In a hollow encircled by stone walls, among the shadows of early dawn, two cats sat together.

   The two new warriors, Lichennose and Bramblefoot, had been holding their silent vigil after earning full names the former day. Bramblefoot was huddled up a tail-length from his brother, while Lichennose shivered at the slight chill, smelling rain in the air.

   A few silent moments later, a snow-colored shape slid from the Leader's Den and started towards them. Bramblefoot seemed ready to stand, but knew he couldn't until the leader relieved him of the vigil.

   "Lichennose, Bramblefoot. You may go rest." Berrystar murmured, his fur still messy from sleep. He whisked his tail as the brown tabby leapt up, limping away towards the Warriors' Den, his mangled forepaw stiff from sitting all night and slowing him down.

   Lichennose glanced at Berrystar, then hurried after his brother.

   The two pushed into the Warriors' Den, Bramblefoot finding a nest and collapsing in exhaustion. His paler brother flicked an ear, then found his own and curled up, tucking his tail tip under his chin.

   "I promise you all that it'll rain." he mumbled, the tang of a storm still on his tongue.

   "Right. Like you can control the weather." Bumblebee spat flatly, before drifting back into slumber. Her chubby frame rose and fell in a rhythmic way as the warrior tried to go back to sleep.

   "StarClan's name, my nest is damper than a fish's back!" the she-cat retorted, twisting around in her moss. "That's because it'll rain." Lichennose mumbled. That seemed to hush her up, the other cat huffing in annoyance.

   "Bumblebee, your like an elder..." Bramblefoot called from his nest, then passed out quietly.

   I wonder when it'll storm... Lichennose questioned in his head, sweeping his tail around his side as the sun began to peek over the horizon outside the den. He yawned, before ducking his head and falling asleep.

- – = + = – -

   A sharp jab in Lichennose's shoulder awoke him.

   "What is it?" he murmured, looking at whoever had prodded him. It was Asterfoot, looking at him with glistening eyes.

   "Come on, we're going on a Hunting Patrol."

   Lichennose muttered something then stood and followed him out of the den. Bramblefoot wasn't in his nest nor in camp. Probably down by the lake, the pale tabby assumed.

   "It's your first patrol as a warrior, isn't it?" Asterfoot questioned, waving his tail as they approached the rest of the cats who would go with them. Ashcloud, Sorrelclaw, and Elmpaw.

   Lichennose nodded, excitement suddenly tingling in his paws.

    "Let's go!" Elmpaw pleaded, her tail lashing. Sorrelclaw seemed as happy as the apprentice, her hazel eyes gleaming.

   "We'll be stopping by the abandoned twoleg-nest, then be hunting near our border with WindClan." Asterfoot stated calmly, leading the patrol out into the forest. Lichennose smiled at the ferns and plantlife as they padded along the path leading to the nest.

   A few minutes later, they arrived.

   The destroyed twoleg-nest was eerie and dark, it's wooden walls rotted away in most places. A large, tall cavity was cut from the front, with a slack of wood hanging off—it seemed like the slightest breeze would make it collapse. How could Willowwhisker and Cloudpaw come so often for herbs?

   "This place stinks of loners! Their going to steal our prey!" Ashcloud exclaimed, hissing at the abandoned structure. He was right, Lichennose could also smell the scents of many strange cats.

   "Ashcloud, this is a hunting patrol. Let the border patrols deal with unwanted visitors, we can inform Berrystar of it later." Asterfoot replied calmly, his ear flicking in annoyance. Ashcloud always seemed willing for a battle.

   The gray tom grumbled an angry retort, though his voice was too quiet to be heard. Ashcloud returned to the patrol, growling to himself. Asterfoot rolled his eyes and continued on.

   The patrol padded along the edge of ThunderClan territory. Lichennose peered into the dark woodland across the border—no Clans lived there, it was open land, but his paws still itched to explore it.

   Eventually, they came to the Moonpool stream, and followed it down to the open part of the forest which was mainly just a field of grass, meeting the WindClan border. The silhouette of a warrior on the high moorland made Lichennose shudder, they were being watched.

   "Elmpaw, you go with Ashcloud to the stream. Me and Sorrelclaw will cover the edge of the forest, and Lichennose can hunt in the grass. We'll meet up near the abandoned twoleg-nest again at sunset." Asterfoot addressed each cat with a flick of his tail. Excitement bubbled deep inside of Lichennose—he'd be hunting by himself for the first time!

   Elmpaw and Ashcloud immediately hurried down to the riverbed. Sorrelclaw and Asterfoot padded back towards the trees, leaving Lichennose in the field. He purred, trotting towards a bramble bush and sniffing around it; Surely prey was hiding in the shade.

   Though, to Lichennose's disappointment, the only thing he found were the stems of the brambles and some stray leaves.

   Shuffling towards a cluster of ferns, he pushed his pink nose through the fronds. The scent of vole tainted the leaves, but it was clear the creature was long-gone by now.

   Lichennose huffed and continued to the next tussock of plants, a cluster of thorns. StarClan's name, I can't imagine getting caught in that, he thought, waving his tail and padding past the growth.

   The pale brown tabby paused, a flicker of movement catching his gaze. Lichennose looked towards the spot, finding Elmpaw and Ashcloud watching a swarm of minnows as the large apprentice kept them trapped against the muddy riverbed. Ashcloud was picking them off one-by-one, Elmpaw hissing about how slow he was.

   Lichennose watched them for a few more moments, before leaving the two and trotting over to a large boulder atop a low hill. He sniffed the rock's edges, mouse scent drenching it. The thought of sinking his claws into the prey made his mouth water.

   After a minute of inspecting the cracks, a small creature darted out and fled for the trees. A mouse! Lichennose, reacting quickly, leapt over the rock and sped after it, tearing up grass in his wake.

   Leaping for the mouse, he caught one of it's hind legs with his claws and dragged it closer. He then ducked his head, sinking his teeth into it's soft, warm flesh. Blood welled and tasted metallic on his tongue, before the mouse went limp in his grasp.

   Rearing his head triumphantly, Lichennose stared at his catch. Sure, it was tiny, but prey was prey, even if he himself preferred robins over mice.

   Picking up the mouse, Lichennose turned and hurried back to Elmpaw and Ashcloud.

   The two were sitting grumpily by the river, the minnows they'd been hunting gone. "What happened?" Lichennose asked, voice muffled by the prey in his mouth.

   "Elmpaw let them go!" Ashcloud spat, glaring at the apprentice. "Only because you were taking so long!" Elmpaw retorted, tail lashing and fur bristling. Lichennose could nearly see the rising tension.

He dropped his catch, "Don't fight." he muttered. Ashcloud and Elmpaw both glared at one another, then stood and trotted separate ways. Lichennose rolled his eyes and picked up his mouse again.

   The pale tabby padded back towards the boulder where he'd caught it. He hopped onto it, sitting and dropping the prey at his paws, before looking up at the sky.

The sun was starting to dip under the distant horizon, sending red and pink streaks through the sky, a brilliant orange blanketing the edges. Sundown, better hurry back to meet the others. Lichennose purred, imagining their faces when they saw his mouse. The young warrior grabbed his catch and ran off into the trees.

   He dodged oaks, skidding around a birch and leaping a fallen ash. Gripping the mouse tighter in his jaws, Lichennose slid to a halt as he reached the abandoned twoleg-nest.

   Asterfoot and Sorrelclaw were already there, the tortoiseshell having an elderly crow at her paws. Lichennose padded to them, showing off his mouse.

"It's a nice catch." Asterfoot nodded. Sorrelclaw smiled at the younger warrior, showing her agreement silently.

   A few silent minutes later, the brush shuddered, Elmpaw and Ashcloud shoving through the ferns and padding towards them. Elmpaw had a fat squirrel held in her mouth, while Ashcloud looked grumpy, without a catch.

"I didn't catch anything." he snarled, glaring at the others. "That's because you were too busy yowling at that bee hive to even notice anything!" Elmpaw snorted with laugher, voice hard to make out through the squirrel's thick fur.

"Come on. The sun's going down, we need to get back to camp. It smells like rain." Asterfoot muttered, standing and starting down the dirt path leading back to camp. Sorrelclaw and Elmpaw ran after him, Ashcloud storming close behind. Lichennose snatched up his mouse and hurried after.

Finally, someone thinks it'll storm! Lichennose thought, as the patrol continued down the path. They made their way to camp without speaking.

When they arrived, Asterfoot trotted towards the Leader's Den to inform Berrystar of the loner scents. Ashcloud and Sorrelclaw padded to their own den, the tortoiseshell dropping her prey on the pile on the way. Elmpaw set her squirrel in the pile as well, before sitting near her den and watching it, eagerly awaiting a cat to take it.

Lichennose looked around the camp, pausing near the entrance. Willowwhisker and Cloudpaw were sitting at their den, sorting herbs even with the apprentice crushing berries as she tried to move them. Willowwhisker looked annoyed, but was clearly trying to hide it.

   Other warriors and apprentices were littered around camp, going on with their evening. Fennelwhisker watched her kits scuffle with a large oak twig, Sedgepaw and Nettlepaw tussling by the Elders' Den. Sedgepaw seemed to be winning, as always—the two play-fought every day, and the black she-cat hadn't ever lost.

Spotting his brother chatting with Quailflight, Lichennose paced towards them.

   "Bramblefoot! We smelled loners, and I caught a mouse!" he exclaimed, tail waving happily. Bramblefoot looked at him, ears perking. "Yes, yes, that's excellent." he mumbled, then continued talking with Quailflight.

   Lichennose felt a spark of disappointment, but pushed it down after a moment, trotting past him and leaping up onto a sun-warmed rock. He rolled over, getting comfortable then watching the camp. The air was still damp with the promise of rain.

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Aha here it is! Hope you all enjoy! I plan to have a question for each chapter, to keep the story interactive.

QUESTION OF THE CHAPTER - Who's your favorite character so far?