Sleep became hard to come by. Night after night, the truth-teller's apprentice would lay in his nest, staring up at the interweaving brambles until he heard Flamepaw stir beside him, signalling the start of their battle training. The other nights, when even his littermate slept soundly, Nightpaw would lay awake until dawn's light filtered in through the den entrance.
Unable to stand the mundanity of the brambles after a couple of nights, he moved to look up at the sky. Though the days grew warmer, the nights were still cold, and the apprentice fluffed his fur as he exited the den. Overhead, the stars peeked out from behind clouds, patches of midnight sky visible through the grey covering.
Sootstar, are you up there? Nightpaw thought, gazing upwards. Finchwatcher, can you hear me?
The stars remained silent, glimmering almost laughingly down at him. He spotted a group of them - seven, if he counted correctly - and he wondered if they were a sign from StarClan.
Seven... He shook his head. The numbers didn't match up. Cedarheart, Swallowstorm, Cinderpaw, Mothpaw, Wrenpaw and I makes six.
He sighed. Even a seventh cat, unless they were of the stature of Lionmask or Spiderthorn, wouldn't make a difference against the forces of DarkClan.
Still, he wondered who it could be, if the stars were to be believed. Sprucetail? Goosepelt? Birchfrost? Thistleshade? Bramblepaw?
Wrenpaw was right. He needed to start putting a plan into action.
//
Training became more and more gruelling as leafbare turned slowly into an early newleaf. Each night, the apprentices would return to camp with their fur soaked through, damp leaves sticking to their pelts and mud caked between their claws. The muck didn't dampen their mood.
"Did you see that partner fighting Shadepaw and I managed to pull off?" Bramblepaw asked, droplets of water coming off of his pelt as he jumped up and down excitedly.
"Yes, we did," Flamepaw hissed for the third time, unimpressed by the younger apprentice's boasting. The ginger tom drew his paw discretely over his ear, which Bramblepaw managed to nick during training.
"You make a good team," Wrenpaw offered. Bramblepaw nodded while Shadepaw gave the smallest twitch of his whiskers, seemingly unenthusiastic about working with his littermate.
Nightpaw and Cinderpaw remained silent, not overly interested in the battle training of the day. Nightpaw's silence was not out of place; Cinderpaw, however, seemed distant, and had been increasingly so over the past moon.
"Are you alright?" Nightpaw asked, bumping the she-cat's shoulder. It felt strange to have the roles reversed.
She jumped, startled, her hazel eyes losing their distracted sheen. "Yes." Her response was too quick. "I was just thinking."
"About?" The tom left the question open-ended, studying her face to see if he could glean any information from her.
Cinderpaw hesitated, glancing about the camp nervously. Before she could speak, Smoketalon's sharp voice called her over from the other end of camp. The grey tom's tail lashed in an agitated way. An uneasiness filled Nightpaw as he noticed the tension in his littermate's shoulders.
"He must want to take me hunting," Cinderpaw said quietly. "He says Flamepaw and I will have our assessment soon."
"Do you want me to come with you?" Nightpaw asked, voice low as the urge to protect his littermate filled him.
She hesitated, but shook her head. "Believe me, it would be best if you didn't intervene."
With a sigh, Nightpaw stepped aside and let Cinderpaw join her mentor. His eyes met Smoketalon's across the clearing and he narrowed them in response to the tom's smug expression.
YOU ARE READING
//Un//masked
Fanfiction"It is forbidden for a reason, young one. Love makes you weak, a fraction of yourself. It keeps you from being the best you can be and that is why we must mask it. Ambition, intelligence, strength - now those are qualities that will get you through...
