Flamepaw's Quest

Chapter 8

            "Flamepaw! Flamepaw!" came Mothpaw's excited call. Flamepaw opened her eyes, finding it to be the middle of the night. The moon shined brightly, and Flamepaw slowly got used to the brightness.
            As other cats mumbled in their sleep, Flamepaw carefully tiptoed over them, meeting Mothpaw outside.
            "What is it?" Flamepaw whispered.
            "I'm a full medicine cat!" Mothpaw exclaimed.
            "Keep your voice down," Flamepaw warned. "Some cats are trying to sleep."
            "Oh, right," Mothpaw responded, looking down.
            "What's your new name?" Flamepaw asked.
            "Mothwing," she told Flamepaw. "Mountaineye gave it to me."
            "It's a pretty name, unlike Flamepaw," she groaned.
            "Goldstar will give you a great name. I'm happy with Mothwing."
            "So you're a full medicine cat now?"
            Mothwing nodded vigorously.
            "Does this mean we'll see each other less?"
            "More, actually," Mothwing explained. "I no longer need to train. I'm just the back-up. Mountaineye is old though."
            "How can you tell?"
            "He's as old as the elders, Flamepaw. He won't retire though. He says he'll stick it out until death. That's okay. Imagine me teaching an apprentice soon."
            "But Mountaineye's still alive," Flamepaw pointed out. "I'm sure you'll be a great medicine cat though."
            "I hope so," Mothwing purred. "How is your training going?"
            "It's okay. I better get some rest though. I don't know what Dusktail has planned tomorrow," Flamepaw admitted.
            "Okay. Goodnight, Flamepaw," Mothwing whispered, padding away.
            "Goodnight and congratulations," Flamepaw whispered in response, padding back to the apprentice den. There, she shut her eyes until she fell asleep.

The sound of cats moving caused Flamepaw to awake the following morning. For once, she was not completely late, and she found herself with a little bit of time as the other apprentices began to move about and join their mentors.
            Flamepaw gulped down a small fish and found Dusktail sitting near the entrance of the forest, his face in a grin.
            "You weren't late today," he observed.
            Flamepaw nodded. "Maybe I'm finally getting used to waking up early."
            "Good. Today we're learning fishing techniques. I hope you won't be jumping into the water."
            "I won't," Flamepaw assured him, shivering at her attempt to catch a duck day prior.
            "Good. Let's head to the river then."
            "Not the river beds?"
            "You're mostly fishing in the river. By learning to fish in the hard part of the river first, fishing in the beds will be easier," Dusktail explained, leading her through the woods.
            Flamepaw nodded, following him into the forest. The hot sun was soaked up in her pelt, and she was glad they were heading towards the cold river.
            Hearing the sound of running water in the distance, she followed Dusktail to the river's edge.
            "Unfortunately, the river's just begun to go down," Dusktail sighed. "The best time to train apprentices is in leaf-fall and new-leaf, when the river is at its fullest. The river freezes over in leaf-bare, making it unable to train apprentices whatsoever, and in green-leaf, it goes down."
            "What do you do in leaf-bare then?" Flamepaw asked.
            "We make holes and try to fish from there," Dusktail explained, glancing at the running water. "But green-leaf has only just begun, so we still have luck."
            Flamepaw nodded, sitting down next to him by the river.
            "So how do I catch a fish?" she asked.
            Dusktail glanced at the water, then back up at Flamepaw. "It is hard. It took me awhile to learn how to catch a fish when I was an apprentice. But it is important you learn how."
            "Okay. How do I catch it?" she repeated.
            "Before you stick your paw in the water, I want you to move your paw in a scooping motion," Dusktail ordered. He turned his paw as if he were scooping something, and he swayed it back and forth, catching air.
            "You try," he commanded.
            Flamepaw nodded, following his example. She scooped air, feeling it whip against the pads of her paw.
            "While this seems easy, a scoop is not enough. You must unsheath your claws in order to catch a fish or else it will slip from your grasp. This time scoop, but when you scoop the air, unsheath your claws as if you are catching something."
            Flamepaw nodded. She moved her paw forward, feeling the air tickle her paw again. When she felt the rush of air, she unsheathed her claws, imagining a wriggling fish between them.
            "Good," Dusktail purred. "Now, repeat that."
            Flamepaw nodded, and for several minutes, she just repeated the action until both her paws grew weary and tired.
            "Now the action is implanted into your brain," Dusktail explained. "Face the water now."
            Flamepaw sat beside him and glanced down at the rippling water.
            "It's best I demonstrate how to fish first. Small guppies are useless. Do not go for those. When you see a larger fish, grab it. Watch."
            Flamepaw nodded, and for minutes, they sat, watching the water. No fish swam by, and Flamepaw sighed, beginning to get before.
            Suddenly, a darker figure surged by, and Dusktail immediately stuck his paw into the water. From the water, she could see his paws scoop the fish. His claws were unsheathed, and she watched as they stabbed the fish, lifting it up from the water.
            "Wow!" Flamepaw gasped.
            "It looks simple," Dusktail explained. "But it takes practice." He tossed the dead fish to the side and looked at Flamepaw.
            "You try. And don't fall in."
            Flamepaw nodded, glancing at the water. The next fish came only minutes after Dusktail's. She put her paw in, only to feel the fish go right on by. She had not come close to catching it.
            "That's okay. Try again," Dusktail ordered.
            For minutes, Flamepaw continually tried again and again to catch the fish, each time resulting in failure. She became frustrated, trying so hard to catch a stupid fish. Once, she managed to scoop it, but it had slipped out of her paws before she had the chance to stab it.
            "Calm down for a few moments," Dusktail instructed.
            Flamepaw turned towards him, frowning. "I'll never be a good RiverClan warrior."
            "Yes, you will. I've never met a RiverClan cat who couldn't fish."
            "Exactly. That's why I won't become one," Flamepaw pouted.
            "It's only your first time trying. Now look back at the water and try once more. Then, you can gather some moss for No-Claw."
            Flamepaw guessed she'd be gathering a fair amount of moss if she wasn't able to catch a fish. RiverClan was known for its fishing, so why couldn't she catch one?
            As these thoughts surged through her brain, she noticed a fish move by. It was small, smaller than the one Dusktail had caught, but it still held a good amount of meat.
            As if she were practicing the moves earlier, she moved her paws in the familiar motion, eyes widening as she scooped the fish, stabbing it. She felt her claws sink into the fish's scales, and she lifted it, the thing still wriggling as it died.
            "By StarClan, you've caught one!" Dusktail exclaimed. "Oh, I knew I wasn't a bad mentor."
            Flamepaw laughed, setting the fish down next to Dusktail's. She couldn't keep her smile off her face, and she grinned.
            "This is good. We still need to practice regular hunting and swimming, of course, before we move onto battle moves, but this is great! Even I didn't catch a fish my first day."
            "Maybe it was just luck," Flamepaw admitted, shrugging.
            "Maybe, but you repeated the exact skills you were taught. Go grab your fish and we'll go get the moss. I'm proud of you, Flamepaw."
            Flamepaw smiled, glad her mentor took pride in her work.
            Upon arriving in camp, Flamepaw happily set down the fish near the fresh-kill pile and brought the moss to No-Claw, a smile on her face.
            "You look happy today," No-Claw admitted.
            "I caught my first fish!" she purred.
            "Ah, I remember that day. It was the afternoon," he began. Flamepaw nodded, backing away as he launched into some story. She then fled towards camp, finding Brownpelt and Suntail sharing tongues.
            "Mom! Dad! I caught a fish!" she exclaimed.
            "Did you?" Suntail asked.
            "Good for you!" Brownpelt cheered.
            "It was only my first day learning too," Flamepaw purred.
            "I'm proud of you, Flamepaw. I was frustrated because Goldstar caught a fish her first day and I didn't. Did you catch a fish your first time trying, Brownpelt?"
            "It took me several sunrises," he admitted.
            "Well, I'm glad you're doing well in training," Suntail purred. "You'll make a fine addition to RiverClan."
            Flamepaw nodded and smiled, her day full of sunshine and happiness. She truly did feel like a RiverClan warrior.