Flamepaw's Quest

Chapter 3

            Flamekit wasn't sure how it happened, but in a short time, fourteen sunrises came and went, and soon enough, her paw was able to heal.
            Those fourteen sunrises had been the longest days of her life though. She had hated being forced to remain in the nursery, confined as if she had a sickness and no cat could visit her or even glance her way.
            Suntail had forbidden her from playing with the other cats, demanding that her paw heal well. She knew her mother and father were still angry with her for going off into the woods, but she had felt them calling her, and she had truly believed something had gone wrong.
            Of course, Brownpelt and Suntail would not hear of it when Flamekit tried to explain why the decision was made.
            Mothpaw had visited Flamekit a few times during those two weeks, though she was often busy with Mountaineye, learning all sorts of medicine cat strategies and herbs.
            But now, Flamekit awoke to a new day, finding sunlight. New-leaf had fully taken over the forest, and it was only getting warmer. Flamekit knew by the time she became an apprentice, green-leaf would arrive.
            Flamekit stood up and stretched, moving her previously injured paw around. She had to admit, Mountaineye had done a good job of healing it. She almost wished it was still sprained so that she could see Mothpaw more often.
            But Flamekit knew she'd be becoming an apprentice in less than three moons. Then, maybe she'd see her friend more. And even better, she'd be learning how to become a warrior.
            Flamekit made her way to the entrance of the nursery, only to be stopped by Suntail.
            "And where do you think you're going?" her mother asked.
            "Outside," Flamekit replied, annoyed with her mother's caution.
            "Not to the forest, I hope," her mother growled.
            "I wanted to see Mothpaw," Flamekit protested.
            "Why not leave her to work?" Suntail suggested. "I know you were good friends with the she-cat, but she's busy becoming a medicine cat apprentice, Flamekit."
            Flamekit frowned and sat down in defeat, knowing her mother would most likely not let her visit Mothpaw as often.
            "Cheer up," Suntail purred. "Why don't I take you to the riverbed? Maybe you can learn to catch a fish."
            "Really?" Flamekit asked, not believing her mother.
            "Sure! Of course, I'm not sure how good you'll be at it. Most fish are the size of you," Suntail joked, laughing.
            "Is Daddy coming?" Flamekit asked.
            "Patrol," Suntail replied. "He's a busy warrior, Flamekit."
            "He's not deputy," Flamekit murmured as she followed her mother outside of the den. Cats padded around, chatting with each other on the beautiful day.
            "Good morning, Goldstar!" Suntail called to her sister.
            Goldstar nodded back, continuing to chat with another warrior.
            "Does Goldstar not like you anymore?" Flamekit asked.
            Suntail frowned at Flamekit. "What makes you say that?"
            "She doesn't talk to you a lot."
            "My sister is leader, Flamekit. She doesn't have time to talk as much," Suntail explained. "Come on. Stick by me when we enter the forest."
            Flamekit rolled her eyes, finding her mother's precautions to be unnecessary. But she obeyed and stood close to her mother, padding into the somewhat familiar woods.
            The last time Flamekit had walked through these woods, she had almost been killed by a fox if it weren't for her father's coming. Since then she'd been lectured about how dangerous the forest was, though here now, in daylight, the most dangerous predator seemed like a butterfly that flew by her nose.
            Flamekit giggled and threw her paws up, trying to catch the butterfly. It flew away, and Flamekit began to chase after it.
            "Flamekit," Suntail warned. "Stay near me."
            Flamekit sighed and padded back towards her mother, walking with her through the woods. In light, the woods looked incredibly different. The trees were tall with beautiful leaves that grew from the branches. Birds chirped towards each other, and the sound of the river could be heard in the distance.
            "We're almost here," Suntail told Flamekit, walking through some bushes. Flamekit followed behind joyfully, walking out to the edge of the riverbeds.
            Calm bodies of water sat, a slight current nowhere in sight. Lilypads sat on the water's surface, and ducks calmly swam and dunked, coming up with vegetation clasped to their beak.
            "Wow! This is amazing!" Flamekit exclaimed, padding closer to the riverbed.
            "Not so fast," Suntail warned, running up to catch her. "The river beds don't possess the strong currents of the river, but they are deep enough for a kit to drown in."
            "I have RiverClan blood!" Flamekit protested.
            "But you're not a strong swimmer yet. Your mentor will teach you much about swimming. For now, I'll just show you how to fish," Suntail explained.
            She crouched down by the edge of the river and looked down at the clear water. Flamekit looked beside her, careful not to tip too far and fall into the river.
            Suntail suddenly tensed and shover her paw into the water. Moments later, she came up with a decent size fish that wiggled in her grasp. Quickly, she killed it and tossed it to the side, grinning.
            "How do you do that?" Flamekit gasped.
            "Six moons of apprentice training," Suntail responded. "Keep and eye on the water, and when you see movement, shove your paw into there and try to clasp onto the fish."
            Flamekit nodded and watched the water, bored for a few minutes as she watched plants sway in the water. Suddenly, she saw the pale image of a fish and placed her paw in. Immediately, the fish swam off, leaving Flamekit disappointed.
            "It's important not to splash the water," Suntail said. "Try to be quick, yet soft."
            "That doesn't make any sense," Flamekit replied, frustrated.
            Suntail laughed. "It takes moons of practice. Why don't you try again?"
            And so Flamekit tried again and again, but she had no luck. She could not catch a single fish, or even get her claws into one. Once, she felt the smooth top of a fish, only to have it flee before she could get a claw into it. Giving up, she retreated with Suntail back to camp, watching her mother hold the fish she had caught earlier in her mouth with pride.
            "Will I ever catch a fish?" Flamekit wondered.
            Suntail nodded, though Flamekit didn't feel any better. She supposed that it was because she was only a kit though. Her mentor would teach her how to catch a fish.
            Upon arriving in camp, Suntail dropped the fish on the fresh-kill pile next to other freshly caught ones. A few squirrels and birds were mixed in, though the pile consisted mostly of fish.
            "Why don't we eat a small one?" Suntail suggested, grabbing a small gray fish from the pile. Flamekit bit into the slimy fish, tasting the meat and grinning. It was hard to imagine that the other three clans did not swim or fish. How was it that they fed their clans?
            In RiverClan, they not only had the forest but the river. It was safe to assume that the clan would never starve.
            "Hey, Flamekit!" came a call.
            Flamekit turned and noticed Mothpaw approaching her.
            "Mothpaw, hi!" Flamekit replied, standing up to greet her friend.
            "Good morning, Mothpaw," Suntail greeted her.
            "Morning, Suntail. Flamekit, Mountaineye wants me to go out and collect some more marigold. Want to come?"
            "Would I!"
            "No," Suntail murmured from behind her.
            "Pardon?" Mothpaw asked Suntail.
            "Flamekit is only allowed into the forest with either me or her father's supervision. I trust you, Mothpaw, but ever since Flamekit's encounter with the fox in the woods, we find it's best she stay out of it. She can be a bit too curious," Suntail explained, eyeing Flamekit.
            Flamekit frowned and opened her mouth to protest, only to be stopped by Suntail.
            "Not a word, Flamekit," Suntail growled.
            "Well, that's too bad," Mothpaw sighed. "I'll go see if Rosepaw wants to come. See you later, Flamekit!"
            Mothpaw went off, leaving Flamekit to sulk.
            "Now, don't give me that frown," Suntail urged. "If you had not gone into the forest that night, this would not be an issue."
            "I thought Goldstar was in trouble!" Flamekit shouted.
            "Not every dream is from StarClan," Suntail replied, hearing Flamekit's story several times. "If your father had not rescued you—"
            "I know! I know!" Flamekit groaned. "I would've been fox meat. I'm sorry, okay? I don't even get to see Mothpaw that much anymore, and now you won't let me see her at all!"
            "She's only collecting herbs, Flamekit. There will be other opportunities. Why don't you see if Mudkit and Oakkit want to play?"
            "They never let me play," she grumbled as she followed Suntail back to the nursery. Oh, she dreamed to be an apprentice even more now.