Shadowpaw's POV

  I'm so bored right now!

  Shadowpaw was randomly pacing the camp. Wavepaw had gone out to patrol, Tigerstripe was training with Minnowstream. Grr...Shadowpaw had noticed the two of them were getting very close these days...

  Which meant one thing.

  When Shadowpaw took over the clans as Shadowstar, Minnowstream's sentence wouldn't be simple exile. It would be death. Then Shadowstar would kill her, again, in the Dark Forest. (StarClan would be dead then)

  As the stars slowly twinkled in, Shadowpaw excused herself and went into her den, ready for another night of training.

  Shadowpaw woke up in the Dark Forest. As Shadeheart said, she was waiting for her by the Mud River.

  "What are we doing tonight?"Shadowpaw asked curiously. As far she she knew, nobody had ever trained next to the Mud River.

  Shadeheart glanced at her and sneered. "We need to toughen you up,"she said plainly. "Teach you the battle skills and tactics of the other three clans. I assume you are very clear in the way LakeClan fights, eh? I used to be LakeClan, you know. So I'm afraid I'm not the best at LeafClan fighting. Tonight I invited somebody from LeafClan here-this cat is one of the best fighters LeafClan has ever seen."

  Shadeheart melted into the shadows, and a muscular tom stepped forwards to replace her.

  "Greetings, Shadowpaw,"the sandy brown tabby meowed, green eyes glinting sharply. "Shadeheart, our leader, has spoken highly of you."

  "Wait...Shadeheart is leader of the Dark Forest?"Shadowpaw exclaimed in shock.

  "Yes,"the tabby's eyes gleamed with surprise. "She has not told you?"

  At a sudden loss for words, Shadowpaw shook her head. The tabby continued. "Shadeheart rose from the lowly rank of apprentice to warrior, then conquered the current leader, who is now dead, by the way, and became leader of the South side of the Dark Forest. I am the leader of the North side."

  "It is an honour,"Shadowpaw meowed, dipping her head in respect. The tabby nodded curtly. 

  "You must be wondering who I am,"he said. "My name is Windstripe. Former deputy of LeafClan, now risen to join my friends, my allies and my comrades in the Dark Forest."

  He rose to his paws. "Now, about our lesson,"he began. "LeafClan is the best of the four clans at camouflaging themselves among the leaves. Thanks to our pelts which are earthy colours-brown, tawny, ginger-we can easily hide among our terrain. This is your first task-do you see that dead oak far far ahead?"

  When Shadowpaw nodded, he purred, satisfied. "Good. I will be hiding somewhere there, but first, we need a change of surroundings..."

  He let out a screech, and the whole world turned upside down, into another layer of reality, this time full of green nature, fresh flowers and tall trees.(Sorry, don't have a picture for this)

  "Find me when you are ready,"Windstripe's deep voice echoed around Shadowpaw.

  Shadowpaw lifted her muzzle and parted her jaws, immediately smelling Windstripe scent. She tracked it to the bottom of a beautiful orange oak. Stealthily climbing up and glad climbing silently was one of her strengths, she let out a yowl and pounced onto the top of the tree.

  There was nobody there.

  She had been tricked and misled!

  Growling with irritation, she climbed back down and searched the clearing keenly. "LeafClan cats are cleverer than you think. They use their surroundings. Think..."came Windstripe's voice again. She narrowed her eyes, searching for a sandy brown pelt.

  What was that Windstripe had advised her? LeafClan cats use their surroundings. Hmm...

  She remembered one time, Crystalpaw had nearly knocked her into a puddle of mud. So... Maybe, instead of looking for and light brown cat, she should look for a mud covered one!

  Which meant Windstripe was hiding somewhere where he could blend in with the dirt.

  Shadowpaw noticed a strange lump at the back of a tree, and went to investigate. Looking around it, she saw nothing but mud and a thick tree trunk. Disappointed, she began to withdraw her head when she thought she saw the tree bark move...

  Peering more closely, she realised the bark was actually Windstripe's mud covered head, his body buried underneath the dirt.

  "Found you,"Shadowpaw smirked. Windstripe shook his head and sighed. "That was very, very long,"he muttered. "If you had been looking for LeafClan, they would've attacked you long ago."

  "I know,"Shadowpaw muttered, burning in shame.

  Then they practised tree fighting.

  "LeafClan cats mostly fight on trees,"Windstripe said. "It's their one advantage the other clans don't have. So tonight, we're going to be learning tree fighting. Tell me one of the things we need to do in tree fighting."

  "Keep our paws light and don't land hard, in case the branch snaps?" Shadowpaw suggested after a while of thinking. Windstripe nodded. "Also try to dig your claws into the bark and use your tail for balance,"he advised.

  He taught her the hide-and-drop move, where she could hide herself on a branch on top of her opponent and leap down onto him. Her aim must be very precise, or the results could be fatal.

  Shadowpaw was also taught the swing-and-claw move, where she gripped her above branch with her legs and swung hard into her opponent, knocking him over and down onto the ground. A good killing move.

  Tired, sore and aching with bruises, Shadowpaw sighed in relief when the training was over. "I will see you again soon,"Windstripe promised darkly, his eyes glinting. "Now you must figure out a way to kill one of Ripplestar's remaining two lives."

  And with that ominous warning, the leader of the North began to fade.