Monday, January 30, 2017
8:00 PM
It was nearly sun high, and Mudkit was pacing back and forth impatiently. She wanted to be an apprentice so badly she could taste it! She fluffed up when her mother, Mothflutter, sat down behind her and started to groom between her ears. "M-Mom! Ew, stoooop!" She giggled and lightly batted at her mothers whiskers. It had been a rough Leaf-Bare. Mudkit's two siblings, Treekit and Dustkit, hadn't survived. And Mudkit certainly didn't look like she was six moons old due to her small size. And this meant that Mothflutter was especially protective over her kit. There were times when she felt smothered by her mother, but she there was never a moment when she didn't feel loved or wanted by her.
Across the camp, warriors returned from patrol. They went about their business, dropping prey at the fresh kill pile, socializing with friends and den-mates, and there were apprentices playing and rough-housing in the dirt. On the Highrock, a bramble-furred tom sat, tail swaying about silently. Every time Mudkit glanced in his direction she felt as if his eyes were upon her. But, she never paid this much mind, and would simply continue doing whatever it was that kits do.
And at this particular moment, all this kit wanted to do was play, not be groomed. The small, dappled she-kit darted between Mothflutter's paws, her fur bushing out. She spotted her mother's fluffy tail as it flicked about, minding it's own business, and decided that it was to be her next victim. Her haunches waggled before she launched herself at it, letting out a playful squeak. Mothflutter watched as Mudkit played, a purr rumbling in her chest. Then, when she decided she had sufficiently killed the tail, she lifted her head and looked across the clearing. Her ears perked as she watched the apprentices play outside their den, and she felt a new longing.
Before anything could be done to stay the eager kit, Mudkit tore herself away from her mother, giggling as she strutted up to the tussling apprentices, tail high. Mothflutter watched her go, shaking her head as she stood and padded back towards the nursery. "I didn't think a kit so small could have so much energy." She mumbled to herself, feeling a warm fondness swell in her chest.
As Mudkit approached the apprentices she narrowed her eyes, puffing out her chest. "Hey you guys! Can I play? You said I could once I was 6 moons!" She was undaunted by the size difference between them, and she hoped that they wouldn't turn her away again. At hearing her squeaky mew, the apprentices stopped, glancing between each other.
"Well..." One began, "You're still too small. We don't want to hurt you, and your a lot more smaller than us."
"But I'm fast !" She insisted, a pleading look on her face. "You can't hurt me if you can't catch me. Besides, I'm stronger than I look!" Her ears flicked to either side. It was so boring playing by herself since the last kits became apprentices nearly 2 moons ago.
One apprentice growled. "Go away. You're just small and boring anyways, so you should be used to being alone." He let his hackles rise, spitting and hissing in an attempt to scare Mudkit away. The kit's ears laid flat, and she lowered herself into a crouch. Her tail lashed, and her pupils dilated, but she refused to run from him.
"How would you know I'm boring if you've never spent time with me?"
"You don't know anything you're mewling about!" The young cat yowled, pouncing at Mudkit. She darted under him when he pounced, fur fluffy pelt bushed out and standing on edge. He may be bigger than her, but she could certainly use her size to her advantage. The bigger cat swatted at the kit, claws sheathed. "Get back here!" Mudkit reared up and swatted his paws away, her own, too-large paws smacking him as hard as she could to deter him. Besides, she had to prove she was good enough to play with them. And he was just plain rude. Before the apprentice could retaliate further, a growl sent the other young cats scrambling away.
"And just what do you think you're doing, Briarpaw?
Briarpaw froze, fear of the larger apprentice permeating his entire being. Grisslepaw sat glaring across the clearing at the apprentice. He sent his cousin, Mudkit, a long suffering glance before returning his ire to Briarpaw.
"Eh, let the kit play. We were like that once too." Goldpaw had been lounging in the sun, her face upset as was the usual for the older apprentice.
Grisslepaw growled at Goldpaw, claws sheathing and un-sheathing. "Even if Briarpaw's claws were sheathed, he could have hurt Mudkit like that. She isn't even large enough to swim yet."
"This isn't swimming, though, this seems to be a friendly playing session."
The kit had flattened herself to the ground at the sound of Grisslepaw's growl, her heart leaping into her throat. It certainly hadn't come from her mother, and she hadn't recognized the source, even though it had been a cat she was fairly familiar with. She faintly heard the other apprentices talking, but it was drowned out by the sound of her heart racing in her ears. Briarpaw scrambled away as a few warriors began sauntering over, curious about the noise. Grisslepaw turned to Mudkit. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna yowl at you forever."
"Oh, come here, you. Lounging in the nice warmth of the sun is much better than play-fighting." Goldpaw patted down some grass beside her for the kit. Mudkit slowly stood up, scuffing her paws on the grass before she approached Goldpaw, settling by her side. The older she-cat smelled sweet like herbs, she noted.
"Play fighting is fun tho... I just don't have anyone to do it with. And besides, I'm 6 moons! It's not fair."
"There is always more to do than just fight for fun. Say, have you ever looked in the woods with the elder medicine cat for berries? That's mighty fun..." Goldpaw rambled for a while, eventually falling asleep. A yowl sounded out across the camp, drawing attention to the Highrock. This woke the apprentice, and Goldpaw groaned as she rolled over to get on her paws. "Seems like I won't get to nap." She complained. Silentstar, RiverClan's leader, stood on the Highrock, gaze sweeping over the camp.
"Let all cats old enough to swim gather to hear my words!"
Before she could really process what was happening, Mothflutter had appeared at Mudkit's side, quickly nudging her along. Her heart still felt heavy from her conversation with Goldpaw, but, being who she was, she soon forgot that and was bouncing alongside Mothflutter until she was made to sit on top of her mother's paws. She purred softly when she felt her mother's rough tongue smoothing down the fur on her head and shoulders. Silentstar yowled from the Highrock, silencing the amassed clan.
"I have called this meeting to appoint an apprentice." Mudkit's mouth gaped open and she looked straight up at her mother with wide eyes. The she cat merely smiled knowingly before nudging her kit off of her paws to make her stand. "Mudkit," The leader said slowly. "You have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed." Silentstar stopped, contemplating something unknown to the other cats. "From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Mudpaw. Your mentor will be..." She stared up at him expectantly, holding her breath as he spoke. Part of her thought this was a dream. She couldn't believe this was finally happening! The warrior paused once more, allowing his words to sink in. "Your mentor will be me. I hope I can pass down I know on to you."
It was as if the world had stopped for several moments. When she finally came back into the present, she fluffed up and padded up to the Highrock to complete the last part of her appointment; so they could touch noses. Silentstar leaped down from the Highrock, bounding forward to touch noses with Mudpaw. "You have heart, young one." Silentstar meowed quietly. "I hope to see you grow much in these coming moons." Hearing these words from her leader, and now mentor, made her heart swell. She purred, her green eyes practically glowing.
"I won't let you down, I promise!"
Silentstar purred as well, tail swaying back and forth. "Go on, make your bedding in the apprentices den. We will have a long day tomorrow."
She nodded eagerly, then smiled sheepishly before scampering over to the den she would be calling home until she became a warrior. She ducked inside, blinking as her eyes adjusted. She promptly claimed an empty nest, far away from the other apprentices. She giggled, flopping into her nest. But she didn't stay in it long. She bounced back up quickly, too full of energy and excitement to lay down.
Silentstar padded over to the queen's den, where Mothflutter was clearing out her nest, preparing to return to her nest in the warrior's den. He sat down quietly, watching her clear out the mossy bedding. "Hello, Mothflutter."
The cream colored she-cat lifted her head, holding a small bunch of moss in her mouth. She dropped it, dipping her head to him in respect. "Silentstar, hello. What brings you by?"
Silentstar flicked his ear in annoyance, looking down. "You know you don't need to lower your head for me, Moth." Silentstar mewed quietly.
She was silent for several moments before she approached him, lightly touching her nose to his shoulder. "I'm sorry. Today has just been... a little..." Mothflutter glanced up at him, her ears flicking back. "I didn't know you were going to make that decision."
Silentstar shook his head. "I do want to be close to her. Even if..."
"She needs to know." Mothflutter blurted out, not meeting his eyes. "She'll hate us both later if we wait. And I don't want to lose another kit. I want to be close to her... Heh, she... was so eager to grow up. You saw..." She mewed quietly, her tail curling over her paws as she sat down.
Silentstar nodded, meowing in agreement. "She is brave. Too brave. That is why she can't know, not yet."
Mothflutter sighed in exasperation, still unable to look at him. After sitting in silence for several moments, she meowed softly, "I'm glad she'll get to be close to you. I wish I could have that again."
Silentstar nuzzled her shoulder. "I know."
"Saying that's doesn't fix anything, Silentstar... I wish it did." The she-cat stood and moved away from him, hoping that the distance would make the ache in her chest go away. But it only made it worse.
Silentstar turned away, padding through the den's entrance. "Don't worry... I'll make sure she visits you often, Mothflutter." She listened to him go before she started to clean out her nest.
"I meant about you... us." She whispered to no one. He made his way through the camp, settling outside of his den.
He lay there, surveying the goings on of his clan-mates. Brackenmane, his deputy, made her way over. "Silentstar," She said, dipping her head. "I've gotten the dusk patrol prepared."
Silentstar tilted his head, still looking out at the camp. "Good. Make sure they get Sandfoot some broom from along the ThunderClan border. He needs it for Blackpaw. He got himself injured during the Windclan skirmish at the falls." Brackenmane nodded, trotting out of camp. After a few moments, Silentstar retired to his den. The next day was going to be a long one.
As the morning sun crept up into the sky Mudpaw peeked her head out of the apprentice den, her tail swaying as she contemplated what she would do. Finally, she slid out, unable to help but feel bigger, somehow. Silentstar sat quietly at the edge of the camp, watching the entrance to the apprentice's den. When the new apprentice finally noticed him, he flicked his ear at her, motioning for her to follow. He padded out of camp, heading up the hill. She didn't even hesitate to follow him, and she bounded out of the camp with her tail held high. This was her first time to be in the outside, so she marveled at the new sights around her, but she made sure to not lose sight of Silentstar. Silentstar slowed his gait, allowing Mudpaw to catch up with him. "Do you know what we are going to do today, Mudpaw?" He questioned, curious to see how often she paid attention.
"You... are gonna show me our borders. Right?" Mudpaw looked up at him, green eyes wide with excitement. It was so much bigger out here than she thought it would be.
Silentstar mewled amusedly. "Not just yet."
She frowned a bit, having been so sure that she was right. "Oh. Then what are we going to do?"
The tom looked at her, tilting his head. "We are going to my favorite place."
"Oh... where is that?" The young cat questioned him, trotting ahead of him to hop up onto an old, rotting log. Granted, it took her a second to scramble on top of it, but she managed to eventually.
Silentstar leaped onto the log with ease, guiding Mudpaw along it. "You'll see."
Mudpaw swatted at the tip of his tail lightly, growling playfully. "I still can't believe you chose me to be your apprentice. This is the coolest thing ever!"
Her mentor waved his tail, touching the tip of her nose. "Indeed."
As they walked through RiverClan's marshy territory, Mudpaw listened to the sounds of crickets chirping, birds singing, and frogs croaking. Her pale green eyes were alight with a joy she had never felt before. It was as if the whole world was now opened to her, and she couldn't wait to discover all of it's wonders. But, being the ever curious cat that she was, she soon broke the silence again.
"How many other apprentices have you had? How old are you? Can you tell me where we're going yet? I can't wait to tell mom about this." Mudpaw just couldn't contain herself. She just had so much to be excited about.
Silentstar waited for her to stop mewling before answering each individual question. "One. Too many moons to count. No."
"Who was the first one? And... I dunno, why did you choose me? I'd hate to think it was because you were bored." She hopped off of the log when it ended, hurrying to walk by his side.
Silentstar gave her a strange look, before answering. "My first apprentice's name was Birchfoot."
"Oh... do I know them? I don't know all of the warriors names yet." She ducked her head sheepishly under his gaze.
Silentstar shook his head, looking straight in front of them. "No. Birchfoot died almost nine moons before you were born."
"Oh... I'm sorry. How did Birchfoot die?" The young cat looked up at the sky, seeing some lingering remnants of StarPelt. Maybe Birchfoot was watching them?
Silentstar followed her gaze up to the dawn sky. "He was killed in a raid by WindClan."
"... W-Why would WindClan do that?" Her ears flattened a bit, and her gaze shifted back to him. "We didn't do anything wrong..."
A cold light shone in her mentor's eyes, and Silentstar shook his head, growling softly. "At the time, Dapplestar was still our leader. She and Russetstar were often at odds. Dapplestar led a patrol over the WindClan border to challenge Russetstar, who had been marking territory near sunningrocks. She did not return, and neither did Birchfoot. I had been deputy at the time, and Starclan deemed me leader a few days afterwards."
"That really is awful. It seems like you're a good leader, though. I... I mean I don't know much, but... I dunno, I feel it. Sorry, I'm talking a lot. And I'm sorry if talking about Birchfoot hurts your feelings..." She looked down at her paws.
Silentstar swatted her nose with his tail. "Nonsense. Also, we are here."
They arrived at the river, pushing through the reeds until they reached a small sandy bank. Silentstar sat in the sand, looking out at the river. Mudpaw gasped, darting forward and splashing her large paws into the water that lapped up onto the bank. This was her first time getting to see the river. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the water as it flowed downstream. It was such a peaceful sound.
"This is your favorite place?" She mewed to him and Silentstar nodded, his tail swaying hypnotically behind him.
"I've come here often, ever since I became an apprentice."
"I can see why." She smiled, backing up and shaking the water off of her paws. She jumped when she backed into his leg, her fur fluffing up. Silentstar mewed mirthfully, shoving Mudpaw back towards the water. She bounced out of the way before whirling back to him and dropping into a playful crouch, her tail high and quivering with delight.
Silentstar shook his head. "Let's show you the borders then, shall we?" He leaped up and bounded across the bank, running towards sunningrocks.
Mudpaw darted after him, determined to keep up with him. "Okay! I'm coming!"
Silentstar lowered his haunches to the ground, watching as Mudpaw sniffed the air for animal scents. Half a moon had passed since her apprenticeship had begun, and she had been making amazing progress. Though, he thought as he watched her scare off a mouse that had been in a nearby log, she could learn to be a bit more... silent.
Being silent didn't come easily to her, seeing as she had the curse of large, clumsy paws that didn't at all go with her tiny body. But she put in quite the effort. Mudpaw watched as the mouse scurried away, having just caught its sent. "Aw! I shoulda known it was in there..." Silentstar waited patiently, before giving some quiet criticism.
"Keep your tail adjacent to the ground. Use it to keep your balance, and move your paws slowly."
She nodded, eager to please him. Dropping back into a crouch she lowered her tail as he instructed, and she moved forward as slowly as she could, trying to make sure her paws wouldn't make any noise. "Like... this...?"
Silentstar nodded, letting out a low meow."Yes, but be sure of your movements. Practice your stalking for a little while, and then we'll try again." Mudpaw flicked her ear in acknowledgment before continuing forward to stalk behind the log, her paws still rustling the leaves quietly. Silentstar tilted his head, watching Mudpaw's movements with a critical eye. She kept going until she was able to place down her paws silently. This sent a thrill through her, and she suddenly darted out from behind the log.
"I did it! ... Oh. Oops." She realized that she was no longer being as silent as she needed to be in her excitement. Silentstar padded up behind her, meowing. "Good. Now, come with me. We'll see if we can't find a water vole down by the river."
She mrrowed in delight, darting ahead of him. "Okay! I'll catch one today for sure!" Realizing she was too loud, she winced, looking over her shoulder sheepishly. "Uh... Quietly. I'll catch one quietly." Silentstar continued ahead, hiding his mirth. Trotting down to the river, Silentstar finally slowed.
"That mouse you scared probably alerted other prey to danger." He gestured to a rock with his tail. "Voles like to hide under and around rocks, because their grey pelts blend in with the colors. See if you can find one." She listened to him intently before nodding her understanding. Lowering herself into a crouch, she stalked along the riverbed as silently she could, looking for any furry, grey bodies among the rocks.
Silentstar let out a breathy chuckle, flicking his ear." Remember to use all of your senses." She paused for a moment, her ears swiveling as she parted her jaws, tasting the scents on the air. After several moments she looked to the side, and about three fox lengths away she saw a blur of grey fur as she caught its scent. It was vaguely familiar to her, and she recognized it as the water vole. Not hesitating, she stalked soundlessly towards the small rodents hiding place. Silentstar leaned forward absently, mesmerized by the sight of his- of Mudpaw stalking the creature with almost flawless grace. For a moment he saw Mothflutter - clumsy with her too-big paws and her flawless pelt - and sat there, content to be alone with the Apprentice.
She lifted her head ever so slightly to peer over the rock in front of her, hearing the scuffling of the vole on the other side. Her haunches waggled before she suddenly leaped over the rock, landing squarely on the surprised vole. It squeaked beneath her paws, and she quickly silenced it with a bite to the back of the neck. Silentstar padded over quietly, flicking Mudpaw's head with his tail. "Good job, Mudpaw. You've improved vastly."
The apprentice still looked surprised with herself for even catching the rodent. She tilted her head up to look at him, her ears quivering slightly. "I can't believe I caught it!"
Silentstar huffed, blowing on her nose. "Come on. Let's return to camp. I think Mothflutter might want to see you."
Her eyes brightened as she gasped, snatching up the vole before starting to run back the way they came. "I can't wait to show her!"
After returning to camp and showing off for her ever adoring mother, Mudfire dutifully placed her vole on the fresh-kill pile. She then proceeded to bounce over to Grisslepaw to tell him all about her morning training with her mentor. Then she more or less begged the older tom to teach her some of the battle moves he had learned so that she could surprise Silentstar with what she knew during their next training session.
The former queen watched Mudpaw for a few moments before she glanced over her shoulder at Silentstar's den. Taking a deep breath, she turned and padded across the clearing. Mothflutter stepped inside the den, her lithe body still bathed in sunlight. Her vibrant eyes met his from across the den, and her tail flicked from side to side slowly. "Mudpaw seems very happy. You should have seen her face when she marched over with that vole. It's practically half her size." She joked, a pride filled purr rumbling in her chest.
Silentstar nodded, tail flicking towards Mothflutter. His heart leaped from his chest when she walked in, but he stuffed it down. "Yes. You should have seen her. I think she figured out how to stalk with those huge paws twice as fast as you did."
She padded a little closer, her eyes narrowing. "Well your tail was a beacon to every mouse and vole you hunted." Her whiskers twitched in amusement, and she sat in front of him, her tail curling over her paws. "But I'm so proud of her... You're teaching her well."
He let out a huff at her remark, but ignored it in favor of praising his d- praising Mudpaw. "I hope so. There are so many older and better Warriors that could have taught her... But I... Well, I was being selfish."
"No, I think it was a good decision. You're better than any other warrior. She needs you too..." Mothflutter looked down, her paws lightly kneading at the moss beneath her. She couldn't tell whether she loved or hated being this close to him. It just made her heart ache so much...
Silentstar huffed, standing and stretching. He padded lightly to the entrance of the den. "Would you like to share a vole, or perhaps a fish?"
His question caught her off guard, and she looked over her shoulder at him. Without thinking, she answered. "I'd love to. I, uh... I'm starving." She stood and followed him, trying to deny that her ears were flushed pink beneath the downy fur.
Silentstar let out a raspy chuckle, flicking his tail in her direction. "You're doing it again."
Her tail bushed out slightly as she tried to play dumb. "Doing what?" The she-cat brushed past him, flicking her tail over his ears as she went.
Silentstar mewed with amusement, his tail dancing of it's own volition. "That thing where you press your ears against your head until they disappear."
Mothflutter's ears popped back up, and she narrowed her eyes at him. "Well your tail is flagging again, and it's putting on quite the display."
Silentstar let out an amused meow, nodding. "As it should. My tail is my best friend."
"I can tell." Mothflutter rolled her eyes, padding towards the fresh-kill pile. "So... vole or fish?"
Silentstar's irises flared, his pupils dilating. "Fish sounds good!"
She plucked a rather large fish from the pile, dragging it out for them so they would be out of the way. Sitting down, she flicked her ear to motion him over. Silentstar settled down across from her, cautiously taking a bite before digging into the fish carcass. While eating, he noticed Mudpaw dragging the rather large vole over to one of the elders. He flicked his tail in her direction, tilting his head at Mothflutter. The mother looked in the direction he pointed to, and yet again her heart filled with the pride only a mother could know.
"She's a wonderful little cat. Her heart is too big for her body." Mothflutter beamed, taking a bite of the fish.
Silentstar nodded, returning his gaze to the fish as well. "Unfortunately, she gets everything else from her father. And that's what I'm afraid of."
"Oh? And why so?" The compliment wasn't lost on her, and it made her heart skip a few beats.
He wouldn't meet her eyes, favoring the fish on the ground in front of him. "Because he messed everything up." He mewed softly, after a moment of silence.
Mothflutter was silent, trying to think of how to respond. "... He knows... he can fix things. Right...?" Her brow wrinkled slightly as she watched his face.
Silentstar stood, stretching. "Tomorrow is the gathering. I think Mudpaw will be quite excited to go."
"Silentstar." Her meow was on the verge of sounding pleading, her big eyes swimming with emotion. How could he keep drawing her in and then push her away...? Did he realize the pain he was causing her? Silentstar padded lightly over, nuzzling her shoulder briefly. "Things will be better, I promise." He began to pad away, before adding: "I think I might ask a certain queen who just returned to warrior duties to come to the gathering as well. What do you think she'll say?"
She tried not to lean into his touch when he nuzzled her, and she tried to swallow the lump in her throat. At length, she answered, unable to look at him. "Even though it would be difficult for her, I think she wouldn't pass up the opportunity."
Silentstar beamed, feeling truly happy for the first time in a while." Maybe I'm getting my family back." He returned to his den, sleeping better than he had since the WindClan raid that took his Apprentice from him.