"New kits! New kits!" Cloudpaw bounded around, his blue eyes glowing excitedly. "I won't be alone as an apprentice anymore!"

Dawnfire purred with amusement. "You've been an apprentice for almost two moons now, I'm not sure you'll be training with Squirrletail's kits. Applespot's kits maybe, but you've got to wait quite a while before they will be ready." Squirrletail had just announced that she was currently expecting Brackenclaw's kits. Both cats were rather young, but the Clan was very excited for new kits, not only was Applespots ready to have her kits soon; but now Squirrletail would be after her. SunClan would be blossoming with new life, just as Newleaf always brought. Dawnfire wondered how many more kits this season would bring.

"I hope I don't spend my entire apprenticeship alone." Cloudpaw twitched his ears. "That den is boring, and empty all the time."

Dawnfire brushed his pelt with her tail, she felt sorry for the poor cat. Even if Dovetail would have survived, Cloudpaw's littermates didn't survive, she always had Turtleblaze to train with, and even they weren't the only apprentices. For a while, Heatherflight and her siblings stayed in the apprentice den with him; but the warriors den was soon expanded to allow them. Now Cloudpaw slept alone; Dawnfire wished he didn't have to but nothing would change until he became a warrior, and he wasn't ready for that just yet.

Dawnfire touched her tail to Cloudpaw's pelt. "We should go hunting, prey is bound to be running well today." She purred and led her apprentice out of the camp, she felt very uneasy every time she left the camp. Her encounter with Thornpelt had left her terrified to be anywhere except camp. Patrols she's was fine, but even with Cloudpaw she was still uneasy. Dawnfire kept away from the AshClan border in case Echoheart decided to jump her, it was clear that the cat Echoheart had mentioned before was Thornpelt. It was obvious that the two of them were working together to overthrow Flowerstar and kill any cats who got in their way, one of which was Dawnfire.

Dawnfire needed a way to stop them before they succeeded, that was what Dawnfire feared more than anything, there had to be a way to stop them. Tell Poppyfur maybe..?

"Dawnfire!" Dawnfire's mind was snapped back into reality as her paw caught on an uplifted root, she let out a cry of pain and hit the forest floor. She opened her eyes and saw Cloudpaw staring down at her, confusion in his eyes. "Are you okay?" He questioned.

Dawnfire nodded and stood, shaking the dead leaves from her fur. She tested her paw tentatively on the ground, it was sore but not damaged. "Just not paying attention right now, I'm sorry Cloudpaw." Her pelt burned slightly but she cleaned herself up. "Let's get to hunting, if I didn't scare everything off." She purred with amusement, trying to brush off what she did. Cloudpaw's eyes sparkled and he sniffed the air; instantly looking for any prey. Dawnfire enjoyed watching Cloudpaw hunt, he was very observant and very good at finding prey. He turned in one direction and dropped low to the ground.

The only issue he had were the white sections of his fur that stuck out in the thick forest, like a single snowflake resting on tree bark. Dawnfire struggled with that, he was very easy to spot and not easy to hide. She watched his every move, his pawsteps were light and his movements slow. She searched for what he was stalking and spotted the tiny body of a brown mouse. Cloudpaw seemed to be trying to hide himself in the shadows to turn his white pelt into gray. The mouse seemed rather oblivious to Cloudpaw's presence, until he shot forward to make the kill. The mouse started to dart away, but Cloudpaw was faster.

As his claws met the mouse, his paws skidded on loose, damp leaves and his body hit the ground with a thud and light splatter as he landed in a patch of mud. The mouse was dead, and Cloudpaw was covered in mud. He stood up and wrinkled his nose, Dawnfire let out a purr of amusement. His entire lower half was covered in wet mud, his thick fur stuck out in all directions and his ears flat on his head.

"You alright?" Dawnfire fought back her amusement. Cloudpaw shook a paw, flecking mud onto the forest floor.

"Yeah," He snorted. "At least I caught the stupid thing." He grumbled and stood up, lapping the mud off his pelt and making a face as he did so.

Dawnfire thought for a moment, then got an idea. "You know, maybe that mud isn't a bad idea." She twitched her ears. 'I've heard that Snowtail and Icepetal will cover themselves in mud in order to hide their scent and white pelts."

"Really?" Cloudpaw tilted his head. He looked over his mud-coated pelt for a moment then back up to Dawnfire. "I could try it..." Cloudpaw looked at the mud and dropped his body into it, rolling around and coating himself almost entirely with mud. He stood up and Dawnfire couldn't help but laugh, his fur was now clumped with wet mud and he looked half his normal size.

Dawnfire purred with amusement. "I'm sure you don't have to wear that much mud, just enough to hide your pelt."

"Right..." Cloudpaw twitched his whiskers and shook off some of the mud.

"Now let's try some more hunting." Dawnfire sniffed the air, searching for any scent of prey; Cloudpaw caught the scent of squirrel before she did and went after his kill. Dawnfire decided to search for her own fresh-kill. She caught scent of a mouse and quickly caught it, she buried her catch then turned to find her apprentice. Dawnfire peeled her eyes for him, but was unable to spot him.

She felt a sudden weight on her back, sending shock through her entire body. Dawnfire was instantly on alarm and her instincts kicked in, she through her attacker to the ground; unsheathed her claws and was ready to face Thornpelt. Instead, she realized her white paws were now stained brown and her attacker was much lighter than Thornpelt. Cloudpaw lie on his back, blue eyes wide with shock.

"Oh, Cloudpaw." She let out a shaky sigh. "You scared me."

Cloudpaw scrambled to his paws and puffed out his chest. "I can see that! This mud really did help! You didn't even see me coming!" He flicked his tail confidently.

Dawnfire purred, glad he wasn't asking questions about why she acted so harshly. "It was a very good sneak attack." She praised her apprentice and they continued their hunt. Dawnfire had been right, they prey had been running well. Cloudpaw caught another mouse and Dawnfire caught a mouse and a squirrel, they returned to camp and Dawnfire commanded her apprentice to feed the elders and Applespots.

By the time they returned the mud had pretty much faded from Cloudpaw's coat and now just looked like he had rolled in sand, Dawnfire got her own piece of fresh-kill and sat by the Drinking Pool which cats were finally allowed back around now that the rain and snow were gone. She rested her tail across her paws and leaned down to enjoy her prey. Thornpelt was nowhere in sight, probably on patrol; and she felt peaceful. Poppyfur was in a deep conversation with Flowerstar while Pebblestep sorted herbs. Applespots was laughing along with Squirreltail, clearly welcoming the new queen into the nursery. Dawnfire couldn't help but notice Fawnheart sitting at the warrior's den with her pale eyes resting on the two queens.

There was something in her eyes, was it jealousy? Dawnfire shook her head, it didn't look envious. Almost...nervous. Dawnfire shook her head and turned her head to the entrance of camp as she heard cats approaching. She had been right in assuming that Thornpelt was on a patrol as he headed into camp followed by Turtleblaze, Lionclaw, Rainears and Sandfoot. Thornpelt instantly went to Flowerstar's side and Lionclaw came to join Dawnfire.

"How was the patrol?" Dawnfire greeted with a purr.

"Pretty good, but there were some heavy scents around the AshClan border." Lionclaw flicked his ears and sat beside her. "Pretty sure it was Echoheart."

The fur on Dawnfire's spine stood on end. "How can you be sure?"

"I don't trust that cat farther than I can throw the SunTree," He snorted. "She's up to something; all she does at gatherings is glare at you or Flowerstar. She gives me the creeps."

Dawnfire nodded. "I agree," She looked at her paws. "She's up to no good, I can tell."

Lionclaw yawned and stretched. "Well, I don't wanna worry about that now." He brushed his tail across Dawnfire's side. "I've been on my paws since dawn," He leaned slightly into her. "I'm ready to get some sleep."

Dawnfire touched her muzzle to his shoulder. "You head to the den, I'll join you shortly. I'm gonna make sure Cloudpaw did everything he was supposed to." Lionclaw nodded, his amber eyes clouded with exhaustion and he trudged on towards the warrior's den. Dawnfire stood up and tracked down Cloudpaw as he was exiting the nursery. Applespots and Squirreltail had retreated inside.

Dawnfire dipped her head at him. "Did you do everything?" Cloudpaw nodded. "Good, now eat something and get some sleep. You did really good today." She touched her muzzled to his nose and dismissed him. Dawnfire walked slowly to the warriors den, meeting Thornpelt's gaze on the way. It cut into her, sharper than his claws ever could. Dawnfire sighed quietly and entered the den, trying to shut out her fears and just get some sleep.