Fallowpaw, the only apprentice in the clan, had his own space in the apprentice den; a small room on the floor above the warriors den. In the small, back corner on the left was his nest, and one of the walls was completely made of glass. Along the walls were old and broken down Twoleg objects, unmendable. Hung on some low hooks were kittypet collars, shining strings of small, round, and milky white balls. Beautiful stones were scattered about in the room, and some musty Twoleg cloth was layered over a small scene, covered with glass. The were cylinders made of tin, and scattered about the floor were a number of Twoleg things left behind; for, being alone, Fallowpaw could leave his amassed treasures about, though it would only be temporary--until he reached twelve moons.

Fallowpaw possessed many shining objects, most strung up on lines together, or small rings like that of Halfkit. He had odd and heavy things, too. Tattered and beat up hard covers protecting the thin and layered insides that held many odd markings. A pile of old moss showed his laziness.

This den was neat--in a cluttered kind of way. Only the apprentice knew where everything was, and he kept his distance from the warriors. His brown fur was sleek, and his eyes would glint in a light.

It was night. Through the semi-closed door that led to the hall came the sound of leaping warriors, scurrying rats, cheers of the warriors, and creaks of doors.

Fallowpaw sat in his nest, peering out the glass wall. His eyes glinted as the moonlight hit them, and he held a new glimmering treasure in his jaws. A breeze in the hall caused his door to open a little more, sending him a shiver. He flexed his claws, and curled his tail over his paws.

Noiselessly, Halfkit appeared in the open doorway and stood there looking in, his small body barely took up space, and his small paws kneaded at the ground. For a moment, Fallowpaw did not notice him, but on raising his eyes, he stiffened and a scowl came on his face. He flexed his claws and dropped his chain, padding over to the small kit.

Halfkit beamed and waved his tail happily in an attempt to make friends.

"You shouldn't be up here," He meowed with a little huff. "It's my den, and only I come in here," He said, motioning to the room.

Halfkit gulped and he smiled again. "I...I wasn't doing anything!" He squeaked. "My mama...she...she's out flying! So I...I came to explore," He explained.

"Well, kits shouldn't be out of the nursery, especially at night. Even if Silverpelt was guiding you the whole time, you might be bitten by a rat," He meowed.

"Why aren't you out flying, too?" He questioned, tilting his black and ginger face to the side.

"I'm an apprentice--Night Leaping is for warriors...ah, they don't want me. I'm just here to be bossed around. They say I stink cause I always leave old moss in here, and collect things from the Twolegged places in the rogue territory. Well, I think they're the bad ones." He grumbled.

Halfkit bounced up and down. "Every cat is out flying," He squeaked. "Everyone! Kest...Kestrelsong said that I should stay in the nursery, but it's boring without anybody!" He whined.

"Well, what do you want? I was going to head to sleep, before Clawscar wakes me up in the morning."

"Nothing...I was just wandering. I...I thought that I could...could come in and play!"

Fallowpaw stared at Halfkit and wriggled his nose. "I don't know how you came up here to find me, but I don't have time to play, now. Don't wander around too much,"

Halfkit lost his smile quickly, and stepped into the den. He retreated back to the doorway, and licked his muzzle with his small pink tongue.

"Well, fine, I suppose," Fallowpaw frowned. "Come on in, then. You can stray around in here for a bit--just don't touch too many things." His tone was a little more friendly. "Everyone is out leaping, huh?" He sighed, longing to join the older cats.

"Every...cat except...Smoketail...and...and Rainfeather." Halfkit stuttered. "Smoketail is in the elder's den. And he's thinking. And sometimes...he looks up and talks to himself,"

"Talking to himself?" The apprentice questioned. "About what?"

Halfkit giggled. "He likes to talk about spots a lot,"

"You're crazy," He chuckled. "Just insane...You travel around the City Clans with your mother a lot?" He then asked out of the blue. "You can lie down, if you want." He added.

Halfkit stepped in, padding over to a soft rock and lying down. "We don't...go to too many places," He squeaked. "But sometimes she takes me outside."

"Sometimes she talks, and you don't know what she's talking about. Is that right?" He asked, looking straight into the kit's young eyes.

Halfkit nodded shyly. "Sometimes,"

"Your mother just keeps talking, and you don't know what she's talking about, even in the name of StarClan?"

"Not all the time--some...sometimes."

Fallowpaw curled his tail over his paws and sat in his nest. "I shouldn't be an outsider. I was born right here in EmpireClan. My littermates and mother died at birth, and my father. Well, he ran away," He sighed. "There wasn't another queen around. No new kits, no new apprentices, so no new warriors. Except for me."

"How...how long will it be until I'm an apprentice?" Halfkit asked excitedly.

Fallowpaw laughed. "A cat can ramble on to you for awhile, and be sure that you won't tell any other cat! Maybe a moon or so,"

They were quiet for a moment. Thuds were heard on windowsills as the toms listened to the warriors leaping.

"What if Kestrelsong didn't come back after Nightly Leaping?" He asked all of a sudden.

"What?" Halfkit squealed in surprise.

"I said, what if Kestrelsong didn't come back after Nightly Leaping? Just suppose she didn't," He pressed forward.

"She'll come back," Halfkit meowed.

"What if she just slipped?" He asked. "Just supposing,"

"Mama...Mama wouldn't." He sniffed.

"Well, let's suppose that she wanted to come back, and just couldn't. Suppose she got hurt, or fell. What would you do then?"

Halfkit struggled to understand. "I don't...I don't know. Wh...why? What are you doing, anyways? That's...that's not true. Mama...she didn't get hurt."

Fallowpaw bored in on him. "I suppose that they would take you out. Driftmask couldn't take care of you the way a queen could,"

"Who hurt Mama?" Halfkit cried angrily. He padded up to the apprentice.

Fallowpaw stayed motionless. "I was just supposing. Kestrelsong isn't hurt. She'll be okay,"

"Well...well what are you supposing for? No...no cat would hurt Mama, and she wouldn't fall!" He insisted.

"Calm down," Fallowpaw insisted. Halfkit sniffled and went back to the soft rock.

"Maybe you can see now. You have your mother. You know that she'll come back. Suppose, now, that you couldn't play Night Leap because you were an apprentice? How would you like that? Suppose that you just had to sit alone every night with nothing but your Twoleg treasures...and an old pile of moss. A cat needs somebody--just to be near them." He whined. "A clan cat would go absolutely insane if they were alone."

"Mama is going to come back." Halfkit reassured himself in a frightened voice. "Maybe she's back in the nursery...I...I'm going to go and see Mama."

Fallowpaw said, "I didn't mean to scare you, little kit. She'll come back...I...I was just talking about myself," He sighed. "No family here in the clan...No one I know in all of the City."

Halfkit said miserably, "Mama won't...won't go away."

"I remember when I was little," Fallowpaw went on dreamily. He stopped and looked toward the open door. Pawsteps were heard and he gulped. "Blossomthorn?" He said politely. "Is that you?"

"Blossomthorn is out leaping, Fallowpaw," Smoketail said, not seeing the kit. "Say, have you seen Halfkit?"

"He's in here," The brown apprentice said. "You can come in. If you want," He quickly added.

Smoketail slowly padded in, his cracked paws feeling the soft ground. Fallowpaw tried to conceal his pleasure as the elder came in, though he was a bit embarrassed.

"The cats don't usually come in," Fallowpaw murmured. "It's nice to have some company."

"Any of you toms seen Emberglow around here?"

They swung their heads toward the door. "Except that company," Fallowpaw said in almost a whisper.

Raincloud stood in the doorway, purring as she leaned on the side of the opening. Her white splotches blended in with the rest of her blue fur. She breather strongly, as though she had ran.

"Emberglow hasn't been here. He's either with Sunstar, or out leaping." Smoketail replied sourly.

She stood still, looking from Smoketail, the Halfkit, to Fallowpaw. "They left all the weak ones here," She said finally. "I know where they went. StarClan, they play Nightly Leaps every night!"

"Then why did you ask us where he was?" Smoketail scoffed at the unecessary question.

"Well, I don't know," She admitted smoothly.

After a pause, Fallowpaw said, "Maybe you should get to the nursery, Raincloud. We don't want any trouble."

"I'm not causing any trouble!" She sneered. "You think that I enjoy not talking to any cat? To stay in that mouse-brained den all day? I could be a warrior--leaping, hunting. That could be me out there right now," She hissed.

Smoketail said, "You have a mate. You shouldn't be fooling around with other toms," He accused.

"Well, sure I have a mate, but he never talks to me," She said. "Say, what happened to Emberglow's tail?"

There was an embarrassed silence. Halfkit padded at the soft rock.

"It...it got caught in a vent!" He squeaked.

"Rat dung!" She laughed. "A vent, huh? What about those bite marks?"

The three toms stayed silent. She scowled. "Alright, cover him up. Fine. I don't care--I could've been a warrior like the other she-cats out there...playing Nightly Leaps. Sunstar said that when I would become a great warrior. He said that when I was just a kit...and I believed him. Rat dung!"

Raincloud huffed and lashed her tail, ultimately whipping around and running down the hall. Smoketail looked at a dazed Halfkit and picked him up by the scruff, walking out. "Nice to see you, young Fallowpaw," He meowed before walking down the hall.

And just like that, the apprentice was alone once more. He sighed and quietly padded to the door, closing it nearly all the way. He slowly walked over to his nest in the corner, and slowly fell into the comfort of the night.