"Have you really had no hunting practice at all?" Jaguarpaw asked him on the way back to camp.

"No, this is my first day out of camp. I have never hunted before." He replied, watching excitedly as they entered the camp, Froghop dragging the rabbit by one of its long ears.

"Who caught that? It's huge!" Foxflight exclaimed. Froghop flicked his tail towards Flickerpaw, and went off to put the rabbit at the fresh~kill pile. Tigerstar padded over and praised Flickerpaw's rabbit. Then he noticed Frozenpaw, sitting alone with a mouse in her jaws. Flickerpaw padded over to her, and she flinched when he approached.

"What's wrong?" He mewed. His sister looked away.

"How did you catch that?!" She hissed. Flickerpaw realized with a pang of guilt that Frozenpaw was jealous.

"I just followed my instinct, I guess." Fawnpaw padded over with his rabbit.

"Hey, Flickerpaw, want to share this?" She offered. He glanced over at Frozenpaw, who just got up and went to go eat with Tallheart's kits.

"Sure, Fawnpaw. I would love to." She settled down next to him, her soft pelt brushing against his. Once they finished the rabbit, he padded toward his nest in the Apprentice's Den, Fawnpaw slowly padding after him. He felt something warm up in his heart as Fawnpaw fell asleep beside him.

The next morning, he woke up to tiny paws thumping against him.

"Huh? What?" Two small kits were sitting in his nest, playing with the moss. He realized that these must be Cinderkit and Acekit, part of Snowflight's and Lemonstone's first litter. He would be a warrior soon, maybe one of them could be his apprentice!

"Hello, kits." He purred.

"Greetings," Cinderkit mewed. Acekit fell on top of him, starting a tussle. He picked up Cinderkit carefully and dropped the young kit in the clearing. Acekit scrambled out of the Apprentice's Den, instantly making a cat~pile on top of their sister, Springkit. Springkit looked defiantly over at the fourth kit, Raptorkit, and the ginger tom just laughed. Fawnpaw trotted out of the den, her fur glowing in the daylight. She laughed as she came up beside Flickerpaw and gave him a sideways look. Cinderkit managed to scramble free of Springkit's grasp, and frowned when he realized his fur was sticking out all over. He drew one paw over the tuft of fur on his head, smoothing it down. Flickerpaw padded over to his mentor carefully, leaving Fawnpaw behind with the kits.

"You wanted me?" He asked. His ear twitched. He would have much wanted to stay with the kits.

"I have spoken to the other mentors, and we think it's time you had your warrior assessments." He glanced over at the oldest apprentice, Jaguarpaw. The tom was almost as big as his older sister, Tigerstar herself, and surely should have become a warrior by now.

"That's great!" Fawnpaw ran over to Flickerpaw, and sat down beside him. When they made sure Froghop wasn't looking anymore, they settled down and twined their tails together. He noticed Frozenpaw glaring at him from across the clearing, her eyes burning right through him. How did they ever get so... distant? Just as he was about to go talk to her, Fawnpaw rested her muzzle on his shoulder. He was shocked by how comfortable he was, here with Fawnpaw by his side. Maybe they could be more than friends one day. His eyes moved to where Darkpaw and Mochapelt were sharing tongues over at the other side of the clearing.

"Hey, fish~ball!" Fawnpaw gave him a sharp shove that woke him from his thoughts. He looked at her, and once he saw the playful look in her eyes, he knew it was okay.

"Froghop said warrior assessments! You can't spend all day here, you know." She said, "Mouse~brain." She flicked her tail affectionately at him, and raced off into the forest. Just as he was about to follow her, he saw The Leader's Council heading towards the Council Grove. The Leader's Council included; Tigerstar [duh], Spangleflight, Tallheart, Foxflight, and Liontail. There were supposed to be seven council members, but Tigerstar had never chosen anymore. Then he raced off to find Fawnpaw. He wandered the forest for what seemed like a long time, and then froze. He wasn't on his territory anymore. He was lost!