peachy | a warrior cats fanfiction

▹ chapter 2

It was now the next morning. Still warm new-leaf, still no Leafpaw. This marked five days since he died. It felt event shorter.

Peachpaw was already awake, grooming her patched fur, the sounds of birds chirping and plants rustling reaching her ears from outside her den. Inside, there were still several sleeping bodies. One other she-cat was awake besides Peachpaw, and the calico could feel her occasional glances against her back. Peachpaw made no gesture towards her.

Paying attention to her grooming, Peachpaw basically jumped when she heard a voice at the den entrance, especially since it was calling her name. She lifted her eyes to see Tansysong standing there, head partially ducked through the entranceway. "You're awake, good," She mewed, her voice low. Peachpaw nodded, quickly standing up.

"We're going training today, if that's alright? I have some new things to teach you," The warrior mewed.

Peachpaw wasn't sure if she was surprised or excited or annoyed or... what. Tansysong had spoken to her some since her brother's death, but they hadn't done any form of training since. Honestly, the younger she-cat was a little worried she might have forgotten some of the things they'd learned.

"Okay," Peachpaw mewed. Her voice was a bit hoarser than she anticipated, probably due to her recent awakening, and she cleared her throat, hoping Tansysong hadn't taken it as some sort of emote. She knew voices got hoarse when people cried.

"Lilypaw, you're up too," Tansysong added friendlily, looking back at the other white she-cat in the den. Peachpaw also turned her head to look back at her. Their eyes met for a moment before the white-furred apprentice looked away, gazing levelly at Tansysong.

"Why don't you come with us?" The warrior offered. "Oakwatcher is up too, I just saw him, and I think he was planning on training you today anyway. Might as well get two birds with one stone." Suddenly, Tansysong's calm, bright voice faded, and she looked at Peachpaw with a little uncertainty. "I mean, if that's okay with you, Peachpaw," She meowed.

"It's fine," Peachpaw replied simply. This was what bothered her about people now. She knew they were doing it to be kind and aware of her feelings, but she almost felt like she was able to ignore that in favor of the opinion that they were almost babying her. She could train with another apprentice! She hated being seen as so fragile. Yeah, she felt awful, but... she didn't think she needed as much concern as she was getting.

"Okay then!" Tansysong meowed, her cheery tone returning. "C'mon, let's go, both of you." She brought her head out from the den entrance and Peachpaw could see her beginning to pad towards the center of camp.

She felt Lilypaw's presence beside her, and she stood, giving her fur a few more quick licks before standing up as well. For some reason, though, Lilypaw had stopped, standing beside Peachpaw. Was she waiting for her? However, when Peachpaw finally stood, the other apprentice didn't move. As Peachpaw turned to her, she noticed the cat's jaws slightly agape, as if she was considering saying something.

"It's nice to be training with you again," Lilypaw finally got out after a few seconds. Peachpaw took a breath, nodding. She watched Lilypaw as she sheepishly turned away, padding towards the den entrance, and she followed suit close behind.