Seedpaw stormed through the thorn tunnel, which still wasn’t
completely revived after the Dark Forest attack barely three seasons ago. She could
hardly believe that dumb old cat actually trusted Amberpaw’s fake, flea-brained
statement that Seedpaw was a kit again. I’ll
get her back, I will. I bet she’s one of Lilypaw’s friends.
The ginger
apprentice reached the Ancient Oak in record time. She gathered moss and stuck
a pointy thorn in it. Seedpaw confirmed that the thorn was embedded in the
moss. That’s my revenge to Graystripe.
Seedpaw walked
back to the camp as slowly as she could, wanting Graystripe to be uncomfortable
as long as possible.
She hated
Lilypaw. She hated Graystripe. She hated Amberpaw. She hated Brightheart. Is there anybody to like these days?
Seedpaw arrived
back at camp sooner than she wanted to. She dropped the moss off at
Graystripe’s den, and then shuffled off to her own den to what she knew would
be an unsettled sleep.
“Seedpaw. Seedpaw, it is me, Honeyfern,” the
creamy tabby said once Seedpaw dozed off.
“Hi,
Honeyfern!” Seedpaw greeted the StarClan cat excitedly, stepping up and
touching noses with the young warrior.
Honeyfern
dipped her head. “I will be your second mentor. Your mentor at night,” she
explained.
Seedpaw
cocked her head. “My mentor? Will you teach me battle and hunting moves?”
The
brown she-cat shook her head. “I’ll lecture you about life,” she replied with a
flick of her tail.
“What?”
Seedpaw was unimpressed. “Life? What part of life?” she inquired, soul dropping
inside instantly.
But Honeyfern disappeared. Seedpaw
figured she’d have her first lesson on “life” tomorrow, but she always wondered
why dead cats never answered questions right away.
“It’s snowing!” the shrill cry awoke Seedpaw from her
abruptly-ending dream. She jerked up and shuffled to the den exit. Dewpaw stood
next to her, and his amber eyes widened happily.
The owner of the
voice, young and new warrior Cherrystem, pranced and rolled around happily. Her
brother Molefoot joined her right away.
A thick coating
of white covered the clearing and still was falling to the earth. Seedpaw and
Dewpaw stepped out into the snow, and she felt a chill run up her legs and down
her spine. So… c-c-cold…
Teeth chattering,
the cats of ThunderClan padded out into the frozen water. Senior warriors’ eyes
shined with memories as they watched the kits romp and play in the snow.
“I’m named after
it!” called Snowpaw as he, Lilypaw, and Amberpaw scampered around Cherrystem
and Molefoot.
Seedpaw couldn’t
hold back a chuckle. Snowpaw’s fur completely blended in with the snow except
for some dusty smudges and his amber gaze. The late mid-day sun cast a bright
glow on all white things as Snowpaw snuck up on Larchkit and Smokykit. “Hey!”
the two little toms exclaimed, and before long Snowpaw was covered in a swarm
of kits and Hazeltail trying to pull her sons off the apprentice.
All cats with
white pelts, like Cloudtail, Whitewing, and even Icecloud, tromped around in
the snow. Icecloud looked like a living glacier as she moved around.
Bramblestar and
Squirrelflight, along with a few other warriors, dug out important things such
as the fresh-kill pile. One hunting patrol was sent out, and they only came
back with a dim-witted squirrel that had attempted to look for nuts and acorns
under the snow.
For once, Seedpaw
took her mind off other things, and she capered around with Lilypaw and
Amberpaw in the snow, screwing around and continuously surprising Cinderheart
as she rested on the snow-dusted smooth boulders. The gray queen didn’t seem to
mind, although Lionblaze always gave the apprentices the evil eye when they
bothered the expecting queens. It was as if he was the father of both future
litters.
At one point,
Seedpaw tripped Amberpaw for fun, but the gray she-cat’s face rose back up out
of the snow with a nose covered in blood. “Thanks a lot,” the hot-headed
she-cat muttered as she barged to the medicine den, Briarlight taking her in
blandly. Lilypaw shot a glance at her sister and followed Amberpaw.
Seedpaw sat down
on the ground hard and licked her numb paws thoughtfully. Is my personality being bad? Is that my talent? She froze and
wondered. Was it?
Shrugging, she
got up and picked her way through the snow, past Spiderleg and Graystripe
chatting, past Birchfall and Whitewing pouncing around in the snow with their
daughters. Everyone is in pairs or groups
lately, and I’m the loner. Maybe I should leave the Clan? They obviously don’t
need me- I’m a useless piece of crumbled dirt.
The ginger
apprentice cast a longing look at the medicine den. Amberpaw’s little “trip”
had been Seedpaw’s revenge on the gray she-cat, but of course Amberpaw had to
overreact and make it seem as if she was going to die. Just a stupid bloody nose. And I’ll be hearing about it for a long
time, Seedpaw realized to herself. Lilypaw’s
her best friend forever, and Brightheart is her mother. Ugh…
Seedpaw
recognized that her paws were yearning to walk right out of the camp forever,
but what would her mother think? Hey,
perhaps I could talk to Sorreltail. Even Brackenfur, Cinderheart, Poppyfrost… Seedpaw
trailed off in her mind as more names and faces popped into her head. Not everyone’s against me yet.
She placed her
paws in a new direction and trotted over to where her mother and Poppyfrost
played. It was funny to see the two older tortoiseshells leaping all over the
mashed-up snow like kits. Seedpaw quickly allowed a paw in the snow, then out.
In the snow, then out. She couldn’t risk permanent blue pads- that would not be
fun.
“Oh, you…”
Sorreltail spat in a friendly way, fixing an obviously fake glower on
Poppyfrost, who must have beaten her at one of their games.
“Hi!” Seedpaw
called, and she moved swifter to her mother and sister. The pair stopped moving
and turned to the apprentice.
A smile struck
Sorreltail’s face. “Seedpaw! How wonderful it is to see you!” As Seedpaw
approached, her mother lapped at her ruffled fur. “Where’s Lilypaw?” Sorreltail
asked between licks. “I haven’t seen her in a while, and I last saw her with
you and Amberpaw.”
Poppyfrost nodded
and grinned, as if she were approving the sisters’ bonding.
Seedpaw felt
relief wash over her like a wave at the lake’s shore. Sorreltail missed Amberpaw’s fall. Good. That’ll help.
“Hm, I don’t
know,” Seedpaw replied, staring innocently at her mother.
Sorreltail
blinked. “I guess I just thought… you two would be closer by now,” she murmured
with a sigh. “Poppyfrost and Cinderheart have a very strong bond, especially
since Molepaw and Honeyfern’s deaths.”
“Can I talk to
you?” Seedpaw suddenly asked, not really caring about bonding with Lilypaw at
the moment. It’s all about Lilypaw.
Sorreltail
nodded, and they departed from Poppyfrost with a wave of their tails to be
polite and not abrupt. “’Bye!” Poppyfrost meowed back.
“What is it,
little seed?” Sorreltail questioned once she and Seedpaw were in a private
area- behind the warriors’ den. Only cats resting in the far back of the den
could hear them, but almost every cat was out in the snow.
“I…” Seedpaw
hesitated, and then continued after a boost inside. She’s your mother. She’ll understand anything. “I feel left out,
like I don’t belong here in the Clan.”
Sorreltail
blinked and stared at her daughter in surprise. “Really? You looked like you
were having so much fun with the others…” she trailed off, thinking. “How can I
include you more? I’d be happy to.”
Not exactly what I was aiming for. Hastily
Seedpaw shook her head. “I just do not seem to get along with other cats.”
Her mother
sighed. “You’re doing fine with me right now. Can you name the cats that you
can’t agree with?”
Seedpaw was now
frustrated. Not. Helping. At. All! She
thought through gritted teeth. “Lilypaw, Amberpaw, Graystripe, Brightheart, and
you! You’re hopeless!” With that she stomped away.
The tortoiseshell
stood in her daughter’s tracks, legs wobbly, Seedpaw’s words scarring deep
wounds in her heart. Sadly Sorreltail ducked her head and turned away, dusty
snowflakes and specks dropping onto her splotched pelt.
No comments:
Post a Comment