Chapter 10

A quarter moon has passed and it had rained last night. By morning, the camp was damp and wet, water was dripping outside and inside some dens. The sky was cloudy and the air was humid and damp. Firepaw woke up and went outside. He was damp, so he shook his fur until it rose a bit. For the past moon, he had learned some new techniques, both hunting and fighting, and he was learning how to fight without his powers. Firepaw headed towards the medicine cat den and entered to see Yellowfang sleeping. Her burns had miraculously recovered and her fur had grown back. Through a few conversations, Brokenstar would be coming today to pick her up and Thunderclan and Shadowclan would be even. Yellowfang started to wake up and saw Firepaw in front of her.

"Good morning, Yellowfang." He meowed.

"Firepaw, what are you doing here?" she asked tired.

"I just came to see how you were doing. You're a bit wet." He meowed.

"Ah, so you've noticed. Can you get some dry bedding for me over there, please?" Yellowfang asked.

"Of course, Yellowfang." Firepaw meowed.

He went to the corner of the medicine cat den and got some dry moss. He walked back to Yellowfang and started replacing the wet moss.

"So, are you excited to see your clanmates?" Firepaw asked.

"Yes, especially my kits, mate, and apprentice, Runningnose." Yellowfang purred.

"Oh, you have other kits?" Firepaw asked surprised.

"Yes, they're names are Wishsong and Hopewing." Yellowfang meowed.

"And what are their powers?" Firepaw asked.

"Wishsong has the ability to grant wishes when she whistle a birds song. Hopewing gives hope with the flap of her wings." Yellowfang meowed.

"Wow, that's really cool." Firepaw meowed surprised.

"Yep." Yellowfang purred.

Suddenly, a yowl was heard. Firepaw and Yellowfang's ears perked and Firepaw came out of the den. Escorted by Bluestar and Whitestorm, Brokentail had arrived along with a grey she-cat with white wings and blue eyes and a ginger she-cat with darker stripes and yellow eyes. If Firepaw had to guess, the grey she-cat with wings was Hopewing and the ginger she-cat was Wishsong. Brokentail, Wishsong, and Hopewing approached the medicine cat den and Firepaw got out of the way. Wishsong looked at Firepaw with a glare and was close to attacking him, but Brokentail held her back with his tail and shook his head. All three cats entered the medicine cat den and Firepaw stuck around. He didn't mean to overhear, but he couldn't help his curiosity.

"How's your father doing? I noticed that he didn't come." Yellowfang meowed.

"He got another infection on one of his wounds. It got so bad that he lost another life. Runningnose and I are trying, but…I don't know what else to do." Hopewing meowed solemnly.

"How many lives does he have left?" Yellowfang asked.

"We're not sure, maybe four or three?" Brokentail guessed.

Yellowfang sighed.

"I should be there, its clear that something's wrong." She meowed.

"Well, you wanna go home now?" Brokentail asked.

"Yes, I'd like that." Yellowfang purred.

She started to stand up and Brokentail, Wishsong, and Hopewing were amazed by how well she had recovered. They left the den and Firepaw scurried away, to make sure they hadn't noticed him snooping and just pretended to do nothing. Yellowfang, Brokentail, Wishsong, and Hopewing started to leave, but stopped in front of Firepaw.

"Firepaw, I see that you've taken care of my mother well." Brokentail smiled.

"He sure did." A voice meowed.

Firepaw perked and looked to see Spottedleaf behind him.

"Ah yes, Spottedleaf, Bluestar, thank you for all you've done, we really appreciate it." Brokentail meowed.

"Of course. Give Raggedstar my regards, will you?" Bluestar meowed.

"Of course." Brokentail nodded.

Brokentail, Yellowfang, Wishsong, and Hopewing left the camp with Whitestorm and Lionheart behind them. Spottedleaf headed to her den and Bluestar put her tail on Firepaw's shoulder.

"Come to my den, I need to talk to you." She meowed.

Firepaw followed Bluestar to her den and both cats sat down.

"Firepaw, for the past few moons, you've been taking care of Yellowfang and learning some hunting and fighting techniques, with and without your powers. I think it's time to start an assessment." Bluestar meowed.

"Really?!" Firepaw meowed surprised.

"Yes. Now come, Tigerclaw, Lionheart, Ravenpaw, and Greypaw will be meeting us at the Sandy Hollow." Bluestar meowed.

Firepaw nodded and both cats left the den. They left camp and headed for the Sandy Hollow. Once they got there, Tigerclaw, Lionheart, Ravenpaw, and Greypaw were sitting on the sand, but stood up when they saw Bluestar and Firepaw.

"Bluestar." Lionheart and Tigerclaw greeted.

"Hello Lionheart, Tigerclaw." Bluestar meowed.

All six cats sat down; with Bluestar, Lionheart, and Tigerclaw sitting in front of Firepaw, Greypaw, and Ravenpaw.

"Today you'll have a chance to show us how much all of you have learned. Each of you will take a different route and hunt as much prey as possible. Whatever you catch will be added to our supplies in the camp." Lionheart instructed.

"Ravenpaw, you will follow the trail beyond the Great Sycamore to Snakerocks. You have my permission to fly to hunt for flying birds in the sky." Tigerclaw meowed.

Ravenpaw looked at his wings, than nodded.

"Greypaw, you'll take the route along the stream, far from the Thunderpath, got it?" Lionheart instructed.

"Got it." He nodded.

"Firepaw, you'll head to the tall pine tree area, past the twoleg place." Bluestar meowed.

Firepaw nodded and started to remember the route to where it was.

"Now remember, we'll be watching each of you to see your progress, so you better show us that you've learned something, got it?" Tigerclaw growled.

The three apprentices nodded and bounded off. Ravenpaw flew away, while Firepaw and Greypaw were on the hollow path.

"I don't know why Tigerclaw picked Snakerocks of all places! Besides an open area for birds, mice, vole, and rabbits stay away from there because there are so many snakes." Greypaw meowed.

"Can an adder's venom affect a cat if it bites his wings?" Firepaw asked.

"I think so, but I haven't heard of any stories where something like this happens, you'll have to ask Halftail." Greypaw meowed.

Firepaw nodded. Both cats continued walking until both cats reached trails that led to different places.

"Good luck, Firepaw. I'll see you back at camp!" Greypaw meowed.

He ran off to the stream while Firepaw ran to the other path. When he got to the tallpines area, he stopped, sniffed the air, and kept his eyes and ears open. A mouse ran past in his direction, so he got into a hunting crouch and stalked his prey. Remembering his lessons, Firepaw managed to remain undetected by the mouse, than he leaped onto it and killed it with one paw. Firepaw buried his prey, than continued walking into the area. He was curious about how this area was different than the other Thunderclan trees. Honestly, the tallpines area was huge, almost could be a territory for a group of rogues. Firepaw never asked about it, but he wondered if there was a group of cats that once stayed in the area. If they did, they were long gone by now. Getting rid of that uneasy feeling, Firepaw decided to head towards the twoleg place. He was getting close, familiar scents came back to him and he was hearing familiar sounds. Not wanting to be seen and remembering the force, Firepaw stayed behind a few trees and bushes and kept his distance. He knew Bluestar, Lionheart, and Tigerclaw would be watching him, so he sniffed the air, but there was no scent of prey. Firepaw did sniff another cat though, so he got into a hunting crouch and was on high alert. He saw movement, but the darker fur made him think it was Tigerclaw, so he calmed down and he started to relax, but when he saw white fur, Firepaw bristled with alarm and every basic instinct he learned came into mind. He knew he was going to have to chase the intruder out, but it wasn't another clan cat, so using his powers was out of the question. Firepaw got a closer look and saw a white and black tom with amber eyes and a green collar around his neck.

"A kittypet, in Thunderclan territory!" he thought.

Firepaw got into a hunting crouch and stalked the cat. Since it was a kittypet, Firepaw made sure to keep his thoughts and emotions in check and remembered the fighting techniques that didn't require his powers. With his mentor, Lionheart, or Tigerclaw watching him, Firepaw wanted to show that he had learned something and was going to prove it. However, after a closer look, Firepaw recognized the cat and realized that he wouldn't need to fight him after all.

"Smudge?" he wondered.