Here's another chapter! It looks like I'll be updating weekly for the most part! Review! I'd like how you guys are thinking of the story so far.
Chapter 12 starts!
Warmpaw was balanced on an alder tree branch. He breathed in deeply, and exhaled in a puff of white. It was merely a day after the Gathering, but they were immediately sent back to train. He always thought it was pretty wrong, waking a cat in before the sunrise. Especially one who had just attended the Gathering. Blazetail reasoned to Warmpaw that he attended the Gathering as well, and woke up even earlier.
He smiled a little, however, remembering that he had Thistlepaw to join tonight. He imagined how the run would be like. Would it be as amazing as I think it'll be?
A voice came from below. "So are you going to jump or what?"
Warmpaw's eyes widened. Oh, right. I'm on training.
He had been asked to demonstrate a surprise attack from above. Below were Blazetail and Goldenfur, with Sandpaw nearby. He tensed up, pupils narrowing into slits as he tried to focus. With his hind legs, he explosively launched himself off the tree, flipping before landing on all four feet.
He looked around, breathing heavily from the exertion. Goldenfur's eyes seemed to be everywhere but on him. Blazetail's eyes were glinting, and Sandpaw had her jaw open in awe.
"Great jump, Warmpaw," Blazetail commented. "I'll admit, even I was a little surprised." He looked around at Goldenfur. "What do you think?" he asked him.
"It was actually a really nice jump," the ginger tom admitted. Warmpaw's eyes widened in joy. He complimented me!
Blazetail sighed and looked up. "It's starting to snow," he said, staring up at the gray sky.
Warmpaw glanced to the sky. Leaves were falling from the trees, marking the end of greenleaf and also the start of leaffall. Every now and then, a random snowflake would fall down. Is it supposed to snow in leaffall? Warmpaw wasn't sure. It felt more like an early leafbare than anything, like StarClan decided to skip a season. Hopefully not.
"Oh no," Goldenfur sighed, eyes rolling back in frustration. "Just what we needed."
Blazetail shrugged. "I suppose we should just be thankful that no one has caught greencough yet."
"But just in case," Goldenfur advised, "let's catch a few squirrels."
"That won't be necessary. Redstep must have sent a patrol out by now."
Goldenfur didn't object. Blazetail flicked his tail, and they turned to return to camp.
"You can really jump!" meowed Sandpaw in his ear once she caught up to him. "What happened to you in your sleep?"
"Not really," Warmpaw replied tentatively, "I've always had that."
"You have to teach me!" She insisted, using her paw to prod his side.
"Sure I will," he mewed, though he wasn't really sure how. Goldenfur wasn't really the best example, and he did not think watching and yowling orders was going to go well with Sandpaw and her temper.
Warmpaw pointed forward with his nose. "I'll go ahead, if it's okay," he excused himself to his patrol.
Blazetail nodded, and that was all he needed to go onward.
Warmpaw had a bounce in his step as he walked briskly. Goldenfur gave me a compliment! This day is going great!
Warmpaw weaved agilely through the trees, wind whooshing in his ears. Snow and bits of falling leaves collected on his face, some on his whiskers. It was cold, and it tickled. But sneezing could wait later. He was almost at the camp. In a little while, he burst through the thorn tunnel and leaped into the clearing.
"Warmpaw!"
The black-patched cat didn't expect anything as Archkit came in from the side and tackled him right in the chest. All the wind was knocked out of his lungs from the impact. They tumbled down together in a heap.
Archkit was purring.
"Archkit…!" Warmpaw gasped for breath, then sneezed. The cream kit smiled and giggled.
To Warmpaw's embarrassment, he realized that most of the camp was watching, including Yellowleaf, who was now whispering something into Moondrop's ear. He shrunk down, curling his tail over his paws. Sprinttail rushed in and carried him by the scruff, straining with the effort of carrying the apprentice.
"Let's get you warmed up," he grunted.
. . .
At night that day, the stars seemed to be at their brightest. The moon still had some of its fullness as well. Despite the snow earlier that morning, it seemed to have melted and taken away. Leaves were falling down, and the ground was a thick layer of soft mulch.
"One, two, strike!" Archkit demonstrated a paw swipe combination, with Warmpaw copying from the side.
"There," she huffed, "you've got it."
Warmpaw exhaled heavily and looked back at the ground with a sullen face. She approached him and placed her tail on his shoulders.
"Talk to me already. I said I'm sorry," she stammered, tripping on words, "I-I won't do it again, I promise, I…"
She sighed before continuing, "I don't like fighting with you."
Warmpaw looked back at her. "So do I, Archkit. So do I." He stood and turned, so that he was facing her. "I'm not angry, I'm just… I don't know."
"You're not angry at me?" Archkit asked, with a wishful tone.
"Yes, of course." His orange gaze hardened. "I'll be honest with you, and I'll say that I've been trying hard ever since I became an apprentice; after I came close to getting exiled out of ThunderClan."
Archkit tilted her head. "Trying hard?"
"I…" Warmpaw winced and shook his head. "I don't want somecat looking at me and seeing the half-Clan kit born with split loyalties. Like a fox or a badger who needs to be thrown out of the territory as quickly as possible." He paused. "I-I want them to trust me. And to do that, I probably need to do just as well as Firestar. I don't want to come off as clumsy or stupid. That wouldn't be like him."
"But even Firestar wasn't perfect, you know," stated Archkit. "He made a lot of mistakes at first, too. He didn't get accepted because he was perfect. He earned it by being a great warrior to his Clan. And that's what you should do too."
Warmpaw laid his head down on his paws, despair coming off him in waves.
"You'll see in time." Archkit neared him and returned her tail to his shoulders. "It's great that you try hard, but know that no matter what you do or are, we have your side."
It was silent for a few heartbeats, stars twinkling high up. Warmpaw broke the silence with a little laugh. "You sound like one of the queens."
"And you sounded like a mouse when you sneezed earlier."
Warmpaw prodded her playfully. "You're too smart for your own good. You're way niftier than me."
"Am not."
"Are too."
"No."
"Yes!"
Archkit jumped at Warmpaw, and they tussled around. She mrrowed when she managed to land a paw on his chest, sending him down. Warmpaw hit the ground with a squeak. They laughed together, and they got up shaking off the dried leaves stuck to their pelts.
"Okay, that's enough training for us tonight." Archkit licked a tuft of fur down. "It's getting late, and we best get back to camp before anyone notices we've gone."
"You can go ahead," Warmpaw meowed, "I think I'll be stargazing tonight. Just… tell anyone who asks that I'm out to catch a few squirrels."
Archkit's eyes showed a flash of disbelief. "Really?"
"Really."
"Just make sure you keep that 'really' of yours," warned the cream cat, "You'll be hunting squirrels anyway. Because if you don't, I'd be lying, and I don't like doing that." She had walked a few steps when she called back behind him. "I wouldn't blame you for stargazing. The sky looks epic this evening." With that, she dashed away.
Warmpaw scoffed and walked away into the forest. I've lost her! Now's my chance to see Thistlepaw!
He sniffed around, all senses alert to check for any cats nearby. Especially Archkit. She's too good. I better hope she isn't following me around. She might tattle to someone. He remembered how she kept sneaking in and out of camp without anyone noticing and began to grow paranoid, getting more fervent in his scenting.
He had sensed no one however by the time he reached the WindClan border, taking care not to get too close to it. He gave a large sigh of relief. Already, he could see the dark-furred cat, sprinting around. "Thistlepaw!" he hissed, raising his tail a little for her to spot.
Thistlepaw suddenly stopped, ears swivelling around. She saw Warmpaw's tail and immediately went bounding to him. Warmpaw was greeted by her amber eyes, and he sighed in admiration, feeling all the bad feelings he was feeling earlier melt away like snow.
"I wasn't expecting you," Thistlepaw panted.
"I came anyway." He winked at her. "I figured you would want some company."
Thistlepaw looked him over. "Be careful, you might cross." She gestured at the scent line.
Warmpaw shrugged. "Maybe you should say that to yourself," he replied, pointing at her paws.
Thistlepaw noticed how close she was to the line and jumped back erratically. Warmpaw chuckled at the sudden reaction.
"So are we going to run or what?" he asked.
"You're doing this for real, now?" the other apprentice queried.
Warmpaw winked an orange eye at her again as he got in position to run. "You think I'm joking?"
Thistlepaw answered with a smirk. "Suit yourself." She pushed herself forward with her back legs. Warmpaw was stunned for a moment, staring after her rapidly disappearing figure. She wasn't even trying! He shook himself out of it and went racing off in the same direction.
Thistlepaw was already quite far when Warmpaw took off himself, but by now she was just a speck in the moor. He ran with four paws to the forest floor. Fast. So fast.
It was getting troublesome to run as quickly as he could while still trying to keep an eye and nose out for the scent marker. In a few more strides, Warmpaw was simply too exhausted; his heart was racing wildly. He stopped to catch his breath, and then he continued in a much slower pace.
He was still walking when Thistlepaw came back running towards him. "Are you fine?"
Warmpaw stretched. "Yeah," he said, "Just tired."
"Come on," Thistlepaw meowed. "Let's get to the edge."
They walked together, each staying on their side of the border.
"I slowed down, actually." Thistlepaw's tail was held high in triumph. "I tried to let you catch up, but it seems even then you couldn't."
Warmpaw purred. "So you tried to let me catch up?"
Thistlepaw turned away in embarrassment. "Not like you fat ThunderClan cats have a chance in a race against a WindClan cat," she continued, trying to make it seem like she didn't hear.
Warmpaw noticed, however. He purred, letting her snide comment pass. "That's 'cause you're WindClan!" he piped cheerily.
"You can be sure I am." meowed Thistlepaw proudly.
They kept on, until they finally reached the edge of where ThunderClan and WindClan territory ended. Warmpaw flopped down to rest, and so did Thistlepaw. The ThunderClan apprentice looked up at the sky and sighed, relishing in the cold breeze and gazing at the star-filled night. Thistlepaw looked up as well, shivering as another wind passed. Warmpaw reckoned that her short fur wasn't good for cold weather.
"Silverpelt. In all its amazing brightness." Thistlepaw looked at the stars in awe.
"Yeah," Warmpaw breathed, "it's unreal, isn't it? How StarClan seems to be so alive in a season as cold as this?"
"Yes," she replied.
Warmpaw gulped, thinking of what to say next. He stared at the dark-furred cat. The golden band of fur around her fur shone in the moonlight, and her eyes reflected the sky. He really wanted to be friends. He thought up every possible conversation. But what slipped out of his mouth was, "They're pretty." Mousedung!
"What?"
Too late to back out now. Warmpaw refused to meet her puzzled look, turning his head away. "Your eyes. They're… pretty."
Thistlepaw looked down. "Thanks," she said, kneading the ground at her paws. "You're not bad-looking too."
Warmpaw's heart soared, feeling happiness wash over him from muzzle to tail.
"You still look fat though," she beamed at him.
Warmpaw grinned back at her. "If you think you can get away with that, you're very wrong!"
"Is that a chall—" Thistlepaw started. She wasn't able to finish as Warmpaw raced away along the border.
"H-Hey!" Thistlepaw scrambled to her feet and went after him.
The two apprentices raced away, moonlight and stars lighting them from above.