Flames At Night: Book 1: A Shattered Path

Chapter Two

Dolphinpaw

"Dolphinpaw, get over here!" Jasminefur called. She sounded annoyed this morning.

The sleek gray tom yawned as he stepped out of the apprentices' den. "Here, Jasminefur."

"We're swimming out to the island today, with Whiterose. She wants us to help her collect some herbs."

Dolphinpaw smiled to himself. He loved the ocean, and swimming was his favorite part of training. "All right," he mewed. "When are we going?"

"Whiterose needs a little time to get ready. Go get something to eat, and then come back here."

"Okay," Dolphinpaw said, padding over to the freshkill pile. He grabbed a cod and walked over to the spot beside the apprentices' den.

"Hi, Dolphinpaw!" He looked up to see Cloverpaw trotting over to him.

"Good morning, Cloverpaw!" he called to his sister as she sat next to him.

"Mind if I share?" she asked. Dolphinpaw nodded. He knew that cod was her favorite.

The tortoiseshell tabby leaned down and bit into the fish. "What are you doing today?" she asked, chewing the rubbery flesh.

"I'm going out to the island to help Whiterose collect herbs," he said, also taking a bite. "I'll probably go hunting too."

"Lucky," Cloverpaw groaned. "Poolheart is making me go on a border patrol. Like anyone would want to steal our land, anyway..."

"Yeah," Dolphinpaw agreed. "And none of the other clans can even fish! Maybe SparkClan can, but they do it in the river. Way different from the ocean."

"Definitely!" Cloverpaw nodded her head vigorously. "SparkClan could never learn. And plus, they live miles away."

"Dolphinpaw, are you ready to leave?" Jasminefur yelled. The apprentice swallowed his last bite of cod and stood up.

"See you later, Cloverpaw!" he meowed, walking over to his mentor. Cloverpaw waved at him with her tail, and he returned the gesture.

Whiterose and Jasminefur were waiting by the camp entrance. "What took you so long?" Jasminefur frowned.

"Let him be, Jasminefur," Whiterose mewed. The young medicine cat headed out of the camp, the warrior behind her. Dolphinpaw ran ahead of them, eager to get to the island.

"Dolphinpaw, wait for us," his mentor warned. The apprentice barely heard her as he raced up a sand dune and breathed in the salty tang of the water.

Finally, they arrived at the beach. Dolphinpaw took a gulp of air and dived into the cold water.

His paws stirred up clouds of sand under the surface as he paddled away from the shore. Kicking off the bottom, he shot upwards and laughed as a wave pushed him to the side. The sun glinted off the turquoise water and into his eyes, but he didn't mind. Taking another

deep breath, he ducked his head into the spray.

A school of fish swam off in the distance. Dolphinpaw tried to count them, but gave up as they swirled around each other, too fast to number. Mesmerized, he swam closer, at the very bottom.

Suddenly, someone grabbed his scruff and dragged him back up. He flailed and tried to escape as his head broke the surface.

"Dolphinpaw!" a voice grunted. "Will you stop trying to kick me? I thought you were drowning!"

Dolphinpaw turned around in the water and sighed in relief as he saw Jasminefur. "Sorry!" he gasped. "I thought you were attacking me!"

"You were underwater so long, I thought you were dead," the yellow and white warrior meowed. "However, you do need to pay more attention. I caught you completely by surprise."

"I was looking at the fish," Dolphinpaw admitted. Jasminefur huffed and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, dear, it seems those warriors I brought to help me carry herbs have disappeared," Dolphinpaw heard Whiterose say. Quickly, he shot past her and hauled himself onto the bank of the island.

"I'm here, what do we have to collect?" he asked the silver-spotted medicine cat. Whiterose glanced around, her gaze fixating on a short plant with long, smooth leaves.

"This," she meowed, crossing over to it and ripping up a clump, "is dock. We use it for sore pads."

Dolphinpaw tugged on a leaf, separating it from the rest of the plant. He gently rubbed the soft surface before pulling off another.

"I'm going to see if I can find any horsetail," Whiterose said, trotting off towards the other side of the island. Jasminefur followed her, leaving Dolphinpaw alone.

He picked dock leaves until he had a decently sized pile. His mentor and the medicine cat were nowhere to be seen, so he decided to fish a bit.

The apprentice moved to a part of the bank where he could easily reach the water. Carefully watching, he noticed the slight glimmer of scales. However, it was quite far away.

Silently, Dolphinpaw slid into the ocean. The waves gently washed against his muzzle, and he took a deep breath before diving.

He paddled in the direction he had seen the fish head, slowly breathing out through his nose. The tuna came into view just ahead, and he prepared to dart forward and grab it in his claws. Sizing up the distance, he bunched his limbs together and then kicked his way forward.

The fish flopped its tail in his face, trying to escape, but he ducked under it and grabbed it by the belly. Pulling it closer to him, he sank his teeth into the underside of its head.

The tuna stopped moving, and Dolphinpaw swam for the surface. Breaking through, he gasped in fresh air, then turned and paddled for the shore, his catch awkwardly blocking his movement. It tasted like salt and the ocean.

He reached the bank and heaved the fish and himself onto it. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath.

"Good job," said Jasminefur from behind him. Dolphinpaw turned around. He hadn't realized that she was watching him.

"Umm, thanks," he replied.

Jasminefur looked at him calculatingly, as though she was sizing him up. Like a shark looks at prey. Dolphinpaw shuffled his feet nervously. When she finally spoke, it was a relief in more than one way. "I think you'll be ready for your warrior assessment soon."

"Really?" Dolphinpaw squealed, then slapped his tail over his mouth. He hadn't meant to sound like an excited kit.

"That's great!" said Whiterose, stepping next to Jasminefur. She had a bundle of herbs in her jaws. "Your sister will be so excited. She might be getting hers, too."

The apprentice grinned. "Thank you, Jasminefur! I can't wait!"

"It's a shame, though," Whiterose sighed playfully. "Since you have that tuna, you can't carry any herbs."

"Oh yeah!" Dolphinpaw ran over to the pile of dock, nearly tripping over the fish's tail. "I got lots of what you asked me to."

"Thank you, Dolphinpaw," the medicine cat mewed, rolling the leaves into a bundle. Together, the three cats set off towards home.