The Clans Beside the Waves - A Beginning | A ClanGen Story

Chapter 15

Honeypaw yawned as daylight broke through the clouds and shined onto the apprentice den. With the light that made it annoying to sleep, he opened eyes. He noticed that his mentor, Wolfblotch was already up. She looked at some of the other warriors that were up. 

"Ashmoss, Oatblur, can you go out on the dawn patrol?" She asked. The ginger tom nodded. "Of course." They said in unison. As the two walked away, Honeypaw got up and stretched. He soon left the apprentice den where Wolfblotch caught his gaze.

"Oh, hello, Honeypaw!" She greeted warmly. Honeypaw smiled. "Uh, hi Wolfblotch." He replied. He looked around. "Do you want me to do anything?" He asked, praying to StarClan that it wouldn't be gathering herbs with Boragewisp, collecting moss again, or any of that boring stuff. Wolfblotch frowned, looking unsure.

More cats started to come out of their dens, and Wolfblotch stood up straight, more certain. "I currently still have a lot to do, but I think that Amberbite needs a break so why don't you and Clawpaw go out hunting?" She suggested. Honeypaw nodded, though his fur prickled with unease. Clawpaw didn't seemed to like a whole lot, so he wasn't sure how she would take to having to patrol with him. Though he followed Wolfblotch's suggestion and padded over to Clawpaw who was yawning and stretching like he did a few minutes ago.

Clawpaw caught sight of him and let out a small groan. "Hi, Honeypaw." She meowed. "Do you want something?" She asked, sitting up straight. Honeypaw nodded. "Um, yeah. Wolfblotch wanted us to go on a hunting patrol." He explained. Clawpaw sighed but nodded. "Fine. Can I lead?" She asked. Honeypaw was about to say that he wanted to lead, to prove himself and show that he wasn't just some mewling kit that would sometimes climb onto Hightree, but he stopped himself. Clawpaw is a lot older and more experienced than you. He reminded himself.

Clawpaw blinked at him expectantly looking for an answer. "Well?" She asked, sounding exasperated. "Sure." Honeypaw said, shrugging. "I'm fine you with leading. Just as long as with don't do anything boring." Clawpaw rolled her eyes. "You should know that I don't do, 'boring.'" She replied back and padded away. Honeypaw sighed before scrambling to catch up.

As they got outside into the territory, Clawpaw almost immediately went over to the water and gasped. Honeypaw ran over to her. "Is something wrong?" He asked as Clawpaw started to pad through the water. She shook her head. "No, it's just that the water was colder than I expected." Clawpaw explained. Honeypaw looked down at the water curiously. He soon dipped on of his paws into the water, and expecting some sort of comfortable feeling he was greeted by an almost ice-cold zap. Like what you would feel during leaf-bare, and a breeze swept through.

He bounced back and turned to look at Clawpaw. "Well, leaf-bare is almost here." He replied. And it was true, the warmth of greenleaf was starting to fade as mornings and nights started to grow colder each time. Clawpaw nodded. "That's true." She paused for a moment. "Hey, could you go hunt land prey while I hunt in the water? I like to swim, and I've heard that you like stalking on the land." She explained.

Honeypaw nodded. He did like land prey, and besides, the water seemed too cold for him. And also he just woke up, he didn't feel like going on a swim. So, he hunted near the tall grass, constantly checking the wind for prey scents. The occasional splash from behind him informed that Clawpaw was coming back to breath, or she had caught a fish that had just woken up.

"Go farther out, all the prey would be asleep and for the prey that's awake wouldn't be near the ocean." Clawpaw advised. Honeypaw nodded and ventured farther away from the shore. Though he couldn't help but think of how he already should have thought of that. He had been an apprentice for a moon know! With that he couldn't help but feel like a failure. Why hadn't he had been more careful and actually traveled into the tall grass instead of hunt near the edges. Gloomily, he scented the air again and soon caught sight of a rabbit.