Skypaw's back arched and her fur bristled for the third time today. She bolted into camp.

"Sunstar!" She screeched. The happy buzz of the Clan halted and all the cats fell silent, staring at Skypaw with confusion. Russetsky and Bramblefrost raced out of the medicine den, and Appleleaf poked his head out of his own den.

Sunstar was out of his den within seconds and was bolting down the tumbled rocks. "Skypaw?" He narrowed his eyes at her. Whatever the ThunderClan leader had against her, she did not like it. However, this was not the time for such a thought.

"ShadowClan has invaded!" She hollered. Russetsky's back arched. The pelts of ThunderClan warriors bristled all around.

"Willowleaf and I were out talking when Nightflare and Hawkpaw were caught in our territory," Skypaw quickly explained. It took all she had to keep talking and to ignore Sunstar's piercing gaze meeting hers. "I was told to go back to camp so I did, but I stopped to talk to Featherfur. That's when we heard ShadowClan and a yowl!"

"Russetsky! Order patrols!" Sunstar hissed. Russetsky nodded and her eyes scanned the Clan.

"Hawkeye, Blizzardfur, Flarecloud and Flowermoon come with me!" The ThunderClan deputy hollered. Skypaw noticed she was choosing the healtiest cats. "Duskwave, Stormpelt, Shadepaw and Skypaw go with Sunstar!" Skypaw nodded at her order. Excitement tingled in her paws when she realized she would be fighting an enemy Clan for the first time.

Pity soon filled her heart when she glanced at the medicine den. Rainpaw would not participate in this battle.

Skypaw remembered that her scratches had not been treated by the ThunderClan medicine cat since the battle with the badgers, but she put that aside. Time to rip ShadowClan to pieces!

"Where's Willowleaf?" Bramblefrost's alarmed meow came from the entrance to the split rock. He hadn't moved since Rainpaw was submitted into Willowleaf's care.

"She's still outside with the ShadowClan medicine cats!" Skypaw replied. Her father's frosty blue eyes clouded over with fear. He was not the only cat who had realized that Willowleaf did not have an apprentice. If she was killed, ThunderClan would be absent of a healer.

"Let's go, then!" Sunstar's deep meow rang through camp. "Petalheart, Hazelflower and Jaysoul will be in charge of camp!" With a lash of his tail, he ducked through the gorse tunnel, the rest of his patrol behind him. Russetsky waited patiently for her turn to lead her patrol out of the ThunderClan camp.

Skypaw bolted through the forest. For the first time since they were kits, Shadepaw and Skypaw ran side by side, matching pawstep to pawstep. Skypaw's heart warmed for a moment before she realized once more that Rainpaw was absent.

"May StarClan light your path," Skypaw meowed to her sister. Shadepaw seemed surprised for a moment before replying.

"You too," The littermates shared a heart-warming moment before focusing on the battle that lay ahead.

Now that Rainpaw was still on the brink of going to StarClan, Skypaw knew how real the possibility was that each battle could be her last. Concentrating, she was sure to tell herself that every move counted.

Sunstar growled. Gasps and hisses came from the cats on his patrol, and Skypaw stretched to see what lay ahead. She wished she would have stayed to guard camp instantly.

ShadowClan were everywhere. Their scent filled the air, and Skypaw even saw some cats marking ThunderClan trees with ShadowClan markers. Willowleaf, Nightflare, and Hawkpaw were no where to be seen.

"ThunderClan, attack!" Sunstar's deep meow brought ThunderClan the attention of the ShadowClan cats. Skypaw shivered. The coldhearted cat's eyes shone with eagerness and excitement. Their claws were sheathed and they crouched, ready for the fight ThunderClan was about to give them. Skypaw wished she could feel more confident in her fighting skills than the ShadowClan cats appeared, and she saw the doubt in the eyes of her Clanmates before they all leaped into battle.

Skypaw decided to launch her attack off with a mighty battle cry, as the other ThunderClan cats had done to show their arrival. She was surprised at how natural it felt, and how it caught the attention of a ragged gray pelt of a ShadowClan tom. She studied him for a moment. He had to be at least a moon younger than Skypaw, and she had only been training for three moons or so!

The tom hissed. Skypaw scowled at him, unsheathing her claws. Dropping into a crouch she usually used for hunting, she stalked around the apprentice. He copied her movements, something she guessed was supposed to fool her. Never.

She leaped at him. Her claws sank into his back, and one of her hint paws pinned his tail to the forest floor. Giving him a few blows, she stepped back, changing position. Before she could plan her next move the apprentice was upon her, lashing his claws against her face. Feeling her skin tear under his paws on the same cheek the badger had scratched, she let out an unwelomed cry of pain from the reopened, untreated wound.

This seemed to give the tom confidence. He leaped at her again, but she was ready. She side stepped, dodging his attack. He landed in the undergrowth face first, and Skypaw let out a meow of amusement before taunting him.

"Is that all you got?" Her eyes twinkled. Her confidence raised. She would beat him if her life depended on it.

"Nope, I believe we got ThunderClan territory too," He spat back. He looked around the area. More ShadowClan cats leaped into the clearing, quickly marking more ThunderClan trees.

"Think again, furball!" Skypaw's opponent was greeted with another hiss. Skypaw purred for a moment when she realized the source had come from Shadepaw. "You may think winning battles means marking trees, but we got claws to win ours!"

As soon as the words left Shadepaw's mouth, Russetsky and her patrol leaped out of the bushes with a mighty cry. Russetsky leaped at one of the ShadowClan marker cats, clawing her flank. The cat retailiated with a hiss once they realized who their attacker was, but Russetsky didn't seem offended. Instead, she used it against her birth Clan. Skypaw's mother raked the eyes of the cat she was facing, making them yowl.

"Get out of here, Frosttail," Russetsky hissed. The snow white cat, who's pelt was now stained with blood from her wounds and had one of her eyes squeezed shut, turned away. Running back through the trees, Frosttail crossed the real ShadowClan border without being bothered again.

A triumphant cry came from her mother. Skypaw decided to let one out too, and her mother turned to look at her. A purr escaped Russetsky's mouth before she launched herself into battle with another one of her former Clanmates.

Skypaw looked back at the ragged pelt of the apprentice she was battling. His eyes followed the path where Frosttail had fled. He looked at Skypaw and Shadepaw nervously before bolting after Frosttail. Skypaw guessed that she was his mentor, and this happened to be his first battle.

Skypaw and Shadepaw shared a yowl of victory together. Skypaw was about to ask Shadepaw who she wished to attack next, but the decision was out of her reach when a huge tom charged towards Shadepaw.

"Shadepaw, look out!" Skypaw hissed. Shadepaw spun around just in time. Her claws combined with the tom's face, a move that she hadn't planned, but one out of defense. It had worked, though. The tom's sight was blinded by blood and Skypaw and Shadepaw leaped at him. Shadepaw aimed for his face again, but Skypaw did her one and only signature move.

She turned in the air. She couldn't be in a better position. Just turn a little bit more and she'd hit the tom's head...

Just as she was about to do so, a heavy, unwelcomed paw slammed against her flank, cutting her move short. Landing on the ground with a thud, she hissed and quickly looked up at her attacker.

A golden pelt of a she-cat stood above her. Her ears, paws, and tail tip had white speckles. Something eerie about her green eyes made Skypaw want to flee back to camp just by looking at them.

"A pity ThunderClan apprentice, fighting my warrior?" The cat taunted. "Looks like I will have to deal with this little cat myself."

The cat was about to lunge at Skypaw, and Skypaw let out a yowl of fear. Something told her that no matter how she tried, she would not defeat this cat.

"Hold it right there, Dapplestar!" The cat who had been about to attack Skypaw froze and looked up. Skypaw's heart ached with dread. It turns out this cat wasn't just any ShadowClan warrior, it was ShadowClan's leader. She was crowfood.

"Russetsky!" Dapplestar hissed. Skypaw hasn't ever seen that much fury in any cat's eyes more than the amount in Dapplestar's right now.

"Attack my kit and you will loose a life right here, right now," Skypaw's mother hissed. "I'd think you'd care more for your granddaughter."

(Dun dun dun! I know, I'm using Russetsky more and more to bring out Skypaw's hidden relatives in ShadowClan. I find it enjoyable really, because Skypaw will never be able to get rid of her heritage in ShadowClan even though she's ThunderClan born. Kind of the opposite of Tawnypelt in the real books!

Anyways, I can't believe I'm almost had 400 reads! I <3 you guys, as you know. Please vote and comment predictions :D)