Warriors #6: A Kittypet's Destiny

Chapter 21

Goldenshine's POV

"Goldenshine? Goldenshine!"

I was practically jerked back into the present by Cherrypaw's call, and quickly whipped myself around from where my gaze had been locked on some bramble bushes to face my apprentice. "Hm?"

Cherrypaw looked unusually impatient as she padded up to me. "You're zoning out again!" she meowed irritably. "Great StarClan, I've been calling your name for what has felt like a moon!"

I stared, absolutely bewildered, as the ginger tabby she-cat then let out a huff and sat down. "We're supposed to be training here!"

Excuse me? Who are you, and what have you done to Cherrypaw? I thought as I had to clench my jaw in order to keep it from dropping all the way to the ground in amazement. "You're right," I muttered. "It's looking like we're going to need a training session on how to get rid of attitude next." I thought Swiftflight was going to be the only cat I'd need to give that lesson to!

I then watched as Cherrypaw let out a sigh and closed her amber eyes. "I'm sorry, Goldenshine..." she mewed as she lowered her head down with shame and shifted her paws back and forth. "I'm... I'm just not in the best mood right now."

I let out an amused snort. "Yeah, no kidding!" I joked before padding up closer to my apprentice and lightly touching my nose to her ear. "Is everything okay?"

I pulled away to find that Cherrypaw's gaze had managed to look even more regretful and sad, but what was worrisome was the fact that her words said otherwise. "Um... yeah. Yes, everything's fine," she replied. She simply stared ahead, her eyes still dark for a moment, and then proceeded to shake her head and flash me a reassuring, apologetic gaze. "Really. I'm sorry that I snapped."

I wasn't convinced at all by Cherrypaw's words, and I couldn't help wanting to probe into this situation of hers that was clearly giving her a hard time, but I held back. "That's okay, Cherrypaw," I meowed softly to her, wrapping my tail comfortingly around her shoulders. "I'm sorry, too." Sorry, I was just casually trying to decide how to tell your Clanmate that she's actually carrying my sister's spirit. Forgive my tomfoolery, I thought to myself, only half-joking as I reflected on the reason Cherrypaw had needed to yell to get my attention in the first place.

I then let out a long sigh as I looked down at my apprentice, who, for a reason that I didn't know, looked as mentally exhausted as I felt.

So, I came to a decision. "Hm... clearly the two of us aren't in the best of headspaces right now," I murmured out loud, then giving Cherrypaw a light nudge. "I think that we should go ahead and call it a day. How does that sound?"

Cherrypaw let out a quiet gasp and looked back up at me, her eyes wide with surprise. "Calling it quits early?" she asked worriedly. "Are you sure?"

I gave my apprentice a definitive nod and stood up. "I think that we both need it!" I replied. I then quickly began to lead the way forward. "Come on, let's get back to camp and get something to eat."

I paused for a moment and glanced back at Cherrypaw, who looked incredibly wary as she stood up. I honestly wasn't surprised at all, because although Cherrypaw clearly needed some time to clear her head, she wasn't one to usually let it become a burden and impede on her training at all.

So, it took her a moment before finally deciding to follow me. "Okay," she breathed, running ahead to stand beside me. "Let's go."

Then, without another word, the two of us began to make our way back to the ThunderClan camp. Although I wasn't even traveling at a very fast pace, Cherrypaw was trailing just behind me, her gaze looking down at the ground as her tail dragged on the forest floor.