MOUSEPAW FOLLOWED CLOUDPAW, Whitefoot, and Dawnsplash towards their borders with WindClan and ThunderClan. They spread out to refresh the scent marks. Mousepaw went with Whitefoot to the ThunderClan border and refreshed them. When they were finished, Whitefoot addressed Mousepaw.

     "Is there something going on that I should know about? Don't think I can't tell when my apprentice is worried," Whitefoot meowed.

     "Oh . . . it's Dovepaw. I-I don't know if she wants me to tell any other cat," Mousepaw responded hesitantly.

     "You can tell me. I'm sure Dovepaw won't mind, even if she does find out," Whitefoot pressed.

     Mousepaw sighed in defeat. "Okay. It's about the RiverClan medicine cat. Dovepaw suspects that she's up to something, and she seems distracted too. I think that she's worrying too much and putting too much pressure on herself."

     "Huh. That's very thoughtful, Mousepaw. Do you know why she's suspicious?" Whitefoot asked.

     "Yeah. She said that the aura that Moonclaw releases is odd, and she says that Spottedpaw said that she feels like Moonclaw has done something to her because she can't talk in depth about something that she saw . . ." Mousepaw immediately snapped her mouth shut. "I wasn't supposed to say that!"

     Whitefoot didn't seem to acknowledge that she wasn't supposed to say that. "What did Spottedpaw see?"

     "I don't know, trust me! Dovepaw just said that Spottedpaw ran into Moonclaw yesterday, that's all I know!" Mousepaw answered desperately, feeling guilty that she shared private information without Dovepaw's or Spottedpaw's permission.

     "Really. Does Owlheart or Cloudpaw or Skypaw know?"

     "I don't think Owlheart or Cloudpaw know, and I haven't talked to Skypaw about it yet," Mousepaw admitted.

     "Okay. That's fine. And I won't tell anyone else, if that's what you think is best."

     "Thank you," Mousepaw meowed.

     At the camp, crimson streaks were streaming into the newleaf sky, a sign that moonhigh was nearly here. The wind was cool against Mousepaw's brown-and-white fur. The last patrol was headed out of camp, and the rest of the Clan was headed to their dens to rest up. Mousepaw headed to the apprentices' den, but only to meet up with Skypaw. He said that he wanted to show her something in the camp. So that's what they were going to do.

     "Hello, Mousepaw," Skypaw greeted her when she approached the apprentices' den. "Are you ready? You'll need to climb for this," he teased, as he walked up to walk beside Mousepaw.

     "I can manage," Mousepaw meowed. "Lead the way."

     "Okay." Skypaw veered toward the waterfall, but not exactly. He headed toward a crevice beside it. He slipped inside. Water sprayed them slightly as they entered, and the thunder of the cascading waterfall filled Mousepaw's ears as she followed close behind him. "I'll help you here."

     "All right." Mousepaw walked up to Skypaw and let him guide her toward the paw holds on the wall. "I can go from here." She fastened her paws on the sharp rock and began to climb it toward a hole upward. She pulled herself up and onto the top of the large rock. It was wet and cool. A stream flowed swiftly down the top of the rock as a waterfall. Skypaw came up beside Mousepaw.

     "Do you like it?" he asked.

     "Like it? It's beautiful, Skypaw. How did you find it?" Mousepaw asked.

     "Oh, I was curious so I explored. And then I decided that you should see it." Skypaw moved closer to Mousepaw and sat down.

     His fur is touching mine, Mousepaw thought, feeling light. She felt like butterflies were fluttering around in her stomach as she looked into the kind green eyes of Skypaw. "That's so amazing. You're so adventurous."

     "Oh, well, that's my specialty," Skypaw answered good-humoredly. "Look at the sunset," he meowed, his voice low. "Isn't it beautiful?"

     Mousepaw turned her eyes to the sunset. Now the sky was full of waves of orange and pinkish shades. "Yes." She found herself resting her head on Skypaw's shoulder. Skypaw's tail weaved around hers. "Very."

     "Mousepaw, I've been meaning to tell you something," Skypaw began, "but I wasn't sure how you would react."

     A flare of hope was set off in Mousepaw. "Go ahead."

     "Ever since we became apprentices, and even just friends, I always felt strongly for you. And I was wondering if maybe you felt the same way."

     Silence surrounded them for a few heartbeats. Then Mousepaw purred softly. "Of course, I do. Couldn't you tell?" She looked at Skypaw challengingly.

     "I had an idea. But I couldn't be sure. You're good at pretending," Skypaw responded.

     "Well, there are more cats better than me," Mousepaw meowed.

     "Maybe. But I don't know any cats that are better than you. At anything." Skypaw's eyes sparkled with gratitude. "I'm glad that we are in the same Clan."

     "Me too." Mousepaw fell silent, pressing her nose against Skypaw's cheek, and then falling into a comfortable position, leaning into Skypaw. She felt warm with satisfaction. The feeling wrapped around them like the warmth of the newleaf sun. She closed her eyes as she felt herself slipping into sleep and into the assurance of the safety of being with Skypaw.

     But instead she managed to snap back to wakefulness. She wanted to be alone with Skypaw the entire night, but that wasn't exactly safe. "Skypaw, should we go back?"

     "No. I don't want to be interrupted by a bunch of other nosy apprentices, you know?"

     "Yeah. Okay."

     "Hey, are you okay? You seem to be troubled," Skypaw observed.

     "I'm fine," Mousepaw insisted.

     "No, really. What is it?"

     Mousepaw sighed. There was no way she was getting out of this one. "Dovepaw is having some trouble with something, and I'm just so worried about her. She pressures herself too much."

     "Ah. I understand," Skypaw mewed, gazing at Mousepaw understandingly.

     "Really?" Mousepaw asked.

     "Sure. I haven't talked to anyone about it, but Spottedpaw has been acting odd since last night. I've been worrying about her," Skypaw explained.

     "Spottedpaw? Dovepaw told me that part of this is related to Spottedpaw," Mousepaw meowed.

     Skypaw's pale green eyes widened. "Really? What did she do?"

     "It sounds like Spottedpaw met someone last night, someone that seems to be twisting her fate, and Dovepaw wants to know more," Mousepaw explained.

     "What? And she didn't think to tell anyone but Dovepaw? I mean, there's nothing wrong with Dovepaw, but . . ."

     "She told me," Mousepaw pointed out.

     "I know. But she didn't even tell Lynxstar? Or Badgertooth?" Skypaw shook his head disapprovingly. "This sounds like serious stuff. Is that all there is?"

     ". . . No. I know who Spottedpaw was talking to. It was the RiverClan medicine cat—"

     "Moonclaw?" Skypaw interrupted, looking confused. "What harm could she do? One, she's from a totally different Clan, and two, she's a medicine cat. Why would she even want to cause harm?"

     "I don't know. That's what Dovepaw is trying to figure out. Maybe you should talk to her. She'll know more than I do," Mousepaw suggested.

     "Well, if you shared as much as she knows, then that'll be a waste of my time."

     "Maybe she didn't share everything with me. You never know," Mousepaw argued.

     Skypaw just sighed. "Okay. Maybe she didn't share something. But can we please not argue about what some other cat said? It's too nice up here."

     "Yeah, sure. And should we go back to the den?" Mousepaw asked.

     "Probably." Skypaw led Mousepaw down the large rock and towards the apprentices' den

     On the way Mousepaw noticed that Dovepaw wasn't in the medicine den or the apprentice's den. What is she up to now? And will she even be willing to tell me if I ask?

     The rest of the apprentices were all already asleep. Mousepaw and Skypaw stepped over the sleeping cats and settled in their own nests. "Hey, did you notice that Spottedpaw wasn't in her nest?" Skypaw asked.

     "Yeah. And Dovepaw isn't in her den," Mousepaw added, curling her tail over her muzzle. "Maybe we can investigate tomorrow. I'm exhausted."

     "Sure." Skypaw laid down in his nest. His fur brushed Mousepaw and his tail intertwined with hers. "But for now, we sleep."

     "That sounds like a good idea." Mousepaw sank deeper into her nest, feeling warmed by Skypaw's presence, and let herself drift into sleep.