A/N: Please review. I just want to know that people are actually reading this.
Chapter 2
"Again?" a shocked mew came from a fluffy gray tom. His blue eyes revealed distress, and for once he didn't try to hide it. Mintpaw watched as the tom dipped his head, looking at the ground as if he was thinking. Thornfang stood next to him. The brown tom's eyes glinted.
"Those fox-hearts!" the deputy hissed. "They have a whole forest of prey, and yet they still come into our territory. Cloudstar, we have to teach them a lesson, once and for all."
Next to Cloudstar sat a lithe black she-cat, who hadn't said a word yet. Her name was Sleekfur, IceClan's medicine cat. She had been working in her den, which was a hole underneath a Cyprus tree, when the patrol had returned. Apparently, she was very close with their leader, so she liked being there to support him.
Especially now, Mintpaw thought, when Cloudstar is realizing that no matter what we do it isn't enough.
After a long silence, Cloudstar looked up again. The determined look in his eyes had returned, as if his doubt had lasted no more than a few moments. Turning to Thornfang, he mewed sternly, "Organize more patrols. I want any possible chance to find proof that they have been on our territory. Foxclaw, I want you to lead the midday patrol; take Fallenleaf, Peppercloud, and Shortpaw."
Nodding their heads, Thornfang and Foxclaw turned and left the den. Mintpaw was about to leave as well, but Cloudstar called to her first. "Y-yes, Cloudstar?" she asked.
He stared at her for a moment, as if seeing something she couldn't, before continuning, "I want to take you out hunting later, so rest up. But first, you can take some prey to the elders."
Eyes wide with seriousness, Mintpaw padded away before going to the fresh-kill pile. She grabbed a fish between her teeth, and then thought of Cloudstar. Whenever he wanted to train her, she got so nervous, as if by doing something wrong she would disappoint him. And then he goes and looks at her like that! She wasn't special by any means, so it always confused her.
Oh well. Time to feed the elders, she thought with a sigh, walking over to the willow tree, with nests right next to it. This was the shadiest part of camp, so the elders love it.
"Well, hello youngster!" a scrawny brown tom rasped. Next to him, a gray she-cat with a fluffy tail purred a greeting as well.
Dropping the fresh-kill on the ground, Mintpaw replied quietly, "Good morning Rockpelt, Grasstail. I brought you some food." She shuffled her paws as they thanked her before asking, "should I get Dead-eye and Smallflower something, too?" She was looking at a pair of cats sleeping in the corner. One had thin black fur, while the other had a fragile body with pale ginger fur hanging on it.
Rockpelt was already digging into the fish, but Grasstail responded. "Oh don't wake those cranky fur balls. They'll get something later." She then blinked before lowering her head into the food, signifying that Mintpaw should leave.
By now, the sun had risen and was completely over the camp. Most of the cats had woken up, so now they were either on patrols or basking in the heat. The relaxing heat was tempting, but she decided to eat next to the warriors den today.
The warriors den was located right next to the nursery, cut off from the rest of the camp by its own patch of reeds. Mintpaw slowly began to imagine what it was like being a warrior . . . being in charge . . . helping your Clan . . .
"Mintpaw!" Mintpaw reared back in surprise, her pelt burning in embarrassment when she saw how close she was to the warriors den entrance. She spun around to see who had called her, but immediately her legs started to quiver when she saw.
Three warriors—that's right, not just one—were standing in front of her, whiskers twitching in amusement. The pale tom in the middle, with a very short tail, purred and said, "Young apprentices sure are troublesome."
The tom black tom next to him, with hundreds of gray and white specks, agreed, "Yeah, we were never so bad. Right, Haretail? What about you, Mossfire?"
The last cat in the group, with light brown fur and fiery amber eyes, rolled her eyes and flicked the toms with her tail. "Don't listen to those two," Mossfire meowed. "Haretail and Peppercloud just like to tease." Then, leaving Mintpaw behind, the three warriors left the camp, talking the whole way.
Even though she knew they were joking, Mintpaw felt horrible that she almost invaded their den. The warriors den was a privilege they got- an upgrade from the apprentice den, which was simply underneath a large bush. It may have been an accident, but that didn't make her feel any less bad.
I have to make sure I pay more attention, she scolded herself.
A rustle from the reeds alerted Mintpaw that cats were exiting the warriors den, so she had enough time to back up. As soon as she got further away, two cats came out—one was Sleetpelt, and the other a gray tabby she-cat (Ripplewing, Mintpaw reminded herself).
Ripplewing didn't say anything to Mintpaw; she only nodded as greeting before calling over to a long-limbed gray she-cat who was lazily chewing a fish. As the sound of her name, she made a huff before stretching and meeting the older warrior.
"We're going hunting," Ripplewing said shortly before walking to the camp entrance.
The younger she-cat didn't show any emotions at first, but then her face relaxed and she was back to normal. At the sight of Mintpaw she sneered, "Daydreaming again, Mintpaw?" When the black apprentice didn't reply, she continued, "I mean, you and Shortpaw are so inexperienced, you'll never be warriors!"
"You're inexperienced, too, Riverpaw," she meowed meekly. She had wanted to yell it, but it came out as a whine, instead.
"Yeah, but I'm older than you," was Riverpaw's answer. Casting one last condescending glance at Mintpaw, Riverpaw padded away to meet her mentor.
Mintpaw knew that many of her Clanmates didn't believe she would be a good warrior; they probably thought she wouldn't even become one. With a despondent sigh, the young apprentice plopped onto the ground to rest after a very busy morning.