Chapter 11
"No, Fernkit! That's not how you play mossball!"
Owlpaw purred as he watched Stormkit try to explain how to play mossball to her two newest denmates, Fernkit and Berrykit. Mistwing, the mother of the two newest arrivals, watched from the nursery, whiskers twitching with amusement as she watched the kits play.
"Berrykit! You don't throw the mossball away, you try to keep it from other cats!" Stormkit squeaked.
"I'm not sure I like mossball very much," Fernkit mewed.
"I don't get it," added Berrykit.
"Owlpaw! If you're not too busy watching the kits play, make yourself useful!" Dawnfeather smapped.
Owlpaw sighed and padded out of camp. He had barely gone more than a few tail-lengths when he spotted a pigeon.
Dropping into a hunting crouch, Owlpaw slowly pulled himself forward. His belly was brushing against the ground, and his ears were flat. Then he jumped, accidentally snapping a twig in the process. The bird let out a cry of alarm and started to fly away, but Owlpaw pounced on it, biting the pigeon's neck. It went limp.
Owlpaw let out a purr of satisfaction. He quickly dug a hole in the hard, frozen ground and buried it.
He then heard pawsteps behind him. Whipping his head around, Owlpaw relaxed when he saw that it was only his friend, Hawkpaw.
"Hey," Hawkpaw greeted. "Wanna hunt together?"
"Sure."
They checked the forest for any signs of prey, but they only found a squirrel. Owlpaw attempted to chase after it but lost it.
When they arrived at the lake after traveling for some time, Hawkpaw announced, "I'm going to catch a fish."
Owlpaw blinked, surprised. "You? Catch a fish? Are you a Riverclan cat or something?"
Hawkpaw sniffed. "It's not like there's a lot of other prey around."
"Yes, but...it's a fish! And the whole lake is frozen over!"
"So?"
Hawkpaw padded up to the frozen lake. He put a paw on it, then brought it back up and smashed down as hard as he could. Crash!
A spiderweb of cracks formed along the surface of the ice. They steadily grew larger, then, without any warning, the ice broke apart.
"See any fish?" Owlpaw asked.
Hawkpaw scanned the clear blue water, a reflection of the sky and its fluffy white clouds. "Nope...ah-ha!"
A small, flickering figure darted amongst the shattered ice. "There!" Hawkpaw plunged one dark brown paw into the water. He grunted as he reached in further, trying to grab the fish.
"Almost...got it..." he gasped.
"Did you get it?" asked Owlpaw.
Hawkpaw sighed, disappointed. "Nope."
"Oh."
Hawkpaw's eyes suddenly blazed with fury. "I'm going to get that dumb fish," he growled. "If it's the last thing I do!"
"Whoa there." Owlpaw looked at Hawkpaw. "Why do you want to catch a fish so badly?"
Hawkpaw sighed. "Nightpaw dared me. And besides," he added, eyes suddenly misty, "I want to..." Hawkpaw looked down at his paws. He mumbled something that Owlpaw couldn't catch.
"What?"
Hawkpaw muttered something under his breath.
"I can't hear you."
Hawkpaw glared at Owlpaw. "Okay, fine. I wanted to..to impress Sorrelstorm!"
Owlpaw laughed. "Really? You and Sorrelstorm?"
"Well, what about you and Hollypaw?" Hawkpaw countered.
Owlpaw looked away. "That's different."
"How?"
"Well, I kind of like Rosepaw..."
"WHAT?!" Hawkpaw's outburst frightened several birds nearby, causing them to take flight. "Y-you and ROSEPAW?!"
"What?" Owlpaw felt the need to defend himself.
"Owlpaw, the whole clan's been gossiping since last moon! Even the kits! It's all about you and Hollypaw, and how Darkwhisker obviously likes Shimmertail, but mostly you and Hollypaw."
"Oh-okay."
Hawkpaw turned to look at him. "So who d'ya choose? Hollypaw or Rosepaw?"
Owlpaw looked away. "I'm not sure."
"Well, okay then-whoa!"
Owlpaw looked at Hawkpaw. The dark brown tom had slipped on a patch of ice, and he had landed in the lake.
"I guess everycat just wants to be in the lake!" Owlpaw purred
"Oh, very funny, Hawkpaw snapped. "Absolutely hilarious." He started paddling. "Well, as long as I'm here, I might as well catch a fish..."
"For Sorrelstorm?" Owlpaw teased.
"Yes," Hawkpaw sniffed.
"Okay, then." Owlpaw sat down. "This should be interesting to watch."
Hawkpaw yowled and flung himself deeper into the water. His legs and tail flailed about, sending up a spray of water. He was slashing at slicing at the water, desperate to get a fish.
"Did you catch one yet?" asked Owlpaw.
"Shut up," hissed Hawkpaw. He lashed out with his paw, brushing against a fish. "There!"
He missed.
"Frog guts!" growled Hawkpaw.
"I'm going back," announced Owlpaw. He padded away.
"Yeah, yeah," hissed Hawkpaw.
(A few hours later)
Owlpaw watched the sunset. The slow, lazy orange seemed to brighten up the normally gray sky of leaf-bare.
"Owlpaw! Have you seen Hawkpaw?" Owlpaw turned. Snowpaw was staring anxiously at him.
"He's not back yet?!"
"No."
Owlpaw began to feel a growing sense of dread.
Hello everyone! How'd you enjoy that chapter? I just realized that I didn't mention Stormkit for, like, half the story. So here she is!
What did you think of that chapter? Let me know in your review! Thanks for all the great ones!
-HalfSun