Reflective eyes glowed softly from the deep shadows under the warriors' den. Mud was already plastered to their pelts to disguise their scents and colors, so as Frostmask's gaze drifted to Emberflower, the only way she was able to recognize her in the darkness was by the color of her pale green eyes. Anticipation prickled down Frostmask's spine as she waited for the senior warrior's signal. Emberflower waited a few moments longer for everyone to rise from their nests before she gave the group a nod. Frostmask and Pineshade turned together, ending up at the head of the patrol since the younger warriors' nests were already closer to the exit of the den.
Frostmask glanced over at Pineshade, and the two of them shared an excited look as they slipped out of the den.
"I bet Lizardpaw notices us coming," Frostmask breathed into her den-mate's ear, her voice barely audible.
"No way," Pineshade whispered back in equally hushed tones. "They'll be out cold. Apprentices like their sleep too much."
"Do you have so little faith in Cricketpaw?" Frostmask teased.
Pineshade's whiskers twitched in amusement.
"All I'm saying is since even I didn't notice our mentors coming back when we were 'paws, there's no chance any of those fluff-balls will notice us," Pineshade whispered.
"Of course. Pineshade the Infallible," Frostmask purred.
The edges of Pineshade's lips quirked up in a hint of a smirk, but she didn't respond. Silence settled over the group as they emerged into the dark and still camp. Frostmask crouched down, preparing to stalk around the edge of the camp, sticking to the darkest shadows cast by the thorn wall, but she blinked in surprise as Dampfang suddenly appeared, brushing past her. His tail slapped her muzzle as he took her place at Pineshade's side at the front of the patrol. Frostmask had to stop a growl of irritation from rumbling in her throat.
She gave her ears a small shake.
I'm going to be stuck with Dampfang all night. She reminded herself. I can't let him ruffle my pelt so easily.
Frostmask resigned herself to the middle of the patrol. Redclaw slipped up to her side and gave her a friendly blink, which lifted her mood. Frostmask nodded back at Redclaw, and then focused her attention on the task at hand— hunting their apprentices.
It was ShadowClan tradition for each generation of apprentices to go through this sort of night-stalking exercise, but it would not be identical to the one which Frostmask experienced as an apprentice. Because of the fact that ShadowClan had such hostile relations with SkyClan and RiverClan at the moment, Sedgestar thought this would not only be a good opportunity to train the apprentices, but for the warriors to keep their skills sharp too. Rather than just having the mentors involved, he'd ordered a much larger patrol of warriors to participate in the exercise as well.
Privately, Frostmask also suspected that Sedgestar was doing this to keep the Clan's spirit up. Morale had been extremely low since the poisoning a half-moon ago. No cats had died from poison since then, but Flymask had succumbed to green-cough and weakness, with food being even more scarce due to their limited hunting ranges. The previous gathering had even been canceled since the full-moon had been covered by clouds the entire night. Frostmask had heard whispers from her clan-mates about it being a bad omen sent from StarClan.
In general, cats were hungry and miserable. The one bright light in the Clan during this time was that Amberberry had given birth to four little kittens. But, even that joy had been tempered by the fact that the smallest and weakest kitten, a little golden tom that Amberberry and Kestrelflight had named Mintkit, had died a few days after birth.
Frostmask blinked away the depressing thoughts, giving her ears a small shake. Tonight was supposed to be exciting and fun for the apprentices and mentors alike. She could worry and be sad about things in the morning.
Frostmask glanced back at Emberflower, who used a few of Lizardpaw's paw-signs to signal for the patrol to circle the holly bush that formed the apprentices' den. Knowing how sensitive Lizardpaw was to vibrations on the ground from cats walking, Frostmask did her best to put her paws down as lightly as possible as she and the other mentors crept up to the den. The group of ShadowClan warriors slipped up to the edge of the bush, muscles tensing.
Frostmask's ears pricked as she heard a soft shuffling sound coming from inside the den.
"Wha—?" Yewpaw's sleepy voice meowed. "What is it?"
Emberflower flicked her tail in a signal to go, and Frostmask and the other mentors surged forward, wiggling beneath the bush, breaking or shoving parts of the den's walls away in their rush to get inside.
Lizardpaw was already standing, his back to Frostmask as the mentors broke into the den. Cricketpaw let out a high pitched "eep!" as Pineshade pounced on her. Yewpaw yowled in distress at the appearance of the shadowy figures, springing out of his nest. Frostmask swatted at Lizardpaw's tail, and he whirled towards her, his teeth bared in a snarl for just an instant before recognition dawned in his eyes. By that time, the entire den had been overrun with mentors, and the apprentices' shock and surprise waned as they realized there was no real threat.
"What's going on?" Featherpaw demanded, stumbling to her paws.
"Is something wrong?" Hollowpaw's wavering voice asked as she gazed around the den with wide eyes.
"Nothing's wrong," Emberflower reassured. "We were just testing your alertness. You all remember SkyClan's attack on our camp earlier in leaf-bare. We always need to be prepared since enemies can show up at any time."
"Tonight is a special night of training," Pineshade added, her flicking tail betraying her eagerness. "You all must work together to succeed."
"What are we doing? Where are we going?" Cedarpaw asked, his pelt pricking in anticipation as he stepped out of his nest.
Dampfang lightly batted Cedarpaw's ears with a paw.
"Patience," he scolded. "We will explain in a moment."
Cedarpaw dipped his head obediently.
Emberflower nodded.
"Yes," she meowed. "Take a few moments to get yourselves ready, and then meet us outside of the thorn barrier. We will talk more then."
Emberflower nodded at the mentors, who turned and streamed back out of the den. The group swiftly headed out of the camp, where a small patrol of warriors consisting of just Autumnleap and Leafbreeze were sitting, waiting for them. Autumnleap sprung to his paws as soon as he saw Frostmask, greeting her with a warm purr. Frostmask purred in response, brushing her muzzle against his. He pulled back, sweeping a gaze over her mud plastered pelt.
"You look like the earth tried to swallow you whole," he commented.
"Well we have to be camouflaged somehow," Frostmask said, twitching her tail. "The apprentices have sharp wits."
Autumnleap's whiskers twitched.
"Ah, and how did scaring the tail off of them go?" he teased.
"Lizardpaw's tail is still fully intact," Frostmask retorted, fluffing her fur out indignantly. "And, he was actually already out of his nest when we got in the den. I think he sensed something was off."
Autumnleap shrugged.
"I'm just saying that it feels a little mean," he said. "When it happened to us, we'd never seen a battle, but these apprentices have. You probably scared them out of their wits, thinking SkyClan came back!"
Frostmask's tail twitched guiltily. She hadn't really considered that.
"Well they need to be prepared," she mumbled. "SkyClan could come back."
Autumnleap's gaze softened, and he leaned forward to touch his muzzle to her forehead.
"I'm just teasing you," he said. "I'm sure you didn't permanently traumatize anyone."
Frostmask swatted at his tail in punishment for his teasing, but Autumnleap whisked it away from her paws, purring. The thorn barrier rustled then, and the apprentices came padding out. Lizardpaw glanced at Frostmask, his eyes bright and curious. Frostmask straightened and signed 'hello,' to him, doing her best to look the part of a wise mentor.
"Good, you're all here," Emberflower meowed, turning to the apprentices.
She began to paw-sign as well as speak as she explained the instructions to the group.
"So, here's what's going to happen. In this exercise there will be two groups. A smaller patrol consisting of you apprentices and a few warriors. Then a larger patrol of warriors who are out there." Emberflower flicked her tail towards the trees to indicate the forest.
"This exercise will model a small, infiltrating patrol invading another Clan's territory to retrieve an item. So, everywhere outside of the camp in this scenario is enemy territory for you all. Your patrol's goal will be to reach the Burnt Sycamore. Somewhere by that tree, you will find a large deer bone. You all are to retrieve that bone and bring it back to camp."
The apprentices nodded, their eyes lighting up with eagerness.
"However," Emberflower continued, her tail flicking mischievously. "There will be 'enemy' warriors in the woods, whose job it is to stop you all. If you are subdued by any of these warriors, you become a prisoner and must obey the warriors' commands. You remain a prisoner until another member of your patrol finds you and physically touches you. Then you are freed. Your patrol wins if you make it with the bone back to camp. However, you must return to camp with at least half of your patrol because a victory with devastating losses is hardly a victory at all. If the sun rises before you succeed in this task or if you all are taken prisoner, then the warriors' patrol wins."
Emberflower paused for breath, her gaze flicking over the apprentices.
"Any questions?" she asked.
Yewpaw raised his tail.
"Yes, Yewpaw?" Emberflower meowed.
"Can one of us bring the bone to camp and then go back to free the prisoners?" he asked.
"No," Emberflower said. "Once the bone is in camp, the game is over. So it must be brought to the camp with the appropriate number of cats in the patrol if you want to win."
Yewpaw nodded, his brow furrowing as if he already was thinking up a strategy.
"One more thing," Emberflower said. "Leafbreeze, Autumnleap, and I will be on the patrol with you all, but it will be your job to tell us what to do. This is an assessment of your skills, so we will not offer any advice or guidance."
"Think of us as your apprentices for the night," Autumnleap purred, his tail twitching playfully.
"The rest of your mentors," Emberflower continued, nodding towards Rowanheart, Redclaw, Frostmask, Pineshade and Dampfang. "Will be in charge of leading the group of warriors."
Emberflower turned from the apprentices to look at the other mentors.
"Are we ready to begin?" she asked.
Redclaw nodded, rising to her paws.
"I think we are," she meowed.
"Perfect," Emberflower purred. "We will give you all a bit of a head-start, so you can reach the other warriors before the game begins."
"Good luck!" Frostmask spoke and signed to the apprentices, blinking affectionately at Lizardpaw as she went to join the opposing patrol.
"You're the one that's gonna need it," Autumnleap teased, narrowing his eyes at her.
"You wish, frog-brain!" Pineshade scoffed.
She flicked Autumnleap's ear with her tail as she strode past him to stand at Frostmask's side, raising her chin.
"You'll be the first I'll take prisoner," Pineshade taunted.
"I'd like to see you try," Autumnleap playfully threatened, baring his fangs.
Pineshade rumbled a growl back, her tail flicking eagerly.
"Children, don't forget this is an exercise for the apprentices." Redclaw's voice was firm as she scolded Pineshade and Autumnleap, but her expression was fond.
"You know that I can never pass up an opportunity to hand Autumnleap his pelt," Pineshade responded, her gaze unwavering from Autumnleap's as the two of them sized each other up.
"Can you try to keep his pelt mostly in one piece?" Frostmask piped up. "I like it better that way."
Autumnleap's fierce stare shattered as he purred, and Pineshade's sharp amber gaze flickered from him to Frostmask.
"You can't be soft on Autumnleap tonight," she warned. "Until sun-up he's our enemy."
"I'm pleased to see that you and Autumnleap already getting so into the game," Emberflower said to Pineshade, her whiskers twitching in amusement. "But, you all should get going. We are wasting star-light."
"Well maybe that's all a part of our strategy," Rowanheart chimed in with a teasing purr. "We win when the sun rises right?"
Emberflower arched a brow at her son before looking at Redclaw.
"If your patrol doesn't leave in two heartbeats, I'll release the apprentice patrol immediately, and you won't get your head-start," she warned, but there was a purr in her voice.
"Alright, alright! We're going, keep your fur on," Redclaw purred, glancing at the cats in her patrol. "Sorry everyone, you'll have to finish practicing your smack-talk later."
"There'll be plenty of time when you're all my prisoners!" Pineshade shouted the final jab over her shoulder as their patrol began to pad off into the trees.
They picked up their pace to a brisk trot, the frozen ground crunching under their feet as they bounded through the dark woods. They hadn't run for too long though before Redclaw glanced over her shoulder at the rest of the group.
"We should split up," she meowed. "Rowanheart and I will head to the Burnt Sycamore to join the defensive group there. Frostmask, Pineshade, and Dampfang, why don't you three go find the offensive group? They should be waiting by the mossy log near the edge of the marsh."
Everyone nodded in agreement, although Frostmask stiffened at the thought of being trapped with Dampfang, relying on Pineshade as their only buffer.
It won't be for long… Just until we get to the patrol. She tried to reassure herself.
The cats peeled off from each other. Frostmask slowed her pace slightly so she fell behind Dampfang and Pineshade.
No need to antagonize him by staying in front.
Pineshade seemed to also notice the precarious situation the three of them were in because she shot an uncertain look from Dampfang to Frostmask.
"I know that neither of you is each other's favorite cat in the forest," Pineshade said drily. "But, could I make a request that you two don't claw each other up? At least for tonight?"
Dampfang glanced back at Frostmask from over his shoulder, his eyes narrowing slightly. Frostmask couldn't stop the reflexive bristling of her pelt when their gazes met, although she tried to keep her expression neutral.
"Alright," Dampfang said. "We are on the same team tonight."
Frostmask's ears pricked in surprise at how easily he agreed, but she gave him a curt nod of agreement. Dampfang looked back forward, and the three of them continued through the forest in silence.
Frostmask's ears swiveled as the sound of trickling water caught her attention. They were approaching the stream. She knew not far away on the other bank was the mossy log that they were supposed to be meeting the rest of their patrol by.
Frostmask swallowed, her mouth going a bit dry at the thought of having to step into the water. She couldn't recall an easy way to cross the stream in this area. Fallen logs and stepping stones were either up or downstream of them.
Frostmask set her jaw, hoping that Dampfang wouldn't notice the nervousness in her expression as they reached the edge of the stream. The stream was small and shallow here, although water was running slightly faster than normal due to the recent snow melt. The width of the stream was also only four, maybe five fox-lengths across. Frostmask's gaze brushed over the dark ripples, and she shuddered as her mind conjured up unhelpful thoughts about the vicious currents that may lurk just beneath the surface.
Dampfang and Pineshade didn't even hesitate. They walked through the stream with only a few unpleasant grimaces and grumbles as the cold water splashed on their leg fur. In a matter of moments, they were on the other side, shaking droplets from their pelts. Frostmask lingered on the opposite bank, her fur bristling slightly and her gaze still flitting over the water as she weighed her options.
She knew her fear of the water was irrational. Dampfang and Pineshade were just fine, and they were just standing in it an instant ago. But, as Frostmask stared at the water, it still felt like her paws were frozen to the ground, refusing to move her forward, towards it.
Pineshade and Dampfang glanced back at her as they realized she wasn't right behind them. Dampfang's gaze swept over Frostmask, and his green eyes seemed to light up.
"What's the matter, Frostmask?" he asked. "Afraid of getting your paws wet?"
Frostmask's half-bristling fur stood up straight. She locked her gaze on Dampfang, shooting him the best furious look she could manage. Dampfang blinked at her, unbothered. In fact, he appeared positively smug.
"I just don't want to freeze my toes off later," Frostmask growled, taking a jerky step back from the bank. "I'll look for another place to cross."
"We don't have enough time for that," Dampfang meowed impatiently, flicking his tail. "We need to alert the patrol that the apprentices are coming."
"It'll only take a moment," Frostmask insisted, beginning to pad up the bank.
"If you're not quick enough we'll have to leave without you," Dampfang warned.
Frostmask growled softly to herself.
Pineshade had been watching this exchange in silence, her head snapping from Frostmask to Dampfang and then back as if they had been batting a ball of moss back and forth. But, as Frostmask began to walk away from them, Pineshade stepped forward hesitantly.
"Maybe Dampfang's right," she said. "My paws aren't too cold, Frostmask. You'll be fine."
Frostmask tensed, swallowing hard as she imagined the feeling of the hungry current tugging at her legs.
"No," she meowed hurriedly, glancing at Pineshade from over her shoulder. "I'm shorter than you, and my fur is longer. My belly will get all wet too."
"Why are you so scared of a little water?" Dampfang asked.
His tone made him sound genuinely puzzled, but as Frostmask glanced at him, she saw that his gaze still glinted with malicious amusement.
Because you almost drowned me, you snake-heart!
But, instead of saying anything, Frostmask just let out a vicious, wordless hiss.
Dampfang's brow furrowed as he frowned at her.
"Why are you being like this?" he asked. "Didn't we agree that we needed to work together tonight?"
Frostmask's jaw fell open in shock, her mouth moving but no words coming out at first.
"M-me?!" Frostmask sputtered. "I've done nothing! You're the one taunting me!"
Frostmask's gaze flickered to Pineshade, searching for support.
"Pineshade! Tell him!" she meowed.
Pineshade glanced from Frostmask to Dampfang uncertainly, but Dampfang continued before she could decide to say anything.
"Well, you're the one holding us all up because you don't want to get your fur cold," Dampfang rumbled. "That doesn't sound like someone who is interested in helping her team. If you can't get over yourself to work with me, maybe you should just go back to camp."
Anger rolling in her belly, Frostmask bared her fangs at him, stalking back down the bank to be closer.
"I know what you're doing you piece of snake-dung, and I'll—" Frostmask growled.
"You'll what?" Dampfang challenged, interrupting her. "Walk through that stream, come over here, and stop me?"
Frostmask froze. Dampfang stared at her, his eyes glowing with victory. Frostmask looked away from him, digging her claws into the muddy bank as her stomach twisted with hot shame and humiliation.
"That's what I thought," Dampfang sneered. "Come on Pineshade."
"I…" Pineshade said, still looking from Dampfang to Frostmask helplessly. "…We'll meet back up with you later, Frostmask."
Frostmask bit the inside of her cheek as she continued to stare at the ground, her muscles taunt with fury and embarrassment.
No. I'm not getting run off by stupid Dampfang.
Frostmask gaze flickered up, searching up and down the bank as she tried to figure out the closest place she could go to cross the stream. Her ears pricked with interest as a nearby sycamore caught her gaze. It was growing close to the bank, and one of its low branches stretched over the water, its tip reaching the other side.
Frostmask went bounding over to it, her pelt prickling. She sprung onto the trunk and climbed up to the low branch easily. She scrambled down the branch, fiercely telling herself to ignore the menacing water which was only a few fox-lengths below her, and at the end, she leapt down to the opposite bank without issue.
Clenching her jaw, she ran after Dampfang and Pineshade, catching up to them quickly. Dampfang's ears pricked as she approached, greeting her with a surprised glare from over his shoulder. Frostmask curled her lip up at him but didn't slow her pace. She brushed by Pineshade, who let out a mew of surprise, and ran ahead of them to the nearby mossy log and the dark silhouettes she could see waiting for them there.
One long-legged silhouette rose to their paws and walked over to greet them. Frostmask blinked hard as she drew closer and recognized Sedgestar.
He nodded at her in greeting.
"Hello Frostmask," he said.
"Sedgestar, I didn't realize you would be here," Frostmask meowed, coming to a stop by him.
His amber eyes twinkled in the low light.
"And, let my warriors have all of the fun?" he asked, his tail-twitching playfully. "What's the status?"
"The apprentice patrol should be on the move by now," Frostmask reported. "Redclaw and Rowanheart went to alert the defensive patrol."
"Good," Sedgestar said with a nod, before turning his head to greet Pineshade and Dampfang as they padded up to them.
The rest of their patrol padded over to them. Frostmask lifted her tail in greeting to Dustleap, Marshnose, and Murmurstep. Once everyone had gathered around, Sedgestar turned back to Frostmask, Pineshade and Dampfang.
"Alright," he meowed. "What's next?"
Frostmask blinked in confusion.
"Wait, you're not leading the patrol?" she asked.
"As I'm sure you all recall from the last battle, I will not always be there to direct every fight," Sedgestar said, a hint of bitterness in his voice. "I'd like to see how my warriors manage without me. And, since this is an exercise for your apprentices, I think the responsibility should default to you three."
Frostmask's brow furrowed thoughtfully.
Just us three? Is this another one of Sedgestar's secret plots to test our potentials as deputies?
Dampfang raised his chin.
"I won't let you down," he said solemnly. "Come on everyone, let's get into position."
Dampfang gestured for the patrol to follow him with a sweep of his tail before he turned back towards the woods. Pineshade was at his shoulder at the head of the patrol. Frostmask was happy to ditch their company, falling back to Murmurstep's side as they trotted through the woods. The pale golden she-cat greeted her with a warm purr, which Frostmask easily returned.
"You have no idea how happy I am to see you," Frostmask said, her voice hushed so she couldn't be overheard. "I thought I was going to be stuck with cats with tadpoles instead of brains all night."
Murmurstep winced in sympathy.
"Dampfang was being that bad, huh?" she asked, her ears angling back slightly.
"Unbearable," Frostmask hissed in a low voice. "And, Pineshade just trails after him like some sort of lost kit! Ugh, it's almost like she's not even the same cat when she's with him."
Murmurstep frowned in concern.
"What happened?" she asked.
Frostmask's tail flicked uneasily as their patrol arrived back at the bank of the stream, as if her just thinking about it summoned it. Luckily though, Dampfang and Pineshade, for whatever reason, had chosen to cross at a different area this time, and there were stepping stones here. Frostmask waited for her turn to cross, bounding over the slippery rocks before continuing her conversation with Murmurstep on the other side.
"We had to cross the stream to get the mossy log," she said, gesturing back at it with her tail. "And, I'm… I'm scared of water."
Frostmask's ears warmed with shame at the confession, and she realized that this was probably the first time she'd ever admitted that out loud to anyone. But, something about Murmurstep's attentive gaze and quiet disposition made her easy to talk to, and Murmurstep didn't scoff at her for the fear, instead she just nodded sympathetically.
"Because of when you almost drowned as an apprentice?" Murmurstep guessed.
"Yeah," Frostmask said, her tail flicking. "But, anyway so the part of the stream we ended up at had no easy way to cross. No fallen logs or stepping stones. Dampfang and Pineshade just walked through the water, but I wanted to go a little ways up or downstream so I didn't have to do that. And, Dampfang just begins taunting me for it. I don't know if he figured out my fear just then, or if he's known it for a while. But, he starts acting like I'm being the unreasonable one for holding the patrol up and starting an argument with him. When it was so clearly all his fault for starting it! Also, I obviously still made it across the stream easily, even without getting wet, so it's not like I slowed us down. Ugh, and the cat has some nerve too because he's the reason I'm scared of water. He's the one that knocked me into the river when I was an apprentice!"
Murmurstep nodded along as Frostmask ranted, her brow furrowed.
"And, what was Pineshade doing during all this?" she asked.
"Nothing," Frostmask growled. "At the end Dampfang wanted to leave me there, and Pineshade just told me she would see me later."
Frostmask huffed and rolled her eyes.
"I think she doesn't say anything and goes along with him because she doesn't want him to be mad at her," Frostmask added.
"Normally you can't stop Pineshade from giving her opinion on something even if you tried," Murmurstep said in a quiet voice.
"Right?!" Frostmask said, her tail flicking. "That's exactly what I mean."
"Should we talk to her about it?" Murmurstep asked, gazing at Frostmask intently. "Sometime when Dampfang isn't around?"
Frostmask shrugged, sighing.
"Believe me; I've tried," she said. "But, she's hopeless when it comes to him."
"Maybe she doesn't realize the effect he has on her," Murmurstep pointed out. "We need to help her."
"How can you help someone who doesn't want to be helped?" Frostmask muttered bitterly.
Murmurstep's concerned expression deepened into distress, and Frostmask felt a prickle of guilt for making her upset.
"Well maybe if both of us—" Frostmask began to backtrack, but she clamped her jaws shut as Sedgestar dropped back to Frostmask's other side.
"Hello," he said to her in his deep voice.
"Er— hi," Frostmask meowed, giving her leader an awkward nod and silently hoping he hadn't overheard her gossiping.
Clearly realizing that Sedgestar wanted to talk only to Frostmask, Murmurstep dipped her head to Sedgestar and made a swift exit by lengthening her stride and pulling ahead of them. Sedgestar's amber gaze on Frostmask was unreadable as he flicked his ears towards the cats at the head of the patrol.
"You don't want to be leading the patrol with Dampfang and Pineshade?" he asked, slightly tilting his head to the side.
"Well, you must know that Dampfang and I don't get along that well," Frostmask said, her tail twitching. "I figured things would go more smoothly if I just let him lead for now instead of us arguing over what to do."
"Ah, so you are letting him lead. But, he did not take the leadership from you," Sedgestar said, his eyes glinting.
Frostmask flicked her tail.
"Is there a difference?" she asked.
"What do you think?" Sedgestar said locking his intense gaze on hers. "You said it in a way that made me think so."
Frostmask shrugged and glanced away from him.
"Of course I'd rather think that I'm letting him lead for now, instead of him having taken the choice away from me," she said, staring out into the dark forest. "But, besides, we are only getting into position to find the apprentice patrol. It's a simple enough task, but it'll make him feel accomplished and secure in his position as 'leader.' So, maybe he'll be less likely to feel challenged by me if I suggest something later, when it is important."
"So, it was a calculated decision, then," Sedgestar said. "You're picking your battles."
Frostmask glanced back over at Sedgestar, angling an ear at him.
"Why did you decide to have this conversation with me?" she challenged suddenly. "Is this an examination of the apprentices or of the mentors?"
Frostmask was surprised to see that Sedgestar's amber eyes suddenly shimmered with warmth. He inclined his head to her.
"Perhaps it's a bit of both," he admitted. "That's a very insightful observation, Frostmask."
"Not really. You're not nearly as sneaky as you think you are," Frostmask said, the words slipping out before she could really think about them.
Sedgestar's ears perked up, his eyes widening slightly with surprise. Frostmask immediately felt her stomach clench in anxiety, and she bowed her head to her leader in apology.
"Sir, I'm sorr—"
"No, it's alright," he said, interrupting her with a laugh.
Frostmask risked glancing up at him, and the tension drained from her shoulders as she saw that he was regarding her with curiosity and amusement.
"You don't have to apologize," Sedgestar continued, still purring. "Although I am a bit surprised at how boldly sardonic you've grown. A trait you picked up from Swoopstrike, I'm sure."
It's a boldness I gained both from aging and from losing respect for you.
Frostmask dipped her head to him again, so he couldn't read the thoughts in her eyes.
"I will try my best not to pass it on to Lizardpaw," she said drily.
Sedgestar leaned towards her confidentiality.
"With Snakeeyes as his mother, I fear it's already much too late for him," he purred.
Frostmask surprised herself by purring in response— it was one of the first genuine laughs Sedgestar had pulled from her since the night of the battle in ShadowClan's camp.
Silence lapsed over the patrol as they approached the area of the forest where the apprentice patrol may be prowling. Dampfang glanced back at the group.
"Split up in pairs or alone," he ordered. "Comb through the forest and capture as many apprentices as you can. We are to stop them from getting to the Burnt Sycamore, or if that fails, stop them from returning to camp."
Everyone already knows that frog-brain.
But, Frostmask bit her tongue against the words. Challenging Dampfang still didn't feel worth it. So instead, she just went over to Murmurstep, eager to claim her as her partner since she knew that Pineshade would surely want to be with Dampfang. The patrol split apart, stalking silently through the dark woods.
Frostmask's every sense was alert for movement in the forest as she and Murmurstep searched for any sign of the apprentice patrol. They walked for a while before Frostmask froze as she spotted a fresh looking paw-print in some mud. Frostmask crept over to sniff it. It was a bit tricky to decipher the scent, the cats had clearly disguised themselves, but Frostmask noticed a few dark auburn hairs by the paw-print that unmistakably belonged to Autumnleap.
A pleased purr rumbled in Frostmask's throat as she glanced up at Murmurstep.
"Let's hurry," she whispered. "They're close."
The two of them picked up their pace, loping through the dark pine forest. A shadow flashed ahead of them.
"There they are!" Frostmask hissed, doubling down her speed.
Three cats came into view— Autumnleap, Cedarpaw, and Yewpaw. They clearly realized that they were being pursued, but they didn't slow to meet Frostmask and Murmurstep in battle. It made sense. The apprentice patrol couldn't take prisoners like Frostmask's group could, so they were better off avoiding fights if they were able. But, Frostmask also knew that if they could not lose her and Murmurstep, but also refused to face them, then Frostmask and Murmurstep could herd the three of them to reinforcements, liking resulting in all of them being captured.
It seemed that the group realized this as well because Frostmask could hear them whispering frantically amongst themselves, although Frostmask couldn't quite make out what they were saying. But, then Autumnleap and Cedarpaw were dropping back towards Frostmask and Murmurstep, letting Yewpaw get away and continue towards the Burnt Sycamore.
Autumnleap and Cedarpaw whirled around to face them, and Frostmask sprung at Autumnleap without slowing her stride.
She had enough forward momentum to knock him off of his paws despite his greater size. Although, in the back of her mind, she had the nagging thought that this meant that he could now easily grab and over-power her. They tumbled a few times as Cedarpaw and Murmurstep leapt towards each other.
Frostmask could hear Autumnleap purring as they grappled with each other. Frostmask managed to pin him to the ground, and she peered down at him.
"You're not taking this seriously," she meowed. "This is real battle training!"
Autumnleap's gaze sparkled mischievously.
"In that case…" Autumnleap said, his paws suddenly flashing up to tighten around her shoulders.
Frostmask yelped as he suddenly flipped his body around, Frostmask held tight in his grasp. She kicked out at him with her hind-paws to loosen his grip enough to slip away from him, and she retreated backwards a few tail-lengths to the base of a large pine tree. Behind Autumnleap, Frostmask saw Murmurstep and Cedarpaw were still locked in combat. Frostmask's ears pricked in surprise. Cedarpaw had only been training for a couple of moons. She thought Murmurstep would be able to capture him quite easily, but he seemed to be holding his own against her. At least, for right now.
What in the Stars has Dampfang been teaching him?
But, Frostmask's attention snapped back to her own fight as Autumnleap lunged towards her. Frostmask danced away from him, bouncing off of the pine's roots and trunk to get enough leverage to spring clear over his head. Autumnleap whirled around to face her— now he was the one trapped against the base of the tree. He raised his brows in an impressed expression.
"How'd you learn those fancy dodges?" he asked.
"Surrender, and I'll teach you," Frostmask said, curling her lip back in something between a grin and a snarl.
Autumnleap flashed forward instead of responding. Frostmask sprung upwards, twisting and landing on his back. She dug her paws into his long fur, nipping at his scruff. Autumnleap immediately fell on his side, rolling to crush her beneath him, but she leapt off before he could, scrambling back out of his reach.
"Were you always this fast when we were apprentices?" Autumnleap huffed, shaking brown pine needles out of his fur as he got back to his paws.
Frostmask caught a flicker of movement behind Autumnleap out of the corner of her eye. It was Murmurstep slinking over towards him. Cedarpaw was gone; he must have either escaped or Murmurstep decided it would be better to let him go so that she and Frostmask could team up and capture at least one of them.
Frostmask was careful not to allow her gaze to drift over to Murmurstep and give her away.
I should keep Autumnleap talking until she is within striking distance.
"If you were as small as me, you'd understand that you can't afford to get caught," Frostmask meowed.
Autumnleap angled an ear at her.
"Well, I think that if you try really—" Autumnleap began.
What was sure to have been a clever remark was cut off as Murmurstep flashed towards him, knocking his hind-legs out from under him with a firm whack of her paw. Frostmask sprung onto Autumnleap's shoulders then and with Murmurstep throwing her weight onto his hips, they managed to pin him to the ground.
"Ah! We captured you!" Frostmask meowed victoriously.
Autumnleap huffed.
"Alright, fine! I'm your prisoner," he conceded from the ground. "Now get off me! I swear you two are stomping on my kidneys on purpose."
Frostmask released him with a purr, although Murmurstep gave him a final jab on the back with her paw, her gaze glinting deviously. Autumnleap grunted at the sharp poke, shooting Murmurstep a reproachful look.
"I already agreed that I'm your prisoner! Torturing me is just cruel," he complained.
He slowly pulled himself back to his feet.
"Alright, so now what are you two terrible, enemy warriors going to do with me?" he asked.
Frostmask and Murmurstep exchanged a look.
"Should we continue towards the Burnt Sycamore?" Frostmask asked. "Or wait for the apprentices to come back this way when they head to camp?"
"Or, we could meet up with the rest of the patrol," Murmurstep suggested. "If enough cats have been taken prisoner, they will have to free some of them before they can return back to camp. It would definitely be easier to make them come to us, if possible."
Frostmask nodded.
"Good idea," she meowed.
The three of them headed back towards the area where their patrol had split up, keeping an eye out for any more cats in the apprentices' patrol as they did so, while calling out to locate their own. As they walked, for all his earlier complaining, Autumnleap didn't seem that upset about being a prisoner. He trotted at Frostmask's side, their pelts brushing as he hummed cheerily to himself.
Frostmask nudged his shoulder with her muzzle.
"Try to seem a little more downtrodden," she teased. "Or, cats are going to think that you let me capture you on purpose!"
Autumnleap heaved a dramatic sigh, flattening his ears.
"Oh no! Woe is me! I'm being forced to spend more time with Frostmask!" he cried out into the dark woods to no-one in particular.
"Yeah, that's way more convincing," Murmurstep said drily, rolling her eyes.
After a bit more walking, they managed to run across Sedgestar, Dustleap, and Dampfang, who had captured Emberflower and Hollowpaw. Pineshade had run off in pursuit of Cricketpaw, and no one was sure where Marshnose was at the moment. Since they did not yet have enough cats from the apprentice patrol captured to win, the group agreed to wait to ambush them on their way back to camp. Hopefully the defensive patrol at the Burnt Sycamore would be able to capture one or two from the apprentice patrol, and then if their patrol could get one more, the apprentice patrol would be forced to come back to free their companions before returning to camp.
Their patrol spread out, hiding in the deep shadows near tree trunks to wait for the apprentices to return. Frostmask kept Autumnleap close to her, making it her job to ensure that he wouldn't be freed by another member of his patrol.
The moments passed slowly as they crouched in silence, but then Frostmask's attention was pulled to a bright white pelt in the distance that cut through the darkness like a beacon. She tensed. It was Lizardpaw with Featherpaw and Cricketpaw, who had evidently escaped Pineshade. Lizardpaw had a long white object clenched in his jaws.
The deer bone.
The group of apprentices was heading right towards where their patrol was lying in wait. Their tread was careful and their ears and eyes alert, but they continued closer to them, not realizing the trap they were walking into.
Dampfang was the first to spring out of hiding with a yowl, lunging towards the apprentices. Immediately the three of them scattered, taking off in opposite directions.
"Forget the others! Focus on retrieving the bone!" Dampfang shouted to the rest of their patrol.
Lizardpaw rocketed past Frostmask's hiding place, and she shot out after him, gesturing for Autumnleap to follow her. Frostmask's paws thrummed against the ground as she sprinted after her apprentice. Normally, he'd be faster than her, but Lizardpaw had done more running around the forest tonight than she had, and he was also carrying the large bone, so Frostmask found herself gaining on him. She panted hard as she drew closer, managing to close the final tail-length of distance between them as he stumbled slightly over the uneven ground.
Letting out a yowl of victory, Frostmask sprung on Lizardpaw, tackling him and knocking the bone out of his jaws. As they tumbled to a stop, Lizardpaw quickly went limp, surrendering to her. After flashing a few paw-signs to confirm that he was her prisoner, Frostmask got off of him and hurried over to where he had dropped the deer bone.
She blinked hard at it, her brow furrowing as she studied it more closely.
The bone was shaped oddly— it was kind of knobby instead of smooth, and was she imagining it, or did it smell a bit like pine sap…?
"You little—!" Frostmask gasped, whirling back towards Lizardpaw.
He stared at her with shimmering blue eyes, letting out a self-satisfied purr.
It wasn't the bone at all, but a pine branch that had been stripped of its bark to look pale and white.
'You tricked me!' Frostmask signed, her expression still offended, but her heart swelled with pride for her apprentice.
Lizardpaw nodded, licking his paw and smugly drawing his paw over his whiskers. Huffing and puffing, Autumnleap finally caught up to the two of them.
"You got Lizardpaw?" he asked. "And, the bone?"
Frostmask sighed heavily.
"It's a branch," she said, waving her paw at it.
Autumnleap burst into a purr.
"It worked!" he crowed, padding over to Lizardpaw to give him a congratulatory head-bump. "Fantastic job!"
Autumnleap turned back to Frostmask.
"It was all his idea, you know," he said, still purring.
Frostmask purred as well.
"I've never been more proud to be fooled," she meowed drily.
The sound of more paw-steps interrupted their conversation as Dampfang came running over to the three of them. His green eyes narrowed in confusion as his gaze flitted over Frostmask and Lizardpaw.
"Where is the deer bone?" he demanded bluntly.
"Lizardpaw didn't have it," Frostmask explained, gesturing towards the branch again. "It was just a stick that they disguised as the bone to be a decoy. The other apprentices may have even already made it back to camp with the real bone."
Dampfang's eyes widened in surprise and anger.
"What!" he snapped, his fur bristling. "You didn't get the bone back?!"
Frostmask's brow furrowed at Dampfang's tone, and her tail began to twitch in annoyance.
"Yeah, that's what I said," Frostmask meowed. "Did anyone capture Featherpaw or Cricketpaw?"
"No! They managed to free Hollowpaw and ran off!" Dampfang hissed.
Frostmask shrugged.
"The apprentices probably won then," she meowed. "As long as Redclaw's patrol didn't capture two of them."
Dampfang started to pace, his tail lashing.
"Well, I would've never let them get away, if I had known that you couldn't handle a task as simple as this," Dampfang growled between his fangs.
Frostmask scowled at him, clenching her jaw as real anger started to bubble up to replace her annoyance.
It's not fair that he's blaming this all on me!
"Don't be ridiculous. How was I supposed to know it was a decoy? You didn't!" Frostmask accused.
"You—" Dampfang began before releasing a hissed breath through his fangs as if he was trying to keep his temper in check. "Of course you would completely screw things up!"
A quiet growl rumbled in Frostmask's throat.
"What's wrong with you?! They're our apprentices!" she snapped in exasperation. "Aren't you happy that we've trained them well enough that they've won?!"
Dampfang stalked closer to her, his tail lashing.
"No. I'm not happy that they've won because you've given them no challenge! By being such an idiot that you were tricked by a branch!" Dampfang snarled.
Frostmask fluffed her fur out in anger while Autumnleap rumbled a low, warning growl to Dampfang, prowling over to stand at Frostmask's side.
"Lay off her, Dampfang," Autumnleap said, his amber eyes smoldering in the darkness.
Dampfang turned to him, his lip curling back in an ugly snarl.
"This doesn't involve you, Autumnleap," Dampfang spat. "Back off."
"It does involve me if you speak to Frostmask that way," Autumnleap rumbled, taking a stride forward instead, bringing him and Dampfang almost nose-to-nose.
The two toms sized each other up, hard, corded muscles bunching beneath their coats. The tension between them crackled like lightning.
"Get out of my face," Dampfang snarled, jabbing a paw hard against Autumnleap's chest. "Go stand by that tree, prisoner."
"I'm no one's prisoner," Autumnleap snarled back, baring gleaming fangs. "And, certainly not yours."
Frostmask swallowed hard, her pelt still bristling, but now with fear and worry rather than anger. Autumnleap and Dampfang looked like they were only moments away from clawing each other's pelts off. She took a step towards them, hoping to defuse the situation.
"We should all calm down," she said. "It's just a game."
Dampfang whirled on her.
"Just a game?!" he exploded, hissing. "You stupid frog-brain! We don't do these exercises because it's just a game. We do it because cats lives could depend on this training! Because ShadowClan depends on it! If you had a drop of loyalty in your body, you'd understand that!"
"I'm just as loyal to ShadowClan as you are," Frostmask spat back at him, planting her feet and stubbornly holding her ground.
She refused shrink back from him, even as he pressed himself closer, looming threateningly over her. Dampfang's green eyes narrowed to furious slits, and he let out a wordless growl, his claws unsheathing. Now Frostmask did take a step back, her stomach flipping.
Would Dampfang really attack me?!
Frostmask felt the fur on her side stir as Lizardpaw suddenly appeared, stepping protectively between her and Dampfang. A look of surprise briefly flitted over Dampfang's expression as Lizardpaw locked cold and angry blue eyes on him. But, Dampfang's surprise was fleeting, and the expression was quickly replaced with an escalating look of fury.
"You think you scare me little kit?!" Dampfang snarled at Lizardpaw
Lizardpaw was as silent as always, only his blue eyes narrowing in response to Dampfang.
Frostmask wasn't sure if Lizardpaw could fully understand what Dampfang was saying to him. It was dark, and he was shouting— both things that make it more difficult for Lizardpaw to lip-read. But, Dampfang's body language was extremely clear.
"You useless, waste of space," Dampfang spat, his fur spiking out like a pinecone.
Hot anger rolled in Frostmask's belly and a growl rumbled in her throat, but Dampfang continued ranting before she could even move a whisker.
"Both of you!" he snarled, whipping his head towards her. "You harm ShadowClan more than help it! Sedgestar should've never let Lizardpaw train as an apprentice, just like he should've never let you into this Clan! You disgusting fur-balls are better off rotting—"
Dampfang's words cut off into a yowl as Autumnleap suddenly tackled him. The two went tumbling, hissing and spitting as clumps of fur flew.
Frostmask stomach lurched at the sight of droplets of blood clinging to the hairs. They were fighting with unsheathed claws. She sprung toward them.
"No! Autumnleap, stop!" she yowled.
She had to break them up. Although what Dampfang had been saying was horrible, all of their other clan-mates would see attacking a clan-mate as way worse.
Autumnleap ignored her, or maybe he just didn't hear her, given how loudly he and Dampfang were snarling at each other.
Frostmask's head whipped around as she heard yowls of alarm coming from the distance, and then the drumming of paw-steps as her clan-mates rushed over to the commotion, recognizing the sounds as a real fight rather than training. Frostmask turned back to the wrestling toms.
"Autumnleap!" Frostmask hissed pleadingly, hoping to get him off of Dampfang before their clan-mates arrived.
But, she had no such luck.
"Enough!" Sedgestar's voice thundered as he barreled over to the fighting cats, his amber eyes narrowed in outrage.
Pineshade had reappeared, and she was right behind him. Her eyes were round with shock at the sight of her mate and her brother trying to tear the other to shreds.
Autumnleap and Dampfang finally broke apart at the sound of Sedgestar's yowl. Both of them were panting as they backed away, still staring murderously at the other. New scratches adorned both of their pelts, and blood dripped down onto Autumnleap's forehead.
"Autumnleap, your ear!" Frostmask gasped as she rushed to his side.
Dampfang had torn off the tip of his right ear, leaving a deep V in it.
"I'm okay," Autumnleap muttered, although when Frostmask gently rasped her tongue over the wound, he winced.
"What happened here?" Sedgestar hissed through clenched fangs, his tail lashing.
The rest of their patrol had appeared to gather behind Sedgestar and stare at Autumnleap and Dampfang like silent, wide-eyed owls.
"Autumnleap attacked me!" Dampfang snarled.
Dampfang had a nick on his lip, and he spat bloody saliva onto the ground as Pineshade crept over to him to inspect his wounds. Sedgestar turned his glare on Autumnleap, his gaze furious.
"Is this true?" he demanded.
Autumnleap raised his chin.
"Yes, but Dampfang provoked—" Autumnleap began.
"Silence," Sedgestar hissed, cutting him off. "It doesn't matter what Dampfang said, this never should've come to blows. We are one Clan! We do not fight ourselves!"
Autumnleap's jaw fell open in shock, but Frostmask brushed her tail over his muzzle before he could say anything and possibly make Sedgestar more mad. She leaned in close to his ear.
"We can speak to Sedgestar later, privately," she said in a hissed whisper. "He'll be more willing to listen when he's less angry, and you'll have me and Lizardpaw backing your defense up."
Autumnleap reluctantly closed his mouth again, giving a small nod, although his brow was still knit in anger. Sedgestar spent a few more moments glaring at the cats in front of him in silence as if he was waiting for someone else to speak up and challenge him.
"Everyone back to camp," he growled finally. "Dampfang and Autumnleap, go see Clearstream and Elmclaw about your scratches and then come speak to me for your punishments. I hope you're pleased that we have to use our precious herb stock to treat your pointless cuts."
"Wait, you're not planning on punishing me, are you?!" Dampfang said, his eyes widening in indignation. "Even though Autumnleap was the one who attacked me?!"
Sedgestar rumbled a low growl, his head whipping towards Dampfang.
"I will discipline you both as I see fit," Sedgestar spat. "Now, get out of my sight before you make things worse for yourself."
His pelt still bristling, Sedgestar whirled around and stalked off into the forest.
Author's Note:
Ah, someone finally punches Dampfang.
Thank you everyone for reading and especially to those who left reviews! See you next time!
Reviews:
There was a Book to Remember: Confession: I… actually like Murmurstep's name haha. Granted, "Murmur-" is definitely an unusual prefix, and I had trouble picking a suffix that worked well with it. (Things like Murmurfur, Murmurpelt, and Murmurtail were off the table because they made no sense to me. So I had to think outside of the box haha.) But, I thought it paired well with "-step" since to me at least, it evokes an image of a cat who is really good at stalking silently. And, I thought it worked well with her sister's name of Mosspounce, since "-pounce" and "-step" are both forms of walking, but "-pounce" seems a lot more energetic, which fits her personality better, while "-step" is slower/more measured, which fits Murmurstep's personality better. You can totally still not like the name if you want haha, but I just thought I'd explain the logic I had behind it. Oh, speaking of Dampfang though, one name which I definitely don't like is his. Haha "Dampfang" just sounds so gross to me, like it conjures an image of a lot of drool on teeth.
Brian.H.H: Hey, yeah good to hear from you! It is nice that Frost and Autumn can be happy together now, although of course things can't be all sunshine and rainbows yet, especially with Frostmask keeping the truth about Paledusk from him. Also, I think you're exactly right about Frostmask's lapse of self-awareness.
Autumnleap: Thank you! I've been trying to update more often, but lately I've been having trouble with some of my motivation with writing :/ Hopefully I can get back into the swing of things soon!
Stacy Rockfall: Oh I'm glad you like the addition of the death ceremony! Yeah with this story, I've definitely been trying to flesh out the clans' cultures a bit more by adding more traditions and stuff. And thank you! :)