Vol. 1/6 ✅️
"Your future - it is a path entwined with thorns. They try to grab you, to pull you into the deepest thicket - and they will succeed. You don't have the power to change your destiny completely, Larkpaw. The only thing you can do is not t...
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Larkpaw stood on her hind legs as she stretched as far as she could to stick a twig between two branches.
Finally, the stick was in the right place. Panting, the tortico she-cat dropped back onto her front paws and looked at her work so far.
Mottlepaw emerged from the other side. "Hard to believe," the dark red she-cat puffed. "Now it won't be long until my final assessment, but I still have to patch up dens."
Lakepaw poked his head out from under the bushes. "Make sure no one hears you," he warned. "Otherwise you'll have to wait another six moons."
Mottlepaw then wiped his nose with her tail and stalked off.
"Do you think it will last long enough?" Larkpaw asked hesitantly. "It looks pretty unstable to me."
Lakepaw pushed himself out of the elders' den and examined the outer wall. "We'll see when the time comes."
Larkpaw would have liked to share the dark grey and white tom's optimism. Nevertheless, she had doubts. "I definitely don't want to have laboured in vain," she whispered. She turned her paws in the direction of the nursery. "I'll go and see how things are there," she informed Lakepaw.
Amberpaw, Mushroompaw and Birchpaw were responsible for improving the nursery. Today, all the cats in the Clan were busy preparing the camp for the coming cold leaf-changes.
Larkpaw was looking forward to this time, even if she was a little anxious. She had been a tiny kit during the last leaf-bare, and besides, she was born towards the end of that leaf-change, so she couldn't remember it. This would now be her first real leaf-bare.
At the nursery, the cats were much further along. The mountain of branches, moss and leaves that were supposed to fill the undergrowth in front of the den was already much smaller than last time. In many places in the bushes it was no longer possible to see into the den.
While the apprentices worked, the kits romped around in a hollow. They had a pine cone as a toy, which was probably brought by one of the patrols.
Owl interrupted his participation in the game for a moment and scampered to the edge of the hollow. His playmates growled indignantly, but he ignored them. "When can we finally go back to the nursery?" the grey-brown tabby tom with the white legs squeaked.
"Why do you want to go to the nursery?" Blossom, who came bounding over, asked. Her red tail swished through the air. "It's much nicer here!"
Larkpaw purred. These kits were so carefree that she felt a twinge of jealousy.
Now Mistkit interfered. "Soon you'll be glad you stayed out so long today," the dark grey tabby tom explained pompously.
Blossom tilted her head. "Really?" For a moment, she looked around, blinking, before she blurted out, "Why isn't my name Blossomkit?"
