Falconpaw licked his foreleg, trying to soothe the growing ache. Falconpaw stopped and looked around, Cherryleaf was nowhere in sight, but he knew she was watching. Falconpaw had to continue his hunting. Shoving the pain in his leg away, Falconpaw crept forward. He sniffed the air, breathing in the scent of the forest. The air had a sharp chill to it, newleaf was here and it brought the cool air along with it. Falconpaw padded silently through the forest, trying to catch a trace of prey. A light breeze picked up, rustling Falconpaw's fur and bringing along the scent of shrew. Keeping himself quiet, Falconpaw followed the scent. He kept himself low to the ground and kept his amber eyes peeled for his prey.
Not long after he began crouching he spotted the small creature scurrying amongst the leaves. Falconpaw dropped lower to the ground, his belly fur brushing the cold ground below. With careful, light steps he moved forward. The shrew was completely oblivious as it looked for it's own food. Falconpaw moved swiftly, pouncing forward with his claws striking the shrew, killing it quickly. Pain shot up Falconpaw's sore leg and he let out a hiss of pain. Falconpaw twitched his ears in annoyance, at least he had killed his prey.
"Nice, catch." Falconpaw heard the mew of his mentor from behind him. He turned and saw Cherryleaf stepping out from the undergrowth. Her green eye sparkling with pride and praise. Falconpaw faced his mentor and gave a small nod.
"Thank you, it was an easy catch." He cast a glance at his prey, a clean and easy kill.
"Is everything alright with your leg? You seem to be favoring it a bit." Cherryleaf looked at his foreleg, Falconpaw tensed up slightly but gave a reassuring not.
"I think I just slept on it wrong." He stretched out his sore foreleg. "It's just sore." He replied, keeping his voice steady.
Cherryleaf nodded. "Well, why don't you grab your other pieces of prey and see if Pebblestep can't give you something for it. We're going on patrol later, and you need to be at your best."
Falconpaw nodded. "Alright," He was somewhat disappointed, he wanted to keep hunting. His only other catches were two mice but he was also excited to go on patrol.
"Good hunting today, I'll see you back at camp." Cherryleaf praised with a purr, then bounded back into the forest. Falconpaw watched her leave, then picked up his shrew and began tracking his steps back to where his other catches were. Falconpaw felt a small pang of guilt, his story about sleeping on his leg wrong wasn't entirely true.
The injury happened in his sleep, but not because of how he slept. When Falconpaw first became an apprentice, he was visited by a shadowy StarClan warrior named Falconclaw, his own namesake. Falconclaw had been teaching him during his dreams, to be the best warrior he could possibly be. The training was intense and somewhat dangerous, they trained with claws out and to defend and harm. It wasn't an oddity for Falconpaw to wake up with scratches or bruises.
His newest injury occurred the night before when Falconclaw threw Falconpaw to the ground and Falconpaw wrenched his shoulder trying to defend himself. The worst injury he had received was a torn ear, a scar still visible to this day. Falconpaw wasn't ashamed of his nightly trainings, he just didn't feel like he should mention it. Cherryleaf was a good mentor, but Falconclaw taught him what he really needed to know as a warrior. Ferocity and courage, knowing he could never give up.
Falconpaw found his two mice and began the walk began to the camp. The leaves in the trees were starting to turn shades of gold, brown and red and began to shower around on the forest floor. Leaf-bare wouldn't be far off, and Falconpaw had heard how hard leaf-bare could be. Not enough prey and sickness would run rampant throughout the Clans. Falconpaw would catch as much prey as possible for his Clan to survive.
Falconpaw reached SunClan's camp entrance, made of twisting brambles as a form of protection. He brushed through the entrance and placed his fresh-kill on the pile. As the sun continued to rise, so did SunClan. Applespots and Sandfoot were talking outside of the elder's den, sharing a piece of fresh-kill. Applespots hadn't joined the elders den yet, and Sandfoot wasn't very old either. Falconpaw learned that Sandfoot joined the elder's den because of a wound that didn't heal properly and hurt whenever she tried hunting or fighting. Applespots still had quite a few moons as a warrior left, but Falconpaw did notice something off about the she-cat. A distance in her green eyes, something he didn't quite understand.
"Falconpaw!" Falconpaw jumped slightly, turning away from the chatting queens and looking behind him. It was Larkpaw, her green eyes sparkling. "I get to do my first assessment today!" Falconpaw lifted his head slightly, Larkpaw and her littermates Pikepaw and Sorrelpaw became apprentices a little over a moon ago and they were all coming along with great progress.
When the three littermates became apprentices it was a lot of mixed feelings for Falconpaw, on the bright side he had other apprentices to talk to other than Earthpaw and Mudpaw, and he was no longer the youngest apprentice in the den. However, the apprentice den had become a lot more crowded and Larkpaw and Sorrelpaw didn't know when to keep their mouths shut for the night. Falconpaw still wasn't allowed to train with other apprentices, not after accidentally scratching Earthpaw two moons ago. Earthpaw had long forgiven him, but Cherryleaf didn't think that Falconpaw had a good control on his temper.
Falconpaw's mind drifted to the day when he hurt Earthpaw, which hadn't been the worst thing to happen that day. Falconpaw had decided to explore beyond SunClan territory, into the Twolegplace. It was there when he met the mysterious, dangerous she-cat Echoheart. He had heard her name before, but after she attempted to kill him; Falconpaw couldn't help but feel a looming feeling of dread every time he set paw into the forest. Run all you want, little apprentice. I will find you again!
Echoheart's words echoed in his mind every day and night, he hadn't told anyone else about his experience, not his sister or either of his mentors. He didn't want anyone knowing he was stupid enough to go into dangerous territory, territory that most cats in SunClan had probably never seen before.
"Hey, are you in there?" Larkpaw pulled Falconpaw out of his thoughts and he refocused on the young apprentice.
"Yes, sorry Larkpaw." Falconpaw looked around, taking a deep breath. "I'm assuming that it will be an assessment for Pikepaw and Sorrelpaw as well?"
"Yep!" Larkpaw's spirit had returned, her eyes shimmered. "We're all being tested together.
"Well, do your best." Falconpaw gave the apprentice a nod and she bounded off towards her mentor, Yarrowtail. Sorrelpaw and Pikepaw weren't far behind, with Flamepetal and Adderstrike following close behind their apprentices. Falconpaw watched the three littermates, their heads close together as they indulged in the excitement of their assessment. Falconpaw looked away, trying to ignore the feeling in his chest. He could've had training with his littermate, but she chose to be a medicine cat.
Falconpaw shook that thought out of his head, on the subject of his sister he began padding towards the medicine cat den. He wondered if Honeypaw would be there or not, despite them having a pretty intense argument a while back they made up after their mother and leader of SunClan, Dawnstar told him to apologize for the things he had said. Falconpaw truly didn't believe what he had said, but he did wish he had her to train beside.
Inside the medicine den, Falconpaw was welcomed by the heavy scent of herbs. Pebblestep had her nose buried in her herb store and Honeypaw was sitting by her nest, sorting herbs. Closer to the entrance was Snakewhisker, his hind leg stretched out and covered in herbs. Snakewhisker had fallen out of a tree and broken his leg, as a result he was confined to the medicine cat den until it was healed. Falconpaw assumed it would be soon, he'd been in the medicine cat den for over two moons.
"Hello, Falconpaw." Snakewhisker was the first to notice Falconpaw's entrance, he lifted his head and gave a small nod. Honeypaw looked up from the herbs she was sorting and rose to her paws.
"What's up? Do you need something?" Honeypaw questioned, her green eyes filling with concern. Honeypaw was the only one who knew about Falconpaw's nightly trainings with Falconclaw. He knew that she worried about him getting injured, and she was only partially right in doing so.
"My leg is just a little sore," Falconpaw held out his foreleg slightly as Pebblestep turned to look at him, her blue eyes traveled to her leg. "It's making hunting and training difficult. Is there anything you can give me?"
Pebblestep padded over to Falconpaw and placed her paw on his leg, she felt up and down the length of his leg for a moment then turned back to her herb store. "It's not inflamed, a little bit of feverfew should do the trick." Pebblestep dipped her head into the herb store and came out with a small bundle of little white flowers. She set down a small portion of the flowers in front of Falconpaw. "Eat those, if the pain comes back later come get some poppy seeds before you go to sleep so you can get some rest and don't push yourself." Pebblestep instructed. Falconpaw learned not to argue with medicine cats, he lowered his head and ate the flowers, they left a bitter taste on his tongue. With a wince he swallowed them and hoped they would help with his aching leg.
"Thank you, Pebblestep." Falconpaw dipped his head respectfully towards the medicine cat. "I should go now, and see if the queens or elders need something to eat." Falconpaw turned away but heard Honeypaw quickly following behind him.
"What happened to your leg?" She questioned, her green eyes staring at his sore leg. "Was it...at night?"
Falconpaw stopped walking and faced his sister, keeping his gaze and tone steady. "Yes it was, but it's not a big deal. Worse things have happened during normal training."
Honeypaw looked away, shuffling her white paws. "Are you sure you should be training like this?" She looked back up, her green eyes filled with genuine fear and concern. "I don't want you to get in trouble or get hurt."
Falconpaw let out a heavy sigh, he knew telling Honeypaw about his training would be a bad idea. "Yes, I'm sure about this." Falconpaw closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath to calm his anger. "It's making me a better warrior," He could clearly see that Honeypaw still wasn't convinced, with a roll of his eyes he added: "But I promise I'll be more careful." That alone seemed to calm Honeypaw's nerves, she gave a small nod then hurried back to the medicine cat den to continue with her work. Falconpaw let out a small sigh and looked around, Earthpaw was at the nursery dropping off prey for the queens and kits.
Sedgekit, Petalkit and Dovekit were to become apprentices within the next moon, leaving behind only Hollykit and Burnkit who wouldn't be apprentices for quite some time yet. Icepetal had returned to the warrior den and Goldenleaf remained with her kits. Squirreltail also stayed in the nursery, after being mostly blinded after a fire when Falconpaw was only a kit, she didn't have much use as a warrior so she stayed in the nursery helping the other queens and kits.
When Sedgekit and her siblings moved into the apprentice den it would be even more crowded, and it wouldn't get better until Earthpaw and Mudpaw earned their warrior names which probably wouldn't be for a while yet. Falconpaw just hoped he would be a warrior by the time Hollykit and Burnkit became apprentices, he couldn't handle that many cats in the apprentice den, let alone all the chatter between the she-cats.
Falconpaw let out a snort, both the elders and queens had been fed. He didn't have much else to do before his patrol, so he decided to have his own piece of fresh-kill before then.
"AshClan seems to have heeded our warning." Dawnstar mewed as she sniffed the AshClan border. "It's where it's supposed to be and it's not stronger than usual." She looked over the patrol which consisted of Cherryleaf, Falconpaw, Snowtail and Redclaw. Falconpaw remembered the day SunClan had traveled to AshClan's camp and threatened them if they didn't mind the borders.
AshClan had attempted to invade SunClan territory, which caused the death of SunClan's warrior Bramblepelt and Dawnstar to take serious action against Riverstar and her Clan. Since then, SunClan hadn't seen a whisker on AshClan's pelt except for at the past gathering.
"It's good to know AshClan actually listened for once." Redclaw mewed with a sarcastic snort. "I didn't think Riverstar had the ability."
"I don't think it's fair to say that," Dawnstar replied as she led her patrol away from the AshClan border. "Riverstar wants to prove herself, she's going about it the wrong way but I don't think she's an idiot. I've seen Riverstar at her best, we just so happen to be seeing her worst."
"Still doesn't excuse her actions." Redclaw retorted.
Dawnstar shook her head. "No it does not, but hopefully knowing she cost the live of an innocent cat will wake her up."
The patrol talked amongst themselves the rest of the way back to camp while Falconpaw watched the sun fall and the moon take it's place in the sky. Falconpaw's leg felt fine, the feverfew had really helped. Now his claws itched to be asleep and training with his shadowy mentor. He kept his mouth shut and went straight to the apprentice's den to sleep. Inside, Earthpaw and Mudpaw were sleeping soundly and luckily Larkpaw, Pikepaw and Sorrelpaw hadn't shown up yet. He would be able to fall asleep before their midnight chatters began.
Falconpaw laid down in his nest, which was near the back of the apprentice den. He had given the large space to the new apprentices, and towards the back he had more space for himself, at least until Sedgekit and her littermates joined the apprentice den. Closing his eyes, Falconpaw pushed away thoughts of the other apprentices and all his other stresses and worries and let himself slip into the dark forest.
When Falconpaw opened his eyes, he was in the usual spot. Surrounded by tall, looming trees. There wasn't a single star in the sky, and the ground was damp and the grass dead. Falconclaw was already there, sitting patiently with his tail resting across his paws. His amber eyes glowed menacingly in the darkness of the forest. "Welcome, Falconpaw." He lifted his head and Falconpaw stepped closer to him.
Falconpaw dipped his head respectful and dug his claws into the ground, excitement tingling in his paws. He was eager for training to begin. "Hello, Falconclaw." He greeted. "Are we ready to start to training?"
Falconclaw let out a chuckle. "So impatient," The shadowy warrior stood up. "You can't rush through your day as an apprentice just to return to me at night. I understand that this kind of training is exciting, but you have duties in the waking world."
Falconpaw lowered his head slightly, but met Falconclaw's gaze. "And I always make sure to do what I'm told. I went hunting today and on a border patrol. I've been keeping myself busy."
Falconclaw nodded. "Very well, but I also don't want you lacking on your training from Cherryleaf. Part of why you're such a good apprentice is because you have two mentors teaching you, you can't just focus on my teachings."
Falconpaw forced back a sigh. "I know and I understand, I hurt my leg last night and hunting wasn't as easy today."
"You can't let anything hold you back from hunting, it's the most important thing you can do for you Clan and with leaf-bare coming up quickly, you need to hunt as much as possible."
Falconpaw nodded. "Is leaf-bare really that bad?" He questioned. "I know last leaf-bare was pretty bad."
"Leaf-bare is the hardest season for the Clans, prey runs low and sickness is our greatest enemy. I lost my mother to greencough, and it claims more and more warriors each time leaf-bare comes around. You have to remain strong to fight away the sickness, because it can take even the strongest warriors." Falconclaw mewed, his eyes fierce.
"SunClan is lucky to have so many apprentices, right?" Falconpaw watched his mentor's slight pacing. "We have six now, and we're going to have three more here shortly."
Falconclaw nodded. "Yes, SunClan is lucky to have this many young cats. Hopefully those other two kits survive the season. They're our kin as well."
Falconpaw stood up. "Do you think I'll be a warrior by the time they become apprentices?" He asked eagerly.
Falconclaw let out a chuckle. "Perhaps, if you train well I don't see why not. However, it's not absolute when you'll become a warrior. Even if you're the bravest cat in the forest, if you're not as skilled as you could be you'll remain an apprentice. That's what I'm here for."
Falconpaw stood up, stretching his claws. "Then let's get training." He faced Falconclaw with his teeth bared. "I'm not going to be the best warrior in the forest if we sit here and chat."
Falconclaw looked back at him, amber eyes glinting. "Show me what you can do, apprentice."