Chapter Two

"Good morning, Bloodpaw!" The sounds of greeting started to vibrate upon the next morning to every Shadowclan cat to be greeted by the clear blue sky and the warm sun that hovered over everything. Bloodpaw himself, who was gently holding a kit barely a moon old in the clutches of his jaw as he padded over to the nursery, nodded to every cat that greeted him. Smokestar had tasked him with helping out the queens in making sure that their kits often got fresh air a little bit away from the nursery as most of them were old enough to explore on their own. Still, he had to make sure they were with their respective parents for the remainder of the first moons or so until they were six moons old. Then, they would be able to walk around by themselves.

The kit in his mouth, however, was quite the fighter as it jerked and twitched in such a hissy fit; Bloodpaw tried hard not to bite down on the nape or drop the young kit. A fall like this won't hurt it much, but it would cause a disturbance that will definitely draw the ire of the others. "Come on, calm down already will you?" He mewled softly around a mouthful of grayish blue fur. "You'll be with your mother soon enough. Just hang on just a little while longer."

"Having trouble with that kit, Bloodpaw?" Mewled a twinkling voice to his left. Darting his eyes to the left, and immediately looking away, the tall stature of Pinebolt in his yellowish green lanky figure approached his apprentice with a wide grin. Sharp angled ears that were always pointed to the side, and those sharp yellow gold eyes of his that angled at just the right direction, many cats kind of teased his appearance; but Pinebolt just laughed it off. He always joked that he was made more for Thunderclan than Shadowclan. Albeit, he was the best ambush hunter in the entire clan itself.

The sound of his voice being muffled by the amount of pelt being shoved into his throat, made Bloodpaw realize that he needed to put the kit down before saying anything. Heaving a muffled sigh, the blood red ginger gently placed the kit upon a small patch of grass while making sure that it was within eyesight, before speaking towards his mentor. "Sorry about that, Pinebolt." Bloodpaw mewled in light greeting. "But, no I wasn't having trouble at all." Darting his eyes to the left in denial, he had to flinch as Pinebolt let out another laugh of amusement. 

"It looked as though that kit was giving you the fight of your life." He chuckled while bending down to pick up the kit by the nape of its neck. Instead of fighting off the much larger cat, Bloodpaw noticed how it was purring constantly. This made Bloodpaw a little jealous to be honest, and it only continued to fester as the both of them headed towards the nursery. Along the way, Pinebolt began to converse with his apprentice to get to know him more. "Thunderclan and Riverclan have asked to host their unusual race through the Thunder Gorge at the end of new-leaf."

This made the ears on Bloodpaw perk up a little. 'How long has it been since a race had been brought up between the clans?' He thought while his tail kind of quivered in excitement. He had been too young to participate in the last ones, but now that he was old enough to be an apprentice... "Do you think I'll be able to participate in it this time, Pinebolt?" Bloodpaw asked with eagerness glinting in his eyes.

"I don't see why you can't." Grunted Pinebolt as he had to lower his head to avoid getting it slammed against the overhang of rock. The conversation between them was put on hold as they lightly trotted up to Honeyshadow in the far corner. A she-cat tortoiseshell with the most beautiful mixture of golden yellow and black with a single white dot on her forehead, Honeyshadow was the gentlest of any Shadowclan warrior. A stark contrast to Cloudbrush who was more cold than any leaf-bare. Bloodpaw always felt comfortable among the other cats.

Right now though, Honeyshadow was currently napping. It was especially hard for her to get any smidgen of rest while Cloudbrush was always out on warrior duties. Plus, being a mother and looking after her kits was tedious and exhausting work. So, both Bloodpaw and Pinebolt gently placed the kit right next to its mother, which it immediately snuggled up close to her belly, before departing from the nursery. Neither spoke to one another until they were far away from the opening.

"Now then..." Pinebolt suddenly spoke up as they walked around the camp. Here and there, the other warriors, apprentices, and kits dashed around doing their own little things. "I can speak with Smokestar to see if we can't get you into the race itself. Besides, from what I gathered from Smokestar, it's intended only for apprentices like yourself." Coming to a stop nearest the den of the warriors, Pinebolt merely chewed on his bottom lip before casting his gaze back towards his apprentice.

"I must warn caution, Bloodpaw. This may be a simple race to others, but there's a hidden meaning to all of this. I can just feel it in my bones." There was something about how Pinebolt was saying his words that made Bloodpaw listen wholeheartedly. Though the question was: why would the other clans even try to usurp one another?

"Bloodpaw! Pinebolt!" Turning their heads at the same time, both saw a lanky yet muscular dark gray tom striding to their spot with purpose. Stormy gray eyes that were just as dark as his pelt fixated their gaze upon the two. Whatever Smokestar wanted to speak with them, it probably wasn't good. Arriving two paw lengths away, Smokestar just glared first at Pinebolt before darting his eyes towards Bloodpaw; both who were nervously waiting for him to speak. 

"Seeing the looks on your faces, I presume that you've already told Bloodpaw everything coming up, Pinebolt?" There was no accusation in his voice, just a question that needed answering truthfully. Smokestar didn't bother waiting for an answer anyway as he continued as though both had just agreed to it. "Unfortunately, we were supposed to be holding it at the end of new-leaf.

I've gotten word that Shellstar from Riverclan wants to move it until tomorrow. Supposedly she doesn't want to wait that long. And the other leaders have agreed to such a thing." Glaring at the both of them, Smokestar seemed pretty miffed about the sudden changes. "I'm going to guess that you are allowing Bloodpaw to join this race?" 

"Yes." Was all that Pinebolt mewled.

"Fine by me then. Even though he would have participated either way. Every apprentice from each clan is going to participate for the next three days or so. I just hope you do well in it and not give us a bad look." Eyes narrowed directly towards Bloodpaw who nervously gulped on a reply. Giving one last look at them, Smokestar would rise up before sharply turning around.

Turning to look at Pinebolt, who just shook his head in bemusement, Bloodpaw went about his day with thoughts of the race almost clouding his mind.