Two days had passed after the incident in the clearing, and Ravensong still couldn't get the images of Rednight's attack out of her head. All the doubt that she had had when she first found the kits raced through her mind again. Was it right to harbor these kits just outside of her Clan's territory? Should she have just abandoned them, left them to die of starvation like their mother? She knew that she could have never done such a thing. I'll just have to try harder to teach them not to act out like that, she resolved.

She had just finished a hunting lesson with the fox kits and was now heading back to camp with a vole she had caught on the way. Ravensong had just padded back into camp when Tigerfrost stopped her. "I see you've been hunting," he mewed. "That's great. Give that to the elders; they haven't eaten yet."

Ravensong nodded, unable to speak through her mouthful of vole fur. Just as she turned away, Tigerfrost called after her, his ice-blue eyes watching her every movement. "Would you like to join one of the new training sessions? You haven't participated in one yet."

Ravensong nodded, trying to hide her uneasiness. It was true that she hadn't been a part of the new training exercises that Dovestar had made yet; she had been too busy with the kits. Of course, no cat knew that, but Ravensong knew from her time as his apprentice that the SkyClan deputy was very perceptive. If any cat was able to figure out her secret, it was Tigerfrost.

Seemingly satisfied with her answer, Tigerfrost prowled off to Dovestar's den, leaving Ravensong alone. She mentally shook herself and headed for the elders den. Not wanting to disturb the older cats too much, Ravensong deposited the vole outside the den and mewed softly, "Fresh-kill!"

"Well it's about time!" Shimmertail exclaimed as she stuck her head out of the dim cave that served as her den.

"Yes, my stomach's been growling the entire morning," Snowbreeze complained, joining his denmate. "I would have gone and gotten some myself, but these old joints of mine don't work as well as they used to."

Ravensong nodded understandingly. "I remember when I got into a fight with those rats last moon. I was sore for days!" Of course, this was a complete falsehood, an excuse for several scratches that she gained in rather violent training bout she had had with Sunfrost. Rednight isn't the only one with issues, Ravensong thought as she remembered.

Snowbreeze sniffed haughtily. "Young cats these days, thinking they can relate to everyone."

Shimmertail gave him a playful flick over the nose with her tail. "We were just the same, mouse-brain." Turning back to Ravensong, she apologized, "Don't worry about this furball. We're both glad to have some food."

Ravensong dipped her head in respect, whiskers twitching in amusement, and turned to bound down the rocky slope back to the trail that led out of camp. Seeing a large group of cats at the bottom of the slope, she made her way over to them, knowing that they were the group of cats headed for the training hollow. Padding up to Strikeheart, she asked her brother, "When are we going to start the exercises?"

Strikeheart pointed his tail at Tigerfrost, who had just come out of Dovestar's den. "Now that he's here, I expect we'll start soon," he meowed.

Ravensong just nodded. In her time teaching the foxes, she had invented a few moves for herself and the kits. She was running them through her mind now, trying to decide which ones she should use. However, her thoughts were interrupted by Tigerfrost's yowl, which signaled the beginning of the trek to the training hollow.

Once the group of warriors had reached the hollow, Tigerfrost announced the plan for that day's session. "Today we'll be working on how to improvise strategies on the spot. Enemies don't give you time to think about what to do. You need to have a plan ready for every kind of opponent you might have to face."

Ravensong narrowed her eyes. This should be interesting.

Tigerfrost padded among the warriors and continued explaining as he sorted cats into pairs. "Today each of you will have a partner; fight them and then compare your strategies. Suggest things for each other to work on, and we'll discuss everything we've learned at the end of the exercise."

Five minutes later, Ravensong crouched in a fighting stance across from Hawkstorm. The dark tabby tom was easily twice her size, and he was preparing to leap straight at her as soon as Tigerfrost yowled to begin.

Once his yowl sounded, Hawkstorm did leap right at her; however, Ravensong had predicted this, so she was able to avoid him easily. As he passed her, she spun on her paws so she was facing him as he recovered from his miss. This time, Ravensong attacked with hard, short blows to her partner's muzzle. Disorientated, Hawkstorm pushed past her paws and leaped upon her. Ravensong waited for him to land on her back, remembering a move she had created with the foxes. Once she felt his paws, she shifted her weight onto her front paws, kicking upwards at the same time. It had the desired effect; Hawkstorm flew up and over Ravensong's head, landing heavily on the sandy ground.

"Wow! Did you see that?" Honeyleaf's mew sounded loud and excited. "She just completely wiped out Hawkstorm!"

The other cats stopped sparing and stared at Ravensong and her partner. Then they broke out into mews of astonishment.

"Great job, Ravensong!"

"I don't think any cat's been able to beat Hawkstorm that quickly."

Hawkstorm picked himself off the ground and padded back over to Ravensong. "That was a good move there. I never saw it coming! How'd you do that?"

"Yes," Tigerfrost growled from across the clearing. "Just how did you do that? I'd like to know."

Ravensong stiffened. Did he suspect her of something? He can't know about the kits. I've been too careful! "Oh, well," she meowed weakly, "you know, improvisation, right?" she finished nervously, waiting for Tigerfrost to respond.

To her great relief, he just nodded curtly and turned back to his partner, Mossclaw. "Everyone, please resume training. We'll share techniques later."

With obvious reluctance, the warriors returned to their fighting. As Ravensong crouched low to the ground, ready to start again, she felt her anxiety get swept away by a glow of pride. No matter what Tigerfrost may be thinking, her time training the foxes had ended up training her as well. She was now a stronger and better warrior of SkyClan.

~~~

"Russetdust! Rednight! Sunfrost! Are you here?" Ravensong called out. The training session had just finished, and now she was searching around the old elm tree where the kits' den was. Hearing no response, she figured that they were out hunting. She settled in between two twisting roots and began to wait for their arrival.

Suddenly, snarling and hissing broke out somewhere close by. Ravensong felt panic rise as she recognized the barking of the kits. They're in trouble! Bounding out of the roots, she raced off towards the sounds. "I'm coming!" she yowled. As she burst into a small clearing filled with boulders, she stopped short in surprise and disbelief. There were the foxes, not distressed as she had thought, but on the offensive. And in front of them, cornered between them and the boulders, was Blackcloud.