"Mistypaw! Coldpaw!"

The soft call from outside the den awoke Mistypaw. She slowly rose her head from her nest and blinked drowsily. Song's white head poked through the mouth of the den. "It's time for training," She told her. "Me and Stripednose are waiting in the clearing."

"Is it dawn already?" Coldpaw moaned and stirred in his nest beside Mistypaw's.

"I'm afraid so." Song's blue eyes were warm with a mixture of sympathy and amusement. "We're going to start the day off by practicing hunting techniques."

Coldpaw's ears perked up as though he were wide awake. "Hunting? In that case, dawn couldn't come soon enough!" He quickly pulled himself to his paws, shaking bits of moss from his fur.

When the warrior laughed and left with a wave of her tail, Mistypaw yawned and stretched out her front legs before standing. I don't think I'll ever get used to waking up so early!

"I love learning about new hunting techniques," Coldpaw purred as Mistypaw blinked away sleep. "Song says I've been doing really well."

She and Coldpaw had been apprentices for two moons now, yet it already seemed like it had been forever. Stripednose and Song were kind and patient mentors, and being younger warriors closer to Mistypaw's age somehow made her more comfortable with them. They felt like friends in addition to mentors.

"I like hunting too," Mistypaw purred, turning to face her brother. "I..." She trailed off as she looked past him at the red tabby curled up in his nest, his back to them. Her heart throbbed, and she closed her eyes as she looked away. "I think we'd better go. Song and Stripednose are waiting."

As she and Coldpaw exited the den, her thoughts clouded with sadness.

Bloodpaw hadn't spoken to them since that day he had snapped at them. He was no longer their friend for reasons she couldn't understand. The pain of not knowing was the worst. How could she put something back together without knowing how it fell apart? He was our best friend. He liked spending time with us...

In the clearing, the pale light of dawn peered out from beyond the pine trees. By the meeting rock, Cobratail and Depthstar spoke quietly, likely discussing the daily patrols. Hawkfeather sat outside the medicine den, looking up at the sky with a thoughtful look on his face.

Stripednose and Song stood by the thorn tunnel, their heads close together as they spoke. When the apprentices neared, Stripednose raised his head to Mistypaw and purred a greeting. "Good morning. Ready to learn some new techniques?"

"I always am." Mistypaw tried to sound optimistic, pushing Bloodpaw to the back of her mind.

Coldpaw stepped to her side, his tail high. "Me too!"

Song let out a purr. "I know you are, Coldpaw." She looked aside at Stripednose. "Shall we head to the training clearing?"

"Sounds good." Stripednose dipped his head. "Lead the way."

Song blinked at him warmly. "No, you lead."

"You lead." He purred back.

"No, you!"

"Song, I insist!"

Mistypaw couldn't hold back a purr of amusement and exchanged a look with Coldpaw. Their mentors were mates, and it made their training sessions quite amusing at times. They always trained them together, meaning less one on one time with Stripednose. But Mistypaw didn't mind, and she doubted Coldpaw did either. It felt as though they had two mentors training each of them rather than one.

"Oh alright, but you're leading tomorrow." Song gently cuffed him over the ear and turned away as he chuckled. "Come along!"

***

Mistypaw crouched in the marsh, cringing as mud seeped between her toes. Her eyes were fixed on a frog sitting on a stone up ahead. She drew in a breath before springing at it.

The frog prepared to flee, but she caught it mid hop and pushed it down into the mud, quickly delivering the killing bite.

"Well done!"

She held the frog in her jaws as she raised her head and turned. Stripednose padded toward her, flanked by Song. "You and Coldpaw are both becoming excellent hunters," He meowed.

Mistypaw dipped her head gratefully as she dropped the frog between her paws. "Thanks!"

"Why don't you and Coldpaw take some time to practice together?" Song suggested. "Hunting in teams is a good skill to know."

Stripednose nodded agreement, his blue eyes rested on his mate in admiration. "That's right. We'll watch you from afar."

"Okay." Coldpaw purred as the warriors turned and crept under some bushes. He turned to his sister. "Come on, let's catch another frog, even bigger than the last!"

Mistypaw studied their surroundings. A low croak caught her attention, and she flicked her ears forward as she spotted a large frog between long blades of grass. "There!" She whispered.

Her brother followed her gaze and quickly saw it. "Okay. I'll stalk it, you sneak around. I'll scare it toward you."

"Got it." As Coldpaw dropped into a crouch, Mistypaw slowly made her way around the frog at a distance, careful not to step on any twigs that might give her away. When she was directly across from Coldpaw, she crouched and unsheathed her claws, ready to intercept the frog.

It would have been fun to do this with Bloodpaw. Mistypaw thought, her heart sinking just like her paws were in the mud. I was looking forward to training with him. I had so many dreams about it, but in the end, not one came true... He-

"Aah!" Mistypaw snapped out of her thoughts, gasping as the frog leaped at her face. She reared back and stumbled awkwardly as it hopped past her and disappeared in some reeds.

Coldpaw's sigh of dismay came a moment later. "Mistypaw, stop daydreaming! That frog leapt right into your paws and you missed it!"

Her pelt burned with embarrassment. "Sorry..." She mumbled and shook mud from her paws.

Coldpaw padded over and studied her for a long moment. "Are you okay?"

If there's anyone I can talk to about it, it's Coldpaw. She looked at her paws. "I was really looking forward to training with Bloodpaw," She confessed quietly. "I miss him."

Coldpaw's eyes flickered with sadness. "I miss him too. I don't know what's wrong with him these days." He hesitated for a long moment. "But he doesn't matter. We have each other, Stripednose and Song, Swiftpaw and Revengepaw. If Bloodpaw wants to be a stick in the mud, let him."

As Mistypaw looked down, he rested his paw on her shoulder. "I'm focusing on my training so I become a great warrior," He meowed quietly. "You should too. No cat is going to hold us back, especially not him."

"Yeah... Thanks Coldpaw." Mistypaw blinked gratefully at her brother. As he turned away, her thoughts clouded once more. I wish I could let go of him as easily...

***

After successfully catching a frog together, she and Coldpaw had spent the rest of the morning learning new hunting techniques from their mentors, as well as a few battle moves.

The sun shone high in the sky when they returned to camp. While Coldpaw hurried to speak with Diamondrain, Mistypaw dropped her frog on the fresh kill pile.

"Nice catch."

She looked up, surprised to see Revengepaw standing over her. "Oh, thanks." She felt embarrassed at his praise.

As she sat up, the older apprentice sat down beside her. "I saw what Bloodpaw did to you and Coldpaw last moon. I'm sorry."

"O-Oh." Mistypaw shuffled her paws. I don't want to talk about it! "Thanks, but I'm fine."

Revengepaw studied her. "I don't think you are. Look, every cat knows Bloodpaw is weird. It's probably a good thing you're not friends."

I know he's trying to help, but he's only making me feel worse. Mistypaw thought miserably. "I'd rather not talk about it." She mumbled.

"I get it." Revengepaw's muscles flexed as he stretched out his fore paws, his claws scraping the earth. "Just know I'm here for you. I'd never shut you out." He rested his tail on her shoulder.

Mistypaw's pelt grew hot, and she ducked her head, her heart warming at his words. "Err thanks, Revengepaw."

"Hey, how about later we go hunting together?" Revengepaw prompted, his eyes glowing. "I'll show you everything I know, and you can impress Stripednose."

Hunting with Revengepaw? Her heart skipped a beat as she recalled her dreams of training with he, Bloodpaw, and Swiftpaw. Finally, something she'd hoped for would happen! "That would be great!"

"Awesome!" He nudged her. "See you later then." He purred and began padding away, waving his tail behind him. "Keep up those hunting skills!"

"I will!" Mistypaw purred, her spirits lifting as she watched him disappear into the apprentices den. At least Revengepaw is my friend... He seems to understand what I'm going through and knows just what to say.

***

Mistypaw watched in amazement as Revengepaw crashed through the bushes, trapping a thrush in his claws before it could take off. "That was great! How did you catch it before it flew away?"

The broad shouldered apprentice dropped the thrush at his paws and shrugged. "It's just practice," He meowed proudly. "If it can't hear you, it can't fly away." He paused, sniffing the air and looking over his shoulder. "I think there's another over there. Why don't you give it a try?"

Mistypaw hesitated. "I can't hunt as well as you. You're more experienced."

"Not for much longer." His eyes gleamed. "Go, you can do it!"

With a purr, she dropped into a hunting crouch, her gaze locked on the bird. It was perched on the lowest branch of a pine tree, unaware of her. She slowly crept forward, aware of Revengepaw watching her every move. I hope I'm doing this right!

She leaped, and the bird instantly flapped upward. Her claws brushed harmlessly through tail feathers, and she dropped to the ground, looking up in dismay as the bird flew away into another tree.

Great! She sighed and reluctantly looked back at Revengepaw, expecting him to laugh at her failure.

But to her surprise, he purred and padded to her side. "You almost had it! Great job!"

"Really?" Mistypaw was pleasantly surprised.

"Yeah!" Revengepaw flicked her shoulder with his tail. "Prey is harder when it flies away, right?"

She chuckled, and he looked up at the darkening sky. "We'd better get back to camp."

Mistypaw grew disappointed. "Aww okay." As they gathered their prey and began heading back to camp, she hesitantly looked at him. "Can we do this again sometime?"

"Definitely!" Revengepaw purred, his amber eyes gleaming at her. "Tomorrow you'll catch a thrush, no doubt about it."

I hope so! Mistypaw dipped her head, her heart warm for the first time in moons. This is exactly what I hoped for. A friend to spend my apprenticeship with!

***

It was dark when they reached the camp. To Mistypaw's surprise, many cats were gathered around the nursery. She saw Coldpaw sitting beside Diamondrain and hurried over. "What's going on?"

"Poisonedsap is kitting," Coldpaw meowed, seeming uninterested as he watched from a distance. He paused and looked at her. "Where have you been?"

Mistypaw let out a purr, turning her head as Revengepaw padded over to Swiftpaw, meowing something to him. "I went hunting with Revengepaw. I almost caught a thrush, and he was really impressed! Tomorrow we're going to hunt again."

"Revengepaw?" Coldpaw blinked. "What do you want to hang out with him for?"

"What do you mean?" Mistypaw glanced at him in surprise. "Why wouldn't I? He's our denmate!"

"I don't know. He's not the most likable cat." Coldpaw twitched his tail. "He's violent and arrogant. Always talking about battle."

Mistypaw bristled defensively. "He's just upset about Maplefur. And he's really nice once you get to know him!"

Coldpaw simply shrugged, while Diamondrain blinked warmly at her. "I'm glad you've made a good friend, Mistypaw." She paused and looked to the nursery, brightening. "Oh, look!"

Mistypaw followed her gaze and saw Cougarfoot step out of the den, followed by Hawkfeather and Dewstorm. "We have three kits," He meowed, seeming tired.

"Well?" Diamondrain prompted. "What are their names?"

Cougarfoot met her gaze, his eyes dull with confusion for a moment before he responded. "Spiderkit, Amberkit, and Falconkit."

"Those are great names. Congratulations!" Diamondrain purred.

"Yes, congratulations!" Rosebreeze added warmly.

Cougarfoot nodded and slowly moved through the cluster of cats to go to the warriors den. Mistypaw stared after him, puzzled. He doesn't seem too enthusiastic... Didn't he want kits?

A pelt brushed hers, and she turned to see Revengepaw sitting beside her, his eyes fixed inside the nursery. "Kits are always great news, aren't they?" A purr rumbled in his throat.

As Mistypaw purred agreement, she couldn't help but feel as though she were being watched. Her pelt pricked with unease as she looked into the nursery. Poisonedsap's amber eyes were fixed on her, gleaming in the dark shadows of the den.

For a heartbeat Mistypaw returned the stare, wondering what it meant. After a moment, Poisonedsap's glowing eyes blinked and lowered to look at her newborn kits.

Maybe she was looking at Revengepaw...  He was right beside me. Perhaps she was looking at both of us... But why? She couldn't get Poisonedsap's gleaming stare out of her head. Does she think we're having kits someday?