Warriors: Sharptalon's Mist

Chapter 4

"Great job, Sharppaw!"

Ambertuft's praise echoed in Sharppaw's head. He dropped his catch on the ground. "I can't believe I caught this slippery thing!" He purred, glancing down at his mouse. 

"Don't worry, It'll get easier to hunt once you get the hang of it," Ambertuft meowed. She flicked her tail. "Now, why don't we try to catch a bird?"

Sharppaw parted his jaws to taste the air. He could scent many prey scents. "I don't smell any bird-scents here," He meowed.

"Ok, then lets see if we can find some up ahead," Ambertuft meowed.  She turned away from him, heading into the bracken. 

The forest floor seemed to be glowing golden. Shadows cut into Sharppaw's path and the trees thinned out to reveal a clearing. The was the place where apprentices' usually trained for battle. Now, parting his jaws, he tasted robin. Turning, he could see a plump bird pecking at roots near the base of a tree about tree tail-lengths away. 

"Look," Ambertuft's whisper was barely a breath. Sharppaw's mentor crouched down, the Leaf-Fall breeze ruffling her ginger fur. 

Sharppaw crouched down, keeping his tail low off the ground. He kept a close eye on the bird and checked to make sure his scent wasn't carried towards the bird. 

Sharppaw crept forward, then leaped, claws extended. The bird turned and tried to fly, but Sharppaw's claws hooked the bird's wings. He quickly lunged forward and nipped its neck, killing it. Sharppaw turned to his mentor, who had a happy look on her face. Sharppaw picked up his bird and padded up to Ambertuft.

"Great job, Sharppaw," She meowed, her green eyes shining. 

Sharppaw purred, his tail-tip flicking. 

"Lets head back to camp. I think your mother would be proud of your catch," Ambertuft meowed. 

After Sharppaw had put his mouse and robin on the pile, he grabbed two voles from the pile. Clutching them in his jaws, he headed to the elders' den. 

"Hello Sharppaw," Stormpaw's voice purred beside his ear.

Sharppaw jumped. "You scared me!" He hissed. He then purred. "Hi Stormpaw," He greeted.

"I heard that you caught a robin! Was it hard?" Stormpaw asked, her tail-tip flicking.

"Well, it was actually easy," Sharppaw meowed, glancing to the side. "I was going to take these two voles to the elders. Do you think they need moss?" He added.

"They might need moss, otherwise they'll be grumbling like a nest of badgers!" Stormpaw purred, her green eyes shining. "I'll see if I can go get some," She meowed. She turned away, her long, fluffy gray tail in the air.

Sharppaw could already spot Cloudpaw and Dewpaw at the elders' den. They seemed to be listening to a story from Flower. She was an old cat that once lived with the Tribe but when the Tribe Cats left, she decided to stay here. 

"Hi Sharppaw," Graystripe greeted. "Are those two voles for me?" He purred.

"Well, one is. You care share it with whoever you like!" Sharppaw mewed. He placed the vole in front of Graystripe. Graystripe crouched to eat it. Sharppaw turned and looked around the den, seeing that Poppyfrost and Ferncloud were asleep. He padded over to Flower.

"-so, that's how I became blind," Flower finished her story. Sharppaw had no idea what it was about, but he wasn't too interested. "Here we are," He meowed, setting the vole at Flower's paws. 

"You're a nice young tom," Flower meowed suddenly, turning to Sharppaw. "Can I talk to you in private for a second, Lightpaw?" She asked. 

"Er, I'm Sharppaw, by the way," Sharppaw corrected, his pelt feeling hot with embarrassment.

"Oh, sorry. I couldn't see that you were Sharppaw," Flower sighed. She turned to Dewpaw and Cloudpaw. "Could you two leave for a second?" She asked kindly.

"Sure," Cloudpaw and Dewpaw turned away, heading for the fresh-kill pile.

Sharppaw watched them go, then snapped his attention back to Flower. The old cat had her tail wrapped around her paws and she was sitting up. She then crouched down to take a bite from the vole. Sharppaw could see her ribs showing beneath her pelt. 

"So, Sharppaw. How is training going?" Flower asked, not looking at him.

"Er well, its great," Sharppaw mewed awkwardly. It felt strange that Flower had only wanted to talk to him. "Um, how are your days as an elder?"

"Well, huh, boring and fun. I can't see anything, but at least I haven't lost my hearing or sense of smell," She purred, flicking her tail. She took another bite of vole, then scooted Sharppaw closer. "Tell you what. Are you happy living here? In a Clan?" She asking.

"Well, its great! I was born a Clan cat!" Sharppaw purred. He didn't want to mention how his sister treated him though. "I caught a robin without any trouble at all!"

"That's good! I remember when I was a to-be and..." Flower's voice trailed off. Her eyes clouded with sadness. 

"What's wrong?" Sharppaw asked.

"I tried catching an eagle once. I'll admit I was stupid to do it. My... mentor died saving me. He sacrificed himself to save me from the eagle. I've always hated myself for doing that. I'll always blame myself," Flower admitted, grief choking her. 

"I'm sorry that that happened," Sharppaw mewed. "It must've been hard," He meowed, looking away from Flower's scratched-up eyes.  

"I remember when my son became leader. Stoneteller. I grew older and older, watching as time went on. He got older too, although he was a young tom. Life became harder in the mountains. I lost my sister and my mother got sick and died, shortly after my father went missing. Then, the rogues attacked and I lost my daughter, Wolf. Then I lost my son, Stoneteller. He was too young when he died. He didn't deserve to," Flower meowed.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," Sharppaw meowed sympathetically. "I would be devastated if I lost my family members," He meowed. Except for Frostpaw.

"But tell you what, I'm actually happier living here than with the Tribe. I lost most of my kin there. The closet cat to me in that Tribe that's still alive is Ice. He was a good friend of my son. A great friend. He was even chosen deputy. I know Ice was devastated as well when Stoneteller died. He even.... he even witnessed it with his own eyes," Flower meowed. "But I'm happier here. I've made tons of friends in ThunderClan. And living as an elder, everyone treats me with respect." 

"Sounds like you should rest," Sharppaw meowed softly. "I think you just need a break." Paws sounded behind him.

"I know the rogues are still a problem here. And they'll become an ever bigger problem," Flower muttered, crouching into her nest.

"I've got fresh moss!" 

Sharppaw turned to see Stormpaw. She was running up to them with a big bundle of moss in her jaws. She dropped some of it at Sharppaw's paws. "Come on, help me fix their nests," Stormpaw purred.

Sharppaw crouched to pick up the moss, then began to go into the back of the den, clawing up Graystripe's old nest. Wasn't Frostpaw supposed to be cleaning their nests? Sharppaw felt a growl rising in his throat and tore up Ferncloud's old nest, then set down new moss. He spread out the pieces of moss, fixing them until they looked comfy. 

Sharppaw sighed as he padded from the den, feeling tired. He made his way to the apprentices' den, seeing that Stormpaw and Monarchpaw were curled up together. Stalkpaw was sleeping alone in his nest on the side, while Frostpaw slept in a nest beside Lightpaw's nest, her lips curled back. Sharppaw hissed inwardly and picked his way to the back of the cozy den, then crouched down in his nest, bristling. Facing the back wall of the den, he curled up and fell asleep.