Chapter 9.5
Firepaw left the medicine cat den as Yellowfang was left to take a nap, and looked around. Barely anyone was in camp and Firepaw could see Willowpelt, Darkstripe, Dustpaw, and Longtail return to camp with prey in their mouths. The stench of mouse bile reeked Firepaw's nose and he headed towards the nearest stream that he knew of.
"Firepaw!" a voice yelled.
Firepaw stopped in his tracks and turned around. Halftail approached him with a kind smile.
"Where are you off to, kiddo? You ought to be helping with the preparations." He meowed.
"I was heading to the nearest stream, I had just finished applying mouse bile on Yellowfang." Firepaw explained.
"Ah, so you're off to the nearest stream, eh?" Halftail asked.
"That's right." Firepaw nodded.
"Well don't come back here without prey, we need as much as we can get." Halftail ordered.
"Of course, Halftail." Firepaw nodded.
"Good, now get going." He meowed.
"Yes Halftail." Firepaw meowed.
He left the camp and went to the nearest stream from camp. He dipped his paws into the cold stream and washed the stench of mouse bile off his paws until the stench of it faded into the water. Firepaw heard rustling in the bushes and perked in alarm. Greypaw and Ravenpaw came out of the bush and looked at Firepaw confused.
"Hey Firepaw, what are you doing down there?" Greypaw asked.
"I just finished applying mouse bile on Yellowfang. Anyway, where's Tigerclaw and Lionheart?" Firepaw asked.
"They've gone to join the next patrol, they told us to spend the rest of the afternoon hunting." Greypaw explained.
"Yeah, same with Halftail." Firepaw meowed.
He finished washing his paws, then headed towards Greypaw and Ravenpaw.
"Everyone's so busy back at camp, you'd think we were about to be attacked at any moment." Firepaw meowed.
"Who says we won't be." Ravenpaw asked nervously.
Firepaw was confused until he saw how nervous Ravenpaw looked and realized that he didn't like fighting. Greypaw shook his head, thinking it had something to do with the battle at sunningrocks and that he was still traumatized. Firepaw approached him with symphony and placed his tail on Ravenpaw's shoulder for comfort. He knew that Ravenpaw would rather think of other solutions than fight, and the threat of being caught the crossfire of the conflict between Shadowclan and Windclan really scared him. Firepaw knew that talking about something else would cheer Ravenpaw up.
"So I saw the fresh kill pile this morning, looks like you've done well." Firepaw complimented.
"Yep and we've still got the rest of the afternoon to hunt, do you want to join us?" Greypaw asked.
"You bet!" Firepaw beamed.
"Great, than lets go!" Greypaw meowed.
All three apprentices bounded off and went off hunting, but even that didn't cheer up Ravenpaw. After a long day of hunting, Firepaw, Greypaw, and Ravenpaw came back to camp with lots of prey. Everyone was impressed, especially since they had to go back and forth to get the rest of the prey they caught. Firepaw was proud of how much he had caught, especially when the patrol returned to camp and were generally impressed.
"Well done, I hear you've been busy. The store is almost full, you might as well add the rest to the fresh-kill pile and take some of it with you. You deserve a feast!" Lionheart meowed.
All three apprentices beamed with delight.
"You haven't been neglecting your duties with Yellowfang, have you?" Tigerclaw asked, growling.
Firepaw shook his head and he, Ravenpaw, and Greypaw headed towards their spot and lied down. All three of them ate their prey and as they did, they talked about their day.
"Hey, guess what, Ravenpaw squeezed a compliment out of Tigerclaw, this morning." Greypaw meowed.
"What?! How did you manage to do that?" Firepaw meowed shocked.
"Well, I caught a crow." Ravenpaw begin.
"How did you do that? I thought you were still learning on how to fly?" Firepaw asked confused.
"It was an old one and it was barely flying. All I had to do was fly up a bit and catch it." Ravenpaw explained.
"Yeah but it was huge, even Tigerclaw couldn't find fault with that! Halftail was impressed too. Tigerclaw's been in a bad mood ever since Bluestar made you her apprentice. Actually, since Lionheart was made deputy." Greypaw meowed.
"He's just worried about Shadowclan and the extra patrols, you should try to not annoy him." Ravenpaw warned.
Suddenly, a loud yowl was heard and it came from the other side of the clearing. Firepaw, Greypaw, and Ravenpaw perked in alarm.
"Oh, no. I forgot to give Yellowfang her share." Firepaw meowed.
"Wait here, I'll give her something." Greypaw offered.
"No, let me. This is my punishment, remember?" Firepaw refused.
"Relax, I insist. And besides, no one will notice; I'll be quiet as a mouse and quick as a fish. Stay here." Greypaw insisted.
Before Firepaw could respond, Greypaw was already on his way to the fresh-kill pile. Firepaw laid back down, almost relieved to have not done so himself.
"So, where's Dustpaw and Sandpaw?" Ravenpaw asked.
"I think they're still out on patrol." Firepaw meowed.
"Good. Peace and quiet." Ravenpaw purred.
He continued eating his prey as Firepaw continued to watch Greypaw. Greypaw approached the fresh-kill pile and grabbed two mice, then headed towards the medicine cat den.
"Greypaw, stop!" a voice yowled.
Greypaw stopped and turned around. Tigerclaw approached him and was suspicious.
"Greypaw, where are you taking those mice?" he asked.
"Uhhh…" he stammered.
"You're not helping Firepaw by feeding Yellowfang, are you?" Tigerclaw asked suspiciously.
"And if I am, what are you going to do about it?" Greypaw meowed confident.
Firepaw and Ravenpaw flattened their ears and they were alarmed. They didn't know why Greypaw had said that, no one has ever spoke to Tigerclaw like that and he was furious.
"Greypaw, this is Firepaw's punishment, this is his responsibility! You are not suppose to help him!" Tigerclaw roared.
"Oh come on Tigerclaw, it's only just this one time. Why does it matter?" he argued.
"BECAUSE IT'S JUST HOW IT IS!" Tigerclaw yowled.
Before Greypaw could say anything, Firepaw had enough and ran up to the two.
"That's enough, this isn't necessary. I've got this, Greypaw." He meowed
Firepaw picked up the two mice Greypaw accidently dropped and carried them to the medicine cat den. Greypaw and Tigerclaw glared at each other for a few more minutes, than Tigerclaw walked away. Firepaw came back from the medicine cat den and he and Greypaw walked back to Ravenpaw
"I'm sorry about Tigerclaw." Firepaw meowed.
"Don't worry about it. Tigerclaw and I haven't really gotten along, especially since I was a kit." Greypaw meowed.
