CHAPTER TWO
Lilypaw trotted back into the camp with a vole clamped in her jaws. With her head held up proudly, she dropped it into the fresh-kill pile. Before Jaggedtooth could call out to her, she sprinted hopefully to the warriors' den.
"Rivertail? I just -" Her father stirred and looked up, but Lilypaw felt like his eyes saw nothing but darkness. He stared past her, and Lilypaw's tail drooped. "Well," she continued, pretending her father was listening, "I caught the biggest vole ever! It was awesome! What was your first catch?" Rivertail kept on gazing past her, and Lilypaw padded sadly back to Jaggedtooth's side. Jaggedtooth sighed.
"Tried to talk to Rivertail again?" He guessed. Lilypaw nodded, not saying anything. "Well," Jaggedtooth whispered, "I think you did a very good job today. How would you like to join the evening patrol with me? Maybe afterwards we can visit the river." Lilypaw perked up at Jaggedtooth.
"I'd love to Jaggedtooth." She said weakly, gratefull for her mentor. Jaggedtooth was the father she'd never had. Besides, she loved to visit the river - it had been her mother's favorite spot, and sometimes it seemed that when Lilypaw went there and watched the fish, her mother was there beside her. Jaggedtooth nodded and padded away after a quick lick behind Lilypaw's ear. Lilypaw got up and walked over to the apprentice den to find her one and only friend Darkpaw. Darkpaw had lost his father when he was a kit, so he understood Lilypaw.
"Hey Darkpaw!" She called, hoping he had time to play. She needed a break from all of her worries. Darkpaw looked up and purred.
"Lilypaw! Wanna play fight? I'll be Hawkstar, leader of RockClan!" Darkpaw exclaimed with a deep voice. "You can be...well, you can be Lilystar." Lilypaw smiled at the name. The two cats circled each other for a while, until Darkpaw sprung at Lilypaw with a yowl. Lilypaw rolled out of the way and lept on top of him. They tustled for a while, until both cats were panting. Lilypaw saw Jaggedtooth looking for her, and said goodbye to Darkpaw.
"Are you ready to go?" Jaggedtooth asked as the other cats started to pad out of the forest. Lilypaw nodded. "Alright then, lets go." The two trotted up to the others.
"Why don't me and Brindlefur take this side of the territory, and you, Lilypaw, and Quailfeather take this side?" The young warrior Mountianbreeze asked Jaggedtooth.
"Perfect. Come Lilypaw, Quailfeather, we'll go right away." The cats patroled around the border, remarking the territory and checking for unwanted scents. It went slowly, but Lilypaw enjoyed the slight breeze and fresh forest air. When they had finally finished, Lilypaw waited for Jaggedtooth at the camp. Together the cats walked silently to the river. They reached it quickly, and Lilypaw sat down at the pebbley shore.
"Would you like to catch some fish?" Jaggedtooth asked, eyeing a small group of salmon. They were little and slippery, but Lilypaw took on the challange happily. They managed to catch three, and Lilypaw was soaking wet. She was soon on the ground laughing as Jaggedtooth attempted to drag in a flapping salmon.
In her nest, Lilypaw pondered over the day. She wished that Jaggedtooth was her real father. But she was lucky to have him as a mentor. The dark sky was littered with stars, but Lilypaw could only see a few from the cave enterence. "Good night mother..." She whispered, imagining the two stars as Hailstar's crystal eyes. A single tear ran down her cheek as she closed her eyes.