A Vision of Shadows #1: The Apprentice's Quest

Chapter 1

"Alderpaw!"

A young tom straightened up, pricking his ears in alarm. His pelt bristled with worry as he leaned forward to peer into the bushes. "Sparkpaw?" he called anxiously.

The undergrowth rustled and thrashed before a ginger head popped out, green eyes shining in excitement. An orange tabby she-cat burst through with a limp russet shape hanging from her jaws. "Alderpaw!" Sparkpaw said again, breathless. "Look what I caught!"

Alderpaw's dark ginger fur fell flat again as his sister skipped around him, proudly holding her squirrel. "Sparkpaw, you mouse-brain!" he growled. "I thought you were hurt."

"Nope!" The she-cat bounced on her paws eagerly. "Just the opposite. I'm fine. Great, even! Isn't this the largest squirrel you've ever seen?" She pushed her catch closer to her brother, who leaned away, tail tip twitching in annoyance.

"You made it seem like a hoard of badgers was chasing after you," he muttered, flattening his ears. Despite his harsh words, Alderpaw couldn't help but feel relieved. At least Sparkpaw was alright. Even so, she could be a little too enthusiastic sometimes.

Circling around Alderpaw with her head held high in self-satisfaction, the she-cat rambled on, "Cherryfall will be so impressed. This is my first squirrel, and it could feed all of Lilyheart's kits! Maybe she'll make me a warrior early!" She paused, eyes widening with jubilation.

We've only been an apprentice for a moon! Alderpaw decided to keep silent, not wanting to ruin Sparkpaw's moment, but he was extremely doubtful that they would become warriors when they hadn't even been to a Gathering yet.

"I even almost caught a vole just a while ago," Sparkpaw added, curiously cocking her head at her brother. "What have you caught?"

Alderpaw stiffened. "Er. . ." He trailed off, acutely aware that he had not killed anything. The young tom had been tracking a mouse, until he had noticed a particularly healthy clump of marigold. How was he supposed to resist? He had been sniffing earnestly at the vibrant stems before Sparkpaw had interrupted him.

The orange she-cat was still waiting patiently for his reply, an encouraging smile on her face. Alderpaw stared at the ground, thinking of an excuse. "Well. . . I. . . I couldn't find anything yet."

"That's okay!" Sparkpaw gave him a reassuring nudge and sniffed the air, her eyes narrowed in concentration. She immediately brightened. "There's a mouse trail right there!" she announced animatedly, pointing with her tail.

It was the same mouse trail that Alderpaw had been following before he became distracted, and he had to force out a prickle of guilt. "I think you might have scared it off by now," the apprentice pointed out, glad for the justification. The same thing goes for about every other piece of prey in the forest, he added mentally, but he wasn't about to say that to his sister.

Sparkpaw nodded. "I suppose you're right. But I'm going to go find something that didn't hear me!" She flicked Alderpaw's ear affectionately with her tail before diving once more into the undergrowth.

The dark ginger tom gazed after her with a sigh. He wished he could be as avid about hunting as she was, but somehow he always found something that caught his attention. . . like the marigold.

Figuring he wouldn't be able to find any quarry now, he turned back to the lush plant. Alderpaw leaned forward to sniff at it and breathed in the sharp, aromatic scent. The medicine cats will appreciate these, he thought, stretching out his neck to nip a few stalks off. Once he had gathered a sufficient pile, he nudged them into a neat bundle with his paw and purred with satisfaction.