Four moons had passed since Wormypaw had fought against Lionpaw, and he was exhausted. 

Hunting, training, going on patrols, fishing, swimming, etc, etc, - plus the fact that every now and then, people would make snarky remarks about his face. Usually, he shook it off. But when Shadowpaw was around, or Goodpaw, all the warriors would lay off, and he considered that to be a good thing. They constantly called him 'Forestpaw', but after a while, Wormypaw asked them to call him 'Wormypaw', because that was the new name his mother gave him and he didn't want to appear weak in front of her. After much coaxing and wheedling, they gave in. 

Shadowpaw was growing to be a fine young apprentice, with a forte for fighting. He and Wormypaw were good friends, and often, they would be seen sparring against each other. Currently, they were walking along the riverbank with Goodpaw, taking a break from the day's work. It was sun-high, and the weather was mildly temperate.

"Did you hear? Half a moon's left before the Gathering!" exclaimed Goodpaw. "All the apprentices get to go, and I bet you a mousetail that we'll see something cool!"

"I think I'll stay at camp," mewed Wormypaw. "too risky. All the cats will start whining about how handsome I am." He stopped and looked at his reflection in the water. "Admire my beautiful features, you two!" 

Shadowpaw laughed. "Yup, and Lionpaw would be part of IdiotClan, in his own row of logs, sitting all alone. That would be a good memory for the future to tell the other kits."

"And they say I'm the one who's alone," muttered Wormypaw. Then, he noticed movement in the river. "Look! A fish!"

The three apprentices turned to look at the sparkling river. Wormypaw was right - there was a particularly large trout coming towards them upstream. Almost like magic, sunlight glimmered over the scales of the fish, an ethereal kind of beauty. 

"I'M GOING TO CATCH THAT TROUT!" declared Goodpaw. Dashing upstream, she skidded to a halt and padded close to the riverbank. The fish was two tree lengths away, and swimming quite slowly. Come on, come on! she thought. I know you're slow because of the weight you have from being large, but I need to catch you for my friends! Finally, the trout swam close to where Goodpaw was. With lightning-fast reflexes, she swiped upwards and caught the struggling animal in her mouth, throwing it onto the grass. 

"All right! Nicely done Goodpaw!" Wormypaw and Shadowpaw said. Grinning, Shadowpaw smirked. 

"You know, I think we've just won ourselves a place at the Gathering," Shadowpaw whispered. "Wormypaw! You don't need to be worried, because you have Shadowrunner right here, right now! Oh, and you also have my, erm, novice assistant Goody."

Goodpaw hissed, ears flatted and tail waving. 

"Oops, sorry, my bad," joked Shadowpaw. "Anyway, Wormypaw, you will be fine, because any cat that says obnoxious things about my friend will get a taste of my fur!"

"After you get badly beaten up," muttered Goodpaw. "And I was the one who caught this trout! Which reminds me, we should go back to camp. Our mentors are probably expecting us by now."

"She's right. And thanks 'Shadowrunner' and 'Goody'. I feel better about being overly handsome," Wormypaw grinned, "so I think we should hurry back and brag to Lionpaw about our catch."

"You're giving me a - a - a - hmm, a fish head if Doefall thinks it's cool!" said Shadowpaw. "Hey, are you okay, Goodpaw?"

"Mmm! Mm-mmm-mm! MMMMM!" Goodpaw 'mmm'ed'. 

"I think she means 'this fish is heavy and I can't talk," Wormypaw awkwardly said. 

"Geez, my own sister's inarticulate," sighed Shadowpaw. "One apprentice is too handsome, the other apprentice is mumbling like a newborn kit - ugh, we need to get back to camp Goodpaw!"

"Mmmmm!"

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EXPECT ANOTHER CHAPTER LATER THIS WEEK! I'm sorry that it's a filler, but it was necessary for the next chapter, which is full of blood. Also, you can punch the space below if you're mad/frustrated at me for not updating. I'm really sorry!

- Jay