As per usual, Sparkpaw rose just before the sun. Firepaw and Graypaw were both still snoozing, but Sandpaw's nest was empty. She hadn't been gone long though, by the smell. Sparkpaw debated laying back down but knew she wouldn't be able to stay down long. Once she was awake, that was it. She was up. She left her brother and his friend to sleep and exited the den, blinking bleary eyes in the weak light of dawn.

Redtail's body was still in the clearing, but it seemed like the vigil was over. Sparkpaw watched in morbid curiosity as a bunch of old cats gathered around it- him, sorry, him- and picked him up, sharing the weight equally. The cats that had spent the night in the open were standing around, watching the progression sadly. Both Bluestar and Sandpaw were among them, and the pain in both of their eyes made Sparkpaw think they weren't just watching a Clanmate go.

Sandpaw was the first of the two she-cats to realize she was watching them. Her morose expression immediately shifted to a glare. Sparkpaw debated giving a cheerful smile, just to annoy her, but a glance at the red tail disappearing through the camp entrance for the last time made her think it might not be the best time for her usual shenanigans.

So instead she turned away from Sandpaw and started grooming herself. She was twisting around to wash her spine when she became aware of a shadow hovering over her. Sparkpaw righted herself with a frown and gusted a sigh when she realized the shadow was Lionheart. "Oh, it's you." she grumbled, going back to her bath. "What do you want? Here to humiliate me again?"

He huffed right back at her. "It was for your own good and you know it. Infections aren't fun and can kill even the strongest warrior if left unchecked." Sparkpaw didn't even try to hide the mocking 'blah blah blah', and Lionheart growled at her. "If you're awake enough to be this belligerent you're awake enough to go on dawn patrol. Come on, up!"

She gaped at his retreating back but scrambled to catch up. Dawn patrol? So soon? She didn't even know the territory yet! How was she supposed to keep up with the rest of the patrol if she didn't know where she was going? That's it, Lionheart was getting gutter slime in his nest. Or whatever the forest equivalent was. Maybe that mousebile stuff Spottedleaf had mentioned… But he'd certainly get something!

He led her up to three cats, all of them varying shades of brown. The smallest was a she-cat, though she was still bigger than Sparkpaw was. She was a solid pale brown color, with a large recently healed scar on her shoulder. Currently she was glaring at one of the toms in such a way that Sparkpaw instinctively knew they were siblings.

The tom on the receiving end of the glare had a mischievous smile on his face and a teasing glint in his green eyes. He was an identical shade of brown to the she-cat, but his pelt was struck through with thin tabby stripes. He wasn't the bulkiest of cats, but his legs were long and slender. Sparkpaw wanted very much to face him in a race, just to see how fast he could go.

The last cat was also a tom, and a familiar one at that. Longtail scowled away from the pair of siblings, and was the first of the three of them to realize they had an audience. He nodded at Lionheart in respect and completely turned his back on Sparkpaw, making her grip the ground with her claws in fury. Looked like Lionheart wasn't the only cat getting mousebile in their nest.

Lionheart cleared his throat to get their attention. "Everybody, I'm sure you remember, but this is Sparkpaw." He gestured to Sparkpaw, who nodded once before going back to glaring at Longtail. "She will be joining you for dawn patrol. Sparkpaw, this is Mousefur," here the she-cat nodded, "and Runningwind." He chirped a friendly greeting and Sparkpaw instantly decided she liked him. "I see you remember Longtail…"

She said nothing, only growling low in her throat. Longtail sneered at her before frowning at Lionheart. "All due respect, we aren't kitsitters, Lionheart. Can't you find something else for her to do? She won't be able to keep up."

Okay, that was it! Sparkpaw dropped into a crouch with her tail lashing, ready to pounce, when somebody came to her defense. "Ah, come on Longtail, lighten up! At least give her a chance." He winked at Sparkpaw, and she was so surprised she dropped her guard, blinking back and sitting back up. "Personally I think you'll fit in just great. Tigerclaw was whining-" and here Mousefur shoved him, to which Runningwind rolled his eyes, "-right, sorry, I meant complaining. Tigerclaw was complaining about your disrespect last night. Any cat that can call him Stripebutt to his face is alright with me!"

Sparkpaw spluttered a laugh, once more caught off guard by him. "I. Wow. I had actually forgotten about that." She and Runningwind stared at each other for three heartbeats before she declared, "You know what? I like you. We're friends now, you have no choice in the matter."

Runningwind chuckled with a lopsided half-grin. "No complaints here." He looked up at Lionheart. "We'll take care of her."

Lionheart nodded decisively. "Good. Bring her by the sandy hollow when you're done." He looked down at Sparkpaw once more with narrowed eyes. "Listen carefully to what they say, Sparkpaw. I'm sending you to the RiverClan border this morning. They might still be sore from yesterday. Don't start anything, and above all, be careful. Understand?"

Normally Sparkpaw would have brushed him off, but even she could understand the gravity of the situation. If RiverClan wanted to take revenge for their deputy's death, now would be the time to do it. "Got it. I'll behave, for once." She waved her tail and followed the warriors out.

The forest was only just waking up. Bird song filled the air, calling to each other in their little birdy voices. Sparkpaw paused to take a deep breath, sinking her claws deep into the earth. She hadn't been able to do that in town. The ground there was either asphalt, concrete, or freshly cut lawn. There wasn't any wild greenery like here.

"Sparkpaw?" She turned to the voice and found Runningwind looking at her curiously. Mousefur and Longtail had gone ahead. Sparkpaw smiled and ducked her head, genuinely sheepish. Curiosity turned to amusement and Runningwind chuckled lightly. "I guess to somebody not used to it, the forest could be fascinating. I'll give you a tour later, if you want?"

Her tail curled happily at the offer, and Sparkpaw trotted up to stand beside him. "That sounds way more fun than going around with stuffy old Lionheart! He'd probably be all," she dropped her voice to try and imitate the tom in question, "'I'm the warrior, you're the apprentice, I'm old and grumpy and have no sense of humor so you have to do what I say and blah blah blah!'" She was satisfied to see Runningwind absolutely losing it, tripping over his own paws because he couldn't see.

He was almost wheezing by the time they reached the other two members of their patrol. Mousefur took one look at him and heaved a sigh with a shake of the head. "Great. He's gonna be useless for the rest of the day." she meowed dryly, visibly unimpressed.

Seeing Runningwind was in no state to defend himself, Sparkpaw meowed sweetly, "Aw, don't be like that, Mousefur." Pause for dramatic effect. "I'm sure he's useless all the time!"

Even Mousefur had to snort and grin at that. The only cat that didn't seem to be amused was Longtail. He aimed a scowl right at Sparkpaw before whipping around and stalking through the bushes. She made a face at his retreating back and huffed. Apparently Lionheart and Tigerclaw weren't the only cats that had no sense of humor.

Runningwind finally calmed down and shook himself. "Okay. Okay. I'm good now. Let's go." Mousefur led them, following Longtail's trail. Sparkpaw kept step with Runningwind, trusting him to not steer her into a bush. Though if he was anything like her, that might be just asking to walk into a thornbush… "Don't let Longtail get you down too much." Runningwind suddenly meowed. Sparkpaw swung her head around to stare at him, silently asking why in the hell she should do that. "He's not always so bad. I think your brother just wounded his pride."

That drew a snicker and smirk from her. "He wounded more than his pride. Did you see Longtail's ear? Rustbucket nearly ripped it in half! So proud of him. Is this what it's like for mamas seeing their kits grow up? I can ALMOST see the appeal!"

Mousefur's voice drifted from just ahead, but she didn't turn around to speak to their faces. "That makes one of us, at least. I have no desire for little claws digging into my side or running all over me."

Sparkpaw brightened up considerably and trotted forward to pad at Mousefur's side, leaning down to grin in her face. "Exactly! Like, I like kits well enough, but only when they belong to somebody else. I get the fun part, they get the tantrums and bath time and the endless questions."

There was an amused quirk to Mousefur's mouth now as she regarded Sparkpaw out of the corner of her eye. "I feel sorry for your brother in the future, then." That was a long, LONG way into the future, but the truth of had Sparkpaw throwing her head back and laughing. She laughed until Mousefur nudged her with her shoulder. "Hush! We're almost there, and the RiverClan cats can probably hear you laughing from camp."

Sparkpaw was still grinning, but she nodded in understanding and dropped back to Runningwind. He was grinning as well, but he didn't say anything. He just made a face at her, prompting her to make a face at him, and they exchanged increasingly moronic faces until Mousefur swung around to glare at them. Both warrior and apprentice gave apologetic smiles with flattened ears. As soon as her back was turned, they went back to it. The heavy sigh from Mousefur made Sparkpaw sure she knew exactly what was going on behind her back.

Eventually the three of them caught up with Longtail, who was sitting by himself beside a bramble bush. "About time!" he hissed, glaring at them. Well, glaring specifically at Sparkpaw. Her good mood evaporated, and she scowled back. "I told Lionheart you would slow us down, and I was right!"

Sparkpaw closed her eyes so as not to look at Longtail any longer. Deep breaths, Sparkpaw. Deep breaths. In, out. In, out. Maybe if she did this enough times the urge to shove him into the river would abate some. To everybody listening, she declared, "I'm going to hurt him. If he keeps going on like that, I can promise all of you: I am going. To. Hurt. Him."

She heard Longtail snort and guessed he was about to open his big fat mouth again when Mousefur suddenly moved to stand directly between them. Sparkpaw opened her eyes and watched Mousefur move closer to Longtail. "Come on, we'll split up." The warrior she-cat meowed. "Longtail and I will go north. You guys take the south. When you're finished, go to the sandy hollow like Lionheart wanted. If you see any RiverClan cats, don't engage, alright? Come find us so we can challenge them together."

Runningwind meowed an agreement and laid his tail across Sparkpaw's shoulders, gently herding her downwind. She went without a fuss only because she didn't want her new friend getting into trouble. When they were far enough out of range that she was sure they wouldn't be heard, she growled and swiped her claws on a bush, ripping off a few leaves in her temper. "You'd think Firepaw shredding him would teach him to keep his comments to himself. Do I have to scar his OTHER ear for him to respect us?"

Her companion shrugged helplessly, watching her get her frustrations out on that one bush. "He's not normally like this, I promise. Normally he's pretty cool! Funny and nice and friendly and always willing to either hang out or go on a walk…"

The far-away tone of voice made Sparkpaw freeze. She slowly turned to face him and, yep, his eyes had gone misty, and that crooked grin on his face could only be the result of one thing. Sparkpaw pointed a paw at him with a disgusted face. "Ew, you have a crush on him!"

Runningwind snapped back to attention with his tail fluffed out and his eyes wide. "No I don't!" He denied, far too quickly for it to be honest. Then he seemed to falter, and he ducked his head to stare at his shuffling paws. "Would… would that be a problem, if I did?"

Sparkpaw glowered. How could he even ask that? "Of course it's a problem!" She growled, causing him to flinch. She went on though, stalking about and lashing her tail. "How could you like him, of all cats? Aren't there any other eligible toms in the Clan? Lionheart, Whitestorm, Tigerclaw?" Then she stopped and shook her head wildly. "Wait, no, not Tigerclaw. He's worse. But I suppose he's better than Darkstripe. Spirits help whatever sad creature finds HIM attractive!"

She would have continued on with her tirade but Runningwind cut her off first. His eyes were wide with bewilderment and he seemed confused. "Wait, I mean, you don't have a problem with me? Liking other toms?"

Now Sparkpaw was equally confused. She blinked at him and tilted her head curiously. "No? Why would I?" Then she lit up with understanding. "Oh wait, is that what you meant when you asked if it would be a problem? Has somebody said something about it? Because I will claw them for you, no questions asked." She meant it, too. "It's not like that on the streets in town. You like who you like and it's nobody's business but your own. I knew a she-cat that was strictly into she-cats, a tom who was into both, even a tom who wasn't into anything. Sexualities, at least for strays, isn't a huge thing. It's as much a part of you as your tabby stripes or your eye color."

Runningwind looked like he was about to cry. He blinked at her in equal parts intense relief and astonishment. "I think… I think we Clan cats might have underestimated the cats in twolegplace." He meowed faintly, shaking his head. "I like both toms and she-cats, but I honestly lean more towards the former. I had kits with Dappletail once, when both of us were younger. Cricketkit and Featherkit. But both died before they were 2 moons old. Featherkit was born deaf and somehow got out. We think a fox took her. Cricketkit died of greencough the following leafbare."

He closed his eyes and bowed his head, possibly remembering the two kits. Sparkpaw got close and pressed their sides together, trying to comfort him. But how could you comfort a cat who'd lost his kits before they even had a chance to gain personalities? She let him come back on his own and only pulled away when he did with a shake of his head. "Anyway. I think it was a sign from StarClan. I only had those kits because the Clan needed warriors, not because I wanted them or loved Dappletail or anything. So now I only set my eyes on toms."

Sparkpaw nodded seriously. "And there's nothing wrong with that. Just because you lean more towards toms than you do she-cats doesn't erase what you are. And do you know what you are?" Runningwind shook his head and gazed at her expectantly. He was probably expecting some deep, meaningful compliment about all his virtues. Frankly the conversation had gotten far too solemn for Sparkpaw's tastes, and she did her best to shatter the tension with all the tact of a blindfolded hyperactive dog. "An idiot." Runningwind spluttered a shocked laugh, and Sparkpaw spoke over him. "Because seriously, who looks at Longtail and thinks, 'I'm gonna bang that'?"

Runningwind was back to howling hysterically. Any prey that might have been in the area had probably fled to the other side of the forest, but Sparkpaw couldn't bring herself to regret the way Runningwind was smiling now. "Little miss, you are absolutely incorrigible." He wheezed.

Sparkpaw snickered and nudged him. "Can't be serious for too long. Might make you think I'm a softy." She trotted ahead in the direction Runningwind had first been heading. He caught up before she got too far and steered her in the correct direction.

They walked in comfortable silence for a bit before a repulsive smell suddenly hit Sparkpaw's nose. "Ugh, what is that smell?!" She hissed, holding her paw on front of her nose. That did absolutely nothing to block the smell. "That's worse than Spottedleaf's herbs from yesterday!"

Runningwind chuckled and flicked her ear with his tail. "That, my friend, is RiverClan. It smells like we just missed their dawn patrol, so count yourself lucky you won't have to meet them yet!" He pushed his way through some ferns, holding them to the side so she could follow. Such a gentleman. The sudden lack of shade had her blinking, and she gasped.

In front of them was a collection of large gray rocks of varying sizes. Some were on their sides and some were standing tall. A few were leaning on others, creating little pocket caves and gullies. Sparkpaw perked her ears and heard the shuffling of wee tiny paws. Prey was here, and suddenly her stomach rumbled. Lionheart hadn't let her eat before shunting her off on patrol.

Runningwind gave another amused look and whispered, "Hungry?" It's not like she could deny it. Sparkpaw nodded self-consciously, hating herself just a little for the admission, and Runningwind nodded back. "Wait here."

He slunk out into the open on silent paws, opening his mouth to taste the air and swiveling his ears. Sparkpaw watched, fascinated. Hunting had never been Asha's strong suit and, subsequently, it wasn't Sparkpaw's either. This was the first time she'd ever seen somebody actually stalking something they planned on eating.

Runningwind suddenly darted forward and hooked his claws onto a tiny furry body and flung it in the air, in Sparkpaw's direction. She instinctively lunged forward and caught it, killing it with a bite to the neck. Then she stopped and stared at it. Was… was that technically her first kill? No, she decided. Runningwind had caught it for her. It hadn't taken any skill on her part. She hadn't even smelled it.

Actually what was it? She looked closer and realized she didn't actually know. It was pudgy, whatever it was, with a short face and brown body and almost no tail to speak of. "Well?" Runningwind asked, coming over with his own fresh-kill. "Aren't you gonna eat it?"

Sparkpaw looked back and forth between him and the thing between her paws. She started off with a glare, "Longtail never finds out about this." She waited for Runningwind to nod before continuing her confession. "I have no idea what this is."

Runningwind choked on the bite he had in his mouth, and Sparkpaw had to whack him on his back to get him to spit it out. He gasped and wheezed and made a visible effort to restrain himself from wasting his precious breath on laughing. "Vole. It's a vole. How have you never seen one?"

Sparkpaw shrugged in discomfort, aware this time he was actually laughing AT her. "As you may have guessed, I spent more time going deeper into town than Firepaw did. He's the one that hung out near the forest enough to maybe recognize the critters." She bent forward to take a bite, avoiding Runningwind's eyes at the same time. That first bite would forever implant itself in her brain as the most fantastic thing she had ever tasted.

She must have made a blissed out face or a pleased noise because Runningwind seemed far too self satisfied when he asked, "Good?" Sparkpaw nodded happily, not letting the flavors on her tongue go to waste by speaking. "I'm glad. If Lionheart doesn't teach you hunting today, I'll take you out later on our more in-depth tour." She hummed again, and they finished their meals in silence. When he was done, Runningwind got to his paws. "Bury that when you're done so it doesn't attract any unsavory predators. You'll learn what foxes and badgers smell like eventually."

Made sense. For however experienced she might consider herself, she can say she'd never met a fox or badger. Sparkpaw dug a hole only just deep enough to completely bury the body and rolled it in with her nose, using her paws to pat the shallow grave flat until you could barely see where it was. Once she was satisfied, she nodded at Runningwind, and he took off at a trot with Sparkpaw dutifully following.

As they patrolled, he also gave her the rundown on RiverClan. Their leader was a large tom called Crookedstar. He had a broken jaw that he'd had for longer than Runningwind had been alive. When she asked curiously how it happened, he could only shrug helplessly. She'd only been kidding when she called him useless earlier, but now she was beginning to actually wonder.

He also told her about deputies. With Oakheart's death, the new deputy would have been chosen at moonhigh the previous night. ThunderClan wouldn't know who it was until either the next Gathering, which was that night, or if any of the patrols ran into each other. Sparkpaw remembered that Redtail had been deputy, and that she'd have been in the medicine den with Spottedleaf and Ravenpaw when Bluestar chose the new one. "Wait, so who replaced Redtail last night then? I didn't hear."

For some reason Runningwind took his time answering, swiveling his ears and flicking his eyes about, like he was scanning every inch of land for intruders. Then he casually went, "Hm? Oh, it was Lionheart. Lionheart's our new deputy." Then he turned to watch Sparkpaw's reaction, and she did not disappoint.

Sparkpaw tripped and faceplanted into the ground. The cut on her nose she'd forgotten about abruptly reminded her it indeed existed, and Sparkpaw mumbled an "ow" when she picked herself up. She ignored it for the moment and spun on Runningwind with a distressed face. "Not him! He was already so bossy last night! Now he's gonna be damn near impossible to put up with!"

Stupid Runningwing was laughing again. He'd spent so much time laughing in the little time they'd spent together Sparkpaw wouldn't be surprised if his chest would be sore later. She glowered at him and gave him a shove, making him fall down onto his side. He made no effort to get up, laughing away. He was such a jerk! Sparkpaw was already regretting that she'd chosen him to be her best friend.

He took his time calming down too. By the time he'd settled enough to move on, Sparkpaw was just about ready to leave him. She'd take her chances getting lost in the forest, thank you very much. Runningwind wiped away an actual tear from his eye and grinned crookedly. "Okay, I'm done, I promise. I swear. No more tricks or jokes." Sparkpaw gave him a dirty look, and he amended it sheepishly. "...For now. No more tricks or jokes for now."

Not much better, but she'd take it. "How much farther do we need to go?" she asked, glancing up at the sky. The sun was further up than when they started, sending it's rays stretching to the earth below. Lionheart would be expecting her soon. Not that she cared! He could rot in that Sandy Hollow place for all she cared. Because she didn't. Care, that is.

Runningwind also glanced up to check the sun and, for some reason, winced. "Oooooh, we're in trouble. We're late! He'll think the patrol is in trouble." He glanced between the border and back into the forest and nodded decisively. "We've checked it well enough. The odds of something happening in the stretch of territory that we didn't get to are like a bajillion to one." He started off at a jog and Sparkpaw had to work to stay with him. "If I run, will you be able to keep up?" he asked seriously, not looking at her.

Sparkpaw knew beyond a shadow of a doubt she couldn't. But hey, she'd wanted to race him. Now was her chance. "Keep up? Maybe you will have to keep up with me." She flashed an arrogant smirk in his direction, fully intending on goading him into a challenge. The smirk on his face pulled her up short, and without a warning, Runningwind shot off. "HEY." she yowled, barreling after him.