Hello, peeps! On this beautiful day, we're going back with another chapter of... what was her name again? Furzepaw. Furzepaw's misadventures. Right. Eelpaw. Spiderstar. Cats. Heartless apprentices.
Chapter 2
The shock of the cold night air was quite different from the cozy warmness of the apprentice den. "Is Spiderstar serious?" I complained, slowing down and coming to a halt beside a larger, gnarled oak tree. "Meaning, we're pretty much exiled until sunup-"
"I know, right?" Eelpaw replied, stopping behind me. "Stupid Harepaw, stupid Spiderstar, stupid clan- how could the rest of the patrol not have been keeping an eye on that idiot apprentice?" He sighed. "I'm hungry, too... haven't even since this morning."
Like in response, my belly rumbled. "That old tom keeps ordering us to do stuff for him and never gives us a break," I agreed. "But if we're not allowed our share of the fresh-kill pile..." Slowly, a smile began lighting up my face. "Then we can hunt at least hunt for a while."
Eelpaw nodded in his eagerness. "Everyone would be all gathered around Harepaw's dead body, and I don't think there would be a midnight patrol tonight, so it's the perfect time. Let's go."
Standing up again, I scanned the row of undergrowth and sniffed once tentatively. The only scent was of the musty tang of many different trees, the stillness of the night, and Eelpaw himself standing beside me. "Let's go deeper into the forest," I decided, but he was already padding away.
I stiffened. "Eelpaw," I said. "I think I just heard something."
Hunting in the dead of night for so long and catching nothing really drains your energy (and enthusiasm). But something that just sent the tip of my ear perking up, and now all my muscles were tensed up and ready for the final pounce. "It sounded like something small, like a-"
"Mouse," Eelpaw whispered, lowering his body into a crouch that mimicked mine. The leaves of the juniper bush rustled in front of us. Something squeaked near the roots, and a tiny, mottled gray shape appeared from under the branches.
I glanced at my hunting companion. His claws were unsheathed like mine and there was an utterly concentrated look to his expression that I had never seen before. Since the mouse was still under the relative shelter of the bush, I had to find a way to make it come out further, somehow...
Not knowing entirely what I was doing, I began edging along the side of the bush until I was almost behind it. Ignoring Eelpaw's questioning glance, I reached out with a nervous paw and prodded a twig right in front of me. It snapped into two, and the mouse shot out with a terrified squeal-
"Get it!" I screeched, the stealth forgotten. Startled, he lashed out with both of his paws but the furry creature dashed sideways, leaving his claws to settle in nothing but dead leaves and bracken. I hadn't expected it to scurry next towards me, so when it did-
Hissing, I tried to swat at the frightened mouse, but somehow, it dodged under both of my blows and disappeared somewhere into the undergrowth with a rustle. I growled. "That was close. Too close."
Eelpaw tried to say something, maybe to agree with me, but whatever it was, his reply was cut off with a yawn. "It's really dark out now," he moaned. "I'm tired. Can we just make a nest and... sleep somewhere?"
Before I could agree, he stumbled towards me and then collapsed onto the forest floor, eyes closed. Seconds later, he started snoring.
The next day, I heard a scuffle in the bushes again, like another small animal was scrounging around in the undergrowth. But something was different here. Instead of being a quick, quiet rustle, whatever it was in there was making a sound like it was running around and smashing into branches.
I sat up, trying to blink open my eyes. The sun was now at its topmost peak, its rays cutting through even the thickly-leafed canopy and lighting up the forest floor. Eelpaw was still snoring beside me; we must have been really tired.
Dropping instinctively into a hunting crouch, I moved forward, intent on not losing another piece of fresh-kill. If Eelpaw wasn't awake by now, then I would have to find another way. The creature sounded trapped in there, which I found strange, since there were obvious gaps in the leaves.
Regretting my decision, I pried the branch in front of me, up, and peered close into the bush.
I could see movement almost immediately. Something gray and furry was definitely scurrying around in there- but for reason, it was moving around in circles (and I wasn't even sure if it had noticed me). Something was wrong here.
I dipped my paw, claws unsheathed, into the middle of the bush. Thorns scraped the side of my front leg, and I winced. I felt something furry brush against it for a moment, and then darted away again. Hissing, I jammed my other paw into the hollow center of the bush, too, but it was too late.
By the time that I had turned around, Eelpaw was already awake and alert with unsheathed claws at the ready. The confused mouse scurried towards him, as if it didn't notice that he was there, and all but leap into his outstretched paws.
Looking up, Eelpaw licked a spot of blood from his chin. "Thanks for scaring that mouse out of the bush," he grinned.
I nodded, taking the compliment. I didn't tell him that I had been planning to get it myself. "Let's get it back to the camp. I'm sure we'll be welcomed as heroes again," I said in a joking tone. "I bet they're still crying over Harepaw."
My mood wasn't in it, though. The whole way back, I kept thinking about the mouse's strange behavior.
