Waterstar's Heart

Chapter 5

The days passed as Waterpaw continued his training. He was antsy for the full moon. Every night he would sit outside of the den and watch Silver Pelt and the moon's phases. It seemed that as the closer the moon was to reaching full, the slower the days got.

The grey tom faced Grasspaw, his head held high.

The molly made a leap for him, but he quickly dove forwards in an attempt to avoid her. He turned, getting back onto his paws.

The brown tabby slid, leaving a trail of dust behind her.

"Not bad, Waterpaw!" Oakpaw called out.

Waterpaw nodded, keeping his attention onto his friend. Grasspaw then broke into a run once more, this time barreling into his side. He fell down roughly, the air escaping his lungs for a moment. The tom grunted as the older apprentice pinned him down squarely.

Her snaggletooth was prominent as she gave him a smirk.

"Remember your hind legs, Waterpaw! Grasspaw's belly is exposed." Clovernose reminded him. She sat with Furzefeather and Iceear, all of them watching intently.

That's right! He thought, raising his legs to Grasspaw's stomach. He gave her a couple of hard kicks, before being able to force her off of him completely.

"Agh!" Grasspaw grunted loudly, recoiling. She took a breath, before swiping at Waterpaw's face.

The tom returned with a swipe to her shoulder. He then took the chance and dove under her, letting his paw drag against her stomach again. Grasspaw whirled around to leap for the tom, baring her teeth. She let out a frustrated growl as she tumbled forwards, missing Waterpaw by a whisker-length.

"You're letting your frustration get the better of you, Grasspaw. That's how you loose the battle." Iceear meowed calmly, standing up.

Waterpaw stood straighter, pausing. He glanced towards Clovernose, who was proudly eyeing him. She leaned over to Furzefeather, exchanging a couple of words with the pale grey warrior.

Furzefeather and Clovernose got to their paws, and met the two apprentices in the center of the hollow. Iceear stood next to Grasspaw, voicing his encouragement.

He laid a tail over the tabby apprentice's shoulders. "Let's let you cool off. I don't want you to accidentally rip Waterpaw's pelt off!"

Oakpaw stood up, gazing at both Grasspaw and Waterpaw. "What if we hunted, instead?" He suggested, his tail flicking gently side to side. "It's a calming activity, but it helps us focus in on our surroundings and our...opponent?" He tried to reason, his voice cracking and ears falling back.

Furzefeather grinned. "That's a wonderful idea. I'll send you all to different parts of the territory." The warrior glanced to the other mentors who both nodded in agreement.

He purred excitedly, turning back to the three apprentices, "Oakpaw, you'll hunt near Tallpines. Grasspaw, go to the stream near here. Waterpaw, go to the Great Sycamore." He meowed. "Try to come back with prey."

As Waterpaw turned to head that way, Clovernose stopped him with a paw. "If ShadowClan tries to cross the border, come get us immediately. Do you understand?"

He nodded curtly, continuing on.

Waterpaw trotted quickly through the forest. He really could stay here all day. The Great Sycamore luckily wasn't that far away from the Sandy Hollow, which he was grateful for. His paws were beginning to ache from battle training.

Once he caught sight of the large tree, he sniffed the air and opened his mouth to let the familiar scents of the forest bathe his tongue.

Soon enough he got the wonderful smell of squirrel. His ears perked as he gazed around. There was a rustle of leaves, and then a squirrel who was standing at the base of a tree.

Waterpaw slowly descended into a crouch, moving down wind. He didn't want to risk this.

The squirrel was intently trying to get a nut open it had in its paws. It chewed at it, its beady eyes wide. Its tail twitched gently.

Waterpaw's belly was close to the forest floor, and he made sure to keep his paw steps light. He continued to stalk forwards, holding his breath. As soon as he was close enough, he pounced and bit the spine of the squirrel.

Thank you, StarClan!

He quickly buried it, and continued on. He was going to try to find as much prey he could carry!

The tom cat made his way to a different area, doing the same routine. He had spotted a crow that was perched on a stone. The apprentice dipped down into a crouch, and began to stalk forwards once more.

Waterpaw stepped lightly, careful to avoid any stray twigs that might get in his way. The crow gazed around, alert. The black feathered prey then hopped down onto the ground, shaking its feathers.

He took the chance, and leapt forwards, and pinned the crow. It fluttered in his paws, frightened. He let out a grunt of frustration before biting down on its neck. He gave thanks to StarClan before padding back to his buried prey.

As he trekked back, an unfamiliar scent hit his nose. His fur prickled, and he sniffed the air. Waterpaw glanced around. It wasn't ShadowClan, was it? He sniffed the air again.

No, it's not ShadowClan...I should tell the others.

Waterpaw held the crow firmly in his jaws as he examined the area. He spotted one tree whose bark had been partially scratched away. The tom then hurried back to the Sandy Hollow.

Oakpaw was the first to return. The ginger tabby had caught a plump mouse, and a sparrow.

Waterpaw met the apprentice, both the squirrel and crow in his jaws. He placed the down at his large paws, glancing around, "Where's Grasspaw?"

The tabby tom shrugged. "She probably went farther, maybe to Sunning Rocks? Grasspaw doesn't like getting her paws wet."

"I wouldn't want to, either." Waterpaw chirped up.

All three warriors were sitting together. Clovernose gave Furzefeather a friendly nudge. "Sagefur is due rather soon, right?"

Furzefeather's eyes gleamed in excitement. "She should be kitting after the gathering. I volunteered to stay behind, but I don't think Shadestar will allow me to." He trailed away, curling his tail around his paws.

Iceear shook his head. "I doubt it. Shadestar values you, Furzefeather. He understands." He brushed his tail across the tom's back in reassurance.

The pale grey warrior purred loudly, smoothing out his chest fur with a series of licks.

There was a rustle of bushes, and then Grasspaw appeared. She carried a finch, and two voles by their tails. The molly was beaming with pride as she dropped her fresh-kill at her friends' paws.

"Alright, let's take this all back to camp."

When they all arrived back into camp, he was instructed to give Sagefur the crow he had hunted.

The tom made his way into the nursery, the nurturing scent of milk hitting his nose almost immediately. Waterpaw found Sagefur curled in her nest, grooming her pelt. He set the crow down at her nest.

"Hello, Waterpaw! Thank you for the crow." The brown queen purred, her whiskers twitching.

Waterpaw let out a soft purr, glancing at the molly's belly. It definitely had swelled. "How are you feeling?" He asked gently. "Can I get you anything else? Moss?"

Sagefur began to pick the feathers from the crow. "Oh, I feel alright. It's hard to walk around, now. I'm excited to meet my kits." She took a bite from the fresh-kill, and blinked. "I don't need much, this will do. Thank you, Waterpaw."

With a smile, he turned back to entrance, ducking below the brambles.

He then made his way towards the elders den, making sure to grab a mouse before entering.