DawnFrostOfThunderClan74- Thank you for your kind review, again! Cherrypaw seems to be quite a popular character. I showed my story to a bunch of people who I know and she's their favorite. And yeah, Swifteagle is a bit of a grump, haha. I'm looking forward to introducing the rest of the characters and seeing what you think of them!

Chapter Two

It took a day for Raccoonpaw to get out of his grumpy, self-pitying state, and Cherrypaw was relieved when he finally apologised. She suspected that Swifteagle had something to do with his begrudging apology, but at least he had cheered up.

"I'm finally going to hunt today!" He announced to her and the other apprentices as they ate their prey together, sat around in a small huddle. They had all grown close and though Cherrypaw felt like the odd one out with her chosen path, she enjoyed hanging out with them all. Most of the time.

"I remember the first thing I caught." Leafpaw was silent for a moment as if reliving a forgotten memory.

She and her brother had been apprentices for only a moon, but the two younger cats looked up to them as they had only been apprenticed for a quarter moon and most of that, for both of them, had involved learning HeatherClan's vast territory. Which, as Raccoonpaw boldly stated previously, was rather boring.

"Sure you can," Gladepaw snorted, "You only caught it a few days ago."

"Did not! That was you, you daft hare-brain!" Leafpaw retorted, tail tip twitching in a mixture of infuriation and amusement.

Raccoonpaw rolled his eyes at Cherrypaw before jumping into the conversation, "I bet that I'll catch mine earlier than you both," He bragged. "I'm the best hunter out of both of you."

It sounded good-natured, but the calico watched him, wondering if he really was that big-headed.

The medicine-cat apprentice watched, wishing that she shared his self-confidence. She often was the quieter cat, as the others shared battle tactics, and hunting positions, and whining about their mentors. Whenever she tried to put in a word about her training, more often than not, she got ignored or mocked. They did not mean to be offensive, but Cherrypaw sometimes felt excluded from their cheerful banter. It wasn't her fault that they thought that herbs were weird. Personally, she found them very interesting.

"Bet you'll fall on your face!" Gladepaw smirked, "You should've seen Leafpaw's first hunting attempt. Her whiskers were practically dripping with mud!"

Noticeably irritated by her embarrassing moments being exploited, the tortoiseshell chimed in after giving a 'would you please shut up' glare at her brother, "Well, what about yours? You climbed up a tree after a squirrel and ended up dangling by your forepaws!"

"Hey, I could've died!" The grey tabby exclaimed in a mock-offended manner.

"Of course." Leafpaw burst out laughing, causing a few other warriors to glance their way, their gazes betraying a large amount of irritation directed at the four young cats. Or three, since Cherrypaw hadn't actually said a word during the whole, noisy, exchange.

"Hey, uh, I'll go join Halfleaf now." Cherrypaw stammered, excusing herself as she began to get tired of them and their jokes that she failed to understand. The other three didn't notice, caught up in their increasingly loud chatter. It probably wouldn't be long until a grumpy warrior told them to shut up. No points for guessing who that would be.

Tail dragging along the ground, she headed off towards her mentor, who was busy arranging herbs.

"What's up?" The elderly medicine-cat raised his head, noticing her solemn expression, "Why aren't you with the other apprentices?"

"They're all talking about hunting." Cherrypaw attempted to change the subject, "Need any help with the herbs?"

"I told you, you can take a break until sun-high. You've been working hard since you became an apprentice. Don't you have any friends to hang out with?" He turned back around, though still listening to his apprentice.

"Raccoonpaw's going hunting, and the others are doing something with their mentors. Can I please do something!" She didn't want to beg, but being alone was boring and she wanted to at least be of some use.

"You must be the only apprentice in the history of HeatherClan who actually wants to work." Halfleaf chuckled, "Take some of this mouse-bile and get rid of any ticks on the elders, if you want to be useful."

Cherrypaw would have rather stayed to help her mentor, though the elders were fun to talk to. Picking up what was needed in her jaws, she trotted off towards the den, noticing the absence of the other apprentices. The clan seemed quieter without the slightly obnoxious felines constantly chattering.

"Glad to see someone finally coming here. It's been quiet since you and Raccoonpaw became 'paws." The husky voice of Sparkbranch greeted her. "How are you findin' it?"

"Pretty good," Cherrypaw responded, honestly. "I'm learning a lot."

"It's good that ol' Halfleaf has someone to help him. Getting ready for retirement, he is." The elder commented in her accented tone.

Emerging from the darker corners of the den, Kindleberry trotted over, his glassy gaze staring past the young apprentice as he spoke,

"I'm sure that you'll fill Halfleaf's job well," He mewed, "Unlike the other noisy apprentices."

"Come on Kindleberry, they like havin' fun! Remember what you were like!" The elderly she-cat nudged her den-mate.

He huffed, but didn't bother responding, "Have you come to get rid of our ticks?" He asked, his poor vision failing to spot the mouse-bile dripping from the edge of a stick that was clenched in Cherrypaw's jaws.

"Yep," She replied, forcing cheerfulness into her mew.

"Brilliant, I have a huge one right by my shoulder." He turned slightly.

This was not her favourite duty, but anything was better than sitting around being lonely. She looked forwards to the recent queen, Bluemoon's, kits. Maybe then she'd be able to play with them instead of trailing after the other apprentices.

"What's it like, being a medicine-cat apprentice?" The tom asked, with genuine interest, "I could never understand why cats wanted to be stuck in a stuffy den all day long."

"You get used to the herbs stench eventually, and it's pretty fun." Cherrypaw responded, somewhat honestly, "Halfleaf's a good mentor."

The brown tom gave a sigh of relief as the tick dropped off, "Thanks, I'm glad to be rid of that." He shook his thick pelt.

"I don't 'have any," Sparkbranch told the young apprentice as she headed over, "Though would you mind gettin' us some fresh bedding?"

"Of course," She headed back towards the medicine-cat den to give back the stick covered in the bile.

"You're a great help," Halfleaf commented, as she trotted back out to wash her paws and get fresh bracken and moss for the nests. "It must be hard, being different to the other apprentices." He mused, randomly.

Cherrypaw froze as she was heading out. How does he know? It was sometimes like the elderly feline could read minds.

"I just chose a different path to them." She evaded the question, trotting out of the den.

"I was an apprentice once, remember, so don't try hiding it from me." The tom chuckled, "I had two siblings, Harewhisker and Tansypelt," He paused for a moment and Cherrypaw wasn't sure about what she should say, turning back around to face her mentor, "They both talked constantly about being a warrior and I never understood a word about it. Don't think that I am not aware as to why you don't want to take a break. It isn't much fun, being lonely, is it?"

Cherrypaw was surprised by his suddenly serious tone, "I.." Her voice faded, as she had no idea what to say. Yes, she did find it lonely, but it was uncomfortable talking about this with a tom way older than herself.

"Just remember that you are never alone, you hear me." He continued as if the calico hadn't spoken. With that, he turned back around and resumed sorting out the herbs, leaving Cherrypaw wondering if he had even spoken at all, or if she had imagined it.

His words made the tri-colored feline feel a little better, and she headed off to gather bracken with a small spring in her step.

I'm not alone!

Poor Cherrypaw! I have a lot of plans for her in the future.

Also, the POVs will usually switch between the two siblings, with a few others occasionally.