Hopepaw sat in the apprentice den, the feeling of grief washing over her like a sea in a rough storm. Hopepaw thought of her Brother again. His body plummeting down, Dawnpaw's anxious yowl, Princess's smirk on her face as she ran away. Hopepaw almost felt physical pain just thinking about it. She would miss Wavepaw a lot. He would always be at her side whenever she felt down. She suddenly felt anger on Princess. The she-cat brings destruction and death wherever she goes! Only one thing came out good from Princess and her parent's arrival. Prince. Hopepaw's heart fluttered when she thought of the shy but brave ginger tom. Prince was so caring and different from his kin, Hopepaw wondered how they were even related. Prince's family were so dangerous while Prince was the exact opposite, although, his father had taken care of his mother when she was blinded. Maybe not all of his family was violent. Hopepaw looked up as she faintly saw Dewstalk come closer. "Hopepaw, let's go hunting." He murmured as Hopepaw stood up, swiveling her head to look at Dewstalk clearly. Hopepaw smiled and nodded, it would be a good distraction to her thoughts. Hopepaw followed her mentor out of camp but when surprised when she came to a stop not far from the tunnel. "I never said thank you for saving my life…" he murmured, not looking over his shoulder. Hopepaw smiled.
"Of course," she replied as Dewstalk's tail twitched once before walked again. Hopepaw felt a twinge of disappointment as she padded after him once again. Was that it? Was that all he was going to say? Hopepaw sighed hopelessly. Dewstalk turned around and faced Hopepaw. "I want you to catch two pieces of prey then come back here. After that, we'll go to camp, drop it off and revise some battle moves." Hopepaw nodded but felt doubt. Dewstalk doesn't normally give me instructions like this… it's rather battle training, hunting or patrols. Not two at the same time! Hopepaw felt like it was her fault. Hopepaw hoped it wasn't. Dewstalk hissed softly. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go!" Dewstalk half-snapped, half-whisper. Hopepaw ran off through the forest, not really bothering to smell the air. Hopepaw halted and panted. She had run so far that she was in front of the ShadowClan border. She noticed a patrol coming closer. Hopepaw looked away and tried to ignore them. But her attempt failed.
"What's she doing?"
"That must be one of the new apprentices."
"I wonder if she could tell us why it smelt so strong of blood a half-moon ago." Hopepaw's ears pricked up and those words. "Hey, you! Come here for a second." A gruff voice made Hopepaw's fur spike slightly. Hopepaw turned and saw three warriors staring at her. She could smell another but she couldn't see because of her blind eye. Hopepaw cautiously padded closer and came to a stop, a tail length away from the border. "Are you a new apprentice?" Hopepaw nodded.
"M-my name's Hopepaw." She stammered. Hopepaw cursed herself for her faltering voice. Hopepaw cleared her throat softly as the black she-cat opened her mouth to continue. Before she could say anything, a calico she-cat interrupted her. "Your name's Hopepaw? What's so hopeful about you?" She snapped. Hopepaw blinked in shock and hurt. One of the warriors, a white she-cat blinked at Hopepaw sympathetically. "Don't mind Leafshine, she's in a state of grief right now." She whispered as Leafshine lashed her tail once before she gazed away at the distance, obvious grief in her gaze. Hopepaw slowly nodded. "Right…" The she-cat smiled.
"I'm Sedgeflutter, the black and orange tom is Thistleflight. Those two are Ebonynight and Emberflight." Sedgeflutter explained as she pointed to each cat with her tail. "We should get to marking the border." Thistleflight chimed in from where he was standing near Leafshine. Ebonynight nodded. "Sedgeflutter, let's go. You can chat together at the gathering." Ebonynight meowed. Sedgeflutter dipped her head and raised one paw before she stopped. "Wait," she called softly towards her clan mates. Hopepaw wished they would stop moving, it was getting harder to see all of them when she was half blind. They turned. "What's wrong?" Emberflight asked as Sedgeflutter turned to Hopepaw again. "Why was there so much blood scent a half-moon ago?" Hopepaw had been dreading that question. "There was a fight," she whispered. Sedgeflutter looked interested and a bit fearful.
"What happened?" She asked again. This time, her clan mates gathered around Sedgeflutter, Leafshine still lingering at the back, gazing away. Hopepaw was about to tell them everything when she caught the scent of Dewstalk. Oh no. She turned her head and saw half of Dewstalk's body coming closer. She glanced at Dewstalk's eye and it blazed with anger. Hopepaw knew what was coming.
"What were you thinking?" Dewstalk snapped as Hopepaw looked at her paws, slightly ashamed. "I told you to hunt and l expect you to follow my orders." He spat angrily. Hopepaw felt her insides squirm with guilt but a small part of her suspected that Dewstalk wasn't being himself. "This isn't you." She whispered. Hopepaw instantly clamped her mouth closed.
"What did you say? Speak up!" Hopepaw didn't dare glance up. Hopepaw could already tell Dewstalk was angry like never before. Her ears pricked up as she heard Creamstar's mew and shuffling. "What's happening?" Creamstar asked. Hopepaw looked up and immediately saw Dawnpaw. Creamstar must be beside her mother. "I was just telling her some hunting moves." Dewstalk immediately meowed. Hopepaw glanced at Dewstalk and his gaze showed patience. She was confused, how did Dewstalk's mood just change instantly? Hopepaw wanted to blurt out that Dewstalk was talking to her about how she should obey his command instantly but she stopped herself, no matter how much Dewstalk was mistreating Hopepaw, he was still her senior warrior and her mentor. "How about we train together?" Creamstar suggested. Hopepaw's mood immediately lit up.
"Alright." Dewstalk muttered as Creamstar and Dawnpaw padded closer. Hopepaw and Dawnpaw exchanged joyful gazes and Creamstar stood in front of them. "Let's see how well Hopepaw can take down a bigger cat." She meowed. Hopepaw nodded excitedly and stepped backwards. Hopepaw swiveled her head around so she could see Dawnpaw clearly. When Creamstar gave the clear, Hopepaw leaped for Dawnpaw. But to her dismay, the older she-cat dodged her, rolling to the side. Hopepaw got to her paws and faced Dawnpaw. She could only see half of Dawnpaw so when she turned, Dawnpaw leaped. Hopepaw came crashing down to the floor of the training burrow. Hopepaw struggled to regain balance as Dawnpaw lay on Hopepaw, refusing to move no matter how much Hopepaw begged silently. Hopepaw let herself go limp but Dawnpaw knew what she was trying to use. When Hopepaw gave a burst of energy into her muscles and tried to push Dawnpaw off, Hopepaw stayed put. Hopepaw slumped in defeat and Dawnpaw released her grip and puffed her chest out triumphantly. Hopepaw suddenly realized that it was the opportunity she needed. Hopepaw gave one strong push of her hind legs and she was up, with Dawnpaw on the ground. "I did it!" She breathed out.
"Good job Hopepaw." Creamstar complimented. She turned to Dawnpaw who was getting up on her paws. Dawnpaw walked closer to Hopepaw and nuzzled her daughter. "I'm so proud of you." She whispered before separating herself and the apprentice. Hopepaw smiled brightly. She half expected Dewstalk to say something but when she turned to look at Dewstalk, his expression was twistedand unreadable. One eye was gazing at her with compassion and the other was glaring at her with disgust. It was almost like his face was showing two different faces of two different cats. Hopepaw blinked and Dewstalk's face showed no emotion again. Hopepaw looked away. Creamstar cleared her throat as Hopepaw turned again and looked at Creamstar with her good eye. "I think we should all get some rest." She meowed as Dawnpaw nodded. Dawnpaw smiled at Hopepaw.
"Want to share some prey together?" She asked. Hopepaw nodded excitedly. "Alright, l'll see you back at camp." Creamstar motioned for Dawnpaw to follow her. Hopepaw dipped her head and turned to face Dewstalk. "What are you looking at me like that for?" He snapped.
"Oh, l-l thought we were going to do something else." Hopepaw was flustered. Hopepaw saw Dewstalk roll one eye but she assumed he was rolling both. "I'll just go then…" Hopepaw hung her head as she exited the Training Burrow. She glanced backwards slightly and to her surprise, Dewstalk gazed at the bare, earthy walls of the burrow. His head shaking and twitching with every breath. She saw him mumble to himself. Hopepaw was tempted to eavesdrop but she stopped herself. Dewstalk or anyone else wouldn't want someone to listen to their own private conversation. Hopepaw padded forward, leaving Dewstalk behind.
Dewstalk! How dare you! (Lol) Thanks for reading! Credit to Echostream136. P.S l won't be updating every day but l'll be updating as many chapters as the days l've missed. Sorry, thanks for reading though.