Sparks of a Fire

Chapter 7

Ripplepaw yawned. It was morning, and Cinderblossom, her mentor, would probably want her to go on dawn patrol. She glanced at the six nests beside her, but all six were cold and empty. She sighed, and got out of her bracken-and-fern nest, arching her back and yawning. She padded out of the apprentices den and shivered.

She was used to the cold, as all IceClan cats were, but it was always a shock to go from a warm cozy nest heated by herself and her denmates cozy fur, to cold wind and snow outside.

"Ripplepaw! Hey!" yowled Frostglimmer, a pretty white she-cat who'd just become a warrior, from beside the warriors den. Ripplepaw lifted her tail in greeting and dashed over to her.

"Excuse me, Frostglimmer, has Cinderblossom told you what I'm supposed to do today? I think Sealpaw and the toms are on patrol already." Ripplepaw mewed, a twinge of worry in her voice. Frostglimmer purred.

"So polite! You know, Ripplepaw, you and your brother seem a world apart sometimes!" Ripplepaw dipped her head, she didn't know exactly how to answer that.

"Well, let's see. I think Cinderblossom went hunting with Whalestripe and Stonetooth, you could join their patrol. They went over to Beluga Rock, I think." Frostglimmer meowed, tilting her silver-and-white tabby head to the side, her green eyes slitting. Ripplepaw bounced up and down.

"Thank you, Frostglimmer!" She dashed off, and could just hear the young white warrior mew,

"Much more polite than that Flamepaw."

•••

"Oh, hello Ripplepaw! What are you doing here?" Cinderblossom asked, a bit puzzled. Ripplepaw lifted her chin.

"You didn't tell me what to do, so I came looking for you!" Cinderblossom purred in amusement, though Ripplepaw heard Stonetooth mutter something about young cats minding their own business.

"Quiet, Stonetooth, it's quite alright if Ripplepaw wants to join us," Whalestripe, a black-and-white she-cat meowed, giving Stonetooth a friendly shove.

A fat char broke the surface, Whalestripe dove for it. A few moments passed, then Whalestripe splashed onto shore with the silver char in her mouth. She dropped it on the rock and finished it off with a clean bite to the neck.

Ripplepaw tilted her head to one side. The char looked almost beautiful in the new morning light, it's silver scales rainbow and shimmering. But Ripplepaw's thoughts were broken off by Cinderblossom meowing to Whalestripe,

"Nice catch!" The two she-cats purred and started chatting, while Stonetooth turned his pale green gaze on Ripplepaw.

"Why doesn't Ripplepaw go off and catch something for us," he asked, giving Ripplepaw a Look. Cinderblossom turned her attention to him and smiled.

"Why not? Ripplepaw, you go in those pines over there. Stonetooth and I can hunt near the icebergs, and Whalestripe can stay here." The cats mewed their agreement and they set out in their chosen directions.

Ripplepaw didn't like forest hunting as much as ocean hunting, but it was still fun to be in the trees and grass. It felt strange to see the green colours of the woods, and her eyes needed a bit of time to adjust. As she was looking around, her eyes fell on a small brown hare. It was quite a far distance from where she stood, so she set out carefully to the hare.

When she got about nine fox-lengths from the hare, she stopped in frustration. There was no good angle to attack the hare that wouldn't give away her spot! She glared at the hare. Couldn't you be closer? she silently willed.

Suddenly, as if pulled by some supernatural force, the hare shot backwards into her paws. Ripplepaw was stunned for a moment, as was the hare, but she came to her senses and smacked a paw on its chest and ended it with a bite to the neck.

"What in the Dark Forest just happened?" she mewed to herself. Her words reminded her of something, and she quickly mewed a thanks to StarClan for her catch, no matter how weird it was. She spun around and stared at a nearby pinecone. Come closer come closer come closer, she willed.

The spiky pinecone slammed into her pale pink nose with such force that she yowled a cry of pain. Great StarClan, I'm surprised every patrol in IceClan didn't come running! she thought to herself, clutching her throbbing nose. She waited a few moments for the pain to subside.

Ripplepaw looked up at a bird nest that she'd only just now realized was there. She glared at it with her icy blue eyes, but this time not with as much force.

The nest dropped gently down, and she killed the two surprised ptarmigans inside.

Holy StarClan, do I have powers? Ripplepaw thought, her heart pounding. She considered running to Cinderblossom and telling her everything, but she decided against it. I have powers! She grinned to herself, and set out to show Cinderblossom her prey-pile.