"So you crouch like this." Badgerpaw tucked his hind legs in close, his tail hovering slightly above the ground. He was coiled, ready to spring. Snowpaw hunched down and copied him, her blue eyes shining with excitement.

They're so happy to teach someone who knows less than them, Olivepaw sighed, tucking her set of paws close to her body.

Badgerpaw stood up and circled her. "Your tail keeps twitching!" he snapped, pressing it down. Olivepaw winced as he continued, "If you move your tail, it'll rustle the leaves and your prey will be alerted to your presence."

"Why do I need to learn this?" Olivepaw mumbled irritably. "I can't hunt."

"Even the best medicine cats knew basic hunting and fighting moves," Snowpaw pointed out.

The black apprentice huffed, but she didn't budge.

"Very good... for your first try," Badgerpaw congratulated her.

Olivepaw sat up, excitement suddenly pulsing through her veins. What am I going to learn next? she wanted to blurt out, but instead she meowed, "Great! Can I go back to my duties now?"

"Nope! We're going to teach you some fighting moves." Snowpaw's eyes glittered with amusement. "Annoying furball!" she teased.

"You're the annoying furball!" Olivepaw grabbed a leaf and threw it at her. Snowpaw batted it back, purring. Badgerpaw leaped up and clawed the leaf to shreds triumphantly.

"Olivepaw!" She jumped at the sound of her name being barked out. She stumbled into the medicine den to find Sunpaw lying down, her beautiful golden fur matted with dirt.

But none of her usual arrogance was missing, and as Sunpaw spotted her she spat out, "Don't come near me, traitor!"

Olivepaw's fur stuck up, and she snarled back, "I'm not a traitor, flea-pelt!"

"Mange-pelt!"

"Crowfood-eater!"

"Calm down, please!" Wolfclaw hissed out, glaring at them. "Olivepaw, Sunpaw has a serious bellyache. What should we treat her with?"

Deathberries. Don't worry, I'll feed them to her myself. Olivepaw shook out her fur, ashamed at her thoughts. "Watermint?" she ventured.

"Correct. What else?"

Olivepaw's mind came up empty. "Um..." she stammered, "um, um... it's..."

Sunpaw sneered at her from her spot on the floor. "Rat got your tongue?"

"Poppy seeds?" It was a seed or berry or something...

"No." Wolfclaw sounded disappointment, which made Olivepaw cringe at herself. "Watermint and juniper berries are good for stomach pains."

Olivepaw hung her head. She had to mess up in front of Sunpaw, too, out of all cats. She recited juniper berries in her head: Juniper berries, used for bellyaches.

Failure, loser, murderer, a voice whispered in the back of her head. Hopeless, heartless, a fake.

No! I am not any of those things!

"Can't you find a new apprentice, Wolfclaw?" Sunpaw inquired as he fed her the berries. "I won't be treated by someone who tried to kill her own sister!"

Olivepaw clamped her mouth shut. It's what she wants, it's what she wants...

"Go back to your apprentice duties," was her mentor's only reply.

Sunpaw stood up and shoved her way past her, making the small cat grit her teeth and unsheathe her claws.

"Thanks for standing up for me back there," she spat once the pretty she-cat had gone.

"You need to learn how to grow thicker skin and prove them wrong." He didn't look at her as he sorted herbs.

"I'm only seven moons old! I can't stand up for myself when half the Clan hates me!"

"Well, you need to learn how to deal with it. That is something you have to teach yourself to do. How was Badgerpaw and Snowpaw?"

Changing the subject, huh? "Fine," she muttered.

"Good. You should become friends with them." Wolfclaw glanced back at her, golden eyes bright and serious. "You can't only be with Poppypaw and Duskpaw anymore, hanging behind your mother's protection."

Olivepaw flared with indignation. "I'll show you!" she snarled before ducking back out of the den. I hate apprentices so much! she thought as she settled down to bathe in the sun. Not to mention annoying mentors.

The sun was dipping low, causing reds, blues, pinks, and yellows to stream into the auburn-stained sky. The sun rested on the tree-line, sparkling like water.

"Wanna share?" Olivepaw mutely glanced up to see Poppypaw holding a frog, eyes big and hopeful. She nodded, and Poppypaw flopped down beside her, groaning.

"So I went out hunting today, and there was this one frog that was in this slushy swamp thing, and when I killed it it tasted so foul, like, yuck! But now it tastes pretty good, actually, and why aren't you eating? Did you have a rough time in training today?"

Olivepaw settled her head on her paws and grunted out a no.

"Great, because my hunting session today was awesome!"

Olivepaw tried to listen, but her mind strayed to other things. Why can't I do these things instead of hearing Poppypaw brag about them? she thought, fuming. I have Badgerpaw and Snowpaw teaching me. I'll be fine.

"Listen," she mewed, standing up, "I'm really tired, and I think I should go sleep."

Poppypaw gazed up at her, blue eyes hurt. "But you didn't eat anything!"

"Not hungry. Goodnight." Olivepaw sulked and dragged herself to the medicine den. More than ever, something felt wrong about her surroundings.

What it was, she just wasn't sure.

Olivepaw woke up around dawn, the paw-steps of the dawn patrol slowly diminishing as they went out of the camp. She stretched out her body until her legs trembled, and then slid her way out of the den.

Poppypaw was stumbling out of the apprentice's den, which was to Olivepaw's right. She staggered to the camp entrance with her mentor, Duskpaw not far behind.

She curled her lip as they were herded out after the dawn patrol. How come they got to do so many fun things when she was trapped inside all day, like she was still a kit! Well, a StarClan warrior came to her, an experience her siblings would never get to have.

"Olivepaw?" Moss and bracken rustled behind her. She turned around to see Wolfclaw pad out, his fur disheveled and spotted with bits of bedding.

The apprentice made a face and flicked off the bits with her tail. "Ever heard of a wash?" she muttered under her breath.

"We're going out and getting some dock," the medicine cat declared. "Mudstripe got scratched by a bramble near ThunderClan territory."

She followed him out of the camp and to the dock patch. Blackstar said something needed to change in order for something else to happen, she mused. He can't mean being a medicine cat. I'm physically unable to be a warrior.

Maybe he meant the Clan. The idea popped up like a frog jumping out of a stream.

Olivepaw immediately shook her head, as if she could get rid of such thoughts. But Birchstar and Swallowing were talking about it... and half the Clan hates me... so maybe I do need to switch Clans, she admitted as she nipped off some dock leaves.

No! another voice argued. ShadowClan is the only home for me! ThunderClan are a bunch of kittypets, RiverClan eats fish, and I'm not as fast or skinny as the WindClan warriors.

Oh, what was she supposed to do? she pleaded her ancestors.

But no voice ever came.