Crowsky could feel the wind pulling through his fur as he raced across the moor, his paws thrummed against the grass and the world blurred past him. He had been longing to get his paws out on the moor, the scent of rabbit and heather filling his nose. Crowsky could see his target in the distance, the early sunlight reflecting off the river's surface. I'm going to win. Crowsky thought triumphantly.
At long last he reached the river that separated MoonClan territory from the Spirit Woods. He came to a stop, barely needing a moment to catch his breath. Behind him came Icestorm and not long after was Frostfire. "I told you I'd win." Crowsky bragged, waving his tail.
"I haven't gotten a good run like that in moons!" Frostfire stretched out her limbs. "Training an apprentice takes up so much time."
"It was a lot of fun though." Icestorm chimed in.
Frostfire nodded in agreement. The night before, Feathercloud, Jayclaw and Smudgenose had all been named warriors, leaving Frostfire and Icestorm without apprentices. The three of them agreed to have a race through the forest like old times. Crowsky had forgotten how much he missed the two sisters.
"We should get some hunting done while we're out here, though." Icestorm suggested. "Ivystone might have our ears if she finds out we've been racing like apprentices."
"It'll be easy to catch some prey." Frostfire mewed. "The rabbits are practically jumping into our paws lately."
"Then let's get to it." Icestorm began padding off. "I'm going to hunt near the LichenClan border, there's a new nest over there!"
Icestorm vanished across the moor, leaving Crowsky and Frostfire alone. "Do you think that Cloudstar will make you the mentor of Shadekit or Ebonykit? They should be having their ceremony any day now."
"I don't know." Crowsky admitted. "I still don't know if I'm ready. I might be older than you, but I've only been a warrior for three moons."
"Yeah, but you learned so much out there." Frostfire encouraged. "You still haven't said everything that happened to you out there." She complained. "Like this scar." She brushed her tail across his flank, phantom pain spread throughout his entire body.
"That scar doesn't have a happy ending." Crowsky dropped his head, picturing Ivy's dead body once again. He had been reluctant to talk about his time with the loners, he missed them and most of all he missed Ivy. Talking about it made his heart ache.
"What happened?" He figured that Frostfire wouldn't drop it, he sighed.
"I spent some time living with a group of loners." He began. "One of them was a she-cat named Ivy.. When leaf-bare came, there was hardly any prey in the forest so she came up with an idea to go to a special twoleg area called a farm and hunt these big birds called chickens. We killed two of them and started to make a run for it. There was this super loud sound, it almost sounded like thunder and out of nowhere--" Crowsky's voice choked up. "Ivy was dead, she had a huge wound that came out of thin air. I stopped to try and help her, but I heard the sound again and felt a horrible pain in my leg." He looked to his faint scar. "I passed out and when I woke up I was back in our camp. Cooper, Ivy's father, blamed me for her death and told me to leave. I ran out into the snow and collapsed. That's when Mosscloud visited me."
"You loved her, didn't you?"
Crowsky winced. "Yes."
"I'm sorry that happened to you." Frostfire's voice was low and sad. "I know I'm not Ivy, but I'll always be here for you." Crowsky was shocked as Frostfire nuzzled up against Crowsky. "I'm glad you came back."
Crowsky felt his pelt burn. What is happening? "Th-thank you." He stammered. Frostfire stepped back, shuffling her paws awkwardly.
"We-we should get some prey."
Crowsky nervously agreed and the two of them set out hunting and Crowsky dropped the whole situation, just trying to focus on their hunt.
Together Crowsky, Frostfire and Icestorm managed to catch four rabbits and brought them back to camp. "Welcome back." Ivystone greeted them "Nice catch." She praised quickly before setting her eyes on Crowsky. "Cloudstar wants to talk to you." Excitement flashed in both Icestorm and Frostfire's eyes, but he wasn't sure why.
"Alright." Crowsky set his rabbits down on the fresh-kill pile and followed the Clan deputy to Cloudstar's den. Inside was the leader along with Stonefoot, they sat patiently.
"Thank you for coming." Cloudstar dipped her head. "Have a seat, Crowsky."
Crowsky sat down beside Stonefoot as Ivystone sat with Cloudstar. "What's this about?"
"Ebonykit and Shadekit have reached the age of six moons and I want you and Stonefoot to mentor them. You will be made Ebonykit's mentor."
Crowsky's eyes went wide. She's really trusting me to mentor Ebonykit? Crowsky bowed his head. "Th-thank you so much, Cloudstar. I'm honored."
Cloudstar purred. "Ebonykit has been pretty adamant that you be her mentor, and Ashbird agreed that you would be a good choice."
Crowsky felt excitement burning in his paws. I get to mentor an apprentice. Moons ago he never thought he would even earn his warrior name. This is my chance to prove myself to the Clan.
"If all is agreed," Cloudstar stood up. "Let's hold the ceremony!" The four cats left the den and Cloudstar raised her voice to gather the Clan. MoonClan quickly began to gather and Crowsky saw Ashbird struggling to keep Shadekit and Ebonykit calm. Crowsky purred with amusement, he was so excited to start training Ebonykit.
Once Ebonykit and Shadekit arrived, Cloudstar began. "Today is a proud day for MoonClan, by naming apprentices we show that we will remain strong for many moons to come. Ebonykit and Shadekit, from this day forward until you have earned your warrior names you will be known as Ebonypaw and Shadepaw. Ebonypaw, your mentor will be Crowsky. He learned a lot during his time away from the Clan, and I know that you will benefit greatly from his wisdom."
Crowsky eagerly stepped forward and touched his nose to Ebonypaw's. Together, they quickly padded off to the side so that the ceremony could continue. "Shadepaw, your mentor will be Stonefoot. One of my most noble and strongest warriors, he will train you well."
"Ebonypaw! Shadepaw! Ebonypaw! Shadepaw!" The Clan cheered their newest apprentices and Ebonypaw began hopping around in front of Crowsky.
"What are we going to do first?" She questioned, her yellow eyes wide and eager.
Crowsky thought for a moment, and before he could answer he was approached by Silverpool. "Congratulations to both of you." She purred.
"Thanks!" Ebonypaw cheered. "I'm so excited to get started!"
"I think we'll go fishing first." Crowsky decided.
"Fun!" Ebonypaw seemed incredibly eager to get started so Crowsky knew he couldn't keep her waiting. "I'll talk to you later." He bid farewell to Silverpool and started guiding Ebonypaw out of camp. He knew that as a mentor he would be spending a lot of time training, and he was okay with that.
"Where are we going fishing?"
"The SunClan border." Crowsky replied. "It's an easy place to catch fish." While they walked across the moor, Ebonypaw looked across MoonClan territory with pure amazement in her eyes.
"Our territory is so big!"
"Our territory doesn't even compare to what's beyond the borders." Crowsky mewed. "There's so much out there, no cat could ever see all of it in a single life time."
"Will I ever get to leave the territory?" Ebonypaw questioned.
"I don't know." Crowsky admitted. "Perhaps one day, but it's not an easy life out there. I lived a lot of my time there alone, no one to hunt with or sleep beside. It's not a life I recommend."
"But you did make friends right? You mentioned that you lived with a group of loners." Crowsky winced slightly.
"Yes, but I'm not a loner. I'm a Clan cat, I couldn't live with them anymore." No matter how badly I cared about them. He wondered how they were doing, Starling and Firefly would be old enough to be hunting by now. I hope they're doing well.
Crowsky and Ebonypaw reached the river and Crowsky was finally able to get his mind off the loners. "When you're fishing there's a few things that you need to be sure of." He began. "When you set on the bank, make sure that your shadow isn't across the water or it will scare the fish away." Crowsky demonstrated by making sure his shadow cast away from the river, Ebonypaw copied him. "The key to catching a fish is speed, you need to be fast and you need to be patient."
Crowsky watched the water closely, watching it flow by and waiting for his perfect moment to strike. "When--" Ebonypaw began to speak but Crowsky lifted his tail to silence her. At long last, Crowsky could see the dark figure of a fish beneath the surface of the river. His paw shot forward like a snake, breaking through the water. He felt his paw touch the slick side of the fish and he sank his claws into the fish's scales, pulling it out of the water and killing it with a swift bite.
"Wow!" Ebonypaw stared at his catch. "Can I try now? I want to catch a fish!" Crowsky nodded and Ebonypaw began staring deeply into the water, Crowsky couldn't help but feel amused by her determined glare.
After a few long moments, Ebonypaw struck the water, there was a large splash. Crowsky felt water hit his pelt but when her paw came out there was no fish. "Awh." Ebonypaw dropped her head. "I thought I had it!"
"You weren't fast enough." Crowsky explained. "You can't strike where the fish is, you have to strike where the fish is going to be."
"Huh?" Ebonypaw tilted her head, clearly confused by his words.
"If you strike just ahead of the fish then it will swim directly into your claws, then you hook it and pull it out of the water." Ebonypaw took a moment to examine her paws, flexing her sharp claws a few times. "We'll wait a bit for the fish to get their courage back and you can try again."
Ebonypaw had a few more failed attempts, but at long last, she caught her first fish. "I did it! I did it!" She jumped around in joy. "I caught a fish!" She looked at her trout proudly. "Can I give this to Skyclaw? He loves fish!"
"Absolutely." Crowsky purred, he was impressed with Ebonypaw. Her hunting skills weren't perfect, but she never allowed herself to be torn down by her mistakes, she learned from them and kept trying to improve herself which she did every time. She's going to be a fast learner, I can tell. "We'll head back to camp and tomorrow we'll do some swimming training."
"Yay!" Ebonypaw picked up her fish and they headed back to camp. Crowsky felt a warm sense of satisfaction flowing through his body. He had been wondering when he would find his paws in this forest, and at long last he finally felt like he was on the right path.