Chapter 2.
Sunlight streamed into the hollow, warming Thornpaw from whiskers to tail tip. The smooth stone beneath her paws felt hot on her rough pads. The sweet aroma's of the freshly stocked fresh-kill pile filled her nostrils, her stomach grumbled as she started toward the pile.
"Not so fast." Lionfur darted infront of her, blocking her way to her next meal. "You're an apprentice now, don't you think you should make sure the elders are fed first? And the queens, and Cricketsong? Before yourself."
"Yes, Lionfur!" Thornpaw meowed proudly, bounding past him. She could feel his eyes on her as she moved away. Kneeling down, she picked up a plump vole, carrying it proudly to where Littleleap and Grassclaw were sharing tongues just outside the elders den.
"Thornpaw! Thunderclan's newest apprentice. How does it feel?" Grassclaw asked, lifting his head from sharing tongues with Littleleap.
"Well... extraordinary. Great. Amazing. Fantastic. Like I can do anything. Be anything. Fight anything. Hunt anything. Track anything--"
"I get it." Littleleap interjected, eyeing the vole. "Is that for us?"
"Err--yes." Thornpaw felt a little taken aback by the elders rude comment. 'I get it? I get it?' She placed the vole at the old she-cats paws, nudging it closer. "Enjoy!" She purred, pelting back to Lionfur.
"Good job!" He remarked. "You're making a fine apprentice, already."
"Thanks, Lionfur." She was glowing with enthusiasm. "May I eat now?"
"Yes. Go ahead." He flicked his tail to the fresh-kill pile.
She bounded over, scooping up a mouse in her jaws.
"Thornpaw, Thornpaw! Over here." She turned to see Rabbitpaw licking the remains of fresh-kill from her jowls. She was sitting beside Snowpaw and Rainpaw, the two older she-cats were sharing a squirrel. "Come join us."
Thornpaw pelted toward them. Settling down infront of Rainpaw, she dropped her prey to her paws and dug in. "Hi, Rainpaw, Snowpaw."
"Hey, Thornpaw. I'm so glad we're going to be den-mates. I missed not being in the nursery with you, but was happy to be out of their too." Snowpaw's eyes glimmered with happiness.
"I agree, you were so small then, now you're grown up." Rainpaw added, gulping down some squirrel. "So... I know it's soon, but how is being an apprentice going?"
"Yes. It is soon. But so far... great! I love being important to the clan, a part of it!" Thornpaw meowed proudly.
"Tonight you get to sleep in the apprentices den!" Snowpaw chimed in.
"I know, I'm so excited." She purred.
"Me too!" Rabbitpaw added, waving her tail back and fourth.
"Rabbitpaw? I'm going to take you on a tour of Thunderclan." Dovewing sudden voice from the camp entrance startled her. "C'mon!"
"Mind if Thornpaw and I join you?" Lionfur padded up to the white she-cat.
"No, of course you can."
"Great!" He replied. "Thornpaw, we're joining Rabbitpaw and Dovewing."
"Coming." She meowed, gulping down the last of the mouse. "See you guys." She waved her tail farewell to the senior apprentices and raced toward her mentor, Rabbitpaw was hot on her paws.
"This is the sand hollow, where you will spend the better part of your mornings, battle training." Lionfur took her in a circle around the sandy area. Huge boulders surrounded the smooth surfaced clearing, and big birch trees shadowed it from the hot rays of the sun.
"It's beautiful." She murmured, wishing she could roll around in the soft sand.
"Yes. Now come along, there's lots more to show you."
Thornpaw followed, wondering what new thing she would see ahead of her. She could feel her paws sinking into the sodden earth, small streams has scoured themselves into the ground, which she had to leap over to clear. Plants had been trampled on by many paws to make paths in the forest. When they came to fallen tree, it had many paw prints pressured into it, Thornpaw placed hers in the prints of another cats, sniffing the soaked wood she caught the scents of many Thunderclan warriors, Lionfur's included.
"This is The Shadowclan border, we mark our territory here." Lionfur explained, leaving a scent marker and waving his tail for Thornpaw to do the same.
"What happens if we forget?" She asked curious.
"Lots of things are possible. ShadowClan could invade, or think we were weak, or come to the conclusion that we don't follow the warrior code, and therefore don't believe in StarClan. Which would be horrible." Lionfur explained superiorly.
"Grassclaw told me, then once ShadowClan marked the border so much because they wanted ThunderClan territory, and finally they marked their border passed where ours was, right on our territory. And Firestar gave it to them, just gave it away." Thornpaw explained in awe. She followed her mentor back to forests edge, scrambling past bramble thickets to get into the safety of ThunderClan territory.
"It's not exactly like that, Firestar had no use of the area anyway. There was no prey there to begin with, and twolegs stayed there in Greenleaf anyways. Really, it's us who lucked out, not them."
Thornpaw thought about that for a minute, but still couldn't comprehend ThunderClan getting the better end of the stick, when clearly ShadowClan did. "Didn't ShadowClan think we were giving up easily, giving them what they wanted the first time they asked. They must've thought we were weak, did they try to take advantage?"
Lionfur purred amused. "No, Firestar made it clear that it was a one time thing, and that their was no prey their anyways."
"So they didn't take advantage of us?"
"No, they wouldn't dare."
"What about the badger attack… you know the one that… Cinderpelt… died in." Thornpaw choked on the words, she never knew the gray medicine cat, but she had heard many stories past down from Leafpool, to Jayfeather, to Cricketsong, and secretly, Thornpaw kind of worshipped her. She had used herself to protect kits from being murdered, and in the end, Cinderpelt was the one who died. It almost made her want to be a medicine cat. Not because of they dying part, but because helping your clan mates was what mattered most, right? 'Hmm… this is really something to think about. Maybe being a medicine cat is the right path for me.'
"Look!" Lionfur parted long stem-y plants out of the way, exposing a small clearing. She edged closer, peering between the leaves. Infront of her was squirrel, nibbling on a seed, he was completely unaware that they were there. Lionfur backed up, touching his tail to her shoulder so she would follow.
"Now, watch exactly what I do," He asserted, in a hushed tone. He started back toward the squirrel. "Be quiet."
Thornpaw slinked toward him, watching curiously and intently. Barely lifting her paws from the ground she hid in the bushes, never wavering her gaze from the golden tom.
Lionfur crouched in his hunting position, getting ready to leap, Thornpaw clawed at the ground impatiently. Before she knew it, he was in the air, over her head and back on the ground, a plump young squirrel placed firmly in his jaws. It was all so quick, how was she supposed to try doing it herself, she had no idea what he did besides jump in the air and return with fresh-kill.
"How did you…" She stammered, still puzzled with awe. "But I-"
"Calm down. I'll teach you." He rested his tail on her shoulder reassuringly. "I'll show you slowly this time." He buried his catch underneath some earth. "Now, before I sprung, I had to make sure I was crouching right, watch me."
Thornpaw's gaze followed him. He sat with hind legs up, but his front legs in a lying position, his head was low, but his eyes were looking up. He had his muscles bunched, and claws unsheathed, ready pounce!
"Try," He motioned for her to do the same beside him. Nervously, Thornpaw put her arms on the ground, with her back legs still straight. She bunched her muscles like Lionfur, and dug her claws into the sodden earth.
"Like this?" She asked.
"Almost," He meowed approvingly. "Remember, you have to check that the wind is blowing toward you, not away, so you're prey won't smell you before you catch it."
Thornpaw did as he said, opening her mouth to drink in the scents around her, instantly her ears pricked as the smell of a vole close by. "I smell a vole!" She bounced up and down proudly.
"Shhh! You'll scare it away before you ever catch it." Lionfur hissed sharply.
Thornpaw pinned her ears back, "Sorry."
"Now, let me see you're hunting crouch once more before you try anything like catching a vole."
Nodding, she sat back down, doing everything Lionfur told her to do.
"Perfect, you catch on abnormally quickly, Thornpaw. It's only you're first day."
She gleamed at his praise. "Can I try catching the vole now?"
Lionfur scowled. "Not today, you're not ready. I still need to teach you how to kill your prey, land on it squarely, and leap without making noise. That will be the hard part."
Thornpaw trotted back to camp at a brisk pace, feeling rather happy about herself. Her very first day of being an apprentice, and already she had learned something new. Something she would need to use for the rest of her life.
"When will I learn how to hunt?" She asked curiously, slowing down to a pad beside Lionfur, he was carrying his earlier caught squirrel, and a shrew.
"Soon, I promise. Just not today, we'll work on it more tomorrow."
She purred with joy. "I can't wait to tell Blackclaw and Snakepelt!"
Thornpaw tilted her face toward the sun, letting it warm her fur. The sky was clear blue today, cloudless, with birds flying here and there. Leaf buds of trees swayed in the warm breeze, making dancing shadows on the ground, which was covered with dead leaves from leaf-bare. Now that it was newleaf, everything was coming alive again, prettier, greener, and fresher then ever. She followed Lionfur toward the camp entrance, shivering when they walked under the tunnel into the cool cavern. She stopped abruptly when she caught sight of Cricketsong, carrying a wad of herbs in her mouth, she was coming out of the elders den. For some reason, she couldn't figure out, Thornpaw longed to be doing the same. 'No! I'm a warrior, not a medicine cat apprentice, a warrior apprentice!'
"Hi, Cricketsong!" She couldn't resist seeing what her job was like.
"Oh, hello, Thornpaw. Is there anything I can do for you?" She asked, her dark green eyes gleaming.
"No." She replied solidly. "Well… there is one thing."
Cricketsong looked at her funny, nodding for to go on.
"What's the worst thing about being a medicine cat?" Thornpaw blurted, not wanting to tell the she-cat she was thinking about being her apprentice, she needed more time to think. Maybe StarClan would send her a dream, telling her what to choose.
"The worst?" Cricketsong echoed, looking a little sheepish. It was a sudden mood change. "The worst… thing, would be. Not being able to have a mate…"
Thornpaw had never thought about that rule. Would it matter to her, she was happy as she was, she didn't want a mate, but she did want kits.
"No mate? No kits?"
"No, sadly. But it's what you have to give up to do what you love." Cricketsong meowed, starting toward her den.
"Yeah…" Thornpaw replied, stumbling away.