Their return to camp just as the sun set behind the moorland hills went mostly unnoticed, save for Wishberry giving them odd looks as she stalked past them into her den.

Jaguarpaw made a beeline for the fresh-kill pile, hungrily snatching up a squirrel to eat. Crimsonpaw followed more slowly, favouring her left forepaw which had somehow been hurt at one point during her mad rush through twolegplace. She settled down next to the golden tom and took a bite from his squirrel. He stifled a low growl of annoyance but let her share with him.

"Crimsonpaw!" Bouncepaw yowled from across the clearing, trotting up to them. His wings flailed above him and he wobbled slighlty as he came to a stop. It seemed he was still getting used to the new wings on his back. "Where did you go? I was looking everywhere for you!"

"Oh." Crimsonpaw blinked in surprise. She hadn't realised Bouncepaw would actually care to look for her. "Uh, we were just out hunting."

"Where? I searched the whole territory.." Bouncepaw suddenly leaned down and sniffed her pelt. He reeled back with a gasp. "Twolegplace?!" He whisper-yelled. "Are you kidding me? You could get banished for this!"

"Really?" Crimsonpaw gulped and glanced at Jaguarpaw, who shrugged nonchalantly.

"I should tell Frozenstar." At those words, Crimsonpaw leapt to her paws and prepared to argue with her brother, but he quickly added. "But I won't."

"Phew." Crimsonpaw sighed in relief and lay back down.

Bouncepaw chuckled and glanced behind his shoulder to see Falconpaw and Flarepaw emerge from the apprentices den. Pinepaw strolled out after them as they headed to the fresh-kill pile. Crimsonpaw looked around for Pebblepaw and his siblings, but they were nowhere to be found. Good.

She was suddenly encircled by Falconpaw's warmth. The black and blue tom had his paws around her, his head resting atop hers. "Crimsonpaw, you're back. Where were you?" Crimsonpaw sat there awkwardly, not sure how to react to the strange and sudden affection.

"They were in twolegplace." Bouncepaw whispered excitedly.

"What?!" Falconpaw released her from the hug and turned her around to face him. "Twolegplace?" He hissed, turning his gaze to glare at Jaguarpaw accusingly.

Jaguarpaw shrugged, but didn't meet the other tom's gaze. "We did some exploring in twolegplace. Problem?"

"Twolegplace is forbidden!" Falconpaw growled at Jaguarpaw. "But I wouldn't expect a former rogue like yourself to understand."

Crimsonpaw felt her tail lash in spite. "Falconpaw!" She snarled. "Shut up!"

Falconpaw paused and looked back at her, his blue eyes softening by a fraction. "What?"

"Do not insult my friend." Crimsonpaw growled.

Her brother narrowed his eyes at Jaguarpaw before turning back to her. "I'm only looking out for you. There's no need to get defensive."

"I'm an apprentice now, I don't need you to look after me all the time." Crimsonpaw hated that she was always viewed as the runt who couldn't handle herself. Why couldn't they just leave her alone?

Flarepaw tugged on Falconpaw's tail. "Come on, do as she says. Leave her alone." The golden she cat flashed Crimsonpaw a soft grin. "It won't be long before she realises her mistake and comes wailing back to us."

Falconpaw let out a soft sigh and allowed Flarepaw to drag him away to the other end of the clearing. Bouncepaw trotted after them, his wings flailing clumsily as he tried to fly there. Pinepaw had disappeared back into the den to sleep.

Crimsonpaw rested her head on her paws with a tired sigh. She tensed as she felt Jaguarpaw lean closer to her, but eventually embraced his warmth and let her body relax against his, closing her eyes.

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Bright light shone in her eyes and Crimsonpaw peeled open her amber eyes to see the early morning sun glaring down at her. She lifted her head, blinking away the sleep from her eyes, to see Jaguarpaw was still asleep beside her. The half-eaten remains of the squirrel still lay before them. She turned back to the sun- it was past dawn. The main clearing was oddly quiet, however. She guessed the dawn patrol had left already and everyone else was still asleep.

Frozenstar's appearance from the leader's den made Crimsonpaw's body go rigid. Especially when the white and grey dappled she cat turned her ice blue eyes to her. She stared up at her mentor as she strolled across the clearing to her.

"Crimsonpaw, I want you to do some more solo hunting today." The leader meowed.

Crimsonpaw sat up, stretched and looked back up at her leader with pleading eyes. She dared to ask. "When will we do some more battle training?"

"When I think you're ready for it." Frozenstar snapped, her eyes narrowing further. "Now off you go. I want you to bring back at least something this time."

Crimsonpaw growled faintly and stood up, stomping out of camp. Her fur was still a mess from sleep, but she would sort that out later. All she wanted to do at that moment in time was get away from her mentor. Then she'd deal with everything else.

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It was a cool windy day. Perfect weather for sitting on the top of a tall hill overlooking Flameclan and Magiclan's vast moorland and beyond. Crimsonpaw breathed in the scents of her territory, her amber eyes searching the misty mountains far in the distance. She wondered if she would ever explore those mountains. Maybe once she got her wings she could.

In the far distance, she caught sight of a dot of a feline striding through the tall grass. She pricked her ears and watched the cat. They looked small, like a kit, their fur dark and blending with the shadows. She wondered who the cat was, where he was going, why he was alone.

With a sigh, she turned, sniffing the air for prey with a sigh. But as she took her second step, pain erupted in her back and she collapsed on the ground. She felt rippling under her skin and her whole body went stiff as she realised what was happening.

"My wings!" She choked back a gasp of fear as the pain grew worse and she seized up on the ground.

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