Pricklepaw trudged towards the nearest tree through the snow that reached up to her chest, attempting to grab a hold of it before slipping back down. She huffed and tried again, this time gripping her claws on the glossy bark of the tree. The tortoiseshell got a hold of the wood, swinging her self up the bare tree. Once she got to one of the branches, the apprentice cleared some of the snow off of it with a quick swipe of her forearm and opened her mouth, taking in any scents of potential prey. She found a scrawny squirrel trying to carry an acorn into one of the holes in a nearby tree. Pricklepaw took the lightest steps as she could through the trees above-ground, but once she got to the branch the squirrel was on, she felt that she was about to slip, and slashed at the squirrel's tail, which squeaked in surprise, to which the she-cat grabbed a hold of the animal. She slipped and fell off the branch, bringing the squirrel down with her. The fluffy silvery-white snow broke the scout's fall, thankfully. The squirrel tried to get free of the apprentice's grasp, but a fluffy white tom ran up and pressed his paws down on the creature, keeping them there until he heard a crack and felt the squirrel go still.
"Nice job, Snowpaw." Pricklepaw meowed as soon as she got up.
"You weren't too shabby yourself. How did you learn to grab the squirrel before you-" Snowpaw was cut off as snow hit his back. The two turned to see another apprentice, but this one had thick fur, a muscular build, webbed paws, and sharp claws at gripped onto the icy parts of the snow, unlike Pricklepaw, Snowpaw, and another scout, Canyonpaw, who was with them, who had regular claws, a normal cat's paws, and an average build for cats, except for their hind legs, which were powerful compared to the rest of their build.
"Do you want me to just take the squirrel back to camp?" The she-cat meowed before swiping a hole on the snow impatiently. Without waiting for an answer, the apprentice grabbed the squirrel and heaved herself to get back to camp.
"Thanks Blackpaw!" Snowpaw called. Might be a good time to practice my fighting techniques, Pricklepaw thought as Blackpaw walked off. Pricklepaw lowered herself into the snow, waiting for anyone to pass by. Snowpaw bounded over to Canyonpaw, claiming he saw something cool, as per usual. But, when he was about to step on Pricklepaw, she pounced on the tom, bringing him down on the snow. He scooped up a bit of snow and aimed for the dappled cat's face. She shook her head, trying to get the snow out of her eyes, but something knocked her down before Pricklepaw could see clearly who it was. A shiver came down her entire body, making Pricklepaw feel like she was being buried alive. She heard the other scouts' muffled noises, commotion rising above-ground.
"The heirs are coming!"
"Why in the name of StarClan did you bury Pricklepaw?"
"Are the diggers arriving soon?"
"It is I! The great Buckpaw has arrived!"
"No one cares!"
"Well well! If it isn't the lowborns!" What's going on out there, Pricklepaw wondered. Did Ledgepaw get in trouble again? She pushed her paws through the snow above her, trying to get herself free of the trap. When Pricklepaw got a clear view of anything happening above her hole. Pricklepaw sighed and tried to get the rest of her body out of the hole. Once she got out, the forestland was filled with all types of apprentices. Pricklepaw flattened her ears when she saw a sleek, full-fed cream tabby she-cat with other healthy apprentices. There were also apprentices that had lithe bodies and other fishers like Buckpaw and Blackpaw. One of the diggers noticed that she was there since they gave her a quick glance before turning back to the healthy cats.
"Shouldn't all of you get hunting for us?" The cream tabby growled. The other cats behind her glared at the other apprentices. Oh no. If it isn't Lightpaw, Pricklepaw thought angrily to herself. That blasted kit! I can't believe she's Brindlestar's daughter! Yowls of protest arose from the scouts, fishers, and diggers.
"We just went hunting!" Blackpaw snarled.
"The scouts also hunted." Canyonpaw hissed.
"Pebblepaw raided a rabbit's nest!" One of the diggers, Ravinepaw answered. Lightpaw seemed to not care about what everyone was saying because she changed the subject.
"If you're all going to do anything, include us in it." A spotted tortoiseshell heir, who was Lightpaw's best friend and Pricklepaw's relative, yowled. The apprentices looked at one another nervously before answering back to the heirs.
"We were going to have a snow war." Buckpaw mewed. The heirs turned to each other, whispering about what they were going to do.
"Alright!" Another heir, a dark brown tabby tom yowled. "We'll participate in this snow war. But whatever we do goes!" Everyone else nodded and went into their teams, all the scouts on one team, all the fishers on another team, all the diggers on a third team, and the heirs were on their own team. No one even gave the signal before a russet spotted she-cat heir tackled a black tom digger. The heirs lunged for the closest cats. Pricklepaw climbed up a tree and watched as cats threw snow at each other. The tortoiseshell heir spotted Pricklepaw's shadow and looked up at her.
"No climbing allowed!" She called.
"No, Petalpaw. Whatever you do goes. Not what you say." Pricklepaw retorted.
"Well, now whatever we say goes. Now get out of the tree!" Petalpaw growled. Pricklepaw smirked and jumped off the branch, landing on top of Petalpaw, burying her in the snow. Pricklepaw leaped off of Petalpaw and into the snow to cover herself in it. She heard a muffled scream, making a smile form on Pricklepaw's face. The dappled she-cat saw a group of fishers and diggers ramming into each other. Pricklepaw saw a lone black tabby digger and pounced on her, battering the digger's face and making a hole in the The tabby fluffed up her fur and hissed at Pricklepaw, but Pricklepaw held her ground. The tortoiseshell knocked snow from the walls of snow and landed them on the tabby. Pricklepaw stood up and slithered through the snow, hunting down her next victim.
"Time out!" Lightpaw yowled. All of the cats in the area shot up. The heir smirked as she was given undivided attention. "You are not allowed to attack heirs!"
"Then what's the point of you guys having a team?" Buckpaw snarled.
"Umm, the point is obviously for us to have fun." Petalpaw meowed smugly. "Oh yeah, we are the only team that can attack now."
"What!"
"That isn't fair!"
"Wow. Welp, time for an uprising." Pricklepaw whipped her head around to Pebblepaw, who just meowed that calmly as if that wasn't an automatic death wish. I'm not related to you, I don't know you, Pricklepaw thought. StarClan, let Pebblepaw live!
"You rise up against your future rulers?" The dark brown tabby snarled. Pebblepaw didn't even try to answer before getting some other apprentices to barrel into the heirs. Snowpaw climbed up a tree, flicking her tail upward for Canyonpaw and Pricklepaw to reluctantly follow him. Blackpaw looked up and nodded, getting Buckpaw and some other fishers to come with them into the snow. The diggers dug out tunnels into the snow, everyone preparing for the massive invasion upon the heirs. As if on cue, everyone leaped for the heirs, cats tripping them out from under their paws and swatting at the apprentices, others pouncing on them and dragging them into the snow, taunting them. Screeches of commands and protest rose from the heirs, but the cats continued on the revolution. The scouts leaped from the trees, landing on the heirs but not hard enough to inflict real injures. Cats battered When the victims caught their breath, everyone stood up and walked in their now cleared surroundings thanks to the snow fight. The heirs retreated to camp, tails in between their legs.
"This is the best day ever!" Snowpaw whispered in Pricklepaw's ear.
"Do you know how much trouble we're in?" The tortoiseshell meowed.
"At least I'm in trouble with you." Snowpaw purred.
If you're wondering what the heck all this apprentice job mumbo jumbo is, AsterClan happens to be a clan that bonds together despite the common differences said about each group. However, how a cat had their bodies built determines what type of job they'll have. Scouts are, you know, scouts and specialize in climbing and high up tactics, fishers, fish and swim, and diggers, dig out spots and tunnels. Heirs are those who were born directly from a leader and/or deputy, which are basically trained to lead AsterClan.
Happy Holidays!