Fading Shadows (A Trail of Shadows book two)

Stormfall crept towards the pale ginger cat in front of him, his paw steps silent and quick. Pausing to gather his hind legs underneath his body, he smirked as his tail stiffened.  Keeping his bronze colored gaze fixed on the figure ahead, he steadied his breathing. His prey had no clue, a fact demonstrated by the surprised hiss as Stormfall lunged, successfully pinning down the smaller cat.
"Gotcha." He growled playfully, his paws pressed against it's shoulders as It struggled beneath him.

"Get off you big badger!" Sandpaw huffed, her whiskers twitching in amusement as she peered up at him. Pale green eyes flashed with mirth as the light ginger shecat pushedbat her clan-mate's chest, causing the tawny tabby tom to let her up.

"You know, if you want to become a warrior faster, you should probably get better at detecting when you're being stalked. What if I was a ShadowClan cat?" Stormfall continued, his ear flicking back as Sandpaw sat up.

"Please. Like ShadowClan would ever be as clumsy as you." The SkyClan apprentice teased, prodding his side with a pale ginger paw. "I heard you went on the patrol near ThunderClan with Spottedstar, how was that?"

"Honestly? Kind of weird. I saw Rainbreeze and Bramblestorm with her apprentice, and it felt strange to not be going back with them. But I love it here, I do." Stormfall meowed, sobering as he shuffled his paws. "I do miss my parents, and my littermates. But having some of my old clanmates with me here helps."

It had been a few sunrises since Stormfall had joined SkyClan, followed by Honeypool, Duskpetal, Smokefang, and Sparkfire. Spottedstar had been open to them joining, excited for the prospect of new warriors. The former ThunderClan cats were welcomed warmly, and Stormfall had heard from Sorrelspots that Spottedstar was debating on letting him mentor one of Birdheart's kits. It warmed his heart to think about how his new clan accepted him: he truly felt at home in SkyClan , more at home then he had ever felt in ThunderClan.
He missed his sisters; Cinderflame's sarcastic humor and endless energy, Rainbreeze's soothing voice and gentle advice. But he had found his home, and he couldn't give that up.

"Hey, we better start back before Sorrelspots thinks we took off!" Sandpaw purred, picking up the thrush she had caught, waiting for the tom to get his own prey.

The two made their way back to the clearing where the hunting patrol had split up. Sitting and waiting were Sorrelspots and Sootwhisker, the clan deputy and warrior in a discussion that soon paused as Stormfall and Sandpaw entered the clearing.

"Nice catch. We should head back." Sorrelspots purred. "Good job Sandpaw, I see you caught your first bird."

"Thanks Sorrelspots!" Sandpaw purred, her chin lifting proudly at her mentor's praise.

"Stormfall, do you think you could do me a favor?" Sootwhisker meowed lowly as he eyed the golden tabby tom, his dark blue eyes full of worry.

"What's going on Sootwhisker?" Stormfall questioned as he walked alongside his clan mate, his tail flicking.

"It's Honeypool, she's been acting strange and I think she misses her brother. I was hoping you'd talk to her? Maybe see if there's a way I can set her mind to ease?" Sootwhisker rushed out, sounding uncomfortable as he set his catch, a rather large sparrow, down.

"Sure. I can do that." Stormfall agreed, setting his own prey down. "Is-"

He was cut off as Mousepaw appeared, the gray tom looking terrified as he bolted towards Sorrelspots and Sandpaw.

"Mousepaw? What's going on?" Sorrelspots questioned, her voice thick with concern at the frantic state of the normally high-strung tom.

"I-it's ThunderClan, they're attacking the border. Spottedstar sent me to fetch you and Moonflower. Please, I saw Sagepaw being chased off." Mousepaw rushed, turning tail and darting away.