Disclaimer: I do not own, or claim to own, warrior cats.
GraystripeXD: thank you!
8Hollysplash8: thank you so much!
Leaffrost101: It was a bit un-called for, wasn't it!
OceanBlueSeaEyes: I know!
Creekfur: I guess she really hates Kittypets!
"Erm… Hollystorm? What do we do now?" Hollystorm looked down to see Pigeonpaw, shuffling his paws uncomfortably, clearly shocked by his sisters sudden out-burst. The black warrior was equally as shocked, and the way Frostkit had looked at Bramblestar, cold and murderous, had deeply chilled her. She let a small shiver pass across her body before standing up and informing Pigeonpaw that they would be taking a tour of the territory. The small grey tom bounced excitedly, and then composed himself before padding sensibly out of the camp beside his new mentor. The two cats walked leisurely down to the lake, and when he saw it, Pigeonpaw gasped.
"It's huge!" He exclaimed, staring in pure wonder at the surface of the lake, rippling gently in the breeze. Hollystorm laughed gently. She had experienced seeing the majesty of the lake for the first time twice, and knew better than any-cat how it could take the breath away.
"Come on. I'll show you the sky oak now." Pigeonpaw seemed to find it hard to drag himself away from the hypnotic shimmering of the lake surface, but he eventually tore his gaze away and skipped after Hollystorm, who soon stopped and gestured to a gnarled old tree that towered way above any other tree as far as the eye could see. Suddenly, Hollystorm spotted movement amongst the branches.
"Look, Pigeonpaw." She whispered, pointing out the rustling amongst the leaves.
"What can you scent?" Pigeonpaw looked confused as he inhaled deeply, but the cause of the movement became clear as Featherpaw's head stuck out from amongst the leaves.
"Hi!" she called down cheerily, twitching her whiskers in an amused way.
"I'm just practising my climbing!" Pigeonpaw laughed and pointed out to Featherpaw that she had a leaf on her head.
"Well, how do you know it's not camouflage?" retorted the older apprentice mockingly.
Hollystorm laughed. This was probably one of the oddest conversations she had probably ever witnessed in her two lifetimes; one cat was halfway up a tree with a leaf on her head, and the other was on the ground, leaning back so far to see up the tree that he looked as if a breeze could fell him!
"Right, that's enough!" laughed Hollystorm, glancing between the two cats.
"I'll show you the mossy hollow now. That's where you'll do most of your battle training." The walk to the hollow was a fairly long one, but Pigeonpaw seemed full of excited energy. The clearing was empty when the two cats reached it, but the marks of its use were clear, scratches in the dirt from claws, and loose moss on the walls that had been dislodged in scuffles between cats.
"We'll come back here another time; maybe tomorrow, but now I'll show you the abandoned twoleg nest, where Jayfeather farms catmint and other herbs. Hollystorm shuddered inside at the mention of Jayfeather. Ever since the day of the gathering, four moons ago, he had been giving her strange, knowing looks, and she had tried desperately to avoid him. If he finds out who I am… she trailed away at the thought.
"Hollystorm? Why have we stopped?" Hollystorm snapped back to reality, to see Pigeonpaw staring at her with concern in his eyes.
"We were walking and you just stopped and looked all distant." He explained, obviously worried.
"I'm sorry." The dusky she-cat apologised.
"I was just thinking things over." The dark grey apprentice seemed satisfied that she was okay, and fell in beside her. The leaves of the trees cast dappled shadows on the ground, and the grass was laden with dew, sparkling in the sunlight.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" questioned Pigeonpaw, inhaling deeply to admire the fragrance of the flowers. Suddenly, he wrinkled his nose.
"What is that?!" he exclaimed, a disgusted expression on his face.
"It's the scent of Shadowclan. We're near the border, so be careful." Pigeon paw nodded and glanced nervously to the side, as if expecting a Shadowclan warrior to attack him at any second.
"Not stealing any prey, are we?" A snidely voice greeted Hollystorm's ears, and she turned around angrily, narrowing her eyes at the light ginger tom leaning against a tree. Pigeonpaw jumped at the voice, and the tom narrowed his eyes, darting forwards as the startled apprentice tumbled over the scent line into Shadowclan territory.
"Rowanstar! Get off him!" Hollystorm yowled at the Shadowclan leader, who was pinning Pigeonpaw to the ground, a paw at his throat.
"Why should I? He could be stealing prey!" Hissed Rowanstar, baring his teeth.
"He's only an apprentice." Hollystorm reasoned, praying to starclan that Rowanstar would be merciful.
"It's his first time out of camp, and I don't think he even knows how to hunt." Rowanstar paused for an excruciatingly long time, before nodding slowly.
"Very well. But if I Ever catch him on the wrong side of the border, he'll be crowfood before he can pray to Starclan to save his wretched life." Hollystorm winced as Rowanstar shoved Pigeonpaw over the border. Pity blossomed in the warrior's heart as she saw the terrified look in her apprentice's eyes, and the way his legs were quivering with fear. Hollystorm lay her tail across his back and gently lead him away from the border.
"I-I'm sorry…" sighed Pigeonpaw as soon as they were out of earshot of the border.
"I shouldn't have gone near the border. I've let you down." He meowed sorrowfully, hanging his head.
"Pigeonpaw, every cat makes mistakes, and you can't punish yourself for making them. You have learned a valuable lesson today, and that is what matters." Hollystorm's words seemed to reassure the crestfallen apprentice, and he smiled faintly.
"Thanks." He whispered gratefully, before breaking into a sprint, calling over his shoulder
"Race you back to camp!"
A/N: Great Starclan; 92 reviews! Can we make it 100? We shall have to find out! I now need suggestions for Featherpaw's warrior name (I'm really bad at coming up with names myself!). Also, on my profile, I've posted a character profile sheet for the main characters in this story, if you want to check that out too! Review! Storm