Rainpaw awoke in her nest to feel thorn-sharp claws raking down her pelt. She spun around, knocking away the enemy, to see Darkshade, the medicine-cat apprentice, on the ground. "What were آپ doing?" Rainpaw asked, her voice rising with horror. Darkshade scrambled to his paws, shooting her a panicked look, and ran away out of camp. Rainpaw chased after him, but her paws felt heavy and clumsy with tiredness. "Darkshade!" She yowled. Her clanmate, Duskfall, raced over to her and skidded to a halt. "What's wrong?" He asked. Rainpaw narrowed her eyes into the thick layer of pine trees. "Its Darkshade. This morning he clawed me, and I wanted to know why so asked him and he ran away." Duskfall dug his claws into the ground. "Darkshade is being trained سے طرف کی the dark forest. I didn't tell anyone this because he was a loyal warrior. But I can see now that his loyalty is leaning towards the dark forest." Rainpaw shuddered. "Is Nightstar going to exile him?" Duskfall shook his head. "No. She has no idea, and its going to stay that way." He was staring into the forest with a confused look on his face. "I see a shadow," he warned. "Its coming this way." Rainpaw shrugged. "Its probably just Darkshade coming back." But Duskfall was obviously scared, and Rainpaw didn't know why. "Darkshade is good. He probably wasn't thinking when he scratched me." Duskfall suddenly ran back to camp, letting out a screech of terror. Rainpaw turned to look again at Darkshade, who now was no longer a shadow. His eyes blazed with a آگ کے, آگ of fury, and his فر, سمور was bushed out so that he looked twice his size. "Darkshade!" Cried Rainpaw. "Were your clanmates!" Darkshade ignored her and burst into the camp with a loud screech. Hollystem emerged from the nursery looking scared and confused, and her eyes widened with shock when she saw the medicine cat apprentice's state. "Join me," Darkshade growled, and Foxclan will be spared." Rainpaw's clanmates changed confused looks. "Join آپ in what?" Mossfoot yowled. Darkshade thrust his muzzle closer to hers. "The Dark Forest." Mossfoot gave a small squeak of surprise. "The Dark Forest is evil," she warned, trembling from nose to tail-tip. Darkshade lifted his chin. "I don't care. Their teaching me valuable things." Mossfoot narrowed her eyes. "What sort of things?" "Fighting." He squared his haunches, ready to leap into battle. "So, who wants to شامل میں me?" Rainpaw's clanmates looked scared, and none of them raised a paw to شامل میں Darkshade. Darkshade grunted. "Suit yourself. آپ are missing alot of fun, though." He padded away out of the camp and into the forest. Once he was gone, the clan broke into loud gossip. Poisenclaw snorted. "Fun? He calls the dark forest fun?!" Morningshade shrugged beside the nursery. "Who would have thought our loyal medicine cat apprentice would شامل میں ranks with the place of no stars?" Somewhere else Nightstar meowed grimly, "Who else have the dark warriors taken from else? Who else is disloyal and ready to fight us?"
***
Rainpaw, out training with Nightbreeze, listened as her mentor spoke instructions. "So, I want آپ to spring on me and land on my back. When I roll over, go limp so that instead of آپ having to carry the burden of your enemy, I will have to."Rainpaw nodded and dropped into a crouch. Then she found herself thinking, Is Nightbreeze being trained in the dark forest, to? Is she disloyal? Rainpaw stared wonderingly at her mentor. She couldn't picture her growling at Nightstar, یا any of her clanmates. "Rainpaw, are آپ ready? Leap on me!" Nightbreeze's voice broke into her thoughts and Rainpaw sprang at Nightbreeze, landing squarely on her shoulders. "Now get in a couple blows before going limp!" Rainpaw hit Nightbreeze in the back, claws sheathed, before going limp. Nightbreeze toppled over with the weight and tried to shake Rainpaw off but couldn't. "Good job! You're almost ready to be a warrior!" The thought made Rainpaw shiver with excitement. She bounced off her mentor and sat calmly on the forest floor. Nightbreeze licked her paw, meowing, "I think your ready to اقدام on. Lets try a مزید complicated move." Rainpaw nodded eagerly and looked up at Nightbreeze. "First, I want آپ to rear up on your hind legs. Then leap up, twist with your paws out and claws unsheathed, then land on your enemy's back." Rainpaw tried this اقدام nervously, rearing up on her hind legs. She leapt up and lashed at thin air with her claws unsheathed, then landed on the ground unbalanced. Nightbreeze stared at her. "Nice try. It was good except for two things: آپ landed unbalanced, and didn't put enough force into your jump." Rainpaw sighed. "I guess I'll try that اقدام again." She reared up on her hind legs and this time put مزید effort into her jump. She slashed out with her claws unsheathed, twisting, then landed perfectly. "Brilliant!" Meowed Nightbreeze happily. "Now we can اقدام on to hunting tactics." They padded further into the pine forest until almost no sun reflected through the branches. Nightbreeze's eyes glinted in the darkness. "Here آپ cant see any prey, so آپ have to rely on other senses. Open your mouth to taste the air." Rainpaw obeyed her mentor and opened her mouth. The scent of the river lingered in the air faintly, along with the mingled scents of گلہری, جائے وقوع and mouse. "What do آپ smell?" Asked Nightbreeze. "The river, squirrel, and mouse." Nightbreeze nodded. "Good. Anything else?" Rainpaw sniffed the air, searching for a مزید stronger scent. The smell of rabbit hung in the air, but مزید strongly blackbird. "I smell blackbird," Rainpaw reported. Nightbreeze smiled. "Go and catch it." Rainpaw's tail trembled with excitement as she padded away. Almost instantly she heard a small scuffling under some dead leaves. Rainpaw dropped into a crouch and inched slowly forward. Once she was withen a tail-length of the گلہری, جائے وقوع she leapt, killing it with a تیز رو, سوئفٹ bite to its spine. She suddenly imagined Darkshade biting into a cats spine, yowling with triumph as the cat's blood tasted on his tongue.

TO BE CONTINUED.