Chapter Two: Broken nests
Snowpaw jumped down from HighLedge when Willowdrift and Foxstar began to depart and ran through the gathered cats over to Greenclaw. "Why Willowdrift?" she wailed softly. "He hates me."
Greenclaw looked helplessly at her and mewled, "Foxstar must think you can change his mind." He lowered his muzzle to her ear and whispered, "If he starts shouldering his duties and ignores you, let me know.."
A chubby light ginger apprentice with white tabby-striped paws appeared beside Snowpaw. He was standing straight up as he eyed Snowpaw with excited amber eyes. "Congratulations, Snowpaw!" he meowed a little too loudly.
"Thank you Perchpaw," Snowpaw mewed back politely. She noticed Willowdrift staring at her from across the clearing behind Perchpaw. He flicked his white tail in signal for her to follow. "Excuse me."
"Find me later and I'll show you the nest we made for you," Perchpaw meowed as Snowpaw walked around him. She gave him and Greenclaw a grateful glance and ran over to Willowdrift.
Willowdrift watched her as she approached without giving away any emotion in his eyes but his tail bristled as she got closer. Snowpaw stopped in front of him and waited expectantly. Finally, when his stare started to make her uncomfortable he started slowly, "Birdpelt was an excellent fighter. I expect you want to make her and Greenclaw proud. I hope that encourages progress while training you."
Snowpaw straightened her ears as Willowdrift flatted his, as if a rude thought crossed his mind. "My sister was sour-tounged and rebellious too. You are my apprentice and her kin-" Snowpaw tried not to flinch as he referred to her as Birdpelt's kin but not his too. "I won't tolerate any back-talk or opinionated arguments."
He started to walk away, his head hanging low in an angry scowl. Snowpaw ran after him mewling, "Wait! Are we training today?"
"No," Willowdrift snapped bearing his fangs. Snowpaw fluffed her pelt in defense. "It's almost
night-fall. You won't learn much if you're asleep on your paws."
Meadowfoot, a black queen who had helped nurse Snowpaw and Greenclaw's sister, let a low growl escape her as she padded past. Willowdrift looked at her apologetically as he realized how rude he sounded and murmured softer to Snowpaw. "Tomorrow at sunrise we'll explore the area from WindClan to the outskirts of ThunderClan then to ShadowClan."
"Okay," Snowpaw murmured back letting her fur settle. The exchange between Meadowfoot and Willowdrift surprised her. He wasn't being completely rude on purpose. Maybe Foxstar is on to something. Willowdrift was about to pad into the warrior's den but Snowpaw had one more thing to say. Gathering her courage, she bounded over to Willowdrift's side.
"I want to make you proud too."
Willowdrift grunted and turned his back to her. With an annoyed flick of his tail he disappeared into the den. Snowpaw swore she heard him whisper, "Good luck."
The apprentice den was small and crowded with four apprentices. When Perchpaw escorted Snowpaw into the den she nearly tripped over Slatepaw's nest. Snowpaw never truly meet the apprentices, Perchpaw was made an apprentice shortly before her birth. Slatepaw and Droppaw, Meadowfoot's kits, followed after Snowpaw was finally big enough to play with them.
"I put your nest over here, next to mine, because Droppaw snores and Slatepaw likes to wake up and walk around the hollow at night. That's why her nest is by the entrance, so she won't disturb us much," Perchpaw meowed pointing out each nest. Snowpaw noticed her nest was especially close to his but she didn't want to embarrass him for doing her a kindness.
"Where are Slatepaw and Droppaw at?" She asked trying to mask her curiosity.
"Hunting," Perchpaw answered swiftly. "They should be back by now."
Suddenly a dark gray tabby jumped through and shook his pelt free of leaves that clung to him. Snowpaw noticed his left ear laid to the side of his head like he was too lazy to pick it up, but his right ear was high and alert. He looked at Snowpaw in dull surprise then looked shyly at Perchpaw. "Making friends?" he teased and turned to Snowpaw. "He spent all morning working on that nest once he heard you were being made an apprentice."
"Droppaw.." Perchpaw moaned, embarrassed.
"I asked him why and he said, 'I feel like she deserves a welcoming since her siblings won't be with her it's the least I can do for-"
"I did not say that!" Perchpaw yowled outraged and flustered. Snowpaw felt her paws grow hot. Everyone talks about her mother and siblings like it was a handicap to Snowpaw and she deserved special treatment. Snowpaw didn't want to be treated special.
Droppaw laughed as Perchpaw became flustered, "A-at least my ears are on str-straight and I'm polite!"
The gray tom chuckled, "You've said that one before. Come up with some new comebacks or show your claws." Droppaw lowered to the ground and wiggled his haunches back and forth before baring his teeth in a playful-smiling snarl. Perchpaw looked nervously at Snowpaw before deciding to crouch down and accept the challenge.
Before Snowpaw could ask a question, Droppaw leaped at Perchpaw with claws sheathed and they locked into a giant mass of wrestling fur. They rolled around the den growling and spitting, crushing the nests underneath them.
Snowpaw stepped forward, "Stop! You're ruining all of our nests!"
The toms didn't hear her and continued on fighting as Snowpaw paced around them, not sure how to interrupt.
Snowpaw blinked as she suddenly realized there were three cats fighting. A black she-cat with silver stripes rushed in the fight. She roughly batted at Perchpaw's ears making him yowl before turning to knock Droppaw from his paws. He landed on his side with a heavy 'oph'.
"You two better fix my nest by the time I'm done eating!" Slatepaw snarled menacingly. Perchpaw's fur rose as he stared dumbfounded while Droppaw rose back up staring at his paws. Her tail thrashed as she turned to Snowpaw, "Why didn't you stop them?"
"I-I tried but- I said they were- they didn't listen," Snowpaw was lost for words under her piercing blue glare. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry doesn't fix nests," Slatepaw growled as she strode up to Snowpaw. She stood nose to nose with her before snapping, "You should help them for not stepping in!"
"Slatepaw," Droppaw padded cautiously toward the two she-cats. He seemed like he knew her temper was still raised and was trying to be coaxing. "It wasn't her fault. I was teasing Perchpaw for having a kit-crush-" Perchpaw hissed at Droppaw but he continued as though he didn't hear him, "I'll fix your nest and Perchpaw will fix hers."
Slatepaw hissed baring teeth, "I don't care who fixes what! As long as my nest is back the way it was by the time I finish my meal." With a flick of her thick, bushy tail she was gone.
Perchpaw mimicked Droppaw, "Yes, oh scary Slatepaw! I won't disappoint you! Please don't claw my ears off like you did to Perchpaw!" He rubbed his ears while staring at him. "You're sister is crazy."
"At least she's not soft." Droppaw pushed the extra chub on Perchpaw's side. "Greenleaf is making you look like a kittypet." Perchpaw rebutted by trying to push Droppaw's lame ear upright.
Snowpaw had enough. She left the arguing toms to their work and tried to find Slatepaw but she had disappeared. Disappointed, she wandered over to the fresh kill pile and picked up a vole. Raventalon, a small white tom with a black tail-tip, walked up next to her. "Sounded like a major battle was going on in there," he whispered softly. "Any casualties?"
"Just a few nests.."
Raventalon let out a yowl of laughter. "Since the apprentices will be too busy to accompany you for dinner, come join Seednose and Frogleap." Snowpaw nodded, honored to join the senior warriors.
Seednose watched them pad forward, her pale ginger stomach swollen with kits. Next to her, another pregnant queen, Frogleap shifted to make more room for Snowpaw. Raventalon greeted his mate, Seednose, with an affectionate rub. Shortly after Moonpelt settled next to her best friend, Frogleap, two squirrels dangling from her jaws. Snowpaw noticed Moonpelt gave the bigger of the two to Frogleap.
"I heard Silverstep ran into Wishleap and Hotpaw on ThunderClan's side of the river," Frogleap started once everyone was settled. Wishleap and Hotpaw were WindClan cats! Snowpaw lifted her head and stared at her as she spoke. Frogleap gazed back at Snowpaw warmly and continued. "Hotpaw saw a rabbit on our side and leaped the narrow part of the stream."
Seednose scoffed loftily but Frogleap continued, "Wishleap was furious at his apprentice when Silverstep confronted them. He made Hotpaw apologize and give Silverstep the rabbit. It was Hotpaw's first catch and he was more angry about turning it over rather than apologetic for intruding."
"I see why they named him Hotpaw," Raventalon chuckled. "His warrior name might be Hothead."
The four cats purred at Raventalon's joke.
"I think he was named Hotpaw for his eyes," a silver-white she-cat with yellow eyes, Silverstep, chimed in from another group clustered close to theirs. "His eyes are so amber they look red-hot."
"Is that the rabbit he caught?" Snowpaw mewed suddenly, noticing the giant rabbit between the group. All eyes turned to her and she suddenly felt embarrassed among the senior warriors.
"That it is," a small pale ginger she-cat with white paws purred. Snowpaw recognized Perchpaw's mother, Rayflight, and relaxed a little.
"But it's huge!"
"Hotpaw had to wobble with it between his paws to give it to us," Silverstep purred back. "I was so impressed I almost let him keep it."
Snowpaw glanced at the overfilled Greenleaf fresh-kill pile. "Why didn't you?"
"Wishleap was in such a fury. It would be disrespectful to undermine the lesson he was trying to teach. Also we didn't want Hotpaw to have the idea that it's okay to hunt on our territory depending on who catches you," Rayflight mewed toughly, silencing Snowpaw's curious questions.
Moonpelt spoke to her now, "Stolen prey doesn't hurt us now, but it will in Leafbare. It was the right thing to do. You never know which apprentice will become the next leader and early training from all Clans saves us trouble when they're grown. We've had peace among each other for countless seasons now. It's all do to properly teaching young cats early."
It was the first time Snowpaw had ever heard the deputy speak and she realized, with a shock, that she looked just like her father, Bigheart. She looked at Moonpelt a little closer as she continued eating her squirrel and noticed that her dark gray and black-tipped pelt was riddled with scars while her blue eyes seemed sad most of the time.
Moonpelt's sister, Silverstep was the opposite. She was beautiful. Bigheart said she was a replica of her mother, who died shortly after giving birth to his three kits, and that their behaviorism was almost the same. Snowpaw wished silently that Silverstep could have been her mentor instead of Willowpelt.
Silverstep joked through a mouthful of rabbit fur at Moonpelt's expense, "Just like you! You would have taken that rabbit all around the Twoleg place. Just to watch the warriors scent it for hours before giving up and leaving. Who'd know you'd be deputy someday."
Moonpelt twitched her whiskers at her sister and a mischievous glint illuminated her eyes. Snowpaw remembered that Greenclaw said Moonpelt was once a troublemaker. Snowpaw wondered fleetingly what happened to make that change so drastically.
The night wore on and the warriors had finished eating and sharing tongues. In pairs, they left Snowpaw one-by-one. Moonpelt and Frogleap left first, brushing pelts affectionately before padding off in opposite directions. Then Raventalon and Seednose wished her luck on her first day tomorrow before departing. Silverstep and Rayflight stayed a little longer sharing stories of their days as apprentices with Birdpelt before Snowpaw started to nod her head with weariness. They wished her a goodnight in parting.
Snowpaw padded softly to the nursery before remembering suddenly that she was an apprentice. Quickly, she trotted away before anybody noticed her mistake and approached the apprentices' den. She hesitated outside, listening for any sound of arguments, but once she was positive the others were already asleep she creeped in.
The nests have been rebuilt, though they still showed signs of damage, and all three apprentices were fast asleep. Gently, Snowpaw stepped around Slatepaw's nest and settled into the nest that Perchpaw had made, destroyed, and refurbished. She glanced warmly at the three apprentices. Although she would miss Greenclaw's warmth, she was glad to be there after moons of waiting. Snowpaw closed her eyes and settled into a warm slumber.