Applepaw gazed at her mother in disbelief.
"Mom. Why is Acornpaw saying daddy is their daddy?"
Cloverspirit stood stiffly, looking at her daughter with warm eyes, as if drinking in her very essence before spilling the truth. The truth about everything.
"Flarestrike and I are your mother and father. I am a medicine cat and he is a warrior. It is forbidden for us to have kits. But we did."
Applepaw flattened her ears, eyes wide. I'm a product of something forbidden; I was never supposed to happen!
"We didn't want our kits to suffer for what we did, so we devised a plan to stop anybody from finding out."
She sat down, wrapping her tail tightly over her paws, pricking her ears. Applepaw braced her legs and frowned, conflicting feelings warring inside of her: warmth that her mom and dad would go to so much trouble to protect their kits, but something else. A nagging in her head...
"So your father had kits with Ashfall, and we planned to give our kits to her. She agreed, but we should've known. It was stupid. As we were coming back to camp with our kits, I couldn't do it."
She let her head sag beneath her shoulders.
"I-If I wasn't so weak, you might be living better lives without so many..."
Cloverspirit stopped, and leaned forwards to lick her head.
Applepaw shied away and scowled at her, "Without so many what?" She pried, her tail fluffing up.
"We can talk about this more when you're older." Cloverspirit said in a dismissive tone.
Then she turned towards Lightpaw, who was silently sorting herbs nearby, her arched ears giving away the fact she had been listening intently. Applepaw huffed and whirled around, the truth weighing like a burden on her shoulders. Ashfall was supposed to be my mother. I could be living a lie, and not even know it! A shudder ran along her flank and she dipped into the den and climbed in-between her siblings, glad to have sleep chase away her distressing thoughts.
"Applepaw..." A voice crooned, and something sweet smelling waved in front of her nose.
"Aaaappllleeeppaaawww..." It said again, and something warm brushed by her muzzle.
Her stomach growled and she reached out in her dream. C'mere mouse... She caught it and triumphantly held it up, ready to crunch down into its juicy flesh...
"LET GO OF MY TAIL!" A voice shrieked.
Applepaw jolted awake to find herself holding Stormpaw's tail while the sharp ice blue eyes glared at her. She had almost bitten it, and she let go, spitting out a few of her furs. Her loud yell had woken up the rest of the apprentice den and they all woke up, grumbling.
"Wuzzat 'bout a tail?" Icepaw mumbled, and then yawned, his eyes brightening.
When he saw his sister's nest empty he stood up and stretched and went outside.
Acornpaw glanced up, "Thanks for the wakeup call!"
She growled, poked Moonpaw fully awake, and trotted after her den mates. Snowpaw simply blinked and then moved his fluffy tail over his nose. He looked soft and fragile as he slept, and Applepaw smiled at her brother.
Blazepaw looked annoyed, then he licked her ear, "C'mon, their mentors can wake them. You need some breakfast."
Applepaw frowned worriedly at Snowpaw, thinking of how brutally Crowtalon might yell at him for being lazy, and then padded after her bigger brother. It was still early, and the sun was just peeking over the horizon. She picked at the cold prey and sighed disapprovingly, wishing she could go find a warm squirrel. Unfortunately her hunting crouch was far from perfect and her muscles still felt stiff and groggy.
Flarestrike and Cloverspirit emerged from the entrance, he holding a blackbird, her with blazing eyes and a bristled pelt. Her mom turned towards her den and her dad trotted towards her, tail rising with happiness.
"Huwny?" He asked, muffled by the feathers.
She nodded vigorously and she tore into the bird while he watched.
"I didn't get a chance to ask you how training went yesterday, so, how was it?"
Applepaw looked up at him, once again the truth about her birth crashing around her ears. "Fine."
She answered shortly, and then pretended she was too hungry to resist gnawing on the bones. Nodding, he stretched and padded towards Whiteleaf to ask about patrols. Sharpclaw soon disappeared into the apprentice's den to fetch Featherpaw and Applepaw waited for Ferndream, her grandmother, to wake up.
"Flarestrike, Sharpclaw, Featherpaw and Embersky and... Silentstream can go on the first hunting patrol of the day. Eaglepaw, Sunflower and Blazepaw, Rayshine, and I will go on the dawn patrol. The rest of you are free to train your apprentices!"
He flicked his tail dismissively at the clan and she saw Featherpaw bouncing around Sharpclaw.
"I get to learn how to hunt today, right!"
He nodded, flashing Northwind a mischievous glance with his good eye as she stood by Moonpaw. She grinned back. Ferndream emerged, her ears pricked, and once she spotted Applepaw she quickly trotted over.
"Training today?" She asked. Applepaw nodded, sinking her claws into the dirt.
"Can we practice fighting? Puh-lease!"
Making her yellow eyes wide and innocent as she could, she achieved a laugh from her mentor and grandma.
"You remind me so much of your father. Sure. But you have to keep up."
Her eyes sparkled as she leapt away into the entrance. With a squeak, Applepaw pounded after her. By the time they had arrived by the grassy clearing, her muscles were burning and lungs were gulping air. But, she had kept a good pace. Ferndream looked pleased and she purred,
"Catch your breath, then we'll practice."
As she waited for her breath to become even, Dawnblaze pushed through the swathe of ferns with Acornpaw by her side. The red-brown she-cat was panting hard too, though she closed her mouth and her muzzle twitched when she saw Applepaw.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were already here-"
Ferndream rumbled at her daughter. "It's okay, join us. We don't take up that much room."
Dawnblaze nodded and led her apprentice to the edge of the clearing and began talking with her.
"Okay, I know you're eager to start actually fighting, but it's best if you learn basic things first. First, let's see your stalking crouch."
Acornpaw dropped the ground, her shoulder blades sticking up and ears slicked back as she hunkered low the ground.
Ferndream mewed at her, breaking her concentration.
"Yes, Applepaw, I know you're very interested in what your kin is doing, but please pay attention to me. I said, let's see those claws."
Applepaw looked up and shivered at the word kin before complying. Her short but sharp claws curved out of their sheaths and she smiled at them.
"Do you feel the grass beneath your claws? Imagine it as enemy fur. To be a good warrior you have to think like a warrior."
Applepaw met her green gaze and it was held there as she began to circle her apprentice. Suddenly, Ferndream's paw shot out towards her hind leg and Applepaw flicked her legs out and bounced away.
"Good, good. You have to have strategy, always thinking, always moving. Your enemies won't hesitate to injure you. They. Will. Kill. You."
Applepaw's heart raced at the thought. She growled, and Ferndream's eyes lit up.
"Good, keep that thought. Now, let's see your slash."
Over on the other side of the clearing Acornpaw was learning how to dodge. She snapped her eyes back to her mentor. She lifted her paw and flicked her wrist like she was scratching her mentor's cheek.
"Come at me." Ferndream said suddenly.
Applepaw lunged forwards, but was deflected by a head-butt in the chest.
"Try again." Ferndream encouraged.
She went again, this time feinting to one side before she nipped Ferndream's shoulder. The she-cat's fur bristled at the touch and she smiled.
"I can see. Your father was an excellent fighter. Hey! Dawnblaze! Let's see if Acornpaw inherited her father's touch! One on one?"
Dawnblaze looked nervous, but she didn't decline. Acornpaw's eyes lit up, and she bared her teeth at Applepaw. Applepaw growled, and Acornpaw sneered.
"You're part medicine cat, this should be easy." She whispered, just out of range of the mentors.
"Save it, you vengeful badger." Applepaw snarled.
Her claws sheathed as Ferndream gave them both stern looks. They both crouched in tense silence before Acornpaw suddenly lunged. Applepaw head-butted her in the chest, knocking her off her feet. Acornpaw spat, digging her hind legs into Applepaw's stomach.
Applepaw tried to cling on with sheathed paws but was thrown off, and she ran forwards again. A claw flicked across her nose and a flash of pain ran through her, followed by stinging. She flinched away from another slash and her own claws unconsciously came out of their sheaths.
Anger boiled through her and she reared up and Acornpaw looked up at her with startled eyes, too inexperienced to know this was her perfect time to unbalance her half-sister. Applepaw began to fly down, imagining Acornpaw's head squashed under her paws...
"Stop!" Dawnblaze yowled, flying through the air and knocking Applepaw away.
The apprentice skidded away and Acornpaw followed her with glazed eyes before a growl rumbled in her throat. Dawnblaze nudged Acornpaw through the ferns, her eyes angry and confused. Applepaw stood up and shook the dust from her pelt, and then Ferndream approached her.
"I think we need to talk."