The Fourth Apprentice/Chapter 19

==Chapter description==
:Lionblaze leads the patrol away from the water with the RiverClan warriors still trembling from the encounter with the beavers. Woody says that he had warned the cats and that he doesn't know whether or not the beavers sleep at night. Lionblaze thinks that nighttime would be the best time to attack them. Toadfoot helps the warrior devise a plan of attack, and afterwards, the patrol splits to hunt for the night.
:Dovepaw and Lionblaze enter the woods and find large paw prints dried near a pile of mud. They go beyond the pile until they lose the scent of beavers, and the two ThunderClan cats catch a few pieces of prey. Upon returning, they find that the other cats had also had good luck with their hunts. After eating, Dovepaw offers to keep watch by saying that the beavers would keep her awake anyways. Lionblaze reassures her that she had been right this whole time and that there was no need to be on alert. 
:Later in the night, the cats begin their plan to attack the beavers. Lionblaze states that he and Dovepaw will cross the stream with the WindClan warriors. They depart, and Whitetail yowls for the others to follow once across the water. The cats begin to dislodge some of the logs from the dam, but find that the logs are slippery. Suddenly, Lionblaze hears a splashing sound, and two beavers lurch in front of them. Lionblaze attacks one of them, but his claws barely graze the fur of the creature. The beavers turn and hurl Dovepaw into the pile of logs.
:After making sure the apprentice was alright, Lionblaze assists the WindClan cats in defending themselves. Sedgewhisker is knocked backwards, and Whitetail claims that she's torn a claw. She slashes it in defense, and Lionblaze praises her. The second beaver goes after the she-cat, and she calls on Lionblaze for help. He begins to have feelings of doubt based on the sheer strength of the animals. He peers out, seeing the other half of the patrol fighting another pair of beavers, and calls out that he's going to help them.
:Lionblaze jumps into the fight, but is quickly overrun and calls for a retreat. The ShadowClan cats refuse and continue fighting. Lionblaze slides down to assist Petalfur by bringing her to the bank. He turns, seeing Rippletail being cornered by the biggest beaver in the group. He runs to assist the tom, but the beaver lands a dastardly bite into the RiverClan warrior's shoulder. Lionblaze attacks the beaver and screeches for the others to help. Petalfur runs to help Rippletail in the water, grabbing his scruff and helping him towards the bank. 
:Toadfoot helps Petalfur set Rippletail down, and the cats find him barely conscious. Dovepaw tears up some bracken as a makeshift nest for the tom. Lionblaze tries to get Rippletail's attention, but he is unresponsive. Dovepaw leaves to find cobwebs to stop the bleeding. Woody appears, asking what had happened, and that he couldn't believe that the cats would willingly face such danger. Lionblaze says that the warrior code states that they must fight until their deaths, and Woody calls them fools. 
:Dovepaw returns with cobwebs and Petalfur quickly packs her Clanmate's wounds. All of the cats sit around the tom as his breathing slows, eventually stopping as dawn rises over the horizon. Toadfoot announces the tom's death, leaving Petalfur stricken with grief. Dovepaw leaves, and Lionblaze follows her to the top of the slope above the dam. Dovepaw whispers to her mentor that they never should have come.
==Characters==
===Major===
===Minor===
===Mentioned===
==Notes and references==
fr:La quatrième apprentie/Chapitre 19
Category:The Fourth Apprentice
Category:Chapter subpages
Category:Omen of the Stars arc