Lucky
Thank you Curse of the forest, Leafsplash, Jayfeather rules, Snowsong of SnowClan, Danyelle Harris, and Dawnstream for reviewing!
Jayfeather rules: Oh, oops! I didn't realize that—I'll try to fix it if I can!
Dawnstream: It would be nice if that happened, and I did think of it before I started the story, but then I found out that Firepaw and Snowpaw would actually be related. Since Cloudtail is kin of Firestar and Squirrelflight is his daughter.
Now, on to the chapter!
Chapter Four
Firepaw opened her jaws in a yawn as she stepped outside of the apprentices den, sunlight making her pelt look like a burst of flame. Her sleep had been disturbed many times by not only Dewpaw's nightmares, but bad dreams of her own. She was still bothered by Blossomfall's secretive nature about their special training, and she didn't seem even slightly bothered about lying to the Clan.
Maybe she's done it before, Firepaw had thought, but she immediately pushed the thought aside; she shouldn't be doubting the mentor that her father had assigned to her. Blossomfall must be the perfect choice for her if Bramblestar chose her.
Firepaw looked around the camp, trying to spot her mentor's tortoiseshell pelt. But all she could see was Dewpaw and Amberpaw sharing a mouse and Poppyfrost circling Brackenfur in an exasperated manner.
The orange tabby sighed in annoyance. Where's Blossomfall when you actually need her? She was about to start walking towards Bramblestar's den to see if she got sent on a patrol when a paw was placed on hers, stopping her.
Firepaw tensed, her claws sliding out to defend herself, but when she looked up, it was just Snowpaw. She immediately relaxed, sliding her claws back into the soft insides of her paws. "What do you need, Snowpaw?" she asked casually, her whiskers twitching in the slight breeze.
Snowpaw gazed at her with those hypnotizing amber eyes of his for a moment, and then meowed, "Toadstep told me I was training with you and Blossomfall today. We're all at the Sandy Hollow, so when you're ready, you can come there."
Firepaw nodded at him. "Thanks for telling me." She lightly brushed her nose across his muzzle for a few seconds and then turned around to walk towards the fresh-kill pile.
When she arrived there, she leaned down her head and picked up a sparrow in her jaws. Lifting her head again, Firepaw jumped in shock to see Snowpaw almost nose-to-nose with her.
"I'm sorry, Firepaw!" Snowpaw exclaimed, and then flattened his ears and looked down at the ground. He awkwardly shuffled his white paws.
The ginger apprentice blinked at him for a moment, and then took a bite out of the sparrow, feeling the stringy meat between her teeth. She purred in pleasure, taking another famished bite out of it.
She was about to finish off the sparrow when she saw Snowpaw's uneasy amber stare. Before she even knew what she was doing, Firepaw pushed the last remains of the fresh-kill towards the white-furred tom. "You can have this. You're probably hungry."
Shock filled Snowpaw's gaze, and he graciously purred, licking her cheek quickly before devouring the rest of the sparrow. He licked his muzzle and Firepaw felt a wave of embarrassment crash into her. What did I just do?
Snowpaw jumped to his paws, and Firepaw swiftly followed. "Let's go see Blossomfall and Toadstep now," she meowed, afraid that if she did anything else with Snowpaw she'd get that feeling she got earlier.
"Alright," the white-furred tom replied, and they both bounded out of camp into the green forest.
"What took you so long?" Blossomfall demanded as soon as Firepaw and Snowpaw arrived at the Sandy Hollow. "I could've gone to the old forest and came back by now!"
Toadstep gently laid his black-and-white tail across the tortoiseshell's shoulders. "Calm down, Blossomfall," he meowed, his voice having hints of a purr in it, "the apprentices can take as much time as they need. As long as it wasn't wasted dawdling." The warrior stared at the two apprentices with narrowed amber eyes.
Firepaw felt a flash of indignation course through her. Snowpaw and I weren't dawdling! But she was glad that Toadstep at least tried to defy Blossomfall. She didn't want to be known as the cat who took too long to get to the Sandy Hollow.
"Well, let's start battle training," Blossomfall meowed, casting a glance at the black-and-white warrior beside her. "I don't want to waste time with two annoying apprentices."
Toadstep nodded and removed his tail from her shoulders. The two warriors padded to opposite sides of the hollow and got into two different positions—Blossomfall's shoulders were squared and Toadstep's eyes blazed with bravery as if he could face a pack of dogs and kill them all with one swipe.
Firepaw stared at the two warriors with a confused expression. What were they about to do?
Blossomfall flashed her teeth. "Let's begin."
The two warriors pelted towards each other, their fur flying loose through the wind. Firepaw felt a flash of awe course through her as Blossomfall leaped up at the last minute and skidded her sheathed paws across Toadstep's back.
Toadstep then reared up on his hind-paws while she was still on his back and then whipped around. Before Blossomfall even knew what was happening, the black-and-white tom batted her ears with sheathed paws before dropping back down onto four paws.
"Wow!" Snowpaw exclaimed. "I want to learn that!"
Toadstep nodded at the snow-white apprentice. "You can practice it with Firepaw," he meowed, flicking his tail. "That is, if she was paying attention."
"I was!" Firepaw meowed, fluffing up her tabby fur in annoyance. "Come on Snowpaw, let's try this." She was about to bound to the other side of the hollow when suddenly, Blossomfall stopped her.
The tortoiseshell leaned down and whispered, "Don't train with them. We're going to do special training. Toadstep and Snowpaw are just a bunch of weaklings."
Firepaw felt a course of excitement flow through her like a river. Special training! She bounced on her paws. "Where are we going?" she asked. "Will it be that secluded part of the forest again?"
Blossomfall nodded to her apprentice, but before they could pad into the depths of the forest, they heard a meow behind them. "Where are you going?"
Firepaw turned around to see Snowpaw, his amber eyes wide in confusion. "I thought we were battle training," he meowed. "But now you're going off with Blossomfall! You always train with her."
"She's my mentor, Snowpaw," Firepaw meowed, feeling a sense of annoyance fill her. "I'm supposed to practice with her."
"But I worry about you whenever you battle train with her!" Snowpaw blurted out, and then shuffled his paws awkwardly on the sandy ground. "You told me what she did, and that's not right! You shouldn't be getting hurt. You did stop your special training, didn't you?"
"Of course!" Firepaw snapped. "Stop worrying about me! I'm fine!"
"But I just—"
Firepaw felt rage course through her, and she snarled, "Snowpaw! I don't want you worrying about me because it's annoying! It's like every time I do something you're there to ask if I'm okay! I don't want or need a bodyguard! So just leave me alone."
Snowpaw's eyes widened in surprise, and he opened his mouth as if to say something, but he made no sound. Hurt sparkled in the amber depths of his gaze and Firepaw almost felt bad about yelling. But some cat had to tell him that he was worrying way too much.
Toadstep stared at the white tom for a moment, and then cast a look towards Blossomfall. "You can go train somewhere else if you want. I'll tell Bramblestar why you aren't here with us."
Blossomfall nodded to the black-and-white tom and purred, "Thank you." The tortoiseshell turned to Firepaw and roughly shoved her shoulder. "Come on, let's go, Firepaw."
Firepaw turned to the forest and was about to pad into the safety of the trees but then she looked back at Snowpaw. His head was down and he looked like he was about to start crying. The apprentice however just glared at him and jumped into the bushes, Blossomfall following.
Well, that's the end of chapter four! Firepaw and Snowpaw have gotten closer and now have drifted apart in literally the same chapter. Do you think I rushed? I think I did :/ Well, anyway, don't forget to review about what you think!