Reedpaw's green eyes searched the long blades of grass. He tried to divert his thoughts away from a soft rustling behind him.
It's not a snake, he told himself. It's just the breeze. Or my ears going wacky. Ooh, maybe I'll have to retire!
He tried to purr. In spite of the spooky scenes, Reedpaw tried to stay positive.
Whitepetal had left Reedpaw entirely alone to hunt in the dead of night; it was a ritual, she'd said, for apprentices when they'd reached their third moon and a half of training.
"Half-assessment", she'd called it.
Creampaw and Honeypaw had returned about two weeks before, shivering. Honeypaw seemed genuinely spooked, and she didn't want to talk about it. But Creampaw seemed to have enjoyed the scary expedition.
He stopped talking, and eyed a swift movement. Placing one paw in front of the other, he prepared to leap.
With a surprising leap, he landed on the patch of grass, his claws scraping earth.
"Ah," he mumbled.
Retreating to the river, he focused on the flowing streams of water. There was slight movement that made the waters ripple; he could catch it.
Breathing softly, he leaned back, hoping his shadow wouldn't cast over the stream. And he lashed out a paw.
In an instant, a fish fell onto the side, flopping madly.
"Yes!" Reedpaw murmured.
Shivering, he decided to end this half-assessment quickly. The night was cold and Reedpaw didn't want to stay out.
He quickly padded back to camp, his jaws clamped on the fish. The familiar scent flooded through his mouth.
He glanced around. Nobody was watching. Reedpaw quickly sat down and chewed the fish. The fishy scent was relaxing and even comforting. Swallowing the last bite, he padded to the apprentices' den.
"You've come back?" murmured a voice sleepily.
It was Creampaw, her eyes barely open.
"Yeah."
"Did you eat your catch?"
"Um, how did you know?"
Amusement seeped through Creampaw's voice as she responded. "Because I did, too."
Whitepetal's eyes grazed over Reedpaw. "You ate your catch?" Her voice was high.
"Er, yes."
Whitepetal sighed, and sat down, her tail curled neatly around her paws.
"How," she mewed, "are all apprentices the same? I at mine, too." Her eyes softened.
"Oh!" That was an unexpected reply.
"All apprentices seemingly do," continued the white warrior cheerfully, her eyes bright with amusement. "My mother told me she did, too. It must be some kind of trait of RiverClan cats. I like it. Well, then, Reedpaw. Do you want a day off?" Her eyes twinkled. "I want one," she mewed softly. "And I'm sure you'll enjoy a day with your friends. Stormsky, Acornsquirrel, Cherryfern, Sorrelfrost and all the others and I arranged for this day to be a day to relax and play like kits. Enjoy the day. I hope you're fine with it."
"Of course I am!" exclaimed Reedpaw, unable to hide his delight. Even though he liked and enjoyed training, and he liked Whitepetal, it couldn't top the joy of playing with cats his age. It was just a pity Roseleap was now a warrior.
Whitepetal purred. 'I knew you'd like it," she meowed. "Enjoy your day. Mentors are taking a day off, too."
"I knew you wouldn't agree to it without a catch!"
"A good catch," sighed Whitepetal wistfully. "Since you completed your half-assessment, I figure you'll be mature enough to handle the Whitepetal-free-day." She dipped her head. "I'll see you tomorrow. You can manage without me?"
"Sure!"
Excitedly, Reedpaw turned around and raced towards the apprentices' den.
Only Sunpaw was there.
"Er…"
"Reedpaw!" called Ripplepaw. He, Oakpaw, and Stormpaw was huddled around.
"Hi! Where are Creampaw and Honeypaw? What about Sunpaw? And Brindlepaw?"
"Sunpaw said she'll just sleep," Oakpaw replied, "and Creampaw and Honeypaw are out there somewhere. We need to find them. For Brindlepaw, she said she'll just rest."
"Oh, and Dewpaw?"
"He wanted to train."
"Didn't Cherryfern disagree?"
"Nah. She said she was glad her apprentice was the only one who wanted to train, and that the others were play-loving."
Reedpaw nodded. "Okay, then."
"Let's go," called Stormpaw happily.
He followed the dark gray cat out and looked up at the sky. The sky was pale and bright, with the day young.
"D'you know where we might find Creampaw?" Ripplepaw asked Oakpaw, amusement in his voice.
"I think I might," Oakpaw mewed seriously. "Follow me."
And he started padding left, his ears twitching. He led them to a clearing Reedpaw had never seen before. It was unlike any territory he'd seen in RiverClan.
"It's woodland," Stormpaw exclaimed.
"Have you ever hunted in woodland before?" asked Reedpaw.
"No, not yet," sighed Stormpaw. "Sorrelfrost and Cherryfern think it's best if we learn to be RiverClan cats. Have you swum before?"
Reedpaw realized he hadn't, and, feeling hot under his pelt, he replied, "No, not yet. Whitepetal wants be to focus on warrior stuff."
"Yeah. What if you fall in a flooding river? Surviving is a warrior thing." Stormpaw meowed proudly, lifting his tail. "Dewpaw and I learned swimming two days ago. Dewpaw almost drowned, but I swam!" He imitated swimming, his eyes gleaming. "It was awesome, I promise you!"
"Er, okay."
Stormpaw continued, looked prouder than ever. "Dewpaw's horrible at training, but I'm great!"
Hearing Stormpaw, Oakpaw turned back, his brown ears twitching with amusement. "Don't let Sorrelfrost hear you," he warned. "She hates boasting, you know that?"
"That's natural," Stormpaw replied. "But she won't hear me. Where's Creampaw?"
"She should be here somewhere, if I'm right," Oakpaw replied, looking back and forth.
Reedpaw noticed his eyes rounding with anxiety, and his shoulders hunching. But what he didn't notice was a cream-colored she-cat pouncing on the brown tom.
"Got you!" she cried triumphantly. "C'mon, Honeypaw. What're you waiting for?"
"This!" shrieked a voice, and Ripplepaw toppled and fell.
"Ouch," he muttered, craning his neck to see the golden apprentice shining with pride. "Good job, Honeypaw," he mewed weakly.
The she-cat puffed out her chest, and meowed, "Thanks. It's the day off, so Creampaw thought we should play a prank on you two."
"What about us?" protested Reedpaw jokingly.
"Maybe we can get Rainingkit or Mistykit to leap on you," replied Creampaw, her eyes sparkling.
Blinking, Reedpaw realized it was time Rainingkit and Mistykit would be apprenticed, and Snowheart to come out of the nursery. It was strange; he could still recall the memory of the pale gray and snowy she-cat ducking into the den, asking, "Would I have to stay here forever?" anxiously, and taking her place in a soft moss nest.
She'd grown to love living in there with her kits. Still, the pale gray kit and dark cream and white kit had grown to itch for the outdoors.
While he was daydreaming about the first arrival of the last kits remaining in the nursery, Creampaw had taken the chance to leap on him.
"You toms never learn," she sighed.
"Well, I do," Stormpaw exclaimed, swiftly ducking so Honeypaw would miss him.
"You're an exception," agreed Honeypaw.
"No, he's not," Creampaw meowed happily, and Honeypaw yowled, "No one escapes my pounce!" and pounced on Stormpaw.
"Yeah, toms never learn," Oakpaw meowed, twitching his whiskers.
After spending all day with his fellow apprentices, Reedpaw was exhausted. With Creampaw's pranks, Oakpaw's amused meows, Ripplepaw's jokes, Honeypaw's purrs, and Stormpaw's prideful boasting, Reedpaw could not find one ounce of time to feel bored.
He only wondered what part he was in the group.