Chapter 19

“Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Pinebranch for a Clan meeting!”

Pinepaw bounded over to the center of camp at Dawnstar’s call. What is it this time? he thought when every cat was assembled, then stiffened as he realized Dawnstar’s gaze was on him.

“Pinepaw has come back from an important journey,” the Clan leader began, “to find his mentor gone.” Pinepaw winced as grief struck him. “I will assign him a new mentor. Maplepelt,” Dawnstar went on, “you are ready for your first apprentice. You are a brave and loyal warrior, and I know you will pass down your skills to your new apprentice.”

Pinepaw hesitantly padded over to the tortoiseshell warrior and touched noses with her. This is going to be so different, he thought sadly. Hopefully she’s as kind as Mousetail.

Well, no cat can be as kind as Mousetail, he disagreed with himself as another pang of grief shook him. She was the best mentor any cat could ever have. He glanced expectantly at Maplepelt, trying to be enthusiastic.

“I’m so sorry about Mousetail,” Maplepelt murmured. “Let’s go into the forest to see how well your battle training is coming along.”

Pinepaw suppressed a sigh as they headed out into the pine forest. Maplepelt’s okay so far, I guess…but this is going to be so different.

 

“No, not like that! Didn’t you learn this move yet? It’s one of the basic moves an apprentice learns first!”

His mentor’s irritated voice made Pinepaw struggle to stay calm. “I’ve been away for a long time,” he reminded her, “so of course I’m behind on training.”

Maplepelt flicked her tail. “Yes, you’re right. Sorry. Let’s try that again. This time use your tail for balance.”

Yes, Mousetail already taught me that, Pinepaw thought angrily, and reared up on his hind legs and sliced the air with two neat swipes of his paws. Yes! That was perfect! he thought happily as he dropped down onto all fours again.

Maplepelt flicked her ears in approval. “That was good.” She glanced up at the darkening sky. “Would you like to hunt now? Hunting is just as important as fighting.”

Pinepaw shrugged. “Sure, why not.” He followed her through the forest.

“Okay, let’s see how well your hunting’s been,” Maplepelt meowed.

Pinepaw opened his mouth and sucked in a breath of the familiar scent of pine. “Frog,” he told his mentor quietly, and dropped into a hunting crouch. He crept forward until he spotted the gray-green creature standing on a rock by a small puddle. Pinepaw pushed off with his hind legs, paws stretched out in front of him as he reached for the frog.

He had forgotten how slippery they were.

The frog leaped away. Pinepaw caught it mid-jump, but it slipped from his grasp and fell with a splash into the puddle. A heartbeat later it jumped out and disappeared.

Maplepelt padded over to his side. “Bad luck,” she meowed encouragingly. “Try again. Maybe something else this time.”

Pinepaw sniffed the air and caught the scent of mouse close by. He spotted the small creature beside the roots of a large pine tree and started to creep up on it.

His paw accidentally disturbed a leaf, and the mouse bolted in terror. Pinepaw raced after it and caught it just before it slipped into its burrow. He quickly killed it with a bite and padded back to his mentor.

“That was good,” the tortoiseshell she-cat told him. “Let’s try for one more thing.”

 

Pinepaw padded wearily into camp, worn out from the day’s training. After he had come back from hunting with a mouse and a shrew, Maplepelt had taken him to patrol the RiverClan border.

Snowycloud bounded up to meet him. “Hey, Pinepaw,” she purred. “You look tired. How was training? Did you learn anything new?”

Pinepaw shrugged. “I just reminded myself that frogs were way too slimy when I missed one.”

Snowycloud snorted. “Well, you shouldn’t forget next time, then!” She tilted her head thoughtfully. “I don’t think I’ve ever told you this before, but guess what? Dawnstar named me after Whitepaw!”

Pinepaw pricked his ears. “Really!”

“Yes,” Snowycloud meowed proudly. “He told everyone that he was planning to name Whitepaw Whitecloud ever since my brother became an apprentice, so he gave me the name Snowycloud to honor him.”

“That’s great,” Pinepaw purred, “but can you let me go to my den now? I’m tired.”

Snowycloud flicked her tail over his ears affectionately, then bounded away to the warriors’ den.

After Pinepaw was curled up in his nest, he fell into darkness immediately.

 

“Pinepaw.”

Pinepaw opened his eyes to find himself standing on soft green grass. Nimblepaw was standing in front of him, her blue eyes sparkling. “Hi,” the golden she-cat meowed. “I was beginning to think you would never go to sleep.”

Pinepaw shrugged. “I was out training.” He breathed in Nimblepaw’s sweet scent.

“Pinepaw, listen,” Nimblepaw mewed. “Change is coming, and you must stay strong.”

You’ve already said that before! Pinepaw thought as Nimblepaw’s starry form faded. What does it mean?