Gingerclaw sat all night by the camp entrance for his silent vigil with Fernwillow.
Finally, Shortclaw relieved them of their duty and told them to share a piece of fresh-kill.
"You two also get to go to the gathering together tonight."
Fernwillow trembled with excitement and fear. "I'm super excited, but I don't want to
cross the Thunderpath. It scares me."
"It's okay; I know a secret way to get to the other side without having to watch for
monsters." Gingerclaw meowed quietly into her ear. Fernwillow licked her mate's cheek
in thanks. They padded out of camp and got some moss to make some new nests. They
carried it over to the warriors den and made two nests beside each other in the corner.
They walked slowly over to the fresh-kill pile and Gingerclaw picked out a juicy squirrel
for them to share. They dug in and finished it off with a few bites.
"Do you want to go work on a couple battle moves and finish off with some hunting
today?" Gingerclaw asked Fernwillow.
"Sure." She replied excitedly. They bounded out of camp to a clearing in the forest for
battle practice. Gingerclaw touched Fernwillow's shoulder with his tail for her to stop
and told her to attack him. She leapt at a bush next to Gingerclaw and got stuck in some
brambles. "I wish I could see. This is never going to work!" She hissed frustratedly.
"You can see." Gingerclaw mewed gently. "You just need a little practice and you'll be
fine."
They practiced for the rest of the day and Fernwillow finally started to get some good
attacks in. After they had a little scuffle, Fernwillow appeared on top and Gingerclaw
couldn't believe how good of a fighter she was.
"Good," he breathed. "Let's go hunting; I think we've done enough battle skills for the
day."
Fernwillow jumped off of him and let him lead her through the forest. Gingerclaw ended
up catching a frog and two mice. Unfortunately Fernwillow didn't catch anything, but she
nearly caught a small vole, but Gingerclaw didn't expect anything more because she had
hardly been an apprentice when she was hit by the monster. They padded silently back to
camp with Gingerclaw carrying the frog and Fernwillow carrying the two mice. Icebird
met them at the entrance. "Wow! Did you catch these mice Fernwillow?"
The gray she-cat dropped the mice, as did Gingerclaw, and started to reply when
Gingerclaw put his tail in her mouth. "Yes, she did catch them." He meowed.
"Congratulations!" she yowled proudly. Fernwillow dipped her head in embarrassment
and waited until her mother left her and Gingerclaw alone to hiss. "What was that? I
didn't catch anything!"
"So?" Gingerclaw shrugged. "You're my mate; I want cats to know what you're capable
of."
"I want to be known for what I've actually done, not what they think I've done." She
growled coldly and stalked off into the queens den to talk to her friend. Gingerclaw
followed her quietly, so she wouldn't know that he was there and he heard voices talking.
"Two? That's great!"
That was Fernwillow talking, he was sure of it.
"Thanks! I just don't know what to name them."
Gingerclaw knew that was Pigeonwing. She was the only cat in the den who was
expecting kits. He walked in like he hadn't been listening. "Hi Pigeonwing, Fernwillow.
Oh! You've had your kits!"
Pigeonwing looked proudly down at the two little bundles of fur resting by her stomach.
"Yes, I just don't know what to name them."
"Can I name one?" Gingerclaw asked, he had the perfect name for one of them.
"Of course! That would be very helpful, and Fernwillow can name the other."
Fernwillow glared at Gingerclaw. "Thanks Pigeonwing. I want to name the black one."
"Well I want to name it!" Gingerclaw snapped.
Pigeonwing looked really confused. "You two are ridiculous. Stop fighting and behave
like warriors. Even if you got into a fight, suck it up and deal with each other. Fernwillow
you can name the black one, and Gingerclaw you can name the dark tabby."
Gingerclaw snorted angrily, but replied. "Okay, my name for the dark tabby she-cat is
Petalkit."
Fernwillow chuckled; she couldn't believe that the brave warrior she loved had named a
kit Petalkit. "Well, I will name the black tom Thistlekit, after Gingerclaw's friend."
Gingerclaw purred and licked her nose. "Thanks, I didn't know you ever listened to my
stories about gatherings."
"Of course I did! I always wanted to know everything about you, including your friends.
I love you."
"I love you too."