Blackpaw poked his head into the apprentices' den. Besides the three new apprentices (Yarrowpaw, Blackpaw, and Brokenpaw), there was only one other apprentice, Brightpaw. Brightpaw was the same age as Clawface, but due to the fact that she had contracted white cough(which had then evolved into green cough), her assessment had been postponed until she recovered. It had been over a moon since she had fallen ill, and Blackpaw knew that she would be having her warrior assessment any day now. Until then, there would be four apprentices in the den, underneath the two old trees that had fallen so long ago that no cat could remember.

Blackpaw padded into the apprentices' den. Soft, surprisingly dry, green moss carpeted the floor. As Blackpaw shaped himself a nest out of the moss, he thought of all he had done that day. He and Yarrowpaw had gone on their first patrol with their mentors. First they had traveled to the ThunderClan border. Blackpaw had been told stories about the Thunderpath when he was a young kit, but when he finally saw it he couldn't believe it was so big. Unfortunately, Blackpaw was not able to get his first smell of ThunderClan, due to the fact that he was upwind.

After Yarrowpaw and Blackpaw had finished the patrol, Cloudpelt and Clawface showed them a few of the basics of hunting frogs. The moves seemed simple enough. . . until he actually tried them. Blackpaw had crept up right behind the frog( just as he was told!). However, at the last minute the frog had caught sight of the apprentice, giving a loud "croak"and jumping back into the muddy pool. Blackpaw had been convinced that he had failed horribly.

Then, on the way back to camp, Yarrowpaw caught sight of a frog, sitting underneath a small, fern-like plant. Yarrowpaw had started out well, but then the frog had saw him and started to hop away at an amazing pace. Yarrowpaw didn't give up, though. Blackpaw and the two mentors waited as Yarrowpaw raced off, paws pounding on the soft marshy ground. A short while later, Yarrowpaw returned. His resemblance to a cat was minimal. His fur, which had been a nice glossy color earlier was now plastered with mud. His coat was covered in thorns and burs and his eyes had a dull look in them. With out making a single noise, he sat back down next to them.

Blackpaw was jolted from his thoughts as Brokenpaw entered the apprentices' den, his head was held high as he brought in a small salamander. "Blackfaw wook what I caughf!" He shook the salamander, which hung limp from his mouth. Blackpaw gave purr of pleasure for his litter mate. He came over to where Brokenpaw was doing his best to keep the salamander in his mouth and admire it at the same time. "I neef to gf gif thif to fhe elders now" Brokenpaw gave Blackpaw a playful nudge and ran off in the direction of the elders' den.

At the same time, from the other side of the clearing, Yarrowpaw exited the den of Yellowfang(the medicine cat). He looked slightly better then when he had run back from chasing the frog, but his fur was still coated in mud, and his eyes still had that dull look to them. Blackpaw decided that it was best not to tell Yarrowpaw about Brokenpaw's first catch. "You couldn't expect to catch anything." Blackpaw told his brother, "I mean it's only your first time. I mean look at me, I did the same thing, just you didn't give up... you stupid furball." Yarrowpaw gave a growl of a mock fury and lept on to his brother's back. The mock battle continued until finally Blackpaw ended up on top. His victory was short lived, for at that moment another creature landed on top of him. Blackpaw twisted his head around to get a better look at his second attacker. Brokenpaw was siting triumphantly on Blackpaw's back. Yarrowpaw was beginning to make a wheezing noise. " Get off me! I'm crushing Yarrowpaw, you mousebrain!" Blackpaw exclaimed. Brokenpaw lept off of Blackpaw, who then got off of Yarrowpaw. Yarrowpaw looked worse then when the play fight had started, but the dull look in his eyes had been replaced by a light somewhat like fire. He had improved his brothers mood if nothing else, thought Blackpaw. He walked away, leaving Brokenpaw and Yarrowpaw to argue about the fight.

As Blackpaw walked toward the fresh-kill pile, he saw Yellowfang, who was intently watching Yarrowpaw and Brokenpaw(who were now engaged in a small tussle). As Blackpaw drew closer, Yellowfang seemed to sense that she was being watched, and she turned her head and looked at him. "Your brother is better, it seems," she said in her scratchy voice, just as Yarrowpaw was pinned underneath Brokenpaw. Blackpaw gave a small nod. Without any warning, Yellowfang abruptly turned around and headed back to her den.

At that moment Blackpaw decided it best to intervene before Yarrowpaw lost any more of his pride. Before Blackpaw could even reach the den, a large, sleek black and white form barreled in to Brokenpaw. Brokenpaw gave an annoyed hiss at being knocked off his opponent. Blackpaw's eyes were practically tearing from amusement, as he watched Brokenpaw get pummeled by the older and more experienced Brightpaw. Blackpaw sat down in a small patch of sunlight to enjoy the display.

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