She didn't want to believe it. She couldn't believe it. She didn't want to hear those words. Not now, not ever.

  "No. No! I don't believe you. This is all just some horrible nightmare! If I try hard enough you'll disappear, and I'll be back in my Clan with Rustedpaw!" Foxpaw shook her head as to try and clear it from the horrible words constantly ringing in her mind.

  She had to get out of here. She couldn't just stand there and look at this cat as she tried to comfort Foxpaw.

  She growled at Leafpelt, quickly turning her tail and running as fast as she could, just to get away from this cat.

  "Foxpaw, wait!" She didn't care that she could hear Leafpelts voice fading into the distance. She didn't look back, just kept running.

  The ground was a pale green, grass softly brushing against her ginger legs as she came to a halt. 

  A void was in front of her, a deep, dark, black void. It reminded her of something.... something achingly familiar.

  The cave. The last thing she saw before she came here. She didn't remember what happened, only that terrible cave.

  Her heart seemed to throb with pain as she remembered the stinging feeling before she fell asleep.

  Wait, that's it! She didn't die, she just fell asleep! Foxpaw silently cheered to herself, knowing she couldn't have died if she just laid down and went to sleep.

  Maybe this all was a dream. If so, she could just force herself awake, couldn't she?

  But she couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. 

  The only thing keeping her from going crazy was the reassuring thought that this was a dream as she traveled across the edge of the void into a moorland.

  The moor eventually turned to marsh, which abruptly ended when a river appeared through the tall stalks of plants.

  She pushed her way through the swirling, swishing cold water as it chilled her to the bone, the pads under her paws growing goosebumps.

  By the time Foxpaw reached the other side of the bank of the river, a cat had rushed over to her, spitting and hissing at her.

  "What are you doing on RiverClan territory?" The cat had a sleek brown pelt.

  Foxpaw blinked. She didn't recognize any Clan by the name of RiverClan. Perhaps it was the elder Clans queens told their kits? It was always a nursery tale, and she never believed it.

  "RiverClan? Like the old Clan?" She tilted her head and questioned the cat as he moved closer. 

  He sniffed her, snorting as he backed up.

  "DawnClan. Should've known, they always end up here. How did you get past WindClan?"

  Foxpaw's mind was whirling when she saw a gray shape slither into sight in the corner of her eye.

  "Watch out!" she yowled, quickly turning and flinging herself on Graycloud before he could sink his claws into the RiverClan cat.

  "Another one? How many of you are there?" She could barely hear the RiverClan cat yowl over the hissing of Graycloud.

  "Pathetic! I trained you better!" Graycloud slashed his thorn-sharp claws towards her face, missing it by a whisker but managing to slice her nose.

  She yowled as cold pain shot through her snout and she could smell the blood that oozed from the tiny but deep cut.

  Something lit up inside of her, causing her claws to dig into the ground to stop her from sliding away.

  Growling, she looked up at Graycloud as he slowly crawled closer, spitting curses at her.

  She felt her fur bristle against her back, her tail lashing as it fluffed up defensively.

  Before she could scratch the smug look off him, the brown cat bounced in front of them, broadening his shoulders to look intimidating. 

  He glanced over at Foxpaw, looking at her nose before he growled and turned back to Graycloud.

  "What do you think you're doing? You don't attack an apprentice!" he hissed, taking half a step towards Graycloud.

  "Get away from me, fish-breath!" The gray cat hissed, his hind paws fumbling behind him to find a step.

  "Don't call me fish-breath, Graycloud."

  "So you do remember me!" Graycloud sneered, his nose wrinkling up as though to show disgust.

  "Putrid, tiny Troutpaw. Poor little kit, not knowing what to do with himself when his mother died and father left him. What was he to do? Shall I tell the one you so bravely protect, or will you?"

  The brown cat, who was named Troutpaw, remained silent.

  "Then so be it. Foxpaw, here is my most beloved son, Troutpaw. His mother died in an.... 'accident'." At the end of the sentence, Troutpaw looked furious.

  "It wasn't an accident! You killed her, you slimy, slithering snake!" The RiverClan apprentice unsheathed his claws and flung himself against his father.

  Graycloud vanished before her eyes, and Troutpaw made an oohmp as he thudded onto the ground where Graycloud once was.

  "Where did he go?" Foxpaw couldn't keep the panicked tone in her voice from coming out as her whiskers twitched with anxiety.

  "Dark Forest trick. They can vanish whenever they please." he growled, flexing his Claws through the ground.

  Troutpaw shook his head and sighed, getting back to his paws and staring at Foxpaw.

  "We'd better get you home, shouldn't we?" 

  Foxpaw gave an excited bounce and nodded her head vigorously.

  She could see the other apprentice give a tiny smirk before turning away from her and padding off.

  "Come on, if you want to get back we'd better start now." Foxpaw rushed over to him to walk alongside him, smiling.