~Chapter III~ ~Blazepaw's POV~

(I)

Morning came swiftly. Sharp sunlight pierced my eyes, forcing me out of my peaceful dreamy state. I was curled up into a tight ball, legs interlocked with Leopardpaw, who was still dozing off, looking calm and happy as he slept in my embrace. I purred, and then I looked up at the sky. Uh oh...almost sunhigh! "Leo, wake up." I prodded my partner, using my fangs to nip at his ear.

"Mrrrrrrrrwhat is it…" He groaned, fidgeting as I woke him.

My gaze softened. "It's almost sunhigh. Our mentors are gonna have our tails."

"Oh damn!" He jumped up, fur prickled out and eyes wide with fear. "Brittlesun's gonna have me on elder duty for a moon!"

I blinked, and then I stretched, my fiery ginger fur glowing in the warm sunlight. "Ah...so nice out today." Then I touched my nose to his, cutting off his complaining. "Hey...it'll be okay."

"No, it won't! I'll fall even farther behind on my training and then Brittlesun will have me never get my Warrior name and then-" Leopardpaw fretted, going on a little ramble.

"Just tell your mentor that you were put in the morning practicing your hunting." I meowed, offering at least a partial solution. "I should've thought of this earlier...its my fault, not yours."

Amusement shine in his gaze, replacing the fear and dread. He stood up, and stared at me, scanning me with a bit of wanting. I purred, and then shook my head. "Silly Leo…I'd love to stay longer but I think we should return to our Clans now."

"Right…" He sighed. "Meet you here erm...next Gathering..?"

"Perhaps…" I leaned in and rubbing my cheek with his, purring. "Let's be on our best behaviors so we can make that happen, okay?"

"Okay." He turned and jumped off the boulder that we had taken refuge on. I watched him go, and smiled when he looked over his shoulder. "Bye…"

"Bye."

(II)

My thoughts were quite clouded as I stumbled into camp. On my return trip from the Gathering Pool, I figured I would stop and hunt. Who was I to give advice if I wouldn't follow that advice myself?

"Blazepaw! There you are!" A cat shouted from nearby, as I was putting my catch on the fresh-kill pile. It was my mentor, Grayleaf. The tabby tom approached me, looking rather stern. "Where have you been? I went to get you up this morning but you weren't in your nest."

I dipped my head, respectful. "My nest felt stuffy...so I went hunting. Plus, um-" I looked around, hoping that the large tomcat would buy my body language. "I like the morning dew. Makes me feel fresh." That was true...I wasn't exactly lying to my mentor...rather, I wasn't telling him the entire truth. Please don't ask more, Grayleaf.

He narrowed his eyes, looking rather suspicious. But instead of questioning further, he grabbed a mouse from the pile and put it at his paws. "Don't run off like that again. We have training to do in the mornings, remember?"

"I remember, Grayleaf. I'll ask next time?" I replied, stepping to the side as one of my Clanmates brushed past me, leaving a little greeting as they grabbed their sunhigh meal.

"See that you do." Grayleaf meowed, looking up at the sky. "Grab something to eat. We're going on sunhigh patrol in a few, so gain back some of the energy you burned this morning."

"Of course." I smiled, ears perked. My mentor turned and left, and I watched him go, slightly annoyed. But at the same time, I felt guilty. Maybe I need to work on my own humility. I figured I needed some advice on it, but I decided to shelve that for later. I picked up a vole from the pile and made my way over to a patch of ferns near the Apprentices Den. As I sat and ate, I wondered what was going on in AutumnClan. Again, I felt a pang of guilt as I recalled how Leopardpaw looked when he realized he had slept until sunhigh. AutumnClan must be so much more strict…

Eventually, I finished the vole, wolfing it down bones and all. I stretched, and then wandered towards the Medicine Den after acquiring a rather scrawny rabbit for Sprucebranch and Dewdrop. I got along well with the two Medicine Cats; it was mostly because I had an acute interest in helping cats with illnesses or troubles. I hated seeing cats sad or unhappy, or injured and disabled. I'm sure Sprucebranch would have considered me for an Apprenticeship under her guidance, but she already had Dewdrop. But deep down I knew I wanted to be a Warrior anyways. I could help cats in other ways aside from herbs and spiritual contact with my ancestors.

"Is that for me?" Dewdrop looked up from her herb-sorting, savoring as she saw the rabbit in my jaws.

I nodded my head, setting down the rabbit nearby and dipping my head again. "Yep. Where's Sprucebranch?"

Dewdrop hungrily settled down with the rabbit, taking a bite out of it. "She's out gathering herbs. We ran out of dandelion today...she was hoping she could find some before it all dies off."

"Funny that a weed makes for a great herb." I mused.

"You looking for her? Something wrong?" Dewdrop asked, looking at me with wide eyes.

"Oh, heavens no. I just wanted to check in on the lovely Medicine Cats. They need to be healthy too, no?" I charmed, my tail swishing.

"True...some cats seem to forget that." The brown molly agreed. Suddenly there was a cat call from outside the den, and I looked over my shoulder, frowning. "Looks like you're needed, Blazepaw. Take care."

"I will." I cast one last glance at her before exiting. Grayleaf and another cat, a small red molly known as Robinleaf, were waiting by the center of camp. I murmured a few greetings here and there to other cats as they went about their day. But as I neared them, a cat bumped into me. "Oopf! Fawnpaw?"

"O-Oh! Hey, Blazepaw. You on the sunhigh patrol too?" The young fawn-colored molly tipped her head to the side, smoothing down her ruffled fur.

"Yep."

Grayleaf yowled. "Come on you two! Border isn't gonna patrol itself!"

"Coming, Grayleaf!" Both Fawnpaw and I said in unison, before giving each other mischievous looks and laughs.

With that, the four cats set out, ignoring leaf-fall dead leaves falling around them as they followed a grass path. I had my eye on Bloomflower, who seemed unusually quiet today. What was up? The red molly was typically quite loud and talkative, but today she said nothing.

I moved fast until I walked beside her, curiously. "You okay, Bloom?"

"Bloomflower…" She corrected me. "But yes, I'm fine.

I was unconvinced. I didn't want to pry, but I figured I'd try one more thing before I left her be. "Windfall isn't giving you a hard time again, is he?" I referred to her mate, a wiry brown Warrior. Sometimes the two cats had nasty squabbles, though they usually kept it away from their Clanmates. Part of me wondered if they were really compatible with each other...but it really wasn't my choice. "And um...sorry about the name thing...I just think it's easier."

"It's not Windfall this time." Bloomflower murmured, not looking at me. "I-I um...well...it's personal stuff I guess."

I understood clearly. I smiled and then slowed my pace. "I won't pester you about it. But if you need any help, just let me know?"

"I will, Blazepaw. Thanks." She meowed, losing a bit of her tension. Then my gaze travelled towards her belly, and I noticed that it was a bit...wider, than usual. Or was that the right term for it? Thicker...more protruding

Is she pregnant? I figured she probably was...but hey, it was a good thing! If she wanted to save the announcement for later then that was her choice. Despite my outgoing attitude, I didn't really take part in too much gossip. Maybe she was just worried that I would tell other cats?

"What can you scent?" Grayleaf asked both Fawnpaw and I as we neared the border with WinterClan.

"Nasty WinterClanners." Fawnpaw scrunched up her nose, looking disgusted. When Grayleaf glared at her, she shied back, embarrassed. "Okay...I smell a herd of deer a bit up the border."

"Good." Grayleaf looked at me. "Blazepaw?"

I opened my mouth and took in as many scents as I could. It was a mix at first, but eventually I picked out one that differed from Fawnpaw's answer. "Mrr...there's an eagle nest in a tree not far away?"

"Correct. One of those birds can carry a small kit like you off in a heartbeat...don't forget that." Grayleaf warned, taking in scents himself. "There's a WinterClan patrol approaching...probably their sunhigh patrol."

"Correct, dear Grayleaf.." A new voice boomed from across the border. A large patrol appeared from the less dense undergrowth that led up the slope into WinterClan tundra. A massive brown tomcat led them, staring down with a menacing look that bore into our souls. I dropped into an instinctive defensive stance, baring my teeth at the WinterClan Warriors as they watched us.

"Greetings, Staghorn. Weather crisp up there as usual?" Grayleaf dipped his head, looking Staghorn directly, without any emotion. I felt proud of my mentor. Few cats could stare down the giant senior WinterClan Warrior. I hoped that one day, I could do the same despite my size. Staghorn had to be at least four times my size!

"Indeed." Staghorn meowed, not blinking as he scanned us. "Small group for a border patrol, no?" I lowered my body to the grass when his gaze rested on me. "Quite small, indeed."

"SpringClan doesn't feel the need to send out large patrols. We prefer to keep peace, rather than instigate wars." Grayleaf murmured, a hint of malice in his tone as he hinted at how WinterClan had been scented intruding across various borders.

Bloomflower moved to stand beside the gray tabby tom, flicking her tail in an order to Fawnpaw and I. We both hung back, paws springy and ready to run in case the WinterClan cats decided to get a little too close.

Staghorn grunted in response. The rest of his patrol looked restless, and I was worried that something bad might happen. "SpringClanners carry too much pride." He turned and beckoned his patrol, not bothering to say anything else as he led them along. I breathed out a sigh of relief, and my fur smoothened out.

"Good day to you too!" Grayleaf called after them, looking rather annoyed. "Entitled bitch…"

"Who?" Fawnpaw whispered, looking at the gray tom with wide eyes.

"Staghorn, that's who." Bloomflower answered for him.

"He does seem like a bit of a jerk…" I murmured, trying to add my own agreement to the patrol. All I received was awkward looks, and I flattened my ears.

That could've gone worse…

(III)

I groaned, the wind knocked out of my chest after Grayleaf tossed me aside. I lay there for a few moments, catching my breath before shakily standing up again, glaring at him. "What was that for?!" I hissed.

"You weren't paying attention, Blazepaw. Fighting practice, remember?" Grayleaf growled, looking disappointed. "Now, attack me."

I got into a crouch, scanning my position compared to his and figuring out what the best approach would be. I started moving forward slowly, wiggling on my haunches with my tail flicking about, occasionally throwing up dust. I jumped, moving from side to side in an attempt to confuse him. But it appeared he was ready for me, as he used his longer legs and bigger frame to launch higher into the air, jumping on top of me and pinning me to the dusty earth again.

"Better...took me a heartbeat to figure out your attack form." Grayleaf complimented, letting me up. He helped me rid my fur of dust, and then purred. "Don't try to use strength against strength. You're a lithe cat, not brawny like me or Rabbitstar."

"O-Okay...so what should I do?" I muttered, running up a blank.

"Go on the defensive. I have a slower reaction speed, and it's harder for me to see you in the heat of battle-" Grayleaf continued with his teachings until the sun began going down. By the time we trekked to camp, we were both exhausted.

Despite my exhausted feeling, I was happy and willing to take a nice, long nap. But as I settled down in my nest, that familiar loneliness struck me yet again, preventing me from proper sleep. I still wasn't entirely sure why I felt this way...though it was quite obvious. Today should've been a simple, routine day in my life as an Apprentice of SpringClan, but things felt...different...now.

What are you doing to me, Leopardpaw? Why are you different from everyone else? I thought, feeling distrustful of my own heart. The only thing I could decide on in the future though, was that, I don't want to stop seeing him, do I?