for quite a long time, though." Shadewhisker said. "Then go find her." The voice belonged to Darkclaw. "She wasn't supposed to leave camp without permission, anyway." My eyes narrowed, if that's the case...he should've gone after her when she left! Sometimes I think Icestar made a poor choice when choosing him as deputy. "Alright, should we round up a few cats for a search party?" I asked. Darkclaw nodded. "With the amount of dangers that we face, it would be ideal." I dipped my head before me, Blockheart, and Shadewhisker bounded off to the warrior's den in search of a few extra cats to bring on our journey.

***

We followed Stonetail's scent to the edge of the Twoleg path, where it began to get stale the farther we traveled. Lionstep and Scarletblaze flanked me and Shadewhisker, looking determined...but still worried for their missing friend. Stonetail was strong, but if Raggedfur is the one to drive her out of the camp...she develops this tendency to not think straight. So that leads to us hoping that we won't find her dead body lying in the woods. A screech for help sounded off in the distance, and soon came Stonetail running for her life...bleeding from a small gash in her shoulder. "Stonetail!" Blockheart called. "Thank StarClan we've found you!"
"I'm not alone, Blockheart." Stonetail gasped. "I was being chased by a—" She was interrupted by the sound of a distant snarling, and our attention was directed to the very thing that was chasing the ginger she-cat. A dog with the body structure of a massive wolf charged straight towards us, and we all leaped out of it's way...avoiding it's gaping jaws. It has a collar...mouse brained Twolegs and their dumb pets! They always let their dogs loose in this part of the forest, which is more of a reason for us to move to a different territory. If only Icestar wasn't so stubborn. The dog sniffed around before spotting Scarletblaze hiding in a thorn bush, and barked fiercely as it struggled to grab her. "Get away from her, you big dumb mutt!" Yowled Lionstep. He bounded out of his hiding spot and bit down hard on the dog's leg, causing it to back off from Scarletblaze...as well as giving her the upper hand. She launched herself out of the thorn bush, and onto the dog's head...biting down on it's ear as her claws dug deep into the sides of it's face. I gestured for Blockheart to protect Stonetail, and dove into the action as well. Our knowledge of how to use this territory to our advantage is this dog's disadvantage, which is why I'm hoping that one of my special fighting moves will work. I darted up the nearest tree, and jumped off the branch before landing on the dog's back and sinking my fangs into the back of it's neck. Shadewhisker eventually jumped into the fray as well, and helped Lionstep by grabbing the dog's other leg. With all of us now piling on the dog, it collapsed under pressure...kicking and squirming as an attempt to shake us off. It soon managed to escape our grasp...but instead of trying to fight back, it ran off back in the direction that it came from.  "We...we actually did it!" Scarletblaze said, breathing heavily. "Heck yeah, we did!" Lionstep added, as he shook a bunch of dirt and dust from his pelt. "No dog of any shape or size can withstand the never ending storm of power from DarknessClan!" I suddenly felt the fur on my shoulders start to bristle with anger. "Storm of power? Have you forgotten the fox attack we had back when Wolfstar was leader?" Shadewhisker gave me a surprised glance. "You're still mad about that? That was so many moons ago, Tigerstripe!" He said. "It's hard to forget when we keep getting attacked by everything the Twolegs throw at us!" I said. "Our Clan was strong, before those foxes took everything from us!"
"Tigerstripe, a decent amount of our cats were elders when the foxes attacked." Stonetail retorted. "But what about our parents, then?" I demanded. "The only one that just barely survived was Bearclaw's father, Volefang." My friends said nothing more, and I wasn't sure if they thought I was right...or if they were just downright worried about me. I've never been able to forget the death of my parents, Honeyflower and Barkfur, or the other warriors that I had made friends with during my time as an apprentice. There have been times when I'd be able to put it out of mind for a while, but every time a dog wanders into our territory...it's only a reminder of that traumatizing tragedy. My eyes fell upon the wound in Stonetail's shoulder. "Let's get back to camp." I said. I padded ahead of them, and they silently followed behind.