Warriors of the Plants

In Flowerclan territory 

Finchpaw watched the leaves drift from the naked branches of the surrounding trees. “They’re loosing their pelts.” Finchpaw said

Acornpaw padded beside his friend stepping on a few fallen leaves liking the crunching sound they made. "You're talking like Springfern," He chuckled with a slight tease

“No I’m not!” Finchpaw giggled. “The trees are loosing their leaves like its their pelts.”

"You're right...Springfern would say it more like this," Acornpaw meowed clearing his throat before pitching his voice higher to mimic a she-cat's voice, "The trees are crying," He mewed his dropping and changing voice cracking as he tried to mimic Springfern's voice

Finchpaw burst out into a fit of laughter, clutching his chest. “I can see that Springfern! ‘The trees lost their wings!’”

Acornpaw laughed as he continued to pad alongside Finchpaw "I hope no warriors heard us..." He mewed glancing around but he was sure that they were both alone. Just them. For some reason that thought made his heart skip a beat but he quickly ignored it

Finchpaw continued to snicker as he trotted along the trail. The weather was getting colder, there were fewer animals seen, and flowers were already preparing for leaf bare. Finchpaw called out to the birds, pursuing his lips together to keen a sparrow cry.

"You're starting to get better at that," Acornpaw complimented with a smile. Looking up at the birds. Unlike his friend all he could think about was trying to hunt their plump bodies but they were too high in the tree and he didn't want to break his arm at the start of his apprenticeship

Finchpaw keened another call. Distantly, a sparrow called back. “Do you think I will be able to talk to them one day?” Finchpaw asked quietly

"Mm...maybe, but how are you sure what you're saying and what they're saying?" Acornpaw asked looking back at his friend

“I don’t...for all I know, I could have called that bird’s mom a slug.” Finchpaw replied.

Acornpaw would laugh at that "Well for all you know, he deserved it," He meowed with a smile

Finchpaw chirped twice. ‘Thank you’. Why’d he say thank you. ‘Mouse? Bird?’

Acornpaw would raise a brow watching Finchpaw, 'what?' he chirped back his voice cracking as he forced it to make a high pitched noice

‘Bird?’ Finchpaw asked, nodding to the tree. ‘Watch!’

Acornpaw was confused but looked over at the three Finchpaw had nodded towards

Finchpaw chirped again, louder to call out to the birds. He heard chirps back, his ears flicking toward the sound.

Acornpaw was of course surprised. He wondered if the birds did actually have their own language...and he wondered how ridiculous Finchpaw sounded or if it was just chirps even to the birds

Finchpaw chirped again, a series of multiple songs flittering through the sky. Raising his tail in excitement, Finchpaw padded forward, warbling. He glanced back at Acornpaw with a small flush, obviously wanting him to join in. Yet he couldn’t help but wonder if he was insulting the birds in their own language. 

Finchpaw keened again, following their cries until he came across a tall tree with an assortment of birds perched on the high branches. “Stinky badger! Hide” Finchpaw whispered urgently, diving to hide behind a scraggly bush. “I don’t wanna scare the birdies”

Acornpaw felt heat rush to his face. He knew Finchpaw wanted him to join but he had a feeling his crackling not high enough pitched chirps would ruin what Finchpaw had started. He blinked not registering for a moment before quickly diving into the bush with Finchpaw their pelts pressing against each other. "Don't call me a stinky badger!" He whisper huffed

A low rumble resonated from Finchpaw, who was simply counting his breaths. “I’m not calling you a stinky badger...” He replied quietly, “I just say that instead of...mouse poopoo...”

Acornpaw huffed shifting a bit uncomfortably in the small bush "Don't call me that either!" He huffed pawing at Finchpaw's head

“I don’t call you that either!” Finchpaw exclaimed a bit too loudly. He backed down after a second, blushing in embarrassment. “Sorry for being loud. I say stinky badger instead of oh mouse poopoo when things go wrong...I don’t like calling anyone that.”

"Mousedung?" Acornpaw meowed tilting his head curiously

Finchpaw nodded, “I hear the big cats say it a lot but I like saying stinky badger.”

Acornpaw sighed "Well can you not call me that," He whispered sticking his tongue out at his friend and batting at his head again, gently

“I won’t!” Finchpaw said, ducking away from his paw. He giggled at Acornpaw’s expression, finding it funny. “Okay—okay, stopppp! Look, look, let’s look at the birdies!”

Acornpaw giggled but pulled his paw away pressing against Finchpaw's side as he looked at the birds in the tree

Finchpaw pointed at the one at the tippy top of the tree. “Which one is that? The brown bird with the white feather?”

"Uhh...I'm not sure..." Acornpaw whispered, staring at the brown bird

“I’m going to call it Flappy. Flappy the bird. Or Whitefeather. Whitefeather sounds like a warrior name...” Finchpaw rambled, ambling forward.

"Well.. maybe they do have names like us," Acornpaw mewed, "Maybe they have names based on us," He giggled at the thought

“Then that one can be Spottedfrecklecat!” Finchpaw said proudly, nodding at the second bird. Maybe he wasn’t the best at names

Acornpaw didn't care if Finchpaw was bad at names or not, "That sounds good," He agreed

“What about you? What do you wanna name the birds?” Finchpaw asked, turning to his friend

Acornpaw blinked, "Oh uh...I'm not sure..." He chuckled awkwardly looking back at the birds

“We can come up with a name together! Like umm okay how bout Blotchy something?” Finchpaw offered

"Nettle?" Acornpaw suggested but really just said the first thing that came to mind

“Blotchynettle?” Finchpaw asked. “That’s a great name! Okay so we have Flappy, Whitefeather, Spottedfrecklecat, and Blotchynettle!! They’re a little a clan!” Finchpaw would watch the birds a little longer before he got up and slunk away from the bush, motioning Acornpaw to follow him. “Let’s go play!” Finchpaw said in hushed excitement

Acornpaw smiled and nodded quickly following after his friend

Finchpaw tried to remember where Hazelbird took him on his first day out, following the familiar trail that laid out before them. “I think this leads to the training ground...” Finchpaw said nervously. “Or maybe it was the other one...”

"Oh it's actually this way," Acornpaw meowed starting to lead Finchpaw away. He remembered exactly where everything was because that was the only other thing he could focus on other than his bad luck and Briarstream trying not to seem upset everytime some bad luck happened to her

“Oh right it is!” Finchpaw perked up, falling behind Acornpaw. He rubbed his arm awkwardly, his ears flattening. “I don’t know how I missed it.”

"Well with how much my pops talks I can see how," Acornpaw giggled as he led Finchpaw to the sandy floored training grounds

The sand almost looked like snow with how light it was, and from how cold to the touch it was. “I thought sand was supposed to be hot...” Finchpaw said, pawing at ground. He looked up and figured the overcasting trees provided shade to keep them from heating up.

"Well I'm glad it's not, I would hate to train here if it was hot," Acornpaw meowed jumping onto the white sand before looking at Finchpaw crouching down. His pupils widened and he wiggled his hind before leaping at Finchpaw tackling the other tom to the ground with a laugh 

Finchpaw yelped out in alarm from the sudden tackle. He rolled against the sand, pawing at Acornpaw as giggles left him. “Get off me!!” Finchpaw laughed, trying to push Acornpaw off him

Acornpaw giggled ruffling up Finchpaw's hair, "Never!!" He yowled confidently as he tried to keep Finchpaw's wiggling body pinned but Finchpaw was very wiggly

Finchpaw tried to shimmy away but it was no use. “Acornpaw!” He guffawed, batting at his legs, “let me goooo! Qui-it it!”

Acornpaw laughed but trying to move his paw to be more stable Finchpaw wiggled in a way that threw Acornpaw unbalanced. Acornpaw let out a yelp falling into the white sand beside Finchpaw

Finchpaw took that as his opportunity to make a run for it. He got to his paws and bolted away, around the perimeter of the training cove. “You can’t catch me!”

Acornpaw quickly jumped to his feet the white stand sticking awkwardly into his fur. He quickly bolted after Finchpaw being surprisngly quick as he took no time to catch up to the other apprentice "Ohhh Finchpaw~!" He cooed with a laugh as he only closed the distance before snagging Finchpaw's back lag to make him tumble

Finchpaw groaned out as the ground gave way, his chin soon making contact with the cold ground. “No fair!” Finchpaw exclaimed, trying to squirm his way free

"I did play fair this time!" Acornpaw huffed in defense as he stood over Finchpaw with a smirk "It's not my fault I'm faster,"

“Yes it is! Because!” Finchpaw retorted, struggling to find a reason. “Because.”

"Just admit it Finchpaw, I'm faster," Acornpaw mewed puffing out his chest proudly of course not mentioning how when it was just him and Briarstream he couldn't stop tripping on every piece of root, stick, rock, and air

Finchpaw knocked his head back against the ground with a scoff. “Okay...you’re faster...but I also have something cool!”

Acornpaw smiled before laying down next to Finchpaw in the sand "Well I think anything you do is cool," he meowed

Finchpaw opened his mouth to say something before rolling to lay on his side. “Really? I’ve been told it’s weird...the bird chirps and the roleplay—I don’t know. I just think its weird to call my imagination and interests weird..but thank you for saying its cool.”

Acornpaw would look back at Finchpaw and chuckled "They only call it weird cause they're stinky adults," He chuckled

“But Creekpaw called it weird too. Said I was...delusional or something.” Finchpaw snorted. “But I don’t really care. Because we’re like birds and we like roleplaying and storytelling so that's not weird.”

"Mmm...well I'm pretty sure Creekpaw was born as an adult," Acornpaw meowed with a laugh

Finchpaw laughed. “You’re funny.” He said, poking at Acornpaw’s side

"Thank you. Another thing I'm good at," Acornpaw laughed, pawing back at Finchpaw

“I think you’re good at many things.” Finchpaw said, nodding, “Like you’re very creative.”

Acornpaw blinked, "I don't think I'm good at that one...you're the one who always comes up with the stories," He meowed

“But you’re good at bouncing ideas back! And improvisation! So those are somethings that are cool!” Finchpaw retorted

Acornpaw smiled, feeling heat rush to his pelt, "Haha...thanks...I'm glad you enjoy playing with me," He meowed

“Of course! We’re a duo! A dynamic duo! Finch and Acorn, explorers of the east!” Finchpaw exclaimed, waving his paws.

In Lotus leaf camp 

“I bet you I can jump the highest!” Squirrelkit announced to her sister. She stood on top of rock, overlooking the river. Littlebreeze wasn’t with her this time but that didn’t stop Squirrelkit from wanting to play near the water, even dragging Shrubkit with her

Shrubkit laughed. "No way!!" She said indignantly. "I can jump wayyyy better than you!" Shrubkit said, teasingly, kicking up her hind legs, before racing up the rock and sitting down next to Squirrelkit.

What a lie! Squirrelkit shook her head in insistence. There was no possible way that Shrubkit could even reach her heights, Squirrelkit was the tallest and springiest of them all! She’ll even prove it. “Nuh uh! Watch me Shrubby,” Squirrelkit said indignantly, standing upright. She bunched her haunches, swiveling her tail as she bounced up.

Shrubkit gasped. "Woahhhh!" She shrieked excitedly, bouncing up and down. "That was sooo high!!" Shrubkit looked at Squirrelkit in awe. "I don't think i can beat that..." She said, not disappointed, more in awe of Squirrelkit.

“Good! Cuz you can’t!” Squirrelkit agreed, nodding her head. “I bet if I jumped from here to the river, I can make a bigggg splash!”

Caught up in the moment, Shrubkit gasped. "Yesss!!" She said, eyes wide. "That would be super duper cool and amazing!"

Copperpaw eyed up the two kits from the other side of the clearing, glaring. When the two climbed up onto the rock, Copperpaw started moving towards the two, before breaking out into a run. "Shrubkit! Squirrelkit!" He said urgently. "Get down from there!"

“What?!” Squirrelkit jumped from the sudden voice. She turned around to find Copperpaw staring at them, looking alert. “Why? I wanna make a big splash!”

Shrubkit nodded, backing up her sister earnestly. "Yeah!" She said. "Bigggg splash!"

Copperpaw looked at the river and back to the kits. "It's dangerous!" He said pointedly.

“But it’s water!” Squirrelkit countered. “And water is safe! I think! No, no I believe it’s safe! I know how to swim!” That was a lie, she did not know how to swim

Copperpaw looked at Squirrelkit suspiciously. "I haven't seen you step a paw in water, let alone swim!" He laughed.

“Yeah? Well I can swim! I can swim like a fishy!” Squirrelkit exclaimed, puffing out her chest. “I can show you!” She stubbornly inched towards the water, tail and head held up high despite the little anxiety growing in her

Shrubkit yelped uncertainly. "Squirrelkit!-" She said, a sudden bout of hiccups coming on.

Copperpaw raised an eyebrow, and took a couple steps until he was infront of Squirrelkit, before firmly removing them from the side of the bank. "How about no." He said.

“Why not?” Squirrelkit asked, tilting her head. “You’re no fun.”

Copperpaw wracked his brain for a second, trying to find a reason the kits would understand. He couldn't, so Copperpaw opted for a different tactic. "Because...." He said, trying to build up suspense. "I'm going to teach you how to do a hunting crouch!"

“You are?!” Squirrelkit inquired, blinking in surprise. Okay! Maybe that could be better than swimming because then she would have a headstart in her training or whatever. “Okay okay! Shrubkit, you hear that? He’s going to show us how to do a hunting crouch like actual hunters!”

Shrubkit gasped. "Oh yayayayay!!!" She squealed. Shrubkit had been waiting for this moment for her entire (though admittedly short so far) life.

Copperpaw nodded. "I am." He said earnestly. "Now, make sure you're paying attention, you two are going to be apprentices next moon, so this is valuable knowledge!"

“Okay okay okay!! I will be paying clloooooooseee attention! Very close attention! So close that you won’t be sad!” Squirrelkit said vigorously

Copperpaw laughed lightly. "Ok, then watch this." He said, as he deftly slid into the most perfect hunting crouch ever. Ears flat, tail ever so slightly raised of the ground, and haunches tucked in. "Ok. You two try now."

Squirrelkit mimicked his position; her body parallel to the dusty ground. “Like this?” She asked excitedly. She glanced at Shrubkit, proud of her form. “Am I doing it right?”

Shrubkit looked between Squirrelkit and Copperpaw. "Ohhh wow that looks pretty good!" She said to Squirrelkit, even though she had no idea what was right or wrong. Scrunching her eyes up, Shrubkit dropped into what she thought was a decent imitation of Copperpaw and Squirrelkit.

“YAY!” Squirrelkit broke her form to stomp her paws in a rhythm. “You look so cool! Like an epic hunter! You look like uhhh you look like Rattlestrike!”

Laughing lightly, Copperpaw got up from his crouch. "Very good!!" He said truthfully. "You two seem like naturals to me!"

“Hear that?! We’re like naturals!!” The lanky mottled kit said happily.

Shrubkit leaped up into the air. "Yay!!" She said happilly. "I'm gonna go show mama!" Shrubkit said, and bounced off.