Sorry I haven't updated so long! I have had this chapter written for like two weeks, but I've never gotten a chance to put it up. Why? Blame Chicken Smoothie, a new site I've found. (Weird name, but oddly addicting.) And I shall update Everything but Nothing soon, I promise!

Naaargles: Oooh, you changed your name again? Coolio. I shall send you a PM about stuff in your review, as it was a very long review. :)

ScourgeXScarlet: Oh, did you change your name too? :D Yep, I tried to make her sound that way!

Mizumaru3212: Thanks! :)

SakuraFlutist: Thank you! :D

Smurflover: That's fine. I'm very late too. :P

Random Falcon: Why, thank you! :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors.

Chapter 8: Request

After I've washed my paws in a small stream just outside the bramble covered entrance of the LeafClan camp, I slowly walk back to the medicine cat den and into my temporary nest, curling up in the bowl-shaped weaving of supple twigs and soft moss, ears still tingling from all of Mousetail's stories. Stories about my mother. I sigh satisfactorily and lower my head onto my uninjured paw, closing my eyes, and think about my day.

When I'd started to grow sleepy and wasn't able to maintain the fact that I wasn't "bright-eyed and bushy-tailed" anymore, Mousetail had ordered me back to my nest in the medicine cat den, informing me that she wasn't having my paw heal slower because she kept me up all night telling stories. I'm not quite sure, but I think she thinks that having more sleep will get me back in apprentice duties sooner. It might be true; what do I know? I'm no Whispersong or a wise elder. I'm going to visit Mousetail again once my paw's better and I'm training again, though. Mousetail didn't make me promise to visit her often, but I have a feeling she expects it from me.

I'm almost asleep when there's a sound of soft pawsteps just inside the den and a voice calls out, "Amberpaw? Are you awake?"

I let out an inaudible snort at the question. Obviously the answer's either going to be a grumpy-sounding "No, you mousebrain, you woke me up" or snoring. But in this case I just lash my tail softly. I think the message is pretty clear: Yes, and I'm mad at you.

A sigh, and more pawsteps. "You have every right to be mad at me…" You bet I do. "…but I'm really sorry." Uh-huh. "I just was out training with my mentor and Cloudpaw's and Cloudpaw." And that's supposed to make me forgive you how? "And when I got back I was really tired and I almost forgot…" Nice excuse. It sure comforts cats when you tell them that you almost "forgot" them. "But I'm sorry." A pause. "I'm guessing you're not in the mood to hear me talk." Oh, you think?

I finally open my eyes, just a slit, to look at him. Tigerpaw's face is sorry-looking and ashamed, his shoulders hunched. So he is, at least, sorry for "almost" forgetting me.

He pads closer. "Please, say something!" he pleads.

I do. "Go away."

But apparently he is incapable of taking orders as well as keeping promises to visit me every day (it's night, it's late, and it doesn't count), because he comes even closer and then settles down next to me, curling up on the cold ground. My eyes widen as I realize that he's planning on spending the night in the den with me. Is this supposed to be some form of apology?

"Go away."

"No."

Funny how he chooses to be stubborn just at this time, just when I'm half asleep and when everyone else is supposed to be asleep. I sigh. "At least get yourself a nest. You can drag one from the hollow on the right."

I hear him get up and move towards there, and soon after there's the slithering sound of crackling branches and moss on the ground as he slides the nest next to mine, then steps in.

"Good night," he says cheerfully, sounding quite pleased with himself.

I look at him. "You know you're still not forgiven?"

"Yes," Tigerpaw says. "But I think I can change your mind."

"Is that a challenge?"

"Maybe."

"And how exactly would you do that?"

"I'm not saying."

I give up. I'm tired, and Tigerpaw seems set on annoying me until I can "forgive" him. "Fine. I forgive you."

"Really?" I'm surprised to hear that he really does seem happy about it, instead of just a triumphant smirk that he's won.

"Really. Now shut up and let me go to sleep before I unforgive you."

"Alright then. Good night." He pauses. "And you know, I really am sorry—"

I cut him off before he can continue, too annoyed to hear his worthless apologies. "Good night."

"Okay."

Cold shafts of sunlight stream into the medicine cat's den as I wake up and blink open sleepy eyes. There's a brief moment of when I enjoy the feeling of slowly stretching out my legs, shaking off my sleep and becoming alert, and then I remember: Tigerpaw is sleeping in the medicine cat den. Right next to me.

I quickly turn to look at Tigerpaw. He's sleeping, with his dark tabby-striped tail tucked neatly under his chin, body coiled up into a ball with one forepaw curling over the edge of the nest. I've never had a chance to truly look at him, close up like this, and I only hesitate a second before studying him.

His dark brown tabby fur looks thick and soft, and, as I find out when I move closer, his ears a subtly tipped with black. The same is true with his tail, with just the black tip of it poking out from under his head. The beginnings of muscle are starting to show up under the ripple of his pelt, and his legs, tidily folded under him, look lean and strong.

Now the only parts I haven't thoroughly studied are his eyes. I remember they are green, but right now they are closed, and he is sleeping, which is the only reason why I've been able to do this so far. I shift closer to him, and the only things stopping me from tipping right into his side are the rims of the two nests.

And then his eyes abruptly open, and I find myself staring into two green orbs. But they aren't really pure green at all, but light green irises flecked with blue, creating a look of two twin pools of water.

Too late, I suddenly realize that my face is this close to his, and back up as fast as I can, tumbling over myself to pretend that I'm sleeping. I close my eyes tightly and wait for Tigerpaw to shout something like "What were you doing right in my face?" But when nothing comes, I cautiously open my eyes a bit, and see him shake his head confusedly, like it's waterlogged, and then turn to me.

"Amberpaw, wake up! It's snowing!"

Snowing? Well, at least he didn't shout my name this time. I open both eyes fully, supposedly "waking up", and get up to observe the snow that he'd said was falling. And fall it does.

Sometime between when Tigerpaw and I had fallen asleep together to before I'd woken up, it had started to snow. I guess I'd just been so busy with…examining Tigerpaw to notice that small specks of white were falling outside.

I take one last look at Tigerpaw to make sure that he isn't looking at me weirdly for staring at him intently when he woke up—which he isn't, thank StarClan—and then pad to the entrance of the nest to watch the snow fall, more close up. Tigerpaw scampers after me and then out into the snow itself. I follow him, kicking up snow at his heels. Fat, fluffy white snowflakes rain from the sky, piling up and up onto the ground and anything that stops them from reaching the ground—trees, bushes, rocks, us. Before long, Tigerpaw's dark tabby coat is frosted with white, and I'm sure that it's the same with mine.

Branchstar is organizing a patrol to go out and find some prey. He decides that Breezetail, Rainsong, Pounceclaw, and Ashfeather should go, along with Falconflight leading the patrol. I don't think we'll get much apprentice training done today, even if we don't have sprained paws.

While I've been thinking and watching the snow fall, Tigerpaw has been busy. I find that out very quickly when he kicks a snowball at me and it explodes into powdery white dust on my face.

"TIGERPAW!"

Fuming, I scoop some of the white, almost insubstantial snow into a small pile and then mash it with my paws, trying to turn it into a dense ball. And when I finally succeed in making a medium sized, suitable enough snowball, I look up and find that he's gone. That annoying—

I hear a soft pawstep, and spin around just in time to see a slightly black tipped dark brown tail disappear from view, behind a bush. Tigerpaw. I silently roll my snowball onto the ground, creeping up on the bush and the cat behind it. I'm almost there when—

"Got you!" A solid figure bowls into me, knocking me over and onto the ground. I land on my snowball, effectively squashing it. So much for firing a snowball at Tigerpaw. The assailant and I struggle a little bit, each getting the upper paw for a few seconds, then end up pinned underneath. Tigerpaw and I grapple, both trying to end up on top. This inevitably leads to rolling around in the snow, and we wrestle for a few minutes in which I try to kick as much snow as I can into his eyes as payback.

We roll over and over, creating a mini snow flurry. But finally I manage to dig my back claws into the frozen ground as Tigerpaw tries to flip my off, and I am on top. I am celebrating the victory in my mind when it happens again—my heart starts beating faster and his green-blue eyes look so mesmerizing…

"Hey! What are you staring at?" grumbles the owner of the eyes. When I don't answer, he goes on complaining, a sore loser. "You got my back wet with snow!"

I blink, and shake my head, not answering his question. Then Cloudpaw's voice carries over to us—"Tigerpaw, where are you?" and I quickly scramble away from him, Tigerpaw jumping up to a standing position.

Cloudpaw comes around the snow-capped bush that had been obscuring us from her view, and spots Tigerpaw. "There you are!" she says. "I was wondering where you were. Come on, let's go play in the snow with the others."

Tigerpaw looks uneasily between Cloudpaw and me. "Well, I was already playing with Amberpaw…" he begins.

"Oh, Amberpaw," Cloudpaw says offhandedly, like she's having a conversation about something she doesn't particularly like—which is technically true. She looks at me and for a second, a small glare flashes in her blue eyes. Then it's gone, and she's pasted a thin smile on her face. "Well…you can join us for the game if you want to, Amberpaw."

With her in it? I don't think so; I got much better things to do to spend my time. "No," I say, lifting my head high and brushing past her and an uncomfortable-looking Tigerpaw. "No thank you."

Having made my grand exit, I pause for a minute inside the empty nursery to think about what to do next. Playing with my littermates and the other apprentices is obviously out of the question, for having declining Cloudpaw's "invitation" to play. Even if my paw wasn't injured, there's probably not going to be any apprentice-training today since Branchstar has most of the warriors out to find as much prey as they can, in case the snow traps us in the camp, or sends what little prey there is out in leaf-bare scurrying to safety inside their burrows. I could visit Mousetail… I think.

So with that decision, I pad out of the nursery, pausing a moment to be surprised about how much snow had fallen in the short time I'd been in the den, and then pick up two small mice at the fresh-kill pile, leftovers from yesterday—one for Mousetail and one for me.

But when I arrive at the elders' den, I hear snoring. Peeking in, I find both Treefall and Mousetail nestled deep into their warm nests, fast asleep. I certainly don't want to wake them up—as it wouldn't be polite, and because I don't want to get my ear chewed off either about disrespect—so I leave a mouse by each of their nests. There's a slight chance that anyone else might forget to bring fresh-kill for the elders, with all the snow and hunting for prey going around.

I walk back to the fresh-kill pile, and choose a small vole to eat. After I've finished it, I pick up a bird, intending to bring it to Brightsky. Aren't I the goody two-paws apprentice today. In the warriors den, my foster mother purrs at the sight of the bird and licks my head in gratitude. She looks proud for me at the good-natured complaints of the other warriors still in the den, who say that they wish that "some apprentice would bring them some food".

But my prey-distributing, self-volunteered duty is over, I decide, and with nothing else to do, I grudgingly admit to myself that I should have taken Cloudpaw's half-hearted offer to play. I leave Brightsky to her meal and walk in search of the others, planning to say that I decided to play after all.

I haven't yet found them when someone shouts out my name, and I turn. There's Graypaw, looking strangely worried.

"Amberpaw! I'm so glad I found you!"

"…You are?" I'm slightly confused.

"I need your help!" he says. "Cloudpaw's gone missing, and I don't know where she is! I need you to help me find her."

Cloudpaw. He's asking me to help find Cloudpaw? I try to wiggle my way out of it. "Just ask Ashpaw, or Tigerpaw. I'm sure they'll help you." I turn to leave, but he blocks my way.

"But I need you!" he implores. "You're the most levelheaded cat I know, and I…I think you could be the only one who can find her." His eyes look big and pleading. "Please."

I sigh. Well, it's not like he's asking me to help Cloudpaw become leader. "Levelheaded" isn't the most endearing term you could call a cat, but…I like the sound of it. But I need to get the facts first. "When and where did she vanish?"

"Well, we were playing Tag when Cloudpaw suddenly got this gleam in her eye, and asked who wanted to sneak out of camp with her. It sounded cool—going off alone, with snow falling down around us. But Tigerpaw said no, and we went with his decision. My sister didn't seem too happy about it," Graypaw admits. "I should have watched her until she cooled down, or something. But I didn't. After a bit, Cloudpaw told us she had to do something really quick. We didn't question her—we were too busy with the game. But then she didn't come back, and we checked everywhere. She's nowhere in the camp."

I ponder this. So, it seems like Cloudpaw has gone off on her own, in the snow, alone. We can't find her anywhere in the camp, and the only answer is that she's snuck out into LeafClan territory. Then I realize that it was like what Blazepelt had done: gone off on her own, in the snow, alone. I grit my teeth with a bit of annoyance. I am not letting Cloudpaw follow what my mother had done, even if she didn't know it, without me doing it too. By the time Blazepelt had been discovered to be gone, the snow had sealed the camp entrance. But this time, it wasn't too late to go after Cloudpaw….

I make my decision.

"I'll help you."

Yay, she's following in her mom's pawsteps! (Kind of.) Leave your thoughts in a review! :D

~Ponyiowa