Chapter 6
Hawkpaw grimaced, pulling clumps of dirty moss from between his toes. He spat them disgustedly at the ground, irritation causing the fur along his flanks to rise.
Three days. Three days he had been an apprentice, and his mentor had made him do nothing but clean out dens. He had been outside of camp once – only once, and not even for real training! Just a quick jog around the territory. Softpaw and Nightpaw and Milkpaw were all going for hunting practice and battle training, while Hawkpaw was stuck inside the camp with Smokefoot standing over him, pointing out another den that needed cleaning.
Hawkpaw was furious. Next thing he knew he would be relegated to only going outside to help Mistpaw or Leafpool gather herbs!
He cleaned out the last of the dirty moss and rolled onto his back, looking at the sky. It was pale, with white, fluffy clouds and a bright sun. The scent of ThunderClan was drifting into camp again today, and the familiarity of it make Hawkpaw's nose wrinkle.
His ears caught snippets of conversation from the warriors while he had worked on the dens today. Rowanstar was sending Tawnypelt scouting for a new camping spot for ShadowClan, and they would be leaving soon, just after sunhigh. Though Tawnypelt was the cat who found the camp for ShadowClan in the first place, even she admitted that the border was too close. Fighting over the border would risk too many lives – a last resort, in case there were no other options.
Fighting after the Great Battle would be bad, Hawkpaw thought to himself. But why? We shouldn't have to smell ThunderClan when the wind blows just right. I'm sure they don't smell ShadowClan…
He looked at Tawnypelt. His idol, the Clan deputy, was sitting with a group of other warriors. Smokefoot and Tigerheart were among them. Her dappled pelt shifted between the warriors as she spoke to them in quiet tones Hawkpaw couldn't discern.
Was she talking to them about the patrol, and who would be going?
I wish I was going, Hawkpaw thought. He rolled over and pawed at a tuft of grass. It would be more exciting than sitting around here, waiting for someone to tell me to clean out yet another den.
There were no apprentices amongst the gathered cats, though, and Hawkpaw doubted that an apprentice would be present in such an important patrol. Besides, Smokefoot was unlikely to recommend Hawkpaw, seeing as how he had only been an apprentice for three days.
Not only that, but I'm not even Clanborn, Hawkpaw thought dismally. He couldn't ignore the mutterings at his apprentice ceremony, a group of warriors sectioned off to talk about Hawkpaw's origins. To speculate where he came from – if he was a spy, or half-Clan, or something worse. He looked again at the group gathered around Tawnypelt. It'd be a miracle to be included in anything important at all…
"What are you moping about?"
Hawkpaw looked up.
It was Leafpool, the ThunderClan medicine cat. She had arrived two sunrises ago, herbs in her jaws, ready to stay in camp and take care of Mistpaw's training. Had it not been a request from the dying Littlecloud himself, Hawkpaw reckoned that Rowanstar would have denied Leafpool the right to come here again. Littlecloud was still hanging on, but only by a thin thread of grass – no cat in the Clan was delusional. Littlecloud would not last through newleaf. But no cat in ShadowClan could deny that Mistpaw needed more training.
"Nothing," Hawkpaw decided. "Just waiting for my mentor to tell me which den to clean next."
Leapfool glanced at the cats gathered around Tawnypelt. "Your mentor is Smokefoot, right?" she asked.
Hawkpaw nodded.
"He won't be asking you to do much of anything for now," Leafpool told him. "I heard him coughing earlier. The cold he had a moon ago has come back, and I'm having him rest until its gone."
Hawkpaw flicked an ear in surprise. He glanced at Smokefoot. The older gray tom didn't look sick… but then Smokefoot took a pace back from the group to sneeze. Hawkpaw looked back at Leafpool, unsure of whether to feel relieved or concerned.
"It's newleaf, though," Hawkpaw told her. "Cats shouldn't be getting sick."
"Sometimes it doesn't hit until the cold's gone and things start growing again," Leafpool replied. "There's a similar case in ThunderClan – it's nothing to worry about. Smokefoot will be fine in a day or two, he just needs some rest. It's possible he might just be allergic to some pollen in the air, but we'll have to wait and see. It will be good practice for Mistpaw."
"You didn't come here just to chat about Mistpaw's training though, right?" Hawkpaw asked. He wasn't sure how to feel about the tabby ThunderClan she-cat, but he wondered just how long she was staying. Mistpaw was an older apprentice, and her training shouldn't take long to complete, right? Leafpool didn't need to cozy up to ShadowClan cats.
"Well, I came to tell you about Smokefoot," Leafpool offered, flicking her tail. She seemed to know why he was being so guarded. "And I was wondered if there was an apprentice that could be spared. I need to collect some herbs, but Mistpaw needs to stay with Littlecloud."
"The only spare one here would be me," Hawkpaw admitted bitterly. "Softpaw, Nightpaw, and Milkpaw are hunting for the Clan and Sparrowpaw is getting one-on-one battle training with Ratscar."
"I'd go alone but I don't know the territory well yet," Leafpool admitted. "I'd rather not take up a warrior's time if Tawnypelt's needing them."
"Well, I don't know the territory too well either," Hawkpaw admitted. "I've only been out of the camp once."
Leafpool blinked and then replied, "Well, then let's learn the territory together!"
"Leafpool!"
Leafpool and Hawkpaw turned to find Tigerheart padding towards them. Behind him, it looked as if Tawnypelt had a patrol together. It was small, with only Toadfoot and Kinkfur with her. The other warriors were spreading out, heading to dens, grabbing fresh-kill, or heading out of camp.
"We need Hawkpaw," Tigerheart mewed, stopping before them. "Sorry."
"It's all right," Leafpool mewed, her amber eyes unaffected. "I'll see if one of the apprentices will help when they come back."
Hawkpaw watched her lope away, heading for the secluded medicine cat's den. When she was gone, he looked at Tigerheart. His heart was swelling – surely Tigerheart wasn't joking, right?
"Come on," Tigerheart mewed, whiskers twitching. "Let's go already. Mother's not a patient cat."
"Y-You mean…?" Hawkpaw was breathless.
"She said I can help out with you while Smokefoot's in the medicine cat's den," Tigerheart told him. "So I asked if you could come with us. She agreed."
"Thank you, Tigerheart!" Hawkpaw exclaimed, his fur fluffing from excitement.
"Flatten your fur, will you?" Tigerheart asked. Hawkpaw calmed down, and Tigerheart lashed his tail. "I know this will be your first official patrol but… try and keep up!"
Hawkpaw couldn't help but relish the fact that he was outside the camp, breathing in the scents of the pine woods. Needles prickled beneath his paws, soft and firm. Tawnypelt led the small patrol through the wood with confidence, heading towards the RiverClan border.
Tall cedar trees, gray-white against the dark ground, stood tall here and there amidst the pines. Hawkpaw was in awe of them all, glad that for the first time this land was actually feeling like his territory.
They took their time, picking their way through the relatively flat land. Once there was a tree to leap over – the warriors cleared it in one bound, but Hawkpaw had to scramble over it. Once he was on the ground again they kept moving.
Hawkpaw didn't say much, wanting to take the territory in for all it was worth, but when he spotted a large structure between the trees he had to ask what it was. It was squarish, with sharp corners made of some strange mixture of stone and wood. Cat-scent drifted faintly from the place, along with a smell that Hawkpaw was unfamiliar with. It was strange and alien and it made Hawkpaw's nose curl with curiosity.
"That's a Twoleg den," Tawnypelt replied when Hawkpaw asked.
"Twolegs?" Hawkpaw breathed. He had only heard of the strange pink creatures without fur. They lived in such huge dens? How big were Twolegs, exactly? "So… the cat-scent is the scent of kittypets?"
Tawnypelt nodded. "Two of them, to be exact," she replied. She glanced at the den, curling her lip. "Those two kittypets are two nasty pieces of work – or were, as the case may be. They caused trouble some moons ago, when we first came to the lake; but we soon showed them whose territory this was."
"Kittypets caused trouble?" Hawkpaw mewed in disbelief. Surely the soft, overfed, lumbering cats he had heard of in tales couldn't possibly cause trouble?
"Those kittypets weren't the traditional kittypets," Tawnypelt assured him. "They were mean – but they picked a fight with the wrong Clan."
A murmur of assent went through the patrol.
"We shouldn't camp near them," Kinkfur decided, her long fur bristling at the thought.
"Don't worry," Toadfoot told her. "We're not camping anywhere near a Twoleg den!"
Tawnypelt nodded in agreement, and the patrol moved on.
Hawkpaw stuck close to Tigerheart, asking questions now and again about landmarks in the territory. Tawnypelt swerved the patrol to avoid a particularly wet area of the territory, and though Hawkpaw could smell RiverClan in the distance, they kept going. Hawkpaw's legs were aching, but he couldn't help but ignore it. He was outside the camp walls, exploring his territory, and helping ShadowClan find a new, safer camp!
The thought was exciting, but the patrol searched until sunset and found nothing that was suitable. Hawkpaw staggered back into camp, sore and weary, feeling downhearted. Tawnypelt went to report to Rowanstar, while Toadfoot and Kinkfur went to the fresh-kill pile.
"Just because we didn't find anything today doesn't mean we won't tomorrow," Tigerheart mewed to Hawkpaw.
Hawkpaw looked wearily up at him, unsure of how to reply.
"Go get some fresh-kill and then rest," Tigerheart mewed. "I'll take you out for some battle practice tomorrow."
Hawkpaw blinked in reply. Though he felt like a failure because of the failed patrol, he couldn't help but be eager for some rest and then some real training. At least Tigerheart or Tawnypelt were treating him like a proper apprentice!
He devoured a mouse alone, and then headed into the den. Softpaw and Sparrowpaw were sleeping already, tired from their day. Softpaw smelled faintly of herbs, and Hawkpaw figured she had been the cat to help Leafpool. Sparrowpaw's paws were covered in bits of marshy mud and pine needles – he must have been practicing hard. Nightpaw and Milkpaw were sitting outside the den, sharing tongues quietly.
Hawkpaw hunkered down into his nest. Excitement pricked at his tired paws – he had been made an apprentice three days ago, but tomorrow he would be on his way to becoming a true ShadowClan warrior!