MEANWHILE BACK AT STONECLAN

A/N this is gonna be a looooong chapter

Amberpaw pushes Swanpaw over into the wet dirt.
"Hey!" Swanpaw squeals.
"You talk about Cocoapaw every day!" Amberpaw mews, "I miss the journeying cats too but can we talk about someone else? Or something else? Anything else?"
"Who do you wanna talk about," Swanpaw giggles.
"N- nobody!" Amberpaw glances rapidly to either side of her, "never mind, you can keep talking about Cocoapaw."
"Is it Galaxypaw perhaps?" Swanpaw giggles.
"I barely know him!" Amberpaw objects, knowing her friend was right.
"Well nows your chance," Swanpaw nods to where Galaxypaw sits alone in the corner of camp, sheltering under a small overhang.
Amberpaw shakes her head violently, "n-"
Swanpaw begins nudging her nearer to the tom.
"Fine!" Amberpaw rolls her eyes.
She drags her paws in the wet dirt while she pads over to Galaxypaw.
"Hey Amberpaw," Galaxypaw pats his tail to a dry spot beside him.
Amberpaw sits beside him, her pelt hot with embarrassment, "hey."
"You have a little something-" Galaxypaw licks her forehead, "got it."
Amberpaw's pelt heats up more, "th-thanks."
Galaxypaw leans over and licks her cheek.
"Was there something on my cheek?" Amberpaw rubs her paw on her face.
"No, but your paw was filthy, there is now," Galaxypaw laughs.
"Then why-" Amberpaw stops and smiles, she leans over and licks his cheek, "I feel the same way."

BACK AT LEAFCLAN

Irispaw sighed, what she was doing felt wrong. She was supposed to become an apprentice at 6 moons, so why would she have to fight a battle now? All the other warriors and apprentices were gonna be so much bigger than her. Could she really fight off an entire patrol, even with the rest of the Clan by her side?
    "What's wrong, sis?" Her brother, Asterpaw, asked. His pale blue eyes sparkled with an emotion that Irispaw couldn't quite see.
    "Well, uh," The she-cat made sure Leafstar wasn't watching before she continued, "I-I'm scared. I don't think I'll b-be able to do this."
    Sagepaw sighed, taking a deep breathe before muttering, "I feel you, Irispaw, but we can't lose faith. We'll have each other's backs- well, at least I'll have your guys's- the entire time."
    "Plus, someone will be furious if we chickened out now." Asterpaw glared at Leafstar, gritting his fangs with regret.
    Sagepaw set his white paw on Irispaws', and Asterpaw set his on top of that.
    The three smiled at each other and chorused, "Lets do this!"
But would the three actually be together the entire time?
    Suddenly, TreeClan scent filled the air. The patrol was here, and it was LeafClan's time to shine.
    "Now!" Leafstar's howl seemed to break the air as the cats leapt into action.
    Irispaw was shaking in fear. There were only 4 cats in the patrol, only one of which being an apprentice. She decided that a warrior would be much more difficult for her and her siblings to take care of, and leaped onto the fluffy apprentice. Was this cat only fluff? Like, seriously, she didn't even land on his body, just the fluff.
    Well obviously that was wrong because his claws seemed to be there. Well, unless magic was being pinned down on her. She growled, raking her claws against the tom's underbelly. She seemed to barely hit it, though. How was a cat so fluffy?
   She struggled through his grasp and reached to claw his slightly less fluffy face. Instead, though, she ended up slicing through the majority of his right ear.
    "You dare leave me with a scar?!" He roared, "You will pay!" His claws raked into her flank, pain shooting through her.
    Where were her brothers at when she needed them?
    "Well that's what teeth and claws will give you, isn't it?" Irispaw shuddered at her statement, but continued on and jumped onto the tom and dug her claws into his back.
    Well, maybe she could fight her own battles.
    Suddenly, a blaze of gray shoved Irispaw into the forest floor, pinning her down. The cat growled, radiating anger as she hissed, "That's my brother you attacked!" She looked at the orange tom and smiled. He smiled back.
    Did they have some kind of idea?
    Irispaw growled, throwing the cat off of her and arching her back. These apprentices were so much bigger than she was. The gray cat desperately looked around for her brothers, but didn't see them anywhere. Had they left, or, even worse- Irispaw couldn't even process it.
    The two cats simultaneously jumped at her, nipping at either side. They were taunting her, waiting to attack. She jumped up and pounced at one, only to get a paw full of dirt.
     Was this all just a big game at this point?
    Next thing she knew she was flying at a tree, with nowhere else to go. She braced for the impact, but she never hit the tree. Irispaw had simply just hit the ground really hard. She pretended to go limp, and closed her eyes.
    Obviously she wasn't the best fighter. Why would Leafstar send her into a battle like this?
    She felt the two cats leaning over her. "Good job, Thickpaw." The she-cat mewed.
    "Couldn't have done it without you, sis." The tom she called Thickpaw purred.
    "Now, there's still a whole battle to fight!" She exclaimed, "Come on, Oakstar wouldn't want us slacking off!"
    The two cats left, and Irispaw let out all the air she was holding in. The only question was how she was going to heal her wounds.

BACK AT TREECLAN   LOSTPAWS POV

Lostpaw lay in the apprentice's den, curled up in a ball. Ever since Woodspots took the blame for his accidental crossing the border, which meant he was stuck in camp caring for the elders. It wasn't fair, he should've been the one to get the punishment that he deserved. He was the one to do it first, after all.
    At least he was banned to camp, though, because he acknowledged that he deserved a punishment. Thickpaw was on border patrol, and Dewpaw was helping her sister brother sibling thing (Lostpaw didn't know what pronouns to use) find herbs, which left Lostpaw alone. He decided that he should probably go take care of Midnight's fleas, and headed to the medicine den.
    "Hey, you got the mouse bile or whatever?" He asked, stepping into the den.
    "You used the last of it yesterday," Birchwood replied, not looking up from all the herbs
that she was organizing, "Fogpaw is out collecting more, they'll be back soon."
    "Oh, okay," Lostpaw glanced over at the passed out Woodspots, and then sat down by him.
    "So, who are you hoping to get for your new mentor?" Birchwood questioned, looking away from the herbs.
    "What do you mean?" Lostpaw squeaked, "Woodspots will wake up soon, won't he?"
    "I hope, but not every cat can be saved, Lostpaw. I don't think he's coming back. Even with all the herbs in the world, I don't think he could live much longer."
    "No!" You can't let him die! It's your job to keep him here!"
    "Do you catch every piece of prey you find?"
    "No, bu-"
    "Well then healing cats is like hunting. You don't always get the prey, it sometimes just slips out of your paws."
    "Yes but you can alw-" Lostpaw stopped, peeking out of the den. Fogpaw ran into the clearing, her (yes. that would be the pronouns Lostpaw used) blue eyes gleaming with fear.
    Birchwood pushed past him, walking over to her apprentice, "What's wrong?"
    All the cats in camp were peeking out of their dens. Even Oakstar padded out of his den to listen to the young apprentice.
    "There's a battle by the border with LeafClan," Fogpaw mewed quickly, "Dewpaw went to help, but were going to need more cats than her."
    Lostpaw growled, knowing he wouldn't be able to go. He sighed, pretending to be interested like the other warriors.
    "Okay, I'm going to need Nugget, Timberstripe, Darkoak, Finchrise, Pebbleskip, Lostpaw, and Colorpelt to come with me." Oakstar announced, "Ashtalon, you collect some cats for a second wave once we've gone."
    Lostpaw looked up at the siamese tom, bewildered. Was Oakstar out of his mind enough to break the punishment he set? "Wait, really?"
    "Yes, come on! We've got no time to waste, young one!" Oakstar mewed, running through the exit as the other cats followed him.

    Lostpaw gulped. They were about to enter the battle. LeafClan was viscous and he knew it. He knew he could die today, but that's what being a warrior is all about. Right?
    "Everyone ready?" Oakstar whispered.
    "Yep," "You know it," "Of course," and "Lets go!" Were some of the common phrases after that as the cats got ready to attack.
    "Three..."
    Lostpaw trembled as he got ready to pounce.
    "Two..."
    Why was Lostpaw even here? He should've been stuck in camp or whatever.
    "Now!"
    Everyone leaped into the air, pouncing on... nothing?
    Of course the cats pounce where all the cats aren't. Honestly, that's what Lostpaw expected. Everything ended out wrong at some point, didn't it?
    "Ooh, Oakie, welcome to the party!" Leafstar mewed. The battle stopped as Lostpaw shuddered. Her voice sounded like a million Dark Forest cats screaming at him, begging to feast on more blood; his blood.
    Oakstar growled, arching his back defensively. "We just came to get you off our territory," He stated.
    "Oh, did you expect us to leave this soon?" Leafstar questioned, grooming some blood off her paw as she added, "I wanted to stay just a little longer, Oakie." 
    "Yes, actually," Oakstar growled.
    Lostpaw tuned out the conversation as he realized a small gray apprentice staring at him. He couldn't even tell how old she was, but she looked too young to be fighting like this. She had a scar across her back that was bleeding heavily, and her blue eyes shimmered with fear.
    The black tom made sure no one was looking at him before scooting closer to the she-cat. "Hey," Lostpaw whispered, "What are you looking at me for?"
    "H-hello," she trembled, padding a little closer as she continued, "I-I'm Irispaw, c-can you help me?"
    "I'm sorry, but I don't really know any medical stuff," Lostpaw mewed.
    "P-please, uh-" Irispaw sighed before continuing, "Cat, I-I can't die like t-this."
    "My name is Lostpaw," he replied quietly, "And that sounds like a personal problem."
    "Please, Lostpaw. I know you have the decency to do something."
    "This is a battlefield. It's not like I should be healing my enemies." Lostpaw went to turn away, but the she-cat stopped him.
    "Please." Tears began to fall from Irispaw's face, "don't leave me like this.
    Lostpaw growled, taking pity on the young apprentice. He spotted some cobwebs and went to go grab them. The black tom was pretty sure that they helped stop bleeding.
    "Wai-" Irispaw started, but Lostpaw shushed her with his tail.
    "Do you want me to get herbs or am I just supposed to use my magical powers?" He growled. That seemed to shut her up. He grasped some cobwebs in his mouth (which tasted like spiders if you were wondering) and came back.
    "T-thank you," Irispaw murmured as he placed the herbs on her back.
    "Now you should go back to camp and get it checked out by an actual medicine cat," Lostpaw replied, "I think the battle's about to start up again."
    He ran back to his group; luckily, no one had seen him. He must've finished just in time, since he saw it when Leafstar lunged toward Oakstar. He decided that someone else would help him, and started looking for a battle of his own.
    Suddenly, a tom roughly the size of a new apprentice lunged on top of him, pinning him down. He looked like Irispaw, but with tabby stripes.
    Lostpaw only had one question roaming his mind as he kicked the tom off. Why were some of the apprentices so small?

BACK AT FROSTCLAN

"Shadowblaze," Snowfang purrs, "the kits are nowhere near ready yet."
"I know," Shadowblaze's ear twitches on her stomach, "I just want to hear them."
"I'm only a moon into the pregnancy, you haven't two more moons to hear them and many, many more after that," Snowfang laughs.
Shadowblaze laughs, making Snowfang's belly shake, "I'm just so excited."
"Me too," Snowfang purrs.
The warmth of sunhigh warms her belly.
"There's a battle!" Iceclaw races into camp, panting for breath.
Shadowblaze jump's up, "where!?"
"Its Treeclan against Leafclan at their border. I hear Leafstar put one of their warriors into a coma," Moonsky breathes deeply after running after her mate.
"We must help them!" Shadowblaze announces.
"Which one?" Snowfang asks.
"Treeclan!" Shadowblaze storms off through the entrance, "I need all available warriors to follow me!"
"You don't know where you're going!" Iceclaw yells after him.
"Iceclaw, Moonsky, Blizzardwhisker, Snowtree, Leafclaw, Frostwhisker!" Snowfang hauls herself up, her belly swaying, "go save Treeclan!"

STONECLAN (AGAIN)

"There's a battle!" Flathead charges into the camp, panting for breath.
"Leafclan and Treeclan," Grasseyes runs up behind him.
"What's the cause?" Stonestar steps forwards.
"As far as I heard an apprentice stepped over the border. He's been punished by Oakstar and Leafstar put his mentor into a coma," Flathead reports.
"Well then let's go!" Stonestar growls, "Treeclan needs help!"
Several warriors jump at the chance for battle.
Pebblefur stands at the camp entrance, "Flathead, Applepaw, Grasseyes, Iceststorm, Galaxypaw, Halftail, Snowcloud, Amberpaw, Falen, Whitepaw! Go!"
Amberpaw glances to Galaxypaw beside her, "be safe," she mews.
Galaxypaw nods, "you too."
The group of cats charges out of the entrance, following Flathead and Grasseyes to the battle.

FROSTCLAN (AGAIN)

Shadowblaze leads his group into the battle, "attack!" He calls out, lunging at a Leafclan warrior named Fireroar.
The orange tom twists out of his grip and rakes his claws across Shadowblaze's muzzle.
"This is not your battle," the tom hisses.
"This is everyones battle right now," Shadowblaze growls, "and you're in my way."
Shadowblaze throws Fireroar to the side and jumps further into the battle.

STONECLAN (PART THREE)

Amberpaw lunges at a small Leafclan apprentice, there is no way this tiny cat is old enough for this battle. She claws their gray muzzle.
Another tom apprentice jumps onto Amberpaws back, just to be thrown away by Galaxypaw.
"I'll stand by your side," Galaxypaw doesn't look at her, just to the tom batting at his nose, "always."
Amberpaw blushes but remembers her place, this battle.
The tom Galaxypaw had thrown comes up behind her and she kicks him backwards with her hind legs. He is sent hurtling into a Frostclan warrior.
Suddenly the ground shakes and everyone stands still for a moment. The ground shakes more.
Amberpaw looks to the center of the clearing where Swiftleg, a warrior of Stoneclan, lays motionless. His body shakes a bit as the ground shakes get worse.
"What's happening!?" A cat cries.
"What's going on!?" The toms Galaxypaw and Amberpaw had been battling huddle together with a she-cat about their size.
There is no way the trio could be six moons old. They have to be five moons old, maybe not even that. Its cruel and wrong, Amberpaw growls to herself.
Trees begin shuddering and suddenly one snaps. It hurtles down to the ground. The three Leafclan apprentices are huddled in its path.
"Get out of the way!" A Frostclan warrior jumps up and pushes the three out of the way.
He turns to see his rapidly coming fate as the tree falls faster towards him. He looks out into the crowd, a look of terror crossing his face, for he knows what will happen to him. The tree lands on him, covering his entire body and smashing him.
Amberpaw burys her face in Galaxypaw's flank.
"Help," Stonestar pleads weakly.
"Dad!" Icestorm and Snowcloud chorus.
The ground shakes begin to lessen.
They run to their father, half under the tree. They begin digging and drag him out of the branches.
"How many lives does he have left?" Icestorm panics.
Snowcloud whispers an answer in his ear and Incestorm calms a bit.
Stonestar goes limp for a few moments before his eyes blink open again. He stretches his legs and jumps up.
The ground stops shaking entirely but there are a few trees collapsed on the ground around them.
"Where were we?" He asks.