"Chase?" Swiftpaw asked, confusion lacing her voice. "Like the nursery game?"
"With a few modifications." Aspenleaf replied. Emberpaw looked at his mentor curiously.
"You and Swiftpaw have a limited amount of time to hide yourselves anywhere in this territory. Me and Palewhisker will act as enemy cats, trying to find you. If we are able to find and catch you, we win. There is no climbing trees and no hiding in camp. If its already sunhigh and we havent caught you, go to camp. However, both of you have to hide together," Aspenleaf mewed, looking at both of the apprentices.
Swiftpaw's fur bushed out in excitement. Emberpaw nodded.
"Ready, set, go!"
Swiftpaw bolted in the opposite direction of the ShadowClan border. Emberpaw raced after her, managing to keep up. Once they were a good way away, Swiftpaw stopped. Emberpaw skidded to a halt, breathing heavily. "Okay, so I was thinking that we should hide near the RiverClan border. Their scent will help to hide our own." Swiftpaw talked excitedly.
"Or we could go back to the original spot that we came from, circling around camp to get there. Our mentors wouldn't expect that." Emberpaw added. This was one of his favorite games to play with Mockingkit and Misltekit.
Swiftpaw thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, that's a good idea. Let's do that. But first, we need to disguise our scent." Her whiskers twitched with amusement. "You ever smelled foxdung before?"
After he was forced to roll around in the disgusting substance, he and Swiftpaw took off, not wasting anymore time. Emberpaw wondered if he would ever get the smell out of his nose and pelt. They raced through the trees, her long-haird pelt being blown back by the wind. It was a while until she stopped the fast pace, and Emberpaw's legs ached again. "We should start to be as quiet as possible now," she murmured. "They are probably on their way to try to find us."
They quietly picked their way, trying to be silent. "How do you like being an apprentice?" Swiftpaw asked softly.
"Its great!" He purred. "And Aspenleaf is pretty great too."
"I bet. Palewhisker is really nice, but she's never done anything like this with me. My second day I was cleaning out the elder's nests." Switfpaw shuddered.
"I''m sure he's going to teach me that too soon. Oh! Speaking of nests, I noticed you and your littermates made me a nest in the apprentice den. Thanks for that," Emberpaw mewed. He stepped over a particularly big root, making sure not to stub his already sore paws.
Swiftpaw purred. "That was actually just me. And you're welcome. I figured that you would be tired after your first day, and I had free time. I'm glad you like it."
Emberpaw already liked this cat. She was easy-going and kind-hearted, and didn't take offense when he offered suggestions and ideas about what to do or where they should go. They had a natural flow to their conversations, and he appreciated her gentle humor.
Soon they were gossiping like elder's at a clan gathering. "You know they say that Blazestar's mother was a Riverclan cat?" Swiftpaw said.
"Really?" Emberpaw doubted that such a rumor was true. He couldn't imagine that the strong, powerful leader had ties to another clan. It certainly didn't seem that way.
"Yeah. I heard Prickleface talking about it one time while I was cleaning out his nest. Apparently Blazestar was just found at the border as a kit, completely drenched in RiverClan scent. If you ask me, it's a strange story. I think poor Prickleface might be making up things so cats will listen to his stories."
Emberpaw frowned. It seemed wrong, that a possible RiverClan cat could become leader of a different clan. He voiced his thoughts out loud. Swiftpaw shrugged. "Even if he was RiverClan, he's definitely ThunderClan now. And a powerful leader."
Something still felt off to him, and it nagged at the back of his mind even when he tried to push the unease away. Sensing his sudden drop in mood, Swiftpaw nudged him. "You'll trip on a root if you don't look where your paws are going," She said light-heartedly.
Soon they circled back completely around and arrived back at the place they had come from. The scent of Aspenleaf and Palewhisker signaled that they left some time ago.
"This is a strangely easy game," Emberpaw commented. Even Mockingkit and Mistlekit put up more of a challenge.
"It doesn't feel right," Swiftpaw agreed. Her ears pricked. "It's like everything has gone silent. What happened to the birdcall?"
Emberpaw felt his stomach drop to his paws. Swiftpaw was right. The entire forest was eerily quiet. Something was wrong.