Chapter 2: First Patrol
"Hey, Smokepaw, get up!" A small silver form crouched beside a sleeping grey one, rapidly prodding him with a paw. Smokepaw rolled over, muttering something about nightmares, and sat up. Drowsy-eyed, he regarded the den with slight confusion. "Uh... In case you hadn't noticed, I was asleep!" He growled at Whisperingpaw, who was trying in vain to mask the amused look on her face.
"Freshleaf said we're going Dawn patrol today, and that Swiftwing wanted you to come along too. You'd better hurry and wash that mossy stain off your pelt; Swiftwing may be gentle, but he really can bite!" She mewled with laughter and raced off to her mentor. It was still dark outside, with only a few faint rays of sunlight from the east, but she could still make out Freshleaf.
Freshleaf was waiting beside the fresh-kill pile, which was perilously empty, carrying two mice and a vole in her jaws by the tail. Setting them down before an eager Whisperingpaw, she told her to eat. "Hurry up," the she-cat ordered, "Time doesn't wait for slow paws. Swiftwing will be here in no time." Whisperingpaw tucked her paws in and began to tear at a mouse.
Soon, it had disappeared, and Whisperingpaw was licking the bones clean for the second time when a glassy-eyed Smokepaw was dragged along by Swiftwing. The grey apprentice stifled a yawn. Swiftwing, on the contrary, looked smart and ready. His brown fur was slicked back, and his sharp yellow eyes caught everything – including that yawn. He promptly deposited Smokepaw on the ground. Smokepaw darted an accusing glare at his mentor, as if to say, "I'm supposed to be still asleep," and dug into his vole.
Freshleaf had already eaten. She nudged the last mouse towards Swiftwing, who shook his head, indicating that he wasn't hungry, and Whisperingpaw snatched up the piece of prey. The silver she-cat shared out the rodent between herself and Smokepaw, who was more alert than a few moments before. The black tom nodded his thanks before proceeding to finish it. Whisperingpaw savoured every mouthful of the mouse, silently thanking DreamClan that the Leaf-bare had passed uneventfully. She had been born in the late moons of Leaf-fall, when her mother – a bolt of grief shot through her – had died from kitbirth. She was the only of the three kits that lived, and had been nearly struck down by Kitcough in her later moons of kithood. Oh, if only her mother was still alive!
Shaking those thoughts away, Whisperingpaw finished the last morsel of the mouse with a gulp. She dug a hole in the sandy earth and buried the remains of her meal. Smokepaw did the same with his, sweeping sand over the bones until the hole was filled up. Freshleaf and Swiftwing were engaged in small talk at the brambly tunnel that linked the camp to the Wet Forest. The two apprentices hurried over to the warriors, and the patrol set off into the Forest. They added their scent marks on the borders and proceeded towards the small, flat Sunrise Hills "for a quick hunt", as Swiftwing put it. The patrol scaled the first of the peaks—and Whisperingpaw gasped.
The sun was rising. The clouds to the east turned crimson, gold and finally their pure white in turn. The sun itself was a brilliant fireball of red and gold, setting everything it touched on fire. Whisperingpaw simply gawked at the sight. She had never, never woken up early enough to see a proper sunrise before. She took in everything with awe, and saw her own self, together with the light and the beauty of a dawn, mirrored in Smokepaw's amber eyes. Her own green ones were mixed with red brilliance and soft gold, the signature colours of the sun and the clouds and the sky... and everything around them. She was lost in space and time for those few moments, struck by the beauty of it all.
A voice jerked her out of her reverie. "Get going, apprentices. If that's how you react when you see a mere sunrise, imagine what it'll be like when you first encounter the Wave." Freshleaf's curt voice cut in. Whisperingpaw let out her breath in a contented sigh and followed her mentor towards the more densely vegetated parts of the Hills.
"Hyahh!" A silver-and-white blur rushed out of the bushes and pounced onto an unsuspecting rabbit. Whisperingpaw stood back and admired her results. One rabbit and a thrush hatchling that she found below a tree. That was good work. For an apprentice that started training late, had just received seven days of training and was on her first patrol, it was unbelievable. The small she-cat carried her catch back to the meeting point, where Swiftwing was waiting with a mouse, a vole and another rabbit.
"Congratulations, Whisperingpaw, you learn fast." He nodded appraisingly at her. "Keep it up!" After a second glance at the small pile of fresh-kill, Swiftwing sighed. "You can eat something if you're hungry; we aren't on a hunting patrol anyway."
The young apprentice glowed with pride at the comment, then flushed, embarrassed, as her belly gave a loud complain. She picked up the thrush and began to tear off the feathers eagerly.
Smokepaw returned, followed by Freshleaf, just as she finished burying the remains. The tom raced over and nuzzled her excitedly. "I caught two mice and a vole! Freshleaf said it was wonderful!"
Whisperingpaw looked dejected. "Well, you've been an apprentice for three quarters of a moon already! Soon, you'll be taught to hunt even more, and even faster, then you'll begin learning to fight!" Her voice almost rose to a wail. "It's so unfair, me being behind everybody else! Just because I was sick in my fifth moon..."
Smokepaw grinned comfortingly at her. "You'll catch up. Anyway, I won't start on fighting anytime soon. With some luck, you could be made a warrior earlier, together with me, if you're hardworking."
Whisperingpaw bobbed her head enthusiastically. "Okay. I'll try. I must be made a warrior together with you!" She stood up, with her head held slightly higher, determination in her eyes. Freshleaf gave a small, affirmative nod and an encouraging smile. The patrol began to move on.
Hopefully this fits the bill for being "much longer"? Some background to what happened to Whisper, I hope. What's the warrior word for Autumn?