Shadowpaw let out a hiss of pain as she raised her head. Last night had been vicious training with Peonyheart- no, Shadeheart- with their claws unsheathed, and Shadowpaw had a cut above her eye and a large gash on her belly.

(You may be wondering, the what about Bluestar in the other dream? Well my fellow readers, that was NOT Bluestar. Read the prologue. That's the leader of the Dark Forest, who looks incredibly like Bluestar. The prophecy is REAL tho, Bluster's actress just decided to show her.)

  Looking up at the sky, she realised it was only Moonhigh. I only slept for two hours?

  Okay, good then. Time to put her plan into action.

  Shadowpaw slowly rose to her four paws, tail bunched up behind her so she wouldn't brush it over any other apprentices. Stepping lightly, she ducked to avoid low hanging brambles and dodged the sleeping shapes of the other apprentices,

  Here's the tricky part.

  Lighwhisper, the best tracker who had the best nose and vision in LakeClan was guarding the camp tonight. It would be nearly impossible to slip past her! 

  Suddenly a black pelt brushed past her and came to a stop. Shadowpaw, Shadeheart greeted icily. "Shadeheart,"Shadowpaw responded, just as cool as the Dark Forest warrior. She still hadn't fully forgiven her. How dare she lie to me.

  "Need a tip?"Shadeheart smirked.

  Shadowpaw considered it. She didn't want help, but Lightwhisper was a hard opponent to get past. If Shadeheart could help her with some vital information, then why should she let it pass? "Very well,"she muttered ungraciously.

  Shadeheart's eyes glinted and she beckoned with her tail for Shadowpaw to follow her. She showed her a tiny gap in the stone walls of the camp, at the back of the medicine cat's den. It was ridiculously tiny, so small Shadowpaw would only be able to worm her way through. Ouch, ouch, ouch, she thought as she bumped her head against the stone. Finally she was able to wriggle through, sore and bruised. "Thanks a lot,"she grumbled to Shadeheart, but the she-cat was gone.

  Shadowpaw sped off to the MountainClan border, whizzing past trees and boulders, thankful for her light weight and fast speed. She arrived at the border, at the bottom of an imposing, towering snowy mountain. She remembered what the elders had told her- "MountainClan cats are the most powerful of all the clans, and the most tough, for they live near the top of a dormant volcano, fighting off all kinds of wild predators like cougars and wild foxes. There is a legend that somewhere, living in the mountain, is a wild and powerful beast that is your most useful ally, or your most deadly enemy."

  It was just a legend-right?

  Shadowpaw began to head up the steep mountain, soon becoming tired and wheezing. How do MountainClan cats bear this? she wondered, wanting to drop off in exhaustion. 

  She paused at a clearing and turned around, staring out at the moonlit sky. Below that was the territory of LakeClan and LeafClan, and everything looked so peaceful. 

  "Argh!"she let out a startled yowl as two cats bowled her over and raked their claws down her flanks, pinning her down. She struggled vainly, but her body was to small and not muscular enough, so it was no use. "Let go of me!" she hissed, trying to bite the two cats' paws.

  "LakeClan apprentice,"a tom growled, inspecting her as if she were a piece of fresh-kill. 

  A white-and-black tabby she-cat interrupted him. "Maybe we should hold her ransom. Get a few herbs in return. Maybe marigold. The mountains have few of them."

  A third cat chimed in. "No, we should keep her here, threaten her we'll only let her go if she teaches us LakeClan's battle moves and secrets."

  "Quiet!"the first cat, a light coloured cat with yellow eyes who seemed to be in charge, snapped. To Shadowpaw he said roughly, "What are you doing here? Spying?"

  "No, I'm not!" she said indignantly. "I came here to warn you! I need to see Cloudstar."

The yellow-eyed cat stared at her for a moment longer, before nodding curtly and releasing her. "Surround her,"he commanded his clanmates. "We shall guide her to camp."

  Shadowpaw grumbled under her breath as they hustled her along, but she knew they were well within their rights to do this, as she was the outsider trespassing in MountainClan territory, not the other way around.

  Finally, she arrived at a cliff and followed the others along a stone wall. Suddenly, they all disappeared! 

  Huh? Where were they? Why had they left her here? In panic, Shadowpaw began to bristle, her fur rising before the black-and-white tabby poked her head out of a hole in the cliff wall. "We don't have all day!"she snapped impatiently. "Are you coming or not? You can freeze out there if you want. Your decision."

  She withdrew her head and Shadowpaw cautiously felt against the wall, finding a almost invisible gap in the wall. I would like a safe, secure camp like this, Shadowpaw thought jealously.

  Inside the gap, there was a dark, creepy cave.

  The cave was so dark it took Shadowpaw a few heartbeats for her eyes to adjust. When they adjusted, she saw a low hanging ceiling with a few icicles jutting outwards. This was so scary! How could MountainClan cats live here?

  "This way," the leading tom said curtly, and beckoned for her to go into a tunnel. "Does this go into the main camp?"she asked, slightly nervous. The tom just responded with a short nod.

  They emerged from the narrow and dark tunnel at last, and Shadowpaw caught her first glimpse of the main MountainClan camp. She gasped in wonder and awe.

  It was nothing like what she had been expecting.