A cheerful, bright newleaf morning had settled over the dark pines of ShadowClan. The warmth of one of the first sunny days in moons had brought out scores of prey; birds flocked to trees thicker than the ants in an anthill. Yet despite the plentiful sources, one apprentice had seen nothing but failure all morning.

"Dawnpaw!" scolded a large smoke-coloured tom in exasperation. "Have you bees in your brain? That mouse could have felt your pawsteps in WindClan!"

The pale gray she-cat winced, ashamed. Her paws felt overly big as she scuffed the ground; it wasn't that big of a mistake, right?

"Everyone misses a catch once in a while," she started half-heartedly, but her mentor sharply cut her off.

"Once in a while, yes! But Dawnpaw, you- you are a very interesting case." The older tom bared his teeth, anger flashing in his amber eyes. "Every time you make a mistake- which, needless to say, is quite often- it's not your fault. When you gave the elder soaking wet moss for their nests, you said Stormpaw forgot to remind you to check it. When you tried to help Cedarberry with her herbs and gave Breezeflight parsley instead of borage, you said they looked exactly the same. When you miss a catch, it's always the wind blew the wrong way, or a fern nearby rustled. Once you said the sun was shining the wrong way! You've blamed things on cats who aren't even near you! It's time to shape up and start taking responsibility for your actions, Dawnpaw. Stop making excuses."

Dawnpaw was too terrified to even respond for several moments. At last she whispered feebly, "I'm sorry, Longshadow-"

"'Sorry' catches no prey," he hissed in her ear. "I don't know how you live with yourself. Have you no shame, Dawnpaw? You refuse to believe that anything is your fault!"

"I'll make up for it!" she cried out desperately, pleading in her pale amber eyes. "I can at least try! Please, Longshadow. I want to be a warrior more than anything. It's not my fault if I make a mistake-"

"There you go again," he snarled balefully. "That's an excuse, Dawnpaw. You need to stop."

There was a long pause, and the light gray apprentice took a deep breath. "Okay….it is my fault if I mess up sometimes. I forget things I should try to remember, or I'm too lazy to check the wind or sun or my surroundings before hunting. I need to try harder." Slowly Dawnpaw straightened up, and looked her mentor directly in the eyes. "I will try harder, Longshadow. I promise."

The sun shone brightly over the two ShadowClan cats as the apprentice made a pact with her hulking mentor. She would try harder at everything she did, and he would see about making her into a warrior. If the apprentice could prove herself, he was willing to give her a chance.

It was time for all of the excuses to end.

AN: Looks like I managed to get Chapter 2 up tonight! This is theme #16, Excuses {{ I skipped around again, oops }}. I like how this one turned out, despite the fact that it's a lot shorter! I'll try to get one or two more out tomorrow. Depends on if anyone's actually reading this yet, haha.

If you are reading, free cookies! -gives a cookie- Also, if you're reading these and are a member of Chicken Smoothie, go ahead and leave a review with your CS username and I might gift you for being a loyal fan! c;

Thank you all so much, and have a good night!