She heard a viscous growl behind her, followed by a more high-pitched hiss of defiance. That sounds... that sounds like a cat! Marigoldshine saved me!

   She dared open an eye, and turned to see something that she did not expect. A white cat that she faintly recognized was battling the dog with tooth and claw.

   Who is he? She wondered as she watched him skillfully batter the beast. I know I've seen him before, but he's definitely not a WindClan cat. His white fur was fluffy, billowing out around his plump, round belly. He had stubby legs and blue eyes that sparked with rage as he fought.

   The cat turned his head, looking straight at Fernpaw. "Fetch my patrol! They're just over the border!" He yowled as the dog snapped at his ears.

   She he's RiverClan, she realized as she bolted over the border. Yuck. It reeks of fish here.

   "Trespasser!" She whipped around to see six cats, all large and well-muscled, despite their silky fur and large midsections.

   A silver tabby was snarling at her. "What have you done with Cloudpaw?" The she-cat spat.

   "He's fighting a dog on our territory!" She breathed. "You need to hurry!"

   A golden she-cat seemed to here the urgency in her mew. "Alright, battle formations. We must save Cloudpaw."

   Fernpaw ran ahead of them to the border, eager to get out of their wet, marshy territory. She relished the feeling of the warm grass on her paws. "Right, he's in front of the Horseplace," Fernpaw meowed. "It's a huge dog."

   "Attack!" All the RiverClan cats and Fernpaw exploded from their spots at the golden she-cats yowl. Fernpaw could see the white tom was soaked in blood, which sunk deep into his thick fur. Both his ears were shredded, and he looked about ready to pass out from exhaustion.

   He straightened when he saw help bouncing over. "Silversong! W-what about your kits?"

   The silver tabby didn't even cast him a glance. Fernpaw could see uncertainty in her eyes. "They're with Toadpool. They'll be fine."

   Fernpaw was knocked off her paws by a cat bolting past her. She looked up to see her mentor flying onto the dog's back, knocking it off its paws.

   "That's huge," she glanced over to see Hawthornpaw, who was gaping at the beast. "D-did that attack you?"

   Fernpaw nodded. "I wasn't wounded though," she added quickly. "That white tom; Cloudpaw, I think is his name; saved my life."

   Her brother's eyes looked slightly haunted. "What did he say to you?"

   Fernpaw tipped her head. "Just to go get help from his Clanmates."

   "Fernpaw, duck!" She heard some car screech, and she obeyed by instinct. A RiverClan cat shot over her head, missing her by a whisker. The apprentice turned her head to see that the black tom was chasing a smaller, white dog with black spots. That looks like a kit! Fernpaw gasped. They can't hurt it!

   But the black tom didn't stop. He grabbed the young dog's tail in his teeth, making it whimper in pain. He then leaped onto its back, and clawed mercilessly at its head and ears. Fernpaw watched helplessly as he leaped in front of the dog to scratch its eyes.

   The most terrible sound Fernpaw had ever heard followed. The puppy wailed in agony, writhing beneath the warrior. She saw triumph flash in the RiverClan tom's eyes as he picked up the wailing animal.

   W-what's he doing? As the battle raged on, Fernpaw watched the tom drag the small dog down to the lake.

   "No!" Fernpaw choked out a sob as the black tom flung the puppy into the lake, and held it until. Bubbles rose, then all was still. "No..."

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   "Hey, are you alright? You've hardly touched your rabbit," Fernpaw glanced sullenly up at her friend. His yellow eyes were pools of concern.

   She sighed, poking her prey with a paw. "No, I'm not, Locustpaw. In the battle with the dogs today, I watched a RiverClan cat kill one."

   "What's wrong with that?" The black apprentice asked, not sounding mocking, but genuinely confused.

   Fernpaw felt tears well in her eyes. "It was just a kit! He clawed it up, then clawed our it's eyes and drowned it! It was a kit, Locustpaw!" Her voice had grown to a desperate wail, and tears poured from her eyes.

   "Oh," Locustpaw breathed. No one said anything for a few moments, until he spoke again. "Yeah, that's pretty bad."

   She sniffled, not wanting her other Clanmates to see her crying over a dog. "I know, but I overreacted. Sorry, Locustpaw."

   She glanced up at him, but he didn't look like he was annoyed. He was actually smiling, his eyes warm. "It's alright. Seeing a kit be killed, no matter if it's a cat or not, must be terrible. I mean, they're completely defenseless."

   Fernpaw was about to reply, but a stern mew cut her off. "Locustpaw, it's time for the sundown patrol."

   The black tom blinked sympathetically at Fernpaw. "Catch ya later," he purred, standing and shaking out his fur. "Coming, Kestrelwing!"

   As Fernpaw watched her friend run over to his mentor, she caught a whiff of a familiar and comforting scent.

   "Hello, Snowheart," she purred, nuzzling the she-cat. "Boy, have I had an eventful day."

   The silver she-cat tipped her head, eyes sparkling with curiosity.

   "Well, Marigoldshine took me to practice hunting with my brother and Scorchwind, and I was about to catch a kestrel, but then this huge dog flung me away. It chased me..." and Fernpaw went on to tell her friend all about her day.

   Just as she was finishing up, Marigoldshine padded over. Her face showed no expression. "Hey, Fernpaw. Can I sit here?"

   "Sure!" The apprentice purred. "Oh, and this is Snowheart! Snowheart, meet Marigoldshine, my ment-" but when Fernpaw looked back at her friend, she was done. "Snowheart?" Fernpaw began scanning the moors, looking for any signs of where her friend might have gone.

   "Uh, Fernpaw..." she turned her attention back to her mentor. "Who's Snowheart?"

   Fernpaw cocked her head to one side. "My friend. You know, she's silver with white patches? She's a queen?"

   Marigoldshine's whiskers twitched. "Aren't you a little old to have an imaginary friend?"

   Imaginary friend!? Rage boiled under Fernpaw's pelt. "She's not fake. You've seen her before, you have to have!"

Her mentor was starting to look a little annoyed. "Fernpaw," she said slowly. "I know you think she's real, but she isn't."

"She is real!" Fernpaw growled. Anger made the fur on her shoulders rise and her tail bush out. "Are you blind!? She was sitting beside only a few heartbeats ago!"

"Fernpaw, there was no one beside you, except for Locustpaw," her mentor's eyes were starting to widen with concern. "What do you know about this 'Snowheart'? Is she an enemy warrior that you're hallucinating about? Is she just made up? Whatever is going on, there was no strange cat next to you."

"But there was! She's the prettiest cat you'll ever see. Her silver fur glows in the sunlight and the moonlight, and she has the most incredible blue eyes. Marigoldshine, you have to believe me!" Fernpaw wailed like a kit.

Her mentor's eyes suddenly softened. "Maybe we should go see Bluewillow."

"No!" The apprentice shouted. "I'm not sick! There is nothing wrong with me!"

"That was an order, Fernpaw," the golden warrior's eyes hardened again. "Go, and have Bluewillow report to me after she checks you out."

Grumbling, Fernpaw trudged off to the medicine den. Marigoldshine's stupid. Snowheart was right there for StarClan's sake! How did she not see her!? But Fernpaw had a nagging doubt in the back of her mind.

What if Snowheart isn't real?