Warriors Redwood: Bronze

[6] It Feels Wrong to Hit a Kit.

[Trying something new with the chap titles, gonna edit the others after I post this.] 

Rattail walked his apprentice, Halfpaw back to camp, training having been, largely unsuccessful. Halfpaw fell on his hindquarters twice as many times as the last and it seemed the stress only made him worse.

Rattail breathed out a tense sigh. He was trying, really, but how was he supposed to help someone as helpless as Halfpaw, the more he tried to help, the worse Halfpaw seemed to do, he was running out of ideas, "Why don't you take a piece of fresh-kill to the elders and then some for yourself? We'll go train some more tomorrow," He muttered.

"Okay Rattail," Halfpaw stared at the ground as if he were watching a line of ants move across the dusty floors. He walked off, slowly, and on shaking legs like a fawn just learning to walk. He tottered along to the fresh kill pile, and finally dipping into the medicine den with just a quick brush of the ferns.

Rattail was no mousebrain, he knew Halfpaw preferred the medicine den to warrior training, yet the apprentice had said next to nothing about it. Rattail only hoped he would soon, so that this agonizing training could end. He felt boundless amounts of sorrow for the apprentice, as it was clear he was very stressed out about trying to become a warrior, and with his warrior assessment coming up it was only a matter of time before Halfpaw failed in the eyes of the clan as well. Rattail almost thought about lying to Barkstar for Halfpaw's sake, but he could see it in the way the rest of the clan watches him, its only a matter of time before they would find out.

Rattail gazed softly at the setting sun, wishing moonhigh and its silverpelt would arrive sooner. Then he could go to sleep and worry about this later, or perhaps he would stay up, maybe have another star filled conversation, watching the stars with pelts fluffed out like kits in leafbare, leaning together like lichen infested trees.

"Rattail," A mew startled him and he flinched in the direction of the voice. Alas the comforting smell of clanmates went and calmed him down once more. A ball of ginger fur told him it was Cloversplash, a warrior, shouldn't she be on dusk patrol?

"Is something wrong?" He asked, stepping forward, her pelt was spiked up in certain places, eluding to fear of some sort. She was nudged by Shininglily, someone Rattail vaguely recognized as Halfpaw's kin, like Spottedpaw and Gingerpaw.

"Oh, uhm, I just saw some bear dirt out by the Mountainclan border, I was wondering if we could go and track it. To make sure the beast crossed the border, of course," Her voice was hasty and shaking, yet Rattail saw it as nothing but normal, the she-cat always seemed anxious and hasty around almost any tom, really.

"Yeah sure, though if there's a bear about we should bring more than just us," He turned to Shininglily, "Why don't you come along too? Just to watch in case the bear wants a taste of clan blood."

"Uh," Shininglily and Cloversplash shared a look before Shininglily sighed and gave a firm nod.

"I'll go tell Barkstar where we're off to," Rattail paused before walking away.

•••

The patrol was largely boring, returning from it was like being relieved of apprentice duties, Rattail felt a little bad for thinking that way though. He had a brief moment of realization that Cloversplash was trying to befriend him. He told himself he'd make an effort to be her friend.  

It was around moon-rise Rattail guessed as he watched an exchange between Shardheart and Looncrook, swapping camp guards. When Looncrook took his place, Barkstar left his den and stepped over to Rattail. 

"How was the scent trail?" He asked, and Rattail took a moment to think about it aside from the fact that he was more bored than a kittypet could ever be.