Dawn

Chapter 5

"Well?" A voice sneered over Crowpaw before a paw jabbed him harshly in the side. Crowpaw blinked his eyes open to see Mudclaw standing over him, a snarl contorting his face. "Are you up for a patrol or is the great Crowpaw too important to help the Clan?"

"No, Mudclaw," Crowpaw grumbled, climbing to his paws. "I can hunt and patrol just like any other cat. Who am I patrolling with?"

Mudclaw sneered at him, tilting his head so he was looking down. "You'll be with Nightcloud, Tornear, and Weaselpaw. Make sure to actually be useful for once."

Crowpaw watched his mentor pad away through narrowed eyes. Ever since he had finished talking with Tallstar, the WindClan deputy had been nothing but spiteful and passive aggressive. Even when Ashfoot had offered to share her prey with him, Mudclaw had chased him away and forced him to sleep at the very edge of the makeshift camp. Crowpaw suspects Tallstar didn't know what was going on, and he wasn't sure if he would tell him or not. He could deal with a bully on his own.

Crowpaw lifted his nose to taste the crisp air. By tonight he'd be back with Squirrelpaw, maybe for a long time. He found himself longing for her scent and the feel of her fur against his again. It had only been a day since they separated, but Crowpaw felt as if a moon had passed already. He wondered how he'd cope if Squirrelpaw didn't want to leave ThunderClan, or if she refused to let him join her. How could he ever be happy when she's so far away?

"Hey! Come on, feather-brain." Crowpaw turned to see Nightcloud bounding up to him. Her amber eyes were curious but she didn't speak her thoughts. "Mudclaw will have our tails if we don't go soon."

"Right, let's go," Crowpaw meowed.

He followed Nightcloud to where Tornear and Weaselpaw were waiting. The ginger apprentice scowled at Crowpaw, looking at him like he was an enemy warrior living with WindClan.

"Got a problem?" Crowpaw asked.

"Yeah, I do," Weaselpaw growled. "How is it that you can run off and eat as much prey as you want then come back and act like you didn't abandon us? If I was leader I would have chased you out!"

"Well, it's a good thing you aren't the leader," Tornear called. "Leave the decisions to Tallstar and the senior warriors. Crowpaw is here now, and that's all we care about. Stop being aggressive to your Clanmate."

"It's fine, Tornear, he's not the only one. Most of the others don't want me here either," Crowpaw meowed tiredly.

Nightcloud looked over her shoulder, her eyes gentle and sympathetic. "They'll come around," she mewed. "Just give them time. I bet they just don't like that StarClan chose you over them."

Crowpaw forced a smile for her. Nightcloud was a nice cat. She's a young warrior, not much older than Crowpaw himself, and she was always trying to include Crowpaw in whatever she could. He suspected it was because he was one of the few apprentices the Clan had. Briefly, Crowpaw wondered if he'd be happy choosing Nightcloud as a mate if he and Squirrelpaw didn't work out.

Don't be a feather-brain, he scolded himself. Squirrelpaw agreed to meet, so she clearly wants to be with me.

"What areas are still good for hunting?" Crowpaw asked. "I want to hunt when we're done patrolling."

"Around the gorge and the Twolegs farm," Tornear replied. "If you ask, Ravenpaw has begun letting us hunt on his and Barley's territory. He's been asking for frequent updates so he can help, but any cat can tell his worry is mostly for ThunderClan."

"Leave him be," Nightcloud meowed. "His brothers and friends are in ThunderClan, of course he'd be worried. Remember, it was Skystar who stopped the war between our Clans because of her connection to Ravenpaw."