✵ Chapter Three ✵
Swanpaw shifted in her nest. Sunlight falling on her eyelids caused her to open them. Briarpaw was next to her, with her tail curled around her body, and breathing softly. The other apprentices were also asleep. She opened her jaws in a yawn, and blinked her sky-blue eyes. She licked Briarpaw on the ear, and her sister opened her eyes. Briarpaw yawned, then her bright blue-green eyes popped wide open and she stared into the distance. Swanpaw looked at her worriedly. "What is it?" She asked softly.
"I— um, nothing... I just, had, a... strange dream last night." Her sister mumbled, staring off still.
Swanpaw looked Briarpaw over. "You went out hunting last night, didn't you?" She sighed. Briarpaw looked down. "Well... Yes. I promised the queens, and—" suddenly Briarpaw gasped, recoiling from something. Swanpaw gave a small laugh. "You brought a mouse in here with you? Shouldn't that be on the fresh-kill pile?" A fat, brown mouse sat at Briarpaw's paws. "I— I— yes, it should... I must've been, uhm, too tired last night to realize what I was doing and brought it in here."
Swanpaw tilted her head at Briarpaw. Briarpaw was acting strange. "It's all right, you can just go put it there now. What else did you catch?"
Briarpaw took a deep breath, and grabbed the mouse, mumbling through it, "Rabbit."
Swanpaw's eyes brightened. "Good job! The queens will be glad for that one."
Briarpaw nodded, stepping over her denmates to get out of the hazel bush which formed the apprentice's den. Swanpaw followed her sister out, and sat by the fresh kill pile which now consisted of the single mouse that Briarpaw had caught. Swanpaw shivered. It was cold, and she was hungry. Her white fur did not help hold any heat in. Sometimes she wished she had a nice, thick, black pelt, to keep her warm in Leaf-fall. Swanpaw wrapped her bushy white tail around her paws. Briarpaw came over and sat close to her.
Warriors were beginning to emerge from their den, and a queen poked her head out of the nursery. A few yawning apprentices staggered out of the den, moaning about how cold it was. The leader, Jaystar, prowled out of her den, long silvery gray fur already groomed to perfection. She surveyed the camp with pale blue-green eyes.
Swanpaw looked back at her sister, who was furtively glancing at Jaystar every few seconds, as if she were debating telling the leader something. "You okay?" Swanpaw asked. Briarpaw nodded quickly, mewing, "Yes. I'm fine."
That did not convince Swanpaw, but knowing she would not get anything more from her sister, she sighed and got up. "Okay... You can tell me about it later. I'll go do something else."
Briarpaw nodded absently, muttering, "Yes—later."
Swanpaw shook her head slightly, and padded off. She headed toward the nursery to look for some cute kits to play with. Poking her head inside the milk-scented den, she looked around for her favorite kits. It was still shadowy in the den, and she saw three queens curled up around their kits, and a rabbit sitting near them. That must be the one Briarpaw caught, she thought. A couple of kits sat upright, and blinked at her.
"Swanpaw!" One squeaked. Their mother looked up tiredly, and blinked at Swanpaw. "Wanna come out?" Swanpaw mewed. The kits jumped up, and stumbled out after her, squeaking.
Swanpaw sat down and faced them. "So, Mousekit, would you like to start us off on a round of mossball?"
A ginger kit giggled. "No, my name's Maplekit!"
Swanpaw pretended to be surprised. "Ohhhhh, I thought it was Mousekit. Now, Duckkit, how about-"
A gray kit bounced on her paws.
"Dustkit, not Duckkit!" She squealed. The kits all burst into laughter, and Swanpaw smiled.
"Alright, alright. Now I've got it straight. Maplekit, Dustkit, Thrushkit, and Beekit." Swanpaw corrected herself, purposely getting two of the names wrong still.
"No, Thriftkit and Bouncekit!" Two kits mewled with laughter.
"Ah! I've got it now, Thriftkit, Bouncekit, Dustkit, and Maplekit!"
"Yes!" They all chorused. Swanpaw laughed.
"How about some mossball now?" She asked.
"Yes!" They squealed, and one scuttered into the nursery, coming back a second later with a hunk of moss from one of the nests.
"You throw it!" Bouncekit ordered.
"Alright." Swanpaw picked up the moss, and held it high. "One, two..." She mumbled through the moss, "Three!" She threw it and watched the kits scatter and run towards it. They barreled into it and ended up a mass of kit fluff and claws.
"Ouch!" Dustkit mewled, and Swanpaw came forward to break the fight up. Dustkit had a small scratch that let out a tiny trickle of blood on her ear. "Thriftkit clawed me and she wasn't stopping when I yelled!" The tiny she-kit declared indignantly.
Thriftkit retorted, "It's a game; and you were being a scaredy-mouse!"
"Now, Thriftkit, you have to stop when someone squeals." Swanpaw mewed gently.
"Fine." The ginger kit muttered.
"My ear hurts," whimpered Dustkit. Swanpaw leaned over and licked the cut till it stopped bleeding.
"There." She mewed.
"Thanks!" Dustkit chirped. Swanpaw suddenly heard Jaystar calling.
"Let all cats gather beneath the SkyBranch for a clan meeting!"
She looked up quickly, and saw her Leader standing on the SkyBranch. "Oh... I have to go," she told the kits.
They all jumped up and pounced on her, whining, "Nooooo! Swanpaw, keep playing games!" They crawled all over her, mewling and snagging their tiny claws on her fur.
"Umm... There's a clan meeting, I need to go listen..." Swanpaw mewed, huddling over.
She saw her sister's brown paws come closer (since she was hunched over with the weight of the kits) and heard Briarpaw's mew.
"Kits, Swanpaw has an important clan meeting to listen to. Now get off." And Briarpaw began plucking them off by their scruffs, ignoring squeals of indignation, and thrust them into the nursery to their mother. "There," she grunted, hauling the last one off her sister's pelt. Swanpaw gave a sigh of relief, and shook her pelt vigorously.
"And that, is why I don't play with kits." Briarpaw mewed disdainfully.
"Yeah, well... They're cute." Swanpaw mewed in defense of the kits. She gave her white tail a swish, and padded forward. "Come on, the meeting almost started. What do you think it's about?" Swanpaw inquired of her sister.
Briarpaw followed her and mewed easily, "Sandpaw, Duskpaw, and Foxpaw's warrior ceremonies."
Swanpaw tilted her head curiously as she sat down, and mewed, "How'd you know?"
Briarpaw shrugged. "First off, they're sitting over there with their muscles tense and fur groomed to perfection; second, I saw them going off on their warrior assessment yesterday; and third: Jaystar called all cats to the meeting, not just the ones old enough to catch their own prey. Oh—and fourth: I met Duskpaw yesterday while hunting and she snapped at me 'Will you get out of the way? Some cats are trying to catch prey, not scare it away. And you're in the way my assessment.'" Briarpaw added lastly. Swanpaw opened her eyes wide in empathy. "Oh, I'm sorry she said that to you."
Briarpaw flicked her whiskers. "I don't care. I didn't take it personally."
"I would've," Swanpaw muttered, silently wondering how her sister could take such things without feeling hurt. She then turned her attention on the SkyBranch, as Jaystar had now begun speaking.
"Yesterday, I had the privilege of watching three young cats take their warrior assessments, and seeing them succeed wonderfully. Today, they will receive their warrior names. Sandpaw, please come forward."
Swanpaw craned her neck to see a sleek, sandy cream tom padding forward through the throng of cats with lean muscles, and proud amber eyes. She watched as he took a seat near Jaystar's branch.
"I, Jaystar, leader of SkyClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn." Jaystar looked down at the apprentice. "Sandpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and protect and defend your clan, even at the cost of your life?"
Sandpaw held his head high and mewed loudly, "I do."
Jaystar spoke again. "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Sandpaw, from this day forward you will be known as Sandspark. StarClan honors your skill in battle, and your initiative." She then leaped down from the SkyBranch, and padded a few steps toward Sandspark. She rested her head on his, and he licked her shoulder.
Sandspark stepped back as she called Duskpaw forward. The she-cat padded forward slowly and proudly, giving Swanpaw time to inspect her. Duskpaw was a light, golden-brown she-cat with a darker face, ears, paws, and tail. She had sharp amber eyes that spoke of cunning. She was mentioned for her cleverness and fearlessness, and earned the name Duskfang. The process was repeated for the last of the litter, Foxpaw, who was mentioned for his cunning and loyalty, and given the name Foxshade. He sat next to his littermates, gazing around with slitted, piercing blue eyes. Foxshade resembled his sister very much; having the same golden brown coat and darker body tips— the only difference was his brilliant blue eyes, which contrasted to her sharp amber irises.
The clan's voices rose into the air, merging into one. Swanpaw yowled heartily, her ears perked up and bright azure eyes on the three new warriors.
"Sandspark! Duskfang! Foxshade!"
"Sandspark! Duskfang! Foxshade!"
The clan's caterwauls echoed through the camp, and the new warriors looked on happily. Well, Swanpaw hoped they were happy. The only one that allowed a slight smile to cross his face was Sandspark; and he still looked proud through it. They're not the most modest cats... Swanpaw knew. She realized her sister wasn't putting much effort into her yowls, and gave her a sidelong glance—which Briarpaw, being Briarpaw, or course noticed. "Anything the matter?" Swanpaw asked, yelling into her sister's fluffy ear to be heard.
Briarpaw shook her head. Swanpaw knew this particular set of littermates were not her sister's best friends, to put it lightly. That must account for her not being extremely happy for them. "Two moons, and it'll be our turn," Briarpaw muttered. Swanpaw shook herself, and joined in the yowling again. "Sandspark! Duskfang! Foxshade!" Family members and friends came forward to jostle the three warriors—not that there were many. Mostly just their father, Scorchmoon, and a couple of friends. Swanpaw felt bad for the lack of personal congratulations, so she padded forward, somewhat dubiously, to give her congratulations. Briarpaw gave her an incredulous look before she padded away, which Swanpaw returned with a smile. Knowing her sister was watching her gave her more confidence as Swanpaw approached Sandspark, Foxshade, and Duskfang. They all have such intimidating names! she thought. Although, they do suit them.
"Congratulations! You all definitely earned your warrior names." Swanpaw mewed to the new warriors. Duskfang and Foxshade gave her quick nods, and Sandspark met her eyes, mewing, "Thanks." With a brief, small smile. Swanpaw smiled back, and stepped away. She returned and sat next to Briarpaw, who looked at her with cyan eyes. Briarpaw snorted. "They don't deserve congrats. Remember that time Foxpaw—shade, I mean, took the last piece of prey, when you were standing right there and hadn't eaten all day? And that time Sandspark clawed you in fighting practice when he clearly was not supposed to? And that time Duskfang mocked us with the others about our mother?"
Swanpaw shifted her paws and looked down uncomfortably. "Um... Well, yeah... but I believe in second chances." She almost didn't hear Briarpaw mutter, "Well I don't. Not for some cats." Swanpaw pretended she didn't hear that. When the cheering died down, Swanpaw noticed that Jaystar was up on the SkyBranch again. The leader raised her tail for silence, and called out, "Tonight is the full moon, which means it is time for me to announce who will be going to the Gathering."
Swanpaw whispered to her sister, "I hope we get to go! We've only been to one before." Briarpaw nodded. Jaystar continued speaking. "The cats who will attend this night's Gathering are Fallenleaf, Roseberry, Aspenpaw, Deerbreeze, Bramblewood, Tigerdawn, Briarpaw, Hawkshade, Acorndapple, Firelight, Silverfrost, Honeymoon, Whistlebreeze, Dawnsky, Mintpaw, Nightpaw, Swanpaw, Ravenpaw, Sleekpaw, and of course... Foxshade, Sandspark, and Duskfang. Ravenfoot, Lichencloud, and Silverdawn, I leave you to guard the camp. The new warriors will sit vigil when they return from the Gathering." Jaystar finished, leaping off the branch. Her plumy gray tail waved as she descended, and her paws sent up a puff of dust when she landed. "That is all." She mewed, then disappeared into her den.
The clan erupted into chattering, and Swanpaw looked around excitedly—eager for the day to be over so she could go to the Gathering. Cats conversed, either complaining that they didn't get to go, or wondering out loud about a particular friend from another clan, until Fallenleaf raised his voice. "Time for patrols!" The deputy yowled to get every cat's attention. The ginger tom divvied out patrols and jobs, and Swanpaw got put on Elder duty, along with Briarpaw and Nightpaw. The three padded toward the den begrudgingly, with tails trailing on the ground. "Well..." Swanpaw began. "Maybe Briarpaw can hunt, and I can go get fresh moss?" She suggested. She knew how much her sister hated doing the Elders ticks or moss.
"And leave me to tick duty? Ha—no." Nightpaw spat. "Swanpaw, you'll do ticks, Briarpaw, you'll—"
Her sister waved her tail and leapt off in the direction of the tunnel out of camp. "Good idea, I'll hunt!" She called, swiftly exiting the camp. Nightpaw lashed her tail and called after Briarpaw. "No, you'll get fresh moss and I'll hunt! Ugh! She's such a brat." The black she-cat muttered, showing her teeth. "Half-clan cats never turn out good."
Swanpaw turned away silently, ignoring the mean remark. She padded into the Elder's den. "Hi Dawnsky, Tanglefox, Whistlebreeze." She meowed.
"I hope you're here to get us fresh moss!" Tanglefox growled. "You apprentices are so lazy— we haven't had fresh moss in the last two days!" The tom lashed his red tabby tail and glared at her with amber eyes.
"Calm down," Dawnsky muttered. The pale gray she-cat shook her head, then turned to wash a spot on her back. "I have a tick back here that I just can't reach." She grunted, trying to use her teeth on a clump of fur. "Nightpaw can get that for you," Swanpaw mewed. "I'm here to get you fresh moss. Do you mind getting up?" Tanglefox stayed in his nest defiantly for some reason; Dawnsky kept tugging at a tuft of fur with her neck wrenched around; and Whistlebreeze stood up slowly. "Thank you," the silver she-cat murmured as Swanpaw collected the old moss. "You'e wewcome," she mumbled through the moss.
Swanpaw spend the afternoon gathering fresh moss, and making nests. When she was done, she sat down to listen to Tanglefox's story of how he fought off a fox single-pawed once, earning his warrior name.
❈❈❈
Briarpaw stood up and stretched. Earlier, she had caught two mice for the elders. That wouldn't be enough to fill their bellies, but at least it was something. Prey was awfully sparse these days. Unlike Swanpaw, she did not have a love of listening to boring old stories, so she went into the apprentices den to think.
It was now time to go to the Gathering. Briarpaw arched her back in a stretch, then sat down and began to wash her legs. She then moved on to her side, and turned her neck to be able to wash the chestnut tabby fur. Once both flanks were smooth and glossy, she bent her head and washed her white chest. Her head bobbed rhythmically. To finish, she licked her paws and scraped them over her ears several times. Shaking out her smooth, dusky brown pelt, she headed out of the den. Cats were already gathering by the exit; warriors groomed themselves, and apprentices chatted about the Gathering. Briarpaw sat by the other apprentices, a few paces away.
"Something stinks!" A black she-cat with mint-green eyes exclaimed. Narrowing her eyes, she looked at Briarpaw. "Oh, I know what it is. RiverClan stench."
Briarpaw glared back and lashed her tail silently. "Shut up, Sleekpaw." She muttered. "I'm a SkyClan cat."
"Well, your mother isn't."
Briarpaw stayed silent, cooling her anger. Sleekpaw was so petty, she wasn't worth being angry at. The last few cats joined the group, and they set out through the darkening forest with Jaystar in the lead. Briarpaw padded next to Swanpaw, her pads lightly stepping over crunchy leaves. Swanpaw crunched and stomped next to her, and leapt over mud with a thud. "Do you even try to be quiet, and delicate?" Briarpaw asked her sister. Swanpaw looked at her with azure eyes while still walking. She shrugged. "Not really..." And just before she turned back to the path, Swanpaw slammed into the trunk of a birch sapling. She let out a yelp, and scrambled back. Briarpaw laughed. "You're so clumsy."
Swanpaw shook bits of bark out of her fur embarrassedly, and looked around quickly to see who had noticed her bumping into the tree.
"You alright?" Roseberry, the medicine cat, mewed.
"Uh... Yes." Swanpaw answered, licking her chest fur awkwardly.
Briarpaw flicked her sister with her plumy brindle tail. "Come on; we're falling behind."
Swanpaw muttered in agreement, and they trotted up to the rest of the cats.
When the trees began to thin, Briarpaw knew they were close to the Lake. They emerged to a pebbly beach, which crunched under Briarpaw's paws. They felt rough and cool against her pads; much different from the soft, earthy forest floor she was used to. She could smell RiverClan and ThunderClan; so that must mean WindClan and ShadowClan had yet to arrive.
They crossed the beach and came to a stop next to the tree that made a bridge to the Gathering Island. The water rippled, and waves gently lapped at the shore. The pure, full white moon reflected down on the glassy black surface of the Lake. Briarpaw saw that it was her turn to cross the tree trunk, and leapt up on it. Which was sort of hard, because of her small stature. She sank her claws in the damp bark and hauled herself up the last few inches. Looking down into the menacing, black liquid below her made Briarpaw shiver, and wonder just how deep and cold it was.
"Hey, are you going?" Firelight called up to her impatiently. Briarpaw flicked her ears. "Yes." And began padding carefully along the thick trunk. At one place her paw slipped on some damp moss, but she caught herself quickly. Finally, she leaped off with a wave of her brown tail and landed on the stiff grass below. She prowled after her clanmates in the dark, her cyan eyes glowing out into it. She sat down next to Tigerdawn, her mentor. "Briarpaw, what clans are here?" The tortoiseshell she-cat asked. Briarpaw knew it was a test. "I scented RiverClan and ThunderClan; and of course there's us."
Her mentor nodded. "Good. You have excellent scenting skills. Now, go talk to the other apprentices, and try to learn things from them."
"Learn things from other clans?" Briarpaw asked incredulously. Tigerdawn glared at her with amber eyes. "No, bird-brain! Get them to tell you information! You know, like—"
"A spy." Briarpaw finished for her. Tigerdawn nodded. "Okay..." Briarpaw mumbled reluctantly. Swanpaw would be better at this job... I don't have very good chatting skills. "Go." Tigerdawn flicked her tail.
"I— I'm not very good at talking to other cats..." Briarpaw mewed.
Tigerdawn sighed. "Well, then go hunt or something. Maybe there's prey here. We can use all the prey we can find; wherever it comes from. Have you eaten today?"
Briarpaw shook her head. Tigerdawn twitched her ears. "Then eat whatever you catch. Can't have my apprentice looking puny next to the others!" She exclaimed. "Alright, go." The tortoiseshell ordered.
Briarpaw nodded. Now that's something I can do. She stood up and left her mentor, padding away from the throng of cats. She veered away from where ThunderClan sat, and headed toward a patch of trees and bushes by the shore. Shadows fell everywhere, criss-crossing and throwing darkness onto the Island. She ducked into the undergrowth, and crept through it, scenting for prey. She smelled mouse, but it was a bit stale. She also saw the feather of a thrush, but the bird itself was nowhere to be seen. This place is teeming! She thought. Well... teeming compared to what our territory is like right now. Suddenly, a fresh scent of vole crossed her path. She licked her muzzle with a cherry-red tongue, and followed the scent. She could tell it was a water vole, so wasn't surprised when the scent led to the beach.
Emerging from the bushes, she saw the tiny brown body next to the water's edge, near a bush. Rocking her haunches, Briarpaw unsheathed her claws. She sprang forward, and sank her claws into the scruffy little body. But her momentum carried her farther than she had intended, and she plowed headfirst into something warm and soft. It was another cat's body.
Letting out a gasp while the other cat let out a surprised yowl, she picked up her head and looked at who she had landed on. It was a tom, with long, soft, ginger fur and huge bright green eyes. He looked about her age, just a bit larger than her. "Owch!" He exclaimed, squirming under her. Briarpaw realized she had dug her back claws into his fur. "Sorry!" She squeaked, and tried to climb off him. She pulled her claws out, seeing a tiny trickle of dark blood trail out of each puncture. "I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there, and I was hunting, and I jumped, and..."
"Uh, it's okay," the ginger tom mewed, picking himself up. "I shouldn't've been sitting in the shadow of that bush watching a random little vole without eating it. But I have to say—you're a good hunter. I didn't hear or see you at all until you rammed into me."
Briarpaw shook her fur out. "No, I'm not. I jumped too far." She blinked her blue-green eyes and licked her chest fur. Don't listen to his empty compliments. He's probably just trying to trick me into friendship so he can spy on SkyClan or betray me. It's a good thing Tigerdawn's warned me about such fake compliments. I haven't even met this cat and he's telling me what a stupendous hunter I am!
The tom bent to lick up the small amount of blood on his fur, then looked up at her again. "By the way— I'm Copperpaw! Nice to meet you." He smiled at her.
"I'm Briarpaw. I'm from SkyClan." She mewed in response.
"I can tell from that huge leap." Copperpaw said, twitching his whiskers.
Briarpaw forced a smile, imitating the demeanor the friendly apprentices showed. "Why were you just watching that vole anyway?"
"I was bored. The ThunderClan apprentices here tonight are all show-offs, and the apprentices from my clan are fighting with them stupidly about who the better hunters are. So I came here, to see if I could fish."
Briarpaw was surprised. "Oh—so you're RiverClan?"
Copperpaw nodded. Briarpaw tilted her head in confusion. "You don't smell like it."
Copperpaw snorted. "Well, for one, I don't like swimming in a freezing cold river in leaf-fall, and secondly, I don't like to smell like fish—and yeah, I know all you other cats call RiverClan fish-faces, so I eat mint after every meal."
"Smart." Briarpaw mewed, using his own game, and Copperpaw looked pleased. "But isn't mint an important herb?" She asked.
Copperpaw nodded. "Yes, but it grows all over RiverClan territory. Especially the watermint. It grows in huge clumps, and I just eat a couple leaves each time." Copperpaw waved his plumy russet tail when describing it.
"Hmm." Briarpaw mumbled, suddenly remembering the order from her mentor to gather information and skills from the other clans. It felt wrong to use Copperpaw for it, but Briarpaw wanted to impress Tigerdawn. "So, how do you catch fish?" She asked. "They're so slippery and quick!"
Copperpaw tilted his head in amusement. "So you've tried before?"
Briarpaw twitched her whiskers. "Yes... Don't tell anyone, but when I was a kit I snuck out of camp and went to the stream to try to catch a water vole, but ended up getting sidetracked and trying to catch a fish. I ended up soaking wet and gross."
Copperpaw gave a mroww of laughter. "How did you get back to camp unseen? Didn't your mother catch you?"
Briarpaw looked at the ground. "I, uh, no... my mother didn't catch me. My father, Bramblewood found me, but he brought me back secretly and didn't tell anyone."
"That's good." Copperpaw mewed.
Briarpaw swallowed. "Do you know who my mother is?"
Copperpaw looked confused. "No?"
"I bet you do. She's in your clan." Briarpaw mewed. "Cypressfrost."
Copperpaw opened his eyes wide. "So... That's you—you and your sister—ohhhh." He breathed, averting his eyes.
Briarpaw cringed, then got annoyed with herself for it. "It's fine. Feel free to hate me like everyone else does," she snapped.
"I don't hate you!" Copperpaw protested, with an odd, unreadable expression. "Everyone freaks out too much about half-clan cats. I don't think it's that bad. Hey, how about I teach you how to fish?" He asked, eyes brightening, looking just as glad as Briarpaw to have a subject change.
"Sure." Briarpaw mewed, not really sure what she was getting into. But she would do anything to get out of having to keep talking about her traitorous mother. Why am I even in this conversation? Oh right—Tigerdawn wants me to act like an under-pawed spy in a time of peace. Right.
"Okay, come here." He patted the ground next to him with a large paw. She padded forward, sitting next to him. "Okay, so since it's night, we don't have to worry much about our shadows crossing the water. But in the daytime, fish will stay away if you lean over the water because they can see your shadow. Now, basically, you just sit here and wait. And watch. Watch the water for a flicker of movement, but don't lash out a paw till you're sure it's a fish. Unsheathe your claws, and when you feel the fish, try and hook them into the fish's body so it can't squirm away. Then bring it up quickly and kill it with a bite to the head."
Briarpaw nodded. She watched the dark water, and saw a flicker of movement. She tensed, but didn't lash out. "That was a fish." Copperpaw told her. She slumped and glared at the water. "I missed it."
"Well, now you know what to look for!" He mewed encouragingly.
Briarpaw settled down again determinedly, with her claws unsheathed. She saw a faint ripple go across the surface of the water, and looked down into the depths concentratedly. Just as she expected, a flash of movement caught her eye, and she lashed out her paw into the water, causing a splash to go up. Copperpaw leapt away in time, but the splash caught her full on the face as she tried to hook the fish on her claws. She let out a squeaky splutter, and yanked her paw out of the water. It felt strangely heavy, and she noticed with surprise that she had in fact, managed to get the fish. It hung on her claws and wiggled around weakly. Briarpaw was able to kill it quickly. She heard Copperpaw laughing behind her, and whirled around. The cold water had shocked her, and she whacked a paw across his face. "Hey!" He mewed, retaliating with a blow to her face. She stumbled backward, then charged forward and leapt on him. He tumbled over and batted at her side, laughing the whole time. Briarpaw was no longer angry, but still wanted the satisfaction of beating him. She smacked him with her paws over and over again, and he was weak from his laughter, so could not deliver very hard blows. She ended up on top of him, and smirked, mewing, "I win."
"No!" He exclaimed, and thrust her off. He stood up and shook out his russet pelt. Briarpaw smoothed her fur, and sat back down.
Copperpaw did the same. "Well, good job! You caught a fish on your first try."
"Well, technically it wasn't my first try..." Briarpaw mewed.
"Although, no offense, but if you really want to get a taste of fish, don't eat that one. They don't taste very good."
"Oh, ok." Briarpaw mewed, trying not to feel disappointed. She watched as Copperpaw positioned himself at the water's edge, still as a rock, bright green eyes flicking back and forth over the water. He suddenly shot a paw into the water, and pulled up a large silver fish with orange fins. Copperpaw thrust it onto the ground, and stopped its thrashing with a swift bite on its head. He made it look so easy. Stepping back, he mewed, "Perch. It's good; try some!"
Briarpaw dubiously bent her head, and took a tiny bite. It tasted odd, very unlike the forest prey she was used to, but filled her mouth with a strong, succulent flavor. She took a bigger bite. After chewing, she nodded. "It is good. Very different from the prey I usually eat, though."
Copperpaw nodded. "I'm glad you like it!"
She had about one-fourth of the fish, then ate her vole. Her shrunken stomach was full from the small meal. Copperpaw ate the rest of the fish, then licked his chops.
Briarpaw shivered and fluffed out her medium length fur. "It's cold," she remarked.
"Isn't it always?" Copperpaw muttered, fluffing out his long ginger fur. Briarpaw twitched her whiskers. "Yeah, it is, nowadays. I mean, I was born in Greenleaf, so it was a real shock; this leafbare. All of a sudden it was cold and windy."
"How old are you?" Copperpaw asked, tilting his head curiously.
"Ten moons." Briarpaw replied.
"Cool! I'm eleven." Copperpaw meowed, twitching his whiskers.
A short silence came. Briarpaw realized she had not learned much except how to hunt for fish in her conversation, and was beginning to feel like she was being too friendly with a RiverClan cat. "Well," she mewed, standing up. "Thanks for showing me how to fish. I better go sit with my mentor now."
Copperpaw stood up too. "You don't sit with the other apprentices?" He queried. Briarpaw twitched her tail. "No. Unless it's my sister."
"You two must be close," he remarked.
Briarpaw said nothing. She murmured something and turned around, leaving Copperpaw behind. Or so she thought. He came up behind her, and followed her. "I'm not following you, by the way." He said. Very convincing. Briarpaw snorted.
But it turned out he wasn't. When she headed off to report to Tigerdawn, Copperpaw split off in the other direction, toward the apprentices. Briarpaw sat down next to her mentor. "I got a RiverClan cat to teach me how to fish," she murmured.
Tigerdawn didn't look at her but tilted her head her way. "Good. Now go sit with the other apprentices before you make it look like I'm your mother and you're my kit."
Briarpaw stood up, twitching her tail crossly. She slunk away and stared around for her sister. A patch of pure white fur was visible on the opposite side of the clearing, so Briarpaw followed it. It was Swanpaw. Her sister turned azure eyes on her, and mewed, "Hi Briarpaw, I was just meeting Copperpaw."
Briarpaw stopped, and saw Copperpaw next to her sister. "Oh." She mewed.
"I thought you were going to sit next to your mentor?" Copperpaw mewed.
"Oh. Yeah. She didn't want me to." Briarpaw mewed. Copperpaw tilted his head at her, as if confused where the friendly Briarpaw had gone. Briarpaw sat down next to Swanpaw, not looking at the RiverClan tom. She swished her tail and curled it around her paws neatly, cyan eyes staring straight ahead.
"So, who's your mentor, Copperpaw?" Swanpaw asked. Briarpaw snuck a glance at her sister. As always, Swanpaw looked perfect and innocent and sweet. Why am I thinking that? I'm not acting normal tonight. Great StarClan, I even talked to a cat from another clan! Well, it won't be a regular thing. And I'm cutting ties with this Copperpaw. He's a bit too friendly for my liking.
"Shatteredfrost. She's the best warrior in RiverClan!" Copperpaw exclaimed. Swanpaw gave a small laugh. "I bet that's what every apprentice thinks!"
"Oh yes, I'm sure— and you especially, Swanpaw." A slick voice said. Briarpaw glared at Sleekpaw. She went on. "You're extra proud of your mentor, aren't you? Keeping the deputy all to yourself." Sleekpaw let out a small laugh, and stationed herself right in front of Copperpaw. He shifted his paws. "Uh, hi? I'm Copperpaw." He told her.
"I'm Sleekpaw." She mewed, absently swishing her plumy black tail back and forth. "Nice! We were just talking about mentors; who's yours?" Copperpaw inquired.
Sleekpaw smiled and stared at him with mint-green eyes. "Mine is Redfox."
"Oh cool! I think I've seen—"
Sleekpaw cut him off. "He's not good at anything, much less teaching an apprentice. So, I teach myself." She purred. Copperpaw tilted his head. "How do you teach yourself?"
Sleekpaw shook out her shimmering black fur, and mewed, "Oh, it's easy. I just go out by myself, and use my inner strength to figure things out."
She was about to go on, but Briarpaw couldn't stand it any longer. "Interesting," she mewed, meeting the green eyes of Sleekpaw. "So, was it very hard to teach yourself how to lose a fight to me the other day?"
Sleekpaw's green eyes turned cold, and she looked flustered. "No, I, uh, I didn't want to make you feel bad, you know, because you never win fights." She tsked. "Poor thing, everyone knows since you're a half-clan cat, you'll never measure up to the pure bloods. I wanted to help you along a little."
Briarpaw bristled, and she snarled. "Want to help me out a little bit now?" She growled, lashing her tail and standing up. It was alright if Sleekpaw behaved like a fox-heart back at camp, but around cats from other clans? Briarpaw was not going to let her spread even more slander about her and Swanpaw. Sleekpaw jumped up and glanced at Copperpaw. "Sure, sure, honey, we can have a go."
Briarpaw could tell Copperpaw was getting angry at the mean apprentice, but this was her fight. Swanpaw's sky blue eyes rounded with concern. "This is a Gathering, we shouldn't fight!" She mewed desperately to the two bristling she-cats. "Apprentices play fight all the time at gatherings, why shouldn't we?" Briarpaw growled.
"Because this isn't a play fight." Copperpaw pointed out. "But by all means, go ahead. I'm sure we'll get to see genius Sleekpaw win victoriously." He mewed sarcastically.
Somehow it made Briarpaw want to laugh. But she stepped away from the onlookers, and tensed her muscles. Sleekpaw did the same. "Alright, feather-brain, you sure you want to do this? It might be a little humiliating."
"For you?" Briarpaw taunted. Sleekpaw snarled and leaped at her. Briarpaw knew it would happen. She darted to the side easily, and Sleekpaw fell heavily on empty ground. Briarpaw jumped on top of her, and aimed a blow at her head. The larger apprentice gave a grunt, and thrashed in an attempt to throw Briarpaw off. It worked. She tumbled off, and Sleekpaw was on top of her in a moment. Briarpaw struggled, but the larger apprentice was too heavy to move. Sleekpaw put her face disgustingly close to Briarpaw's. Her claws pricked into Briarpaw's belly, just enough to cause pain, but not to draw blood. Briarpaw snarled. Sleekpaw whispered, "You'll never win, little have-clan weakling."
Briarpaw's blood surged with anger, and she yanked her hind legs out from under Sleekpaw. She drove them up into the other apprentice's belly, and she fell back with a cry. Briarpaw sprang up. She hit Sleekpaw over the head once, and on the belly several times. Sleekpaw was kept in too much repetitive pain to stand up, and Briarpaw leaped on her, digging her claws in just the tiniest bit into Sleekpaw's soft black fur. "Have you had fun winning?" She growled to Sleekpaw sarcastically. Sleekpaw squirmed, and made grunting noises.
"Hey, Briarpaw, I think we should let her go off so she can gloat about her victory." Copperpaw called.
"Of course, go have fun bragging about how you taught yourself to fight so well." Briarpaw mewed to Sleekpaw getting off her. Sleekpaw scrambled to her paws and glared at Briarpaw. "You'll regret this." She whispered, so only Briarpaw could hear.
Briarpaw said nothing, only spun back to face her sister and padded over. She sat and licked her messy fur. "Good job," was all Copperpaw could say; and Swanpaw said nothing at all, only looked at her with anxious eyes.
Briarpaw smoothed her fur, and became quiet. She was always extra quiet and unsocial after an outburst. Especially one where she was threatened. Sleekpaw would get revenge, in some way or other, Briarpaw knew. She curled her tail around her paws and stared up at the branches of the tree where all five leaders were gathered.
Ravenstar spoke first. "Welcome, and let the Gathering begin." He mewed. "I will speak first." Jaystar and Dappledstar seemed slightly nettled that he gave himself permission to go first, but he ignored their looks. "ShadowClan is doing well. We have had very good luck this leaf-fall; and no cats have gone hungry."
Briarpaw could see that that was false. His cats looked hungry and skinny, but defiant. "Brindlehawk and Wrensong recently fought off a fox, and we thought we might warn WindClan, for it blundered into your territory."
Briarpaw heard a few WindClan cats mutter, "Thanks a lot."
"That is all for ShadowClan. Jaystar?" Ravenstar finished.
Jaystar stood tall on her branch. "SkyClan has felt the cold claws of leaf-fall, but we remain strong and ready for anything." She began. Briarpaw liked how she didn't lie about the hunger, and still made it seem like they were strong.
"We have just made three new warriors, Sandspark, Duskfang, and Foxshade." She announced with a swish of her tail.
The three warriors stood up so the crowd could see them, and cheering broke out. Briarpaw didn't join in. She couldn't forget how mean they'd been to her. She noticed Swanpaw and Copperpaw giving her looks while cheering, and she began calling the new warrior's names half-heartedly. She let her voice die down after about ten seconds.
When the cats quieted, Jaystar went on. "Our apprentices do well in their training, and our warriors are excellent mentors. That is all the news for SkyClan. Will you go next, Dappledstar?" Jaystar invited the WindClan leader to speak.
Dappledstar nodded, and announced the news for WindClan; which was little more than they had a new litter of kits, born to Heatherberry.
Aspenstar, leader of RiverClan, spoke next, telling of how RiverClan thrived and that they had a few new apprentices.
The ThunderClan leader went last—Sandstar. She complained of little to eat, and the probability of starvation. Briarpaw saw her deputy, Eaglesky, wincing and frowning at her blatant honesty about the state of things in his clan.
Aspenstar looked at her deputy, Pikedapple, and seemed to agree with him silently about something. "RiverClan will give you a catch of fish as a gift to help you survive," she mewed generously. "But do not try our kindness by stealing from our river."
Sandstar nodded gratefully. "ThunderClan thanks you. And I vow that any of my warriors caught stealing will be publicly punished, in front of the next Gathering." She called loudly, sternly sweeping her gaze over her clan. "The Gathering is over!" She yowled, leaping down from her branch, her plumy golden tail trailing after her. Jaystar leapt down after her, her long silver-gray tail swishing. The others descended, and Briarpaw stood up. Swanpaw stood next to her. "Bye!" Copperpaw mewed, standing in front of them. Swanpaw gave a small smile and mewed goodbye, and Briarpaw simply nodded farewell to him. It's not like I'm going to be talking to him again.
He padded away, with a last glance at them. The sisters joined their clan, and filed along slowly, waiting for their turn to cross the log. The cold night air turned windy, whipping Briarpaw's fur. The moon shown coldly down on the murmuring cats, and Briarpaw once again felt alone, even though she was surrounded by cats.
A/N: Well. That was a long chapter. What do you think of Copperpaw? Do you think Briarpaw's right about him thinking he was feeding her empty compliments? Also, comment if you think any ThunderClan warriors are going to steal prey :3
Oh, and I forgot to say, the image at the top is Copperpaw.
Thank y'all for reading! (I'm not southern, it's just a shorter way to write you all lol.)