[chapter one]

      Sparrowpaw hissed in defiance, claws digging into the soft earth and giving it agony. The wind screamed and tore through the trees around him, buffeting his chocolate fur and puffing it up around him.
      The rouge launched herself at him. The tan molly grunted in satisfaction as her claws dug into his shoulders.
Sparrowpaw snarled in her broad, flattened face and sank his sharp teeth into her shoulder fur, then released her and snapped at her throat, causing the rogue to back away hurriedly.
      Echopaw was watching from the leafy, green trees somewhere, and Sparrowpaw was expecting help any second now.
      But it was Cinnamonpaw that shot out of the bushes, her short fur flattened. The Abyssinian molly shot out a paw and raked the surprised rogue's cheek, then spun around and kicked her opponent squarely in her forehead.
The rogue molly staggered backward, and Sparrowpaw grinned at Cinnamonpaw, his tail lashing as exhilleration shot through his body. That was her favorite move by far. The chocolate tom knew this from the various training sessions they had together; she always used it when he least expected.
      Sparrowpaw launched himself at the rogue molly, his head slamming into her chest as Cinnamonpaw tore into her flank.
      The tan molly's piercing gray-green orbs flashes in the sunlight, panic and fury arguing whether she should run or continue hiding. Sparrowpaw was now a few places from her, and he thrust himself forward, his back arching as he spitted a warning.
       Cinnnamonpaw's pale green eyes suddenly widened as she glanced over her shoulder, and Sparrowpaw instinctively looked behind him to see what she was looking at.
      A slight rustle of the ferns behind him made his neck fur bristle. Were more rogues coming? The molly took their distraction to slip into the trees, and Sparrowpaw hissed in frustration as he realized that she's gotten away.
      Echopaw dropped from the trees, her eyes narrowed in disgust as she caught sight of the wound on the chocolate tom's shoulder. Her fluffy white fur was riddled with twigs and half-dead leaves, and she started grooming herself, ignoring the other apprentices.
      Cinnamonpaw blinked at her for a moment before cheerily meowing, "hey, Echopaw!"
      Sparrowpaw frowned. "C'mon, Cinnamonpaw, let's chase the rogue!" His bloody claws tore at a tuft of grass.
      Cinnamonpaw nodded, suddenly alert. "We need to make sure she doesn't stay in the territory."
      "Actually, I think she's had quite enough."
      Sparrowpaw whirled around to face his mentor. "Hi, Thrushsmoke! Did we do good?" Panic whipped at his insides like claws repeatedly stabbing a wound. What if he hadn't been good enough? What if the rouge hunted the Clan's prey and made them starve? What if he had failed?
      The fluffy gray tom blinked his dark forest eyes and nodded. And Sparrowpaw heaved a silent sigh of releif.
      Ebonytrail raced out of the undergrowth, panting. "You did great!" He turned to face the newly-groomed Echopaw, who had watched silently the whole time. "Why didn't you join them?" Dissapointment flashed in his blue and green eyes as he turned on his apprentice.
      Echopaw scowled and didn't answer, her ears flattening to her head.
       "I think we can all agree that you two did a stellar job, fighting the rogue."
      A calico molly with sharp, commanding golden eyes leaped gracefully down from a tree, not so much as rustling a leaf.
      "Robinthroat!" Sparrowpaw always made an effort to sit up straighter whenever she was around. The calico she-cat was not to be trifled with.
      Ebonytrail greeted Cinnamonpaw's mentor with a nod, and Thrushsmoke licked his shoulder fur, seeming embarrassed. Why was he embarrassed.
      "Did I do something wrong?" He blurted, afraid of the answer.
      "Well, I think you could have avoided getting those wounds, but you did great!" Thrushsmoke murmured, his voice rising slightly.
      Sparrowpaw grimaced, recalling the molly's thorn-sharp claws digging into his shoulders, and for the first time since the battle he felt the pain of the wound.
      Cinnamonpaw mewed a greeting to the mentors and softly padded over to the chocolate apprentice. She licked his one of the wounds, and Sparrowpaw noticed with a pang of relief that the young molly didn't have a scratch on her.
      Robinthroat gazed at Echopaw for a moment, her steady gaze unreadable, before flicking her tail. Sparrowpaw watched with mixed emotions as the three mentors gathered into a huddle, making gestures with their tails or paws from time to time.
      Thrushsmoke turned his leaf-green stare to the apprentices. By that time, Sparrowpaw's wounds were clean, and he thanked Cinnamonpaw with a lick on her unmarred shoulder. She purred, then turned her attention to the warriors. Sparrowpaw felt a warm, fuzzy feeling as he watched her pad closer to Echopaw. He had always had a small crush on the beautiful white molly, but now he wondered if they just weren't meant to be.
      Echopaw gazed at Cinnamonpaw coldly, her pale blue orbs calculating before she slowly walked to where the other two apprentices were standing. Who shoved a furball down her throat? Sparrowpaw wondered, self-consciously licking his chest fur.
      Ebonytrail shifted his black paws impatiently. He was well-named, the chocolate apprentice reflected.
      The calico warrior cleared her throat meaningfully and stared at them thoughtfully before announcing, "Me, Ebonytrail, and Thrushsmoke have decided to talk to Kestrelstar about making you warriors." She stared at Cinnamonpaw before continuing. "All of you, Cinnamonpaw especially, have should have been made warriors a lot sooner."
        She was referring to a battle that had happened quite a few moons earlier; Sparrowpaw had only been Sparrowkit then, and Cinnamonpaw and Echopaw had been in training for almost a moon. Ebonytrail and Robinthroat had been out hunting with their apprentices, and Cinnamonpaw had been alone chasing a rabbit. An otter had attacked her; Sparrowpaw remembered listening raptly as Robinthroat told the Clan what had happened. After that, Ebonytrail had followed her scent trail and found her wrestling with the creature. He had helped her drive it off.
      Cinnamonpaw had gotten a nasty scar on her throat. The injury had been deep, but small. Sparrowpaw remembered how Seqoiabreeze, the former medicine cat had reported this to Kestrelstar. Sparrowpaw also remembered eavesdropping on the conversation.
      Sparrowpaw stared at Thrushsmoke, snapping back into the present. The apprentice said nothing, though his jaw was quite busy hanging open.
      Cinnamonpaw squealed and nudged Echopaw heartily. The fluffy white molly puffed out her chest fur, her eyes widening slightly.
      They were becoming warriors!

[a/n]
Okay, the thing is, this was pretty rushed, but I need these guys to become warriors before THE PLAN can happen. So, warning, plot twists, cliffhangers, and heartbreak ahead! You have been warned! MUAHAHAHHAHAH