Twigpaw looked up at the night sky and realized that she had fallen asleep last night while she was out hunting. She jumped up and looked around to see if anyone had saw her and then turned to go back to camp.
Halfway there, Molepaw came out of nowhere and ran beside her. Twigpaw skidded to a halt.
"Molepaw! You scared me out of my fur!" Molepaw padded over to her and flicked her shoulder with his tail-tip.
"Sorry. I saw you sleeping by a tree and watched to make sure a fox didn't come by and get you." Twigpaw felt a moment of affection for the apprentice, but it was soon replaced with feelings of anger and frustration.
"That's no reason to scare me to death!" She flinched as Molepaw shrunk away from her. "I'm sorry. I was just surprised, that's all. Thanks." He nodded and they continued on to camp together.
When they got to the entrance, Lionblaze, Mousewhisker, and Foxleap were working on the brambles guarding the camp.
"Be careful getting into camp. The brambles aren't trimmed up yet, so they might scratch your pelt," Lionblaze meowed. Twigpaw nodded and pushed her way into camp. She turned around to wait for Molepaw, and snorted in amusement at what she saw,.
He was stuck in the entrance with brambles clinging to his fur as he struggled to get free.
"Don't struggle! I'll get Squirrelflight!" Brambleclaw's voice called from somewhere behind her as he rushed to get his former mate. She emerged from the warrior's den and gathered some herbs from Jayfeather's herb store before chewing them up and applying them to Molepaw's grey pelt.
"Don't laugh at me!" Molepaw's mew of protest didn't seem at all playful, so Twigpaw stopped as soon as she could.
When Molepaw was freed, he didn't even look at Twigpaw before he went to the medicine den to wash the herbs off his pelt. The tabby she-cat couldn't help but laugh when Jayfeather nearly threw her denmate out of his herb store.
"Don't wash herbs off in the pool that sick cats drink from! The herbs on your pelt could be harmful to some!" Jayfeather's irritation pricked from his pelt as he grumbled in his den.
Molepaw emerged from the den and left camp, being careful not to get caught again. Twigpaw's whiskers twitched and she followed him, keeping a safe distance between them.
The gray apprentice swerved through the trees and came to the stream near the WindClan border. He washed the herbs from his pelt and hopped out of the stream. Twigpaw noticed his muscles ripple beneath his wet fur.
Molepaw shook the water from his fur. Suddenly, he stopped and stiffened. He turned his head toward the border and bristled.
"Who's there?" A ginger she-cat stepped out of the bushes and purred.
"Hello. My name is Ginger. Are you a Clan cat?" Ginger was the prettiest she-cat Twigpaw had ever seen. Her sleek pelt was neatly groomed, and her hazel eyes twinkled. Her fur was longer than most cat's, but not so long it wasn't kept well. She was dazzling.
"I am. My name is Molepaw. I need to take you back to the camp now." He nudged the she-cat forward in the direction of the camp, and although he was trying to look mean and dangerous, Twigpaw could see that he was gawking at the kittypet.
She followed him, silent as a mouse, all the way back to camp. Molepaw had already gone to Bramblestar's den, and everyone was crowded around Ginger.
"Ginger! I haven't seen you in seasons!" Purdy yowled from the elders' den. Ginger smiled, yet was clearly uncomfortable around the old cat.
"Ah, yes. Purdy, aren't you?" She sounded so regal. Her voice seemed to sing like the birds.
"I am. You remember me?" The two cats talked while Twigpaw searched for Molepaw. When she found him, he was standing on Highledge, looking like a leader, as he watched Ginger with wide eyes. Twigpaw felt a pang of jealousy at the look he gave the kittypet.
"Hey, Molepaw!" Twigpaw smiled up at him.
"Oh, yeah, hi Twigpaw." He didn't take his gaze from the ginger cat as he spoke. The tabby apprentice flattened her ears to her head and turned away from him. She noticed Bramblestar questioning the new cat in the center of the clearing, and then he jumped onto Highledge to call a meeting.
"Cats of ThunderClan! There was a kittypet trespassing on our territory." Twigpaw heard mutters of disapproval and hissing from around the clearing. "But she wishes to become an apprentice of ThunderClan, and I believe she should have a fair chance at our way of life. She said she never wanted to be a kittypet, but that she was born into that lifestyle."
What was Bramblestar doing? Kittypets weren't Clan material!
"Ginger, from this day until you receive your warrior name, you shall be known as Gingerpaw. I will mentor you." Clan leader's didn't usually take an apprentice! That was the warriors' job. Perhaps he was saving the new cat from harsh training with the other warriors. They didn't seem too happy about a kittypet joining the Clan.
Bramblestar jumped from the Highledge and led Gingerpaw out into the forest to start her training immediately. Twigpaw looked up at Molepaw and noticed he had left where he was standing just a little while ago. She turned and spotted him right before he left camp to follow the new apprentice.
Twigpaw sighed.
"Having boy troubles?" She jumped at the sound of Whitewing's voice behind her.
"Yeah. I mean, why's Molepaw so fascinated with her? She's a kittypet!" Whitewing's eyes widened.
"I know some warriors think kittypets are useless, but Daisy is helpful, and so is Millie. In fact, Firestar was once a kittypet." Twigpaw gasped.
"Really! I never knew that!" She instantly felt guilty for what she'd said. "I didn't mean it like that. Firestar was a great leader, and I'm sure he wasn't ever like Gingerpaw. She seems so snotty and regal." Whitewing smiled and flicked Twigpaw's nose with her tail.
"Either she'll learn to be less elegant, or she'll leave the Clan. She'll find out that Clan life isn't as easy as being a kittypet." The white warrior padded away and left Twigpaw to think.
She's right. Molepaw won't like her as much when she says Clan life is too hard.