*EDIT: Fixed Skykit's gender. Honestly I keep forgetting if she's a tom or a she-cat.*
"Maple. Maple. Wake up, you big red badger."
Maplepaw blinked sleepily. "Bloompaw? Is it sunrise already?"
"No, silly. Come in the hollow so I can tell you all about the Gathering."
Oh, right. She'd meant to stay up all night until her sister returned so she could hear all the gossip, but Maplepaw had been so tired from another day stuck in camp tending to the elders that she'd crawled into her nest long before moonhigh.
Bloompaw wasn't the only one up. Yellowstar and Paletuft were laying under Highledge, sharing tongues, while Jaggedclaw, Birchnose, Goosefur, and Rabbitleap gossiped by the camp entrance. The full moon washed the camp in its white glow, turning the FireClan cats pelts silver.
"Well?"
"It was amazing. There were so many cats, I didn't even know that many cats existed, and did you know CrookedClan smells like fish?" Bloompaw's tail brushed out excitedly. "Weaselstar was terrifying. She's small, but her fur is so dark red, it looks like blood. And Swiftstar! She's ancient. Just… so old. Her muzzle is all gray. Rabbitleap was telling me she was old even when she was a kit. Oh and something weird was going on with Sunsplash. He kept glaring at Weaselstar like she'd fed him crowfood. Isn't that weird?"
Maplepaw stifled a yawn. "Weird," she said.
"Oh, and a cat called Dustapple asked about you. Did you meet him when you spied on their territory?" Bloompaw tilted her head innocently.
"I was not spying. I was out for a walk and I got lost." Maplepaw flicked her ear crossly.
"Okay." Bloompaw shrugged. "I still don't get how you ended up all the way over there. Were you running from something?"
Just spooky voices coming from the shadows. "No," she lied.
"You can talk to me, you know. If something's bothering you." Bloompaw rested her tail on Maplepaw's back. "I know we're not kits anymore, but we're still best friends."
"It's nothing." Maplepaw sighed. How could she tell her sister what was going on? She'd think Maplepaw had lost her mind. And maybe I have. It's not like StarClan was talking to her. They only talked to leaders, and Maplespaw was barely an apprentice. Her sister was eyeing her suspiciously. "Okay, okay, it's… Frecklepaw." At least that was partly true. "Thrushflight told me this story… When we were just kits, she almost killed me. And then when we were training the other day, she attacked me-with her teeth-after Yellowstar had ordered her to stop." She sighed again. "I just don't understand why she hates me so much. I've never done anything to her."
Bloompaw pressed her nose into the fur along Maplepaw's cheek. "Maybe we could talk to Wrenpaw about it," she suggested.
"Maybe. Not tonight." Maplepaw stretched until her tailtip quivered. "Let's just sleep. Luckily I'm allowed out of camp tomorrow, so hopefully we can hunt together."
"I bet I catch more than you."
"Yeah, right."
"Nice crouch, but lift your tail just a bit higher off the ground. Don't forget to step lightly. With those white patches, you'll have to be extra sneaky about catching prey."
It was three days since the Gathering. Maplepaw and Wrenpaw were practicing their hunting crouches with their mentors, Dapplecreek and Thrushflight, outside the old twoleg den where the medicine cat tended herbs. Maplepaw had to admit, Wrenpaw was a natural. Then again, he had been apprenticed first. She purred warmly as the pale ginger tom stared seriously at the leaf he was supposed to sneak up on.
"Your crouch is getting better, Maplepaw," said Dapplecreek. "I think it's time we try it out for real. Try to find something in the brush over there. Thrushflight, why don't you take Wrenpaw past the oaks?"
Maplepaw got into position, her pawsteps light on the forest floor. She still hadn't caught any prey. Since the CrookedClan incident, her training had lagged behind Bloompaw's. She forced back a growl. I'll be sitting my warrior vigil alone at this rate.
Forcing back the thought, Maplepaw focused her attention on a thick bush in front of her. She craned her ears and stood as still as possible, hoping to hear something. She didn't have to wait long. A mouse scrabbled at the bush's twisted roots, ripping at a pile of dead leaves with its teeth, probably to line its den with.
Holding her breath, Maplepaw dropped into a crouch, careful to keep her leaf-shaped patches covered with tree shade. Just a bit closer… Closer. The mouse ventured further from the bush. Closer… Now!
Maplepaw sailed over the ground and landed squarely on the mouse's back. She immediately crunched its neck with her teeth, and a fresh, meaty taste bathed her tongue. Finally. My first kill.
"Well done," said Dapplecreek warmly when she brought the prey. "See if you can find more, then we'll head back."
Maplepaw caught one more mouse, a shrew, and a blackbird-her crowning achievement. She'd never practiced stalking birds, but when she spotted the blackbird pecking at something on the ground, instincts took over and she killed it before it could even sound an alarm.
"Nice," said Wrenpaw around his own mouthful of prey.
"Put those in the pile and choose something for yourselves," said Thrushflight when they got back to camp. "You've earned it."
"Share a squirrel with me?" Wrenpaw hooked a fat gray squirrel from the pile with his claw.
"Sure." They found a quiet spot next to the apprentice den.
"How's battle training?" Wrenpaw asked lightly.
"Fine." She hadn't actually had another mock battle since Frecklewish. She suspected Dapplecreek was still nervous after last time. I guess I should get used to that.
"I heard about your bout with Frecklepaw."
Maplepaw gulped. "Oh." Wrenpaw was Frecklepaw's sister. He'd probably take her side.
"I don't know what got into my littermate," Wrenpaw said with a sigh. "I don't know what her problem is at all, actually. She just-"
"-Doesn't like me." Maplepaw shrugged. I'm used to it.
Wrenpaw flicked her shoulder lightly with his tail. "I like you, though."
Maplepaw blinked. "Oh."
"And Acornpaw, of course." Wrenpaw coughed awkwardly. "My point is, it's just Frecklepaw's problem. Try not to let it get you down."
"Can't you… I dunno, talk to her?"
"She doesn't listen to me. She never has." He took another mouthful of squirrel. "Honestly, she's a good cat. I think her head's just a little too big for her own good. Getting the Clan leader as a mentor probably didn't help."
"You got that right." Maplepaw chuckled. "Honestly, I don't know what Yellowstar was thinking."
"Probably that a cat like Frecklepaw needs the right kind of mentor. One that will show her strength, but restraint, too. Yellowstar doesn't fear battle, but she doesn't rush into it, either. If I was leader, I'd wanna be just like her."
Maplepaw paused. What kind of leader would I want to be? She pictured Troutstar, his calm voice, his purposeful walk, his reserved eyes. She hadn't understood him lying for her sake-showing loyalty for a cat that wasn't even his Clanmate-but now she thought she was beginning to understand. He'd eased tensions that could have led to a skirmish, or even war, yet he'd still made it clear to Yellowstar that his borders were to be respected. If I had actually meant to trespass, she realized, he would have handled it differently.
Bloompaw joined them later, boasting about how she'd helped Paletuft, Acornpaw, and Foxjump catch a rabbit. Frecklepaw was busy hunting with Yellowstar, so Maplepaw didn't have to deal with her for the rest of the day. Sitting with Bloompaw and Wrenpaw, she could almost pretend everything was normal, that she was just another apprentice on her way to warriorhood. Across the hollow, Birchnose and Rabbitleap shared a robin; the elders Webclaw and Oaktree groomed each other; and Paletuft lay with her mother, Fallensnow, in front of the nursery. Fallensnow's kits tumbled around their paws, playing with a mousetail. I hope I get to mentor one of them, Maplepaw thought, even though she knew it was unlikely she'd be a warrior by the time they were apprenticed. Skykit seemed to be the most brave, while Freezekit was the most shy, and Stormykit the most playful. I'd like Skykit. She rumbled a purr. She reminds me of Bloompaw.
The next day, Thrushflight and Dapplecreek took their apprentices to the training hollow for a mock battle.
"Show me those legendary battle moves," said Wrenpaw playfully.
Maplepaw cocked her head. "Legendary?"
"Word gets around." He shrugged.
"Wrenpaw, I want you to practice the flank swipe we talked about. Maplepaw, try to doge his paws. And remember: claws sheathed."
Dapplecreek's yellow eyes bored into Maplepaw. The apprentice shivered. Maybe I should try to act dumb. Apparently the whole Clan knew about her weird fighting moves. She circled the clearing, waiting for Wrenpaw to strike. I have no clue how I knew how to do that. I just did. How could I explain that to Dapplecreek? She wouldn't understand… No one understands.
Wrenpaw flattened his ears, obviously ready to pounce. Maplepaw's eyes narrowed. Maybe if I… Wrenpaw's paw shot out and Maplepaw instinctively ducked to the side and dealt a return blow to the back of his head. Mousedung. Wrenpaw shook himself and backed up, looking startled. StarClan above, he looks like I've grown wings.
"Again," said Thrushflight, his mew light. Maybe lighter than it should have been.
Wrenpaw swiped, and this time Maplepaw forced herself not to react. She waited until his paw was a hairsbreadth from her thick red fur, and dodged slowly. Still she was too quick; his outstretched paw just barely disturbed the fur on her shoulder. He tried again; she dodged again. Soon she was panting, not from the mock fight itself, but from the effort of trying not to be too good.
Wrenpaw sat on his haunches, breathing hard. "Where'd you learn that?" His eyes were wide. "It's like you're made of smoke."
Maplepaw licked her chest fur self-consciously. "I guess I just picked it up."
"Well done, both of you." Dapplecreek's mew was tight. "Why don't I do some one-on-one practice with my apprentice?"
Thrushflight nodded and led Wrenpaw out of the clearing. "Sunsplash and Foxjump wanted us to come hunting anyway."
Dapplecreek lurked at the clearing's edge, her tortoiseshell pelt camouflaged by the leaf shade. "Try to hit me," she said.
Confused, Maplepaw followed her mentor's movements. She zigzagged in an odd pattern, obviously trying to throw Maplepaw off, to keep her from predicting her path. But Maplepaw saw through the ruse; Dapplecreek was heading for a specific spot in the sandy clearing. Maplepaw simply waited until she was close and leapt to block off her path. As Dapplecreek turned to keep her eyes on Maplepaw, the apprentice turned with her, slithered onto her back and kicked up, knocking Dapplecreek off her paws. The whole maneuver hardly took more than a breath.
Dapplecreek stood and shook sand from her pelt. "Maplepaw, you need to tell me where you've learned this. And no running away this time. Did one of the senior warriors teach you? I won't be mad. You're not in trouble-"
"I don't know! I don't know. I'd never even tried to fight another cat until the other day with Frecklepaw. It all just…" She looked down at her big, white paws. "It just comes to me. I can't explain it."
"You fight like a seasoned warrior, Maplepaw. There's no way you just know how! That move earlier with Wrenpaw? I've seen it in CrookedClan cats, but never FireClan."
"I'm telling the truth. Maybe I picked it up listening to Webclaw and Oaktree talk about old battles."
Dapplecreek's eyes narrowed. "Maybe." She flicked her tail. "Don't think I'm not proud of you, Maplepaw. I'm just worried."
"It doesn't matter why I know how to fight," Maplepaw said, her chest puffed out, "if it means I can better defend my Clan. I want to be the best warrior I can be!"
"You have a warrior's spirit." Dapplecreek brushed Maplepaw's flank awkwardly with her tail. "I only hope I can teach you how to use it."