Dawnstar's Trouble {COMPLETE}

Chapter 28

 "New kits! New kits!" Cloudpaw bounded around, his blue eyes glowing excitedly. "I won't be alone as an apprentice anymore!"

Dawnfire purred with amusement. "You've been an apprentice for almost two moons now, I'm not sure you'll be training with Squirrletail's kits. Applespot's kits maybe, but you've got to wait quite a while before they will be ready." Squirrletail had just announced that she was currently expecting Brackenclaw's kits. Both cats were rather young, but the Clan was very excited for new kits, not only was Applespots ready to have her kits soon; but now Squirrletail would be after her. SunClan would be blossoming with new life, just as Newleaf always brought. Dawnfire wondered how many more kits this season would bring.

"I hope I don't spend my entire apprenticeship alone." Cloudpaw twitched his ears. "That den is boring, and empty all the time."

Dawnfire brushed his pelt with her tail, she felt sorry for the poor cat. Even if Dovetail would have survived, Cloudpaw's littermates didn't survive, she always had Turtleblaze to train with, and even they weren't the only apprentices. For a while, Heatherflight and her siblings stayed in the apprentice den with him; but the warriors den was soon expanded to allow them. Now Cloudpaw slept alone; Dawnfire wished he didn't have to but nothing would change until he became a warrior, and he wasn't ready for that just yet.

Dawnfire touched her tail to Cloudpaw's pelt. "We should go hunting, prey is bound to be running well today." She purred and led her apprentice out of the camp, she felt very uneasy every time she left the camp. Her encounter with Thornpelt had left her terrified to be anywhere except camp. Patrols she's was fine, but even with Cloudpaw she was still uneasy. Dawnfire kept away from the AshClan border in case Echoheart decided to jump her, it was clear that the cat Echoheart had mentioned before was Thornpelt. It was obvious that the two of them were working together to overthrow Flowerstar and kill any cats who got in their way, one of which was Dawnfire.

Dawnfire needed a way to stop them before they succeeded, that was what Dawnfire feared more than anything, there had to be a way to stop them. Tell Poppyfur maybe..?

"Dawnfire!" Dawnfire's mind was snapped back into reality as her paw caught on an uplifted root, she let out a cry of pain and hit the forest floor. She opened her eyes and saw Cloudpaw staring down at her, confusion in his eyes. "Are you okay?" He questioned.

Dawnfire nodded and stood, shaking the dead leaves from her fur. She tested her paw tentatively on the ground, it was sore but not damaged. "Just not paying attention right now, I'm sorry Cloudpaw." Her pelt burned slightly but she cleaned herself up. "Let's get to hunting, if I didn't scare everything off." She purred with amusement, trying to brush off what she did. Cloudpaw's eyes sparkled and he sniffed the air; instantly looking for any prey. Dawnfire enjoyed watching Cloudpaw hunt, he was very observant and very good at finding prey. He turned in one direction and dropped low to the ground.

The only issue he had were the white sections of his fur that stuck out in the thick forest, like a single snowflake resting on tree bark. Dawnfire struggled with that, he was very easy to spot and not easy to hide. She watched his every move, his pawsteps were light and his movements slow. She searched for what he was stalking and spotted the tiny body of a brown mouse. Cloudpaw seemed to be trying to hide himself in the shadows to turn his white pelt into gray. The mouse seemed rather oblivious to Cloudpaw's presence, until he shot forward to make the kill. The mouse started to dart away, but Cloudpaw was faster.

As his claws met the mouse, his paws skidded on loose, damp leaves and his body hit the ground with a thud and light splatter as he landed in a patch of mud. The mouse was dead, and Cloudpaw was covered in mud. He stood up and wrinkled his nose, Dawnfire let out a purr of amusement. His entire lower half was covered in wet mud, his thick fur stuck out in all directions and his ears flat on his head.