OakClan"We'll head for the stream and hunt on the way there," Tigerblaze replied without hesitation. Hunting near water provided a good chance of finding any other creatures that would be out to drink, and if nothing else they could fish. He was almost at the camp entrance when he heard Splashfeather calling them, and halted, annoyed, to turn and look at her. "Yes?"
Splashfeather nodded and slipped out of the den, into the chilly leaf-bare air. Almost immediately, she spotted Jackdawpaw leaving with Tigerblaze, and bounded to catch up to them. "Hey, Jackdawpaw! Tigerblaze! Wait up!" She skidded to a halt when they did, feeling a bit uncomfortable when Tigerblaze's annoyed gaze landed on her, but she wouldn't let herself be intimidated. She was a warrior now, just like he was--his equal. "Would you two like to go on patrol with me, Lostnight, and Elmshade?" Turning to Jackdawpaw, she added, "I was thinking we could bring Bearpaw too, if it's okay with Blizzardclaw. Of course, he can join us too if he wants."
"They've inherited their mother's strength," Sunflare mused as his son's tiny claws latched onto the fur on his muzzle. He gently bobbed his head up and down, lifting Poppykit ever so slightly off the ground in the process as the kit was clinging tightly to his muzzle. When Ivypaw came in with prey for Creamflower, he thanked her and gently pried Poppykit off before curling around his mate and beginning to groom her.
Dustkit mewled in dissatisfaction when her brother kicked her and rolled over onto her side. Another cat entered the den then, and she crawled closer to her mother, trying to hide from all the unfamiliar faces.
Tiny snowflakes drifted down from the sky and settled onto Riverstripe's pelt as he emerged from the warriors' den. His breath billowed out in small clouds in the chilly morning air, and for a moment he sat there, unsure what to do. He knew he could always go out and hunt by himself, as Tigerblaze sometimes did, but he still always preferred to be sent out by either Blizzardclaw or Beestar. That, and maybe he just wanted to talk to Beestar. It had been two moons since she'd given birth to her kits and subsequently lost a life, but although she and the kits were doing well, it still hurt him to know that she hadn't told him the truth of what had happened during her kitting. He knew she was less likely to talk about it the more time went on, but he still wished that somehow, some way, she would tell him the truth, confide in him, talk to him as a friend and not just as a part of the Clan that she had to lead and protect. But any hope he had of talking to her crumbled when he saw Blizzardclaw make a beeline for her the second she came from her den. 'I'm sure she's told him,' he thought dejectedly. Tail drooping, he stood up and began to pad towards the camp entrance. I really should stop being so silly and just start going out hunting by myself.
EagleClanSouthstar frowned. If a Clanmate wasn't feeling well, he didn't like to brush it off, and especially not if it was his deputy. His ears pricked slightly when he saw Streamspot shift and rise to her paws and he opened his mouth to ask if she was okay, only to shut it again as she darted past him. Part of him wanted to go after her, but he figured out pretty quickly where she was going and decided to give her privacy. When a few minutes had passed he began to grow worried and was about to leave the den when she padded back in, looking worse than she had before, and he picked up the scent of sick on her. "You need to see Daydream," he told her gently but not leaving it up for debate. Judging by her symptoms it most likely was just a bit of bad prey and would wear off after a day, but even so, there was always the possibility of it causing more serious problems, and Southstar didn't want to take any chances. "Can you make it to the medicine den? If not, I'll send him here. You're to rest all day, and that's an order." He knew how proud and determined to serve her Clan his deputy could be, and so he felt the need to be firm with her.
Littleflower simply nodded, jumping a bit when the deputy suddenly bolted out of the den. "Still, I hope she's okay..." she murmured worriedly. "Well, talking won't get us anywhere. I guess we should get up and go out hunting, huh?" She could only hope that there was more good prey out than bad prey out there. Seeing that Mistflower and Quiverheart looked about to go out hunting as well, she suggested, "We could all go out together," automatically assuming that Swiftbadger was coming.
"He doesn't even have a chance to ditch me when he goes running to Foxcloud first thing every morning," Darkpaw muttered before adding a bit less bitterly, "Sure, that sounds good. Thanks." He hoped Goldenrose wasn't expecting to train him
and Wolfpaw; the thought of being trained by the she-cat he thought of himself as an equal to, alongside her new apprentice, was humiliating. He would be a warrior in two moons, if all went according to plan, while Wolfpaw had just left the nursery a moon ago. If anything, he could help her train the young tom, or perhaps spar with Daydream. He knew the medicine cat used to be a warrior, and a skilled one at that, so he wouldn't mind testing his own skills against the tom.
Nightwish wasn't far behind Acornspots as she padded out of her den and over to the apprentices', eager to start training Gingerpaw. The she-cat was her very first apprentice and she'd been hoping to be appointed mentor of one of Reedwhisker's kits anyway, so when it was announced that she'd be training Gingerpaw, she couldn't have been happier. Especially after Reedwhisker had confided in her about his concern for Gingerpaw adjusting to warrior life, she wanted all the more to prove that she could train the young she-cat into one of the best warriors the Clan would ever see. Poking her head into the apprentices' den, she called out, "Gingerpaw! Time to get up!"
Outside the ClanThunder let out a high-pitched mewl in response. He held his mother's gaze for a moment longer before turning to see his brother, who was attempting to crawl out of the nest they shared. Instinctively the tom-kit scrambled after his brother and climbed on top of him, as if to stop him.
