Warriors: What A Nightmare

Chapter two-Flowerpaw

"I don't need to be friends with Nightpaw!" Flowerpaw growled, now losing her temper with the medicine cat.

Maplefur turned back to her and fixed her with a hard stare. "A Clan thrives when we are all united. We cannot be a unity if two of our future warriors are always at each other's throats."

Flowerpaw was now even madder. Maplefur had a point, but she didn't want to acknowledge that.

"Well, I'm going to be a warrior soon! My final assessment is in the next moon or so, and then I won't have to spend time with him if I don't want to!" Flowerpaw snarled and stormed out of the medicine den, her pelt ruffled and sticking up.

Why does everyone want me and Nightpaw to be friends? she thought, frustrated. He's a pain in the behind, everyone thinks so!

Then she remembered how Nightpaw had seen Lionpaw at the ThunderClan border, and Lionpaw had mentioned her. Lionpaw was a good friend of hers that she had met at her first Gathering. He was kind and had welcomed her, and if she ever saw him at the border she would always say hello. She didn't want to admit it, but she was starting to have feelings for him, and she was worried that Lionpaw had mentioned something about her to Nightpaw. Nightpaw had said that Lionpaw had only said 'hi' but since when did she trust Nightpaw?

The next Gathering was in half a moon, hopefully she'd be able to go. And Lionpaw of course. She'd just be on her best behaviour, which, she realised with a sigh, would mean not fighting with Nightpaw.

He's always the one that starts the fights! she thought indignantly. I'll just avoid him for as long as I can.

When she padded into the camp clearing from the medicine den, she noticed Palemist's kits were scampering around the camp. They would become apprentices not long after she became a warrior. She smiled as Shellkit, the smallest of the litter, bounded over to her. Her litter-mates, Smokekit, Leafkit and Specklekit all followed her.

"Hello Flowerpaw!" Shellkit mewed as she stood in front of Flowerpaw's paws.

"Hello Shellkit. Are you having fun playing?" she asked. Shellkit nodded happily.

"We wanted to ask you to play with us! We need a bigger cat in our game!" Smokekit meowed. Flowerpaw smiled at the little kit.

"What game are you playing?" she asked, lowering her head so it was level with the kits.

"Battle against a lion!" Leafkit mewed, fluffing up his grey tabby fur.

"Each of us represents a Clan!" Specklekit added.

"I'm WindClan," Smokekit boasted, puffing out his chest.

"Only because we let you!" Shellkit growled at her brother.

"I have to be ThunderClan," Leafkit sighed.

Flowerpaw chuckled. "What about you two?" she asked, turning to the she-kits.

"I'm RiverClan," Shellkit mewed, looking at her paws.

"I'm ShadowClan," Specklekit mewed dejectedly.

All of the kits seemed annoyed, except for Smokekit. Flowerpaw got an idea.

"Okay, well look at it this way," Flowerpaw began, "Leafkit, you're an excellent fighter and hunter in undergrowth, Shellkit, you can swim! And Specklekit, you're a ferocious fighter who never gives up!"

All three of the kits looked at each other, now with smiles on their faces. They started bounding around, pretending to do everything that Flowerpaw just listed. Shellkit had dropped onto her belly and was trying to swim through the grass. Leafkit was stalking a leaf as if it were a mouse, and Specklekit was attacking a blade of grass.

"Well what's special about me then?" Smokekit mewed sadly, cocking his head to the side.

"You're WindClan, you're the fastest and most nimble of them all, and you've got me in your Clan!" Flowerpaw told him, smiling.

"You're not in a Clan, silly!" Leafkit cried, swishing his tail as he stepped toward Flowerpaw. "You're the lion that attacks the Clans! You've got a golden pelt just like one."

"Okay then," she laughed as she padded away so she could sneak up on them. She watched them as they started organising themselves, and heard them say they were the leaders at a Gathering. Smokekit declared himself Smokestar of WindClan, superior to all. His brother and sisters glared at him, but pretended to give reports for their Clans.

Flowerpaw was about to jump out at them when Smokekit raised his tail.

"I smell lion!" he told the fellow 'leaders'. They all stuck their noses in the air, sniffing it to find the scent of lion.

Flowerpaw took this as her cue. She stalked forward slowly, then jumped in front of them. She let out her fiercest growl and bared her teeth.

"Roar! I love the taste of cats!" she snarled, holding back her laughter. Shellkit squealed and jumped behind Leafkit, who stood protectively in front of her.

"Leaders! Attack!" Smokekit cried.

Smokekit was the first to leap at her, then Leafkit and Specklekit. Shellkit was the last to move, hesitating for a moment, but quickly she followed her litter-mates and dived under Flowerpaw's belly. Smokekit and Specklekit both clung to Flowerpaw's back, and Leafkit battered at her muzzle with sheathed claws, his soft paw only tickling her nose. She could feel Shellkit's paws pummeling her belly softly. She pretended to be overwhelmed by the kits and didn't fight back at all.

"Ha-ha! We are the strongest of all! This lion stood no chance against us!" Leafkit declared.

Shellkit scrambled out from under Flowerpaw, and the apprentice flopped to the ground in defeat. The kits all sat on her back, meowing as loud as they could.

Paw steps at the entrance of the camp distracted Flowerpaw, and she swiveled her head to see the other apprentices entering the camp, all of them puffing from their effort of fighting each other. She narrowed her eyes as Nightpaw looked over at her and laughed. He padded up to her and the kits, and Flowerpaw had to force herself to stay on the ground so she wouldn't knock the kits off.

"Stop acting like a kit, Flowerpaw," Nightpaw meowed, "or you'll be treated like one."

Surprisingly, this was one of the nicest things Nightpaw had said. It was still rude, nonetheless, but less rude than what he normally said.

Good, Flowerpaw thought, I can avoid him with no trouble at all.