A/N

Finally, I found time to update! Thanks for all the reviews! I'll reply as soon as I can .

What Has Happened Thus Far

(I'll do this to save you from reading 11 + chapters to catch up.)

Ashfur has realized that Jaypaw is his own kit, although his affair with Squirrelflight came to a halt when Brambleclaw stole back Squirrelflight's affections. Unsure if he should be brave and announce it to the whole Thunderclan, or keep his, Brambleclaw's, Squirrelflight's, or even Jaypaw's dignity.

"Slowly!" I warned Lionpaw as he twitched his haunches and prepared to leap forward to catch the unexpecting prey. He twitched his ears in signal that he had gotten the clue. One step...so far so good... Maybe that eye-twitch I had gotten since last week's epidemic we had would finally go away. I flinched as I remembered Lionpaw stepping on a twig and awakening a not-so-happy fox.

But he was doing okay now. Another step...not bad, a third step...good...a fourth step-

"LIONPAW!" I yowled.

Lionpaw froze in his tracks, as if expecting a vicious dog to come out and tear him to shreds. He looked back at me, wide eyed and fur standing on edge.

"There's a twig in front of you. You don't want to step on it." I warned.

Lionpaw rolled his eyes. "Mentors.." I heard him murmur.

Luckily, the mouse hadn't heard a noise. It continued chewing on a berry it had found. I sighed and thanked Starclan for deaf prey. I motioned with my tail calling the show to go on. Lionpaw crept over the twig and dropped into the hunter's position. Slowly, he slithered over behind the mouse and leaped. His claws sank into the mouse's throat, killing it instantly. He tossed it around for a bit like it was a rag doll.

"Err...just let it lie Lionpaw." I commented warily. He picked up the destroyed mouse in his mouth and trotted next to me. I couldn't help but think when I saw him bat his "lovely" mouse about as we headed back to camp, BRAMBLECLAW, BRAMBLECLAW, BRAMBLECLAW.

"Shut up Ashfur you mousebrain." I told myself out loud.

"Huh?" Lionpaw stopped with his game for a moment.

"What?" I played dumb.

"You were just talking to yourself Ashfur."

"No I wasn't."

"Yes you were."

"No."

"Yes."

"Okay."

Lionpaw shook his head and laughed, "I can't wait to tell Heatherpaw my mentor talks to himself!"

"Heatherpaw?" I inquired, then seized the chance to be the annoying adult all of us dream to be, "Is that your girlfriend?"

"NO!" Lionpaw turned red in the face.

"Lionpaw," I began, "You may tell your mentor anything. Nothing will leave this circle."

"What circle?"

"Err.." I drew a circle around us with a single claw, "This circle."

"OK."

"Now tell me son- aherm Lionpaw, who is this girl?"

Lionpaw looked at his forepaws, "Well I met her at a Gathering, you know, the first one I attended to, the one I almost fell in the lake?"

"Yeah." I remember catching him before he hit the water.

"She's really pretty you see...and she's my age..but..."

"Oh Starclan, she already has a mate."

"No...but she's a Windclan warrior."

"Oh."

Suddenly Lionpaw burst out whining, " I don't know what to do Ashfur I know your really good with the ladies after I saw all the she-cats in the camp looking at you even Squirrelflight so I thought I would ask you please please help me!"

All in one breath. Amazing.

Ok, so I was supposed to give Lionpaw girl advice. I was definetly the guy who can woo a girl. Keep her...not so much.

"Well, first of all, she-cats, although they are warriors, they are very delicate. Like.." I picked up a nearby twig in my jaws, "This. Easy to pick up. Fun to play with." I threw it up in the air and swatted it. Lionpaw looked amazed at my genius analogy. "But," I clamped it in my jaws and it snapped, "If you don't treat it with respect, it breaks," I tossed it up in the air and a soft breeze blew it away, "And it flies away and another tom catches it and plays with it."

"Wow." Lionpaw blinked, "You really simplified things Ashfur." He smiled, then cocked his head to the side, "But, what if another tom wants your she-cat? Do you still act nice?"

I remembered Brambleclaw stealing Squirrelflight from me. I fell silent for a moment to let the question sink in, then I answered, "Do what you did to that mouse to him. That's what you do my boy."

Dusk was falling when Lionpaw and I finally returned to camp. I dismissed him to go talk with the other apprentices while I went to the fresh-kill pile. To my surprise, Leafpool was there and looking at me like she had been expecting my arrival.

I twitched my ears, "Hi Leafpool."

"Hello Ashfur." Her calm, soothing voice took me by surprise. She was so much different than her loudmouth sister. It was refreshing.

"Do you need anything? I mean, I can go fetch some herbs on the edge of camp-"

Her cashmere tail sweeped over my shoulder and across my lips, "That's not what I'm here for."

I felt my face grow hot. Of course, the prettiest and sweetest cat in the whole Thunderclan camp had to be the medicine cat. What a shame...

"There's something I need to discuss with you. Follow me."

I did, obediently.

She led me to her den and we went inside. It was nice and cool and the scent of herbs filled the air. It was much better then the crowded warrior den, which reeked of body heat and breath.

"I was mentoring Jaypaw today like I do every other day and I noticed..."

I caught the drift of where this was going and interrupted, "You mean the sparrow he caught today?"

"He went hunting today?!" Her voice escalated, then she coughed and it dropped to regular pitch, "No... I was looking at his pelt, and it looked like neither Squirrelflight or Brambleclaw's-"

"How weird. I heard that happens with kits a lot. I had this one friend in Riverclan, um, his name is um...Blackstep, and he's not here anymore, but he had black fur and so did his mate, but their kits came out with white fur! Weird, huh?" I lied.

"Ashfur, I'm not stupid." Leafpool twitched her ears, "Blackstep doesn't and never existed. You forget Mothwing is my friend."

Oh. Oops. I should've said he was a loner. Tsk tsk.

"Anyhow, with no further interruptions," Leafpool pressed on, "His pelt looks like..."

"Stormfur!" I assumed loudly, trying to steer the blame away from me, "What kind of friend is he? I mean, Squirrelflight is Brambleclaw's..."

"ASHFUR BE QUIET FOR STARCLAN'S SAKE!" Leafpool scolded. I shrank down just in case she was going to whack me.

"What I noticed today was that his pelt looks like yours. Now tell me Ashfur..."

Silence fell, and her words came out of her mouth and froze in the air.

"Are you Jaypaw's father?"