Lion and Tiger: Paw prints (A Warriors Fanfiction)

{chapter 3}

Lionpaw woke up to see Tigerpaw in his face.

"Tigerpaw!" he yelped, surprised.

"Lionpaw, c'mon, it's time to train and hunt and go around the territory!" Tigerpaw grinned, his green eyes gleaming. "I go with Bumblestripe, and you with Acornfeather. But we go together!"

Lionpaw got up and yawned. He too, was excited. He traveled warily to outside the den. At once, he saw Bumblestripe arguing with Acornfeather. 

"We should go from the right!"

"No, the left!"

"RIGHT!"

"LEFT!" 

Bumblestripe finally gave in and agreed to go right, since it was the direction they exited the camp. The mentors called their apprentices over and they traveled together to outside the camp.

"First, we're going around ShadowClan territory. we'll go all the way around and hunt in the middle a little later," Acornfeather explained.

"What's that big water thing? It's so pretty!" Lionpaw asked, gazing.

Bumblestripe laughed. "That's the lake!"

The cats toured around the lake so Tigerpaw and Lionpaw could see it. Their apprentices started arguing in the background.

"I think Bumblestripe and Acornfeather like each other," Tigerpaw remarked as they lapped up some water.

Lionpaw looked at him curiously. "But they fight nonstop!"

"Bramblestar and Squirrelflight did that when they were alive," Tigerpaw pointed out.

Lionpaw laughed. "Let's check by pushing them into each other!"

"Yeah!"

The brothers head back to their mentors. Tigerpaw came to the right of Bumblestripe and Lionpaw on the left of Acornfeather. The mentors were right in the middle. "Do you smell something?" Acornfeather asked Lionpaw. 

"Yeah, something bad."

Acornfeather laughed, "That's ShadowClan!"

"Those are their scent marks. Don't go any farther than this or a ShadowClan patrol will catch you and...yeah," Bumblestripe continued.

Tigerpaw looked at Lionpaw and flicked his tail. Lionpaw nodded. The two brothers charged at Acornfeather and Bumblestripe. 

When the mentors bumped into each other, they yelped. You could see Bumblestripe blushing clearly through his yellow pelt, although Acornfeather's was well disguised through her flame-colored fur.

"What was that for?" Acornfeather snapped. Lionpaw winced. It was funny to see them blush like that, but there was a price.

Bumblestripe scolded Tigerpaw, as well. Tigerpaw could still see a bit of pink on his cheeks.

"We're sorry," Tigerpaw mumbled, a laugh stuck in his throat.

Bumblestripe sniffed the air. "Do you smell anything?" he asked when they were further into ThunderClan's territory.

Tigerpaw took a deep breath and opened his jaws. The scent of mouse lingered on his tongue. "Mouse," he whispered to his mentor. Bumblestripe nodded and got into a hunter's crouch. 

"Jam all your energy into your hindquarters," he explained quietly. The prey scuffled around the leafy floor. Tigerpaw nodded and obeyed. He hoped Lionpaw wouldn't get to it first, but he seemed to be stalking a vole.

Determination oozed through Tigerpaw. He leaped. The mouse was stuck on his claw.

"Woah! First try!" Bumblestripe congratulated once Lionpaw leaped for the vole. Lionpaw also caught his prey.

Tigerpaw grinned. He pricked his ears at the sound of a shrew. Quickly, the apprentice scraped earth and then stalked the shrew. 

The shrew got away this time. Tigerpaw's confidence dropped a little, but he knew he had still done pretty good. Lionpaw's thrush got away, as well. It was almost as if their moves matched, except they were a little off on the synchronization.

The more Tigerpaw thought about it, the more it made sense. It happened when they thought about their friends. When they pushed the mentors. When they hunted.

Tigerpaw noticed that he was almost always first to do something, and Lionpaw shadowed him. The though surprised him. Lionpaw was more out-going and leader-like. Tigerpaw was shy, his green eyes covered by the long hair on his head.

The lake glimmered as the group walked back the Clan. The moon set, and the lake shone.