"Nettlepaw! Nettlepaw, oh my goodness, now focus!"

The sun was just beginning to light up the sky and Larkwing was already at her wits' end. Together with Stormpool and Briarclaw, she had been given the task of testing the three youngest apprentices on their fighting skills that day.

Admittedly, it had surprised Larkwing that it had started so early. She could still remember well that her first battle training had only taken place after at least a moon and a half. But times had changed, and so Palestar and Honeyclaw had thought it would be better to prepare the apprentices as early as possible, in case of an emergency.

At first, Larkwing could hardly wait to at last be the one to give the orders. Unfortunately, she hadn't reckoned with Nettlepaw's absent-mindedness. Not three heartbeats passed without the orange and white tom being distracted by some little thing. No matter if it was a noise several tree-lengths away or a supposed movement under the pine needles, Nettlepaw's attention always wandered away.

Only with difficulty did Larkwing suppress a hiss. "It'll never work like this!" she scolded. Whirling up the leaves, she stomped over to Nettlepaw and stood in front of him with her legs apart. "If you could please, please just listen to me for a moment. Don't forget what kind of situation we're in right now. The Shadowless always attack without warning. At a time like this, you definitely don't want to be caught unprepared or even have to rely solely on the others to protect you."

His blue eyes widened, Nettlepaw lowered his head anxiously. "I'm sorry," he squeaked, then his gaze drifted off into the distance again.

Even if his apology is meant sincerely, it won't stop him from continuing to make the same mistake. At a loss, Larkwing scratched her flank. She had never imagined it would be so difficult.

Glancing around for help, she looked to Stormpool and Briarclaw. But to her secret frustration, they were having no trouble getting the other two apprentices to listen. Fluffed up and with twitching ears, Blossompaw and Owlpaw sat there, absorbing everything that was said to them.

Or maybe it's just because of me that Nettlepaw doesn't want to listen. Suddenly doubts gnawed at Larkwing. She had no idea how to deal with an apprentice. Maybe she should ask Heatherwing to let a more experienced battle strategist take her place today.

Then Larkwing forced herself to pull herself together. Somehow she would find a way. "Listen," she meowed. "Look at Blossompaw and Owlpaw. They've probably learnt more than you in the time you've been daydreaming — and you haven't learnt anything at all today."

Nettlepaw bristled his fur. "Don't compare me to them!" The tip of his tail twitched as a sign of his irritation.

Without really meaning to, anger flared up in Larkwing. She knew she had to try to get Nettlepaw's attention without degrading him. But how was she supposed to do that if nothing had worked so far?

At that moment, her gaze fell on Nettlepaw's tail. That could work... Quick as a flash, she rushed forward and pinned it to the ground, her claws only slightly unsheathed so as not to hurt it. Though it was bushy enough that they couldn't reach the skin.

Nettlepaw mewed in fright and tried to jerk his tail out from under Larkwing's paws.

A wave of remorse immediately washed over Larkwing and she stepped back. "Oh no, did I scare you?" she meowed worriedly. "It wasn't planned like that. I just wanted to show you what can happen when you're distracted."

But to her relief and astonishment in equal measure, a look of admiration had appeared in Nettlepaw's eyes. "That was great!" he exclaimed. "How did you do that?"

Larkwing felt as if she had been flattened by a stone. Seriously now? All that effort, and then it's an unfair surprise attack of all things that gets his attention?

"It was actually quite simple," she replied. "You weren't focussed on what was important, which was a fatal mistake for you. If you had been paying more attention, you could have evaded me with ease. I even attacked you from the front. That's not how a surprise attack usually works."

Wow, maybe one day I will be a good mentor after all! Well, assuming I have an apprentice who pays attention.

Any trace of fright was now completely gone from Nettlepaw's expression. Instead, he pranced around Larkwing, kicking up small crumbs of dirt. "Can you teach me how to do a surprise attack like that?" he asked.

Larkwing twitched her whiskers in amusement. Maybe Nettlepaw would finally listen and stop making her life difficult.

Nevertheless, she still didn't like how unfocussed Nettlepaw was. If he didn't learn to pull himself together, there was no point in teaching him anything. That was why Larkwing finally replied, "It's still too early for that. What you need to master first is sitting still and focussing."

Pouting, Nettlepaw let his orange and white striped tail hang down. "That's not fair. Blossompaw and Owlpaw are probably already learning the really interesting things, but I have to deal with stuff like this."

Although he had mumbled, his words didn't escape Larkwing's keen hearing. She flicked a paw against his ear, careful not to hit him too hard. "Concentration is at least as important as fighting techniques themselves. It determines the success of a battle."

She walked to the edge of the clearing and pulled out a large, splintered branch that must have come from one of the surrounding pines. "Look at this branch," she ordered. "Just it, nothing else. Just concentrate on it."

Larkwing could see from Nettlepaw's confused look that he didn't think much of her training method. But she didn't let that bother her. I am a warrior. I'm above Nettlepaw in the hierarchy, he has to obey me.

Without saying another word, Nettlepaw sat down again and turned his gaze to the piece of dead wood.

That's good. Larkwing nodded contentedly as she didn't take her eyes off him, ready to spot and suppress any distractions immediately. Maybe he'll turn into something reasonable after all.

***

"There you heard it. I don't think I'll ever be ready for an apprentice." Groaning, Larkwing rested her muzzle on her paws and closed her eyes.

She was incredibly glad to be back at camp and free from her duty today. She had spent most of the afternoon teaching Nettlepaw the importance of concentration. Of course, they had also gone over some very simple, basic fighting techniques.

But even though Nettlepaw had tried hard to pay attention despite the initial difficulties, Larkwing had realised that he had almost no talent for fighting.

That was simply the truth. Larkwing had avoided telling Nettlepaw that. It was impossible to deny it, no matter how sorry she was. If he himself didn't know the basics, what was to become of him?

"You know, Larkwing, I think you were just too hard on him," Amberhaze said, having listened to Larkwing's report the entire time. "Don't forget that his training has only just begun. Give him some more time."

Larkwing snorted in exasperation. "We don't have time to let the training slide!" Eyes flashing, she jerked her head up. "Specklefoot really should make the utmost effort to train Nettlepaw."

Amberhaze flattened her ears disapprovingly. "Seriously! Just because you're an oh so great fighter and haven't had any problems in battle training doesn't mean that Nettlepaw is just as talented. You can't compare him to yourself, and you certainly can't judge him on the basis of a single day. After all, you're not even his mentor."

"How can you—" Larkwing had jumped up, snarling, then hesitated. Shame rolled over her like an avalanche as she realised that Amberhaze was right. In truth, she had only been thinking of herself and hadn't given a whisker's breadth of consideration to the fact that Nettlepaw was his own individual and, above all, only six moons old. He was practically still a kit.

Ashamed, she ducked her head and suddenly wished she was invisible. "I... I need some time to myself now. I'm going out into the forest."

Amberhaze didn't answer, so Larkwing simply trotted straight to the Birchtunnel.

Dawnbreeze kept watch outside. "Still awake?"

Larkwing nodded.

"Don't stay out too long," Dawnbreeze advised her. "Even if there hasn't been any activity reported from the Shadowless lately, you can never be too careful. Do you need some company?"

Larkwing shook her head. "I want to be alone."

She pushed past Dawnbreeze and disappeared into the darkness of the night. Not having a specific destination in mind, she simply headed randomly in one direction — up the mountain.

For the first time in a long time, the sky was completely cloudless. It was almost unusual to see the Silverpelt in all its splendour again. Numerous stars stretched out, huge and sparkling, far above the bare, black silhouettes of the treetops.

Larkwing fluffed up her spotted pelt against the cold. It's about time leaf-bare was over, she thought, freezing.

The peace around her was the only thing she needed at the moment. Inevitably, Larkwing's thoughts kept drifting back to this afternoon.

I have behaved wrongly. Faint clouds came out of Larkwing's mouth and she gradually slowed her steps. How could I have been so mouse-brained, so ignorant?

Nettlepaw didn't deserve to be labelled as untalented by her. She shouldn't even have compared herself to him. They were worlds apart in terms of their knowledge and skills.

Nettlepaw has only had two or three battle training sessions. I have already taken part in three real battles. Larkwing wanted to beat herself up for not taking that into account. She was sure that, aside from his lack of focus, Nettlepaw had a reasonable knowledge of fighting for his age. This only included the most rudimentary basics, but that was exactly what was to be expected from a newly appointed apprentice.

With narrowed eyes, Larkwing squeezed through a dense thicket. She had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't paid attention to her surroundings and therefore had no idea where she was at first. But when she took a closer look at her surroundings, she suddenly realised something.

There must be the cave nearby where Amberhaze, Shadowpaw, Mistpaw, Splashpaw and I once got lost! A cold shiver ran down her spine as she remembered how she and Mistpaw had wandered through the dark, confusing tunnels in search of their denmates until they had finally been found by Silversky.

Since that day, Larkwing had never seen this cave again, though that was probably only because its entrance was so well hidden that the only way to find it was to know where to look.

For some reason, she felt the urge to go to the cave. She didn't necessarily have to actually go inside, just take a quick look. Just out of interest.

Then she determinedly gritted her teeth and forced herself to turn away. This place harboured unfathomable dangers. On her first visit, she had been afraid that she would never be able to find her way out again. She never wanted to experience anything like that again.

Time to go back, otherwise Dawnbreeze will probably send a search patrol after me. Larkwing began to descend the slope.

Suddenly there was a rustling sound. It was too loud and irregular to come from her. Larkwing paused in alarm, her nose twitching.

Intruder! A growl rose in her throat. Great, that's the last thing I need.

What should she do now? The camp was too far away for her to get help. On the other paw, she was certainly capable of dealing with one cat.

"Hiding is useless," she threatened, her fur ruffled and her back arched. "If you have already done it, stepping into my territory, you can face me too - or are you too cowardly for that?"

Admittedly, that was a bit too far-fetched. After all, it wasn't just Larkwing's territory alone, but that of entire RoseClan.

A feline silhouette emerged from the upper part of the forest, where Larkwing had been until just now. The tortico warrior unsheathed her claws. "There you go," she wanted to meow with satisfaction.

But the moment the single shadow split into several, she realised her fatal mistake.

There wasn't just one intruder.

There were four.