Chapter 8

                                    

                                          
Northern winds rustled the long stems of the dried, crunching frosty grass rooted to the hard, bumpy dirt around the camp. Larkfeather strode confidently through the stalks of fern and heather, her apprentice following hastily, trying to keep up. It had been 2 Moons since her and Robinwing has returned, and all of the gossip had died down now. It was the middle of Leafbare, and the ground was covered in a frosty rime that curved into every nook and cranny of the dense forest. 
                          
"Slow down Larkfeather! I can't keep up-woah!" Fernpaw gasped as her paw slipped into a rabbit warren, the entrance hidden in snow. "Ugh, I hate Leafbare." the apprentice grumbled, putting her paws down slowly and precisely, checking for any holes with a dab of her claws. 
                          
"Calm down Fernpaw, it's not that bad. At least the frost looks nice. It lights up the whole forest! And don't you just love waking up to sharp, crisp air all around you in the den?" Larkfeather signed, ducking into the Training Area, where the scents of Hazelpaw and Darkpaw were traced faintly around the middle and edges. Hollowclaw's scent was there too, mingled in the the young cats' scents.
                          
"But it's cold, there's practically no prey in the forest, and the lakes and rivers are always frozen over so you have to freeze your paws by breaking the ice!" Fernpaw exclaimed, flicking away a clump of snow with her tail. 
                          
"That's enough, now let's get to training. We'll practice a few fighting positions, then go outside and try some hunting techniques, okay? Good. Now show me what you do if... A cat is jumping out of a tree. Good! Now... When you're fighting in water. Almost. Keep your tail down, and nose a little higher." Larkfeather tipped the younger she-cat's chin with her tail tip, before flicking her shoulder gently and padding out into a sudden gust of wind. 
                          
With Fernpaw growling and complaining behind, the two cats made their way to a mostly sheltered clearing, where a large lump of moss sat in a slight mouse figure, with a stick for a tail. "I have to practice on that?" Fernpaw asked flatly, looking up at her mentor with bored eyes.
                          
"Do you want to go back to camp and stay there for another Moon? Didn't think so." the warrior mewed, standing to the side of the clearing to watch.
                          
"What am I suppose to do?" Fernpaw asked in a dull tone, laying down among the leaves and resting her chin on her paws. She realized she had no idea where they were, with no scent of DawnClan anywhere. "Where even are we, Larkfeather? Larkfeather? LARKFRATHER?" Fernpaw cried out, spinning her head around in all directions. What had happened to her mentor? Was there a fox around? Was Larkfeather... dead?
                          
"What on Earth are you screeching about?" Larkfeather asked angrily. "You'll scare off all of the prey with that level of noise! Tone it down!" The tortoiseshell and white she cat sighed and rested her tail down on her apprentice's shoulders. "I'm sorry, Fernpaw. I'm just worried, that's all. Let's try one more thing and we can head back to camp, okay? Does that sound good? I promise not to leave you again." Larkfeather murmured, licking Fernpaw's ear encouragingly and watching her practice some simple lunges, then more advanced pounces before heading back.
                          
Her kits would be due in roughly a Moon, and Thistleclaw still didn't know that she had his kits. She had been planning to tell him tonight in the den, and explain why she had never been in the Warrior's Den, but always in the Nursery to rest. But now seemed good, as he padded along beside her from a border patrol. 
                          
"Thistleclaw, I need to tell you something important when we get back to camp." Larkfeather murmured so that Fernpaw couldn't hear. Although practically the whole Clan knew, she didn't like them to hear things like this.