When two people know each other, you can see that they start to mimic each other. They'll copy or do things the same way as the other person normally does. Maybe they start talking like each other or perhaps they end up switching their roles - for example, one's usually wild, rambunctious, and jubilant and the other's calm, collective, and analytical, and suddenly, they start acting like the other person. Those kind of bonds are rare and worth more than what money can buy. I think if we find someone like that, that means someone's truly gotten to know you and enjoys your company. Whatever the case is, the two friends or maybe lovers have a deep bond that affects both of them.

Now, there's something that kinda comes with friendship. Once you get to know someone better and you start to become best friends, I bet we're able to tell what the other person will do, given a scenario. Then, a person can use that knowledge and help each other out, being one step ahead of their partner or friend. That hidden bond, having a gut feeling inside you that's hard to explain and the only real way to understand it is to experience yourself, it's a beautiful thing, showing the bond between two people. 

Those types of bonds can be the very thing that keeps your bond together, it's a symbol of your friendship, but can it be used if someone is trying to save the other person?

X X X

Summoning the strength in her back legs, Mothpaw threw the older apprentice off her and scrambled back up, quick to keep an eye on Runningpaw. The brown apprentice tumbled off and caught himself, giving her a warm smile. Around them, their mentors watched silently while Olivepaw and Beechpaw were dancing on their toes. She swallowed the nerves down her throat and prepared herself for the next attack. He leaned down, jumping into the air and crashed onto her. Back pressed against the ground, she quickly slipped under him, avoiding his paws as he attempted to catch her. Wiggling out, she jerked around as fast as she could, and smashed her front paws down. He was faster and dodged the blow, making her hit the ground that sent a shock of pain up her legs.

Stunned, Mothpaw watched Runningpaw leap away, making distance between the two. She jerked her front paws, returning the feel into them. Across from her, the brown apprentice was in a defensive stance, ready for her attack. Frowning, she got in a defensive stance as well, deciding to wait for him to attack. 

"You've gotten better," Runningpaw said, surprising her. Mothpaw kept herself low, bunching up energy to spring forward. "I don't think there's a need to battle anymore."

"Why's that?" she asked, tail steadying. "We can't do anything until our mentors say we're done."

"Rabbitbranch, are we allowed to leave?" Runningpaw casually asked the question. His mentor looked startled, and he shook his head, prompting the two apprentices to continue. The brown apprentice sighed, lowering his ears and dragging his paws forward. Mothpaw sprang, locking her paws around his neck, attaching herself onto him as he stumbled. She heard Olivepaw and Beechpaw let out a cheer.

Unable to see, Runningpaw began to stomp around to loosen her grip. Mothpaw held on tight, her back legs wobbling in an attempt to stay up as they romped around. She held her claws back and gritted her teeth to keep her grip. Finally, the older apprentice reared up on his back legs, dragging her up. Her grip faltered, and she was exposed for a few seconds. Seeing the opportunity, she felt two paws slam onto her shoulders, pushing her into the ground.

As she struggled, Runningpaw positioned himself over her, locking her limbs in place, making it impossible for her to free herself. Mothpaw growled, falling limp in her defeat. Noticing the change, the apprentice got off of her. That's when she shot up, her paw smashing into the side of his face. He took a few steps back, rubbing his face with his paw. She stood in front of him, spiking her fur out. 

"Alright, we get it," Sparrowblaze interrupted, making Mothpaw lose her concentration. She glanced at her mentor as he padded forward, Rabbitbranch heading for Runningpaw. The two apprentices shared a look and nodded to each other before heading off separately with their mentors. 

"Okay! Time for your battle, break it up! Break it up!" Speckleflash barreled through Olivepaw's and Beechpaw's conversation, retrieving a scowl from her apprentice. The black she-cat shook her fur out, pushing aside the sudden intrusion. The cream she-cat stood in the center of the field, flicking her tail side to side at the two apprentices. Both cats scrambled over and faced each other, crouching low to attack.

Every day, Mothpaw found it hard to believe that her brother would end up with Olivepaw as a future mate. Each kit learned the truth sooner or later, and now that Honeypaw was gone, she found it sickening that she would have to become mates with Runningpaw. Unless she wanted one of Tigerfrost's kits, but those three were too wild for her to handle. There was some kind of salvation for her and Beechpaw: Flintpaw and Finchpaw. Forcing something on them when they just arrived wasn't right, either.

I want this over with, she thought. There's no way I'm letting my best friend have my brother's kits. Not that I fear for him, I feel sorry for her. Mothpaw sighed and Sparrowblaze rested a paw on her shoulder, forcing her to face him. She stared at him, looking into his warm, amber eyes. Her mentor hesitated.

"Like what Runningpaw said, you are getting better, I'm proud of you," he said, a sense of pride and happiness flying through Mothpaw, making her paws light. "As a mentor, I have to tell you this, even if you might find it uncomfortable."

"What? Is it when I get older?" asked Mothpaw, fearing she already knew the topic.

"Your future mate," he answered, shooting down the happiness he gave her earlier. Ears dropping, Mothpaw hung her head as she listened. 

"As you already know, you're going to be caught like every other she-cat. I know it's unfair, but we have to do what we can to survive. I know that Ashstar and I are thinking the same thing when it comes to the apprentices. Your brother will either be Olivepaw's or Finchpaw's mate, or maybe even Leopardkit's - but the other two are more likable. Olivepaw has Beechpaw or Flintpaw, Runningpaw has you or Finchpaw, and you, you should know this by now, but either Runningpaw or Flintpaw. I'm not positive, and I don't know your thoughts on the matter completely, but I have a feeling you'll end up with Runningpaw."

But I don't feel anything toward him; I only think of him as a friend, she thought, narrowing her eyes at the apprentice. His back was turned and he was sitting up too straight as he listened to Rabbitbranch. Mothpaw returned her gaze to the grass beneath her paws, knowing her friend was getting the same speech.

"If you don't choose one of them, Ashstar may pair you up with Firekit or Icekit when they get old enough, and I don't want you to mate with anyone you hardly know," Sparrowblaze claimed.

Why couldn't you just tell me I'm going to be mates with Runningpaw? Is it that hard to say?

"I'll... I'll figure out why the cats are going missing so we don't have to worry," she said, sitting up taller. "That way I can decide whether or not I really want to be his mate. I don't want to see any of my friends or Tigerfrost's kits forced into a relation without their consent." Sparrowblaze gave her a grim smile, nodding in understanding. Mothpaw saw the unspoken words in his eyes. Frustrated, she turned around after getting dismissed by him and went over to the field to watch her brother and friend duel. 

Mothpaw jumped a few inches when Runningpaw sat beside her, purposely avoiding her gaze. She questioned why he sat next to her if he avoided her like this. His ears were pinned to his forehead, and Rabbitbranch was fuming to herself. When Sparrowblaze approached him, the tom motioned them a few feet away from the two of them. Her mentor followed and the brown tabby let out his rant. The mentor and apprentice had gotten into another fight, the silver she-cat sighed, relaxing her shoulders. 

"Did he talk to you about becoming warriors?" Runningpaw asked, his words short and sharp. 

Mothpaw blinked. "Yeah, he did," she mumbled, rubbing her paw against her leg. "Does it bother you?"

"Let's get one thing down, I don't have any plans on becoming Finchpaw's or your mate," he growled, locking eyes with her. Mothpaw swallowed, nodding her head in agreement. 

"Yes," she stated. "I only see you as a friend. It's stupid that we're paired up already. They should make us wait, right?"

"Did you not know this?" Runningpaw asked, raising an eye. "Or are you just agreeing with everything I'm saying."

"It'll calm you down," she countered. He sighed, throwing his head on the ground, resting his chin on the ground. Mothpaw lowered herself to the ground as well, staring at him. Runningpaw turned his head away, whipping her with his striped tail. She backed away, huffing and angrily turned her head to her left. 

Mousebrain, she thought.

"Olivepaw, stop strangling him, you won!" Lionfur barked, shoving the black-furred she-cat off. Beechpaw gasped for air, rolling onto his paws and coughed into the ground with the golden warrior standing over him with a worried look. Speckleflash gave Olivepaw a look before darting over to her apprentice, pushing away the senior warrior and shoved herself in her brother's face. He pushed her back, coughing one last time before panting heavily. 

"Is that it for today's training? How'd we do?" Olivepaw asked Sparrowblaze and Rabbitbranch. 

Sparrowblaze replied, "All of you are making progress, we are all proud of that." One by one, their mentors came over and dipped their heads to congratulate the apprentices. Mothpaw locked eyes with her mentor and smiled, hearing him purr like thunder. It was nice that there was one cat in the Clan other than her friends that watched her progress and congratulated her when she did something right. 

"Come on," Beechpaw said, breaking away from Speckleflash. Getting up, she trotted behind her mentor as they went back toward MeadowClan camp. Sleekfeather would be waiting for their return, but the silver apprentice knew she kept an eye out for Ashstar's return. Ever since the group that left with the two apprentices, the deputy had made sure each cat was in their place, not letting her eyes off of them. Like there was a flock of hawks above them, under the sharp-eyed she-cat, Mothpaw felt safe. 

"Psst!" A voice hissed from behind a clump of grass. The apprentices stopped, their mentors heading forward, apparently they didn't hear the voice. Mothpaw already knew the warrior the voice belonged to before she spotted the friendly, green eyes. She was up to no good and knowing the impish nature, the warrior had a plan.

"Huh? Is that you, Deerleaf?" Olivepaw asked, poking her nose in the grass, pulling out the spotted warrior with her. The three apprentices huddled around the warrior as Swiftbranch came out, followed by Honeypaw's old mentor, Frostlight. The she-cat smirked, waving her tail at them, pointing toward CinderClan's direction. Runningpaw and Beechpaw's faces lit up at the thrill of adventure. Olivepaw and Mothpaw's jaws dropped, dread flooding into their stomachs.

Beechpaw! Mothpaw whirled around to face her brother. "Do you not remember the last time we snuck out?! Echoflight was killed! Do you want to risk any of our deaths?!"

"This time I'll be strong enough to protect you," Beechpaw urged. "Think, Mothpaw. If we go to the place Swanflame's at, maybe we'll find Gorsekit or Mallowkit."

So they do exist, Mothpaw thought, the air around her suddenly became colder. "Our mentors---"

"Don't worry, if we leave now, we'll get them to follow us," Deerleaf explained, stepping between brother and sister. "That way, not only will we get four apprentices to follow us, but we'll get the mentors as well." Her eyes sparkled with mischief and danger Mothpaw thought the small warrior was possessed by something. The spell she cast worked on her brother and Runningpaw, but it scared her more than attracted her. 

The scene of scarlet blood leaking out of the fox's jaws, coating the silver pelt of Echoflight ran through her mind like a flowing stream. She shuddered, not wanting to think of Beechpaw, Runningpaw, Olivepaw, Deerleaf, or any of the cats going with the she-cat floating in a pool of their own blood.

"If you're worried about a punishment," Swiftbranch urged, catching their attention. "Remember, Deerleaf and Ashstar have some strange father-daughter bond that can stretch up to knowing what the other cat is thinking. If Deerleaf has an idea or plan, then her father is bound to know there's a chance she'll follow through with it." The tom and she-cat gave one another a warm smile. Mothpaw stumbled back, nearly collapsing. 

The white pelt of Swiftbranch. Deerleaf's two kits left at the Moon Tree. Mothpaw didn't want to believe she was staring at the parents of the two unnamed kits. Did the white warrior know about the kits? Or was the secret hidden? 

Ask the question later, ask it later, she told herself, hoping the others around her would come to the same conclusion. 

"Will you come with us to the place my father went to?" Deerleaf asked the obvious question. "We don't have much time to escape, we have to hurry if this is ever going to work."

"I..."

"I'm in!" Both toms shouted, raising their tails in the air, the light in their eyes as bright as the sun in greenleaf. Just by standing next to them, Mothpaw could sense their excitement radiating from their bodies, wrapping the invisible roots around her and Olivepaw. The apprentice flickered her ear, shooing away the bands, but eventually caved in when her brother leaned on her, practically throwing himself on her. She tossed him aside and shook out her pelt.

"The moment I think something's wrong, I'm out," she declared. Olivepaw looked at Mothpaw expectantly, the rest of the cats lingered around her, waiting for her choice. She swallowed, wishing that she was anywhere but here. 

I... Beechpaw's my only family left, but if he's overwhelmed over there... Do I have enough strength to defend him? Protect him? Mothpaw looked at her paws, taking in a deep breath, closing her eyes to block out the world. 

I've always been weaker, I know that as a fact. I just don't want to go down without a fight... I wanted to solve the missing cat problem... Is this the only chance I'm going to get? The MeadowClan cats around her were getting impatient, Deerleaf and Swiftbranch would perk their heads up for incoming cats, eyes wide and ears open. Frostlight lowered himself to the ground to hide his bright, white pelt in the field of dull, green grass. Mothpaw gulped, fidgeting in her paws while the dread continued to eat away her stomach.

Should I do this? Can I have one glance in the future and see what will happen? 

No, she thought, fluttering her eyes open. I... I'm an apprentice of MeadowClan. I shouldn't need a cat on my shoulder to tell me what to do... That's what Echoflight would tell me, I think.

"I'll go," she whispered, releasing the dread in her stomach outside, her lungs finally opening up, allowing her to breathe fresh air once again. Mothpaw felt Beechpaw's warm smile embrace her, something she loved about him. A smile that could give her warmth in a blizzard, cold daggers slicing her pelt and tossing her like a leaf in wind. 

But that same smile could fall to the cold winds and bury him in the thick snow, just as easily and quickly as it could do to her.