Warrior Cats: Cascade

Chapter Six

The fragile heat spell that had graced the moor soon fell away, leaving behind a familiar nip in the air. The very night that the patrol had set out, in fact, was the night of which the chill set in.

Doepaw hated the cold. She had thought that they were done with it for the season, and she saw no reason as to why Leaf-bare needed to make a surprise appearance.

Her fur fluffed out to twice it's size (which wasn't actually that large), Doepaw watched from the apprentices' den as Willowpaw fetched a moorhen for them to share. Her sister had no problem with any kinds of temperatures, it seemed, and was happily engaged in a conversation with Creampatch, her mentor. Doepaw felt like yelling at her to hurry up, but that would've just been rude.

Willowpaw seemed to notice the impatience that her sister was giving off, and waved her tail in a hasty good-bye. The two sisters moved a bit deeper into the den to share the meal. Doepaw would have to admit - the one good thing about the insulation was the warmth that this place retained. The space had gone from cramped to cozy in a matter of degrees overnight.

"I'm going out on dawn patrol," Willowpaw mentioned, sinking her teeth into the fat on the stomach of the bird.

Doepaw nodded. "Who's going with you?" She prompted. She preferred the meat on the wings, personally, but she didn't really enjoy birds in general. She preferred rabbits and mice, as well as others that fit the category of rodent.

Willowpaw finished chewing before she spoke. "Creampatch, obviously, Toadsong, Frostwhisker, and me."

Doepaw's stomach fluttered at the sound of his name. She couldn't help the look in her eyes - oh, why did toms have to be so cruel?

Willowpaw seemed to notice rather quickly. She skipped over the introductory piece and went straight to her list of concerns:

"Isn't he a little old?"

"I thought he liked Nettleclaw-"

"She's twice his age, dingbat," Doepaw cut in.

"O-oh, uh, well how old is he?"

Doepaw made a shrugging motion and took a bite. The thorn poking at her stomach was becoming insistent, now. "Does it matter?" She mumbled through the moorhen.

"Well, you wouldn't go off and have kits with Bearstep, would you?" Willowpaw asked incredulously. She was starting to get rather loud, now that she was losing the argument.

"What about me?" Bearstep asked, his massive head poking through the opening to the apprentice's den.

Willowpaw's patches of white fur seemed just a bit paler in that moment.

"We were talking about last night's eagle watch," Doepaw said swiftly. "Willowpaw thought that you had gone on it, and I had to convince her otherwise." She had to hold her tongue to keep from laughing.

Willowpaw sent her a look of gratitude, nodding along to the story.

"Well, Willowpaw, the dawn patrol is waiting," he meowed. "And I think your mentor was looking for you, Doepaw." He back out of the den, probably off to administer the hunting patrols for the day.

Doepaw gave a small sigh, stuffing as much moorhen into her mouth as she could before following Willowpaw out of the den. She was still hungry, but at least she wouldn't have to trek across the territory again. With luck, she would be practicing something small, like her hunter's crouch.

Riverstripe meowed a terse 'good morning', obviously tired as well from the adventure last night. Doepaw yawned in response. The two cats watched as hunting parties set out, silence stretching between them for a while.