Morningstar looked furious.
Featherpaw winced despite herself, and then discreetly glanced up at the sky.
The sky was clear and blue with a smattering of clouds here and there, and the sun was a bright yellow stain high in the sky.
It seemed as if it were way past dawn, and how Featherpaw didn't notice it was beyond her.
No wonder Morningstar looks so angry, she thought, we were out all night. And now we're really late for training. Scorchfoot is sure to be furious.
And no sooner had she thought that did she wince again. Even though she barely knew the cat, she didn't want her mentor to always be angry with her.
He always seems to be, though, Featherpaw thought sulkily.
Featherpaw was sure that they had been out hunting the entire night, and with a thrill, she fleetingly wondered if Flamestreak had worried about her when he hadn't seen her emerge from the apprentices' den.
"And just," Morningstar hissed, "where exactly were all of you?"
Swiftpaw suddenly squeaked, and the WindClan leader's eyes drifted to his form. The white and black-striped tabby blushed heavily from the attention.
"Well?" she pressed, gazing at Swiftpaw intently. "Where were you, Swiftpaw? Where were you gallivanting off to on your second day of training, hm?"
Swiftpaw swallowed heavily, looking incredibly nervous. "W-Well," he stammered. "W-We were just… just…"
"Yes?" Morningstar lowered her voice, then shifted her eyes.
They landed on Featherpaw.
Featherpaw felt her body turn cold.
"Where were you this morning, Featherpaw?" Somehow, the WindClan leader's soft voice only seemed to turn edgier as time went on. "And all of last night?"
"Well…" Featherpaw glanced at Darkpaw, and when he smiled at her as reassuringly as he seemed to manage, she steeled herself.
She took a deep breath and, looking Morningstar in the eye, blurted, "We were out hunting!"
The WindClan leader didn't even react, and the only indication of her possible anger was the slight narrowing of her eyes. Nevertheless, she remained composed.
"You went out hunting," Morningstar repeated, and it wasn't even a question, merely a statement of fact. Her voice was completely calm.
Featherpaw swallowed somewhat nervously as the sandy she-cat approached her, a question brewing in the depths of her amber eyes.
"So, all four of you, one whom recently joined the Clan, and one whom only recently started training, decided to sneak out of camp in the dead of the night and go hunting? Am I clear? Did I miss anything?"
"No," Featherpaw whispered, voice dry. "You've got everything."
"Darkpaw," Morningstar murmured, casting her eyes to the grey apprentice. "Sunheart is waiting for you. The same goes for you, Swiftpaw. Hawkfire's wondering where you are. You as well, Mudpaw. I'll deal with the three of you later. And as for you, Featherpaw, I want to talk with you in private."
Featherpaw's entire mouth went dry, but she quickly nodded when Morningstar's eyes narrowed.
The WindClan leader nodded curtly. "Meet me in my den in a few minutes." She turned and padded away.
There was a tense silence, but surprisingly, it was Swiftpaw who broke it. "I… I should go," he murmured, avoiding their eyes. "I guess that I'll see you later then."
He glanced up at Mudpaw, his smile a tad bit shy. "You coming?"
Mudpaw smiled in return. "Let's go," she whispered.
Featherpaw watched the pair leave in silence, then turned to Darkpaw. The grey apprentice was staring out at nothing in particular, his blue eyes lost in thought.
"Darkpaw?" she whispered.
"Hm?" Darkpaw quickly snapped out of whatever trance he was in and turned to face her fully. "What is it, Featherpaw?"
"What're you thinking about?"
"What am I thinking about?" When Featherpaw nodded, Darkpaw got a faint, distant smile on his lips. "Oh, everything, Featherpaw. Well, almost everything, I'd say." His smile grew bigger as he mewed, "I'm thinking of the first time we met. When we quite literally crashed into each other when we were stalking the same mouse."
Featherpaw smiled in remembrance. "I remember that," she said. And oh did she remember it. It had been the night she had first run away from ThunderClan, over a moon ago, but it still struck deep in her mind. And boy did she remember Darkpaw. He had been all cocky smiles when he had thought that he had killed the mouse.
"You were really cocky when you thought that you had killed that mouse," Featherpaw teased with a grin.
Darkpaw grinned back. "But I did kill that mouse," he piped back. "You only happened to be there at the exact time and place that the mouse was in."
"The mouse that I happened to be trailing," Featherpaw shot back.
"And that I killed," he responded.
Featherpaw sighed exasperatedly. "Oh, you cocky mouse-brain," she mewed fondly.
"You know you love it," Darkpaw grinned.
Heat flooded to her face at that admission. "You know I do," she murmured, her voice unusually soft.
His grin grew shaky until it all but faded away, leaving a small, soft smile in its place. "You should go and see Morningstar now," he suggested, voice low.
Featherpaw swallowed. "Yeah," she agreed, voice thick with something that she didn't understand. "I think I should."
Quickly, without thinking, Featherpaw leaned in and touched her nose to his cheek. She rested there for about a second before hastily pulling away as embarrassment overcame her.
Darkpaw cleared his throat and smiled a little shyly. "Well, I'll see you later?"
"If Morningstar doesn't kill me," Featherpaw joked nervously.
His eyes suddenly darkened. "Don't say things like that," he mewed softly. "You'll be fine, the most Morningstar'll do is yell at you. That's all. You don't have to worry."
"Speaking from memory?" she wondered slyly, and when Darkpaw grinned bashfully, she knew she had him.
"Well… I might have messed up the elders' den when I was a kit, but that's all! Nothing major, I promise you!"
"Alright," Featherpaw laughed. "I won't worry then." She paused for a second, then said, "I'll see you after she finishes with me then."
He nodded. "I'll wait for you, but if I'm gone before you come out, then I'll be with Sunheart."
Featherpaw gave him one last nervous smile before turning her back to him and heading to Morningstar's den.
She could only hope that Darkpaw spoke the truth.
Hopefully she really would get a scolding.