Meh, hardly found the time to write this chapter. I've just finished reading Long Shadows and Sunrise, and all I can say without giving anything away is: Wow. If you haven't read it, then get it.

Who's up for another filler chapter? Wait, don't hit that back button! I have a plan for every cat that I'm doing a POV for.

This is one of my worst chapters, I believe. I rushed some parts of it because I wanted to get it up over the weekend. I also may have exaggerated the evilness of Shadowclan and their leader... Oh well, that's just how I picture them. Next chapter will be better, I promise.

"How could you have possibly failed?" Nightstar was pacing back and forth in front of four cats that were sitting with their heads bowed. Rage showed in his eyes, and the rest of Shadowclan sat around in a rough circle, waiting to see what Nightstar would do with them.

"Your job was simple. Mark some of Thunderclan territory. This was a task fit for the weakest apprentice, and you all failed!" Nightstar glared down at every one of them. His shoulders were tensed and he looked as if he wanted to maim each and every one of them.

Don't get sucked into his taunts. Rowanpaw remembered what her mentor had told her moons ago. Nightstar was just blowing off steam. Just sit and take it. He'll run out of things to say. But it seemed as if Nightstar would go on with his rants forever.

"And you!" A loud voice in her ear made Rowanpaw raise her head and involuntarily take a step backwards. "You used to look so promising. You're skill is slipping." Nightstar nudged her roughly with a paw, catching her off guard and almost knocking her off her paws.

Ignore it. The tortishell she-cat bowed her head again, staring at her paws. Nightstar was just trying to anger her. She glanced at her mentor out of the corner of her eye, seeing his worried look. As soon as he saw her looking at him he shook his head quickly, telling her to keep her cool.

"You will never become a good warrior at this rate. You're worthless." Nightstar spat. Rowanpaw raised her head so quickly that their noses almost collided painfully if Nightstar hadn't pulled back. She wasn't going to sit here and take this. It wasn't her fault! She was doing just fine until her clanmates had fled like cowards. "Say that again."

Her voice was cold and filled with hatred. She wanted nothing more than to sink her teeth into this mangy old furballs neck. Rowanpaw had lost all self control, and had made the first mistake of talking back to the Shadowclan leader. Several of the warriors were staring at her with horror in their eyes.

"Worthless." Nightstar hissed quietly in her ear. His tail lashed and his eyes were narrowed menacingly. But Rowanpaw took none of this into account.

Her claws unsheathed and in that moment she felt a powerful blow to her head. She stumbled back, hissing as the fresh pain of unsheathed claws lashed above her left eye. Blood was already starting to well from the slashes, but she would make sure that one cheap blow wasn't going to end this.

Nightstar had turned already, heading back to his former spot in front of all the cats. Rowanpaw snarled and leaped forward. In only two quick bounds she was behind Nightstar. She lashed out with her claws.

But Nightstar was a leader with many seasons of fighting experience. He must have heard her steps, however light they were, because he whirled around and ducked under her blow. His neck struck out like an Adder and time seemed to slow. Rowanpaw could feel his breath ruffling the fur on the back of her neck. She could almost feel his teeth sinking into her scruff. Obviously he just wanted to humiliate her by grabbing her scruff like she was a kit!

Rowanpaw twisted away in a heartbeat. She took advantage of the opening he had left when he tried to grab her scruff. Thinking quickly she used the momentum from twisting out of his grasp and came back at him full force. She rammed into his side, sending the Shadowclan leader stumbling.

There was nothing normal about this apprentice. Under her pretty tortishell fur her muscles rippled. She was agile and quick, which was a trait underestimated by most Shadowclanners, but at the same time she could deal enough damage to make a fully grown warrior turn and flee. Nightstar hadn't liked her cocky attitude from the beginning, and Rowanpaw knew that the leader had put off her warrior ceremony just for that reason.

But she wasted no time pondering these thoughts. While Nightstar was regaining his balance she bounded toward him. She was charging him at full speed, wasting no amount of energy she had stored in her body. This was it! She would prove to Nightstar that she was worthy of being a warrior!

But in an instant Nightstar seemed to recover. He didn't try to dodge her attack, but he simply let his body go limp and he fell into a crouch. As his belly hit the ground Rowanpaw was already less than a tail length away. She stripped over him and just as she was above him Nightstar shot up, raising to full height.

Rowanpaw was thrown even further, doing some sort of flip in the air and landing with her legs outstretched in every different direction. The blood from her wound was flowing into her eye, making it burn. She didn't bother getting up. Why make herself look at all the faces of her clanmates?

She felt a heavy weight on her back as Nightstar rested his paw on top of her to add insult to injury. Instead of being angered it only added to her embarrassment at being made a fool of in front of the whole clan. "Had enough, love?" He hissed in her ear, his voice laced with mockery.

The tortishell she-cat made no effort to reply. Instead she tried to stand, only to be pushed back into the dirt by the leaders powerful forepaw. "Use your head next time. Fighting has more to do than just having a strong and agile body." With that he stalked away, flicking his tail to signal the cats to disperse.

Rowanpaw tried to stand again, only this time it were her legs screaming at her to give them a rest. Right as she felt she was going to collapse Whitethroat was at her side, letting her lean on his shoulder. "I'm here." He murmured soothingly. Normally she would have snapped at her mentor for talking to her like a kit, but as of now she hadn't the strength.

"Let's get you to the medicine cat." He mewed in her ear. Whitethroat led her through the throng of cats who were staring at her as if they still couldn't believe she had come out of a fight with Nightstar alive. But even they must have known that he wasn't aiming to kill her. If he had her injuries would be another story entirely.

Runningnose was waiting for her, apparently. He had cobwebs and poppy seeds already at his paws and he wore a look of sorrow. She knew Runningnose well, and she knew he wasn't a cat who was very eager about fighting. Especially when it's between the clan. The thought ran through her head.

Runningnose pushed the herbs toward her, the solemn look still on his face. She avoided his eyes completely, instead focusing on the herbs. She licked up the poppy seeds and lay down as Runningnose started to apply the cobwebs to the gash above her eye. It was stinging lightly, but quickly he had the cobwebs on and he flicked his tail toward the nests.

Rowanpaw found herself a nest in the back without complaint. She lay down in the soft moss and let her head slowly fall. The tip of her long tail curled over her nose and she closed her eyes. But the moment she had found comfort and was about to drift into sleep Runningnose spoke.

"You'd better not try anything like that again. Nightstar could have easily killed you." His voice was sharp, but it held a hint of care in it. But I'm a part of Shadowclan. Of course he cares for all the cats. Or was it more than that?

"I'll try." Was all that Rowanpaw mewed. Thoughts and questions sprang into her mind, so many that she had trouble deciding which ones to voice first. "Runningnose, did you know my parents?" The medicine cat seemed to freeze as the inquiry met his ears. Rowanpaw knew the story. Her parents were loners who left her outside the Shadowclan camp. But Runningnose was the cat who had found her, so maybe he knew something that no one else did.

"Your mother and father were simply loners. I'd met your mother before. She was a fine cat." Runningnose was staring blankly at the pile of herbs in front of him. Rowanpaw kept her mouth shut, waiting for him to continue, but he never did.

"Were you and her close?" Rowanpaw asked, casually licking a forepaw. This time she would get answers. Not the same old things that she had been told repeatedly.

"Me? No. She was a Loner, Rowanpaw." The medicine cat spoke these words obviously harsher than he intended, because he dipped his head in apology. He went back to sorting the herbs in front of him at a more rapid pace now, avoiding her eyes. He's not telling me something. Came the suspicious thought in the back of her mind.

"Tell me about her." Rowanpaw provoked. She knew that Runningnose would have preferred to drop the subject, but she wanted answers.

"She was a tortishell, like you. She had a fiery temper, too." Rowanpaw saw his whiskers twitch with amusement before he added, "In a nutshell you remind me of your mother in more ways than one."

"So you did know her." Rowanpaw couldn't help but prod further into the past. Apparently further than she had been welcome, because Runningnose gave her a hard look. "More or less. But you need to sleep."

"Less or more?"

"Good night, Rowanpaw." Runningnose replied more firmly, amusement thick in his voice. Rowanpaw gave in to the sleep that was tugging at her aching paws. It was still day outside, but she knew she would have no trouble sleeping through the rest of the day and the night.

-----

"'Ey, get up."

Rowanpaw felt a paw prod the side of her head, and when she didn't answer the voice spoke louder. "Rowanpaw, training, come on." She recognized it as Whitethroat, but still she made no attempt at getting up. Instead she lay her tail over her ears and muttered a quiet, "Not now."

Whitethroat let out an exasperated sigh. "Rowanpaw, you have to learn some discipline. Now get up or I'll tell Nightstar to delay your warrior ceremony even further." Rowanpaw could tell he was serious. She bit back a string of curses that were sitting on the edge of her tongue and grudgingly got to her paws. "What are we doing today?"

Whitethroat was already heading for the exit when he called over his shoulder, "Battle training. But of a different kind." A different kind? What in Starclan is that supposed to mean? But Rowanpaw took no time to sort this out. She removed the cobweb from the wound above her eye and hurried after her mentor.

"If you're still sore from yesterday we can work on your hunting crouch." Instantly a flash of dread filled Rowanpaw from her nose to the tip of her tail. The last thing she wanted to do was work on hunting right when there was so much tension between the clans. "No, no. I'll be fine." She replied almost to quickly, earning a confused look from Whitethroat.

Once a clearing came into view Whitethroat stopped. The ground was littered with leaves, making it easy to slide. "This will have to do." Whitethroat murmured, making his way to the other side of the clearing. "Okay, this time I want you to focus less on the strength behind your attacks and more on the attacks themselves. Try to think of different ways to use them." Whitethroat flicked his tail, signaling that he was ready.

As soon as he signaled for the battle to begin Rowanpaw sprang to life, clearing the gap between the two cats in a few bounds. She fought to keep her claws in as the rush of battling flooded through her veins. She aimed a blow at Whitethroats head but he ducked under it easily. Before he could retaliate she jumped backward, leaving her mentor clawing at thin air.

This time Whitethroat was on the attack. He took a mighty paw and brought it straight down. Rowanpaw had to stifle a purr at the amateur attempt and she rolled to her left. But she had been quick to doubt her mentors abilities, because as soon as she regained her balance a second paw met her flank. She had rolled right into his trap!

She knew good and well that if this had been a real fight she would have a bad wound to remember it by. The tortishell apprentice tried to put some distance between her and Whitethroat. But the black and white tom was having none of that. He advanced, this time aiming a blow at her paws. Without having the time or balance to retreat she tripped, landing face first into a larger pile of leaves.

She could hear Whitethroat trying hard not to purr with amusement, but he was losing that battle. "This is what I mean by focusing on your attacks. You have to be ready for any attack, and know the correct counter attack for it. In other words, think before you charge blindly at your opponent." Rowanpaw took these words and studied them carefully as she picked herself up from the ground, shaking leaves off of her pelt.

Whitethroat put some distance between them, keeping his eyes on her for any sign of an attack. Rowanpaw only took a moment to decide how she was going to attack. With a flick of her tail she sprinted toward him, head low and tail streaming out behind her. She saw her mentor raise up onto his back legs, ready to bring his weight crashing down on top of her.

When Rowanpaw was less than a tail length away she skidded to her right. Whitethroat had aimed right where she had been less than a second ago, and without giving him a chance to turn and attack she aimed a well placed counter attack at his side before scrambling back.

"Perfect!" He praised, turning to face her. Rowanpaw couldn't help but purr lightly, even though it was just a simple maneuver. "But," Whitethroat meowed, his eyes gleaming. "You have to be ready for anything!" With this he lunged at her, paws outstretched.

With a jerk Rowanpaw managed to stumble out of the way, leaving her open for an attack. Whitethroat took the advantage he had and swiped his paw down her flank before she had a chance to back away. With new found determination to get back at him she charged, planning to slide behind him and leap on his back. But Whitethroat had adapted to this strategy, because as soon as she began to slide he brought down a massive paw and pinned her to the earth.

"The same trick won't work twice." Her mentor reminded, removing his paw. "Do you want to work on hunting now? I can see you're still worn out from your fight yesterday." He prodded her heaving flanks and sighed. He obviously disapproved of battle between her and the clan leader as much as any other cat, but he held his tongue.

"Yeah, let's work on hunting." With that they headed deeper into the forest, where prey was more plentiful. Rowanpaw couldn't help but wonder if she would ever be a good warrior. Her body was practically built for fighting. She was more muscled and lithe than some of the warriors, even. I just lack the experience.