His voice was cold and toneless among the murmur of the warriors still milling around camp.

     "You will spend your first day ridding the elders of their ticks. Ask the medicine cat for bile." With his curt and emotionless order, the tabby tomcat turned and began to walk away.

     Leopardpaw's tail dropped into the snowy ground in disappointment. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Mousepaw, Weedpaw, and Longpaw all trail after their mentors out the camp entrance and into the fascinating world beyond. She felt her heart sinking in her chest.

     "Wait!" she meowed nervously, padding after Squirrelheart. She paused when her mentor turned a disdainful amber eye back at her.

     Leopardpaw bit her tongue, forcing her words to come out calmly and respectfully. "Is that all? Don't I get to tour the territory?" It was custom for new apprentices and their mentors to explore the borders on their first day together—not that she wanted to spend time with Squirrelheart. Her paws simply itched to get out camp. She had been trapped inside these mind-numbing gray walls for her whole life- save for a kidnapping- and she yearned to breathe in the scents of the forest, dart between the trees, and see the vast lake that bordered the territory. 

      Besides, she could not remain trapped in this stone hollow any longer, surrounded by the haunting memories of Redpaw and Firetail. They infiltrated her mind at every shadow passing in the corner of her vision, every glance toward the quiet medicine den. 

      The dark-furred tom narrowed his eyes at her, dark nose twitching. "Do not question me," he growled, flashing yellow fangs at her. Leopardpaw fought the urge to flinch away. "You will do exactly as I say. You have caused enough trouble for ThunderClan, and I will put an end to it, even if Darkstar is unwilling to. It's time you learned how this Clan really works." With that, Squirrelheart padded back to the warriors' den, leaving only a trail of paw prints for Leopardpaw to stare at.

      For a few heartbeats, the apprentice stood there in the center of camp, her paws freezing. Her blood began to boil, but there was also an icy feeling of dread flowing through her, just as cold as the biting air. Her worst fears had come true. Squirrelheart truly did hate her, and she would have to deal with him for many, many more moons...

•••

      Maybe I should have become a medicine cat, Leopardpaw thought to herself as she dabbed the bile-soaked moss at another tick from Goldentail's spine. The tiny black bug loosened its grip because of the putrid stench, falling to the ground.

      The golden she-cat rolled her broad, yet bony shoulders, sighing in relief. "Much better. I think there's one more near the base of my tail..."

      Leopardpaw stifled a groan. Goldentail may be her kin, but that didn't make it any more pleasant to clean her thick pelt.

      It took her a few heartbeats to locate the last tick. It was a fat one, swollen with blood and latched on tightly. Leopardpaw parted Goldentail's fluffy fur with a claw and carefully lowered the moss.

      She could feel Rockface's amused gaze on her. The apprentice gave him a sideways glance, to which the old tomcat's green eyes twinkled. He laid in his nest with his paws tucked under his chest patiently, Stripedfur in a light doze at his flank. "I suppose I'm next?" he asked.

      Leopardpaw dropped the moss and shot him a fierce amber glare. "Sure, why not? In fact, why don't we line up every ThunderClan cat in here? I have all day!" she snapped, brushing the flailing tick out of Goldentail's pelt. 

      Rockface snorted, peering at her playfully. "Quite the attitude! I sure hope you don't talk to your mentor that way. You don't want to get off on a bad start."

      Leopardpaw pinned her ears back as she picked up her supplies and padded up to Rockface. "It's a bit too late for that," she muttered to herself.

     Goldentail butted in as she curled her fluffy body back into her nest. "Now, now, Leopardpaw, I'm sure that's not the case."

      The spotted apprentice didn't bother to respond. Of course it was the case! Squirrelheart had been one of the many warriors that disliked her every since she returned from ShadowClan. Darkstar should know that. Why did he assign her such a terrible mentor? Was this her punishment for bringing up Bluesky and making him angry?

      As Leopardpaw combed through Rockface's stiff, gray fur, her mind wandered back to the enticing smell of pines and pristine twinkling stars. Had Lizardkit and Rowankit been apprenticed yet? She imagined the beautiful dark evergreen trees enclosing camp, the full moon shining brightly on her friends as Flowerstar proudly recited the ancient ceremony. Leopardpaw's chest felt constricted.

      Were they thinking of her?

     Goldentail let out a wide yawn, yellowing fangs stretched wide. The apprentice was reminded of yet another issue that was stewing in the back of her mind. The day of the ShadowClan attack, Goldentail had given her just enough information about the past to ignite her curiosity, but nothing made sense. All she knew was that something truly significant had happened, and that something was the root of Sandstreak's hatred and Darkstar's fear. The apprentice itched to ask Goldentail more about it, but she was reluctant to mention it in front of Stripedfur and Rockface. Judging by Darkstar's reaction a few days ago, it was clearly a sensitive topic.

      After a grueling time, Leopardpaw had finally finished with Rockface. Stripedfur had woken up and was watching her carefully. Perhaps he sensed her gloom, because he politely declined when she offered to check him for ticks as well. The apprentice brushed out of the den, head drooping. The sun had sunk below the horizon, leaving the stone hollow in a wash of shadows and bluish snow streaked with paw prints. 

      Distracted by the way her paws sunk into the cold, she nearly missed the lithe shape striding toward her. A familiar scent washing over her, Leopardpaw stiffened and looked up to see Sandstreak walking in her direction, bony shoulders moving beneath her pelt. Her cold yellow eyes stared straight ahead. 

      Leopardpaw's hackles raised and her heart skipped a beat as her mother drew closer. She stepped back as the thin cream she-cat breezed past, not sparing her even a glance as she headed for the warriors' den. 

      Leopardpaw tore her gaze away from Sandstreak's retreating form, ears turned back. Her amber eyes were drawn up to the High Ledge, where Darkstar sat with his tail curled around his paws, green eyes focused on the twilight sky above. She narrowed her gaze. What in StarClan's name had happened between them?

      The spotted apprentice was distracted by a scuffle of paws as Grayfoot and Mousepaw entered camp, the latter trotting merrily ahead of his mentor. The tiny black tomcat had specks of white snowflakes dotted on his nose, and he was laughing at something his mentor remarked. The clear ringing echoed across the stone walls. The older gray tomcat flicked his apprentice's ear with his long tail and slowly made his way to the warriors' den. Mousepaw's green eyes landed on Leopardpaw, still vivid in the twilight.

      "Leopardpaw!" he called, bounding across the snowy ground to her. His little black paws seemed lighter than ever. "I went toured the perimeter of the borders today with Grayfoot! He even showed me how to hunt! How was your day?"

     His words died on the end of his tongue when he noticed the solemn expression on his littermate's face. "Is everything alright?" he asked gently, taking a tentative step closer.

     Leopardpaw sighed, her breath coming out in a frosty cloud. "Well, I didn't have the best day of my life, if that's what you're wondering," she growled, shooting a murderous look back to the warriors' den. She wondered if Squirrelheart was in there now, sleeping peacefully knowing how much he was tormenting his new apprentice. Perhaps he and Sandstreak were plotting how to possibly make her more miserable. 

     Mousepaw laid his slim tail across her back. "Tell me about it," he meowed as he guided her toward the apprentice den. 

     Leopardpaw sighed again, but obliged. She told her brother about how Squirrelheart felt about her, his sharp words, and her disgusting chores. The tomcat listened to her in silence as they ducked into their new den and settled around the outside of the circle of sleeping mounds. 

     After she was done, Mousepaw gave her a sympathetic look. "I don't think Squirrelheart hates you as much as you think. That's what you expected of him, and now that's how you perceive him. Maybe you should give him another chance."

     Leopardpaw rolled her eyes. "Easy for you to say. You have an amazing mentor. I bet Grayfoot was brilliant today."

     Mousepaw shrugged nonchalantly, but Leopardpaw knew she was right. "He was okay. But that's not the point. The point is, you need to give Squirrelheart another chance. Be respectful, and--brace yourself--be nice."

    The spotted she-cat scoffed. "I could .... and he would still hate me! When Darkstar took me back from ShadowClan, Squirrelheart told him to leave me!"

    "Well, I'm sure it wasn't personal," Mousepaw retorted. "Anyway, that is all in the past now. You are back in ThunderClan, where you rightly belong." The black tom paused, looking at Leopardpaw and finding her unconvinced. His tone changed as he tried a different tactic. "You know, some mentors start their apprentices out with all the chores so they can focus more on real training later on. It's also a tactic some of the great warriors use to teach patience," Mousepaw paused here, giving his sister a pointed look. "Or... maybe he's just trying to scare you on the first day."

     Leopardpaw narrowed her eyes. It deeply annoyed her, but Mousepaw could be right. "Fine," she muttered. "I'll try to be nice, but I don't think it'll change anything." Her brother's eyes glowed green with satisfaction. 

     A loud, annoying growl rumbled from the center of the sleeping apprentices, and Fogpaw raised his fluffy gray head and glared straight at them. "Could you two shut it? If you want to keep mewing like kits all night, then go back to the nursery." 

     There were a couple snickers, undoubtedly from Weedpaw and Longpaw. Leopardpaw ignored them and ducked down, her amber eyes still wide.

     Mousepaw met her stare, but with a flicker of mischief in his green eyes. "Did you see Fogpaw's face? That tom is in desperate need of a grooming from his mother. Perhaps he should go back to the nursery."

     Leopardpaw couldn't help but snort. She tucked her tail over her nose and closed her eyes. This apprenticeship was going to be dreadfully long. But perhaps it would get better. She had to hope that it would.