Outlaw

Cedarkit tumbled onto the ground as a orange she-cat pinned him. 

"Got you!" Emberkit grinned proudly. Cedarkit flailed around, trying to escape her grasp. "Come on, you give up yet?" His sister purred as she watched her brother struggle.

"No way!" Cedarkit grumbled as he swung his paws around to no use.

"Now you're just making me feel bad." She sighed, letting him go. Cedarkit quickly jumped up, and sprang backwards. His fur was ruffled from their small fight.

"Oh come on. I could've gotten away if you just gave me some more time." He argued. Emberkit opened her mouth to retort, but she was immediately interrupted by their mother. 

"Don't be fighting so roughly. Come here, let me clean you two." Leafsong called. Cedarkit's brother was curled up asleep next to her as the morning light shone through the leaves above the camp. His sister bounced over to their mother as Cedarkit dragged himself forwards. The rest of ThunderClan had just begun to wake up and their deputy was already assigning duties. Cedarkit watched as the warriors rushed over towards the high rock. There was so much he wanted to learn and experience and then eventually, he'd make it to be the best warrior in all of the clans. Cedarkit felt Leafsong brush his fur as he watched the brave warriors rush off and out of camp, their apprentices following close behind.

"Hey, if you want a rematch just let me know. I'm ready whenever." Emberkit smirked at her brother before skipping off to visit the warrior's den. Cedarkit stuck his tongue out at her in response.

"I'll beat you next time." He mumbled. A bundle of fur bumped into him as he turned towards it. Stonekit yawned as he blinked away his sleepiness.

"She won again?" His brother asked him drowsily. Cedarkit's fur bristled at his question. 

"Yeah." He sighed as he slumped down. His tail curled around his paws.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, she's just really good at fighting. It doesn't mean you're bad at it." Stonekit smiled to his brother in hopes to cheer him up.

"I guess." Cedarkit murmured. His tail flicked uncomfortably. "Come on, don't you want to see Reedflare in the medicine cat den?" He sat up as he looked back at his brother.

"Yep. You want to come with?" Stonekit bounced up, suddenly energized. Cedarkit nodded in response as his brother led the way. "Reedflare! Cedarkit wanted to come along today!" Stonekit grinned widely. Reedflare dropped one of his herbs, startled by the sudden outburst from the entrance. 

"Oh hey Stonekit, it's nice to see you here too Cedarkit." Reedflare purred as he picked up the herb that had toppled onto ground. "Right now I'm setting up some herbs. You want to help me?" Stonekit nodded and rushed over to his side. Reedflare began to explain the basics of where to set the herbs with Stonekit listening closely. Cedarkit sat quietly in the corner of the den as he watched the two bond. He wasn't too interested in medicine, but he respected them and knew how important their role was. "You're a natural at this!" Reedflare smiled at Stoneleap as he began to explain the other parts of the herb. Once he was done explaining, he turned to face Cedarkit. "Sorry if you feel left out. How have you been doing Cedarkit?" Reedflare smiled softly to him. 

"Huh?" Cedarkit perked his ears up in surprise. "Oh, I've been alright." 

"You been running around camp and bothering some warriors?" He chuckled as he began to sort his herbs. 

"Not really." He shrugged. "Emberkit has been hogging them all." 

"Maybe you should try talking to some apprentices. You'll become an apprentice first anyway." Reedflare glanced over to him before turning his attention back to Stoneleap. That sounded like a great idea. Maybe he could walk around camp until the apprentices returned. 

"I think I'll do that, thanks Reedflare!" Cedarkit smiled as he jumped up and bounced out of the den. Reedflare flicked his tail in response as the kit ran off. He padded forward as he thought about what it must be like to be on the high rock. Being leader of an entire clan must be so fun. It must be exhausting too though. One day he'll be standing up there earning his apprentice name and eventually his warrior name. He smiled to himself as he circled the large rock, looking for a way up. Finding a small ledge, he hopped up on top of it only to lose his footing. 

"Oof-!" Cedarkit tumbled backwards as a large warrior stood in his way. He looked up to see a strong gray tabby tom standing above him.

"Sorry about that." Hawkshadow murmured before padding away. Cedarkit couldn't help but stare as he walked away. Hawkshadow has always been so jumpy around him and his siblings, but their mother always told them some cats just didn't like kits. He shrugged it off and jumped back onto the small ledge and sat there, waiting for the apprentices to return.

Before long, he noticed several cats returning back to camp. He sprung over to see who had returned and noticed Owlpaw and Wolfpaw in the mix of them. 

"Now which one should I talk to?" Cedarkit whispered to himself as he looked between the two apprentices. Wolfpaw had always intimidated him with his bulky structure and large teeth. Owlpaw was tall, but much thinner with several noticable scars. He also had more training as an apprentice, so he would probably have more to say.

"Watch where you're going." Wolfpaw hissed at Owlpaw as they dropped off their fresh-kill to the small pile. 

"You bumped into me." Owlpaw retorted. 

"Get your eyes checked, you ran into me first." Wolfpaw stood tall and lashed his tail in preparation for a fight. Though Owlpaw was tall, Wolfshadow was larger and likely stronger. Cedarkit watched as the two apprentices circled each other. Were they really going to fight in the middle of camp? 

"Enough you two." Birchfur hissed at the two misbehaving apprentices. "If you cause a ruckus in the middle of camp, you'll be doing much more than simple apprentice duties." 

Owlpaw looked away annoyed before padding into the apprentice den. Wolfpaw walked away in return, not responding to the experienced warrior. 

"What am I going to do with those two?" Birchfur sighed as he turned to notice Cedarkit. His ears perked up in surprise.

"Oh! Sorry you had to see that. Hopefully you aren't too frightened." Birchfur smiled to the young kit. Cedarkit shook his head in return.

"No I kind of wanted to see what was going to happen." Cedarkit blurted out. Birchfur chuckled at the young kit's naiveness.

"Once you become an apprentice, you'll learn more about the warrior code." He smiled to the gray tabby kit before turning to look towards the apprentice den.

"Could I talk to Owlpaw? I wanted to ask him a few things." Cedarkit tilted his head, trying to look past Birchfur. 

"Go right ahead. I warn you though, he's a little grumpy and I'm sure he's even more grumpy now." The warrior responded. "But maybe you could cheer him up a little."

Cedarkit nodded before padding off to the small den. He stuck his head inside and saw Owlpaw in a dark corner of the den, his back facing the entrance. Deciding to get a closer look, he padded deeper into the den. Owlpaw's ears perked up before whipping around to see what had entered the den. Startled, Cedarkit flinched and looked back at the apprentice. He didn't look too happy to see him. 

"Hey!" Cedarkit smiled in hopes of cheering him up. "I was hoping I could ask you a bit about being an apprentice. Where do you go to train? I mean, I'm sure it's somewhere in our territories, but is it like a secret area? How big is it? Oh, and where are the best hunting spots?" Owlpaw stayed quiet as the kit rambled to him. He was clearly uninterested in chatting as he turned his back away and his eyes stared at the blank walls of the den. Cedarkit stood patiently as he waited for a response. The den stayed silent as Cedarkit sat down, flicking his tail and laying it on his paws. He continued to smile at the grumpy tom as he refused to respond. After some time passed, Owlpaw finally opened his mouth.

"I'm not interested in answering any of your questions." He said sternly, glancing over to see the bright smile of the young kit behind him. 

"Okay! Can I come back later?" Cedarkit tilted his head towards the apprentice as he closed his eyes. There was another moment of silence before a head popped into the apprentice's den.

"Cedarkit! What are you doing here? Stop bothering Owlpaw." Leafsong rushed over to pick up her kit.

"I was just asking some questions." Cedarkit mumbled as he felt himself being lifted up in his mother's jaws. 

"I'm sorry about that Owlpaw!" Leafsong nodded her head to the apprentice before bringing her kit back towards the exit. Owlpaw looked at his two clanmates before looking back to stare at the wall. His face was blank and he stayed silent. 

Leafsong padded out of the den and back to the nursery. Emberkit and Stonekit were already eating their meals as Leafsong placed her last kit down. 

"I just wanted to know what being an apprentice is like." Cedarkit whinned as a plump mouse was put in front of him. 

"I'm sure you could ask him later. Now eat up so you can grow to be big and strong, just like your father." Leafsong purred to her kits as she began cleaning them once again. She had always told them stories of their father and how brave of a warrior he was. He had passed away before the three were born, so none of them had actually met him. Cedarkit took a bite out of the mouse laying in front of him. He wasn't too hungry, but he wasn't going to complain about it. 

"Dad's going to be proud of me when I become leader!" Emberkit purred as she quickly finished her meal. Leafsong smiled to her kit before looking out of the den. With the last few bites, Cedar finished his side of the mouse. He looked over to see Owlpaw emerge from the apprentices den. "Perfect timing!" Cedarkit cheerfully bounded over to the grumpy apprentice who was heading to the fresh-kill pile. "Hi!" Cedarkit mewed with a smile on his face. Owlpaw turned to look at the bright faced kit. "Why are you following me?" He grumbled as he picked out a scrawny vole and headed off to find a place to eat on his own. 

"None of the other apprentices are sitting with you, so I thought you could use a friend." Cedarkit responded as he followed the apprentice. 

"I don't need any friends." Owlpaw responded sternly, dropping the vole and taking a bite out of it. 

"But everyone could use a friend!" Cedarkit chippered as bounced next to Owlpaw. The apprentice stayed quiet as he continued to eat his vole slowly. A few moments of silence passed before Owlpaw sighed.

"Fine. But just this once." He murmured. "But your bundle of joy act has got to stop."

"Okay! I'll be serious just like you." Cedarkit sat down suddenly and stared at the vole in disgust. Owlpaw turned to look at the kit and gave a soft smile at his imitation. He turned to see Birchfur and quickly disguised his smile, turning away. He headed back into the apprentices den without saying a word. Cedarkit watched as the apprentice disappeared into his den. 

"Did you just..." Birchfur stared at the kit in disbelief. "Make Owlpaw smile?" Cedarkit blinked, unsure what to say. 

"I think so. I think I made him laugh." Cedarkit smiled at the dark brown warrior. 

"That's incredible. I haven't seen him smile since he was a kit, and I'm his mentor." He sighed. Cedarkit grinned proudly at the warrior. He couldn't help but feel some pride build up in him.

"Cedarkit!" Leafsong poked her head out of the nursery as she scanned the camp. She spotted him quickly and called for him again. "Come on. It's time for your nap." Cedarkit nodded and bounced off towards the nursery, waving his tail in farewell to the warrior. 

Within the next few days, Cedarkit had made Owlpaw smile a total of 3 times. It wasn't a lot, but it was definitely an improvement. Although the apprentice would try to brush him off, Cedarkit always sat with him for his meals. He even got some of his questions answered. 

"So when will you be a warrior?" Cedarkit asked as Owlpaw took a bite of a small bird. "Within a moon I believe. Maybe less." He responded, quicker than usual. Cedarkit jumped up in excitement. "Wow! I bet your warrior name will be cool like... Owlscar!" Owlpaw turned away to try and hide his smile. "I don't think that's the name I want." He thought to himself, looking up into the sky. Cedarkit thought for a moment, thinking of other cool names. 

"Oh also! One of the queens in the nursery says she's expecting soon." Cedarkit rambled as he skipped around Owlpaw. "Isn't that exciting? Maybe I can finally get some training buddies." 

"That's very exciting." Owlpaw responded unenthused. 

"Maybe I can introduce them to you too." Cedarkit turned to see the apprentice clean the last of his bird. 

"Maybe." He turned away as he headed back to the apprentices den. He flicked his tail in goodbye to the kit, the first time since they had sat together. Cedarkit smiled as he padded back to his mother before she came looking for him again.