Chapter 8

Frostpaw watched as Snowpaw padded down from the Highledge. "Well," he said, trotting over to his sister. "What did she say?"

"She said we couldn't go to the next Gathering." His sister meowed, her head low.

"You're lucky." Coldpaw's meow sounded behind the two. "They won't even let me out of the camp to help Cinderleaf find herbs." While he spoke, Frostpaw just shook his head. "What?" Coldpaw asked, looking at his brother.

"You need to stop getting into trouble." Frostpaw meowed, "How else are we going to become warriors?" Frostpaw shook himself furiously.

"Snowpaw," Ringtail called from across the clearing. The white she-cat stood up and bounded over to where Dustpaw was sitting next to his mentor, his siblings were next to him, their heads low.

"I feel bad for her." Sandpaw meowed, coming out of the apprentices den to stand beside Frostpaw. "She'll be confined to the camp for at least a moon, and forced to help Cinderleaf and Sparkpaw with collecting herbs." The pale ginger she-cat stretched, yawning as she did so. "I'm going to sleep." She meowed, disappearing into the den.

"How long is it till the next Gathering?" Coldpaw meowed, glancing at the sky where only a small sliver of the moon rested

"How should I know, I'm not a medicine cat." Frostpaw hissed, frustrated. His brother was acting rather calm, while he had developed a temper over the past few sunrises.

"Frostpaw," Sparkpaw mewed, bounding toward him, his pelt ruffled. "Cinderleaf wants to see you."

"Why?" Frostpaw meowed coolly, padding after the medicine cat apprentice. What could she want with me? She doesn't know about the prophecy, does she? The white apprentice asked himself as he entered the dark den. A patch of faint moonlight rested beside a crack in the den.

"What do you want Cinderleaf?" Frostpaw mewed as the gray medicine cat stepped into the shaft of moonlight, her fur glittering like a cat from StarClan.

"Can you take some herbs to Mistywind?" The dark gray she-cat asked. "Sparkpaw is busy sorting herbs, and I need to keep an eye on Tigerfoot." As she said this, the dark gray medicine cat flicked her tail tip at a dark mass covered in cobwebs that Frostpaw had not realized was there before.

"What happened to him?" Frostpaw asked, sighing as he picked up the herbs.

"He was attacked by a fox," Sparkpaw meowed, not looking up from the herb piles until he heard Tigerfoot shift in his nest.

"Is Graypaw okay?" the tabby asked, his amber eyes flickering in the shadows. Frostpaw could hear the senior warrior's tail swishing slowly, brushing the nest.

"He's fine, but you won't be if you don't get sleep." Cinderleaf hissed. Taking it as a signal to leave, Frostpaw left the warm den, into the cold leaf-fall air the herbs clasped tightly in his jaws. He heard a nightingale call from somewhere in the forest.

"Frostpaw," a cat called, the voice sounded like a tom, but Frostpaw just pressed on toward the nursery. "Frostpaw, need any help?" The voice was much closer now, and it belonged to Moonpaw, his silver pelt looked like he was a StarClan cat.

"No," Frostpaw growled through the herbs, but the silver tom kept meowing.

"Why are you going over that way anyway?" he inquired. "And you should be asleep, not out here?"

"I'm taking these to Mistywind because Sparkpaw and Cinderleaf are busy." Frostpaw hissed, dropping the leaves. "And shouldn't you be sleeping instead of bothering me?" When he finished, he yawned, in agreement with the older apprentice.

"Whatever." Moonpaw said padding over to the halfrock to bask in the sliver of moonlight as Frostpaw picked up the herbs to his aunt.

Show off. He thought, dipping his head to enter the nursery. Carefully navigating toward the gray she-cat, he almost tripped on Nightwind's tail, which blended in with the fading light. He heard her kits stir in their sleep, as Runningkit sneezed.

"Are those for me?" Mistywind's soft, quiet voice said, as Frostpaw noticed the she-cat's blue tinted eyes blinking at him in the darkness. Frostpaw noticed a black mass that stirred when the queen spoke.

"Yeah, Cinderleaf wanted me to take you to them since Sparkpaw was busy." The white tom set the herbs down in front of the queen. As she picked them up, he noticed a pair of amber eyes staring sleepily at him.

"Frostpaw?" the voice of the mass meowed. "What are you doing here? You should be sleeping"

"So should you." Frostpaw meowed, suddenly realizing that he had just talked back to a senior warrior.

"He's right," Mistywind agreed, "If she found you in here when she wakes up, she'll have your pelt."

Frostpaw groggily got to his paws. He had finally managed to talk Darkcloud into sleeping in the warriors den, but not without Mistywind's help. Looking around, he noticed that he was the first apprentice awake, although the birds were fully awake and twittering.

"Frostpaw," Coalfur's yowl came from the center of camp. Wobbling slightly, Frostpaw padded out of the den, blinking in the bright morning light. "Frostpaw, get a piece of prey to eat, then meet me and Hawkflight in the training hollow with your brother."

"Coldpaw," Frostpaw said, his breath brushing his brother's ear fur."Coldpaw, wake up."

"What?" Coldpaw asked, batting Frostpaw's nose blindly. Watching his brother slowly open one of his sapphire blue crystals, the bigger tom growled. "Let me sleep, Frostpaw. I still have a half of a moon to go until I can go hunting with a patrol." He growled, clearly assuming that he was needed on a hunting patrol. "I would rather stuff my head down a rabbit hole than be on patrol with you."

"Fine, be that way," Frostpaw mewed innocently, carefully stepping over Roughpaw's tail as he exited the den. "Don't blame me if Hawkflight is mad at you for being late to training."

"Hello, Frostpaw." Sandpaw said sweetly as the white apprentice approached the fresh-kill pile.

"Hi Sandpaw." Frostpaw meowed, grabbing a scrawny vole from the pile. The hollow walls radiated the weak heat off the walls, warming the stones. "Are you training today?"

"Nope, Darkcloud's spending more time with Mistywind, since she is going to have her kits any day now." The pale ginger she-cat meowed, sinking her teeth into a small thrush, spitting out the feathers.

"Maybe you can train with Coldpaw and me." The tom suggested spotting his mentor talking with a tortoiseshell she-cat and a tabby tom whose ears had clearly been shredded in battle. "Let's ask Coalfur." He got to his paws, licking the remains of his vole away from the corners of his jaw.

"Frostpaw," Coalfur's voice met the apprentice's ears as he bounded over to his mentor, Sandpaw at his heels. "Are you ready? Where's your brother?"

"Coldpaw's still sleeping." Frostpaw meowed. "Can Sandpaw train with us instead?"

"I don't know…" Coalfur's mew was uneasy, clearly unsure of taking out another warrior's apprentice. The sleek pelted warrior looked to the tortoiseshell she-cat for advice. "Moss-streak?"

"Go ask Darkcloud." The tortoiseshell she-cat meowed to Sandpaw. "I'll come with you. I've been meaning to talk to him about something."

Frostpaw watched as the two she-cats trotted toward a mass of gray and black. "Are we going to go hunting?" the apprentice asked, breaking the silence between him and his mentor like a twig.

"If your brother doesn't join us soon." Coalfur meowed, as Sandpaw raced toward them, almost crashing into Frostpaw.

"Sandpaw, try crouching before you roll." Coalfur meowed, his amber eyes wide with disbelief. Coldpaw had already pinned the older she-cat twice. Frostpaw watched as his brother leapt at the she-cat, as she ducked, sending him over her head. Not hesitating, the she-cat turned, lashing out at the young tom with her white front paw. Hissing, the apprentices rolled in the dust, turning Coldpaw's white pelt into the shade of Dustpaw's.

"Finally." Moss-streak meowed, her amber eyes glittering with relief. The warrior joined the two apprentices with Hawkflight and Coldpaw not too long ago. Taking Sandpaw aside, she motioned Frostpaw to enter the hollow. "Go ahead." She meowed intently.

"Remember, no claws, no wounds." Coalfur meowed, slapping his tail against the dirt signaling the two brothers to start.

Coldpaw leapt first, but Frostpaw quickly dodged to the side and ducked as his brother flew over his head, but the larger tom's paw swiftly drew over Frostpaw's ear as he flew over. Spinning, Frostpaw lashed out at his brother with his forepaw, as Sandpaw had done, but the small white tom smashed it on his brother's skull softly. Growling lowly, Coldpaw effortlessly flipped Frostpaw onto his back. Using what little strength he had compared to his brother, Frostpaw rolled slightly, turning as he stood so he could score his claws across the larger tom's flank or shoulder.

"Come on Frostpaw." Sandpaw mewed from beside Moss-streak. Leaping, Frostpaw landed neatly on his brother's back, nipping his neck fur but Coldpaw flipped, sending Frostpaw on his back and put a paw on his throat before the small apprentice could roll onto his stomach.

"Well done, both of you." Hawkflight meowed deeply. "Coldpaw, back to camp. You two can hunt for a while, if your mentors agree." Without looking at the other warriors, Hawkflight escorted Coldpaw toward the stone hollow.

"Catch a bit of prey, but be aware that Stone could still be in our territory." Moss-streak meowed, dismissing the apprentices.

"What's the big deal about Stone?" Frostpaw asked Sandpaw when the warriors were out of earshot.

"Apparently, he was a FireClan cat at one time, and his mother died giving birth to him, so Hawkflight's mother raised him. But when he became a warrior, the leader exiled him." Sandpaw meowed, dropping into a hunting crouch.

I wonder if I can find anything worth catching… Frostpaw thought. Scenting the air around him, he scented EarthClan, vole, and a squirrel. Deciding to track the vole than risk his life catching a squirrel. After a while, the tom found the small creature nibbling on a seed. Tensing his muscles, he pounced, killing it barely in time for it not to alert the forest that the two apprentices were hunting. Scuffing dirt over his kill, he scented the air again, which now reeked of a trace of EarthClan, but more of mice and thrush. Seeing two thrushes pecking at the ground, Frostpaw started forward, only to be startled as the birds flew off, startled by a movement. Diving into a nearby bramble bush, the white apprentice held his breath as the scent of EarthClan grew closer and closer.

"Hush, Fox..." One voice said, to quiet to identify who it was.

"Why should I? It's not like any patrols are out here, unless you're setting me up." Another voice meowed tightly.

"Of course not. I told Reedclaw that I would go hunting and would check the border." The first voice said. It was clearly a FireClan cat, since Frostpaw didn't know any other Reedclaw in the Clans. "Why do you need me anyway? You sounded desperate last sunrise, what's your problem."

"I need to get rid of Shadowpaw." The second voice hissed the name. "As soon as he becomes a warrior, Bramblestar is going to make Silverlilly disappear and make him deputy and give him an apprentice. "

"Calm down. Do you think you can talk Bramblestar about…?" first voice meowed again, but hushing the end of its sentence as if the trees had ears and the voice knew Frostpaw was in the bramble.

"Of course I can. He thinks I'm his son, although he hates me, he'll listen to me." The second voice said before it yelped, tripping in a mouse hole.

"Hush mousebrain." The first voice hissed quietly, spitting out the last word.

"Sorry, but we had to meet on your territory."

"I couldn't risk being seen wandering into another Clan's territory, and I didn't know if I would be alone."

"Well, maybe we could go to my territory, where there isn't mouse holes to stumble in."

"Maybe, but you have to worry about patrols."

"True. What about that rouge, Stone?"

"What about him?" the first speaker had stopped right in front of Frostpaw, causing the white tom to back carefully farther into the brambles, the thorns tearing at his fur.

"Can't we use him to our advantage? Use him as cause for a battle?"

"Maybe, but he lives up on our northern border, and not even the senior warriors are allowed up passed the markers.

"I could talk to him."

"No, he'll take your tail. Why can't you just talk to Bramblestar? Say you saw another apprentice stealing prey."

"He'll want proof." The voice shifted on his paws.

The first voice growled over the sound of crunching leaves under his paws. "Give him prey from our side."

"He wouldn't go to war with Russetstar just because of one piece of prey."

"Just do whatever it takes. Your Clan should live up to its reputation…and not act like a bunch of lazy kittypets." The first voice hissed, stalking toward the bramble Frostpaw was hiding in, but swiftly veered in another direction.

"Mindless foxdung." The second voice hissed, turning toward the EarthClan border. "I'll show him that EarthClan are more than lazy kittypets."

Letting out a heavy breath, Frostpaw winced as he hauled himself out of the brambles. His white pelt was littered with small cuts and burrs from the bush. Collecting his prey, he padded toward the hollow.

"Frostpaw," Snowpaw mewed to her brother as she looked up from her mouse she was sharing with Coldpaw. "What happened to you?"

"I got stuck in a bramble." Frostpaw lied, stetting down his catch.

"You should go see Cinderleaf." Coldpaw meowed flatly, looking over toward two ginger shaped by the halfrock.