Dust scattered across the clearing as paws skidded over them. Swift blurs of graceful movements gathered a fair amount of attention. The trees seemed to shake as the two cats faced off in a friendly duel.

Remember your training, Morninglily. One paw in front, but not too forward. Wait for the right moment to strike as you evaluate your opponent, Morninglily thought to herself. She dug her claws into the ground to stop herself from falling backwards from her opponent's impact.

The brown she-cat narrowed her eyes and swished her tail, eager to finish the battle. Her opponent was Ravenshadow, a quiet and reserved cat, but her good friend.

"Your skills have greatly improved, Ravenshadow! I'm impressed!" Morninglily meowed, shifting into an offensive crouch.

"You haven't been dozing off as well; your speed has definitely increased," Ravenshadow said, returning the compliment.

Morninglily gave Ravenshadow a slight smirk before pouncing onto her, pinning her down. "Got you!"

Ravenshadow struggled, trying to shake Morninglily off. "You've certainly become much stronger."

"Why, thank you," Morninglily chuckled.

"However, I have also trained myself to become stronger," Ravenshadow meowed, smirking. She faced her belly upwards, and placed her paws onto Morninglily's underbelly. "Which is why I'm winning this battle!"

With a heave, Ravenshadow pushed Morninglily off with her paws, sending her flying backwards. Stunned, Morninglily shooked her head, trying to clear her mind. Focus, she told herself.

The two warriors circled each other, both observing their opponent. Since they were good friends, they knew each other extremely well. It was hard for them to land an effective attack on each other.

Morninglily shifted her right paw forward, lifting her chin up confidently. Ravenshadow lashed her tail and crouched, ready to intercept Morninglily's attacks.

Morninglily's eyes shifted to a tree behind Ravenshadow. She widened her eyes as a plan formed in her mind. Giving her friend a grin, she darted towards Ravenshadow.

Ravenshadow frowned, confused, but focused her attention on Morninglily. I have no idea if this will work, but let's give it a try, Morninglily thought as she pounced.

To Ravenshadow's surprise, Morninglily leapt over her instead of at her. Morninglily twised her body and her hind paws landed on the tree trunk. She pushed off the tree immediately after, gaining momentum as she sprung towards Ravenshadow.

Ravenshadow whipped her head behind and widened her eyes in shock. She raised herself on her hind paws and unsheathed her front claws, intercepting Morninglily.

"I certainly wasn't expecting you to jump off a tree trunk, but I'm always prepared for you," Ravenshadow commented, as her claws met Morninglily's.

Morninglily growled in frustration, pulling away. "Let's end the match here. I have to go on a border patrol."

"This time it is a draw - again - but the next won't be one," Ravenshadow purred, licking her paw.

"Count on it. It was a great duel, Ravenshadow," Morninglily smiled softly, turning to leave. The crowd of cats that formed while the two warriors were battling erupted into cheers.

"You were amazing!"

"Awesome!"

"Great moves!"

"I like your style!"

The crowd parted to allow the cats to pass. Morninglily gave her Clanmates a polite nod while Ravenshadow returned to her reserved self.

Morninglily spotted Leafpaw, her apprentice, standing next to Mothchaser and Rippleheart. She heard towards them, and greeted them with a warm mew.

"That was a great fight you put up!" Leafpaw purred, her eyes shining in admiration. "One day, when I become a warrior, I'll be just like you!"

Morninglily returned the purr and turned to Mothchaser and Rippleheart. "Ready to go?"

Mothchaser and Rippleheart nodded, and Morninglily headed out of ShadedClan camp. "We need to remark the borders along HeatherClan territory. Recently, they have been more... aggressive, but please keep arguments to a minimum if we were to run into a patrol."

Mothchaser and Rippleheart exchanged glances. "I'll try my best, but if those fox-hearts dare mock us, I won't hold back," Mothchaser growled, lashing her tail defiantly.

Morninglily sighed, shaking her head in disapproval. "Let's hurry and not waste more time. The quicker we do this, the faster we can get back to camp."

The patrol navigated through the sturdy oak trees, and neared some spruce trees. Leafpaw looked at the trees and turned to her mentor. "Why did ShadedClan choose to live in the oak forest, Morninglily? Is there a significant reason?"

Surprised by her apprentice's sudden enquiry, Morninglily pondered over it silently. She glanced at the eyes of her curious apprentice, and smiled.

"Well, oak trees represents our strength to endure any hardships we face. The fact that oak trees can survive for a very long time also symbolises wisdom," Morninglily meowed. "Wisdom is brought through experience as one ages, and our ancestors wanted to remind us that no matter what obstacles we face, we must face them together."

Leafpaw listened with interest, satisfied with her mentor's explanation. "It makes a lot of sense! Our ancestors are smart! The other Clans will feel our strength!"

"Yes, they will," Morninglily chuckled, amused by her apprentice. "We're here."

The patrol stopped just in front of spruce trees. "Spruce trees are beautiful," Leafpaw gasped softly, admiring the tall trees.

"If only the cats living among the trees had a good heart," Mothchaser laughed, flicking an ear dismissively. "They are vile cats that care none for cats outside their Clan."

"Mothchaser, stop criticising them and start marking the border," Morninglily instructed. "I don't want to cross paths with any HeatherClan patrols."

"Too late," Rippleheart meowed, pointing his tail towards a group of cats marching towards the ShadedClan cats.

"That smells a lot like trouble," Leafpaw muttered, shrinking back. "We should leave."

Three HeatherClan cats approached them, stopping just in front of the border. Morninglily recognised the cats as Echolight, Ivyheart, and Rosefeather.

"What brings you to the border, Morninglily?" Rosefeather asked, studying the ShadedClan cats. "Are you remarking the borders?"

"Indeed, we are. What about you?" Morninglily replied politely, giving her Clanmates a signal that she would do the talking.

"We are here to hunt, actually. Echolight scented ShadedClan cats so we thought we should make sure none of you... step over the line," Rosefeather responded.

"You fox-hearted-" Mothchaser began, but Rippleheart silenced Mothchaser by stomping his paw onto her tail. Mothchaser stifled a yelp of surprise and glared at her Clanmate.

Ivyheart gave Mothchaser a glare, which the light brown warrior gladly returned.

"A ShadedClan cat like you wouldn't last a day in the wild by yourself!" Ivyheart snorted in contempt. "Just look at the size of yourself!"

"Well, a thirteen-moon-old dung-face like you wouldn't stand more of a chance!" Mothchaser retorted. "You would probably mistake rabbit dung for kittypet food!"

"Fourteen!" Ivyheart corrected, her fur bristling. "At least I have a brain, unlike you!"

The two young warriors growled at each other aggressively, neither backing down. Morninglily sighed in exasperation and gave Mothchaser a glare. "Stand down, Mothchaser."

"I will not back down to a HeatherClan cat!" Mothchaser hissed, baring her teeth defiantly.

"Nor will I back down to a ShadedClan cat!" Ivyheart yowled, fury clouding her eyes. "What does Blazingstar see in you, anyway?"

Reaching the limit of her self-restraint, Mothchaser yowled in fury and leapt at Ivyheart. The other cats gasped in horror as the two prepared to meet each other with claws unsheathed.

Rippleheart swiftly darted in front of Mothchaser and pushed her backwards, and gave Ivyheart a swift kick to send her flying. The she-cats fell onto the ground, hard.

"Great work, Rippleheart," Morninglily mewed, sighing in relief.

"No! How could you attack Ivyheart, Rippleheart? You must be out of your mind!" Rosefeather growled, lashing her tail in anger. "Are you incapable of controlling your Clanmates?"

"Speak for yourself!" Leafpaw retorted. Morninglily silenced her apprentice with a disapproving look.

"Are you all right, Ivyheart?" Echolight asked, supporting her Clanmate with her shoulder.

"I'm fine!" Ivyheart hissed, groaning slightly in pain.

Rippleheart helped Mothchaser up and gave her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Mothchaser. I had to do something to stop you from fighting."

Blazingstar would most likely do nothing serious to his mate, but they won't know that, Morninglily thought cleverly.

"I apologise for Mothchaser's unacceptable behaviour, Rosefeather. Be rest assured she will be punished accordingly to how Blazingstar sees fit," Morninglily meowed firmly, her eyes fixated on Rosefeather's dark green eyes.

Rosefeather narrowed her eyes, but nodded in approval. "All right. Echolight, help Ivyheart. Let's head back to camp."

When the HeatherClan cats left, Morninglily heaved a sigh of relief. She turned to Mothchaser and gave her a sharp glare. "What were you thinking, picking a fight with another cat?"

"She was mean!" Mothchaser hissed. She carefully examined herself, and licked her paw to clean herself. "Besides, she deserves to be shredded to pieces!"

Morninglily shook her head I'm disapproval. "Do not do that again. Let's head back to camp."

The ShadedClan cats returned to camp, with Leafpaw chattering happily and Mothchaser muttering to Rippleheart.

✽ ☄✽ ☄✽ ☄✽

Hey, Yearlets! This chapter is written by Sky. Admittedly, my writing hasn't been up to standards lately, but I tried really hard to make sure it's readable.

What did you enjoy in this chapter? What do you think can be improved? A suggestion or two will be very much appreciated!

The first few chapters will be used to introduce the main characters in this book. I sincerely hope you're enjoying the book so far, and thank you all for 1000 followers!

~ Sky ❄