"Was last night real? Did Frostpelt actually ask us to help him?"
"Shh!" Duskpaw hissed. "If anyone hears us we could get in huge trouble!"
"I know," Dapplepaw sighed, "Ready to go eat?"
"Yeah," Duskpaw mewed, stepping out of the den and into the sunlight.
Dapplepaw followed, and noticed that the camp was unusually empty. Even though LeafClan was small, there were always a few cats in the clearing. Today, that wasn't the case.
"Why is the camp so empty?" Dapplepaw whispered, peering around at the dens.
"I don't have an answer!" Duskpaw mewed, stalking towards the fresh-kill pile.
"But…"
"Quit whispering!" The apprentice ordered before grabbing a plump mouse.
Dapplepaw didn't respond, instead he grabbed a small sparrow and the two cats headed towards the usual dip in the ground in front of the apprentice's den and settled in.
The cats began eating, and in the eerie silence neither of them felt like talking. Even Duskpaw felt it, though he wouldn't admit it.
After both apprentices were finished eating and were lounging in the sun, they pricked their ears towards a faint mewling.
Two kits tumbled out of the nursery, swatting at each other and hissing.
Dapplepaw purred softly, remembering when his brothers used to do that. Unfortunately, life wasn't that care free anymore.
"Duskpaw, Dapplepaw. Are you ready to go hunting?"
Dawnfur was standing outside the warriors den, her brown pelt glistening in the morning sun.
"Yeah!" Duskpaw answered, jumping to his paws.
"Good, let's go," Dawnfur headed for the camp entrance with the two apprentices following.
"Today you're going to hunt along the FireClan border and near the river. Because it's marshy, there won't be many rabbits or mice. There will be birds, fish, and maybe frogs. This tests your skills as a hunter. Any questions?"
Duskpaw and Dapplepaw looked at eachother. The marshes- that was near where they met the river cats!
"No… no questions," Dapplepaw mumbled.
"Let's go."
The cats began their trek to the FireClan border.
Dawnfur had let the apprentices hunt on their own, but they knew they weren't alone. The warrior was watching them, hidden in the tall grass, disguised by the reek of the marsh.
"Should we split up?" Dapplepaw asked.
"No. We've never hunted here before, and we will catch more prey if we work together."
"Ok."
As the cats continued walking, their paws began sinking into the ground.
"I hate this," Dapplepaw muttered feeling water sink into the fur between his toes.
"Shh!" Duskpaw pricked his ears, watching the leafless tree swaying above them.
"What?"
"A bird! It's hopping along the low branches," the tom explained, his voice hushed.
Dapplepaw's eyes searched the tree, and at last he saw what his brother had spotted. It was a small bird, different shades of brown except for a stripe of red running down its wings. It would be perfect for the fresh kill pile, its plump body feeding Moontail and her kits, or maybe the elders.
When Dapplepaw dragged his eyes off of the potential prey, he realized Duskpaw had vanished.
"Oh no," he breathed, swiveling his ears, trying to find his brother somewhere in the grass.
"Duskpaw," he tried hissing, "Where are you?"
Dapplepaw caught sight of movement up ahead. Peering through the grass, he realized it was a white tail, flicking back and forth. Duskpaw was going to catch the bird!
Dapplepaw watched as the bird continued to hop on the branch, unaware. Any second now Duskpaw would pounce, and there would be one more piece of fresh kill on the pile. Any time now…
The bird kept hopping along the branch. Dapplepaw lost sight of his brother's tail.
A breeze wove through the branches, and ruffled Dapplepaw's fur. He sniffed the air, and a strange scent caught his attention. It smelled like another cat, but not a LeafClan cat. It was a FireClan scent! Was a FireClan warrior patrolling the border?
"Good job Duskpaw that was great timing!"
Dapplepaw looked back to the tree and instead of a bird sitting on the branch Duskpaw was sitting on the branch, holding the kill in his mouth!
"What-wh-" Dapplepaw stuttered, anger flooding through him. How could he miss that? If he had been paying attention and decided to go for it, he could have been the one who caught the bird!
"It's your turn to catch something, Dapplepaw. I have high expectations now, thanks to your brother."
He spotted Dawnfur through the grass and nodded, "Right. " Dapplepaw tried not to set his jaw in frustration. Thanks to his show-off brother, there was no time for mistakes.
"Why do you always make me look bad?" Dapplepaw complained, "I only caught two lousy birds and you went and caught all sorts of stuff!"
"Sorry I'm too good for you," Duskpaw replied, "but we were so close to where we saw the river cats. Do you realize how much trouble we would be in if Dawnfur picked up our scents from last night?"
Dapplepaw sighed and nodded as he pushed his way into the apprentices den. His brother was right- if they hunted over there again they would have to be cautious.
The apprentices curled up in their moss beds and soon both were fast asleep even though it was barely past sunhigh.
Shadows covered the camp, hiding the dens and the cats sleeping within them.
"All clear," Dapplepaw whispered, stepping back inside the den.
"Good. Ready?" Duskpaw asked, standing next to a weak spot in the den wall.
"Yeah."
Duskpaw pushed through the branches of the den and Dapplepaw was on his tail. Both stood on the other side, breathing in the fresh air and smelling the scents of the forest that were blocked out in camp.
"Lead the way," Dapplepaw offered, letting his brother take the lead. As the two cats were about to disappear into the night…
"Apprentices! Stop!"
They looked over their shoulders to find Timberear sprinting through the grass towards them. The two younger cats exchanged a fearful glance before the warrior pulled up in front of them.
Timberear wasn't the fiercest warrior, but when he wanted to look scary, he could. Half of his face covered in the pale moonlight, and the other half in shadows. He was standing tall, and his tail flicked lazily back and forth. "Where do you two think you're going?"
Thank you for reading, and thank you to those you have reviewed. What do you think of Cheating the Stars? Is there anything you don't like about it, or is there something you think could be improved? I'd like to hear your opinion, because I've been thinking of stopping this story and starting a different one... but I won't if you guys want me to keep writing it!