SPIES ON ENEMY TERRITORY (lotuspaw)

It was a few hours before sunhigh when the pale tabby pulled herself away from her thick, mossy nest. Sitting beside it, she felt pleased that she was the only apprentice in the den. It felt quiet and relaxed, though that same quiet made her a bit edgy at the same time. Did it look bad to the warriors? Did she look lazy, being the last apprentice to rise? Well, she had taken part in the evening patrol, alongside her mentor. Maybe that gave her an excuse for sleeping in?

Whatever the case was, as she sat, she turned her body so she could pick pieces of moss off her belly and legs. Her whiskers twitched and she glanced down at the sorry state all the nests were in; heavily used, starting to dry out and lose their softness. The pine needles that were woven in helped keep the nest smelling fresh, but it was clear to Lotuspaw that whichever of her denmates was responsible for changing the moss was slacking.

With a sigh, she took the initiative and started pulling all the nests together. Wadding up the moss, she rolled half of it outside and worked at the other half until the apprentice den was nearly empty of all greenery. Annoying for any tired cat who would come back before she finished, but maybe it would be the inspiration they needed to do a good job the first time.

She froze, her lips splitting into a wide grin. 'Great StarClan, I sound like Galestorm!' With a mmrow, the she-cat disposed of the old moss in the forest, taking three trips to do it. Being up and about lifted her spirits. Able to stretch her legs and bounce around the camp while she finished up. Her tail arched above her back, the small cat gazed around the camp, looking for any sign of the gray and white tom. But Galestorm wasn't around, so that meant she had some time to herself, unless another warrior came by to boss her around. Thinking on that for a heartbeat, she searched the familiar faces for Adderfrost, but didn't see her.

With the sun on her back, the apprentice left the camp without a warrior asking what she was up to. It made her laugh, once she was out of earshot of course. Rounding a spruce tree, she picked up a little jive in her step, practically dancing as she searched around the roots for moss. Just thinking about when she was known as Lotuskit, only a few moons ago, and she would have been dragged back to camp for even laying a pawstep outside the clearing, was hilarious. Now, here she was without any cat to reign on her fun. Is this what it felt like to be a warrior? It was great! She wanted to be a warrior right now!

An idea dawned on her, as she finished pulling up a large portion of green moss. Excited now, she rolled as much of it as she could carry and rushed back into camp, tucking it away in the apprentice den. If any cat needed to sleep, they could make their own nests. Ducking out, she made it look like she was set to gather more, but once she cleared the camp, her paws brought her straight over to the border. She kept away from the scent line this time, sticking to the shadows. Her stripped pelt helped hide her as she sniffed along tree roots. That mouse from yesterday could have come back by now, and if it had, it was ShadowClan prey! She'd bring it back to them and be a hero.

A mouse hole, and filled with fresh, hot scent. Peering into the darkness, she tried in vain to see if anyone was home. Hopping away from the hole, she hid behind a fallen log and watched for any movement. Maybe the mouse would think she left and she'd get lucky. What was a few excited seconds became several drawn out minutes. Her tail drooped as the boredom set in.

Just when she was about to give it up and head home to finish refreshing the moss and grab a bite to eat, she noticed a cat off to her left. He, and a ThunderClanner by the scent of him, was dawdling just on the marker between their clans. 'What's he up to?' Lotuspaw pulled her ears back, afraid it was the apprentice that had caught her and Adderfrost, and that maybe he was back to drag her away to Badgerstar or something. But when she left the mouse and crept closer to the border, she could see it wasn't the same cat as yesterday. The apprentice tilted her head, intrigued as he placed a single paw over the line. 'He's playing with it, seeing if someone's going to come get him.' She grinned, watching him finally pull himself over the line. Had she been any other cat, she may throw a witty jab at him, or even scare him off. Instead, she stepped out from the shadows, her whiskers quivering with friendly amusement.

A murder of crows cawed behind the young cat, somewhere hidden in the dark shadows of the fir trees. The enemy stood on the scent line, puffing his chest and gazing around like he just conquered the forest and had all of ShadowClan bowing down to him. 'Mousebrain. He's lucky Galestorm or Adderfrost isn't nearby,' she mused while she watched him through glittering blue eyes. Were all toms that feather-headed or was it just a ThunderClan thing? There was a voice in the back of her head that cautioned her; this could be a trap. Though it seemed like a rather messy one. He was already in her territory, so it didn't make much sense for an enemy patrol to accuse her of anything.

The apprentice tilted her head, keeping on her paws with her senses on alert just in case this really was a trap. Her eyes scanned out behind the bold cat, looking for glinting eyes or shaking bushes. But she didn't see anything, other than the tom enjoying himself. She craned her ears, but only heard the birds and cicadas that wove the music of Greenleaf. She curled her banded tail around her legs, looking rather small while she waited to be noticed, until he finally looked up and met her eyes.

She took another few steps out from the shadows. The stripes on her pale hide blending in well with the stripes of light filtering through the spruce and pine she stood beside. The cat couldn't hold back the purr that escaped her little body when the other apprentice's eyes went wide and he froze in place. They locked eyes for several heartbeats, neither of them speaking. She could hear her mentor's grating voice in her mind, telling her to attack. Drive him away. Scare him off. Idly, while he looked her over, the she-cat wondered if her brother would be quick to make the cocky apprentice leave with his tail tucked under him? As far as Lotuspaw could see, he wasn't really doing anything dangerous.

And then he took a step forward, and the silence between them finally broke. Her first instinct wasn't to raise her hackles. Instead, as he announced what he was, she barked a laugh. Fighting to reign in the giggles that followed, she straightened herself and grinned at him with bright, friendly eyes. "Well you're not a very good one then, huh?" She stepped forward, her slender body weaving out fully into the sunlight. She shook her head; whiskers twitching, "yeah, see most spies know to keep to the shadows. And here you are, out in the open. And in territory that doesn't belong to you," she added lightly.

Lotuspaw blinked at him, "I think we're supposed to fight now." She the excitement thrill through her, and she practically danced on her front paws while she considered what to do next. A warrior would fight him. If she was going to be called Lotusstar one day, she'd have to show she was a strong warrior. But when she saw the humor in his eyes, her excitement waned in the slightest. 'A warrior would know when to pick a fight,' the apprentice reminded herself. She kept her eyes on him, not trusting him to not feign friendliness just to get close to her for the attack. "So, I'm Lotuspaw. Who are you, enemy spy?"