The Dawn of Night | A Warriors Fanfiction ✔

Chapter 4

"Moonpaw. Moonpaw!"

"Wha-?" Moonpaw lifted her head from her nest. Swiftclaw had popped her head into the apprentices' den and was calling her name.

"Moonpaw!" Swiftclaw called, exasperated. "Come on, already! We're practicing hunting techniques today!"

"Can I sleep first?" Moonpaw mumbled. She was tired enough from the tour of ThunderClan territory the day before. She tucked her nose back under her chest and slowed her breathing in an attempt to get more comfortable.

"Moonpaw! Get. Up!" Swiftclaw marched inside the den and picked the apprentice up by her scruff, dragging her outside like a queen dragging a kit from its nest. "The other apprentices are already out battle training or practicing hunting, like we should be doing. Beepaw and Forestpaw are out on a border patrol. Don't you want to practice hunting? Catch your own fresh-kill for once?"

Moonpaw looked up at her mentor, blinking in bright sunup-sunshine. "Well, yea..." she began. "I do want to practice hunting, I really do. But I'm so-" she parted her jaws in a huge yawn- "tired!" She collapsed onto her side and began to drift to sleep.

Swiftclaw nudged her to her paws. Moonpaw sat and stared at her with eyes half-closed.

"Moonpaw," Swiftclaw began, "I'm worried about you. Yes, you had never been on a longer walk in your life, but you're an apprentice now and should get used to it. But you shouldn't be this tired. No other apprentice is ever this tired - coming back from a territory tour. I saw Stormfoot, Sunpaw, Muddypelt, Bluepaw, Fogpaw, and Grasspelt yesterday returning from their tour, and none of them seemed this tired. You even had a full-night's worth of rest. Is there something wrong? You can tell me." Swiftclaw's head tilted in confusion slightly, and Moonpaw saw that there was genuine concern in her eyes.

"N-No," Moonpaw replied, once again yawning. "I'm just tired."

"Well, perhaps you should get some fresh-kill. It should wake you up."

Moonpaw nodded. She started for the fresh-kill pile, but Swiftclaw stopped her.

"I'm going to talk with Maplestar, okay?" she said.

"Okay," Moonpaw grunted.

"When I get back, we'll go hunting."

"Sounds good."

Swiftclaw nodded approvingly. "Good. Go eat." She bounded off towards Maplestar's den, and Moonpaw made her way towards the fresh-kill pile. Picking out a fat vole, she brought it over and settled down beside her littermates, who had just returned from training.

"Oh hi, Moonpaw," Sunpaw greeted her sister. "I just got back from hunting. I haven't caught anything yet, but it's definitely fun learning!" Her tailed waved back and forth in delight. "So how's your training going?" she inquired.

"Oh, I uh..."

"Yea," Fogpaw piped up. "How's training? Today I practiced battle training," he mewed proudly. "Watch me! I just learned this move today. Seems pretty advanced, but Grasspelt said I could do it. She says I'm such a fast learner, such a good fighter! Here, I'll show you the move." Fogpaw crouched down, tucking his paws under him. Then he leaped, twirling in midair, landing neatly on the ground facing the opposite direction. He then turned back around to face his littermates, puffing his chest out proudly.

"Wow!" Sunpaw's eyes gleamed in amazement. "That was amazing! I want to do that! Can you teach it to me?"

"Well," replied Fogpaw in a rather authoritive voice, "I would, but Stormfoot should teach you when he thinks you're ready."