The Dawn of Night | A Warriors Fanfiction ✔

Chapter 5

Sunpaw saw it - the mouse was only a few tail-lengths away. She crouched and put each paw forward, one at a time.

"Steady now," meowed Stormfoot, watching in anticipation.

"Hi, Sunpaw!" some cat called. The mouse scampered away. Sunpaw groaned and picked up her ears, turning around to see Bluepaw.

"I was trying to hunt," Sunpaw sighed. "I've only caught a vole."

"Sorry - anyways, I just saw the other apprentices training over there."

"Come on, you two," mewed Muddypelt, padding up behind Bluepaw. "It should be mealtime by now." Stormfoot nodded and the four of them walked back.

Back at camp, Sunpaw dropped off her vole and chose a robin to eat. Then she padded to the apprentices' den.

"Where's Moonpaw?" asked Forestpaw. "I haven't seen her all morning."

"Moonpaw? Moonpaw?" Fogpaw yowled, peering into their den. And there she was, a silver mass of fur huddled in her nest. She rolled over and raised her head, blinking her arctic-blue eyes.

"Moonpaw, it's past sunhigh! Have you even trained yet today?" Bluepaw asked.

Moonpaw blinked again, almost seeming confused. "Oh," she replied quietly. She pulled herself to her paws. "Must've overslept."

"'Overslept' is quite a bit of an understatement," remarked Redpaw, who had just walked in.

"She won't get to be a warrior at this rate," whispered Tinypaw to Beepaw.

"Anyone up to patrolling?" asked a voice behind them. The ThunderClan deputy, Stormshadow, a large black tom with brown eyes, stood behind the group of apprentices.

"I will," Forestpaw offered. Stormshadow nodded and walked away with her.

"Of course she'll be a warrior," Sunpaw assured them as soon as Stormshadow and Forestpaw walked away. "Don't be ridiculous."

"I think I might want to be a medicine cat," Bluepaw remarked.

"A medicine cat? Why?" asked Fogpaw.

Bluepaw shrugged. "I know I'm a good hunter and all, but it would be cool to know everything Emberfur knows. Heck, maybe I'll talk to her for mentoring."

Redpaw licked his paw and drew it over his ear. "You could now," He said, pointing with his tail where Emberfur was entering the camp through the gorse tunnel with a mouthful of herbs. Bluepaw muttered thanks, although there was something in his eyes she couldn't make out.

"Why not?" Bluepaw asked herself, and she ran to the den where the tortoiseshell she-cat had slipped through the entrance. Entering, Bluepaw watched as Emberfur put the herbs in a large leaf, wrapping them. Emberfur looked up.

"Can I help you?"

"Well, maybe," Bluepaw murmured, suddenly feeling shy. "I wanted to know if you would be willing to take on an apprentice."

"An apprentice?" Emberfur let out a meow of laughter. "But you have barely started your warrior training, and you're supposed to start medicine training when you become an apprentice!" Bluepaw walked closer to Emberfur.

"I know," Bluepaw mewed, "but StarClan requires no one to harm a medicine cat without good reason, so I would only need to learn hunting and the territory borders."

"I'll consider it, Bluepaw," Emberfur assured her. Her eyes glittered as a sudden breeze shifted the brambles at the front of the den, allowing light to shine in. "Here, put this bunch of poppy seeds in the leaf and put them on one of the shelves. Then take two of them to Littlerose; she hasn't been sleeping well." Bluepaw carefully left out two poppy seeds for the queen, and wrapped the rest. She then picked up the bundle in her jaws, and leaped lightly up to one of the storage shelves, where she scented another wrap, she placed it down, and jumped back down.