Chapter Three
Tail bushed out with pride, Raccoonpaw trotted behind Swifteagle, a plump hare, over half the size of himself, grasped in his jaws. He and his littermate, Cherrypaw, had been apprenticed for a moon and finally, his mentor's brisk and harsh approach to training was turning out to be helpful in a way that had surprised the other apprentices.
He seemed a little more confident already than the others, not sulking as much as he used to when making a mistake and could rival the older apprentices during a mock-battle with ease. But despite his talents, Swifteagle rarely, if ever, praised him. Instead of discouraging the grey tabby, it made him all the more desperate to prove himself.
"Did you catch that?" Leafpaw was the first one to head over, beating even Cherrypaw to greet him.
"Yep!" He gave a proud, slightly muffled, purr, ignoring his sister's injured expression as he ignored her. Why does she have to be such a snowflake! Is it against the code to greet some other cat first? He loved the calico a great deal, but as she grew quieter and Raccoonpaw more confident, they began to drift apart.
"I bet Swifteagle was proud of you," She commented, shooting a glance over at the yellow-eyed tabby who was talking with another feline.
"Practically bursting with praise," He dropped the hare, his tone undoubtedly sarcastic. "At least I finally caught something."
Leafpaw was quick to grab it, her eyes gleaming with amusement, "It's mine now!" She darted back; tail kinked as she waited for him to join in the game.
Giving a mock snarl, he lunged for the other apprentice, who turned sharply and dashed out of the camp, slowing as she waited for him to join.
Laughing, he pursued the older apprentice, racing alongside, forgetting about the hare still grasped in her jaws. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had so much fun, stuck either with Cherrypaw or Swifteagle. He felt bad for not even greeting his sibling, but the guilty thoughts soon got swept away as he enjoyed himself for the first time in a while. Leafpaw was more fun than he had thought she was.
Eventually, the she-cat slowed, dropping the hare, panting slightly. "I could've beat you easily without this." She looked down at the limp prey as the grey tabby raced past, before slowing rapidly to a halt, narrowly missing a tree that suddenly reared up in front of him.
"Then why'd you grab it, squirrel-brain!" Raccoonpaw teased.
"Fox-heart!" With a playful growl, Leafpaw leaped at him and the two engaged in a mock-battle, claws sheathed as they batted at each other in a half-hearted manner, the prey forgotten. Swifteagle wouldn't be happy once they returned, but he would worry about that later.
Both were breathless with laughter by the time they had finished, standing apart, breathing heavily as they stared each other down.
"You fight well," She commented, "For a fox-heart."
At the last words, Raccoonpaw lunged at her, though he missed his step, falling onto the ground, knocking all of the air out of him.
The tortoiseshell was laughing too hard to check that he was okay, and the tabby staggered to his paws, shaking the dirt from his pelt.
"Someday I'll be Raccoonstar!" He boasted, "And I'll make you live with the stinky elders."
"When I'm Leafstar, I'll exile you and you can live with the housecats!"
Giving a mock-offended gasp, he responded with an insult of his own, "Well, I'll make you live in a cold bush, even when it snows!" He finished, puffing out his chest in a way that he hoped would appear regal.
"Well, I'll make you live in the medicine-cats' den with the stinky old herbs and Halfleaf." Leafpaw decided, seeming to have forgotten that Cherrypaw stayed in there.
Raccoonpaw's amused expression faded slightly as he remembered his sibling. She would be waiting for him and the sun was making a steady decent into the moors.
"What's up?" The tortoiseshell questioned the tomcat, tilting her head slightly, noticing his dampened cheerfulness.
"Just thinking about Cherrypaw. I usually greet her first, and she'll probably be expecting me to be back, now." The tabby admitted, feeling a sense of awkwardness as it was rare for him to be open about anything deep.
"If you had, then you wouldn't be here!" Leafpaw persisted, hurt briefly visible in her amber gaze, "You don't regret coming here, do you? We could head back if you want." Her voice was quiet, reluctant, and despite how he did want to go back, Raccoonpaw didn't want to offend the she-cat, who was turning out to be quite good company.
"Nah, I like it here." He paused for a moment, "With you, I mean." He tripped over his own words, grey pelt growing warm with embarrassment.
Leafpaw just purred, though amusement flashed in her gaze, "That's good, because I like it here as well."
She didn't add the 'with you,' but it was clear that she thought it.
She's a moon older than me, for StarClan's sake! I can't go tripping over my paws around her like a moonstruck rabbit! Irritated by himself and his hopeful feelings, the tabby gave his head a sharp shake. Leafpaw thought of him as a friend and so that was how he should think of her.
But still, her pelt, outlined by the russet skies of the setting sun, seemed to shine, a gentle breeze ruffling her dark fur.
"What's on your mind?" The tortoiseshell questioned the tom, aware of his silence.
"Just thinking." He responded. About you. He added, silently.
"What about? We really can go back if you're worried about Cherrypaw."
"No, I'm just thinking about how pretty..the, uh, the skies are." It was a near mistake, and the tom covered it up, turning his gaze towards the multicolored sky.
As it grew dark, Leafpaw reluctantly stood, "I think that we should head back."
"Yeah, Copperstream, Pearbranch and Cherrypaw, will worry about me." He cringed, feeling that having slightly overprotective parents was kitten-ish. He was seven moons already and still; they were often there. And his sister seemed to never leave him alone at camp, which was both slightly amusing and annoying at the same time.
"Well, how about we do something tomorrow when it isn't so late?" Leafpaw suggested, "Like hunting, maybe. You could demonstrate what that old grump of a mentor taught you."
Raccoonpaw struggled to hold back from purring, "I'd like that."
Awww, RaccoonXLeaf is definitely a pairing that I enjoy writing. I have a lot planned for those two in the future and I hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoy writing this story!
Also, not sure if I've mentioned this earlier, but I kind of have a schedule for now. I'll update with the existing chapters on Word every other day, and when I get through them then I'll decide on a proper schedule depending on when I'm free.
