The smol Bluepelt120 wrote this chapter

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      Four cats padded through the woods as the sun just started sprouting higher into the sky. The heat remained, causing the cat's tails to droop as they padded along, heads low and ears flat.

      Lilyfrost wasn't ashamed to show her excitement.

     It's my first patrol as a warrior!

      She couldn't keep her paws on the ground; she needed to jump up and down, she needed to skip around with happiness.

      "Calm yourself!" Chuckled Lakeshade, who was leading the patrol. The blue-grey deputy had decided to lead the dawn patrol himself with Lilyfrost, Houndfang, and Flowerpaw.

      Not even bothering to stop skipping around Lilyfrost meowed, "But Lakeshade! It's my first patrol as a warrior!"

      A brown pelted tom rolled his eyes. "So exciting!" He mrrowed sarcastically, whisking his tail as he ducked under a overhanging branch, rustling the undergrowth.

      A small she cat scolded him by saying, "Houndfang! She's excited. I would be too!"

      "Flowerpaw... Is that how you should be speaking to your mentor?"

"No, not exactly. The heat's getting to you, isn't it?" The tortoiseshell apprentice purred softly, scrambling under the branch as well.

      The patrol continued through the territory, stepping over coiling roots, sliding through the undergrowth, and occasionally stopping to scent the air. Lilyfrost suddenly caught a scent that smelt nothing like EmberClan. It smelled like cats, but not clan cats. Her grey tabby pelt prickling, she lowered herself to sniff a bush, quickly pulling away with her face scrunched up in revolt.

      "Lakeshade! Houndfang! Flowerpaw! Come here!" Lilyfrost called. "I smell something!"

      The three cats walked over to Lilyfrost. They all sniffed the air, and they each looked at one another, then at Lilyfrost. "Your right. I smell something too.." Flowerpaw murmured, thrusting her muzzle inside the bush and feeling around before pulling out with a half-eaten mouse.

      Lakeshade nodded. "It smells like rogues," he meowed, a faraway look in his eyes that Lilyfrost didn't understand.

      Houndfang lashed his tail. "Any cat that is flea-brained enough to come onto our territory and steal our prey is bound feel my claws rake through their pelt!" He hissed.

      "Now now," Lakeshade meowed. "This is probably nothing big. It may just be some rouges passing through. But I will report this to Brookstar, just in case."

Lilyfrost could tell Lakeshade was trying to keep his composure and remain calm about the situation.

      Houndfang looked at his paws. He murmured something under his breath that Lilyfrost wasn't able to hear.

      "I think we should be heading back." Continued Lakeshade, looking around with his eyes narrowed. He seemed a lot more mad about the rogues than he was letting out.

      Nodding, Flowerpaw padded up to Lakeshade. "Thank goodness! It's so hot I feel like I'm going to melt."

      Lilyfrost's ears flattened. The patrol is over already? Of course she was tired, but not that tired. I want this to go on forever!

✎...

      Once the patrol made their way back to camp, Lakeshade looked at Lilyfrost, Houndfang, and Flowerpaw. "I'm going to go tell Brookstar about the rogues. You guys can go get some rest." He explained. Lakeshade turned to Lilyfrost and flicked his ears, "especially you, Lilyfrost."

      "Thank goodness!" Meowed Houndfang, a little too loudly.

      Lilyfrost couldn't help but laugh. Houndfang has quite the attitude!

      As the patrol started to separate, Lilyfrost figured she'd go grab some fresh kill and find Ivywhisper. As usual, she didn't seem in a very good mood earlier.
Maybe some fresh kill would cheer her up!

      She padded up to the fresh kill pile and grabbed a sparrow from it. She looked around the camp, wondering where her sister would be.

      Lilyfrost figured Brownfeather may know so she ran to the nursery where she stayed. She padded into the den. She saw Brownfeather curled up in a ball, though her eyes were still wide open. "Brownfeather! Hi!" Lilyfrost meowed as she put the sparrow at her paws.

      Brownfeather flinched, and looked at Lilyfrost. Her eyes brightened. "Lilyfrost!" She gasped. "I'm so proud of you, my dear."

      "Thanks, Brownfeather!" Lilyfrost smiled. "Um, do you know where Ivywhisper went?"

      The happiness that was in Brownfeather's green eyes faded. Lilyfrost tilted her head.
Did I say something wrong?

      "Oh, Ivywhisper?" Muttered Brownfeather, "I saw her walk into the warriors den not too long ago."

      Lilyfrost nodded. "Okay! Thank you!" And with that she picked up the sparrow, ran out of the nursery, and into the warriors den, which was placed next to the nursery.

      She saw Ivywhisper sleeping in a nest, and three nests were beside hers, two occupied with Lilyfrost's sleeping siblings.

      Lilyfrost grinned and ran towards her sister. But by mistake, she was so excited and quick that she tripped on Ivywhisper's body, waking her up, and Lilyfrost crashed onto the ground. The sparrow fell beside her, unharmed. And nothing was damaged. Thank StarClan.

      Ivywhisper bared her teeth. "Lilyfrost! That hurt!" She snapped.

      "Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean too!" Lilyfrost fretted. She picked up the sparrow and pushed it towards Ivywhisper. "I'm really sorry... I just wanted to find you and share a sparrow with you! You didn't seem so happy earlier so I wanted to cheer you up!"

      Ivywhisper narrowed her eyes. "Well you say you wanted to cheer me up. All you did so far is wake me up and trip over me. Besides, I'm assuming you didn't feed the elders or the queens yet. You know they must come first."

      Shrugging carelessly, Lilyfrost shook her head and took a bite out of the sparrow and pushed it towards Ivywhisper.

      Ivywhisper pushed the sparrow back towards Lilyfrost. "I'm not hungry anyway." She grumbled.

      "Oh." Lilyfrost said sadly. She quickly ate the sparrow. Deciding she'd bury the remains of her meal later, the looked over at the nests. The remaining one was squeezed between Ivywhisper's and Sootrain's. "Is that one mine?" She wondered.

      "I think so. I don't care."

      Lilyfrost scanned the nest fondly. She curled up. "Hey Ivywhis-" but her sentence was cut off as she realized her sister had fallen back to sleep, or at least it appeared that way. She probably doesn't want to talk to me.
Lilyfrost sighed, and placed her head on top of her paws.

      Lilyfrost looked outside the den, smiling. "Apprentices... Mentoring... Hunting... Patrols! Even a mate maybe, are all waiting for me in the future." Lilyfrost whispered very quietly. She had a habit of talking to herself when she was lonely. "I cannot wait!"