He was exhausted.
After his mother had left, the clan had wasted no time in finally using Sparrowpaw to his full abilities as apprentice. For days now he'd been doing everything he could imagine and more: hunting, searching for herbs, climbing trees for moss, tending to Stormjaw and Fawnheart, organizing supplies. When Moonsong had chosen to take him on, he'd been excited. Talking to future leader of a clan was something he could only dream of on his travels, and now he was under one's wing! Unfortunately for him, there was no enthusiasm to be had. This was a crisis, and he'd signed up for it when he'd taken his vows and left his mother.
But goodness he could never be ungrateful, it was just more...responsibility and, well, work than he was used to. He wasn't just working to feed himself or his mother now, Stormjaw and Fawnheart were
expecting kits, and Onekit was still very young. The first few nights he couldn't sleep, constantly fidgeting without a familiar face nearby and questioning his own decision to join. Could he really become a proper clan cat?
Now, though, he could barely wake up in the mornings. Moonsong had made sure to work him hard, though he did his best to meet her expectations. Limbs twitching lightly in his fleeting desire to stay asleep, Sparrowpaw could feel the other apprentices shifting around. Some rose without issues, others he could still sense resting easy in the springy moss they'd so diligently patted into place.
Gods, he wanted to stay asleep. Rather than stew in his own dream-dazed trance, the young tom rolled onto his stomach and, with a small groan, rose. The climbing over the last few days had worked muscles and tendons he'd avoided using, and though the moss was soft there was only so much to be done for a few sorely underused body parts.
His sight finally sharpened in the early dawn light just in time to see Foxpaw run paw-first into a resting Beetlepaw, her quick apology lightening his mood ever so slightly. He had plenty of others still making mistakes around him, and they'd been born into it! There was nothing to worry about. Making his way out of his little nest and towards the root entrance, the apprentice called out drowsily to the two ahead of him.
"Foxpaw, Beetlepaw, good mornin- ah, wait!" smacked into alertness, the tom turned back to his messy nest. Patting it back into place and removing a few bothersome clumps from his fur, Sparrowpaw could already imagine Moonsong's lecture on cleanliness for forgetting
again to tidy his area up. When he was satisfied at the result, the tom reappeared before his fellow apprentices (his fellow clanmates!) with a sheepish smile.
"Sorry, I'm still -", an uncontrollable yawn,
"a bit tired." he admitted, stretching his back legs. The hinges popped loudly, practically moaning as the tom shook out his fur one last time. He had another big day ahead, and he really should wake up.
"Any ideas hat we're doing today?" He could only pray there'd be no climbing. As if in agreement, his stomach rumbled noisily.