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Tall pine trees loom over Bearpaw and his Clanmates, their shadows casting the four cats in darkness. Bearpaw can't help but look up at such imposing figures every now and again, facinated by their size. The gray trees reach up high, sharp twigs sticking out from the side of the bark, dark green leaves crowning the tippity-top. The black tom has to crane his neck far back to be able to see it at all.
Not much else grows around these parts, just incredibly tall trees and small bushes, maybe some moss crawling up the tree roots.
Bearpaw shivers.
The group is straying close to the northern border, where the forest grows thick and misty, the air colder and the area's natural magic more sinister.
It makes Bearpaw a little scared so instead, he shifts his attention to the long shadows cast on the ground by the sinking sun. He's been feeling a strange pull towards them for a while now, shaded and shadowed spots calling to something within him.
The pull doesn't scare him; in fact, it actually makes him feel safe. The shadows don't urge him forward, they just gently call out to him, waiting for him to be ready.
Bearpaw hasn't figured out what his magic is yet, but he thinks the shadows might hold the answers he's looking for. He went around camp yesterday, asking any warrior who would stop for him and asked them about their magic.
While they all told him different things about it worked for them, and how it felt there was one thing each of their stories had in common: your magic is something that speaks to you, something that feels right and good. Whether that's the sky or the water, it's where you feel home.
These thoughts whirl around his head as he unconciously steps closer to the shadows, distracting him from his original task: finding pine cones as decoration for the Star Festival. He's never been part of it before but all the older warriors seem very excited. They've been busy getting everything ready these last few days and it feels a little hectic, but Bearpaw supposes that makes sense for an important celebration.
His musings are distracted by Rosepaw, his brother, as the white and ginger tom suddenly shoves him in the shoulder.
"Stop thinking so much, I can see you doing it," the tom teases him lightly.
Rosepaw isn't as concerned about finding his own magic, content to wait for however long it takes. For Bearpaw though, the concept has marveled him for a long time, ever since he was a kit.
"Of course I am, I need think for both of us," Bearpaw teases back, ignoring the offended 'hey!' from his brother.
He yelps as Rosepaw lunges for him, claws carefully sheated.
The two start to chase each other around, bright laughter echoing across the forest.
The young apprentices' mentors shake their heads at the tom's antics.
"We've got our paws full, don't we?" Berrywhisker whispers to Duskblossom, watching the flowers weaving around the she-cat's body bloom a little more.
The tabby laughs quietely and meows: "Oh definitely, but that's the fun of being a mentor isn't it?"
"Well, you're right about that, it certainly makes things more lively," Berrywhisker responded, xyrs eyes shining in amusement, then xe turned xem head to the wayward apprentices still chasing each other through the undergrowth: "Bearpaw! Rosepaw! Weren't we supposed to be doing something!?"
At the sound of xem voice, Bearpaw abrubtly stops in his tracks, Rosepaw slamming into his brother and knocking them both over.
"Oof," the white and orange tom huffs, "don't just stand still like that Bearpaw!"
"Sorry," the tom apologizes, clearly not sorry at all.
"Mousebrain," Rosepaw lightly growls but there's no real anger behind it.
Berrywhisker approaches the two, trying to look serious but failing. Xe smoothes out some of Bearpaw's fur that had gotten ruffled in the scuffle.
"Let's keep looking for pine cones, the sun's already starting to set and I'd like to be back in camp before it gets dark. Duskblossom nods, flowers briefly turning towards the sun, "Berrywhisker is right, we don't want to stay out too late."
And so they do, checking to make sure each pine cone is sturdy and won't snap with a bit of force, biting down on them to check. Duskblossom's flowers come in handy here, as she can open and close the petals whenever she wishes, whichhelps to keep the pine cones in, allowing the group to carry much more than they would normally be able to manage.
This way, they don't have to make multiple trips all the way here and can just go once or twice.
As they search around, Bearpaw ends up a little further from his Clanmates, actually getting pretty close to the border. He spares a nervous glance over to the other side, the density of the trees and the mist makes it hard to see anything. Maybe he should go back to Berrywhisker and the others...
As he turns to leave, his ears prick up suddenly and he swivels his head back around to look into the misty darkness of the darker woods. The black tom slowly wanders closer to the ShineClan border, using his pelt to hide among the shadows, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. A crow is preening its feathers in a nearby tree.
Did he imagine that? The sound of a twig snapping?
He tries to calm himself down, heart beating faster than normal, but the uneasy feeling of being watched doesn't go away. It prickles along his skin, making his fur stand on end. Yellow eyes narrow as he inspects the other side.
Did something just move? No, it can't be, he must just be seeing things. He's never heard of any cat willingly living on the other side of the northern border. Even prey tends to avoid it, it's why they rarely hunt here, only coming around to keep their scent up.
He takes a cautious step backwards, he wants to leave but he feels rooted in place, unable to move.
Luckily, Berrywhisker chooses that moment to call xem apprentice back, they've found enough pine cones and are returning home.
Pure relief floods Bearpaw at his mentor's voice and he quickly turns to run back to his brother and Clanmates, as if a spell has been broken.
He doesn't notice the figure streaking away further into the dark woods behind him.