Chapter 14

"Come on, Applepaw!" Stormfire called, striking the apprentice on the side of the head, his claws sheathed. "You're fighting like a kit!"

Applepaw staggered from the impact. Shaking his head, he leaped, paws outstretched.

Stormfire dodged easily, Applepaw instead landing clumsily in the dirt. Stormfire leaped on top of him, pinning the apprentice with his paws pressed down on his neck.

"I win – again." Stormfire growled, letting Applepaw up. "Are you okay?" he asked. Applepaw had seemed very distant the past few days, hardly focusing on his training, and not trying very hard when he did. Now the apprentice sat in the dirt, black mist swirling around his paws. He was staring ahead, a glazed look in his eyes.

"Applepaw!" Stormfire called. The apprentice flicked his ears, but he didn't reply. He looked far away, like he was dreaming.

Or remembering something dreamy.

With a jolt, Stormfire realized what was going on with Applepaw. Stifling an amused purr, he trotted over and sat near the apprentice, curling his tail over his paws. "Alright, who is it?"

Applepaw instantly snapped to attention, staring at Stormfire nervously. "Who is who?"

"The cat you like." Stormfire replied. He lay on the ground, twitching his whiskers.

Applepaw avoided his friend's gaze, shuffling his paws in the dirt. "I don't know what you're talking about." he murmured.

"Oh, come on, Applepaw." Stormfire meowed. He flicked Applepaw's ear with his tail, amusement fizzing beneath his pelt. "You've been distant these past few days. You don't pay attention when I'm trying to teach you battle moves, and when we spar you act like you've just come out of the nursery. You're always staring off into the distance with that glazed look in your eyes. Obviously you like someone."

Applepaw didn't reply. Instead he stared at the ground, ears flat against his head.

"What's her name?" Stormfire pressed, tail swaying in the air.

Still no answer.

"Is she nice?" he questioned.

"Could we please not talk about this now?" Applepaw snapped. His mew was sharp, but it didn't affect Stormfire in any way. He flicked his ears.

"Sure," he meowed, a slight edge to his voice. "But you know I'm going to keep questioning until I get an answer, right?"

Applepaw sighed, and he cast an exasperated look at Stormfire. "You sound like my Mom." He mewed, annoyed. "Fine, I'll tell you." He lay down, resting his head on his paws. "Her name is Icepaw, she's really pretty. She's fun to hang around; nice, smart, and funny." His eyes glazed over again, and he started to purr, his ears flicking.

"How close are you guys?" Stormfire inquired, his tail twitching.

"We're just friends." Applepaw returned. His eyes suddenly carried a pained look, a hint of sorrow in their depths.

"What's wrong with that?" Stormfire asked.

"I want to be more than that!" Applepaw meowed, raising his head to meet Stormfire's gaze. "What do you think I should do?"

Stormfire flinched, caught off guard by the question. "How should I know?" he replied, his ear flicking. "I'm not the romantic type, in case you hadn't noticed." He mewed, flicking his tail at the scars that ran along his body. Applepaw rested his head on his paws again, looking sulkily ahead.

"Just be yourself." Stormfire encouraged, flicking his friend's ear with his tail. "I'm sure she'll like you plenty for who you are." He got to his paws and began padding away.

"You're leaving?" Applepaw asked, getting to his paws. He trotted over to Stormfire and planted himself next to the silver tabby.

"Yes." Stormfire mewed. "I still have some moves I want to work on. Do you want to come with me?"

"Sure." Applepaw mewed, leading the way through the mist. He curved around a bush, disappearing behind a tree.

Stormfire was about to follow when he heard a snap behind him. Turning around, he saw a pair of amber eyes staring at him. Stormfire squinted, trying to get a better look at the cat that was staring at him. He padded closer, but the pair of eyes disappeared, mist clouding around where a body had once been. Padding even closer, Stormfire picked up a scent, but he didn't recognize it. Shrugging, thinking it was just a vision, he turned around and plunged through the undergrowth after Applepaw.