Antbreeze

Chapter 1

Moonlight seeped through the whole of Windclan. Antpaw could hear the faint laughter of his denmate echo through the plains from a few tail lengths away. They were sneaking out of the camp to have fun so they wouldn't have to worry about their other clan mates. Breezepaw paced around the grass further from where Antpaw was sitting. "I am the most powerful warrior in all of Windclan!" He yelled. Antpaw was used to this side of Breezepaw. Other cats would often mention Breezepaw's arrogance, but at night he was as playful as the other apprentices. Antpaw let out a playful snarl, "I'm the leader of Thunderclan! I'm stinky and think I'm better than everyone!" The other apprentice burst out laughing, "That's the perfect impression!" He quickly snapped out of the laughter and began pacing dramatically around the clearing, "Are you here to challenge me on my territory?" Antpaw puffed out his chest, "Yeah! And if I win I get to keep all of the clan territory!" Breezepaw growled, "Alright then!" He jumped through the air and tumbled onto Antpaw. Grass and dust flew through the air as they play-fought around the clearing. Antpaw flung his denmate off of him just a few tail lengths away and he staggered. He spaced out a bit, noticing that the birds we're flying off at the sound of the two apprentices fighting. Breezepaw saw his chance and pinned the brown cat to the ground. Antpaw was unable to stand and he puffed his breath into a sigh, "Alright, you win! Now get off me!" Breezepaw got off of his Denmate and puffed out his chest, "I, Breeze- er- claw, here by pronounce myself leader of Windclan and owner of both of our territories!" Antpaw purred lightly. He loved seeing his clanmate feel happy. The brown Tom started pacing away, "Yeah, alright. Let's go watch the sun come up." "Psh," Breezepaw started, "Don't be a sore loser." Antpaw glared playfully, "I am not!" Breezepaw laughed and bounded down the slope.

     The two apprentices watched the sky turn purple. "Crowfeather hasn't said a word to me in days and I don't think he's even realized," Breezepaw muttered. Antpaw's heart wrenched. No one in the clan appreciated Breezepaw. They ignored everything he said and dismissed all of his ideas. No wonder he was so bitter to them. Antpaw gave Breezepaw a sorrowful look, "It'll be better when we're warriors, won't it? The clan looks at us like kits because we're apprentices." Breezepaw hesitated. "I just want my parents to care about me as much as they care about fighting with each other." Antpaw could hear his denmate's voice cracking as tears rolled down his face. Antpelt gave the black Tom a few licks. They laid on the soft grass for a few moments. The silence spoke more than words. When they noticed the sun, they started heading back to the camp. They hopped through the tunnel they made to get in and out of the camp and snuck into their den. A few cats were awake but they never really cared about the apprentices. Antpaw was exhausted. He curled up next to Breezepaw and let his breath slow down.

      A paw prodded Antpaw's side. "Come on," Breezepaw muttered, "They're calling for us agai-" Before he could finish his sentence, his mentor called out for him. "Breezepaw, hurry up! We don't have all day!" Antpaw saw Breezepaw's fur prickle. "Hold on!" He yowled, "I'm getting Antpaw!" The two apprentices walked out of the den and joined their mentors in the clearing. "Breezepaw," Whitetail sighed, "Come with me we're going to train near the horseplace." She looked to Antpaw, "Your mentor will be with you shortly." As his denmate and his mentor paced away the two apprentices looked at each other as if this was the last time they'd ever see each other. After a little while, Antpaw began to block out the camp noises. He watched ants crawling at the side of a rock and picked up his paw before they could reach it. "Antpaw!" Antpaw shook his head. The loud voice startled him. "Are you deaf or something? I've been calling for you!" It was his mentor Gorsetail. "You need to pay attention more. Let's go. We have to hunt since the fresh kill pile is getting low." Antpaw didn't respond, he just nodded. The two cats left the camp, going in the opposite direction as Breezepaw and Whitetail.

     "Pay attention, Antpaw!" Gorsetail yowled. Antpaw's ears drooped. All he could think about was Breezepaw. He just wanted to be in the clearing with him, playing around and having fun. Gorsetail was always short with him. She just wanted to get his training over with. "Sorry," he muttered, "I can do it this time." His mentor sniffed the air, "You're lucky it didn't run off." She walked over to the rabbit's burrow and quietly stepped above it. Antpaw realized she was just going to catch it herself so they could quickly get back to camp.  His pelt was hot with embarrassment and anger. The rabbit slowly came back out of the burrow and Gorsetail quickly caught it by the neck. She finished it off and picked it up with her teeth. "Try to catch something on the way back," she muttered. Antpaw kept his head low and he walked with his mentor through the plains. When they reached the top of a hill he spotted Breezepaw and Whitetail training at the horseplace. He smiled, but remembered to catch up with his own mentor. He smelled the air and noticed the scent of a magpie. They didn't usually have magpies. If he caught one, maybe his mentor would be proud of him. Antpaw crouched low and noticed that it was picking bugs out of the ground. He jumped towards it, but it began to fly away. He tried to snag his claw into the bird's back, but it flew off. Antpaw's heart sunk. A magpie in Windclan territory and he couldn't even lay a claw on it.