Firepaw felt the familiar taste of copper wash over his mouth as he bit the spine of his prey. The sparrow's eyes were black and dull. Lifeless. He closed his eyes briefly. Thank you, StarClan, for this prey. He opened them.
"Nice catch!" Stormpaw meowed, running over. "How much were you told to get?"
Lionheart and Tigerclaw had decided to assess the three apprentices in their hunting skills. They were all separated and weren't supposed to communicate, but Firepaw supposed he might as well respond.
"Four," Firepaw replied. "Weren't you?"
"Yeah. How many have you got so far?"
"This is my second one."
"Lucky," Stormpaw mewed. "I keep missing my catches. I only got one. Just a tiny mouse." He kicked up some dirt with a hind paw.
"Then shouldn't you be concentrating more to make up for your losses?" Firepaw asked. "I thought even you would be taking an assessment seriously."
"I am!" Stormpaw insisted, suddenly raising his voice angrily.
Firepaw lowered his ears, taken aback. "Sorry. Didn't mean to upset you."
Stormpaw sighed, "I shouldn't have reacted like that. I'm sorry."
"That's okay." Firepaw adopted a concerned tone. "Is everything alright?"
Stormpaw nodded, averting his gaze. "I'm gonna keep hunting. Good luck."
Firepaw opened his mouth to ask something else, but Stormpaw had already sped off between the oaks and undergrowth. The ginger tabby looked after him for a moment, then scraped dirt over his sparrow. He moved onto another part of the forest, knowing that Stormpaw would've scared any prey off.
Concern for his friend remained in his mind. As he walked through the forest, he couldn't shake the feeling that he should've tried harder to understand what was wrong. He was hardly thinking about prey in the midst of his concern. This caused him to miss multiple potential catches when he tried to catch them.
Firepaw had eventually come to the Thunderpath. A bright red monster sped by as he looked across. After it was long gone, the apprentice realized something: the strangely strong stench of ShadowClan wasn't from extra markers.
There was a trespasser.
Firepaw followed the scent trail, padding lightly. He searched his mind for the knowledge he'd learned about scents. It wasn't harsh, especially for a ShadowClan warrior. That meant it belonged to a she-cat.
He soon came across said she-cat. He looked at her from afar. She had dirty, matted gray fur and a wide, flat muzzle. Her eyes were closed, and she snored loudly. He approached her confidently. I'm really chasing away an enemy warrior. Wait until Stormpaw hears!
One of two orange eyes opened up to him. She sat up and opened both. "Why, look what we have," she purred. "A tough little kittypet!" Her tail curled with amusement.
Firepaw's eyes widened, and he bristled slightly. Could she still smell Twolegs on him? "I'm a loyal apprentice of ThunderClan! You're trespassing on my territory."
It was obvious that she could tell she'd hit a nerve. "Well, it seems the rumors about ThunderClan are true," she smirked. "They really are desperate enough to take in outsiders!"
"ThunderClan aren't desperate!" Firepaw growled. "We're doing just fine, thank you. Now you have to leave."
"Oh, is that so?" the ShadowClan cat asked. "That's a shame, little kittypet warrior. I intend to stay. I haven't even gotten to hunt! I think I'll stick around, thank you." She smiled a little wider.
Firepaw bristled more, trying to appear threatening. "Then I'll have to force you."
"I look forward to it," she told him casually. "Say, what's wrong? You seem upset."
"I don't like enemy warriors trespassing on my territory," Firepaw growled, fully aware of her mocking tone. "Final warning: leave."
She huffed and clambered to her paws. She towered over him, making him feel intimidated - not like he'd admit to it, of course. He boldly stared up at her with a hard green gaze.
"Well? Are you going? Or do I have to make you?"
She smiled teasingly. "You're very cute. I doubt you'd be able to make me, kitty, but I suppose my curiosity is too much. I just have to see for myself."
With that, she raised a forepaw and struck him with her claws. Firepaw yowled and pounced on her, surprised that he got a grip on her matted coat. He only got a few strikes in before she showed signs of flipping onto her back.
Right before she hit the ground, Firepaw hopped off and went for her now vulnerable stomach. As soon as he was in reach of it, she gripped him and switched the tide by pinning him down. She struck him multiple times.
Firepaw suddenly remembered the trick he'd used on Longtail. He slowed his breathing and laid still, closing his eyes. The she-cat stopped, and he could tell that she was contemplating on what to do next.
She yowled triumphantly, taking his stillness as submission. While she was celebrating, Firepaw attacked her and tried jumping on her again. Her surprise caused her to crumple underneath him. He saw a foreleg bend oddly as she fell to the ground. He rapidly scrambled off.
"I'm sorry!" Firepaw told her, his tough attitude falling to reveal sympathy. "I just wanted to chase you off. Are you alright?"
"Of course I'm not!" she growled. She tried standing, just to fall back down again.
"What's your name?" Firepaw asked calmly, hoping to lower her hostility so that she could accept help. It was wrong for him to pick a fight with a cat who looked so close to retirement.
"Yellowfang," she hissed. "Why's it matter, kittypet?"
"I'm sorry for hurting you, Yellowfang," he genuinely apologized. "Will you come back to camp with me? I can get you help from our medicine cat." He knew he'd be punished for trying to assist an enemy warrior, but he didn't care.
"No thanks!" Yellowfang huffed. "I don't need your help."
"Firepaw!" Lionheart meowed, jumping out from some undergrowth. "If I were watching you, I'd stop the fight before it began. However, I only just now arrived." He looked at Yellowfang. "Is ShadowClan in danger?"
Yellowfang murmured something.
"Louder?" Lionheart raised a brow.
"No, everything's fine," she hissed. "I've just decided to go my own way, that's all. Runningnose will be a fine replacement, so my loss won't be felt."
"What are you talking about?" Firepaw asked.
Lionheart looked down at the apprentice. "Yellowfang is - er, was ShadowClan's medicine cat." He turned back to her. "Come back to camp, and Spottedleaf will treat you. It's the least we could do to make up for your injuries."
"She was trespassing," Firepaw pointed out, although he agreed that she deserved treatment.
"We don't assert order through violence," Lionheart told him.
"I suppose a short visit is fine," Yellowfang sighed.
"I'll help you there," Lionheart meowed. "Firepaw, keep hunting until you have four pieces."
The two padded off, Yellowfang begrudgingly accepting support from Lionheart on the side with her bad leg. Firepaw watched until they were no longer visible, then began hunting again. He missed a few catches, but it wasn't long before he had another two.
"Go back to camp," Tigerclaw ordered, stepping out from where he'd watched him kill his final catch. "Do your duties. Ravenpaw is already there."
Firepaw nodded proudly. He carried his two mice by the tails, and he stuffed the two birds between his chin and chest. When he entered camp, he dropped the pieces on the fresh-kill pile. It looked as if the three apprentices alone would be providing most of the sunhigh meal. He snatched a gray squirrel that Ravenpaw must've caught.
"I hope that's for us," Frostfur meowed from where she lay in front of the nursery. "Cinderkit and Brackenkit are hungry."
"I love squirrel!" Cinderkit piped up.
"We don't have to eat meat yet, do we?" Thornkit asked.
"No," Firepaw answered for the queen as he set the squirrel down. "You and Brightkit aren't as big as Brackenkit and Cinderkit."
Brightkit sighed grumpily. "But it looks so good! Maybe just a little bite, Frostfur?" Her green eyes pleadingly stared up at her mother.
"Go play with Thornkit," Frostfur meowed without answering. "You two can nurse after I eat."
Brightkit lashed her tail, pouting. Thornkit pounced on her, catching her attention, and she chased him to the other side of camp. Cinderkit looked up at Firepaw again before joining Frostfur and Brackenkit for the meal. The ginger tabby went inside.
"Speckletail, do you want something?" he asked the tan tabby. She was easily the oldest cat in ThunderClan, yet she permanently resided in the nursery instead of retiring.
Speckletail opened an amber eye, her gentle snoring halting. "Get me a mouse," she requested sleepily.
Firepaw nodded and spoke before backing out, "Stormpaw will be in soon to clean your nests."
The apprentices had set up a system to deal with duties. Today Dustpaw and Sandpaw were off, while Stormpaw and Firepaw dealt with the nursery. Ravenpaw, Lynxpaw, Graypaw, and Swiftpaw would do the elders' den. The elders always required the most paws, since they needed more than the queens.
Firepaw chose the plumpest mouse from the pile, one that he'd caught, and he delivered it right to the spotted tabby. "There you are! Any ticks?" Whenever it was his turn to help with the nursery, he always offered; she was hardly different from the elders.
"Just one on my back," Speckletail mumbled. "Thanks."
Firepaw noticed that the oldest cats always treated him and Stormpaw nicely, most of the time. He figured that it was nothing but pity because they were outcast from everyone else. It made him feel like a kit. He didn't want sympathy; he wanted respect.
Firepaw crouched and parted her fur until he found the tick, black and round and still attached to her skin. Hopefully I won't have to get bile for this… he thought, carefully testing by gently tugging it with his teeth. Luckily, it let go easier than thought. He squeezed it between his teeth, killing it.
Firepaw left the den, letting the old queen eat. When he exited, he saw Lynxpaw watching as Graypaw and Swiftpaw play-fought. Ravenpaw silently observed from the stump, chewing on a bit of a magpie. The ginger tom ran over to the fresh-kill pile and selected a robin, then joined his friend.
this dumb app won't let me publish a longer chapter than this so this will be two parts. check back tomorrow morning about 7 eastern standard.