chapter 19

                                    

                                          
snakepaw
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SNAKEPAW'S PELT TWITCHED WITH suspicion as his gaze traveled across the clearing, landing on his sister and a silver bengal apprentice from RiverClan. Though he hadn't seen this cat in moons, he recognized her easily.
Dapplepaw.
"What's Mintpaw doing, talking with Dapplepaw?" he mumbled to Viperpaw.
Viperpaw craned his neck to get a look. "I don't know, that's interesting. Who would've thought the two of them would ever talk."
"Doesn't she know Dapplepaw's the enemy?" Snakepaw spat.
"Oh, come on," Viperpaw mewed, an amused look in his eyes. "She's not the enemy, she's an apprentice. You're just mad because she beat you that one time."
"Snakepaw's just mad because of what?" Birdpaw's voice traveled towards the two brothers, turning their attention away from Mintpaw and back onto the group.
The ShadowClan and ThunderClan apprentices had gathered together in a circle, talking about pretty much anything, though mainly wondering about the Great Secret. The brothers' heads had been bent together at first, whispering about their sister, but Birdpaw's words seemed to bring the focus onto them.
"Because Dapplepaw defeated him in a fight," Viperpaw supplied.
Snakepaw's pelt burned when he saw Frozenpaw's whiskers twitch with laughter. "Hey! To be fair, it was my first day as an apprentice, I didn't know anything. I could easily win against her now."
"I wouldn't bet on that," Crowpaw rumbled deeply. "Dapplepaw's the best apprentice RiverClan's got. I've only talked to her a few times, but she's clearly very lethal."
"Yeah? Well, so am I," Snakepaw meowed, puffing his chest out.
"And very humble at that," Sweetpaw teased, making the group erupt in purrs.
"Yeah, yeah," Snakepaw muttered, flicking his tail good-humoredly. It felt weird, he thought, to be making jokes with all that was going on. But on the other paw, maybe he should just enjoy this moment. Who knows when it'd come again?
Suddenly, a tortoiseshell pelt flashed in Snakepaw's vision and threw itself into Birdpaw. The brown-furred ThunderClan apprentice seemed startled at first, but soon recognized the cat as her friend, relaxing and allowing the tortoiseshell to snuggle against her for comfort.
"Hi, Cloverpaw," Birdpaw mewed softly, giving her friend's ear a lick. "What's up?"
"Nothing, I'm just tired," Cloverpaw responded with a yawn. "There's so much happening, I wish everything could slow down for a while." As she scanned over the group, her eyes widened when they landed on Snakepaw and Viperpaw. "Hey! You're Mintpaw's brothers, aren't you? You three look almost identical!"
Snakepaw ruffled his fur. He didn't really like being known as "Mintpaw's brother", and so he nodded begrudgingly. "Yeah."
"Do you know how I could become friends with her?" Cloverpaw asked earnestly. "I've been trying to so hard, but she doesn't seem to open up to anyone."
Snakepaw glanced over his shoulder, where Mintpaw was purring loudly at something Dapplepaw said. "Maybe you should ask Dapplepaw instead."
"She's very cold," Cloverpaw continued, not seeming to hear Snakepaw's comment.
This time, the gray tom made sure to speak louder. "It's part of her charming personality."
Viperpaw, who, however, had heard Snakepaw's Dapplepaw comment, hurried after his brother when Ivorystar called ShadowClan's patrol to leave. "Why are you so upset over who Mintpaw becomes friends with?"