The Fox : Beginnings (Ongoing)

Chapter 3

Foxpaw woke at the chill to see the branches and tendrils of the nursery mixing above her head. She stood, stretching the stiffness out of her legs, and walking out as not to disturb Emberkit and his littermates. Curious about her new nest, she padded over to the apprentice's den, fluffing out her long red fur against the chilly Leaf-bare breeze. For a moment, she wished Brightpaw was beside her- but she pushed the thought away. Foxpaw could fight all the cats around the lake; she could handle a little wind. But it's a cold wind, Foxpaw argued with herself. Brightpaw is warm!

Once she had reached the bramble that shielded the apprentice's den, Foxpaw padded inside, careful not to step on her sister's tail... again. Usually the apprentices had to duck to get to their nests, but Foxpaw and Briarpaw were so much smaller they could go right in without even grazing their ears on a hanging tendril. Briarpaw was curled up in a tight ball, her paws flinching as if she was in a dream. Foxpaw had just now noticed how long her sister's legs really were. She looked almost like the brown WindClan cat.

"Briarpaw?" Foxpaw mewed, keeping her voice low so she didn't wake the senior warriors. The sun was just casting a few cautious beams above the hollow, but a shadow still lay over the dens. Foxpaw could tell the dawn patrol had left already; a few trampled nests made their home where four of the warriors had been.

Briarpaw shuffled, draping her skinny rose-colored tail over her ears.

"Briarpaw?" Foxpaw repeated, forgetting to keep her voice down.

"Foxpaw, where were you last night?" Foxpaw stared questioningly at her sister. Her muzzle hadn't moved. "Over here!" Foxpaw spun around to see Brightpaw, his eyes still glazed with sleep.

"Oh, sorry Brightpaw. I slept in the nursery last night." Foxpaw swept her long, bushy tail over the sandy earth and gave her chest fur a few licks to hide her embarrassment. Of course Briarpaw wasn't meowing to you, Mouse-brain! She scolded herself.

"Why didn't you sleep in here?" Brightpaw mewed, rubbing his flattened fur with his forepaw. "I lined you and Briarpaw's nests with the feathers from my sparrow."

Foxpaw's pelt grew hot. "I'm sorry," She began. She had forgotten Brightpaw was making her a nest. "I-"

"Don't be sorry." Brightpaw interrupted with a dismissive flick of his tail. "I wanted to stay in the nursery when I was apprenticed too. Kestrelflight had her first litter and I was going to miss them. I do miss them."

"Are you two going to sit there and gossip all day? I didn't go on the dawn patrol so I could sleep, I may as well have left."

"Sorry Kestrelflight. We were just talking about you." When the kestrel colored she-cat had put her head back on her paws, Brightpaw flicked his tail again, shaking out his fur as if shaking off the memories of Kestrelflight's first litter. 

Though Foxpaw was too young to have known them, she knew the four kits had gone to StarClan before they were named. The kits were gone when she named them, but the poor queen wanted them to be named in StarClan, and knew the names were hers to give. 

Now here she was, older than most of the warriors. Some of the senior warriors were put into the apprentice's den because there was so little room in their own den, and it was warmer here than it was anywhere else. 

"Your nest is over here. I made it next to your sister's, and in the warmest spot of the den." Brightpaw gestured to a neatly made nest beside him and Briarpaw.

I get to sleep beside my two new friends! Foxpaw settled down in the nest. It was the softest she had ever been in. Thanks so much, Brightpaw. When we're warriors, I'll make sure you have the best nest ever. She closed her eyes and drifted into sleep once more.