Chapter 6

"Mothpaw!"

Mothpaw grumbled under her breath as her stag-killing dream vanished from her mind. "What is it, Robinheart?" she called.

"Come down and get ready."

"Fine," Mothpaw muttered, rolling out of bed.

She dressed quickly, careful not to wake Ashpaw, Blizzardpaw, and Willowpaw as they slept. She slipped into her day-clothes and slung her quiver over her back. She walked out of the hut as she fastened her knife to her waist.

"Robinheart?" she called, her voice echoing in the dawn newleaf fog.

"Over here."

Mothpaw followed her scent and voice and came to her mentor sitting on a log bench. "What are we doing today?" Mothpaw asked, trying to sound cheerful.

"You're going on the dawn patrol."

This was her second dawn patrol since she had become an apprentice two moons ago. On her first, she had come to dislike them. "Are you coming?"

Robinheart shook her head, her eyes showing an emotion Mothpaw didn't recognize. "I'm not going to be mentoring you anymore."

Mothpaw raised her eyes, surprised. "Why not? Are you in trouble?"

Robinheart smiled brightly. "No." She leaned in to whisper to Mothpaw. "I'm pregnant."

"Pregnant!" Mothpaw exclaimed the word. She lowered her voice. "Who's the father?" she asked, excited.

"Pinetail," Robinheart replied proudly. The two had been mates for some time, but this was Robinheart's first pregnancy.

Mothpaw beamed. "Great! Does he know yet?"

Robinheart shook her head again, looking over Mothpaw's shoulder. "He soon will."

Robinheart rose and padded into the fog. Mothpaw tasted the air and smelled Pinetail, his scent warm with sleep. She heard hushed whispers, muffled by the fog and morning air, and Pinetail's jubilant yowl after the news was told. Mothpaw smiled. Kits were a good thing in the Clan. Her heart beat faster as she thought, Will I have kits someday? Her thoughts flitted to Waterpaw and Sparrowpaw; she blushed as she imagined these handsome young men. She didn't know why Blizzardpaw mooned over Twigwhisker. He was thin as his namesake.

She had a sudden thought. "Robinheart," she called, "who will be my mentor?"

"Pebblewhisker," the woman replied. "Eat something. You want to be awake for the dawn patrol." When she hesitated, Robinheart added, "You'll be hunting today anyway."

Mothpaw thanked her and fetched herself some leftover stew. It was cold, but she scooped it from the bottom, closer to the smoldering embers. On a whim, she banked the fire and rekindled it.

After the fire flared up, a gust of wind dissipated the fog and showed the camp more beautifully than Mothpaw had ever seen it. The sun peeped over the horizon, peering through the trees and sending fingers of warmth to the heart of LightningClan territory. Birds twittered as they fluffed out their feathers in the thin sunbeams. An owl hooted in annoyance as the sun brought an abrupt end to its nighttime antics. The kits were stirring, anxious to see the activity as the forest awakened. Birchfoot came out of the elders' hut, followed by Willowtail. The elderly woman came over to Mothpaw.

"Good morning, little one," she rasped.

Mothpaw dipped her head. "Good morning, Willowtail," she replied. "Would you like some stew?"

Willowtail shook her head. "Thank you, but no. I'm going to wait until the hunting patrols go out and bring back warm meat." She eyed the fire approvingly. "Great initiative, young one. It's not every day I see an apprentice with that."

Mothpaw smiled, inclining her head again. "T-thank you!"

Willowtail winked. "Not a problem, Mothpaw."

Willowtail departed. Splashkit, five moons old, emerged from the nursery. Mothpaw watched out of the corner of her eye as he padded over to the men's warrior hut and listened intently. Then he ran over to Mothpaw, eyes wide.

"Mothpaw!" he whispered. "Pebblewhisker's coming!"

"Mouse dung!" Mothpaw hissed. She shoved a mouthful of stew into her mouth and another as the sturdy gray-haired warrior came out of the hut. He strode over and eyed Mothpaw gulping down stew.

"Good," he rumbled. "Finish up. We're leaving soon." He looked at his son. "Good morning, Splashkit. Did you wake up your mother?"

Splashkit widened his eyes innocently. "She was already awake!" he protested.

Pebblewhisker smiled and rubbed Splashkit's brown hair. "Try to let her sleep next time," he said. "And if you're going to use that as an excuse to sneak out of the nursery without permission, nice try."

"Mouse dung!" Splashkit grumbled.

"Go back to the nursery," Pebblewhisker told him. Splashkit began walking off, then turned back and waved at Mothpaw. "Bye, Mothpaw," he said shyly, darting off before Mothpaw could reply.

Pebblewhisker's whiskers twitched; Mothpaw wondered what he was amused about. The warrior served himself some stew and ate hungrily. Mothpaw did the same.

After they finished, Pebblewhisker fetched Moonfoot. "Go get Blizzardpaw," he instructed. "We're going soon."

"Okay," she replied, heading for the apprentices' hut. She opened the door a crack. "Blizzardpaw! Dawn patrol!"

"Fox dung," Blizzardpaw muttered. "Can I send Ashpaw? We can, like, put snow on her hair…or something."

Mothpaw laughed. "That wouldn't work. There's no snow left. Moonfoot and Pebblewhisker are waiting. Hurry up!"

"Coming," Blizzardpaw mumbled noncommittally. Mothpaw huffed and stormed in, heading for the third bunk bed where Blizzardpaw slept. Sure enough, she had dozed off already.

"Wake up!" Mothpaw hollered, leaning close to the girl's ear.

Blizzardpaw shrieked and lashed out at Mothpaw. Mothpaw yelled as her sharpened nails dug into her cheek. "Get off!"

Blizzardpaw leapt to her knees and smacked Mothpaw on the cheek. Mothpaw staggered back, clutching at her face.

"That's a nice way to wake up," Willowpaw said approvingly. "Beating up Mothpaw."

"That hurt!" Mothpaw protested, pressing harder as she felt warm blood. "I'm bleeding!"

"You kind of deserved it," Ashpaw noted, smirking.

"Look, you woke everyone up," Blizzardpaw complained.

"Did not!" Mothpaw argued. "If you hadn't smacked me, they would have gone back to sleep!"

"Girls!"

All four girls turned to look guiltily at the door. Moonfoot stood there, blue eyes flashing.

"You woke up half the camp!" she snapped.

"Oops." Blizzardpaw's widened eyes were leaf-green. "Sorry, Moonfoot."

Moonfoot's gaze traveled the room, meeting the stares of the other apprentices.

"Sorry," Willowpaw muttered from the top bunk.

Ashpaw got out of the bottom bunk to dip her head apologetically to the warrior. "I'm sorry," she mumbled.

Mothpaw hung her head. "Sorry."

"Good." Moonfoot looked at the girls. "Now that you're all up, you can get ready. Willowpaw, Ashpaw, you can go on a hunting patrol."

"At dawn?" Willowpaw asked incredulously.

"At dawn," Moonfoot replied firmly. "Blizzardpaw, you're going on the dawn patrol with Pebblewhisker, Mothpaw, and I. Twigwhisker was going to come, but now he's not."

Blizzardpaw sighed heavily. "I'll get ready."

"Be quick about it," Moonfoot ordered. "Mothpaw, come on."

Mothpaw's head drooped, and she clutched at the back of her neck with her left hand, letting the rest of her arm hang. "I'm really sorry about that," she apologized. "I shouldn't have yelled in her face." Though it's her fault for not getting up!

Moonfoot turned to Mothpaw, sympathy in her eyes. "It's fine," she assured her, placing her pale hand on Mothpaw's left forearm. "I did the same thing, many times, when I was an apprentice." She twitched her whiskers. "I never learned. Wolfstar wanted to confine me to camp, but that wouldn't help much. So he made me sleep in the nursery for a moon!"

Mothpaw winced. "How long did you last?"

Moonfoot smirked. "Robinheart and Redpelt had just been born. I woke up every two hours when they cried for milk! I lasted a quarter moon!"

"Did he make you stay?"

Moonfoot laughed. "No! He ended the punishment a few days later. And thank StarClan for that!"

Blizzardpaw, Willowpaw, and Ashpaw emerged from the apprentices' hut, sleepy but dressed. Blizzardpaw headed over to Mothpaw and Moonfoot. Ashpaw's mentor Applepelt and Willowpaw's mentor Mouseclaw were there, ready to hunt. The sisters sighed and went to them.

"Let's go," Pebblewhisker said. Now that he was down to business, the warrior did not seem so formidable. Respect for Pebblewhisker washed over her. She would try to be a good apprentice.

He led them to the StreamClan border first. The dawn patrol had already passed. Pebblewhisker inhaled deeply and confirmed that no one had crossed the border.

The BreezeClan border was quiet. Overlapping BreezeClan scents hovered around, but they were all in BreezeClan territory.

As they trekked across the territory to check the border between LightningClan and the land beyond, Mothpaw sniffed and stopped dead, her tail bushed out. A scent of rotting meat and trees reached her nose.

Moonfoot had stopped as well, pushing Mothpaw and Blizzardpaw backwards hard enough to make them stumble. "Bear!" she yelped.

Pebblewhisker unsheathed his knife, and Moonfoot had already drawn and strung her bow. The arrow she held ready was more of a spear, long and deadly.

"Yell for help," Pebblewhisker ordered grimly as a huge brown shape crashed out of the undergrowth.

"Help! LightningClan! Bear!" Mothpaw yelled. Blizzardpaw followed suit.

The bear was huge, its berry-sized black eyes glinting with a feral fierceness that scared Mothpaw into screaming herself hoarse. This was a hungry bear. Its pelt hung loosely over its gaunt body. It would be more than happy to fight the four nekos to the death to fulfill its hunger.

The bear charged at Pebblewhisker. Moonfoot released her arrow and it whizzed through the air, embedding itself in the bear's haunch. The bear roared and turned towards Moonfoot, standing terrified with an unstrung bow.

"Help!" Blizzardpaw yelled hoarsely.

Mothpaw held her breath for a heartbeat, expecting Lionstar or perhaps Falconpelt to burst out of the undergrowth with an unsheathed sword, but fantasies only happen in stories. Instead, the bear heard Blizzardpaw's yell and turned toward her, eyes shining in anticipation of a meal.

Blizzardpaw shrieked and tried to take her bow out of the quiver. While she was distracted, the bear charged and clouted her on the shoulder, the one that had been injured by Barkclaw two moons ago. Blood spurted out and sprayed the bear's face. It flinched as blood entered its eyes, but it swiped its tongue around its muzzle with obvious pleasure.

"It's going to eat us!" Blizzardpaw shrieked, clutching at her bleeding arm and hurrying backwards.

Mothpaw narrowed her eyes and unsheathed her knife. She was terrified, but the bear wasn't paying any attention to her. Maybe she could use that to her advantage. Fear pulsed in her throat, but she pushed it down, searching for a thought that would give her strength. What would Waterpaw do?

Mothpaw looked around. The bear was too big for her to attack straight-on. She had her knife and bow, but what good would those do? She scanned the area. They were in a clearing in a cluster of trees. She sniffed and surprised herself with the scent of marigold. The herb grew in a hollow where four fairly thin oak trees joined. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. She had an idea.

She crept around the clearing and behind Pebblewhisker, who had the bear's total attention. It looked over Pebblewhisker's shoulder and almost saw Mothpaw, but the warrior dealt a fierce blow to the bear's muzzle. It bellowed and renewed its attack.

Mothpaw came to the trees and climbed around the back of them, pushing against two of the trees with her body between. She moved to the front pair of trees with some difficulty, almost crushing the marigold. She thanked StarClan as she regained her balance, both for helping her stay alive and not release the marigold's scent as well as not crushing the marigold. The Clan would need it if they survived the bear.

She pushed herself a bit higher up the trees. Moonfoot, bleeding from the side of her neck, was battling the bear with her knife. Pebblewhisker was unconscious at the base of an oak; Blizzardpaw had ripped his shirt to bandage her wound and now guarded him viciously.

Mothpaw yelled and launched off of the tree. Moonfoot gasped. "No, Mothpaw!"

It was too late. The bear roared as she crashed into it. It barely staggered; the bulk of thick fur and solid muscle would not be easily moved. Then it shook her off. Mothpaw yelled as she was hurled across the clearing. The bear charged at her, drool and foam at its mouth. Mothpaw closed her eyes.

She opened them suddenly as the bear bellowed, not in triumph, but in pain. Waterpaw had swung from a tree, hitting the bear squarely on the head. Now he stabbed at its back viciously, a knife in each hand.

The bear bellowed in protest and pain, but Waterpaw did not let up. Now Mothpaw noticed Sparrowpaw at the rear of the beast. He had ripped Moonfoot's arrow-spear from the bear's flesh and was stabbing the bear with it. Mothpaw got to her feet and located her knife a tail-length away. She rose quickly, darted, and fetched it before the bear could take advantage of her distraction. Then she attacked.

She focused on the bear's huge neck; its head was turned away from her. She hurried in, wielding her knife with clumsy enthusiasm, and barely got through the thick fur before the bear turned on her. It bared its teeth and lunged for her throat. Mothpaw shrieked and ducked beneath the deadly jaws. It recovered faster than she did, and as she flinched, it swiftly struck her in the gut with a clawed paw.

Mothpaw felt as if everything was underwater. She heard her "hfff" of air as she recoiled from the blow. She felt the bear's claws rip out of her flesh. Her head pounded in rhythm with her heart as blood flowed out of the wound. Her head spun as she looked down at her blood-soaked shirt. She was also aware of burning energy inside of her, spurring her on to kill the bear and protect her Clanmates, even if she lost her life. Is this how a Clan leader feels?

She took the knife and, in one quick motion, plunged her knife deep into the bear's neck. It had been poised to bite Mothpaw's throat while she was still stunned, and its neck was unprotected. It stared at her, black eyes blazing in rage, as its life flowed out of it. The eyes quickly lost their fire, and soon it collapsed and died.

Sparrowpaw pumped his fist victoriously. "Yes!" he whooped. "We killed a bear!"

"And almost died," Pebblewhisker rasped. He had regained consciousness and joined the fighting. Now his legs buckled beneath him, and he lowered himself into a sitting position leaning against the tree.

"Let's get Iceberry," Waterpaw told Sparrowpaw. His eyes never left Mothpaw. "We're going to need medical help."

Word count: 2,471. In case you're not aware, these chapters are likely to get longer! Please review and tell me how long is too long!