DawnFrostOfThunderClan74-Thank you for your review! There is indeed a ship, and I have a lot of plans for Cherrypaw as well that will come into play soon.


Chapter Four

As the days went by, Cherrypaw saw less and less of her brother as he began to hang out even more with Leafpaw. It was obvious to her and everyone with even the slightest bit of eyesight that he liked her. A lot.

It was amusing at first, but the young calico began to feel forgotten, her strong bond with her littermate slowly withering away. And so she began to spend time with Halfleaf or her parents, Pearbranch and Copperstream. Her ears burned when she saw the other apprentices glancing her way when she was with them. What kind of apprentice still spent time together with their parents?

Cherrypaw did, and she tried to act like she didn't care about being friendless but failed miserably.

And so whilst Raccoonpaw ran around after his crush, she began to clam up, withdrawing from most other cats, beginning to spend many of her hours with her mentor instead of any other cat. Her bond with him had become more than a simple mentor-apprentice relationship. He was almost like another father figure, there for her more than Copperstream, who was with Pearbranch who was expecting another litter of kits and had no time for her anymore.

The calico lifted her head, hearing the chatter of voices. The apprentices had returned all together from battle training. She longed to join them, but a lack of self-confidence and a newly developed shyness held her back.

Halfleaf glanced over at her, "Go join them." He nudged her, easily able to see how desperate she was to go over to the apprentices.

"But- "

Her mentor cut her off, "I'm your mentor and that's an order." His mew was stern, but he gave a soft smile, "It'll be fine."

Cherrypaw wished that she shared his certainty, her ears lowered as she trotted out towards them. Raccoonpaw and Leafpaw were laughing over something and Gladepaw was standing a fair distance away, relief crossing his gaze when he saw another apprentice.

"Finally, someone other than those two!" He shot a disapproving glance at his sister and Raccoonpaw. "If they keep it up, we'll have kits by next moon."

Cherrypaw was always a little unsure during social situations, and forced a smile, trying to think of something funny.

"You sound like his mentor," She commented, hearing Swifteagle snapping something at her unfortunate brother.

"How's this for an impression?" He puffed out his chest and spoke in a comically deep mew, "Raccoonpaw, stop messing about with Leafpaw and get something done, for once!"

Her awkwardness slipped away as Swifteagle glared their way and she burst out laughing. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt at ease with anyone besides her mentor. It was good to share something in common with another apprentice, even if it was over their siblings forgetting about them both.

After what seemed like forever, she and Gladepaw managed to catch their breath, still giggling when one caught the other's eye.

"How come we haven't spoken before?" He asked, as Raccoonpaw and Leafpaw headed out again as they always did when the sun began to set. Cherrypaw sometimes wondered what they did there, but her brother never shared anything, glowing all the way to his nest.

"I don't know. We're always busy, I guess." The calico spoke, distractedly, watching the retreating figures of the two apprentices.

Gladepaw followed her gaze, "We've been united over our littermates' love," He joked. "Though, I do miss chatting with Leafpaw. She's obsessed with your brother." He admitted, turning to face her. Cherrypaw could imagine her sibling's delight, had he heard those words.

"Same with him. I can't remember the last time we had a proper conversation." It was strange, in a nice kind of way, to have a deep talk with someone a similar age to herself.

"At least we now have each other!" All of his previous misery melted away, the tom giving a grin.

Thank you, Halfleaf, for forcing me out here. She would have to admit that he, as usual, was right, but she wasn't irritated about it. She much preferred him being correct than her being alone again.

"Yep!" She gave a purr. She didn't feel like how Raccoonpaw felt around Leafpaw, simply enjoying good companionship and the start of what would hopefully be a lasting friendship.

However, her content peace was shattered as a tortoiseshell pelted into the camp, ears pinned back and her gaze full of fear. She moved quickly past Gladepaw and Cherrypaw, as if they didn't exist, racing for the medicine-cats' den.

"What's wrong?" Her brother shot an apologetic glance at his brief calico companion before following her into the den.

What happened? Why isn't Raccoonpaw with her? Dread settled in her belly as she followed, joining Halfleaf. She hated the fact that she, a few heartbeats ago, was laughing with Gladepaw whilst her littermate was possibly in pain. Possibly dead.

"What happened, Leafpaw?" Halfleaf was the only calm one in the den, as if he weren't aware of the millions of horrible things that could've occurred.

"It's Raccoonpaw! We were chasing a hare and he tripped over a tree root. His hind leg doesn't seem right!" Her mew was full of panic and Cherrypaw realised how much the older apprentice really cared for him. Another thing that would brighten the tabby's moon if he were aware of that.

"Lead us. Come on Cherrypaw." Halfleaf began following at a brisk pace, signalling for the calico to follow.

Murmuring a quick goodbye to Gladepaw, she trotted out after Halfleaf, slightly relieved by his injury. If it was broken, then he would simply have to learn faster. It wasn't unknown for cats to get by perfectly with only three legs.

There was a three-legged housecat that lived nearby who often came to visit, and he had the similar, rather muscular, physique of a wild-cat and was a far better hunter than most housecats. Nettlestar had repeatedly offered him a place amongst the clan, but every time, he had refused, though he occasionally joined hunting patrols and was friendly with most other warriors. Cherrypaw had met him only once and was amazed by the shiny tendril around his neck and the ways of a housecat.

I need to stop getting distracted. Trying to clear her thoughts, she looked out for Raccoonpaw, startled when she saw a pitiful, pain-stricken tom laying on the ground.

Halfleaf called over Cherrypaw, "Can you see a break?"

She could tell almost instantly that it was only a simple displacement. All they had to do was yank the leg back into position. "No." Her mew was full of relief, though she pitied her brother. It couldn't be fun with an injury that looked rather painful.

"Is that bad?" Raccoonpaw tried to shift his head to see but flopped back down with a groan as his leg moved, "It sure feels bad."

"I'll get a stick," Avoiding his question, aware of how much pain he was about to be in, the calico raced further into the woods, giving a small sigh of relief when she noticed how many were scattered around. Thank StarClan for Leaf-fall.

Picking the sturdiest of the bunch, she hurried back, moving as swiftly as she could, stumbling slightly over the weight of the stick. Halfleaf gave her a nod of approval as she gave it to her brother. "Bite down on it."

He clasped it in his jaws, seeming confused and apprehensive, "What's happening?"

"You've simply displaced your leg. We need to push it back into place." Halfleaf spoke in a matter-of-fact way and Cherrypaw stayed silent, not wanting to say the wrong thing. "It'll hurt a fair bit, but only for a moment."

"Will he be okay?" Leafpaw paced around nearby, stopping to gaze anxiously at the medicine-cats.

"He'll be fine." Halfleaf promised. "Cherrypaw, you do the honours."

"Me?" The calico moved back, assuming that she had misheard. I've not even been training for a moon!

"I don't know any other Cherrypaw. so it must be you. You've learnt a lot about this, so trust yourself and do it." His mew was stern, but the apprentice found a little courage in his trusting words.

"Is it over?" Raccoonpaw butted in, hopefully.

Cherrypaw didn't respond, getting his leg with her paws and giving it a swift tug. There was a small noise as the leg was pushed back into place, but it was drowned out by her brother's pained screech.

"Now it's over." She promised. The pain rapidly left the tabby's gaze and he stood, a little shakily, flexing his injured leg.

"It feels a lot better, thanks Cherrypaw!" He briefly touched noses with her before turning back and joining Leafpaw.

"You're coming back to rest." Halfleaf called after him, "I'm not having you injuring yourself again."

"I'd be fine!" The tom sulked slightly but cheered up surprisingly quickly as the tortoiseshell apprentice whispered something, inaudible to Cherrypaw, in his ear.

"You did well," Halfleaf murmured to the younger calico as they headed back into the camp. "It took me several moons before I was able to do such a thing." He gave a small purr, "You wouldn't believe how untalented I was at remembering and using herbs."

"If you were so bad, then why did you stay as a medicine cat?" Cherrypaw tilted her head. It was uncommon, though not unheard of, for cats to choose a different path than their previous choice.

"StarClan was adamant that I was to be the next medicine cat. It must've driven my mentor crazy, being forced to teach an apprentice like myself."

Amusement flashed in the she-cat's gaze and she opened her jaws to respond, letting out an unstifled yawn instead. She gave a slightly sheepish smile, "I guess that running through the moors tired me out."

"Go rest. I have something exciting planned for tomorrow." Touching her nose briefly, with a sign of affection not dissimilar to a father's love, he trotted off towards his own nest.

What could it be? Cherrypaw desperately wanted to ask, though her mentor was already fast asleep, letting out his notoriously loud snores. It would be unfair to wake him and the apprentice reluctantly lay in her own nest, ears tingling with excitement.


Slowly getting through the pre-made chapters! The next POV will be a bit different, and I hope you'll like it!