"Wake up sleepy head!" A paw prodded Wolfpaw in the ribs. She grunted and curled up tighter. The paw came again, this time harder.
"Hey!" Wolfpaw snarled, leaping to her paws. Leopardpaw was standing in front of her, a paw raised to prod her again. When the tom saw she was awake, he lowered his paw and rested it against the ground. "Can't a cat get any sleep around here?"
"We're on the dawn patrol, rabbit-brain." Leopardpaw meowed, rolling his eyes. "Featherpelt, Birdtalon and Yellowflame are waiting for us."
Wolfpaw snorted but she followed Leopardpaw out of the den anyway, not even bothering to groom her pelt. She bounded across the clearing, pointedly ignoring the disapproving look that Featherpelt cast her. Featherpelt was made deputy a few moons ago when Mousestar came back from the Moonpool...after the death of her father. Wolfpaw shook the thoughts from her head and followed the patrol as they exited the camp and bounded through the moor. As Wolfpaw raced along towards the rear of the patrol, she couldn't help but smile. She loved running across the moor and feeling the wind ruffle her fur and push her whiskers back across her face. The patrol began slow down as they entered the trees and approached the stream that marked the border between Thunderclan and Windclan. Eventually Featherpelt raised his tail and the patrol halted.
"Remember, Thunderclan is already on edge with Shadowclan pressing in on their borders." Featherpelt meowed, his tail twitching.
"I'd like to see Sandstar try and invade!" Yellowflame hissed, his claws tearing up the grass he was standing out and pelt bristling.
"Do you see Graysnow agreeing to that?" Birdtalon twitched an ear, her calm meow seeming to serve both as a warning and a calming influence on Yellowflame.
"No," Leopardpaw answered.
"Let's get on with the patrol." Wolfpaw grumbled, sniffing the air, not really caring about idle Clan gossip. After all, ThunderClan seems to be acting quite peaceful with them lately and the only Thunderclan scents she could detect were the border markers. Yellowflame flashed her a warning glance but Wolfpaw ignored it, not wanting to start another argument over something so pointless. The patrol moved silently along the border, sniffing every so often and leaving scent marks. Soon Featherpelt paused, his nose raised. Wolfpaw stiffened, pricking her ears. Was there an enemy patrol on their territory?
"Fox," Featherpelt meowed at last, a slight edge of concern in his voice. Though his pelt was smooth and he didn't seem bothered by the revelation.
Wolfpaw pricked her ears and shifted from paw to paw excitedly. There was a fox nearby! Finally! Something interesting happens! "Let's go attack it!" She began to dart in the direction of the scent, tail twitching excitedly.
"No!" Yellowflame's mew was firm as he slid in front of Wolfpaw, effectively blocking her path. "We need to head back to camp and tell Mousestar. It could be on our territory and we'll need a plan to-"
"How do you know it's on our territory?" Wolfpaw interrupted, squaring her shoulders and meeting her mentor's gaze. "For all you know, the fox could be on Thunderclan's territory!"
Yellowflame curled his lip. Before he could say anything, Leopardpaw rose to her defense. "I think Wolfpaw is right," he meowed. "We should at least follow the track and see where it leads."
"You're not a warrior!" Yellowflame snapped, his pelt bristling and eyes flashing. "You don't know everything!"
"I agree with the apprentices," Birdtalon spoke up, her amber eyes blazing. "Mousestar can't act if we don't know where the fox is."
Featherpelt cleared his throat and let out a small cough, causing the arguing to cease. "We'll track it," Featherpelt meowed firmly. "If it is a threat, then we will attack. If not, we'll warn Mousestar." He turned and flicked his tail in a signal for the patrol to follow him before slinking along cautiously. The stench of fox grew stronger as they neared the border. Then it veered sharply back into their territory. They followed it quite a distance before it ended in a burrow. The burrow was in between two boulders with a bush backing it up. Wolfpaw flicked her tail smugly but didn't say anything as Featherpelt gathered the patrol around him.
"Ok, this what we are going to do." Featherpelt explained, glancing every so often at the burrow. "Yellowflame and Birdtalon will guard the burrow. I'll head back to camp with the apprentices."
Wolfpaw leapt to her paws as excitement coursed through her pelt. Unfortunately, Yellowflame didn't share her excitement. "Are you sure that's smart?" He demanded, meeting the deputy's gaze. "If the fox comes, two warriors aren't enough to deal with it! Plus, you said that we will attack the fox when we find it!"
"That's why you two will stay downwind and hidden!" Featherpelt spat, his tail twitching. "If you're careful you won't encounter the fox until help arrives! Besides, I'm not going to attack a fox that could be in that burrow! For all we know, it could be suicide if we attack now!"
Yellowflame opened his jaws but closed them when Birdtalon rested her tail on his shoulders. "You know Featherpelt is right," she murmured. She raised her gaze to meet Featherpelt's. "We will stay downwind until help arrives."
Featherpelt nodded and bounded across the moor, not giving the apprentices time to race after him. Leopardpaw and Wolfpaw exchanged a glance before they hared after the deputy as they raced along the track to the camp. As Wolfpaw slowly overtook Leopardpaw, she let out a playful yowl. "Last one to camp is crowfood!"
"Hey!" Leopardpaw hissed as Wolfpaw flicked his nose with her tail as she bounded past. Wolfpaw waved her tail cheekily and pushed harder against the ground. She could feel Leopardpaw's breath against her flanks as he began to catch up. Featherpelt was thrumming the ground in front of them, easily swerving around heather bushes and leaping dirt berries. Wolfpaw followed Featherpelt closely as Leopardpaw matched her pace, stride for stride. The camp soon came into sight and Wolfpaw shot through the entrance a whisker after Featherpelt and half a tail-length ahead of Leopardpaw.
"I win!" Wolfpaw meowed triumphantly as Leopardpaw skidded to a halt beside her, panting.
"I'll get you next time!" Leopardpaw promised with a flick of his tail as Featherpelt disappeared into Mousestar's den.
"Wolfpaw! Leopardpaw! Where are Yellowflame and Birdtalon?" Slatepaw bounded over to the apprentices, tail flicking excitedly. She was Leopardpaw's sister and the last of Sunfire's litter. Their mother, Sunfire, had died half a moon ago trying to save Treeclaw from drowning. The warrior failed and Windclan had lost two warriors that day.
"Guarding a fox den," Leopardpaw answered, touching his sister's ear.
"Featherpelt is talking to Mousestar about it right now." Wolfpaw meowed, sitting down. "Where is Eaglepaw and Dogpaw?"
"Eaglepaw is out training with Cloudwind while Dogpaw is cleaning out the elders' den." Slatepaw sat down and curled her tail around her paws. They sat in silence for a while before Wolfpaw noticed Featherpelt padding over to them with a serious expression on his face. Wolfpaw leaped to her paws as the clan deputy padded closer.
"Mousestar doesn't want to alarm the whole clan," Featherpelt explained. He fixed a serious gaze on the three apprentices. "You three are coming as well as Scorchclaw. Quickfoot and Briarshine will stay here with Dawnfeather and Snowfall to protect the camp."
"What about the others?" Slatepaw piped up, tail flicking slightly.
"Redblaze and Dgopaw will stay here while Cloudwind and Eaglepaw will come with us." Featherpelt answered, his eyes narrowing. "Either way, I hope you're ready for a fight."
"Of course, I am!" Wolfpaw puffed out her chest before dashing over to the warriors' den. She stuck her head inside. "Cloudwind! Scorchclaw! wants you two for a patrol!"
The two warriors were curled up together at the edge of the den. Cloudwind got to her paws first and flicked Scorchclaw's ear with her tail as he raised his head. The two warriors were quite close and the whole clan was waiting for them to announce a future litter. Wolfpaw ducked her head out and padded over to the entrance. Featherpelt was glaring at her while Slatepaw, Leopardpaw and Eaglepaw paced in front of the entrance. Cloudwind emerged from the warriors' den with Scorchclaw just behind her. When they saw the patrol, they looked curious.
"What's going on?" Cloudwind asked, exchanging a glance with Scorchclaw.
"You'll see soon," Featherpelt promised. Before the two warriors could protest, Featherpelt turned and raced through the entrance.
Wolfpaw crouched beside her mentor as they waited for the signal. The fox was in front of them with two young cubs, sniffing at something on the ground. Suddenly Featherpelt exploded from the long grass with a battle cry and leapt at the fox with outstretched claws. Wolfpaw raced forward at Yellowflame's side, baring her teeth at the canine. Leopardpaw was taking the fox's other flank with Bridtalon. Slatepaw and Scorchclaw appeared from underneath a bush while Eaglepaw and Cloudwind dashed into the clearing. The vixen looked around, eyes widening as she realized that they were surrounded by furious cats.
Wolfpaw rose onto her hind legs and began swiping at the vixen's flank. Eaglepaw was swiping at a fox cub with Cloudwind. Scorchclaw was matching Featherpelt's blows, blow for blow against the other cub. Slatepaw, Leopardpaw, Yellowflame and Birdtalon were helping Wolfpaw against the vixen.
Wolfpaw ducked as the vixen aimed a blow towards her ear. Wolfpaw ran her claws against the fox's flank only to feel teeth sink into her shoulder. She screeched and took a step back as Yellowflame bit the fox's tail only to be thrown off.
Wolfpaw dropped into a crouch, ignoring the pain from her shoulder and leaped. She landed on the vixen's back and let out a growl. No one hurts a Windclan cat and gets away with it! Wolfpaw dug her claws into the fox's back before sinking her teeth into it's neck. The vixen let out a yelp and ran off towards the woods, abandoning her cubs. Wolfpaw leapt off the vixen's back and stood to the side as the cubs raced after their mother.
"Good job," Yellowflame padded over and gave Wolfpaw a nod. Wolfpaw returned the nod coolly but excitement was fizzing in her paws. Yellowflame had praised her! He hardly ever did that.
"We might have two new warriors by sundown," Featherpelt commented. The deputy's gaze rested briefly on Wolfpaw and Eaglepaw. "Let's head back to camp." The patrol bounding after their deputy, easily keeping pace on the way back to camp.
Wolfpaw's ear was bleeding where the fox had managed to sink her teeth in besides her shoulder. Eaglepaw's fur was sticking out in clumps. Leopardpaw had a torn claw and Slatepaw's shoulder was bleeding. The warriors were better off. Yellowflame and Birdtalon were missing some fur. Cloudwind's tail was bitten and Scorchclaw was sticking close to her side with a scratch on his flank and muzzle.
Wolfpaw turned her thoughts back to the fact that she was becoming a warrior! Might become a warrior, Wolfpaw corrected herself. Either way Wolfpaw couldn't shake off the hope that her apprentice training will end soon.