Pineshade's Loss

Chapter 23

Pinepaw and Milkpaw have been planning to sneak out of camp together at night. The couple slowly pads out of the apprentices' den together, trying their best not to wake up Frogpaw, Flamepaw, or Mousepaw. Once they step out into the moonlight, they let out a sigh once they realize who is guarding the camp this night.

"Oh no," Milkpaw whispers. Pinepaw quickly rushes back into the bramble entrance of the den where they are more hidden, with Milkpaw following close behind him.

"How are we supposed to get past him? He's the most alert cat in ShadowClan!" Pinepaw whispers, glancing over at Jayflight, hoping the blue-gray tom won't look in their direction.

"We need to distract him," Milkpaw suggests. "That's the only way we're going to sneak out without him catching us."

"How will we be able to distract him?!" Pinepaw asks.

"It won't be hard, Jayflight gets distracted by everything," Milkpaw meows, her purple eyes glancing around the area, trying to find a way to distract him.

"Can you two quiet down? I'm trying to sleep!" The familiar whisper of Frogpaw can be heard from farther into the den. Milkpaw and Pinepaw then give each other smug glances, knowing exactly how they're going to distract Jayflight.

"Frogpaw?" Pinepaw whispers.

"Yeah?" Frogpaw whispers back.

"Do you mind helping us out?" Pinepaw asks the black-and-white apprentice.

"I don't mind, what is it?" The younger apprentice asks in response, opening his yellow eyes.

"We need you to distract Jayflight," Milkpaw tells him.

"Oh, that's no problem. I got the two of you covered," Frogpaw whispers, getting up out of his nest.

"Great," Milkpaw responds. Pinepaw watches as the small cat approaches the two of them. After the three cats just stand silently for a few seconds, Frogpaw realizes something.

"I'm supposed to go now?" Frogpaw asks in a whisper. Pinepaw and Milkpaw let out quiet purrs of amusement.

"Yes," Pinepaw responds.

"Oh, okay," Frogpaw whispers, pushing his way through the bramble thicket at the entrance of the den. Pinepaw and Milkpaw then slightly peek their heads out of the den, waiting for the perfect opportunity to make a run for it.

"Frogpaw, what are you doing awake? You do know you will be on dawn patrol, right? You should be getting sleep right now," Jayflight meows at the sight of the black-and-white apprentice. The young apprentice has the reputation of being a troublemaker in the Clan, so Jayflight is truly not surprised to see him awake.

"I can't fall asleep, so I decided to come and speak to you. It would be nice to get some advice and stories from such a great warrior like you. You're my role model, you know that," Frogpaw lies.

I've never seen a cat lie like he does. He does it with no effort. I wonder how many times Frogpaw has gotten away from being punished. Pinepaw thinks. Frogpaw then signals at the couple with his tail, letting them know it's a good time for them to make a run for it.

"Let's go," Pinepaw whispers. Then, the two mates dash side-by-side, sneaking out of camp successfully.

"Thank StarClan for Frogpaw," Milkpaw meows.

"Yeah, I don't know what we'd do without him," Pinepaw responds. The light from the crescent moon shines down on the apprentices as they pad side-by-side through ShadowClan's territory. Pinepaw then climbs up a tree with Milkpaw climbing closely behind him. The two cats then sit down on a thick branch high up in the tree together, looking up at Silverpelt.

"This is beautiful," Milkpaw meows, her jaws open with awe.

"Like you," Pinepaw responds smoothly.

"Stop," Milkpaw shoves Pinepaw playfully, getting flustered. Pinepaw lets out a shy purr of amusement.

"So what were the kit names you thought about?" Pinepaw asks his mate curiously. "You said you would tell me."

"Right," Milkpaw meows. "For kits that get your fur color, I was thinking Duskkit or Smokekit. For kits that get my fur colors, I was thinking Palekit or Moonkit," she shares.

"I love those names," Pinepaw meows.

"Really?" Milkpaw asks happily. "I was hoping you would."

"I do," Pinepaw purrs. "I just can't believe you've thought about them this early."

"I think about our future together a lot, so I'm not surprised I started to think of what we might possibly name our future kits," Milkpaw meows.

"That's cute," Pinepaw purrs.

"Like you," Milkpaw meows smoothly, hitting him with the same thing he did to her, which makes Pinepaw flustered as well.

"That was clever," Pinepaw meows. After taking a bit longer to enjoy the view, the two apprentices climb back down the tree together. They then continue to pad through the darkness together.

"You know, we should do this more often," Pinepaw meows. However, there is no response. "Milkpaw?" he then meows, but there is still no response. The dark gray tom quickly turns his head to look around for the she-cat, but she's nowhere to be found.

"Milkpaw!" Pinepaw meows loudly, running around in a panic, hoping to find any sign of his mate.

"Slow down!" Pinepaw then hears Milkpaw's voice meows. "I'm right here, you frogbrain!" The she-cat meows.

"Oh.." Pinepaw responds, skidding to a halt. "Where were you?"

"I heard movement in a shrub so I wanted to go check it out, but it was just a toad," Milkpaw answers. "I wouldn't go anywhere too far away without telling you."

"I was so afraid I lost you," Pinepaw meows.

"If something attacked me, you would've known. But, I'm sorry for scaring you like that, dear," Milkpaw meows, giving her mate a quick forehead lick. "Now, let's keep walking."

After a while of peaceful walking, Pinepaw and Milkpaw decided it was about time they headed back to camp and went back to sleep. Hoping Frogpaw was still distracting Jayflight, the two apprentices sneak back into camp, making it back to the apprentices' den. Frogpaw was no longer distracting Jayflight, but they got lucky enough that they weren't caught by the blue-gray tom.

"Goodnight, Pinepaw," Milkpaw meows as she curls up into her nest.

"Goodnight, Milkpaw," Pinepaw meows as he joins her in her nest, resting his chin on the soft fur on her flank. Pinepaw then falls asleep right next to Milkpaw.