Heartstar's rise : Book one

Ch. 44

Heartpaw yawned and blinked his eyes open. Honeypaw peered down at him. He jumped up in surprise. 

            "Relax, it's just me. Pinestar said you could have a day off. Me too," Honeypaw told him with a small beam. "Apparently we're running really low on food and it's getting really cold and a few cats may be sick." Heartpaw nodded, his head thumped and he puffed out his fur, feeling a cold breeze blow into the apprentice den. 

            "Do you want to go hunting?" asked Honeypaw. "Together." 

            "What I really want, is sleep," mumbled Heartpaw but Honeypaw didn't hear him. She dragged him out into the cold morning air and then led him out of camp. If he was going to have a day off, he would have liked being able to sleep, what was the point of having a day off if he was going to wake up even earlier. The air was still and cold and the ground hard and frozen. Leaf-bare was near. Heartpaw shivered, the cold air woke up him completely. He followed Honeypaw. Finally, they stopped and listened and looked for prey. Heartpaw's pads were getting number by the minute. 

            "It's too cold to be outside," he shivered. 

            "I hear something," whispered Honeypaw. She pointing towards a mess of brambles with her tail. With a silent sigh, Heartpaw nodded. Together, they approached the bush and suddenly, a scrawny mouse shot out. Quickly, Honeypaw jumped onto it but it twisted out of her reach. Heartpaw leapt onto it, snapping its spine quickly. 

            "Nice one!" she said. "I lost it." 

           "You heard it and saw it," pointed out Heartpaw. 

          "We're a good team," Honeypaw beamed. Heartpaw nodded. They continued on their way, coming upon a sparrow which flitted away without their chance of even getting near. The whole morning, they skulked the forest and even met a hunting patrol but they couldn't catch anything more than the mangy mouse they had caught in the morning. Sighing, they walked towards camp. Honeypaw pressed her pelt against Heartpaw and he felt himself warming up. They kept each other warm as they made their way to camp. Then Firpaw jumped in front of them and smirked. 

           "Lovebirds," he snickered. Heartpaw frowned and hissed angrily but Honeypaw could only smile, slightly embarrased. 

            "Go mind your own business, you know nothing," snapped Heartpaw. Honeypaw nodded to agree but Heartpaw pulled away from her side and stalked away. She looked after him in dismay and hurt. 

           "Don't waste your time on him, sister," spat Firpaw. "He's not worth it." Honeypaw turned to him angrily. 

          "Don't tell me what to do! You don't even know him! I can do what I want," she raised her voice angrily and ran after Heartpaw. She found him mumbling to himself. 

         "Ignore my brother, he shouldn't stop you from doing what you want," she told him. Heartpaw nodded. 

         "I know, don't worry," he told her. She smiled. 

         "Great then," she said and twirled her tail around his and pressed closer to him. He didn't seem to notice her. His mind was somewhere else. It was with Ivypaw. They returned back to camp and Heartpaw headed for the apprentice den. He slipped into his nest and curled up. He would get to see Ivypaw once again that night. He couldn't wait. Suddenly, there was a commotion outside. He peered out of his den. 

         "Lionbreeze!" yelled Featherflame. "It's Raggedscar, Eagleflight and Birchstep!" Heartpaw spotted Lionbreeze rushing to the warrior's den. He frowned, narrowing his eyes. Honeypaw joined his side.