A light dawn rain showered the forest with sparkling drops that clung to the leaves and made the undergrowth shimmer. A patrol of cats moved like spirits between the trees, disturbing not even the smallest creature.

A sturdy tom with slate gray fur flecked a shade darker led. He wove between arching ferns with a practiced ease that only a ThunderClan cat could possess. Behind him padded a variety of pelts that matched his gait and followed smoothly.

The cats' pace, yet alert, carried with it an air of sleep due to the fact that they had awoken moments earlier. Of the group, two young apprentices were the most attentive. The smaller one had her tabby fur puffed out to dispel the chilly mist while the taller she-cat trodded along without paying mind to the weather.

Half a moon had passed since the two found a way to trick the traps that had threatened the Clan, thus saving them from any more unfortunate accidents. The clanmates were now able to make border rounds without avoiding every leaf-strewn portion of ground and clinging to worn trails. They could feel safe in their own territory once more.

The tom at the head of the patrol looked over his shoulder. "Be cautious. There have been stray ShadowClan scents found on our side of the border and they could still be lingering about." He then returned his attention to the path without waiting for a response.

The shorter apprentice craned her head as her friend whispered, "You know what, Willowpaw? If we meet any ShadowClan fleabags, I'll beat their fur off personally!" She flexed her claws against the ground and showed her bright sharp teeth.

Willowpaw flicked her ears as a heavy drop fell from a leaf onto her head. "We haven't really been taught that many fighting moves yet, Frostpaw." She pointed out. After all the stories she had heard about the cruel ShadowClan warriors, she wasn't sure if she wanted to meet one just quite yet.

"It doesn't matter, I'll shred their ears," Frostpaw said matter of factly. She quickened her pace and waved her tail high in the air.

Willowpaw scrambled to catch up. With a mischievous glint in her eyes, she teased, "I'm sure you will... will go running back to Fernbelly!"

Frostpaw hissed lightly and cuffed her friend on the ear before she had the opportunity to dart away. Ashpelt looked up and glared at the two, snorting in disapproval. Willowpaw bit back a loud mrrow of amusement and looked down at the ground to hide her quivering whiskers.

The patrol continued to the border in silence, with only the sound of rain to fill their ears. Yet another chilly breeze plastered their fur to their sides, but this time it brought with it the unmistakable musk of ShadowClan.

The effect was immediate. Sootclaw slowed his pace and motioned with his tail for the others to do the same. Willowpaw's spine bristled in anticipation. Frostpaw's father was a noble warrior. Surely if they came across ShadowClan, his last option would be a fight?

She was sure that other cats were nearby though. The smell was so strong Willowpaw was convinced that she would choke on it. Sootclaw could tell as well, for he signaled the patrol to be on guard; an unneeded gesture, really. All the cats were already on high alert.

"Why are we so scared? This is our territory!" Frostpaw hissed into her friend's ear. But Willowpaw's breath was coming too shallow to answer properly. Meanwhile, Sootclaw continued to step along until they came right up to the border markers, where the cloying stench of ShadowClan hung heavily on each and every tree and bush. The tension that hung in the air was as obvious as the rain soaking their fur.

Just as the patrol was about to refresh their own scents, a lean ShadowClan patrol emerged from behind the pine trees of their territory. Willowpaw realized how mean they looked with their dripping pelts and cold, glimmering eyes. She felt her heart hammering in her chest like a trapped bird. Frantic.

Sootclaw tensed his shoulders but otherwise greeted them calmly. "Duskfall," dipping his head, he greeted the gray warrior.

Duskfall acknowledged him with only the slightest of nods, all the while never dropping his intense gaze. "Frogstar has sent us to speak with Badgerstar," he meowed, voice raspy. Willowpaw noticed him dig his paws into the ground ever so slightly. She narrowed her eyes at him.

The tall ThunderClan tom straightened up, growing several mouse-lengths in height. "And why can't Frogstar come himself, if this is so important?" He asked cooly. Duskfall set his jaw before continuing.

"That is our business. And if you must know why we came, It is because your cats are stealing our prey!"

The ThunderClan patrol's eyes widened in shock.

Ashpelt lashed his tail furiously. "We wouldn't want any of your soggy toads! In fact we have scented your stench on our side!" He growled. This time, Sootclaw didn't try to calm him down. Willowpaw imagined Ashpelt to be a fierce fighter when angry.

In response, both patrols unsheathed their claws and placed their paws firmly on the slippery forest floor.

"I don't believe that!" Duskfall spat, taking a threatening step forward. Sootclaw realized what happened and shot a warning glance at Ashpelt, who was too busy glaring to take the hint.

Turning back to Duskfall, Sootclaw mustered all the level-headedness he could manage and said through somewhat gritted teeth, "We don't want to fight, Duskfall. This--"

He was cut off by the ShadowClan warrior leaping with claws outstretched and tackling him to the ground. Willowpaw gasped when no later than a heartbeat later, he bellowed, "ShadowClan attack!"

She saw cats flying everywhere as screeches filled the air and shook her bones.

"Father!" Frostpaw yowled. She dashed over to where Sootclaw was rolling with Duskfall in a hissing tussle.

Willowpaw took quick notice of the scene. Fadedleaf and Ashpelt were fighting side by side against two huge ShadowClan warriors. Volefur was standing his ground against a sleek black cat who struck quick like a snake before recoiling and going on the defensive. But before she could seek out Frostpaw, she came barreling up with an apprentice hard on her paws. "Help me get rid of this fleabag," she hissed, and whirled around to face the opponent.

The apprentice skidded to a short stop on the slick grass and almost ended up crashing into them. Willowpaw scrambled out of the way while Frostpaw rammed the cat so that she lost her balance and fell. Willowpaw took advantage of the opportunity and raked her paw down the apprentice's exposed side. Both she-cats cringed as claw met skin and blood blossomed to the surface. The gray apprentice stumbled backwards despite her friend's rabid "again! Get her on the snout!"

The ShadowClan cat was quick to react on her hesitation. She was back on her paws in an instant and dodged Frostpaw's well-aimed swipe.

Sneering, the apprentice lunged at Willowpaw quicker than she had time to respond to. She felt her breath leave as she was body slammed, and a sharp stinging pain erupted at her ear. It grew unnaturally warm and she knew that her enemy's attack had found its mark. She thought she could hear a caterwaul from the corner of her hazy awareness, and then the weight crushing her was lifted. Willowpaw looked up just in time to see Frostpaw writhing on the ground with the apprentice and raking her belly furiously, which gave her a chance to recover.

Looking around, she saw Volefur was fending off two she-cats. He caught her eye in between swipes and gave a small shake of his head. Willowpaw understood the message and whipped back to where her friend was fighting. Frostpaw paused for a heartbeat to take a breath, whereas the ShadowClan apprentice didn't need one since she had played defensive.

Willowpaw watched helplessly as the apprentice grasped Frostpaw with thorn sharp claws and bit down on her shoulder so hard it tore a throat burning wail from her. Frostpaw than cried again and fell backwards onto the ground, motionless. The ShadowClan cat planted one paw firmly on her stomach and raised the other just above the head.

An intense haze of rage, terror and pure instinct overcame Willowpaw, and with strength she didn't know she had, launched herself at the enemy. She was caught by surprise and hissed as Willowpaw rolled her onto her back and pinned down her flailing claws. It was her turn for revenge. She knew there would be just enough time to land a blow. One with just enough pain to make that frog-breath think twice about attacking ThunderClan again.

But as the dripping wet tabby unsheathed her claws and decided where to attack, the pounding in her heart slowed her speed and clarity of thought.

The ShadowClan apprentice made no effort to escape and instead pulled her ears back and jeered, "Too scared to fight back, kittypet?"

Willowpaw locked right onto the apprentice's eyes and drew a sharp breath at the sight of her reflection. Time seemed to slow as she absorbed every detail that terrified her beyond a hundred badgers. There she stood, light specks of fur stained red dusting her nose and all around her ear, where she could see the blood dribbling out. With her fur flattened against her frame, she looked desperate and crazed. Not at all with who she had imagined herself to be in battle. I look like a monster... She realized.

Unconsciously she took a pace back, allowing the ShadowClan apprentice to wriggle free. She placed a heavy swat on the top of Willowpaw's head before darting away. But the pain seemed irrelevant compared to the image that was left searing in her mind.

Behind Willowpaw, Frostpaw struggled to her paws, gasping in agony as a new stream of blood ran from the puncture at her shoulder. Before any of them could have the chance to speak, Sootclaw's yowl rang above the clamor of fighting cats, "ThunderClan, retreat!" It was the dismaying call that no side wanted to hear from their leader. A sign not that of victory, but of utter defeat.

"Come on, Willowpaw." Frostpaw said dejectedly, limping over to the cover of the undergrowth on the ThunderClan side of the border. Willowpaw watched as her clanmates left their individual battles and disappeared into the forest while the ShadowClan cats yelled insults and cheered. A hollowness of their first loss settled inside her as she followed the rest of her Clan to a safer place to regather.

Sootclaw and the rest of the ThunderClan warriors stood some ways from the border, assessing wounds and contemplating what went wrong. Frostpaw appeared beside her friend, looking defiant despite her injuries.

"What did you do?" She hissed.

Willowpaw glanced up, mind wandering elsewhere. "Wh....What do you mean?"

Frostpaw snorted and swatted at her good ear. "You let that ShadowClan- hey, are you okay?" She tried to catch her friend's eyes, but Willowpaw sat and washed the fur on her chest.

As she did so, she noticed that her legs felt wobbly and numb. But upon glancing around she noticed that none of the other warriors seemed shaken up, just crestfallen. That's not who I am, is it? Willowpaw worried. Surely other apprentices felt like this after their first battle?

"Willowpaw?" Frostpaw asked again. This time, real concern glowed in her eyes. She shuffled over and pressed herself against her for support.

"Yes, I just..." Willowpaw looked around again at all the others, who weren't whining about their issues. "Never mind, I'm fine." She pulled away from her friend and twitched her whiskers in a reassuring manner. "Thanks though."

Frostpaw wasn't completely convinced but didn't press for answers.

The sodden gray apprentice busied herself with the mindless task of cleaning her pelt. Yet, her head buzzed with the image of herself that she had seen except every time she envisioned it, it became increasingly terrifying.

Sootclaw continued his assessment of the patrol and approached the two apprentices. Frostpaw was able to see her father up close for the first time since the fight and she gasped. Most of the blood has been washed away by the rain but clumps of his fur were still stained crimson, especially around the wounds. Suddenly, her injuries seemed like bug bites.

He looked over both she-cats and lowered his head. "I wish this could have ended a different way, but ShadowClan is awfully predictable." He lowered his voice so only they could hear. "If I am being honest, I would have kept fighting... but I knew that you two were here and it was your first time against ShadowClan. I did not want to risk something bad happening..." He nuzzled Frostpaw, purring.

Sootclaw brightened as he said, "on a better note, I am so proud of the both of you. Those fleabags fought hard." His daughter purred and rubbed heads again. When they had finished, his former leaderly attitude returned. "So are you two alright?" He asked, looking them over once more.

Frostpaw nodded and straightened, trying to hide her bite mark. "I'm fine, but Willowpaw isn't." She said pointedly, shooting an accusing look at her friend. Sootclaw glanced at her, concern flashing in his eyes.

"Alright, let's get back to camp as soon as possible then," he said, whisking away and rounding up the rest of the cats.

The ThunderClan warriors looked up from what they were doing and rose to their paws. Ashpelt finished cleaning Fadedleaf's injuries and Volefur gave his foreleg one last wash before standing. Sootclaw flicked his ears and they were off.

Frostpaw gave Willowpaw a nudge to get her blank gaze off the ground and led her along with her tail.

"I don't know if I can be a warrior anymore," she whispered half to herself. Frostpaw stared at her in disbelief, and in result almost tripped over a hazardous tree root.

"What are you talking about? You did a solid job fighting that ShadowClan apprentice. In fact, if you hadn't helped I would have been crowfood!" It was rare that Frostpaw ever self-depreciated but Willowpaw knew that Frostpaw had done more fighting in the battle than she had.

She met her eyes with a desperate pleading. "You don't understand, I let that apprentice go because I couldn't hurt her. I -"

"But you did before." Frostpaw interrupted.

"Yes, but I hated it. When I had that apprentice pinned, I saw my reflection in her eyes. I looked like a... monster..." She shuddered as it flashed through her mind once again.

"You're no monster. I guess you aren't used to fighting. I'm sure you will get comfortable with it eventually. Get Pondpaw to give you some poppy seeds and you'll be fine." Frostpaw said simply.

Willowpaw nodded, but inside she had her doubts. What would happen if I couldn't be a warrior? Would I have to be a medicine cat? But Fawndapple already has an apprentice...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rain continued to fall, but growing lighter as the sun rose. Small birds that had been hiding between the leaves now came out and enjoyed its weak rays. But the group of wild cats that now trudged through the soggy grass back to their home did not particularly appreciate the weather.

Little did they know, it was to be the last of its kind for a very long time.