SPOTTEDPAW CREEPED THROUGH the dense undergrowth of her territory's forest. She followed the little paw prints of an animal that skittered through here earlier, and its scent was fresh.

She spotted the tiny animal: A mouse. Not big, but an extra piece of prey for the Clan. She dropped to a crouch, fixing her gaze on the mouse. She stalked forward, placing her paws in the ground carefully and quietly.

Crack!

Fox dung! Spottedpaw's breath caught in her throat, but she stayed quiet and immediately leaped on the mouse. She caught it in her paws and killed it with a swift bite to the neck. She picked up her fresh-kill, thanking StarClan for the prey, and headed towards where Hollyfern and Owlheart said they would meet her.

Hollyfern was already there, her tail curled over her nimble paws, sitting behind her little pile of fresh-kill. "Welcome back. I would expect Owlheart to be here already."

"But it's fine. Prey is plentiful, so the Clan has much to feed on," Spottedpaw pointed out.

"Yes, yes. You're very smart." Hollyfern's gaze turned to the bushes. "Oh, Owlheart, there you are!"

The gray-and-white tom emerged from the woods with his mouth full of two mice. He put his catches down in front of Hollyfern. "Are we going to go back to camp or what?" he asked teasingly.

"Yes. We were just waiting for you," Hollyfern answered as she and Spottedpaw took her prey in her jaws and began to head towards the camp.

Spottedpaw followed her mentor and Hollyfern into the camp and put her prey on the fresh-kill pile. She spotted her brother, Cloudpaw, near there, talking to Frozenfang. Cloudpaw had been hanging out with Frozenfang a lot for a while. Sometimes Spottedpaw saw him sharing tongues with her over some fresh-kill. Spottedpaw sighed, amused, and padded towards her den. Skypaw was there, sharing tongues with Mousepaw.

"Couldn't you do that somewhere else?" Spottedpaw asked as she walked up.

Mousepaw was the first to look up. "Oh, hi! Sorry, Skypaw insisted."

Skypaw cast a mischievous glance at Mousepaw. "But you agreed."

Mousepaw flicked her ear dismissively. "Still."

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Snowrock!"

"Oh, there it is," Mousepaw mewed. "Come on, Skypaw. You can come with us if you like, Spottedpaw."

"Sure." Spottedpaw followed the two apprentices towards the spot where the rest of the Clan was gathering. She sat beside Skypaw and looked up towards the very top of the Snowrock where Lynxstar was sitting with her tail curled over her paws.

Dawnsplash was the last to come over. Flykit and Icekit bounced at her heels. She stood beside her nephew, Whitefoot.

"Today is a very special day," Lynxstar began. "I have called you all here today to appoint the Clan's kits as apprentices. Flykit and Icekit, come forward please."

The two kits exclaimed. Dawnsplash murmured something to them and nudged them onward. The whole Clan had their eyes on the two small kits.

Lynxstar gazed kindly upon Flykit first. "Flykit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Flypaw. Your mentor will be Gorseberry. I hope he will pass down all they know on to you."

Flypaw looked eager, so eager that he was nearly bouncing on his paws. Spottedpaw couldn't help but feel fond of this young cat. He was so energetic, and every day she saw him playing with his brother, Icekit with playfulness and passion. He would be a great warrior one day.

Lynxstar called Goresberry forward. "Gorseberry, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Rosefeather, and you have shown yourself to be loyal and gentle. You will be the mentor of Flypaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to him."

Gorseberry nodded swiftly, then craned his neck to touch noses with Flypaw.

Immediately Lynxstar turned to Icekit. "Icekit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Icepaw. Your mentor will be Ashbreeze. I hope she will pass down all they know on to you."

Icepaw lifted his small chin and puffed up his chest bravely, to show the whole Clan how strong he was. Spottedpaw had no doubt that he would also grow up to be a great warrior. Lynxstar made the right choice to make Ashbreeze his mentor, too. The senior warrior was strong and was always objective on an important task.

Lynxstar called Ashbreeze forward. "Ashbreeze, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Brownfur, and you have shown yourself to be wise and objective. You will be the mentor of Icepaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to him."

Ashbreeze nodded briefly before gently turning to her new apprentice and touching his nose with hers kindly.

"Flypaw! Icepaw! Flypaw! Icepaw!" The Clan chanted the new apprentice's names loud and clear so that the sound drowned out the crashing sound of the waterfall.

***

Spottedpaw finished up her fresh-kill before padding towards the apprentices' den. Oh, right, we have more denmates. How exciting. The apprentices' den was already crowded and small, and now there were two more apprentices joining in. Spottedpaw pushed away that thought, though. At least, for now.

Spottedpaw found her nest next to Cloudpaw's nest. His nest was empty; the white tom had joined the dusk patrol along with Skypaw. Well, hopefully I can go to sleep before those lousy toms come lumbering in like invading badgers. Spottedpaw curled up in her nest and eventually caught the sleep she was hoping for.

***

"Spottedpaw!"

When she woke up again, moonlight filtered through the bramble screen that blocked out wind and sunlight. What was that? Spottedpaw tried to ignore the heavy foreboding she was getting from what she heard. She curled up again and tried to sleep.

"Come here," came the voice again. "Come outside of the den." The voice was just slightly familiar. It was smooth as honey and alluring as the sounds of the forest. Spottedpaw wasn't sure if it was a dream or not. She was probably still asleep.

Spottedpaw groaned softly and opened her eyes, looking around. This better be quick. She stood up and walked over to the entrance of the den, careful not to step on any of her denmates. She pushed her way out of the den and into the open, her tortoiseshell pelt washed with bright moonlight. The Gathering was soon, and the moon was nearly full. "Where are you?" she called quietly to whoever had woken her. She spotted paw prints on the ground. She followed them. "Hello? Where are you?"

A stunning black-and-white she-cat with green eyes that shone in the moonlight. "Here."

Spottedpaw was shocked. She hadn't expected a cat so beautiful to be the one who had woken her. And she had a different scent. RiverClan scent. And she looked wildly familiar. This must be Moonclaw. "My Clanmates will know that you were here!" she exclaimed.

Moonclaw let out a mrrow of amusement. "No, no, little one. The night is still young. My scent will fade by the time your Clanmates wake. And when you return, I'm sure your scent will block whatever is left of mine. Follow me."

Without thinking twice, Spottedpaw followed. She followed Moonclaw over the rocky walls of the camp and towards uncharted territory. Anxiety rose inside her. She was too shy to admit it. "Why are we going here? Isn't this dangerous territory?"

"No. I have been here before," Moonclaw responded unhesitantly. "Ah, here we are. Follow my lead, and don't misstep. It's dark in there."

"I can tell," Spottedpaw meowed. She and Moonclaw began to move.

"What have you brought to me, Moonclaw?" A large brown tom stepped out of the darkest shadows.

"A FrostClan apprentice. She's swift, smart, and strong. I knew you would appreciate her skills," Moonclaw explained, dipping her head to the tom.

Spottedpaw felt praised when Moonclaw said that, because practically no one praised her for anything, even though she was obviously the greatest apprentice that ever lived.

"Okay," meowed the huge tom. "Get on with it."

Moonclaw dipped her head and led Spottedpaw away. "Well, you are extremely lucky."

"Why?"

"Because you'll become a great warrior here. You will be able to protect your Clan from enemies, hunt for them in times of conflict, and help the needy." Spottedpaw wasn't certain, but she thought that she could see Moonclaw shiver.

What is she afraid of? But Spottedpaw didn't ask. Perhaps it was a personal topic for Moonclaw. She did seem like a cat with a deep, dark past. "Really? When do we start?"

"I'm grateful for your enthusiasm, Spottedpaw."

"How do you know my name?"

"I know everyone, especially in FrostClan. Now, if I did train you, would you be here every night, eager to train? To be one of us?" she explained smoothly.

Anger flared inside of Spottedpaw. "One of you? No! Why would I want to be a filthy, greedy, battle-hungry MoonClan cat when I have everything I could ever wish for in FrostClan? And just to add on, your Clan killed my mother," she spat.

Moonclaw nodded slowly. "Now what if I told you that you don't have everything that you could wish for in FrostClan? That you could have so much more power and fulfillment in MoonClan? You could gain revenge on any cat that ever deceived you. What if I told you that FrostClan is the one in the wrong?"

Spottedpaw was shocked. How could FrostClan be in the wrong? That seemed impossible! But she still found the offer very tempting. That's a . . . tempting offer. I don't have everything that I want in FrostClan. And everything that I do have is not very fulfilling, I don't think. Wow, is she actually offering me this? That's really kind of her.

Spottedpaw gazed at Moonclaw for a moment longer. Moonclaw stared back at her steadily, patiently waiting for an answer. "How do you know that I don't actually have what I want in FrostClan? Have you been spying on me? Are you actually who I think you are?"

"Oh, I'm this and so much more," Moonclaw responded, her green eyes gleaming in the moonlight. "You can find out, if you like. Only if you decide to come here and meet me here every

"No. Now will you be here every night?"

Uneasiness pricked at Spottedpaw's belly. Is this really what I want? Oh, of course it is! I don't want to be on the bad side my entire life if I know what the real good side is. Even if I don't fully trust Moonclaw yet. "Every night."

"No matter the consequences?" Spottedpaw felt as though the black-and-white she-cat was staring into her soul. As if she could see her thoughts, her hopes, her dreams. She couldn't tear her gaze away as much as she wanted to.

"No matter the consequences," Spottedpaw repeated as a wave of some kind of feeling she couldn't decipher washed over her. She guessed it was because of Moonclaw, and whatever she could do.