Brightpaw padded out of the BreezeClan camp. She had to get new bedding for the elders. Brightpaw made her way to BreezeClan's side of the Minnow Creek. It was a perfect place to gather moss for the elders. As the youngest apprentice, she got the role of taking care of the elders the most. emI can't wait until I'm a warrior. Then I don't have to do this job all the time/em. Brightpaw thought. She didn't complain when she got it, but she would rather work on her fighting skills. Brightpaw wasn't great at fighting, and she wanted to practice it whenever she could.

Sadly, the only apprentice she was friends with was Daisypaw, who was training to be a medicine cat. The rest of the apprentices were guys and didn't talk to her much. Brightpaw was happy that they didn't say much to her. Whenever Redpaw and Volepaw talked to her, they ganged up on her and made fun of her because she wasn't a great fighter. Acornpaw was nicer. Though he didn't talk to her much, he never insulted her or laughed at her.

Brightpaw grabbed as much moss as she could. She carried it in her mouth, on her back, and she carried a little with her tail. Brightpaw carefully headed back to camp, balancing the moss so it wouldn't fall off. "Good morning, Brightpaw!" The sentry, Pebblesplash greeted her cheerfully. "Need any help?" Brightpaw shook her head. If Redpaw and Volepaw saw her take help, they would never stop talking about it. They would taunt her saying she was a weak, helpless kit.

The two sat together, sharing a rabbit. Brightpaw didn't look at them as she walked passed them. "Hey! Need any help, princess?" Redpaw smirked. Brightpaw rolled her eyes.

Brightpaw wanted to burst into flames when she tripped on a rock and fell. The moss flew everywhere. Redpaw and Volepaw burst into laughing. Brightpaw's face was burning with embarrassment. Moss slipped over her watery eyes. Suddenly, the moss was lifted off of her face. She saw Acornpaw helping her up. "Ignore 'em. They're just jerks." Acornpaw meowed as Brightpaw got to her feet. "Thanks." She mumbled. "Here, I'll help you carry it." He offered. Brightpaw hesitated, but accepted the offer. She and Acornpaw began to gather the moss.

"Hey Acornpaw!" Brightpaw heard Volepaw call. One of his bottom teeth stuck out of his mouth, affecting his voice a little. During his first battle, he was hit in the mouth and the tooth poked out. Somehow, he found the injury cool. "Why are you helping the kit?" He asked, making Redpaw laugh. "Shut it already! You guys are going to be warriors soon, right?" Acornpaw replied. The two apprentices nodded. "Then act like warriors. You're supposed to help your clan mates! Not tear them down to make you feel better about yourselves!" Acornpaw spat. Brightpaw was shocked. He hadn't done this before.

Redpaw got to his feet and padded over. "What are you gonna do about it, punk?" He taunted, jabbing him in the chest with a paw. Redpaw was much bigger than Acornpaw. Were they going to fight? Acornpaw hissed at him. "You want a fight? I'll fight you!" Acornpaw shouted, unsheathing his claws. Redpaw unsheathed his and jumped onto the brown apprentice. Brightpaw gasped. "Stop guys!" She yelled. Acornpaw slashed at Redpaw's ear, leaving a knick in it. Redpaw cried out in pain. He dealt a powerful blow to Acornpaw's head. Acornpaw was dizzy for a second. Before he could snap out of it, Redpaw pinned him down. "I'll show you, punk!" He yelled.

Brightpaw tackled Redpaw. Acornpaw slowly got up. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Volepaw charge at Acornpaw. She turned to help, but Redpaw scratched her leg. "Ow!" She cried. Redpaw jumped at her, but Brightpaw ducked. He turned to jump at her again, but Brightpaw took off running towards Volepaw. He was busy dodging Acornpaw's claws. Brightpaw jumped over Volepaw. Redpaw was running too fast to stop. He ended up crashing into his friend, knocking both of them down. Acornpaw ran over to Brightpaw. "Are you okay?" He asked, catching his breath. Brightpaw nodded.

"What is the meaning of this?!" The scream was loud enough to scare Brightpaw out of her pelt. She turned to see Coldstar standing behind her and Acornpaw. He did not look pleased.

The four apprentices stood in a line in front of Coldstar and Cloudwing, the deputy. "I am extremely disappointed in you four. Not only bullying your clan mates," Coldstar shot a glare at Redpaw and Volepaw. They flinched hearing him. "But starting a fight!" Coldstar hissed. "You are clan mates. You should respect one another! You don't have to love each other, but respect one another." Coldstar slashed at the ground. Grass flew in the air.

"Coldstar," Acornpaw began. "I am worthy of my punishment. Redpaw and Volepaw too. But Brightpaw doesn't deserve to join us. They laughed at her and taunted her. And she didn't start the fight. She shouldn't be blamed." Brightpaw was surprised. Acornpaw wasn't bargaining to save his own skin. He was trying to save her from a punishment. And one of Coldstar's! He was known to give some of the harshest punishments.

"I respect your nobility, but Brightpaw still engaged in the fight. She too will be punished." Coldstar replied, his anger lessening. Brightpaw had expected it. "So what's our punishment?" Redpaw demanded. "Redpaw, after that escapade you should keep your mouth shut and respect your leader." Cloudwing silenced the apprentice. "In three days, I will evaluate your skills as an apprentice." Coldstar began. "Pass the test, and you will be able to carry on with your apprenticeship. But if you fail," Coldstar paced in front of the apprentices. "You will remain as an apprentice for many moons to come." Brightpaw's heart sunk. How was she going to pass?

Brightpaw was busy trying to hunt in the territory. After hours of hunting, she had only caught two mice. She sat down on a rock and sighed, her head hanging low. emI'll be an apprentice for the rest of my life. /emShe thought. "Hey, Brightpaw!" Brightpaw opened her eyes and glanced over her shoulder, surprised to see Acornpaw. The light brown apprentice padded up to her. "I was looking for you." He purred. "You were?" Brightpaw asked. Acornpaw nodded. "I need a sparring partner. My mentor doesn't want me training with Redpaw and Volepaw. I don't either. So I was hoping to see if you want to train with me. I want to work on my combat skills before that assessment." He explained. Brightpaw nodded. "We should probably head to the Practice Plains." "Sure. Let's go."

Brightpaw dodged out of the way of Acornpaw's attack. "You know, you can't play defense the whole time, right?" He meowed, swiping a paw at her. Brightpaw ducked. "Why not?" Brightpaw asked. "Sometimes defense is the best offense." "Well, yeah, but you should practice attacking too. Coldstar will be judging that too."

Brightpaw clawed at the ground. "I can't attack though! I'm not good at it! Not matter how much I practice, I never get better!" Brightpaw hissed. "I can help you." Acornpaw offered. Brightpaw calmed down a little. She was embarrassed that she had an outburst like that. "I'm sorry, Acornpaw. I didn't mean to be a jerk like that." She said quietly. Acornpaw licked her ear and sat next to her. "Don't worry. You have over two days left to get better. I'm going to help you with your attacks too. I know that you'll do fine." "Thanks, Acornpaw. For sticking up for me, cheering me up, and now helping me out." Brightpaw meowed. "Any good warrior would do it. And that's what I want to be. I hope one day to be a great warrior for my clan." Acornpaw replied. "Now, let's get back to work. I'll show you the basics. Unsheathe your claws." He said, standing up. Brightpaw stood up and unsheathed her claws. "Okay, now what?" She asked.

"Scratch me."

"What?!"

"You heard me. Scratch me."

"But, why?" "I need to see how bad it is.

"Alright."

"Brightpaw scratched the apprentice. "You're not putting enough energy into it." Acornpaw said. He was right. Her scratch barely left a mark. Brightpaw nodded and tried again. "Better. Again." The two continued at it for a while. By the end, Acornpaw was bleeding from a scratch on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry!" Brightpaw exclaimed. "It's fine. I'm just happy to see you're getting better." Acornpaw purred as they headed towards the medicine cat den. "But tomorrow, we'll practice on a tree." He laughed. Brightpaw giggled.

"What in StarClan happened? Was that from the fight before?" Lakebreeze, the medicine cat, asked. "I was helping Brightpaw with her training." Acornpaw explained. "It's not too bad, but I'll have to put something on it. We don't want any infections, now do we?" Lakebreeze walked into the back of the den, getting the herbs.

"Badgerkit? What are you doing here?" Brightpaw asked the black and white kit. "I'm just watching Lakebreeze work. It's pretty cool, isn't it?" Badgerkit meowed. "Hey, Brightpaw!" Brightpaw turned to see Daisypaw walk up to them. She was carrying juniper berries. "Can I help?" Badgerkit asked. Daisypaw shook her head. "Don't need any. I'm doing fine on my own." Daisypaw said. Brightpaw sensed jealousy and annoyance in her friend's I wonder why./em Brightpaw thought.

Lakebreeze began to take care of Acornpaw's scratch. "Can I put the cobwebs on?" Badgerkit asked. Lakebreeze nodded. Badgerkit's face lit up. Lakebreeze started to show him how to apply it on Acornpaw's shoulder. Daisypaw sat in the back of the den, clearly unhappy Badgerkit was getting attention. Brightpaw was going to go over to her, but Cloudwing stopped her. "You're on dawn patrol tomorrow." Brightpaw nodded. "Get some food and go to bed. You'll need your strength." Brightpaw hadn't realized that it was dark outside. She had spent so much time in the medicine cat den with her friends. Brightpaw quickly ate a mouse and went to bed.

Damn, Redpaw and Volepaw aren't very nice. Good thing that Acornpaw is. Do you think they'll fail their test or pass it? Thank you guys so much for 47 views! It doesn't sound like much, but to me it means a lot. I hope you guys enjoy the series. I promise it will get better from here. We've met all four main characters! Who's your favorite? If you have suggestions, questions, tips, or want me to explain something, I will totally respond! Also, reviews help me know that you guys like the series so far and can help me improve it. If you want me to review something, just tell me! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!