Windfur sped through the first set of rocks after the gorse tunnel, desperately trying to find his apprentice. When he saw her pelt, he felt his spirits lift.
"Waterpaw!" he shouted.
At first, Waterpaw didn't say anything. But as she turned to him, he sensed something was wrong. There was a hideous mark right above her eyes, and her eyes were full of hatred.
"W-Waterpaw-" he stammered. "Are you feeling alright?" He knew something was up. His apprentice never scowled like that, she never looked at him so angrily.
"I'm fine, Windpelt." she meowed coolly.
"What! I'm Windfur! Don't you remember?" Windfur looked at his apprentice, frozen with shock. What happened? Why didn't she know his name?
"Right, right… Windfur, whatever." his apprentice lashed her head away from him. Her eyes were focused ahead.
Windfur's, however, trailed behind her, and he gasped in horror as he saw a dozen bees on the ground. Dead, with crumbled wings, the guts splayed out… Then he focused on Waterpaw's pelt. They were splotched with bee blood! He gasped. Was this what the dead bee meant?
"What are you waiting for, Windwhatsit!" Waterpaw hissed at him. "Let's get back to ThunderClan."
Windfur nodded, and looked at her with confused eyes. "Do you remember what we are going to learn today?" he asked, trying to test her.
"You're my mentor!" Waterpaw exclaimed.
Windfur gasped. "Yes! Don't you remember? What happened to you!" He searched her desperately.
"Yes, yes. Um… are we going to learn how to fight… or something?" Her voice trailed off awkwardly.
"You're a medicine cat apprentice!" Windfur shouted. "You don't fight!"
Waterpaw didn't respond to him. Instead, her eyes began to boil with rage. "Look, mister." she hissed. "I don't care about being a medicine cat. Leave me alone, Windwhatsit." That was when Waterpaw turned angrily away and dashed ahead.
Windfur stood there, the fur bristling along his back. Whoever that cat was, she wasn't his apprentice. Something was definitely wrong.