The next day, Bloodfur stalked through the grass, eyes fixed on a mouse. He was out hunting with his friends again. He enjoyed practicing his skills, considering he would have to use them on something much bigger than prey tonight. Something silver streaked past him and Bloodfur blinked, watching as Mistybreeze pounced on the mouse, swiftly biting it's neck.

I was going to catch that. He hesitated before stepping out, heading toward her. "Good catch," He meowed and she spun to face him, startled. "I was hesitating too long."

"Oh." Mistybreeze twitched her tail. "Sorry. I didn't realize you were stalking it too."

"It's okay," Bloodfur meowed. She buried her catch and glanced at him warily before turning away. She really doesn't want to talk to me. He thought with a pang of regret. I shouldn't have told her and Coldpebble that I didn't want them around... But maybe that's not all. Maybe she thinks I really did kill Diamondrain... He hesitated before stepping to her side. "I didn't kill your mother," He blurted out without thinking.

Mistybreeze stopped and looked at him sharply, holding his gaze for a moment. "I know you didn't," She meowed at last. "You wouldn't hurt anyone." She paused. "At least, not with your claws."

Bloodfur felt a pang of guilt. She and Coldpebble are still hurt about what I said! Ever since he'd started hanging around Revengeheart and the others, He had assumed everything was fine between he and Mistybreeze. But obviously he'd been wrong. She started walking away, and Bloodfur found himself padding alongside her. He had to say something. He tried to gather the right words. Mistybreeze didn't look at him, seeming uncomfortable.

When he still hadn't found the right words, he figured he'd just go with the ones that had been stored in his mind for seasons. "I'm sorry about what I said to you and Coldpebble all those moons ago." He meowed quietly.

The silver she-cat glanced at him, but said nothing. He decided to go on. "I've been wanting to apologize since the moment I said it, but the time was never right, and I didn't think you or your brother wanted to hear anything I had to say." He paused, deciding not to mention Swiftstalker's influence on his actions. If he hadn't yelled at me that day, I might not have taken it out on Mistybreeze and Coldpebble. "I had a lot going on, and I didn't mean to take it out on you. I'm sorry."

Mistybreeze didn't respond right away, and Bloodfur's stomach twisted as he wondered if she would reject his apology. Please forgive me..!

"I forgive you, Bloodfur," She said after a moment, and he relaxed a little. But she still looked quite uncomfortable. "We should go back to the group." She quickly turned away and raced back through the trees.

I can't tell if that went well or not... He thought, hesitating before following her. But at least she forgives me...

***

He and his companions returned to camp and he quickly joined them under the shadows of a pine tree at the side of the clearing. Revengeheart and Mistybreeze lay near him. Near the apprentices den, Cardinalpaw was speaking to Timberstorm, his new mentor. The apprentice caught Bloodfur's eye, then looked away.

Bloodfur twitched his tail, suppressing a feeling of guilt. Timberstorm will be a better mentor to him, anyway. He'll show him how to be a cruel, selfish clan cat, just like him.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the rock for a clan meeting!"

He looked at the meeting rock where Depthstar sat, sunlight gleaming on his sleek pelt. As the clan began gathering, many cats glanced at Bloodfur with cold, distrustful glares. You'll pay. Bloodfur thought, gritting his teeth. You'll pay when you find your medicine cats dead tonight.

"It's time! It's time!"

He glanced at the nursery as Ebonykit and Flintkit raced out, their short tails sticking up like reeds. "We're going to be apprentices!" Ebonykit squeaked eagerly, looking back at her brother. "Hurry up!"

"I'm nervous!" The little orange tabby exclaimed, hanging back anxiously. His mother leaned over him and licked his ear.

"Don't worry," Greenpine purred. "It'll be alright."

"Ebonykit, Flintkit." Depthstar gazed down at the kits as they neared, staring up at him. "You have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. Ebonykit, from this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Ebonypaw."

"Ebonypaw! Ebonypaw!" The clan yowled. If only they were that enthusiastic when I was made an apprentice... He thought, lashing his tail.

"Revengeheart,"

The white tom looked up sharply, clearly startled. "What?"

"You are ready to take on an apprentice. I expect you to pass on all you know to Ebonypaw."

"An apprentice?" Revengeheart hissed under his breath. "You've got to be kidding me!"

Depthstar looked to the warrior, and many other cats followed his gaze. "Revengeheart, come forward."

Mistybreeze nudged her mate. "Go on," She muttered.

He glared at her before huffing out a sigh and rising to his paws, his tail lashing as he crossed the clearing. Ebonypaw stared at the broad shouldered warrior anxiously. Revengeheart looked reluctant as he bumped noses with the little tabby. Ebonypaw said something, and he looked irritated as he responded. The apprentice's ears flattened.

Depthstar turned his attention to Flintkit, who was watching his sister with the warrior in awe, clearly eager to receive his own mentor. "Flintkit, from this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Flintpaw. Your mentor will be Swiftstalker."

"Flintpaw! Flintpaw!" The clan cheered as Swiftstalker padded over to his new apprentice, letting out a friendly purr. Flintpaw eagerly touched noses with him.

"Now," Depthstar went on. "I believe it's time for two young cats to be made warriors." He looked into the crowd as Swiftstalker and Revengeheart moved to the side of the clearing with their apprentices. "Tinypaw, Honeypaw, come forward."

The two she-cats padded forward, gazing up at their leader excitedly.

"I, Depthstar, leader of ShadowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these three apprentices." He went on. "They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn."

Dewstorm and Creampaw sat outside of the apprentices den. Bloodfur noticed the cream and brown she-cat staring at her sisters enviously. She won't get her full name yet. He remembered.

"Tinypaw, Honeypaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," The sisters meowed in chorus, their eyes shining.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Tinypaw, Honeypaw, from this moment you will be known as Tinylark and Honeyrose," The clan leader meowed. "StarClan honors your courage and skill, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ShadowClan." He paused. "Brownstripe and Rosebreeze would be very proud of you."

"Tinylark! Honeyrose!" The clan cheered, and Creampaw yowled out her sisters new names, bounding over to meet them. The three sisters purred and bumped heads affectionately.

"Congratulations!" Creampaw purred. "You're going to be great warriors!"

"And you'll be a great medicine cat," Honeyrose purred, nuzzling her.

Creampaw sighed. "Whenever I get my name!"

"How about tonight?" Dewstorm appeared behind his apprentice.

The she-cat spun, her blue eyes wide. "Really?" She gasped. "You think I'm ready?"

The gray spotted tom nodded, yellow eyes shining. "I know you are."

Creampaw let out an excited squeal and bumped her head against his. "Thank you, thank you! I can't wait for the meeting!" Cardinalpaw ran to her side, purring a greeting.

You'll regret saying that. Bloodfur thought as he watched the medicine cats, a coldness gripping his heart. There's going to be a lot of dead cats... And you and Dewstorm may be among them.

***

The air was warm and thick that night. A half moon shone in the sky. Bloodfur ran through the trees, Mottledface by his side. The warrior had decided to accompany him on his mission. They had almost reached the border when Bloodfur paused by a muddy pool. "We should roll ourselves in the mud here," He suggested. "It'll hide our scent and disguise us. We don't want any cat recognizing us."

Mottledface's eyes gleamed. "If any cat lives to tell anyone," He joked. "But you're right, good idea."

The two cats started rolling in the mud. Bloodfur hated the feeling of the thick disgusting liquid soaking into his fur, but knew going without it would be a huge risk. He raised a muddy paw and spread it over his face, cringing at the feeling. I swear to StarClan, I'll have to jump into the river when this is all over! He and Mottledface dragged themselves out of the pool, shaking extra mud from their pelts. He could already feel it drying into his fur. It felt very uncomfortable.

Mottledface looked at him, letting out an amused purr. "We'll have to start calling you Mudfur."

He scooped up a pawful of mud and threw it at the tom's face. "Mudface." He chuckled. "Come on, Deserve's cats are waiting."

They passed carrionplace and sat in wait. It only took a few moments for the soldiers to arrive. Papercut was in the lead, followed by Wolf, Bonfire, Sunset, and Screech.

"Papercut," Mottledface greeted. "Good to see you."

"Yes," Papercut grunted, twitching his white tail. "So how many medicine cats are going to be there?"

Bloodfur did a quick count in his head. "Seven."

The white tom nodded. "Alright. Let's go."

No one spoke as they ran through the night to highstones. The medicine cats would already be there. With a start, Bloodfur wondered if they would catch them while they were dreaming. That would make this much easier! They slowed their pace as they neared the moonstone cave. Bloodfur grew nervous, peering through the dark tunnel. He couldn't see any cat from here, but he knew they must be inside. He looked back at his companions. "They must be asleep in there," He whispered. "If we hurry, we can take care of them now..." The other cats nodded, eyes narrowed. Bloodfur drew in a deep breath before crawling through the tunnel, aware of the others falling in behind him. He stopped when he emerged into the cave.

The medicine cats lay asleep around the moonstone. The cave shone with it's luminous icy glow. Dewstorm and Creampaw were settled close to each other, their flanks rising and falling softly as they slept. On the opposite side of the apprentice, Spicewhisker lay curled up with his tail over his muzzle, his ear twitching. Otterpelt and Sagepaw slept soundly near him. A little ways away from the RiverClan cats, Ryeheart and Silverberry lay.

Bloodfur drew in a breath. Alright... Here it goes... He looked back at the others, nodding. He hoped they understood that they needed to be quiet. If they could kill some of them in their sleep, they wouldn't have to worry about receiving any injuries. Even though the medicine cats weren't trained as well as warriors, they could still fight back.

Attack! He launched himself onto the nearest cat; Ryeheart, digging his claws into the tabby's shoulders and lunging for his neck. The SkyClan cat immediately jerked awake, letting out a startled yowl and rolling over, throwing Bloodfur off of him.

Yowls and shrieks began rising from the waking medicine cats, and Bloodfur knew at once that it was stupid to think they could do this without any cat waking up. Of course they'll wake up! Only Mottledface seemed to have done it successfully. He caught sight of the tom pinning Otterpelt to the ground, pushing his chest fur against her muzzle. The reddish she-cat's struggles grew weaker and weaker before she went limp. Mottledface looked down at her triumphantly.

"What in StarClan's name-" Spicewhisker gasped before Papercut lunged for him, snapping at his throat. Spicewhisker shot back just in time, only to be tackled by Sunset. The orange tabby snarled as she swiped at his muzzle.

"Otterpelt!" Sagepaw shrieked, crouching over her mentor's body. "Get up!" She let out a wail of grief.

Silverberry spun to face Mottledface, her green eyes lit with fury. "Murderer!" She shrieked. "You're the same fleabags who killed Starfaith, aren't you?" The tom laughed and the silver she-cat screeched, launching herself at him. Mottledface slashed at her shoulder and pushed her to the ground, and Papercut joined him. The two cats cornered her and started taking turns slashing their claws at her.

"Death to the clans!" Bonfire was screeching as he swiped his hind paws madly at Ryeheart's belly. "Death to the clans!"

Spicewhisker shrieked and swiped a paw at Sunset, knocking the she-cat onto her back. He leaped onto her and bit into her forepaw, and she yowled in pain. Bloodfur leaped to her aid, rolling the black and white medicine cat off of her and sinking his teeth into his neck. The small tom let out a shriek, and Bloodfur tasted blood on his tongue. He had no intentions of letting the ThunderClan medicine cat go. See, easy as prey!

"Get off him, mangy rogue!" Dewstorm barrelled into Bloodfur, knocking him away from the black and white cat. He slashed his claws at Bloodfur's ear, causing him to yowl in pain. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sagepaw, Ryeheart, and Spicewhisker struggling to fight off the rogues who were blocking the way out. Blood pooled heavily from Ryeheart's belly, but he didn't give up.

"Dewstorm!" Creampaw shrieked, lunging forward and biting Bloodfur's tail. He let out a screech, spinning around and swinging a paw at her, knocking her away.

"Go, Creamheart!" The medicine cat snarled as he glared at Bloodfur. Clearly he had given his apprentice her full name. "Now!"

"But-"

"Go!" As Dewstorm spoke, Bonfire leapt at him, pinning the medicine cat to the ground.

"Get him!" The black and orange tom snapped at Bloodfur.

Bloodfur raised an unsheathed paw, then hesitated, staring at Dewstorm. The gray tom's eyes were lit with defiance, but he could tell he was afraid. Suddenly, his heart hurt at the thought of taking Dewstorm's life. He always believed in me. He never treated me like the rest of the clan did. He remembered how the medicine cat had been one of the few cats to encourage him when he'd become an apprentice.

"He's going to make a fine apprentice." Dewstorm had said. "And an even better warrior."

I can't kill Dewstorm! He doesn't deserve to die. He lowered his paw. "Let him go," He meowed in a lower tone than usual, praying to StarClan that Dewstorm wouldn't recognize his voice.

Bonfire's amber eyes flashed with surprise. He hesitated before nodding, leaping away, and Dewstorm glared at Bloodfur once before springing toward the tunnel, attacking one of the cats blocking the way.

"Ha! What's WindClan going to do without their old medicine cat?" Mottledface sneered.

Bloodfur turned, letting out a startled gasp. Mottledface and Papercut were still attacking Silverberry, even though it was clear the old she-cat couldn't fight back. A large pool of blood was spreading under her, the crimson liquid trickling from deep wounds in her belly and neck. The silver she-cat's pale green eyes were half closed and glazing. She wasn't going to survive this. But she was still clinging to life, breathing quick, ragged breaths. Why don't they just finish her? Bloodfur wondered, feeling sick to his stomach. I can't watch this!

"Run!" He heard Dewstorm shriek and turned to see him race out of the cave, Creamheart and Sagepaw on his tail. Ryeheart and Spicewhisker were struggling to hold off the cats by the entrance while they escaped.

While Mottledface and Papercut ran to help them with Ryeheart and Spicewhisker, Bloodfur raced over to Silverberry, his stomach twisting.

The elderly medicine cat's breath was slow, blood running from her mouth and the wounds on her body. Her glazed eyes flicked to Bloodfur as she trembled. I've got to put her out of her misery. He thought and raised an unsheathed paw, slashing his claws across her throat. She choked out once, then fell silent, not moving. Bloodfur twitched his ear and stepped back, looking away. I did the right thing... Didn't I? Of course I did... He turned to see the others growling as they stood over the remaining cats.

Ryeheart was on the ground, one eye closed. Blood swelled from scratches across his eyelid. Blood soaked the ground beneath him. His stomach wound put him in critical condition. Beside him, Spicewhisker was half crouched, his legs trembling as he glared at the rogues, fear lighting his eyes. One of his ears was torn, and blood dripped from a wound in his shoulder. The small tom whimpered and slumped to the ground.

Papercut stepped toward them, but Bloodfur interfered. "Let's go," He snapped. "The others probably left to get help! If we stay any longer, we'll be outnumbered."

Mottledface licked blood from his muzzle and glared at Ryeheart and Spicewhisker. "What about them?"

"They're as good as dead." Bloodfur glanced back at the bodies of Otterpelt and Silverberry. "Let's go."

Papercut hesitated before nodding, and the group raced away, leaving the dead and wounded medicine cats behind them.