The Roaring Winds

Chapter Five: Etiquette

Chapter Five: Etiquette

The bold, red streaks of sunset had now crossed the sky. Dusk had just ended, and eventually, cool shades of dark blue and purple would come as the first stars appeared for the night.

Stormpaw observed the WindClan camp, which was always forever-changing. There was always some sort of action going on within the camp, whether it was the patrols that filed in and out, an increase or decrease in chatter, the general vibes and atmosphere that floated about, or the lessened number of rabbits on the fresh-kill pile.

He bit into the last chunk of meat of the rabbit that laid at his feet, savoring its rich taste and the hint of sweetness caused by its warm blood. The rabbit was a bit tender, as it had been caught at dawn by Goldenheart, who he had patrolled with at dawn.

The fur that coated the top of his ears prickled unexpectedly, and Stormpaw shot into an alert state. His amber eyes were focused on the gorse tunnel entrance, which had started to vibrate, which indicated a presence. He sniffed the air and detected the scents of heather and dust. He visibly relaxed his haunches as shapes began to emerge from the camp entrance.

Goldenheart exited the tunnel first. The pale golden she-cat's fur appeared to be a darker shade due to the setting sun. She was looking over her shoulder, her eyes animated with liveliness. Her tail was curled playfully as she conversed with another voice that Stormpaw recognized.

The owner of the second voice darted out into the clearing. Stormpaw already knew that it was Aspenpaw. The golden tabby she-cat was bristling in a positive way as she laughed heartedly and ducked down to avoid a cuff from her mentor.

Aspenpaw ran toward Stormpaw to avoid another swipe from Goldenheart, almost bowling over the sitting tom in the process. Her bright-colored fur bushed up in a way similar to a gorse bush as her amber eyes met Stormpaw's.

The she-cat apprentice was still chuckling from her playful dispute. "Sorry about that, Stormpaw! I'm just trying to escape the horrid wrath of my mentor, so she can't forever cuff me over the ears!"

"You were simply getting your rightfully deserved karma after stalking and pouncing on me! WindClan cats run, we don't creep up on each other!" Goldenheart yowled from the other side of the clearing.

"I'd say I was expanding my horizons to other skills outside of WindClan's as well as learning how to tactfully avoid being smelt or spotted on open terrain with high wind speeds," Aspenpaw grinned before bursting out into laughter again. "Oh, my stars! I'm starting to sound like Stormpaw at this point!"

"Don't you dare imitate that smart-aleck! I don't want to deal with two Stormpaws!" A groan was heard from behind Goldenheart. A smaller, incredibly wiry cat slipped past his superior. His thin, pale brown fur was prickling with discomfort and a permanent glare seemed to be forever stuck on his face.

"Oh, don't be so negative, Rabbitpaw! Stormpaw's mannerisms only show his smarts and nothing else," Aspenpaw said cheerily, yet she did mumble something inaudible under her breath.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Rabbitpaw growled, stalking past the two of them to grab a rabbit from the fresh-kill pile.

"Hey, Rabbitpaw! Do you want to split that with me?" Aspenpaw yowled, running after her brother.