Talonswipe and Windblaze were on a late morning border patrol when suddenly, twelve large wolves exploded from behind the bushes and surrounded them. Talonswipe and the rest of his patrol spreaded open their wings and hissed threateningly at the growling wolves, trying to unnerve them but not a single wolf recoiled. Then the wolves parted and a white barn owl with cold blue eyes stalked towards Talonswipe, an intimidating black wolf stood at her side.

"I assume that you are the Snowie's second in command?" The white barn owl asked, her voice was icy as frost.

"Yes, I am." Talonswipe answered, his eyes narrowed.

"Then take me to your leader," the barn owl demanded.

"Who do you think you are? We don't take orders from the scarred wolf!" Windblaze hissed at her. "Get off our territory."

The black wolf stepped dauntingly towards Windblaze and his dark shadow towered over her. Windblaze quickly stepped away from the wolf but she continued to glower angrily at the barn owl.

"Fine, we'll take you to our leader on one condition," Talonswipe hissed. "You leave all your wolves right here, my patrol will stand guard and keep an eye on them, deal?"

The white barn owl was silent for a moment, deciding whether to agree to it without a fight. Then she nodded. 

"Very well. Flintscar, stay put with the others and wait." The white barn owl ordered the black wolf.

Talonswipe turned to Windblaze and whispered, "I'll take that owl to Ember, you take charge and I'll send a few more Snowies here to help just in case it's a trap."

Windblaze nodded. "Be careful," She whispered before heading off to join with the rest of the Snowie patrol. Talonswipe glanced at her and the patrol one last time before leading the barn owl deeper into their territory towards the Snowie tree.

When they arrived, Talonswipe signaled to a another border patrol that was about to leave. The leading Snowie of the patrol glanced in fright at the barn owl then quickly scurried over to Talonswipe.

"Head to the Northern border- there are thirteen wolves and my patrol may need assistance; gather more Snowies just in case." Talonswipe quietly ordered the Snowie so that the barn owl wouldn't hear. The Snowie nodded and scurried away to gather more Snowies for the patrol. Talonswipe led the barn owl to Ember's nest and as he had predicted, Ember was already defensive and ready to attack.

"What's that owl doing in here?" Ember growled, his feathers bristled with fear and growing hostility.

"I have demands from my master; the great scarred wolf." The barn owl began. "We are tracking down three fugitives which you have-"

"Three fugitives we don't know and will never meet," Ember interrupted. "Go back to where you came from because there's no point in asking us."

"Fine, then your friend shall suffer the consequences." The barn owl snorted.

"Wait!" Talonswipe hooted. "What "friend"?"

"The burrowing owl named Dawnwing; she claims that you are her friends and right now, we have her captive." The barn owl smiled. "If she's not your friend, then there's no point in keeping her and she'll be killed. Here's your choice; tell me where Moonshadow, the cat and the fox are and Dawnwing will not be harmed. If not, Dawnwing will die."

"Who's Dawnw-" Ember hooted in confusion but Talonswipe intervened. "Fine, we'll tell you. Just give Dawnwing back to us first and then I'll tell you."

"No, the information comes first, then Dawnwing." The barn owl hooted firmly.

"Fine, but you must give Dawnwing back to us tomorrow at dawn. Moonshadow and the others are heading South." Talonswipe lied.

"Tell me the truth or Dawnwing dies," the barn owl hissed. "We've spotted them north, how can they be at the south?"

"They're heading down south because they're trying to escape from you," Talonswipe persuaded her into buying his lie. "They know that you want them so they're attempting to mislead you guys so that you can't catch them. They told me their plan before going north and heading back down south again. Also, they didn't care about Dawnwing so they're leaving south without her." Talonswipe added.

"Hmm, that sounds like a diversion plan and a pretty good one too." The barn owl thought aloud, believing Talonswipe's lie. "Very well, tomorrow at dawn Dawnwing will be escorted to your border, only if the scarred wolf agrees."

"Hey! But you said-" Talonswipe acted shocked to make his lie seem much more realistic, "but you said that Dawnwing will certainly be given back, you liar!"

The barn owl smiled with satisfaction then left the nest and flew back into the oak forest to gather her wolves and leave Snowie territory. Ember placed his wing on Talonswipe's shoulder to comfort him. "Son, I thought you knew better than to fall for the scarred wolf's tricks, now your friends will be in deep trouble."

Talonswipe looked at his father and grinned. "I lied, I knew it was trap."

***

Beesting and the other ginger cats led Stardust, Moonshadow and Robintail into the Dawntreader's camp. A couple of ginger cats smelt their foreign scent and turned to stare curiously at the newcomers. A few cats looked at Robintail warily; they were a little uneasy with having a fox in the middle of their camp. Stardust began to feel shy of meeting any of the other cats' gaze directly so she looked around the Dawntreader's camp instead. Tall grass surrounded a small clearing which was where the camp was, there were no trees overhead so the camp and most of the Dawntreader's territory was exposed to the sun and the sky. Stardust squinted her eyes as she looked back the way they had come. 

I wonder if Dawnwing's okay... Stardust longed to have Dawnwing back; Stardust felt a little lonely without having the caring burrowing owl by her side.

Just then, a bright orange tom appeared behind the fronds of tall grass, his pelt shone brightly like the sun and his amber eyes glowed. The Dawntreaders made way for the orange tom as he padded towards Stardust, Moonshadow and Robintail. Stardust watched as the ginger and white she-cat trotted towards him and murmured something in his ear. Then, she stepped back and the orange tom looked towards her.

"Come inside," The orange tom led them into a large underground den, Stardust guessed that this was the leader's den. Stardust and the others entered the den and settled down on the sandy floor.

Then the orange tom spoke. "Why haven't you returned last night and who are they?" He gazed curiously at Stardust, Moonshadow and Robintail.

"Sunblaze, we didn't return last night from hunting because they-" the ginger and white she-cat flicked her tail towards Moonshadow, Stardust and Robintail- "were in trouble with the scarred wolf's followers. We managed to chase the wolves away but one of their friends was captured." The she-cat finished.

"Well done for fighting off those wolves, I knew they would attack at some point." Sunblaze praised Beesting, the she-cat, the ginger tom and the two younger ginger cats. Turning to Moonshadow, Sunblaze introduced himself. "I am Sunblaze, leader of the Dawntreaders. Who are you and who is the friend of yours that the scarred wolf has captured?"

"My name is Moonshadow, these are my friends Stardust and Robintail- Robintail may be a fox but he's no harm to any of your cats. Our owl friend, Dawnwing has been captured by the scarred wolf. We are very grateful for the help of your cats last night when we were attacked." Moonshadow hooted.

"I see, I'm very sorry for the loss of your friend Dawnwing." Sunblaze meowed. "In the meantime, you can stay at our camp until you're ready to travel."

"Um, Sunblaze?" Beesting stepped forward. "I think that there's still a chance to save Dawnwing, we could send a rescue patrol and save her."

"And by doing so, we risk the safety of our own warriors," Sunblaze told Beesting. "I know that you want to help and prove your bravery but the chances and the risks are too great, I'm afraid that there's nothing we can do to save her."

"There is always a way," Beesting mewed determinedly. "I really want to help them to save Dawnwing and I believe that there's still a chance that we can save Dawnwing." He glanced at Stardust.

"I agree with Beesting," the ginger and white she-cat stood next to Beesting, backing him up. "I want to go and help too, but only if you'll let me." She mewed.

"We would also like to go too," one of the younger ginger cats mewed. "We agree with Beesting."

"Sunblaze, I hate to go against your orders but there's still a chance that we might be able to save Dawnwing." The ginger tom meowed.

Sunblaze was quiet for a moment, deciding what to do. "Very well, since Dawnwing's life is in great danger while she remains with the scarred wolf, you may go to rescue her tonight." Sunblaze agreed. "But if the rescue plan fails, return immediately back to camp. I do not want to lose any of your lives to that wolf, understood?"

"Yes Sunblaze," Beesting and the other ginger cats meowed.

"We appreciate your help Sunblaze, we would also like to go on the rescue patrol," Moonshadow hooted.

"Very well but first let our Healer, Flower, see to your wounds before you go," Sunblaze meowed.

Beesting and the other cats led Moonshadow and Robintail out of the den. Stardust was about to follow when Sunblaze walked towards her. "Stardust, wait a moment. Can I ask you something?"

"Yes?" Stardust mewed in surprise.

"Are you a Silver Viel?"

"Um, yes. I am." Stardust answered.

"Are you the only survivor?"

"I guess so, we haven't seen any other cats like me." Stardust replied.

Sunblaze sighed sadly. "The leader of the Silver Viels was my friend, it was brave of him to stand up to the scarred wolf but battle and bloodshed ended him and his clan." He murmured.

Suddenly, Stardust sensed Ash's presence beside her. Looking to her right, she saw him gazing mournfully at Sunblaze. "Tell Sunblaze that I am here, just invisible. Tell him not to worry so much, I'll be at his side and I'll always be his friend." Ash meowed.

Wait, you're the Silver Viel's leader?!  Stardust exclaimed in her mind. Somehow her father's spirit could only hear her words spoken in her head. If she talked to him out loud, he could not hear her.

"Yes, tell him you're my daughter." Ash mewed.

"Sunblaze, I'm Ash's daughter." Stardust told Sunblaze. "My father's still here, just invisible and he says that you shouldn't worry too much. He'll always be your friend."

Sunblaze stared in surprise and shock at what Stardust said. "I kind of guessed that you would be his daughter, you have the same courageous spirit and the same burning amber eyes like his and your mother Lilac's silver fur. I'm pleased to have met you Stardust."

"Me too," Stardust mewed.

Sunblaze dipped his head to her and Stardust returned the gesture before exiting the den and joining the others.

***

"What happened?" Moonshadow asked Stardust when he saw her padding towards him.

"Nothing, just talked to Sunblaze about something. Nothing important." Stardust mewed casually.

"Okay," Moonshadow replied. He watched as Flower, a ginger tortoiseshell with green eyes, treated Stardust's wounds. When Flower had finished, Stardust trotted towards him and together they headed over to where Robintail, Beesting and the other ginger cats were eating some prey.

"Hi," Beesting greeted them. He moved aside and made some space for Stardust to sit.

"Hi," Stardust mewed as she padded over to sit beside Beesting.

"We saved some prey for you," the ginger and white she-cat mewed cheerfully, she gently pushed two mice towards them with her paw.

"Thanks," Stardust blinked gratefully.

Moonshadow sat next to Robintail, he looked at Stardust and wondered why she was sitting next to Beesting.

"Okay so, I'm Brightflame," the ginger and white she-cat introduced herself.

"I'm Streamtail and this is my brother Redstorm," one of the young ginger cats mewed. Streamtail was a bright ginger tom and Redstorm was a darker ginger tom, both the litter mates had light blue eyes.

"My name is Driftclaw," the ginger tom meowed. Driftclaw was a black striped ginger tom with sharp yellow eyes.

"And I'm Beesting, if you didn't know that already." Beesting mewed, glancing at Stardust again.

"It's great to meet all of you," Brightflame mewed happily, her blue eyes sparkled.

"Yeah, it's good to meet new friends," Stardust mewed and she looked at Beesting. "What's it like to be a Dawntreader?" Stardust asked.

"Well, we are a clan. As an apprentice, we have to hunt for the clan, learn to fight and yeah, basically just learning stuff. It's pretty fun too." Beesting meowed.

"Also, we have to stick to the rules." Brightflame mewed. "There's a code that all the cats in a clan must follow; we have to be loyal to our clan, we need to protect each other, we must-"

"Yeah, tons of rules you don't need to read out loud," Redstorm interrupted Brightflame's listing of rules.

"Hey! But the rules are really important!" Brightflame protested.

"You don't need to read out all of them. Besides, there are so many rules in the code that I bet you can't recall all of them." Streamtail added.

"Yes I can." Brightflame insisted.

"No way I don't believe you." Redstorm meowed.

"Sure, I can list them out now."

"NO!" Streamtail yowled.

"YES!" Brightflame yowled back.

"NO!"

"YES!"

"Do they always argue?" Stardust asked Beesting as the three apprentices quarreled.

"Yeah, they're younger than me. There aren't many cats that are my age," Beesting meowed. "Me, Brightflame, Redstorm and Streamtail are the only apprentices at the moment."

"Oh," Stardust mewed.

"Anyways, Brightflame's just really obsessed with following the rules and those two litter mates are rule breakers. One time, they went out hunting and ate all the prey they caught when they were supposed to bring it back for everyone to share, they got punished but I'm not sure if they're gonna stop doing it again. It's not the first time."

"Well, looks like Dawntreader life is kind of interesting, I guess," Stardust replied.

"Yeah, I better break those three up before they start clawing each other." Beesting got up and tried to break up Brightflame, Redstorm and Streamtail's argument before it got any worse.

Moonshadow tried to block out the argument's noise and looked up at the sky, the sun was starting to set and it would soon be time to go and rescue Dawnwing.