I crouched down, eyeing the little mouse nibbling at the seed in its paws. My tail twitched rhythmically behind me. Slowly, placing one foot in front of the other, I crept up to the mouse, until I was at just the right spot. With a huge push of my back legs, I leapt onto the mouse, killing it with one blow to its spine.

I looked around nervously. I had been hunting all morning, and by now, I was starving. But, if somebody caught me, I was in big trouble. The Clan had to be fed first. I scanned the are once more, before deciding to risk it. I had already caught a squirrel, two chaffinches, and three mice today, and most of it had gone back to camp, and had probably made its way to the nursery and the elders' den by now.

I lowered my head, about to take a bite out of the mouse, but was jolted by an angry cry from my mentor.

"Talonpaw!" Ashfang's voice rang throughout the forest.

I hung my head guiltily.

"What do you think you're doing?" His dark gray pelt glistened as he stepped out of a cluster of trees.

"I haven't eaten all morning, and I've already taken most of my prey back to camp."

"Oh, Talonpaw, what are we going to do with you?" This time, his words were filled with regret, his amber eyes searching my body. "This is the second time you've broken the rules this half-moon."

I knew he was talking about how I tried to sneak Snowflower's kits out of camp half a moon ago. Well, that's what he thinks happened. Actually, they had told me that Snowflower had said they could.

I opened my mouth to protest, but was cut off by Ashfang.

"I'm reporting you to Froststar."

. . .

I shrank under Froststar's gaze.

"I hear you were going to eat one of your kills when you where on a hunting mission."

I nodded, suddenly ashamed.

"The Clan must be fed first!" he thundered, his dark amber eyes boring into my green.

"You will be in charge of changing the elders' bedding for the next moon."

"But..." the word flies out of my mouth before I can stop it.

"No 'buts'!"

. . .

"Foxdung! Who does he think he is, that mange ridden flea-pelt?" I continue on, even though I know that there would be a great deal of cats shocked by a tom this young using words this strong. I know I shouldn't be saying them, but I was mad. Elder duty for a moon?! Anyway, it's not like I actually meant any of them.

"Hey, Talonpaw!" I'm jolted out of my thoughts by a call from Silverpaw. She crept up on me whilst I was talking to myself.

"Hi!" I mew, attempting to act casually. Silverpaw is the prettiest she-cat apprentice, a silver tabby with dark blue eyes. And, she's really nice and caring.

"I heard you where put on elder duty," she mewed. She narrowed her eyes a little, in a playful way.

"Yeah..." I shuffled my paws nervously. "I was going to eat a mouse on a hunting mission."

"Talonpaw!" she mock scolded, flicking my ear with her tail, "You have to stop getting in trouble!"

Her eyes grew serious, "Seriously, Talonpaw, it takes away time you could be spending training to become a warrior or spending time with your friends."

I smile, Silverpaw is so cute when she's worried. "Don't worry, I will."

. . .

I drag the moss into the Elder's Den. Grumbling under my breath, I get to work changing Twistedfoot's bedding.

"Would you like to hear a story?" asks Thorntail.

I groan, "Yeah, sure."

Thorntail, pretending not to hear my groan, starts.

"One day, many moons ago, there was a young apprentice named Darkpaw. He was out hunting with his mentor, and they found a squirrel. Now, Darkpaw chased after the squirrel. The squirrel ran on and on, into ShadowClan territory. Darkpaw caught the squirrel, but was just unlucky enough to get caught by a ShadowClan patrol.

Darkpaw yowled for help, and alerted his mentor and a nearby ThunderClan patrol. The ShadowClan cats, seeing they were outnumbered, told one of their members to return to camp and bring back-up, knowing there could soon be a battle.

The two patrols started fighting; ShadowClan arguing that the squirrel was rightfully theirs, and the apprentice should be taken hostage for his crime, and kept a prisoner until ThunderClan gave them something, with ThunderClan arguing that the squirrel was on their territory, therefore their's, and he was only a apprentice, and shouldn't be punished for his mistake.

Soon, ShadowClan brought their reinforcements, badly outnumbering the ThunderClan cats. ThunderClan, too, got reinforcements, and soon it blew up into a full out war between the two clans.

The battle ended much later, but by the end of it, many lives had been lost on both sides. One of which was Spiderpaw, Darkpaw's own brother.

Which goes to show, that life is very fragile."

I stared at Thorntail, my eyes wide, "What happened to the apprentice?"

Thorntail shrugged his shoulders. "He lived life, and made sure to spread the word that life itself was very fragile."

. . .

I scented the air. Shrew and... "WindClan!" I yowl, alerting the rest of my patrol. Soon, Grayfoot, Ashfang, Foxpaw and Emberclaw were beside me. I point my nose in the direction in which I could scent them.

We crouched down, and snuck up on a WindClan patrol. We could just hear them trampling around in the undergrowth.

"Let's attack them!" said Foxpaw, excited.

"No!" I reply, "Lives can be wasted on meaningless battles like this!"

I remember the story Thorntail told me, lives lost in a battle over a squirrel.

I could feel Ashfang, Foxpaw and Emberclaw looking at my oddly.

"Okay..." said Ashfang, obviously confused by change of attitude. Normally, I would give anything to be in a battle. "We will chase them out."

Foxpaw groaned, but he followed us as we stalked them. Claws unsheathed and teeth bared we leapt out of the bushes, yowling, and chased them back over the border.

. . .

"Talonheart! Eagleflight! Silverwing!"

I lifted my head proudly as the Clan cheered for my brother, my friend, and me.

Holding my tail up high, I strode over to the fresh-kill pile. On the other side of the fresh-kill pile, I could see Thorntail staring at me, his green eyes looking straight at me.

Making sure nobody was paying to much attention to me, I went over to him. "Good job, Talonheart," he croaked, "Remember, life is very fragile."

. . .

I purr, looking at Silverwing and our kits.

"They're beautiful," I murmur, nuzzling my mate's head.

She purred and looked up at me. "What should we name them?"

I look down at a little dark brown tabby she-cat. "Bramblekit."

Silverwing nodded in assent. "She looks just like you," she added softly. She nuzzled a little gray tabby tom. "Dustkit."

I look down at the last kit, a silver and brown tabby she-cat. She had a mixture of both our pelts. "Birdkit," I whisper.

Silverwing purrs, and reaches up to lick my ear.

. . .

"... The battle ended much later, but by the end of it, many lives had been lost on both sides. One of which was Spiderpaw, Darkpaw's own brother.

Which goes to show, that life is very fragile."

I look down at Bramblekit, Dustkit and Birdkit. They were looking up at me, with round eyes. Silverwing's blue for Bramblekit, my green for Dustkit, and amber for Birdkit.

I feel Silverwing settle down beside me. We watched as the kits tumbled out into the clearing, tackling each other and tripping on their short little legs.

"Were you telling them the 'Life is very Fragile' story?" she asks me, resting her head on my shoulder.

I nod, my thoughts going back to all those moons ago, when I was assigned to changing the elders' bedding and Thorntail told me the story. I still think of that tale, even now, many, many moons later.

Hope you guys enjoyed it!

I'd love to hear how you think, so tell me in a review!

Thanks,

- Rain