"I still can't believe that Beepaw left." Reedpaw blinked, walking beside Applepaw. Her head hung low, tail dragging behind her. "I always thought we'd become warriors together. I never imagined Beepaw never liked it here."

Applepaw was walking besides Reedpaw on border patrol with Sloefur taking lead, Shellskip beside her, Rainwhisker and Petalfoot walked beside each other. Rainwhisker was talking calmly, voice as smooth as honey as Petalfoot looked flushed, her tail high up as she padded as close as possible next to his mentor.

Applepaw nodded slowly, "I know. but, at least he's happy. Even if it isn't with you."
Reedpaw looked over at him, "I... I guess. But it hurts. Like a phantom pain." her blue eyes, normally bright, were clouded with a dark shadow of pain.
"Imagine if Spikepaw left you. But he was just in another clan, living his best life without you in it. With new people, your enemies now his friends. It hurts bad, Applepaw."
Applepaw twitched his ear, he looked down at his paws. The walked slowly to keep pace with Reedpaw.

"I have." He whispered back. 'And I know I can't properly sympathize.'

The two young apprentices walked together in silence as they neared the WindClan border.
The smell of heather and rabbit unbelievably strong. It reminded him of the gathering a couple days prior.
Rainwhisker looked up, "WindClan." He spat the name like sour prey. Petalfoot nodded from beside him, the pretty tan she-cat stood firmly, looking fierce. "Just let them try anything," she huffed. Icewhisker looked over at her, smiling kindly.
Sloefur flicked her tail, "we aren't here to attack." She hissed, "we're here to mark the border and then leave."
She pointed her tail at Shellskip, Icewhisker and Applepaw. "You three, mark the border down there, me, Petalfoot, and Reedpaw will mark further ahead."
They broke off in their separate groups and Rainwhisker didn't hesitate to mark. Shellskip did so just as well, Rainwhisker pointed with a white paw at a bush. "Applepaw, mark that."
Applepaw did as he was told when suddenly coming over the hillside was a patrol of WindClan warriors. They raced right up to the patrol.

A creamy white tom was in lead, a white she-cat with silver tabby stripes and amber colored she-cat- Amberpelt, he remembered her kits becoming apprentices being announced a few nights ago- behind him. Trailing behind the two she-cats was a strong looking blue tom with long front fangs, and golden brown molly. She looked like she would be an apprentice.

"Hello." The creamy white tom greeted skeptically.
Shellskip greeted the tom with a curt nod, "Greetings, Milkfur."
'Milkfur? But, we have a Milkfur in our clan! Isn't that confusing?'
"What are you doing so close to the border?" Milkfur meowed, his tail twitching. "You aren't thinking of crossing it, are you?"
Rainwhisker snorted, "like we would think about doing that."
Shellskip cast a swift glance at Rainwhisker before looking back at the large WindClan patrol. "No, we were just marking it. I promise we weren't going to cross."
Petalfoot and the rest of her small group returned, Petalfoot padded right up to the Rainwhisker, pressing herself into him.

They shared a few quick whispers, Petalfoot's face looking worried, her round ears twitching. Rainwhisker smirked at her before pulling away from the small tan she-cat, facing the rival clans patrol.

"Milkfur."

"Sloefur."

The two deputies greeted each other with still words. It make his paw pads prickle with unease.

Reedpaw walked close to him, if she moved a whisker length closer, their pelts would be brushing. He slowly inched away.
"We were just marking the border, I hope we didn't disturb you. I hope hunting has been good for you."
"Yes, it's doing lovely. Thank you. I smelt RiverClan and I wanted to make sure nothing was going on."

Applepaw padded home, he liked the feeling of cool sand and pebble under his paws. It felt soothing to him.
'Beepaw might disagree.'
Applepaw cast a hesitant look over at ThunderClan's border. He smelt and saw nobody over on the other side of the river. Only the stale ThunderClan border scent and the river. He silently wondered who Beepaw's new mentor would be. He hoped it was a nice, patient cat, not a cat like Wildflight.
The rest of the walk home was quiet, well mostly quiet. Rainwhisker and Petalfoot kept whispering to each other, just barely heard over the sound of river. The two were obviously flirting when Petalfoot let out a soft giggle, her tail curling onto her back.

Entering the camp, it was clear something was going on. "What's happening?" Sloefur called out, flicking her tail and letting her patrol disperse.

"Ebonystream has finally gone into labor! It happened a few moments ago!" Perchwing purred loudly from his spot beside the fresh-kill pile and his mate, Mudbelly. The two where sharing a plump carp, it was half devoured, laying between their paws.

"Kits have always been a blessing." Frostfoot murmured, glaring over at Harethroat. The ginger-and-brown tom met her gaze unflinchingly. The two had gotten a bit more hostile with each other ever since Beepaw left the clan.
"Is Fogtail with her?" Applepaw asked, curiously.
He remembered Ebonystream complaining about her mate not visiting her as much as she liked. Though she had cut the conversation short as the black tabby queen had dismissed him. Not wanting to bother him anymore with her personal drama.
Eeltail took a last bite of their food, burying the prey in a small hole they had dug in the sand.
"Fogtail? He left camp, he seemed scared. I just told him to catch some prey for her, that seemed to calm him down enough."
Silverfern chuckled, emerging out of the warrior den, having had overheard his clanmate's words. "Oh, remember when Ebonystream told him he was going to be a father?"
Foxclaw snorted, laughing loudly at the memory. "He almost fainted!" He snickered, going back to grooming his chest fur.

Fogtail scent suddenly drifted into camp, he stumbled into camp carrying a huge haul. He held two huge carps. He panted as he dropped then off by the fresh-kill pile, shaking his fur out and free of water droplets. "I caught a few minnows, if anyone could help me carry them back."
Eeltail laughed, eyes shining bright as they watched their littermate proudly.
Foxclaw stood up from his spot by the warriors den and walked over, head butting his friends side. The russet-colored tabby was smiling wide, "good haul! I'll help you."

Applepaw looked over trying to spot Spikepaw, but the dark gray tom was no where to be seen. He was probably out of the camp training hard. He had been pushing himself hard after Beepaw left.
Reedpaw dragged her tail on his flank, he looked over at where she touched him before looking up, seeing her a pawstep or two in front of him.
"I'm going to see if Shellskip wants me for anything." She padded of to talk to her mentor.

The two were still a little iffy, Applepaw still didn't feel bad. I mean sure, Darkshadow was still giving him silent treatment but what he did wasn't that bad, right? Reedpaw seemed to have forgiven him.

"RiverClan needs more kits." Sunstorm meowed, whiskers twitching as she stretched slightly, her and her denmates basking in the sun by the elders den.
"Oh yes, I miss the little scraps bugging me to tell em' stories." Shadeeyes sighed, eyes twinkling.
"It doesn't feel the same not having kits around, I miss them trying to trip me up while I'm on my way to dirtplace." Mossywhisker agreed with a nod and a mutter, her thick tail curling around her side as she rested her head on her paws.
Kestrelsplash hummed softly, stretching as she stood up, trotted closer to the nursery.

Kestrelsplash was Ebonystream's mother and two were incredibly close.

"Applepaw! Come along, I'm taking you hunting with me and Reedpaw." Shellskip nodded towards him
'But- didn't Fogtail just return with plenty of food?' Applepaw thought, then a second thought hit him, 'it never hurts to have plenty of food!'
Applepaw padded after Shellskip and Reedpaw, Shellskip nodded at him and exited camp.

"Has Rainwhisker taken you down by the stepping stones before, Applepaw?"
Applepaw paused, before hesitantly shaking his head.
"He doesn't really take me hunting. He only does battle practice and then patrols. I've picked up a little about hunting but not a whole lot."
Shellskip blinked before looking away, "that's odd..." Shellskip sighed, "he always taught hunting first. I wonder what made him change his mind with you." A smile soon crept it way back onto his face and the three neared the stepping stones.

The river was calm.
It was shallow where they stood now, but if you wadded out far enough you could be paddling around like an otter. Applepaw saw the river a clear, a few shiny pebbles at the bottom. 'Russetstorm said she likes shiny things. I could get her a stone. It might make her feel better.'

His mother had slowly been coming out of the medicine cat den to get food and water. Her pelt looked clean but Creeknose was still...

"Alright, Reedpaw, you know how to hunt. Go off then, I'll show Applepaw the basics." Reedpaw nodded, looking determined as ever as she trotted towards the stepping stones and sat down on a big flat one, getting comfortable, before looking down into the clear water.

"Alright then, come here Applepaw." Applepaw approached Shellskip, sitting down beside the large tom. He tried to sit up straighter to seem tall.
"First things first, make sure your shadow isn't cast on the water." Applepaw nodded, he knew that much. He shuffled until he was in a more comfortable position.
Shellskip nodded approvingly, "Alright, fishing isn't as difficult as it seems. It's rather easy, though, I may be bias." He purred.

Applepaw cracked a small smile before slowly looking at the river. He gave a quick look at Reedpaw, the dark ginger she-cat was looking intently at the water, her paw raised slightly with sharp claws exposed.
She looked focused and ready.

He blinked and looked down at his own paws which were planted flat against the sandy river bank. He quickly lifted his paw and extended his claws.
Shellskip purred, "I see you're copying, Reedpaw."
Applepaw shrugged, "I mean, I guess. She knows how to hunt."
Shellskip watched him for a moment before turning back, "alright then, well..."

"You took my apprentice out?" Rainwhisker spoke skeptically, his eyes narrowed as if he was expecting Shellskip to demand something in return.

Shellskip nodded, "yes, I did. I didn't see anything wrong with it? It was just some hunting."
Shellskip and Rainwhisker we're both around the same height, though Shellskip had much broader shoulders and thicker fur. His paws where large and he planted them firmly to the floor. Rainwhisker looked thin compared to the other warrior.

Both toms where well muscled and fit, Rainwhisker was just a bit more slimmer, and less scarred.

Applepaw sadly didn't catch anything but he carried one of the fish Shellskip caught, Reedpaw caught more than the both of them. Applepaw was kinda impressed.
'She's a really good hunter.' He thought as Reedpaw padded past him and towards the fresh kill pile that was stacked high with fish after Fogtail's trip.

"Did he catch anything?"
"No, but he's much better than when he first started. You should probably teach him more hunting, than just fighting." Shellskip suggested softly.
"Are you judging my mentoring?" He narrowed his icy blue eyes.
'Why's he so defensive?' the tan apprentice thought, walking away from the two adult tomcats.

'Shellskip's right, we have claws, sure. But hunting is good too.' Applepaw looked over at the nursery, still thinking. 'we have more cats in the clan, they'll all need to be fed.'

"Applepaw, feel free to rest." Rainwhisker mewed, approaching him. "We're... we're gonna join a hunting patrol tomorrow and then I'm going to teach you some more swimming."
Applepaw nodded, feeling excited for tomorrow. "Alright!"
Rainwhisker scanned him before turning away and sitting beside a group of other senior warriors.

Applepaw was quick to walk into the apprentices den, feeling excited for that tomorrow would bring.
Entering the den he was met with Spikepaw sitting alone and staring at Beepaw's empty nest with a longing look. His dark green clouded.

"Spikepaw?" The sandy brown tom meowed softly, padding over.
Spikepaw flinched, looking away from the empty nest looking guilty. "Hi.."
"Are you okay?"
"...I don't know." He seemed to wanna say more but hesitated.
"Is it about Beepaw leaving?" He whispered, standing in front of his littermates nest.
"Yeah.. I mean, I supported Beepaw's decision to leave because it would make him happy, he wasn't happy here in RiverClan. The thought didn't hurt as much then, and I didn't really think how much it'd really.. affect me. I want him to find happiness and peace, love and joy. But now?" the dark gray apprentice sighed, "It's costing me mine. He was my best friend and now he's just.. gone."
"He was mine too." Applepaw meowed, sitting down in his nest that was right beside his brother's. His short tail twitching.
"We'll all miss him."

There was a silence that followed before the dark gray apprentice mumbled.
"I just wish I was able to see him. Check on how he's doing."

An idea flashed through his head, his close friendship with Maplepaw. He could try and ask the large tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat to give updates on how Beepaw was doing, how he was adjusting to his new brand new life in ThunderClan.
But he pushed the idea down. Spikepaw might question why he was so close with a ThunderClan apprentice. Before he could reply, Reedpaw walked into the den, sniffling and stumbling.

"Reedpaw?" Applepaw gasped.
"Applepaw, Spikepaw- hi.." she wiped her face with a cream paw, clearing her throat despite the tremble in her voice giving it away she was just crying.
"What.. what happened?" He stood up and looked down at his friend.
The dark ginger she-cat went quiet, her lip trembling. Her eyes were glossy and she had a hurt feeling in her eyes.
"Harethroat, he- he told me that I better not turn out to be like a failure or a traitor like Beepaw. He said- said-" she couldn't finish her sentence as she broke out into cry. Pushing her face into Applepaw's chest. Seeking comfort.

Applepaw flinched at the sudden cry. He looked at Spikepaw for help who looked just as confused and concerned.
'I wish I was better at-' the memory of racing out of camp over a moon ago flashed through his head. 'Sunning Rocks! With Maplekit!'

  Applepaw hesitated, before resting his head on Reedpaw's and letting her let it out into his chest fur. He turned slightly so that he could sit down, bringing her down with him. He placed a paw on her shoulder, pulling her kinda closers, and felt as her fluffy tail curled on her side and fluffing up as it brushed against his side.
  The dark ginger tabby trembled, her ears falling as she leaned into him. She cried for a little while but it seemed like the longest minutes of his life as he just sat there and took in all the tears.

After a while, Reedpaw pulled her head out from underneath his. Her eyes were a little puffy, but there was a new glint in her blue eyes that replaced the pain. One that Applepaw was a bit confused by but didn't question. They were all hurting because of Beepaw's departure.

"Are you okay?" Was all he said.

The tabby cracked a tired smile, looking up at him before turning away and looking down as her paws. Her soft pelt had gone warm.
"..Thank you." She ignored his question which made his whiskers twitch with slight annoyance.
"And I'm sorry if I making you feel bad during your training session." She apologized, "I was just trying to help you against Icepaw. I promise. I never meant to embarrass you.. you just-" she stopped herself.

Applepaw blinked. He should probably apologize too. He hurt her feelings. But he didn't really feel bad, she did embarrass him in front of his mentor.
A little voice told him to stop being so full of himself. 'I'm being stupid. She's my friend. I don't want to lose another one and I know she doesn't want to lose me either.'

The sandy-brown apprentice nodded, "it's fine. And I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have yelled at you and made you feel bad. Darkshadow almost tore my ears off."
Reedpaw purred softly, her eyes still reddish and puffy. Though a kind smile turned her lips and he knew his words had made the tabby feel better.
"She's a good sister," Reedpaw mewed. "I'm happy to have her.. even though Beepaw.."

Spikepaw had padded over and touched his dark tail to her shoulder. "Beepaw is safe. That's all that matters. We should all train harder for his sake."
"Yeah. For Beepaw." Applepaw agreed, stepping away from the she-cat. His chest felt wet and he cringed internally at the gross feeling.
Reedpaw's tail twitched, as if upset about the loss of Applepaw's warmth. Her tired eyes resting on him before on his brother.

"Beepaw would want us to train to become the best warriors ever!"

"Yeah and then I'd shred his pelt in battle," a voice called from the entrance. There Icepaw stood snickering.
"That tom is nothing but a traitor, leaving his clan for those squirrel-chasers! Those killers." He spat.
"Icepaw. Stop." Spikepaw hissed.
"Or what? You're defending the enemy by defending him."
"He's still our friend, Icepaw." Applepaw shuffled past Reedpaw to stand by Spikepaw. Narrowing his eyes. "We aren't going to ignore him just because he's left."
"Right." Icepaw pushed past to his nest. "I always knew something was off with him. It was like he was a rock in a pond full of fish. He never belonged here."

Reedpaw bristled. "Stop talking bad about my brother! I'll hand your hind to you again."

Icepaw's eyes twinkled, looking right at Applepaw. "You still need a she-cat to defend you, Applepaw?"

•••

3069 Words.

Ahaha cliffhanger.
(I can't write comfort wtf)

I kinda rushed the ending because I've had this chapter like half done for a long while and I didn't like where it was going so I had to rewrite a lot of it. Forgot about it. Worked on it again and then decided to fix this entire book up and now we're here again LMFAO
Hopefully it's alright- 🤩