Edited ✔️
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Snowdrift had been arranged for a dawn hunting patrol by the abandoned twoleg nest with Oaktail, Lilystripe, and Tortoisefoot with his apprentice Slopepaw accompanying him. The young blue-gray tom had maintained a good behavior, leaving Tortoisefoot with a smug satisfaction. Suddenly, Snowdrift spotted a mouse scurrying amongst leaf ridden snow out of the corner of his eye, and he leaned towards Slopepaw, averting the apprentice's attention.

"Slopepaw," Snowdrift whispered, flicking his white tail across Slopepaw's ears as he began to drift away from the warrior. Slopepaw darted back alongside Snowdrift, his lip curled in a mild sign of frustration. "Look, try and catch that mouse." Snowdrift ordered, his blue eyes remaining calm. Slopepaw followed Snowdrift's gaze, discovering the mouse for himself. His eyes brightened, and he gave an eager nod. The apprentice licked his lips, and lowered into a crouch, stalking forward with the skill of a warrior.

Snowdrift watched as Slopepaw carefully let his tail rise from the ground, placing his paws delicately against the snow which let nearly inaudible crunches pervade through the crisp air. The patrol had stopped to watch the apprentice's hunt as he slipped through the undergrowth, an eagerness shown in his rapidly twitching ears.

Tortoisefoot padded up to stand beside Snowdrift, wearing a scowl. "You're not his mentor." He hissed into Snowdrift's ears, scorn filling his mew. "I am!"

Snowdrift dismissed the dark brown tom with a flick of an ear, intent on watching Slopepaw in his hunt. Tortoisefoot huffed and gave up, stalking away from Snowdrift with frustration evident in his prickling fur. Slopepaw neared pouncing distance, and he fell still, wriggling his haunches as he prepared to dispatch the mouse as a small breeze ruffled his fur. Before he could do so, however, the mouse perked up, it's beady eyes darting towards the apprentice. Before the tom could react, it had scampered away into the undergrowth, its skinny tail vanishing into the cluster of bushes.

Slopepaw let an outraged yowl escape his lips, and forgetting entirely about the rest of the patrol, he pounded after the rodent, crashing into the undergrowth and sending the remaining leaves fluttering to the snow covered earth. Tortoisefoot snarled furiously, and without a moment to lose he charged after his apprentice. Exchanging a glance with Lilystripe and Oaktail, Snowdrift raced after the two, his tail rushing out behind him.

Following the mingled scent trail of Tortoisefoot and Slopepaw, finding where they were was an easy task. The apprentice and his mentor had finally halted, and pulling to a stop with the rest of the patrol on his heels, Snowdrift pricked his ears, his sides heaving as he rasped in large gulps of air, his breath billowing from his mouth in small puffs of white air.

"What in the name of StarClan was that?" Tortoisefoot snapped, his eyes narrowed to amber slits.

Slopepaw ignorantly swiped a paw across his muzzle, his eyes glinting in irritation. "I'm sorry." He muttered, swiping his tail against the snow laden ground as he averted Tortoisefoot's scorching gaze. Tortoisefoot scowled, and cuffed the apprentice over the ear. Slopepaw's ears flattened as he was forced to direct his gaze to lock with his mentor's. Tortoisefoot leveled himself to keep his eyes firmly locked on Slopepaw's, and the apprentice fidgeted under the cold flames.

"Next time, you have to be downwind of the prey." Tortoisefoot hissed, a small spray of spit splattering across Slopepaw's face. Slopepaw flinched a little, and the fury ignited in Tortoisefoot's eyes only increased. "Get back to camp. You'll need to speak to Pebblestar about your failure."

Slopepaw's eyes rounded in terror. "Tortoisefoot, no!" He exclaimed, his fur bursting onto its end. "Please, I'll — "

Tortoisefoot whipped his tail across Slopepaw's muzzle, and he recoiled with a muffled yelp. "No objections. I'm your mentor, and you have to listen to me."

Snowdrift furrowed his brow. "Now hold on," he began, barging his way between Tortoisefoot and Slopepaw, squaring his shoulders as a glare found its way through his blue eyes. "Give Slopepaw a chance! His hunter's crouch was excellent, better than yours, Tortoisefoot, and he's only an apprentice. Everybody makes silly mistakes just as he did, and he deserves no punishment for being unable to catch that mouse." Snowdrift's eyes flashed with a challenge. "And we haven't even fully started the patrol yet."

Tortoisefoot's lip peeled back. The two toms stood there, staring each other down for moments that lasted for what felt like forever. Slopepaw watched with fear as the silence dragged on, until finally, Tortoisefoot's growl broke through the still air.

"Fine."

Snowdrift let out a small trill of triumph, his tail curling into an arch over his back. Lilystripe whispered something inaudible to Oaktail, and the tabby gave a nod with a small frown at Snowdrift. Slopepaw padded towards the white warrior, and rearranged himself back into the patrol as they prepared to set off back in the direction of the abandoned twoleg nest.

"Thank you." Slopepaw murmured, his eyes momentarily meeting with Snowdrift's before darting away. Snowdrift inclined his head in a nod, and the five cats set off, Snowdrift taking up the rear.

Oaktail fell back, falling into step alongside Snowdrift. "You're acting like leader all of a sudden." He droned, his eyes searching along Snowdrift's gaze with a dark glint in their yellow depths.

Snowdrift felt a surge of defense, and he parted his mouth to make a retort, but Oaktail beat him to it. "We have one leader in this clan, and intentions to become leader following Pebblestar's reign is treason, so long as you're not deputy." Poison slithered from Oaktail's mew, and an involuntary shiver pierced through Snowdrift's spine.

"I was only stating my opinion," Snowdrift declared boldly. "I have no wishes to become future leader, just the best warrior I can be." His heart skipped a few beats at Oaktail's mention of treason, for the punishments were severe. I swear to StarClan, if he says I've been disobedient to Pebblestar — I'll claw his ears off!

Not buying it, Oaktail's lip peeled back, but he gave a nod nonetheless. "Just don't do anything mouse-brained." He threatened, his tail raised. Snowdrift swallowed his pride and with a wry smile he nodded. Satisfied, Oaktail turned back to the patrol, bounding back into place behind Lilystripe. Snowdrift stilled for a moment, watching as the patrol edged further away. Shaking his white fur to free it from any scraps of snow, he pounded after them, falling into step amongst his fellow warriors.

The patrol arrived at the twoleg nest in a short period of time, the five cats splitting off to hunt on their own, while Tortoisefoot went with Slopepaw to assess him on his hunting skills. The dark colored warrior was still sore over Snowdrift's comment, and as they parted he flashed the white cat an envious glare.

By the time the patrol had completed their hunt, the sun was close to its highest peak. Snowdrift had unfortunately caught nothing, and to make up for it he had collected a few leaves with small white flowers that smelt like herbs for Leopardstalk and Twigpool. They had been nestled in the roots of a young birch tree, and it was a miracle they had made it so far into the leafbare. Slopepaw had found himself a scrawny cardinal, although pride still glittered in his blue eyes, regardless of the freshkill's size, while Oaktail found himself an elderly mouse. Alongside Snowdrift, Tortoisefoot and Lilystripe had caught nothing, although they hadn't arisen with the idea of gathering herbs for a replacement.

As an excuse to his lack of prey, Tortoisefoot took the lead and meowed to the rest of the patrol. "I was busy teaching Slopepaw a better hunting technique!" He declared, shooting everybody else a confident sneer. "And all that mangy apprentice caught was a scrappy bird."

Slopepaw shamefully dipped his head, the red bird dangling loosely from his jaws. Snowdrift's fur bristled defiantly, but he didn't speak as to not cause any unnecessary arguments. Instead, he padded to Slopepaw's side and rested his tail on the apprentice's shoulder in a comforting gesture. Slopepaw started and looked over to the white tom, who smiled around the cluster of leaves clamped between his teeth. Glancing away, the blue-gray tom bounded forward to find his place beside Tortoisefoot, shooting one last glance back at Snowdrift before keeping distant from him for the rest of the patrol.

Not long after, the cats emerged into ThunderClan's camp, brushing past the bramble barrier. Slopepaw and Oaktail went to deposit their prey into the freshkill pile before heading their own separate ways and mingling with the remainder of the clan, Tortoisefoot tracked down Pebblestar and reported Slopepaw's progress, his eyes occasionally having a spark of anger ignite in them, and Snowdrift hurried to the medicine den to offer Leopardstalk and Twigpool the possible herbs he had found.

Slipping into the small cavern, Snowdrift sensed a mild temperature drop, his fur fluffing up a little to remain warm. Although the wind chill had gone down, he still needed the extra warmth, not wanting to risk catching a cold, or even freezing to death. Snowdrift made sure to swerve past the sick cats, scents of greencough stinking up the air. A shuffle of came from around a small corner, and Snowdrift peered towards it, his ears pricked and eyes gleaming in the darkness.

"Leopardstalk? Twigpool?" He meowed tentatively as he placed the mouthful of herbs onto the dusty floor, a paw lifted in preparation to leave as he craned his head to see around the corner.

A small murmur answered him, and his eyes adjusted to see two pelts, silver and black, brushing against eachother as the two medicine cats arranged and collected herbs from a crevice in the back of the cavern. The two cats exchanged a few words, and Twigpool ducked away to greet Snowdrift.

"Hello, Snowdrift." The silver tabby acknowledged with a dip of his head, his silvery blue eyes glittering curiously, although hollowed with a vague sign of stress. "What brings you to our den today? Haven't caught a cold, it seems. A thorn in your paw?" Twigpool's whiskers quivered as he let his eyes sweep along Snowdrift's pelt, and he stepped forward to inspect the tom, a jerky shift to his movements, as if he were to break into helpless sobs at any moment. The tom, however, kept his cool, and with a twitching nose he pried through Snowdrift's fur, not giving the warrior time to respond.

Snowdrift took a pawstep back, a flash of surprise igniting in his eyes. "No, I'm not injured, nor sick." He replied, flicking an ear tip. "I brought some herbs for you and Leopardstalk. It's leafbare, and I know how precious any medicine you can get your paws on can be."

Now it was Twigpool's turn to be surprised. His blue eyes grew as round as twin moons, and a small, joyous purr rose in his throat as he shuffled away from the warrior. "My apologies, Snowdrift." He murmured, ducking his head sincerely. "Lately, Leopardstalk and I have hardly been given the time to leave the den and find the herbs we need. So...thank you." Twigpool dipped his head, relief warming his voice as he spoke. Tilting his head, he glanced at the herbs at Snowdrift's paws.

"Feverfew." The medicine cat commented, a flash of surprise shown in his eyes. "Where did you find this? It could help soothe our patient's headaches."

"Near the abandoned twoleg nest and between the roots of a young birch."

Twigpool's whiskers quivered. "Great, thank you, Snowdrift." He bowed down and grasped the bundle of herbs between his teeth. Glancing towards Snowdrift once more, he mewed in a muffled tone around the mouthful of herbs. "You should go find something to eat. Being around these sick cats isn't good for you — it would be terrible to have a warrior infected with the illness."

Snowdrift inclined his head respectfully, and exited the den in arrival back into the camp's clearing. A cool wind stroked against his fur, and he fluffed it up to warm himself as he approached the freshkill pile. He chose a large, but scrawny raven, and selected a spot by the towering walls of the camp to eat, settling down in the shade where a small breeze whisked past him. Nearly the moment he had settled down and taken a bite out of the freshkill, Streamflower came bounding in his direction, yellow eyes gleaming like orbs of honey.

"Snowdrift!" She purred, plopping down next to him with her pelt brushing against his.

Snowdrift perked up, a pure erupting into his throat at the sight of the newly made warrior. "Hello, Streamflower." He greeted, his white tail brushing lazily against the ground. "Care to share?"

Streamflower tilted her head for a moment, but gave a shake of her head. "No thanks, Snowdrift. You seem hungry. Besides, I already ate before I went on the dawn border patrol!" She let out an ecstatic mrrow.

Snowdrift shrugged. "Suit yourself." He replied.

Streamflower chuckled as he gulped down the remainders of the raven, waiting patiently by his side. Once he finished, she addressed him before he could get up and leave. "So...Snowdrift. I wanted to ask you something." Her eyes strayed to the ground, and the new warrior dared not to meet his gaze.

"Would...Would you like to be my mate?" She lifted her head, her eyes sparkling with hope and fear. Snowdrift's mouth went dry, and he felt himself go still. Streamflower anxiously waited his response, and when it finally came, she shied away in fear of rejection.

But it was just the opposite as Snowdrift gave a rickety nod, trembling from nose to tail tip with joy.

"Of course I'll be your mate, Streamflower."