Darkpaw felt a tinge of dissatisfaction when he landed on the ground with a forceful thump. He stood up, shaking sand out of his black fur.

"I heard that, Darkpaw," Rainfeather meowed, making the apprentice fluff up in embarrassment.

"Rainfeather, be nice!" Pebbletail snapped.

"I was!" he replied. Pebbletail purred and turned back to Darkpaw.

"It's okay," she soothed, "That move just needs a little work."

"Right," the black tom meowed, a gleam of confidence returning to his blue eyes.

As the two she-cats rushed to the training ground, Amberstar remembered the last time Rainfeather had gone missing. It was before he became blind, before she had even become leader.

Amberleaf sat by the fresh-kill pile, tail twitching with impatience as she waited for Rainpaw. The deputy's apprentice was nowhere around. Amberleaf was even more confused when she saw Rainpaw's sister, Hollypaw, come out of the apprentice den with a worried look on her face.

"Hollypaw!" Amberleaf called, "Have you seen Rainpaw?"

The gray and white she-cat shook her head. "No. I thought he was with you."

"Well he's not. Come on Hollypaw, let's go find him."

It wasn't too long before they finally located Rainpaw. He had been at the RiverClan border, attempting to catch a fish. His mentor and his sister purred in amusement when he said, "There you are Amberleaf, I've been waiting for you!"

Amberstar sighed; those were good times.

"I see him!" Hollypelt announced, "Oh, thank StarClan!"

And there he was, sitting in the sand as Pebbletail and Darkpaw trained in a slight dip in the ground.

Pebbletail looked up and grinned. She meowed, "Rainfeather, you are in big trouble."

Rainfeather furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"I was worried sick about you!" Hollypelt declared.

"That's what I mean," Pebbletail meowed smugly.

Rainfeather rolled his eyes and returned to his sister. "Why?" he asked, "I've been here the whole time."

"You didn't tell me where you were going," his sister argued.

"You had already left." Rainfeather took an extra sniff of the air. "Oh no. Amberstar, have you joined us as well?" He pushed onto his paws.

"Yes, I have, Rainfeather. You better have a good excuse for this."

The blind tom walked over to stand next to the leader, resting his tail on her shoulders. "You shouldn't have been worried, Amberstar. After all, you know better than anyone that I'm perfectly responsible."

Amberstar rolled her eyes. "Rainfeather, if you're trying to charm me, it's not going to work. The younger she-cats in the Clan may fall over their paws for you, but I'm not exactly in that category."

Rainfeather smiled. "I think you've misinterpreted my gesture. I know that we're just friends, you know, in a mentor-apprentice way. I was just pointing out that while I may be blind, I'm not an idiot."

"I'd have to disagree with that last comment," Redstripe meowed, sauntering up to the group. His apprentice, Firepaw, followed him, his amber eyes hostile. Firepaw had been learning a little too much from Redstripe. He even had his mentor's signature sneer planted on his face.

"Not now, Redstripe," Amberstar growled through gritted teeth.

Anger flared in Redstripe's green eyes. "Of course, Amberstar," he purred, his voice silky smooth. Like a snake luring in its prey. He and Firepaw padded away, but as they went, Firepaw stepped on Rainfeather's foot, making the gray tom yelp in pain. Darkpaw snarled at the ginger apprentice, but Firepaw flicked his ear dismissively.

Amberstar turned to Darkpaw. "Darkpaw," she meowed, "Would you and Pebbletail like to come hunting with me?" The leader winked at Pebbletail, and the dark brown she-cat nodded in understanding.

Darkpaw looked startled. "Sure, of course! Anything you want, Amberstar."

Amberstar smiled. "Good. And Hollypelt, you can take Rainfeather back to camp."

"Right."

The two groups headed in opposite directions.

"Rainfeather, don't you ever scare me like that ever again!" Hollypelt berated her brother.

"Hollypelt, calm down. I said I was sorry. But listen, just because I'm blind, doesn't mean I'm a helpless kit who has to follow his mother around to stay safe. And Hollypelt, you're not my mother."

Hollypelt snapped her jaw shut, taken aback. "Okay," she said slowly. They stayed silent the rest of the way, but Hollypelt made a vow to herself. I will help Rainfeather become a warrior again.

Later than afternoon, Amberstar made a special announcement.

"Cats of WindClan, it's time to ordain a new warrior. Darkpaw, come forward." Darkpaw did what he was told, slightly surprised.

"I, Amberstar, leader of WindClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to learn the ways of your noble code, and I commend you to make him a warrior in his turn. Darkpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do!" Darkpaw nearly shouted. A few cats purred in amusement.

"Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your warrior name. Darkpaw, from now on you shall be known as Darkfur. StarClan honors your bravery and enthusiasm, and we welcome you as a full warrior of WindClan."

It was the happiest moment of Darkfur's life.