As soon as Stormpaw said those words, a sense of insecurity washed over me as if one of our Clanmates were spying on us at that moment.

"What?" I whispered. I was doubtful that Rosepaw would even do such a thing.

"I-I could be wrong," Stormpaw replied quickly. "It was in the night. I went to another part of the forest to... um, train. It was then when I caught a scent of two different cats, one of whom was Rosepaw and the other smelled like ShadowClan."

"It seemed like they met, but there was garlic nearby so I couldn't tell if ShadowClan was really trespassed into the territory," he continued, suppressing a cough.

"Frostpaw, Stormpaw needs some rest," Aspenfern meowed from the other side of the den. "Please make it fast."

"Okay," I mewed, before turning back to the grey tabby tom. "Can you tell me where you scented them?"

"Near the Great Sycamore, I think," Stormpaw responded tiredly. "Um... before I forget, thanks for the mouse."

"Welcome," I mewed awkwardly. "I'll be going now. Get well soon."

Once I got out of the medicine cat den, I began to ponder if - and who - I should tell about the situation.

I was worried that if I told a cat like Strikestar, he could get the wrong idea.

Distractedly, I buried the bones of the mouse outside camp. Maybe I should ask for Raincreek's view on this.

"Are you looking for me?" I jumped when I heard Raincreek's voice. The light grey she-cat was standing by a tree.

"How-"

"A hunch," the StarClan warrior mewed simply.

"Were you stalking me?" I asked, uncomfortable.

"If I'm teaching you, shouldn't I observe you to check your progress?" Raincreek questioned. "So, what is it what you want to ask me?"

"Oh, um... I'm not sure if I should tell any cat about what Stormpaw told me," I began hesitantly before I gave a quick summary of the situation.

After a tense moment of silence, my night time mentor gave me her answer.

"I think you already know what to do," Raincreek responded dryly. "Also, we won't be having training today. You look dead on your paws."

"O-okay," I mewed with a sigh.

She then vanished from sight, leaving me exasperated and unhappy with her answer. Nonetheless, I decided to spend some time later thinking about it.

I returned inside the camp, glancing at the fresh-kill pile. I had not eaten all day.

"Want to share?" Dustpaw padded up to me, holding a small pigeon in his jaws. The former ShadowClan apprentice looked - surprisingly - happy in contrast to the Clan's gloomy mood.

"Sure," I agreed as my stomach rumbled in hunger.

As we plucked out the feathers, Dustpaw initiated a conversation.

"I caught this by Tallpines," he began. "It was on a tree so I waited for it to fly down because I can't climb trees quietly. I was lucky, actually, when the pigeon decided to fly down to peck at some berries. I used the opportunity to catch it in one fell swoop."

"Good job," I meowed, only half listening. I was focused more on thinking about the situation. As I bent down to take a bite of the prey, Dustpaw jabbed me.

"Hey! What was that for?" I asked crossly.

"You weren't listening," the dark grey tom mewed, pushing the pigeon away. "You won't be having this until you start listening."

My stomach grumbled. "Okay, okay, I'm listening."

Dustpaw seemed satisfied with my response. "Look... other than you and Stormpaw, I can't trust any cat else enough to tell them this. Well, since Stormpaw is sick, I came to you."

"Tell them what?" I asked as I wondered why he did not just ask me directly.

"I'm getting to it," my denmate meowed. "While I was hunting, I accidentally wandered off and I ended up near Snakerocks. There was a wind blowing and I caught a faint scent of ShadowClan that came from inside the territory. I found where the scent came from, which is one of the branches of the Great Sycamore!"

"I thought ShadowClan can't climb trees," I broke in, confused.

"Actually, w- I mean, they can," Dustpaw revealed. "Some were taught the skill to spy on other Clans and there is only one cat that have such tree climbing skill in ShadowClan. Clawtooth, the deputy. He is spying on ThunderClan!"

"Spying?" I repeated, alarmed. "We need to inform Strikestar about it immediately."

He acknowledged my words with a nod. "Yes, but first, finish this pigeon."

"Right."

We gobbled up the pigeon within heartbeats. It felt uncomfortable as my stomach was beginning to get used to the little prey I ate during leaf-bare. Hopefully, I won't get a bellyache later...

Dustpaw and I headed towards Strikestar's den. Raising my voice, I called for the ThunderClan leader, saying that we needed to speak with him.

Strikestar emerged from his den. Seeing us, he gestured for us to enter his den.

It was the same when I visited it some moons back. I felt nervous, having to speak to the ThunderClan leader directly again, but it was important.

"Make it quick," he meowed.

"Dustpaw says that ShadowClan is spying on us," I responded.

Strikestar stiffened. "Explain," he mewed, directing it to Dustpaw.

The dark grey tom looked pressured under the leader's searching gaze. I gave him an encouraging look.

"While I was hunting, I found Clawtooth's scent on one of the branches of the Great Sycamore," Dustpaw explained. "He is the best tree climber in ShadowClan."

"I see," Strikestar mused, though he sounded quite doubtful of Dustpaw's words.

"I want you and Frostpaw to investigate further," he instructed. "Both of you are less than two moons away from your warrior assessments, so the results of your investigation would show whether you are ready."

Our faces changed to that of surprise. "Why?" I questioned.

"I need to know more information about this before I inform the Clan," Strikestar meowed. "How did the ShadowClan deputy managed to get into the territory undetected? I want you two find that out so that it can be prevented in the future."

Both of us exchanged looks and accepted Strikestar's order.

"If you have any other questions about it, feel free to ask me," the light grey tom mewed. With that, Dustpaw and I left his den.

As I headed back to the apprentices' den with Dustpaw, I glanced in the direction of the forest, suddenly dark and foreboding.

It felt that it was full of enemies.

------------------------------------------------------------

Hello everyone! Sorry for the irregular updates recently, as I lost inspiration to write during that time.

The story is slowly reaching the climax, and I hope to end it at chapter 35. Thanks for reading, and remember to leave a vote and comment if you enjoyed. :)

Look out for next week's chapter -  "Chapter 24 - Investigation"!