✧ Devious Fates ✧ | COMPLETE WARRIOR CATS FANFICTION STORY |

// Chapter Three

Thistlepaw grasped a wad of moss from the cleft of a tree, groaning with annoyance. Senior apprentices shouldn't have to do this task. He glanced back over his shoulder where Squirrelchase observed him. His expression was trying to be encouraging. He flicked his ears forwards and smiled, trying to urge Thistlepaw to go on.

Thistlepaw tore another and another sheet. He lowered his head to place the moss onto his pile, feeling the gaze of his mentor burning into his pelt. His neck fur rose with the realization that he was being watched every time he was out with his mentor. Can't I just be a warrior already?

He stuck his head back into the gap where another clump of moss waited for him. He felt even more awkward as Squirrelchase watched him scramble deep in the decaying bark. Does ShadowClan really have no one else for this role? I'm sure the elders could get their own bedding if they'd just get off their lazy hindquarters, he thought spitefully.

Thistlepaw fastened another sheet of moss between his teeth, reversing out of the dip. He glimpsed over at her pile of the bedding, setting his new collection onto the stack. There were about half a dozen sheets of moss beside the large pine towering beside him.

He had enough of the monotonous task. "Why should the senior apprentices have to do this job?" He hissed. "There are plenty of cats in ShadowClan to collect moss!"

Squirrelchase blinked at him. "You need to learn to do other tasks," he instructed, his tail twitching once as he raised his chin. "Other than just battle training all the time."

"Isn't that what being a ShadowClan warrior is about?" Thistlepaw protested in a growl, flexing his claws in the soil. "We're supposed to be the fiercest Clan in the forest."

Squirrelchase wasn't amused by Thistlepaw's defiant tone. He narrowed his eyes. "Life isn't just about being superior over all the other Clans," he responded.

Thistlepaw snorted in disgust. There's no way to put some sense into any of these cats. Just because we're young doesn't mean we're not smart. He didn't bother saying another word; instead he gathered half the stack of moss, signaling his mentor to take the rest. He bounded ahead, skirting past pine trees and brambles that blocked his path. He eventually heard Squirrelchase's swift pace behind him.

He boosted himself forward; not wanting to confront his mentor. He could imagine his irritated look, his mouth moving as he scolded him. Humiliation set his fur to bristle as he imagined his Clanmates giving him judging looks. He leaped over thorn bushes and briars, not daring to pause once. He hadn't gone far from camp. The scent of ShadowClan reeked stronger in the air.

Bushes, shrubs, and undergrowth were fixed around Thistlepaw. They guarded the barrier of the ShadowClan camp; trying to snag onto his pelt like the claws of enemy Clan cats in a battle. Thistlepaw had to skid to a halt to solve the puzzle of getting into camp, only to hear paw steps growing closer.

"Listen," Squirrelchase huffed as he stifled exhausted breaths. "I know you'll eventually learn what I mean. Trust me."

Thistlepaw didn't respond. He let Squirrelchase's words roll off his back like crow-food. His mentor seemed disappointed in his resentment but tried to hide it. Thistlepaw lunged over one of the thorn bushes; landing perfectly onto the ground and clenching his teeth harder to keep his collected moss from escaping his grasp.

Squirrelchase shuffled up behind him. He kept examining his apprentice, concerned. He padded up beside him. Thistlepaw didn't meet his gaze; instead he was focused on a leap over a large bush. After wiggling his haunches against the ground, he ascended through the air before crashing onto his paws.

Squirrelchase peeked through the bushes as Thistlepaw raced ahead. Eaglefeather stood inside the camp, right beside the entrance that led into a ravine. He glanced behind him, dipping his head to Thistlepaw, and Squirrelchase who just landed beside him.