Flamepaw's Destination

Chapter 2

            A few days came and passed since Flamepaw's embarrassing encounter with Duskpelt. So far her mentor had not brought up the incident, but Flamepaw still felt bad each time she thought of it. She supposed it wasn't her fault that her past was haunting her, but she still felt like it was her job to control it.
            After a fitful rest, Flamepaw awoke to find Barkpaw standing over her, gently poking her with his paw.
            "Hey, it's time to get up," he told her.
            Flamepaw slowly blinked. "I'll be up in a second," she said. "Want to pick us out some good fish from the fresh-kill pile?"
            "I'll see what I can find," Barkpaw offered, scampering off.
            Flamepaw smiled, glad to have a good friend. At times she'd been able to talk to him about her fears from the quest, and Barkpaw had shared some of his own. She guessed it had bonded them together. Still, that had been moons ago. She doubted he still knew of the terrors she encountered.
            As Flamepaw came out of the den into sunlight, she noticed her father chatting with one of the other warriors. For some strange reason, she was drawn to him and padded up to his side.
            Brownpelt, still engaged in conversation, did not look down.
            "Dad," Flamepaw called.
            Brownpelt glanced down at her then back at the RiverClan warrior, wrapping up their conversation. Then, he turned back to her, grinning.
            "Good morning, sweetheart," he purred. "How are you doing?"
            "Fine," Flamepaw replied, though she really believed she was not. Neither him nor her mother knew about all the dangers she'd encountered on her journey. The only cats who really knew about her nightmares were Barkpaw and Duskpelt, and Duskpelt had just guessed from their daily training, not because she'd told him.
            "What's the plan for today?" he asked.
            "More training," Flamepaw explained.
            "Oh," Brownpelt spoke, nodding. "And it's going well?"
            Flamepaw nodded.
            "Well, it'll be good to see you named a warrior soon," he purred, poking at her lightly with his tail.
            "I'm excited," she admitted. She could imagine the day now. She'd be standing on top of that log, with Barkpaw by her side, perhaps. Goldstar would stand beside her and bestow upon her the warrior name which StarClan had decided for her. Then, she'd be a full RiverClan warrior! Such joy would she feel!
            "Well, Troutfin's assigned me to patrol. I better go," Brownpelt explained.
            Flamepaw frowned. She knew her father had been upset when Troutfin had been assigned deputy instead of him. Still, Flamepaw guessed that was one of her father's flaws. He thought too highly of himself and took it upon himself when he didn't get his way. Since Troutfin was named deputy, he'd stepped up his duties, perhaps trying to bribe Troutfin if she were to become leader in the future.
            Flamepaw guessed that maybe she possessed some of this stubbornness too. After all, she had blamed herself for all the mishaps on the quest, even though they couldn't have been avoided. And she'd taken it upon herself to try harder, even if it meant a hard and vigorous task lay ahead of her.
            "Hey, Dad," Flamepaw called as he began to pad away.
            Brownpelt turned, impatiently waiting.
            "If-if you weren't busy, maybe we could fish later? Or just walk in the woods?" Flamepaw suggested.
            Brownpelt paused for a second, his green eyes deep in thought. "I did offer to do evening patrol. We'll see."
            Flamepaw nodded, though her heart sank. It was nearly the same as when she was a kit. He still didn't have enough time for her.
            "Flamepaw! Hurry up!" Barkpaw called from the fresh-kill pile.
            Flamepaw turned away from her father and padded to the tom, seeing he had a medium-sized fish waiting for her. She sat down across from him and bit into the fish, glad it had a better taste than the one she'd eaten a few days earlier.
            "I'm going to miss fish," Barkpaw admitted.
            Flamepaw eyed him curiously. "Didn't you say you preferred forest prey?"
            "I don't know. I think I've grown towards it," Barkpaw explained, his green eyes gleaming with joy.
            Flamepaw laughed, finishing up the rest of the fish. "What are the plans for today?"
            "You'll be coming with us, Flamepaw," came a voice behind Barkpaw. Flamepaw glanced up to see Rosepettle stand beside Barkpaw, her feathery tail wrapped around him. "I hope that's okay."
            Flamepaw nodded her head vigorously. Occasionally, she and Duskpelt would train alongside Rosepettle and Barkpaw, with them being of such a close age and all and in the same stage of training.
            "Is Duskpelt okay with it?" Flamepaw wondered.
            The white she-cat nodded. "I just spoke with him. We'll be fishing in the river today. Not sure how much longer we'll get to do that. Let's see how much fish we can bring back to the clan."
            "I'll bring back enough to double the size of the fresh-kill pile!" Barkpaw declared.
            Rosepettle chuckled. "We'll see about that. Come on, Flamepaw. Duskpelt is waiting by the border of camp."
            Flamepaw trotted with them towards the camp entrance where Duskpelt stood, waiting patiently for his apprentice.
            "Ready to go?" he asked.
            Flamepaw nodded, and soon they were off. She trotted alongside Barkpaw in the forest as Rosepettle and Duskpelt led the way to the river. Flamepaw grinned as they padded along, admiring the colorful views of the forest.
            Soon enough, they came to the edge of the rushing river. Rain that had fallen during leaf-fall had allowed it to fill again, though shortly, the cold winds of leaf-bare would cause it to freeze over. Flamepaw tried not to think of leaf-bare and instead only focused on the current rushing river.
            "Here we are!" Rosepettle exclaimed, sitting down next to the river side. Barkpaw joined his mentor, and Flamepaw sat between him and Dusktail.
            "So, what do we win?" Barkpaw asked.
            "What do you mean?" Dusktail wondered.
            "What does the cat who catches the most fish win?" Barkpaw asked.
            "Experience," Rosepettle purred.
            Barkpaw groaned, and Flamepaw giggled, her eyes focusing on the river. She glanced into the rippling current, keeping her eyes peeled for the sight of any movement. She hoped to catch several fish today.
            Catching fish wasn't hard for her anymore after the quest. She had to learn how to hunt during it, and Duskpelt had admired her new hunting skills. Still, she wanted to impress Duskpelt and the others.
            A gleam of silver came by, but before Flamepaw could scoop it up, Duskpelt already had the fish in his grasp and killed it easily. He dropped it by his side, grinning.
            "Hey, let the apprentices catch some, will you?" Barkpaw snapped.
            Rosepettle lightly swatted him on the head. "Respect your elders, son. There'll be more."
            And Rosepettle was right. Several more fish came there way until finally, Flamepaw managed to dig her claws into one. It was larger than the others, and she heaved it up with great strength. Flamepaw dropped it beside her and killed it, gasping as she glanced at its colored scales.
            "Why, you've caught a salmon!" Rosepettle gasped. "They're my favorite."
            "I-I've never caught one before," Flamepaw admitted.
            "They're a bit harder to catch because of their size," Duskpelt explained, glancing at the fish. It was nearly Flamepaw's size, and it looked as if it would feed several cats well.
            "Good job," Duskpelt purred. "That must take a lot of strength."
            Flamepaw smiled and continued fishing while Barkpaw scowled and focused on the water, ignoring Rosepettle's soothing words of comfort. As more were caught, Barkpaw shrieked as he dug his paw into the water.
            "I got it! I bet I got a salmon too!" he exclaimed, lifting the fish up. Unfortunately, his grasp hadn't been as tight, and it fell from his paw and began flopping on the forest floor.
            "Yikes!" Barkpaw shrieked, rushing after his fish. He spun around Rosepettle and Flamepaw and dove for the fish, the slimy creature slipping through his paws and leaping back into the water.
            "Fox-dung!" he spat in disappointment. Flamepaw couldn't help but giggle.
            Despite Barkpaw's failed attempt, he had several more successful ones, as did Flamepaw. Soon, they had enough fish to feed the entire clan—well, in Flamepaw's eyes. Satisfied with the number of fish they'd caught, Duskpelt declared it time to go home.
            Flamepaw happily grabbed a few fish, Barkpaw doing the same. Duskpelt and Rosepettle grabbed the remaining, and they were then heading back to RiverClan camp.
            Flamepaw was pleased with her day of fishing and hoped Duskpelt was pleased too. She glanced up at him, hoping to see a reaction, but he only looked straight ahead.
            Flamepaw turned back, her heart sinking. She followed Rosepettle and Barkpaw back into RiverClan camp, where they left their fish in the fresh-kill pile. The other RiverClan members were pleased with their donation, which allowed Flamepaw to feel joy.
            As Flamepaw set down her last fish, Duskpelt at last turned to her.
            "Good job for today. As a reward for your efforts, you don't have to get some more moss for No-Claw, even if he does complain," Duskpelt told her.
            Flamepaw grinned. "Thanks. Did I do a good job?"
            Duskpelt did not reply.
            "Duskpelt?"
            "What? Sorry," Duskpelt responded, clearly out of it. "Yes, you did a fabulous job."
            "Is something wrong?" Flamepaw asked, wondering if perhaps he was too kind to tell her she had made some mistake.
            "I'm thinking about what's been happening when we've been practicing fighting moves, Flamepaw. It's no secret that you were affected after the quest."
            Flamepaw glanced down. She hadn't expected him to be so bothered by it.
            "I'm not blaming you for anything. I just know you haven't been working to your best potential. I wasn't on the quest, and I don't know what you went through, but you clearly need to work things out. I'm not making you do anything, but I'm advising you to see Mothwing. She was on your quest and can help you overcome whatever fears you're facing. She's a great she-cat, Flamepaw, and I know she can help you."
            Flamepaw did not reply but only glanced down at her white tipped paws.
            "Flamepaw?" Duskpelt spoke, waiting for a reply.
            "I-I'll think about it," Flamepaw decided, faking a smile as she left him. Noticing that her father was not in camp, she guessed he had not found enough time to walk in the forest with her. Sighing, Flamepaw padded off back to the apprentice den, Duskpelt's advice still in her mind.