Nightpaw got to his paws and stepped over Finchpaw cautiously as he started toward the entrance. The brown tabby snorted and twitched a bit but didn't wake, to Nightpaw's relief. He made it out quickly and looked around the clearing. He spotted Hollypaw talking briefly with
the camp guards, Smallriver and Cinderwing. The she-cat slowly walked out the entrance.

Wow, is it really that easy, or are we aloud to go out? He questioned himself in his head. Had he really not known this? Nightpaw padded out, too, giving a nod to each of the warriors before he left. He left the camp quickly and sniffed around, though it was not needed, for Hollypaw's footprints lay in the snow.

He followed them toward the WindClan border, where the pawprints grew more scarce, and he supposed she had begun running. He quickened his pace, weaving around the thinning trees and underbrush as it opened to the mood, and the river was at his paws.

Suddenly, a yowl erupted from his right and he was tackled and pinned to the ground. He looked up into Hollypaw's green eyes. "It's just me!" He mewed quickly.

"I know, I heard you behind me the whole time," Hollypaw stepped off of him.

"What're you doing here?" He asked.

"Just going for a walk," Hollypaw looked sincere, and Nightpaw would never suspect his friend for lying.

"Oh. Well would you like some company?" Nightpaw offered, getting to his paws and shaking his pelt of snow.

"If you're willing to stay in the cold for a while, then why not?" A mischevious glint in Hollypaw's eyes made him know. He was immediately pushed back into the snow, and he watched Hollypaw climb up a thin birch tree.

He grinned and chased after the she-cat through the tree tops. They had made it to the heart of ThunderClan territory by the time they were both tired. Nightpaw was panting on a branch beside Hollypaw. "You're... Really fast when... It comes to trees."

Hollypaw lifted her head proudly. "I learned from one of the rogues. Unfortunately she was just as nasty as the rest of them."

Nightpaw nodded, shivering. Hollypaw shifted closer until they were pressing against each other for warmth. "You need warmer fur to be out here, silly." Hollypaw fluffed out her thick pelt, allowing Nightpaw to practically burry himself in it.

The two apprentices sat in a comfortable silence, gazing out across the forest. Nightpaw could see part of the lake; its stars shimmered and reflected off the deep blue water. It rippled calmly and lapped softly at the grains of sands and small pebbles that made up the shore.

"We should do this more often," Hollypaw mewed.

Nightpaw nodded in quiet agreement. "I'm sorry for making you feel jealous. You know... About Mistpaw."

"You don't have to say anything. It was rude of me to walk off like that..." Hollypaw hung her head. "But you're really observant, perhaps they'll call you Nightwatcher when you get your warrior name? Or even Nightrunner."

"I like Nightwatcher. Maybe they'll call you Hollypetal or Hollyflower?"

"And why would they call me that?" Hollypaw looked at him questioningly.

"Because you're just as beautiful as any flower out there," Nightpaw mewed charmingly.

Hollypaw purred in thanks. "Cheeky weasel!"

Nightpaw stood up, shaking his dark pelt. "We should get to camp. I need some sleep... I'd like to make Graytalon proud of me."

Hollypaw got to her paws and started down the tree. "You never told me what happened that night... To Graytalon."

As they reached the ground, Nightpaw began the story. "I-I couldn't sleep that night. So I got up and Witheredstar found me, he said that I needed to prove my siblings that I'm just as strong as any cat. So, I snuck out of camp, where I found Graytalon. He was very willing to train me, and we did until all our muscles were sore. Then... Then that's where the hawk struck.

"Graytalon saved me, but he was carried up. I grabbed hold of the hawk and tried to beat it down but I was too tired from training, and I fell from really high up." Memories flashed through his mind, and he quickened his pace.

When they reached the camp, the guards welcomed them back in without question. The apprentices immediately curled into their nests and fell asleep.

***

Nightpaw sat behind Hailpuddle, carefully rubbing the mouse-bile onto the ticks on the elder's back. He was surprised at how many ticks the white and black speckled tom already had. He had just finished a small hunting patrol near the great oak, where he had been unlucky to not catch anything.

Rainheart wasn't too pleased, and also noticed his apprentice's tiredness, therefore putting him to a more easier work. Nightpaw wasn't proud of himself for failing to catch anything, as he should be, but was partly glad to be put on tick duty. He always found decent stories the elders had to tell there.

"Have you ever heard of the story about Woolpaw?" Ebonyskip spoke from somewhere in the den.

Nightpaw looked around his head, seeking for the knowledge about the apprentice Ebonyskip had named. To his disappointment, he could not. "No." He admitted, keeping his focus on Hailpuddle's ticks.

"Well, Woolpaw was born a rogue, in a barn close to the old territory. He was found as a kit on MoorClan territory, and taken in. He proved to be very ambitious and was popular in the Clan. The tom wanted more, however and left the Clans to make his own. Nobody knows where the other Clans now are though, so guess you're out of luck." Ebonyskip shrugged and put her graying head on her paws.

Nightpaw blinked and shrugged the story off. There was no point in listening to useless stories that would serve no good to him as a future warrior of ThunderClan. He finished Hailpuddle's ticks and exited the den with a nod to the elders. He made his way to the medicine den and began to wash his paws in the small water source in the den.

Pawsteps sounded from the entrance to the den, and Finchpaw pushed through the lichen overhang. The brown tabby sat down by Nightpaw, a mischevious glint in his eye that was similar to Hollypaw's. Warmth crawled op his spine and a sudden longing for the cream she-cat filled his thoughts.

"Where'd you go with Hollypaw last night?" Finchpaw nudged him teasingly.

"In the forest," Nightpaw replied curtly. He didn't want to tell Finchpaw how he felt about the she-cat. After that night, once he had fallen asleep, he had known what the feeling was.

"You like her, don't you? If you do then why don't you just tell her?" Finchpaw got to his paws, waving his tail and sounding playful. "Before I tell her for you."

Alarm sparked in Nightpaw's eyes. He jumped to his paws immediately and came nose to nose with the younger apprentice. "You can't! We're not warriors yet, and we're too young. You can't tell Hollypaw anything."

"Can't tell me what?" Nightpaw jumped, his fur bristled. Hollypaw was standing calmly at the entrance, curiosity shining in her green orbs.

"I had a surprise for you and Finchpaw here was about to leak," Nightpaw scrambled for an idea quickly. "I was just going to go get it."

Hollypaw shrugged. "Okay, can you pull this thorn out of my paw? I heard you pull them out pretty often."

Nightpaw nodded, relieved to have found an answer. He examined Hollypaw's paw thoroughly, quickly spotting the thorn. He gripped it between his teeth and pulled it out expertly, then spat it on some bindweed that already had two thorns on it.

"Gotta go!" He raced out of the den, into the forest.