"Mistpaw!"
The silver apprentice turned at the sound of her name being called. Her mentor, Sunfur, padded up to her.
"You'd better head back to camp, Mistpaw. Your mother wants to know where you are. I'll collect you for hunting after..." a touch of uncertainty flickered through Sunfur's green eyes, "...if you can be spared."
Mistpaw growled under her breath as she hared across the frosted tundra back towards camp. She hated her mother. Ever since Mistpaw and her sister Rainpaw were kits, Dapplefall had fawned over them, barely letting them step out of her sight. And even though they were apprenticed now, this hadn't changed. Every day, Dapplefall fought Rainpaw and Mistpaw's mentors tooth and claw to keep them in camp for at least half the day, where she could keep an eye on them. Snowstar had tried to intervene a few times, but this would work for at most a few days before Dapplefall began demanding them back in camp again.
Mistpaw burst into FrostClan's camp, buzzing with angry energy. From outside the apprentice's den, Rainpaw blinked sympathetically at her with familiar blue eyes. The sisters had the same shade of pale blue eyes, but Rainpaw's fur was a darker grey. Nearby, Rainpaw's mentor, Shadeheart, was arguing with Dapplefall in a low voice. Mistpaw padded up to her sister.
"Hi, Rainpaw," she muttered, flopping down beside her littermate.
Rainpaw purred softly. "You shouldn't hate her so much. She only wants to protect us."
Mistpaw grunted unhappily, and felt Rainpaw's warmth settling beside her.
"You know what Dewdrop says." Her sister reminded her gently.
Mistpaw sighed loudly, rolling her eyes. Dewdrop had told them countless times why their mother was like this.
"Dewdrop and Bushclaw had one litter of kits before you two," she'd say, "four kits. All scrawny, and born in the middle of leafbare. Whitecough seized them two days after they were born, and they all died three days later." Then her eyes would grow sad, and she'd continue, "You two were originally a part of a litter of three, too, you know. Your littermate, a beautiful little tom called Icekit, also died of sickness two days after his birth."
"Yeah, I know." Mistpaw sighed again. That still didn't seem to make it fair.
Dapplefall stalked over, a defeated Shadeheart storming away behind her.
"StarClan, your mentors don't understand what it's like to be a mother," she said, sounding exasperated. "Well, you're here now."
"I'm only staying until sunhigh," Mistpaw meowed curtly, "then I'm going hunting with Sunfur."
Her mother stiffened. "No, you're not."
"Yes, I am!" Suddenly Mistpaw found herself on her paws, tail lashing and hackles raised. "You can't keep me here!"
"Can too," Dapplefall snapped, "I'm your mother, am I not?"
"I'm an apprentice now!" Mistpaw hissed, shaking Rainpaw's comforting tail off her shoulder, "I need to train!"
Her mother eyed her coldly. "You do not need to be training every second of the day."
"Yes, I DO!" Mistpaw took a step forward. "You're keeping Rainpaw and I from learning anything! At this rate, we'll never be warriors!"
"You will do as I say!" Dapplefall said loudly, patience worn thin, "I am your mother!"
"Well, I wish you weren't!" Mistpaw yowled, before turning tail and racing out of camp.
She could hear her mother's furious yowls and her sister's shocked calls behind her. She ignored them, her paws carrying her onto the tundra.

Mistpaw slowed to a stop, panting. She was far away from camp, near the OceanClan border. The stinging smell of saltwater penetrated her nose, and she turned away with a cough.
"Mistpaw?" A surprised mew made her look up.
Sleetclaw was leading a patrol along the border. Sunfur and Yarrowsong padded behind him, renewing the scent markers.
"Uh, can I join you? Sunfur said she'd take me hunting later, but Dapplefall let us out a little earlier..." Mistpaw trailed off.
Sleetclaw looked surprised. Sunfur studied her apprentice with narrowed eyes, and Mistpaw avoided her scrutinising gaze.
"Sure, why not?" Sleetclaw said at last, and Mistpaw gratefully took up the rear.
Sunfur slowed to walk beside her. "Did Dapplefall really let you out this early?"
Mistpaw shrugged, paws prickling with guilt. "She...she was in a good mood today."
Sunfur seemed skeptical, but didn't question further. Mistpaw was glad. She wanted to leave that morning behind forever.

"Okay, we're gonna try for some mice around the bluff," Sunfur told Mistpaw as they set off to hunt.
Thankfully, when the patrol had returned to camp, Dapplefall was out hunting, and wasn't there to pounce on Mistpaw and try to make her stay.
They neared the bluff—a large clump of bushes, rare on the tundra, and a good place for hunting. Mistpaw carefully tasted the air. The smell of a vole flickered across her tongue and she dropped into a hunter's crouch, slithering her paws over the ground so she didn't crunch on the frost.
On the tundra, one couldn't pounce. The force of a cat's hind paws pushing off the ground was sure to provoke some kind of noise from the frost. No, FrostClan cats were specially trained to stalk close as possible, then lash out with a forepaw and catch prey by surprise. It was easier to do so on the tundra, where the winds were strong enough to wipe away any trace of a cat's scent if they approached from downwind.
Mistpaw moved silently across the earth, nearing the edge of the bluff where she could hear the vole scratching around under a bush. Her paws slid over the frost, barely disturbing it. Here, the frost defined them. It was their greatest ally and their most sensitive enemy.
Mistpaw stalked right up to the bush, the vole still painfully unaware of any danger. Carefully, she lifted a forepaw.
Quick as a striking snake, she lashed out, her paw darting underneath the bush and slamming down on top of the vole. She dragged it out, still pinning the writhing creature to the ground, and nipped its neck. The small animal fell still.
Mistpaw picked up her catch and trotted over to Sunfur, whose eyes were fixed on a sparrow, twittering and hopping from bush to bush. Suddenly, her ginger paw flashed out, and the bird dropped to the ground mid-flight.
"Good catch!" Her mentor praised, spotting Mistpaw's vole, "Let's head back."

Mistpaw dropped her vole on the fresh-kill pile and spotted Rainpaw returning from the evening patrol with Shadeheart. Waving her tail, Mistpaw snatched up a mouse and settled down near the apprentices' den. A few moments later her sister joined her, and they began to share the mouse. The sun was beginning to set, and most cats were enjoying their evening meal. The other apprentices slowly began trickling back into camp, sitting down to eat next to them.
"Hi, Rainpaw! Mistpaw!" Eaglepaw trotted over to them, clutching a robin.
"Hi Eaglepaw!" Mistpaw called to the tom, and Rainpaw waved her tail at him.
"Hey guys!" Amberpaw appeared next to Eaglepaw, sitting down to share with her brother.
"Hi Amberpaw!" The two sisters chorused.
"Forgot about me, did you? Let me have some of that!" Windpaw nudged his littermates jokingly, taking a bite of the robin.
Eaglepaw, Amberpaw and Windpaw had been apprenticed only a half-moon before Mistpaw and Rainpaw. The five apprentices usually trained together—well, when Mistpaw and Rainpaw weren't busy sitting in camp, of course. Mistpaw thought of her friends' mother, Sandytail, with a sigh of envy. She was a brilliant mother, kind, funny and thoughtful, and she never interfered in her kits' training. Sandytail was the mother Mistpaw wished she had.
"Mistpaw!"
Mistpaw flinched. StarClan, there was Dapplefall again. The tortiseshell stormed up to her.
"Where in the name of StarClan have you been, Mistpaw?" Her mother demanded, looming over her.
Mistpaw stared defiantly into Dapplefall's eyes. "I joined a border patrol, and then went hunting with Sunfur, like I said I would."
A storm brewed in her mother's amber eyes. "You were out all day?"
"Yes!" Mistpaw snapped, lashing her tail.
Dapplefall huffed loudly. "When will you stop this nonsense? You could have been hurt!"
"Doing what?" Mistpaw challenged, jumping to her paws. "Creeping up on mice? Renewing scent markers?"
Her mother bristled. "You could have been attacked!"
"I've done battle training!" Mistpaw countered, "And there were warriors with me the whole time!"
"Mistpaw," Rainpaw whispered, looking up at the pair with round worried eyes.
"What?" Mistpaw said, turning to face her sister, "Someone has to tell Dapplefall how bird-brained she's being eventually—"
"ENOUGH!" Dapplefall roared, then calmed down. "I will not continue this childish argument. I am your mother, and I know what is best for you. And you WILL do as I say."
Then, she turned and stalked away. Mistpaw sat back down, furious.
"Calm down, Mistpaw," Rainpaw murmured, pushing the mouse towards her.
Mistpaw tore a bite from it, chewing savagely. "You can't possibly be fine with this."
"I'm not," Rainpaw admitted, "but there isn't much we can do."
Mistpaw fumed silently as Rainpaw bit into the mouse. "I'm going to talk to Snowstar."
Rainpaw choked quietly. "Um, she already tried, remember? It did nothing."
"Well then she'll just have to try again!" Mistpaw snapped, standing up, "And she'll have to try harder!"
She started when Rainpaw's tail coiled around hers, pulling her back down beside her. "At least finish eating and calm down. You're not going to gain anything from Snowstar by yelling and stomping around like a kit."
Sighing, Mistpaw settled back down and focused on her meal. Rainpaw was right. She needed to cool down.

"Am I intruding, Snowstar?" Mistpaw asked nervously as she entered the leader's den.
Snowstar blinked at her. "No, of course not. What can I do for you, Mistpaw? I thought you'd be heading to sleep."
Mistpaw shifted her paws uncertainly. "I've come to talk to you about my mother."
The surprise in Snowstar's eyes fell away to weariness. "Yes, Dapplefall." The pure white she-cat sighed. "Shadeheart was in here earlier too about her."
"Please can you talk to her?" Mistpaw begged, "She's interfering with my training. At this rate, Eaglepaw, Amberpaw and Windpaw will become warriors long before Rainpaw and I. And plus, Dapplefall has to work for the Clan too...she shouldn't be wasting time watching over us in camp."
Snowstar sighed, her tail-tip twitching. "Alright, I'll speak with her in the morning." She waved her tail dismissively. "Go get some rest."
Dipping her head, Mistpaw backed out of the den.