*DISCONTINUED* Warriors: SE: Silverstar's Path

Chapter 5

The WindClan patrol was quite hefty, consisting of three warriors and two apprentices. Then again, so was their own patrol, except they outnumbered the moor runners by one warrior. Silverpaw immediately recognized them all from past Gatherings; Antnose, Stoatdapple, Emberfire, Maplepaw, and Adderpaw.

Nightfall strided up to Antnose with utmost confidence.

"Just what do you think you're doing, hunting and roaming on ThunderClan territory?" He challenged. His meow wasn't low and raspy, but nonetheless menacing and intimidating.

"Some rabbits we were hunting passed over, so we chased them down. It's none of your business," Antnose retorted back.

"None of our business?!" Badgerclaw snarled. "They wandered onto our land, so they are then considered ThunderClan prey, not WindClan." The massive warrior who lived up to his name gritted his teeth, them stained the same hue of dirty yellow that his thick claws were. He unsheathed them, bristling more violently than a bush.

"What're you going to do about it, pesky forest dweller?" Emberfire scoffed, shouldering to the front of the patrol, meeting Badgerclaw's size.

"Oh," Badgerclaw's smirked, "I'll gladly ri-" The warrior was cut short by Nightfall placing a paw on his.

"Do not waste precious energy on these low lives," he murmured, staring the WindClan patrol down as he spoke.

"Low lives?!" Maplepaw snarled, taking a step forward, as if he standed a chance against the deputy. His mentor Stoatdapple silenced him, brushing her golden tail along the feisty apprentice's flank.

"Hush up, you're no match for any of those warriors." She scolded him with poise.

"What about those other apprentices?" He hissed, Maplepaw's eyes scanned Darkpaw, whose tail lashed furiously. The WindClan's apprentice became slightly fearful and dismissive, then turned to Silverpaw. He grinned challengingly, licking his jaws. "How a about her?" He winked at her, making Silverpaw feel extremely uncomfortable. Darkpaw seemed to notice, immediately wrapping his tail protectively around his friend, pretending as if she was his mate. This attempt didn't phase Maplepaw, only making him snicker. "Nice try, but I doubt she'd go for a brute like you." This only enraged Darkpaw even more, the apprentice unsheathing his claws.

"Take a look at your own reflection, fox heart!" He yowled. Silverpaw was astonished, she didn't know how to take these comments.

She listened into the two deputy and warrior's stand off.

"If we catch you on our side of the stream another time, we will attack on sight. That is a promise." Nightfall turned to his patrol, waving his tail. "We're going to camp." He looked back one last time at the WindClan cats, eyes narrowed. "May StarClan protect you next time we meet, you'll need it." With that, he joined his patrol, trotting to camp.

"Hey cutie, I never got your name!" Maplepaw meowed to Silverpaw. She didn't turn her back, only closing her eyes and blushing.

"Like she'd ever have an interest in you, rabbit chaser," Darkpaw angrily hissed.

The WindClan apprentice scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Just meet up with me at the next Gathering, we can catch up then!" He giggled mockingly, winking as he did so.

Silverpaw stared at her paws the whole time back, not knowing how to react. She was flirted with by a cat outside of her Clan, why would they even do that? She felt a tail brush her back soothingly, and glanced up.

"Are you alright?" It was Sparrowflight, eyes flickering with concern and warmth. "That tom didn't shake you up too much, did he?"

Silverpaw shook her head, feeling calmed and relieved by her mentor's demeanor. She suddenly felt a pelt rub aggressively against hers, turning her head to see Darkpaw.

"I'm going to report that mouse dung to Oakstar for harassing you," he growled. "I won't let him come near you."

Silverpaw blinked in surprise, feeling her fur get warm. "It's alright, you don't have to-"

"No, I do!" Darkpaw hissed. "That tom was asking to break the warrior code, and that will not be tolerated, even if he is of a different Clan." The black tom looked down at his paws, his amber eyes squinting in bashfulness. "Especially since he tried to get to you," he added quietly.

Silverpaw pressed her paw atop his, looking him straight in the eyes. "Thank you, Darkpaw," she smiled. "You're truly a great friend. C'mon, let's go get some prey," she meowed, padding over to the fresh kill pile. She rested a crow down in front of them, clawing it in half. She pushed a half to him, and began eating her share.

Darkpaw smiled shyly, something he never did. He was always the toughest, most solid cat of the group of four friends, and Silverpaw was the only cat that could really get him to open up and be emotional. Not even his brother Pinepaw could make him feel so comfortable. He dug into his half of the crow, feeling satisfied.

~

Word spread through the camp about the border quarrel, and the news of Silverpaw being flirted with by the WindClan apprentice. Pinepaw had showed the least concern of anyone who was told, and this annoyed lots of Clanmates.

"She's your best friend, and you don't even care?"
"Does the fact that she could be in danger not at all get through to your bee brain?"

The ashy black tom simply replied, "I don't need to be worried." This was true. He knew how strong his friend was; he knew she'd be bewildered and frightened by the event, but he also knew that she'd easily get over it and become stronger from the experience. That's what she did- she learned from what she went through. And he was right: Silverpaw was bouncing around and training even harder after that day. She was an independent she-cat who could do anything she set her mind to. He greatly admired this trait of his close friend.

Silverpaw had fought more ferociously than usual in battle training, but not out of anger. She was determined to get stronger and become a more skilled warrior. Any cat that trained with her could see that. To every cat's surprise, she swept Badgerclaw off his paws, and sent him tumbling onto the ground one time. Everyone in the Clan was thoroughly impressed when they heard, especially since she was such a petite apprentice. Badgerclaw had given the she-cat a newfound respect that day, and continuously wanted to rematch her.

Oakstar had even noticed the she's accelerated apprenticeship, and began to show more notice to her. He said she'd reminded him of a long-gone ThunderClan leader, the famous Bluestar. Silverpaw was extremely thrilled and honored to be so heavily compared to such a beloved cat.

This made her train even harder than she was before, to the point where she pushed the other apprentices to do extra night training with her. They all agreed, and quickly became above-average apprentices. The four cats continued their apprenticeships with courageous wills, and gained high expectations from their Clan, and were even bragged upon during Gatherings. Cats from other Clans would nod their heads in acknowledgement and respect at these hard-working apprentices, while apprentices from other Clans saw them as challenging foes to skirmish with in the future.