chapter one
splashpaw! grasspaw whispered urgently. wake up!
her sister lifted one eye open. yes...? she grumbled.
come on! the silver tabby exclaimed. we have dawn patrol! aren't you excited?
splashpaw heaved herself to her feet, still exhausted. she licked one gray speckled paw and drew it over her ear. coming, she grumbled.
once they reached the entrance to camp, willowflower, spiritbreeze, birdheart, leafstorm, darkwhisker, and swiftclaw were waiting for them. leafstorm and darkwhisker seemed alert and ready to go, but the she-cats (as usual) were mooning over swiftclaw. willowflower purred happily, oh, swiftclaw, that squirrel you caught yesterday was delicious! I had to stop myself from eating another!
splashpaw rolled her bright green eyes as her sister said,
isn't swiftclaw sooo amazing and dreamy? she whispered.
ignoring the silver tabby she-cat, splashpaw padded over to darkwhisker. we're here and ready, she told him. then she glanced at the lovesick grasspaw. well, almost ready.
the deputy flicked his tail in agreement, before trotting over to the group of she-cats. are you coming or not? he hissed. spiritbreeze's head whipped around. fine, fine, she replied, before whispering something to birdheart, her nodded in agreement. splashpaw was close enough to hear them.
he's just grumpy because he doesn't have a mate!
darkwhisker jumped over the ravine easily, and splashpaw scrambled after him. once they were all out of camp, the tom instructed,
leafstorm, you and spiritbreeze check sunningrocks. grasspaw and birdheart, the thunderpath. splashpaw, you and swiftclaw are hunting, and willowflower, you're with me.
why did he choose a kit to hunt with swiftclaw? spiritbreeze muttered. splashpaw, deciding that the she-cat was to dumb to take any notice if she told her she was a apprentice, rethought her options. she whacked spiritbreeze in the head with her tail. then she trotted off before the tabby she-cat could do anything.
where should we hunt? she asked the tom once they were out of hearing range.
but swiftclaw did not answer her question. instead, he mewed,
listen, I don't really have time for a mate right now, okay?
but instead of what he thought splashpaw would do, (which was wail with sadness and despair) she turned on him.
are you that stuck up? she hissed. not every she-cat wants to be with you! besides, I have enough toms chasing me already!
and it was true. every morning, unless she was up early, toms would crowd around her, asking if she wanted to hunt or patrol with one of them. her sister was envious of her, she knew. they like you because you're pretty, she would whine. and you're a great hunter! but you're not even as good at battle moves as me!
swiftclaw looked shocked, but... oddly happy.
few! finally! someone who knows how I feel! he meowed.
splashpaw ignored him, and instead she flicked her tail in the direction of the owl tree. we're supposed to be hunting, she reminded him. right, the black-and-white tom mewed.
by the end of the day, they had caught a rabbit, two voles, three mice, and one finch. even though she had no interest in toms whatsoever, she could not help thinking about how well they worked together.