"Greypaw. Just the cat I wanted to see. Come in."
Greypaw stepped inside the leader's den following the sound of Sunstar's voice; he was sitting in the center of the cave waiting for her arrival.
She padded up to where he sat and dipped her head respectfully. "You wanted to see me," It was more of a statement than a question.
"Yes," he replied, "Please sit."
Greypaw could feel her nerves building up inside her, dreading what Sunstar could possibly want.
When Greypaw had sat down and had once again given Sunstar her attention, he continued. "You see, Greypaw, I have a special job I need to get done and I think that you are the perfect cat to do it."
Greypaw blinked, all thoughts of previous anxiety gone.
"Me?"
She couldn't believe it, a special mission and Sunstar had chosen her? She instantly felt pride well up in her chest at the idea that Sunstar thought so highly of her.
"Yes, I don't think there is any cat I'd rather send. Greypaw, you must understand that this is an incredibly important assignment, we can't afford failure," Sunstar meowed gravely.
Greypaw gulped nervously. "What is the assignment?" she asked quietly.
Sunstar's eyes flickered toward the entrance to the leader's den and listened for any sign of eavesdroppers; when he was sure there were no cats listening in, Sunstar answered her.
"Tomorrow, not long before sundown, you will sneak into TreeClan territory and gather information. We need to find out just how much Fernstep and her children have given away, and perhaps even discover if Willowstar is planning anything."
Greypaw froze the second Sunstar spoke of TreeClan. Ttrespassing on another Clan's territory was against the warrior code, she could get in big trouble if she got caught.
Sunstar noticed the way Greypaw tensed up. "Getting caught isn't an option. We can't let TreeClan use this assignment to their advantage, understand?"
Greypaw nodded. She didn't have a choice. This was an order from Sunstar; by the code, she could not defy him. She suddenly gripped the ground in her claws determinedly. 'I won't fail! Our clan needs me!'
"Yes, Sunstar."
Sunstar stood up. "Good. Tomorrow before sundown Cherrynose will go with you to the border and brief you on what you need to do and how to do it. That is all." Sunstar turned around and swished his tail, signaling for Greypaw to take her leave.
Greypaw nodded. "Yes, Sunstar."
She made her way back towards the entrance of the leader's den thinking about her special assignment.
"Oh, and Greypaw-"
Greypaw stopped as she was about to exit.
"This is a top secret assignment, no one can know," Sunstar meowed gravely.
"I understand," Greypaw replied, and she stepped out of the leader's den and into the sunlight.
Lostpaw was lying down in her favorite spot out in the fields near the small tree she had discovered. She liked to come here to think and be alone.
The pain in her paws had subsided now and she felt a lot better, maybe she could even do some hunting.
Deciding that she might as well make herself useful, Lostpaw carefully stood up. Relieved that her paws were no longer too sore, Lostpaw padded out into the grass to search for prey.
She hadn't been searching for long when she heard the sound of someone calling her name. Lostpaw stood from her hunter's crouch and searched for the source of the noise.
She saw Ivyfoot standing outside the line of trees that separated the woods from the field, he lifted his chin and caught her gaze.
Lostpaw forgot about her hunting and walked over to where Ivyfoot stood.
"Lostpaw, there you are, I've been looking for you. My patrols ended earlier than usual, so I'd like to fit in some more training today," said Ivyfoot.
Lostpaw could feel the tenderness of her paws, but nodded nonetheless.
"Okay..."
Ivyfoot smiled kindly. "Okay," he echoed, "Let's go."
Lostpaw waited for Ivyfoot to step forward and looked at him curiously when he didn't move. She realized he was watching her, waiting for her to walk.
Lostpaw stood up and stepped into the woods. Ivyfoot followed by her side as they made their way to the training grounds.
"We need to make sure you get through proper training for multiple opponents. Usually we'd train in groups, but everyone else is busy so we'll just have to do it ourselves." He smiled flashing his vivid green eyes at Lostpaw.
Lostpaw shrugged. "I guess."
Ivyfoot switched his gaze to the path in front of them. "Sunstar wants all cats to be prepared; he seems to think Willowstar is planning something."
Lostpaw didn't reply as they walked on and Ivyfoot seemed comfortable with the pleasant silence.
"They're brothers you know."
This caught Lostpaw's attention. "Willowstar and Sunstar?' she questioned, feeling a bit lost.
Ivyfoot nodded and Lostpaw's face contorted in confusion.
"But how is that possible? They're in different clans," Lostpaw stated, watching Ivyfoot curiously.
Ivyfoot frowned and looked off into the trees. "Willowstar was once a member of DarkClan," he meowed.
The two cats stopped walking when their paws met the sandy floor of the training grounds. Lostpaw turned to Ivyfoot. "Then what happened?"
Ivyfoot shook his head. "I don't know," he replied honestly. "He was just like any other young apprentice, although he was jealous of Sunstar being chosen to be the leader's apprentice.
"He was a very dedicated warrior and constantly trained. I think it made him angry that so many cats held Sunstar in high regard. Then one day he just disappeared. We found Sunstar unconscious out in the forest. No one knows what happened that night except Sunstar and he refuses to talk about it, even to me."
Lostpaw looked off into the trees, wondering what could have happened. Ivyfoot shook his pelt. "Well, enough of that. Let's get to training. You're coming along very well, Lostpaw."
Ivyfoot and Lostpaw trained for hours; luckily for Lostpaw, they focused on battling multiple enemies rather than practicing with the log.
Ivyfoot could see Lostpaw was improving and she was beginning to gain confidence; her blows became stronger each day even if by just a little.
Sometimes he would catch her smiling if she managed to throw him off or parry his attacks.
For today's training, Ivyfoot had to move fast and attack from many different angles to create the illusion of what fighting several opponents at once would be like.
It was tricky, but Sunstar made it clear that Lostpaw wasn't to be involved in any group activities.
Afterwards the two would rest and Ivyfoot would tell Lostpaw stories of when he and his friends were younger and sometimes he'd even get her to laugh.
Ivyfoot wished the other cats could see this side of Lostpaw; he shook his head, remembering the reason Lostpaw was to be avoided.
He glanced at the black she-cat from the corner of his eye as she watched the clouds float across the sky above them. Ivyfoot couldn't understand how such a kind, quiet she-cat could be thought of in such a way.