ELEMENTALS / warriors

Chapter 2

"So, you're Houndpaw, eh?"

The choice of words caused the small navy tom to cast his gaze in the direction of a dusty-brown tom, his bright orange eyes looking Houndpaw over. The newly-made apprentice couldn't help but notice his bobtail, though twitched an ear and met the other tom's eyes. "Yes. I am." He kept his words flat and short, not really in a mood to talk. He was exhausted and just wanted to sleep.

"Oh! Well, great, I'm Quakepaw," the pale brown tom mewed, holding his paw to his puffed out chest. Clearly he hadn't taken Houndpaw's words as a hint to be quiet. The navy tom didn't mind, though.

"Nice to meet you, Quakepaw," he murmured.

"Hey! Are you introducing yourself without me?" Another small brown she-cat slid into their conversation, freckles of mint green dotting her body. She blinked her yellow eyes at Houndpaw, dipping her head gracefully, a purr rumbling from her throat. "I'm Firmapaw! Not too sure what it means, my mom said it's something about land? I dunno. But it's so nice to meet you!! We are very excited to have you here!"

The small navy tom smiled with a nod. "Thank you. It's only been a couple of days but I'm very happy to be an apprentice! How old are you two?"

"I'm eleven moons," Quakepaw announced proudly. "But Firmapaw is waaaay younger! She's, like, seven moons or something!" The she-cat gave him a glare, hinting she'd wanted to tell him herself. "We're still best friends though, y'know?"

"Oh. Yeah, I understand." The tom flicked his tail, sliding into a sitting position and blinking at the two. "Have you discovered your powers yet, then?"

Firmapaw snorted, smoothing down her spiky fur with gentle licks, her eyes dancing with amusement. "I'm only seven moons! That's like asking if you've discovered your ability."

Houndpaw furrowed his brows. "Well, I don't really know much about them. Grayblaze used to show me from time to time, but I haven't seen any other cats show their powers and such."

"Well, then you've met the right cat!" Quakepaw exclaimed, jumping to his paws. "Watch this, youngster!"

The blue-eyed tom took a tentative step back, though felt the adrenaline rush through his veins. He'd never seen another cat use their powers since he was a kit, so this was sure to be entertaining. Houndpaw heard a crack and snapped his head toward the ground, watching as the rock underpaw parted and curved near him. The speckled tom jumped back, his heart pumping against his ribcage. Quakepaw began to laugh at his reaction, and Firmapaw pushed her friend over playfully.

"Your reaction was great!" Quakepaw howled, falling to the ground and laughing in sort of wheezes.

"Wh..." Houndpaw felt his ears pin back, his cheeks growing red. "What did you do?"

"He made the ground crack, sort of like a mini earthquake." The familiar but new voice caused the navy tom to look up. The black she-cat made her way inside the den, a rabbit limply hanging from her jaws. Her crimson eyes shone with mirth as she set her catch down, smiling at the group.

"Hey, Bloodpaw!" Firmapaw purred, rubbing her head against the large she-cat. "How are you?"

"I'm good, I'm good. I see Quakepaw's yet again making a fool out of himself?" she questioned, gaze flickering toward the still-laughing tom.