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Chapter Thirteen

A/N Wow, I can't believe we're nearing the end of this story! I promise I'll post see more often. Also, chapter 15, the last one, shall also be extra long and exciting, just for you guys! I'll try to post these last three chapters before the end of February, yeah? I think that's good. Ciao! ~Curl

Two moons later

"Jump!" I jumped over the tabby cat's massive shoulders, landing just behind him. When I had turned around, my opponent already was facing me, getting ready to leap again at me. Before he had the chance, I whipped out a paw at him that struck the top of his head. Instinctively, he looked up, and I used this chance to slide under his belly. As I did so, the cat dropped all of his weight onto me, making me force all my air out of my lungs. I wouldn't get beaten though, so I lifted my back enough for me to turn flip upside down. It was a risky move, but it was nessacary. I put my hind legs on his stomach and heaved. As I had expected, he flew off of me and landed a few tail lengths away with a thump.

I got to my paws quickly and turned, my tail lashing. The ThunderClan leader was, like always, on his paws before me, his eyes shining with pleasure. "I have trained you well, Curlpaw." I nodded my thanks. "That was quite an advanced move you did there." He walked over to me and lay his brown tail on my back. "You will earn your warrior name in no time. But in the meantime, we should go and practice climbing. Enough battle training for today." Bramblestar turned and padded over to the entrance to the clearing, and I followed behind him, a thrill of excitement pulsing through me. My mentor didn't take me tree climbing, like all the other mentors did. I don't know why, because I thought that it was ThunderClan's special skill. I shrugged in my head.

When we arrived at the tree, I looked up. Above my head towered s massive oak tree, with plenty of paw-holds near the base, but the higher it rose, the less there were. The branches became thinner and the actual tree waved in the higher gusts. "Ready?" I glanced over at Bramblestar. His neck fur was slightly fluffed up, as if he was uneasy around the tree. I had never seen him like it before. Usually the leader was very confident and sure about what he was doing, but this was different. Memory sparked in his eyes. He was remembering something.

I looked away, unsettled and disturbed. I placed a paw on the tree and felt a shockwave travel through my body, from paw to tail. It lasted a mere heartbeat, but I was shocked to the bone. My instincts told me to back down, to not climb and give up. But my mind fought back. I put another paw on this time and heaved my body up onto the trunk of the towering tree.

At first, climbing the tree was the easiest thing I had ever done, it felt natural. But when I had gotten to the leaves of most of the other smaller trees, things started to get a bit tougher. The branches got thinner. The trunk was skinnier. When I reached the halfway point, I looked over the flowing forest leaves before me and past that, the lake. The shimmering silver and gray sheet of water glinted in the early new-leaf sun. Looking up, I climbed determinedly higher and higher until I felt the air get thinner. I looked down and saw a tiny speck of brown. A squirrel? No, I realized it was Brambleclaw.

He looked to be as small as an ant from my vantage point and I reached my paw out, pretending to squash him. But as soon as my paw left the branch, I heard a terrible snapping sound from behind me. I didn't get a chance to turn my head, or even take in a breath before I was plunging through the leaves of the tree, down and down to the leaf-strewn ground.

Time slowed down. I saw the leaves whipping my face as I plummeted down, my insides flipping. I could see Bramblestar's shape magnify and I saw he was jumping up in down I panic. He couldn't save me. No one could now, gravity would do its toll on me, and I highly doubted I would survive this fall. In the way back of my mind, I felt fear and desperation as my descend continued. But in most of my head was a strange place called peace. The view was great. I shook my head and almost laughed I could be even thinking of the view right now.

Screams echoed from below and I realized Bramblestar's yowling had attracted a nearby patrol. I sighed in my head. They honestly didn't think they could save me, did they? A screech was ripped from my throat, the first one in fact, when my head was snapped back as a branch clipped my chin. Now all I could feel was pain. It was so real, it was almost tangible. I tasted blood in my mouth and realized I had most likely broken my jaw because I couldn't move it.

Looking down, I was only about three heartbeats from the ground, about where the leaves of the other surrounding trees were. Now panic gripped my entire body as I saw what would come next. Icy claws gripped my heart. I would never again talk to Stormpaw, or any of my other friends. I closed my eyes for the last time and waited for the end. The crunching of bones hitting the ground, my blood spilling from my body, my-

"Curl!"

My eyes jerked open. I was at the top of the tree. A shaky gasp of relief was released from my lungs. I had imagined it all. The tree fall, the crunching bone. All of it was fake. A dream. It felt so real, though.

Almost as if it was a memory.

***

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey, join here beneath Highledge for a Clan meeting!" The echoing yowl reverberated against the stone hollow as I entered the ThunderClan camp. I squinted in suspicion. Bramblestar had run ahead of me, telling me that he had important business to attend to. This must be it.

I settled in between Stormpaw and Honeypaw as Bramblestar began speaking. A kit cried out, but it's voice was quickly silenced by a scolding mother. "These are dark days for ThunderClan," he started. "Sacafices are to be made and choices every cat does not want to make are to be chosen." I didn't like how Bramblestar was beginning this speech. Looking over at my brother, I saw my own uncertainty reflected back into my own eyes. "I have decided that ThunderClan has grown strong enough to battle ShadowClan once more, to show them a sign of strength, a sign that ThunderClan is not a weak merciful Clan, but one that is loyal and undefeated." A shocked silence greeted his words.

My heart fluttered at this daring challenge. Another battle? I wasn't so sure this was such a good of a choice. ShadowClan had been forced to retreat after ThunderClan's show of strength, and it was good to show strength and courage, but this?

"No!"

Every cats' heads turned to where the screech came from. Sandstorm was crouched down in a defeated pose, looking pitiful and miserable. "This is not what Firestar would have wanted," I was close enough to hear her mutter. "Firestar would not approve of this."

Bramblestar was close enough too, apparently. "Firestar is not here." A couple cats gasped. My heart thumped in its cage, threatening to explode. Cats everywhere were panicking. A voice rose above the clamor.

"Everyone, calm down. Calm down!" Lionblaze had the magic touch and everyone stopped talking, slowly, but surely. "We will leave for ShadowClan tomorrow morning first thing. Be ready." Lionblaze started calling out the names of the cats that would be on the patrol, but I didn't even bother to listen. Thoughts were jamming into my mind. Why did Bramblestar want to start a war with ShadowClan? And of all Clans, why ShadowClan? I shook my head in despair. I didn't even know if Bramblstar knew what he was doing.

". . . Curlpaw, Dovewing . . ." My head shot up at my name being called. I didn't think I would be chosen, with all my recent battle wounds. But then again, which cat didn't have wounds? Fear pulsed through me, then turned to excitement. I'm going to be in another battle! Most apprentices went through their entire apprenticeship without being in a single battle, and here I am pouting over being in a battle. I pulled my lips up in a smile. This would be great.

But in a small part in the back of my mind, I knew that the smile was fake.

***

"Isn't this going to be great?" Me and Hollypaw were sharing a finch, Stormpaw washing himself quietly beside us. Awkwardly, Honeypaw was sitting close to me, so our fur brushed. I resisted the urge to squirm. Hollypaw had asked the question. Her silver and black pelt strood on end, in excitement, I guessed.

"Ah, I'm not sure it was such a good desicion on Bramblestar's part but he is leader . . ." That was Stormpaw. I could tell he was weighing the pros and the cons of fighting ShadowClan once more. I knew he loved to fight - and was good at it - but Stormpaw wasn't the kind of cat who would rush into battle without thinking. He had to have a very good reason. My father told me he reminded him of Firestar a lot.

"Oh come on you!" Honeypaw shoved him with a paw playfully. The two seemed to have gotten over their argument, but didn't seem to be anything more than friends. "You're such a thinker. I for one say that we should show ShadowClan our strength. If I ever met a warrior from their flea-brained Clan, I would rip him to shreds and feed him to the vultures." I shivered, despite the joking tone in her voice. Honeypaw had never been in a real battle before. She didn't know what it was like, facing a warrior twice your size, skill and confidence. She didn't know real pain . . .

I shook my head. "Bramblestar doesn't know what he's saying. Another battle with ShadowClan will prove nothing. Perhaps it will make them even more angrier at us and they'll just fight back with more strength. As the saying goes, don't poke a wasp nest if you don't need to."

A laugh startled me from behind.

I cocked my head to see Cloudtail sitting with his tail wrapped around his paws, watching us argue. "You," he pointed with his tail to Hollypaw. "Have nothing in common with your brothers." Amusement flashed in his eyes.

"They think too much," Hollypaw flashed back as if Cloudtail had insulted her. I rolled my eyes at Hollypaw's drama.

I got to my paws and stretched, leaving the warmth of Honeypaw's pelt. "You two seem to be getting along well." Cloudtail flicked his tail submissively. "You two youngsters can go run off now, go and live in the forest together and have a nice and long life."

"We can have kits!" Honeypaw added with a dreamy sigh. Heat flushed up to my cheeks at this. Cloudtail snorted.

"And good luck with that!" He tipped his head and stalked off to the fresh-kill pile.

Hollypaw burst out laughing as soon as he'd gone. "Nice one Honeypaw! Nice one."

"Um, thank you?" I sighed. Obviously she didn't catch the sarcasm in the two cat's voices.

"I'd best be off." Stormpaw yawned and stood. "Better get some sleep before the big day tomorrow." As he passed Honeypaw, his tail caught her in the face. I turned away before anyone could talk to me anymore. I just wanted to sleep, and hide away from the outside world. It seemed as if I was causing more problems then I was solving.

I woke to sun blaring full on in my eyes. I sat up stiffly and blinked away the blackness on my vision, then arched my back in a long and luxurious stretch. Then I padded outside the den and sniffed the air. It was cold outside for new leaf, but I didn't mind. It woke me up.

Seeing Jayfeather by the entrance to his den, I called out to him. I reached him and saw he was sorting out multiple piles of herbs on the bare ground. "What's that?" I asked.

"Strength herbs," he replied stiffly. I could feel the medicine cat was tense, as if he was trying to push away the anxiety of the battle. Realizing I was just staring at him, I coughed awkwardly.

"What do you want?"

"Um, should I have some herbs?" Jayfeather turned his sightless gaze on me for an instant.

"Not if you want breakfast."

"I'm not hungry." Jayfeather sighed, as if giving up, and slid an herb pile over to me.

"They're not exactly the tastiest thing in the world, but it'll have to do. I don't have enough time to sweeten them with mouse blood." I couldn't tell if he actually had no time, or if he was playing with me. I grunted. I ate my strength herbs, very reluctantly at first, then watched as more cats lined up to receive their herbs.

Finally, when the sun had risen fully above the earth, Bramblstar started calling the patrol forward to get ready to move out. I turned to Jayfeather. "Bye Jayfeather."

He nodded to me. "Good luck, you're going to need it."

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