Episode One : Fishing.

A small tom sat alone, staring at the water rushing by his paws. The sun was barely coming up, staining the sky a bloody red that was so befitting it made his stomach knot with a fresh wave of guilt. His gray and white pelt was turned a raven black and a deep red by the peaking sun, though his amber eyes remained dull and bloodshot as he stared at the clear water before him.

He tried to rationalize jumping in and letting the river that was the pride of his clan take him. It was only fair, after all, a life for a life...right?

The thought made his head swim, which only added to the naseuous feeling that clawed at his throat. He didn't understand how any cat could do that, in any state of mind or heart. But, even if he didn't understand it, he had to admit it was his fault.

Fogpaw watched a few fish speed past, realization hitting him and making him feel even more pathetic than he already did. A cat of RiverClan, and he didn't even know how to fish. He had grown up in leafbare, when the river was frozen, so naturally he had only learned to hunt on land. He had left before the river had a chance to thaw...

Which is when she had done it. Fogpaw flattened his ears at the thought of the pretty tabby she-cat, her beautiful, expressive eyes showing the crushed state of her heart. He couldn't help but close his eyes, they were just apprentices.

How could she have done that so young? She had so much potential, she had so much life left in her. He sighed and let his eyes open halfway, it wasn't his fault. How could it be? She had done it of her own volition, she had chosen it, she was the one who fell in love..

"What are you still doing out here?" The familiar voice made him cringe, he knew those smoldering golden eyes too well. He turned to find the cat he had considered his best friend staring at him with a mixture of understanding and disappointment.

"I was...trying to teach myself how to fish.." he said quietly, pointedly looking back at the river, "I left before Whitefoot had a chance to teach me, kind of pathetic, isn't it?"

"Not at all," he said, moving to sit beside his friend. They were both only kits, Fogpaw's siblings having been stillborn and Pikepaw being the only kit of the litter. That's why they had become so close, having to keep each other company to avoid being alone. Now they sat side by side, staring at the water. Pikepaw crouched and wrapped his tail around his paws, "You have to keep your shadow off the water, and just wait to hook a fish.."

"Sounds easy enough," the gray tom responded lamely, shifting to copy his position. The two sat in a comfortable silence, just staring at the water with a paw prepared to swipe. It was the brown tabby tom who broke the peace.

"You weren't even trying to fish, were you?" he asked quietly. Not tearing his golden eyes from the water, he didn't press for an answer. He just knew, which Fogpaw had always hated. Pikepaw knew him better than he probably knew himself.

He lashed out his one white paw, snatching up a fish only to have it miss the shore and disappear back into the water. Pikepaw shook out his pelt, shooting an amused glare at the gray tom. Fogpaw felt blood rush to his ears, "That was..bad.."

Pikepaw began laughing, making Fogpaw chuckle. It was nice to be back with him, laughing like they used to. They sat, watching the water with half-hearted determination.

"I guess you found whatever it was you were looking for out there, huh?" Pikepaw asked softly, readjusting his position. Fogpaw pursed his lips, unsure of that himself. He had left because he had felt drawn to something or somewhere and Ashstar saw it as StarClan guiding his paws to something greater. He had left on good terms with everyone except...her. Pikepaw seemed to note his silence, "I take that as a no."

"I dunno, Pikepaw," he admitted hoarsely, readjusting his body to keep his muscles from falling asleep, "I'm not even sure why I left in the first place."

"I think you just needed some time to figure yourself out," Pikepaw mewled quietly, his eyes trailing a fish, "Away from the clan and from Pebblepaw."

The mention of her name made every muscle in his body tense and his stomach churn. He clenched his teeth for a moment then forced his body to relax. He sighed, his voice thick with defeat, "Yeah, I guess so.."

They sat there for a while longer, trying to catch something until the sun was at its peak. Finally, after Pikepaw had caught a few minnows and a trout, Fogpaw managed to snag a decent sized fish. It was only thanks to Pikepaw swatting it with his paw that it managed to hit the bank.

"Good job," Pikepaw said with a half smile. Fogpaw didn't really feel as accomplished as he thought he would, though, words burned in his throat. "You just have to aim a lit-"

"It's not my fault that she did that to herself," he blurted out, sinking his claws into the damp earth, "I can't be held responsible for her actions... I mean, she's the one who said she loved me, why is it my fault that I didn't feel the same? I mean, she's the one who...who..."

As his voice faltered, Pikepaw frowned. The gray apprentice was breathing heavily, his eyes were tearing up. The brown tabby sighed and curled up around the tom, resting his head on the smaller apprentice's neck as sobs wracked his body. "You didn't know, Fogpaw. We all thought we knew everything when we were that young, but there was no way you could've stopped it."

"Yes there was-"

"How?" Pikepaw snapped, pulling back to look the tom in the eyes sternly, "By making yourself miserable? That wasn't the answer-"

"If I had, she wouldn't have gone and killed herself!" Fogpaw shouted, pushing himself away from his denmate. They sat in a tense silence for a while. The sun was setting, turning everything shades of gold and orange.

"We should get back to camp," Pikepaw reasoned quietly, standing and waving his tail. Fogpaw just continued to stare at the water. The brown tabby sighed and flicked his tail, "I guess I'll take these fish back, you need some time to think."

As he heard the tom's pawsteps retreating, he spun around, "Pikepaw!"

It was too late, he had already disappeared through the reeds. Fogpaw sat back down, looking utterly defeated. He sighed, then mumbled, "Thanks for teaching me how to fish.."

Word Count Before A.N. : 1,146

Well, top of the morning to you guys.

This is my first challenge for CloudClan, it's featuring to OC's from my upcoming series A Traitor's Debt which will be up soon. I dunno, poor Fogpaw. I love angst and what have you. Well, next is gonna be the Freedom Challenge for CloudClan and then the Alphabet Challenge that I'll be doing. Then maybe the One Hundred One-Shot Challenge? I dunno, but definitely Freedom and A-Z.

Freedom will feature more OC's from ATD but I'm not sure about the A-Z, we'll see how that goes.

Sorry, my author's notes tend to ramble a LOT. It's just how my brain works..

Oh, before I forget. This is also based off of a song titled The Freshmen covered by Boyce Avenue, look it up and listen to it and it will make a lot of sense, trust me.

Til the next installment,

- Abber