Yuki, Asch, and Crow yowled in agreement, clearly itching for a fight. Reed joined in, apparently stoked to be in his first battle.

     No... Eclipse worried. What if he gets badly hurt?

     Eclipse saw SkyChaser flick his tail nervously, and Wind shift her wings uncomfortably.

     Eclipse was scared for her friends. They could get hurt, and she wouldn't be there to help them.

     "Who is going to be in the battle patrol?" HavenFlight asked.

     "There will be two patrols," HailClaw answered. "I will lead the first patrol- the one that confronts Pacree Earth. Ragged, Yuki, Reed, Breezy, Wind, DarkFlight, FeatherCloud, and StarFlower will come with me. Storm will lead the second patrol- the reinforcement patrol. SunnyHeart, Meadowlark, HavenFlight, Crow, SkyChaser, and Asch will go with him. Peregrine, GrayStream, and Solar, you'll guard the camp, plus RoseWish, Maple, CedarShade, Pearl, QuietFlower, and Sapphire. SpringShine and Eclipse, you'll go with my patrol, and hide near the battle to treat the wounded."

     Hope fluttered in Eclipse's chest. She would be able to help her Pacree-mates after all!

     StarFlower stepped forward.

     "I don't want any of my Drolgonets in a battle yet! Solar and FeatherCloud only left the nursery two years ago, and Eclipse is still considered a Drolgonet! Plus, they're all only six years old!" She protested.

     FeatherCloud hurried over to her mother, and murmured something into her ear.

     "We need all the Drolgons we have," HailClaw responded soothingly. "I'm sorry. But I promise you, StarFlower, that I will do my best to keep them safe. You'll also be with two of them in battle."

     StarFlower stared up at HailClaw miserably, and let out a small whine. Eclipse padded over to her mother, and nuzzled her affectionately.

The three sisters could take care of themselves. They were at an early adolescent-like age and were allowed to form small relationships now, anyways. They were gaining more responsibility. Or, at least, Solar and FeatherCloud were, and Eclipse should've been.

     "I'll be as safe as I can," Eclipse promised.

     StarFlower sighed, and Solar and FeatherCloud sat on either side of their mother.

     "I'm staying here," Solar murmured. "I'll be fine."

     "I promise to be careful," FeatherCloud murmured.

     Eclipse noticed immense fear in her eyes.

     "We must leave now!" HailClaw called, jumping off his ledge.

     Solar pulled away, and padded over to the nursery-den, to sit next to RoseWish and her Drolgonets. FeatherCloud and Eclipse twined tails, and padded at either of StarFlower's sides.

     SpringShine fell in beside Eclipse, and brushed her wing against Eclipse's reassuringly.

     StarFlower wrapped her tail protectively around Eclipse, and put her wing firmly over FeatherCloud.

     "I promise you, you will be safe, and no Drolgons will hurt you," StarFlower growled determinedly. Then her voice softened. "After this, we'll go looking for the best prey in the forest. We'll have a feast!"

     Eclipse pressed into StarFlower's warmth, the rain driving into her eyes. "That's a great idea, mother. I look forward to it."

     Eclipse's pelt was slick from the rain, and her paws were muddy.

SpringShine was struggling to keep her leaf pouches that carried the most essential herbs and were wrapped around her neck, tail, and chest out of the mud.

     "Can I help?" Eclipse asked, pointing with her claw to the herb pouches.

     "Yes please," SpringShine muttered.

     Then SpringShine lifted two of the five herb pouches over her head, and around Eclipse's neck.

     Eclipse shook her neck a little, adjusting the pouches.

     SpringShine was a year older than Eclipse, so she was seven years and four or so months old. She had always had an interest in herbs and poultices. She had trained with her mentor, Birch, starting from when she was one year old until he died six months later from a horrible sickness. From there, SpringShine was left to learn all she could on her own. And now she was looking for an apprentice.

     "Are you scared?" Eclipse mumbled, staring at her paws as she walked beside SpringShine.

     "Of course," SpringShine replied. "Almost every Drolgon is scared to go into battle."

     "But this isn't your first battle, and you're not even fighting!" Eclipse snapped.

     "Neither are you," SpringShine pointed out calmly.

     "But I should be!" Eclipse growled, her throat heating up with anger.

     "Yes," SpringShine replied. "Maybe you should. But, if you want to help your Pacree-mates, healing their wounds is a better way than fighting beside them."

     Eclipse didn't respond. She knew SpringShine was right, but she still wished she could help her Pacree fight.

     The rain was relentless, and a piercing wind whipped at Eclipse's pelt.

     "This is horrible weather for a battle," Eclipse heard Yuki mutter. She also noticed that Sapphire was walking next to her father for once. Usually she avoided him like a piece of rotting prey. Eclipse knew he expected Sapphire to be perfect and that was very stressful for her.

     Eclipse silently agreed with Yuki. The air was getting colder and colder as the sun slipped behind the trees.

At last, HailClaw signalled for the patrols to stop. He flicked his tail to the thin path winding through the trees around the clearing where Eclipse knew Pacree Earth would be hiding. Storm and his patrol padded on hunters' paws onto the path, and began to follow it.

     HailClaw glanced back at his patrol, and plunged down the slope. SpringShine and Eclipse followed the patrol down the small hill, and then slipped behind a huge boulder. Eclipse listened as HailClaw confronted the alpha of Pacree Earth; Bracken.

     "You dare cross Pacree Sky's borders?" HailClaw demanded.

     "Pacree Earth needs prey," Bracken growled in reply, "and you have plenty of that. Paw it over, and no blood will be shed."

     "You mean you're actually asking Pacree Sky to just give you our prey so you can live and we can suffer this winter?" HailClaw retorted, his hackle-spikes lifting dangerously. "Never! Pacree Sky, attack!"