Graypaw yawned, her eyes still shut. She was half asleep, laying in her bed. The gray apprentice slowly got up and stretched, her eyes still shut.
"Oh great! You're up!" Berrypaw padded into the den, facing Graypaw. "Just got up." Graypaw replied, shaking her pelt out. "Did you need me?" Berrypaw nodded. "Snowflower wanted me to go hunting and take another apprentice. I was hoping you would come with me." The she-cat explained. "Sure. I'm ready." Graypaw followed her friend out of the den. She was hit with a gust of cold air that made her shiver. "Man, it's pretty cold this morning." Graypaw admitted. "Yeah, leaf-bare is coming pretty soon." Berrypaw meowed. Graypaw groaned. "Who's excited for snow?" She said sarcastically. Berrypaw laughed. The two apprentices headed out of the camp.
"So, where are we hunting?" Graypaw asked. "Snowflower said to try by the Moss Tree." "Alright then, let's get moving." Graypaw and Berrypaw said good morning to the warrior sitting patrol at the entrance of the StoneClan camp. Then they made their way to the Moss Tree.
Graypaw walked back to camp holding two mice in her mouth. Berrypaw's hunting trip had been cut short. She was chasing a rabbit and it managed to escape in a rabbit hole. Berrypaw couldn't stop fast enough and face planted into a tree and ended up with a bloody nose and a torn claw.
Graypaw placed her mice in the fresh kill pile and headed over to the medicine cat's den. It was towards the back of StoneClan's camp, next to the High Boulder, where all clan meetings were held. She saw Berrypaw laying down, eating a starling with cobwebs on her muzzle. "Hey, how are you feeling?" Graypaw asked, padding up to her friend. "Better." Berrypaw replied, swallowing a mouthful of food. "Sandpelt says I'll be better by tomorrow. I'll be sore, but I'll get through it." At that moment, Sandpelt padded over to the apprentices. She was a young, beautiful medicine cat. Her sand-colored pelt looked even prettier in the sun. "Good afternoon, Graypaw." She said with a smile. "Hey, Sandpelt. I was just checking on Berrypaw." Graypaw told her. Sandpelt nodded. "Stay as long as you like." The medicine cat turned around to sort her herbs. "I'm glad your injury isn't bad. Well, it's bad, but it could have been worse." Graypaw said, sitting down. Berrypaw sat up. "Yeah. I would have been upset if I had to take a break from training. I'll be a warrior soon, after all." Graypaw hadn't thought of it. Berrypaw was one of the oldest apprentices, along with her sister, Hazelpaw. Graypaw was the youngest, but she had still been training for several moons.
"Did your mentor tell you anything about your ceremony yet?" Graypaw asked. Berrypaw shook her head. "We've been having a few assessments, but that's it." Berrypaw sounded a little disappointed. "Maybe Snowflower wants to keep it a secret." Graypaw tried to sound hopeful. Berrypaw shrugged. "Maybe. Anyway, I'm probably going to take a nap soon." "I'll leave now, maybe Webstripe will take me hunting or something." Graypaw got to her feet. "I'll see you later." Berrypaw said, shutting her eyes.
Graypaw turned to leave, but was stopped by Sandpelt. "Graypaw, would you mind coming herb gathering with me? I'm running a little low on some supplies, and I want to get it before the cold season comes." Sandpelt meowed. "Of course." Graypaw smiled. "Let's get another apprentice to come with us. I believe Stormpaw is resting in the apprentice den." Graypaw groaned. Not Stormpaw. He was such a hot shot. He bragged, bossed the other apprentices around, and was just a nuisance. Stormpaw was the last cat she wanted to go with! "Can we get Hazelpaw? Stormpaw is annoying." Graypaw begged. Sandpelt shook her head. "Hazelpaw is on a patrol."
"What about Eaglepaw?"
"Hunting with his mentor."
"Great."
"Stormpaw might not be your favorite cat, but it won't be that bad. I promise." Sandpelt told her. "I'll go get him." The medicine cat headed towards the apprentice den and went inside. When she came outside, she was followed by a gray tom. Graypaw jogged over to them, even though she'd rather claw out her fur. "Ready?" Sandpelt asked. "I guess." Graypaw mumbled. "Alright, let's get going."
They had just left the camp and Graypaw already wanted to claw her ears out. "So, how do you feel? You know, going herb hunting with the hottest tom in StoneClan?" Stormpaw asked, raising one of his eyebrows and then winked. Graypaw scoffed. "Sandpelt, how long will this take?" She asked. "Depends on how long it takes to find them and how much there is. If there's not a lot, we'll have to keep searching. We need to get them before the frost kills it." Sandpelt replied. "What are we getting?" Stormpaw asked. "Catmint, goldenrod, and maybe some watermint if we're lucky. I'm low on all three of them." Sandpelt told the apprentices. "I'm glad you're not training to be a medicine cat. You're too pretty to waste." Stormpaw meowed to Graypaw. Graypaw glared at him. "What? It's true! You're gorgeous and should have a mate and kits one day." Stormpaw told her. "Sandpelt, can we hurry up?" Graypaw pleaded. "Hey! I'm just trying to have a conversation!" Stormpaw exclaimed. "And I'm trying not to." Graypaw growled. She turned her head in the other direction so she wouldn't have to see his face.
"Alright, there's usually some watermint over here." Sandpelt told the apprentices. "Is that it?" Graypaw pointed to a plant. "Yes! Good eyes, Graypaw." Sandpelt padded over to it and began to gather it. "Not as much as I had hoped, but every little bit counts." She purred. "Stormpaw, I think you can manage all of this by yourself. Just set it down gently in the den. And don't you dare destroy any of it! There's not a lot and we'll need all of it." Sandpelt warned the tom. Stormpaw nodded and grabbed the medicine in his mouth. "I'll be careful." He promised, the watermint muffling his meows.
Graypaw was happy to see him leave. "Good riddance." She muttered. "Why do you hate him so much?" Sandpelt asked. "How can you not?" Graypaw hissed, clawing the ground. "He's so obnoxious and rude!" "I know that. But you're strong enough to put up with him." Graypaw shrugged. "Why don't you get to know him better?" Graypaw almost fell over when she heard Sandpelt say this. "Are you kidding? I hate him!" Graypaw said in awe. "I know, but if you got to know him, he might warm up to you." Sandpelt explained. "No way! Not happening, not a chance!" Graypaw insisted. Sandpelt sighed. "I see you're as stubborn as your father." "I wouldn't really know that. He's never really around." Graypaw sighed, sadly. Her father, Stonefoot, was always busy. He was a great warrior, one of the best in StoneClan, so he was always given jobs. And between Graypaw's schedule as an apprentice, the two never saw each other much.
"Your father has a lot on his shoulders. One day he will make it up to you." Sandpelt reassured her. She put her tail on Graypaw's shoulder. "I don't know." Graypaw murmured. "Let's get going. We still have to get catmint and goldenrod, and those are essential." Graypaw nodded and followed the medicine cat.
"Thanks for all your help, Graypaw. You too, Stormpaw." Sandpelt purred. The moon was high in the sky. Sandpelt yawned. "You too should grab some food and then get some sleep. You'll need it with leaf-bare on the way." Graypaw nodded and padded towards the fresh kill pile. Graypaw didn't care to wait for Stormpaw. She picked out a black bird and quickly began eating. She was hungry after running all over the territory looking for Sandpelt's herbs. She watched as Eaglepaw and Hazelpaw return from a patrol with their mentors. They jogged over to the pile and picked out their fresh kill. The apprentices sat next to Graypaw. "Hey, Graypaw!" Hazelpaw purred as she set down her mouse. "What's up girl?" Eaglepaw joked. "We got back from patrol. What about you?" Hazelpaw asked. "Sandpelt asked me to go with her to get some medicine. And she made Stormpaw go with us." Graypaw sighed. "I don't get why you don't like him. He seems alright to me." Eaglepaw admitted. "You're a guy. He would act completely different around you." Hazelpaw playfully pushed him a little with her paw.
"So, how bad was it?" Hazelpaw turned to Graypaw. Graypaw shrugged. "I don't know. It was alright. He was annoying at first but then he left for a while. When he came back, he didn't really talk to me." Graypaw replied. "Then Sandpelt said I should get to know him better." "You should! Like I said, he's not that bad." Eaglepaw encouraged. "I don't even know where he went. I ditched him in the medicine cat den." Graypaw said. "I see him over there." Hazelpaw pointed to the gray tom. He sat all alone, eating a mouse. He glanced up and saw Hazelpaw point to him. Stormpaw looked away, looking sad. "What's wrong with him? He always acts like he owns everything." Graypaw meowed. "I don't think he has one true friend. I mean, Eaglepaw hangs out with him a little, but Berrypaw and I don't. And you make it obvious that you hate his guts." Hazelpaw replied. "Poor guy. I'd go sit with him, but I don't want to make him feel weird." Eaglepaw said. "I'm not talking to him. Whenever he opens his mouth, I feel like I catch his stupidity." Graypaw stood up and headed towards the apprentices den. "I'll talk to you guys tomorrow." She said. Her friends said goodnight to her and she padded into the den. Why should she feel bad for Stormpaw?
Hopefully you guys enjoyed reading in Graypaw's POV. I wonder what's wrong with Stormpaw. I mean, those comments during their trip were just rude. Do you think Graypaw will talk to him, or continue to ignore him? Sorry that this chapter is much shorter than the last one. Once again, the first four chapters are going to be boring since I am trying to introduce characters. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. If you have suggestions, tips, questions, or want me to explain something, don't be afraid to contact me! Next chapter will probably be out tomorrow!