Chapter 8
The moon was high in the sky by the time that the group returned to the camp. Tikipaw could hear crickets chirping in the distance as Skyfeather and Stonewing led the group to the hole in the undergrowth wall, holding the curtain open for the two apprentices. Tikipaw murmured her gratitude as she slipped in after Taikapaw, letting her muscles relax a bit.
"What do we do with these?" Taikapaw finally asked, dropping his paper towel roll in front of him and looking up at Stonewing expectantly. "We're not just gonna leave them here, right?"
"Oh, right," Stonewing said. He motioned to a spot near the tree at the center of the camp, where some materials rested. Moonlight filtered into the camp through the hole in the dome around the tree, casting a pale blue glow onto the hard-packed dirt floor. Spots of light danced across the ground as stars shone through the gaps in the dome.
Tikipaw and Taikapaw moved forward to drop their bundles onto the pile when a voice startled them out of their sleep-induced reveries.
"I see you've made it back," Sparkstar rumbled, yawning a little bit as he silently dropped to the ground next to them. "Well done. I had a feeling you could do it."
"Thank you, sir," Tikipaw said nervously, smiling sheepishly. "I didn't."
The tom chuckled quietly. "Ah, don't put yourself down so quickly, Tikipaw. You've done well." His gaze flitted between her and Taikapaw. "You and your brother."
Taikapaw smiled proudly as Sparkstar turned to Stonewing and Skyfeather. "Have you evaluated them yet?"
Skyfeather dipped her head in respect. "Yes, Sparkstar." She looked towards Stonewing. "We've determined what factions they'll be suited for."
"Excellent. Meet me in the leader's den so we can discuss." With that, Sparkstar clambered back up the tree and into his den.
Skyfeather met Tikipaw's eyes regretfully. "I'm sorry. I had hoped to show you to the apprentices' den." She motioned over to a den on the opposite side of the camp, across from where they were standing. "I trust that you and Taikapaw can find your way, though. Some of the other apprentices might be awake, but try not to disturb anybody."
Tikipaw dipped her head. "Thank you."
Skyfeather smiled warmly. "No problem, Tikipaw. Now, go to sleep. You look dead on your paws."
Tikipaw and Taikapaw headed across the camp to the den's entrance as Stonewing and Skyfeather climbed the tree to go meet Sparkstar. The apprentices' den was large, nearly as big as another on the opposite side of the clearing, and the entrance was padded with plant material to complement the branches that the structure was made of. Taikapaw led the way in, and Tikipaw followed, blinking as her eyes became accustomed to the light level.
There were five other cats in the den, all sleeping on beds of fabric. A charcoal tom was twitching a little, and a gray she-cat lay curled in a ball next to one of the den's walls. Two other cats slept peacefully, which soon became three, as Taikapaw sank into an empty bed and immediately started snoring.
What Tikipaw wasn't expecting was to see a pair of glowing, golden eyes looking at her.
"Um, hi," she said nervously, after a healthy hiss of fear.
A pretty silver she-cat emerged from the shadowed corner of the den to sit next to Tikipaw. "Hi, you're one of the new apprentices, right? I'm Oquirrhpaw, how are you? All of the other apprentices have been talking about you all day, I'm excited to meet you!" She said all of this very fast and very quietly.
Tikipaw blinked. "Hi. I'm, uh, Tikipaw."
Oquirrhpaw snorted with laughter, yellow eyes glinting with mirth. "Sorry. I just had to see how you'd respond to that. Anyway, hi, Tikipaw. Welcome to TreeClan! I promise that everyone else is just as sane as I am."
Tikipaw chuckled. "Then I guess I have nothing to worry about, huh?"
Oquirrhpaw smiled. "Yeah, it's pretty great. Training gets a little harder once you've been here for a while. I haven't, though. Littlepaw and Sweetpaw are the older apprentices. My brothers and I were just made apprentices a few weeks ago. What faction are you in? I'm in the Raiders, but I work part-time in the Hunters," she said, winking.
"I don't know yet," Tikipaw admitted. "My mentor said that I'll be sorted tomorrow, but I don't even know what the factions are."
Tikipaw was surprised to feel a fluffy tail rest over hers. Oquirrhpaw smiled at her. "Maybe we'll be in the same faction. My mentor is Cloudsky, and she's in the Raiders too. Yours is Skyfeather, right? She's a Raider as well. Sparkstar has a knack for guessing." She frowned. "I think the last time that he made a mistake was with Fleetpaw, but no one talks about him and I don't remember that."
"Why not?"
"'Cause he died." Oquirrhpaw couldn't resist laughing at the expression on Tikipaw's face. "Ah, it's not a huge deal. I mean, it's super sad and whatnot, and Littlepaw and Sweetpaw and Morningsight and Stonewing haven't been the same since, but…" Her ears drooped. "We're used to death."
Tikipaw looked away and out the den's entrance. "You really are in a war, aren't you?"
"Yeah, but it's not all bad. It's awesome to have a reason to kick SwardClan butt." Oquirrhpaw bared her teeth. "Ever since Foreststar died, SwardClan's been all up in our business, constantly trying to nab our territory. I think Riddlestar thinks that our peace agreement died with her."
Tikipaw frowned, looking at her. "How long have you guys been here?"
"Silverbranch started TreeClan years and years ago. Nobody knows how many years that is, but…"
Tikipaw nodded awkwardly, and the two sat in silence for a minute. "Can I expect to see you tomorrow?" she asked the silver cat.
Oquirrhpaw looked up at the ceiling, a concentrated look on her face. "Maybe. I hope so. It's been awesome, talking to you."
Tikipaw smiled shyly. "You too."
"Now let's get to sleep before our mentors have our heads," Oquirrhpaw joked before heading back over to her corner. She looked back at Tikipaw. "Do you want to come sleep by me? I promise I don't snore," she swore, curling her tail in a loop.
Tikipaw looked back at Taikapaw on the other side of the den unsurely before turning back to the she-cat. "Yeah, sure."
Tikipaw settled into a gray-green lump of fleece next to Oquirrhpaw's bright purple nest and looked at her newfound friend. Huh, she thought. I didn't think anyone would like me.
As Tikipaw curled into a ball and let her head rest on the bed, she felt a long, fluffy tail brush the fur on her side, and she brought her tail to touch Oquirrhpaw's. The she-cat let out a contented purr that was slowly replaced by even snores. Tikipaw chuckled to herself and slowly exhaled. Her consciousness slowly faded from the world as she fell into dreams of sunsets, fire, and gray.
