"Dewpaw! Pantherpaw! Dewpaw! Pantherpaw!" The cats milled around the two new apprentices, loud purrs sounding in the warm air. Lightpaw hung back slightly, feeling awkward. He wished he had the courage to speak with the pretty she-cat, but every time he approached her he got too nervous and backed out.

This time, however, she approached him. Her fur glowed in the sunhigh light and her tail was up and waving cheerfully as she padded over. His tongue felt like stone in his mouth as she blinked at him. "No congratulations for a friend?" she asked with a halfhearted purr.

"Oh—" he stammered. "Congratulations on becoming an apprentice. I, uh, hope we can train together." She purred. "I'm so glad that Rockrunner is my mentor. He seems so helpful and precise! Have you been learning a lot from Whisperstone as well?" The carelessly said words seemed to imply a deeper meaning, and Lightpaw caught her eye and jerked his head towards the bushes.

Dewpaw followed him, her tail flicking in anticipation. "Do you really believe he's trying to kill Plainfoot?" she breathed, eyes fixed hungrily on the older tom. Lightpaw hesitated, but all his fear had melted away and what was left urged him to tell everything to Dewpaw.

"Yes," he began. "We were going on patrol and he—instead of marking the border like we were supposed to, Whisperstone started practicing battle moves on a tree!" Dewpaw stifled a giggle. Lightpaw swung his head toward her and spluttered, "It's not funny! He kept on growling under his breath and muttering about how he was going to become deputy and kill Plainfoot."

Dewpaw nodded. "I'm sorry," she murmured quietly. He ducked his head, accepting her apology, but straightened up quickly as Morninglily walked by, casting a stern eye over the two. "Dewpaw, Rockrunner has been looking for you." Her voice carried an icy tone and when Lightpaw met her gaze, it was cold and unfeeling. "Lightpaw, Whisperstone wants you to go out on patrol with him," she added.

With a final flick of her ears, she padded off, disappearing into the warriors' den. "Who made dirt in her nest?" laughed Dewpaw. "C'mon, we better go." Lightpaw purred, but chilled by the older she-cat's glare he didn't enjoy the company of Dewpaw nearly as much as he usually did.

They quickly reached their mentors, who were standing together. Rockrunner looked relaxed and calm—Dewpaw was his third apprentice, so her energy wouldn't be hard for him to handle—while Whisperstone was standing rigid and ruffled by the smoky gray tom. "Where have you been?" growled Whisperstone, piercing green eyes fixed on the young tom's face. Rockrunner laid his tail across Whisperstone's shoulders. "Ah, lay off," remarked the other tom. "They're young—let them have a bit of fun."

Whisperstone shrugged Rockrunner's tail off with a grimace, and frowned at them. "No matter," he sighed. "We're going to do a double training session with Pantherpaw and Quickrise."

Lightpaw exchanged a delighted look with Dewpaw. Not even his fear of Whisperstone would get in the way of him having fun! Quickrise and Rockrunner wouldn't let anything happen.

They met up with Pantherpaw at the entrance of camp. "Quickrise is on patrol," explained the younger she-cat. "Oh, and Pebblestar wants to see you in his den," she added to Rockrunner. "Something about a fox in the territory? He wants his senior warriors." The gray tom nodded and blinked at Whisperstone. "Can you handle all three of them?" he purred.

Whisperstone wrapped his tail around Lightpaw with a raspy purr. "Of course!" he grinned. "Don't worry about them. I'll give them a quick lesson on bird-stalking and then we can try it at the Oak."

"Be careful," replied Rockrunner. With that, he turned and headed up the slope to Pebblestar's den.

***

"Okay," Whisperstone snapped. "Got it?" The three apprentices nodded. They had just had a session with Whisperstone and were now at the Oak. They had been told to hunt for a while, and Lightpaw's mentor would keep an eye on their stalking.

The three headed in different directions, Lightpaw's keen nose almost immediately picking out a bird. He slipped toward it, keeping his paws light and soft on the bare earth. A twig suddenly snapped in the distance and he cursed inwardly as the bird, alerted, flew off with a loud alarm call.

Curious, Lightpaw slunk over to where he had heard the twig snap when he saw a white pelt swerving sneakily through the trees. He recognized Whisperstone instantly and swallowed a surge of terror. Pushing all doubts away, he began to follow the sly tom.

What is he doing?

written by leopard :)