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Eagleheart had felt unmoored since he’d become a warrior and left behind the apprentice’s den. He had spent so many moons tucked up into his best friend’s pelt that not having his scent nearby seemed to make sleep harder to come by. In a word, he missed how much time he got to spend by Ashpaw’s side. Ashpaw was pawfuls of moons younger than him, and so Eagleheart knew it would be a while yet until his friend joined him in the warriors' den as well.
Eagleheart shifted in the soft grass that made up his bed for what felt like the twentieth time that night. He was about ready to give up on catching a wink of sleep at all when he heard Elmleaf grunt with annoyance near him.
Deciding not to cause any more grief for the older tom that particular night, Eagleheart left the den with a low huff of exhaustion. He sat outside of the hollow in the dirt and rock that made up the warriors’ den and gazed up at the starlit sky. The camp was quiet except for the low whistle of the wind over the camp and the soft snores of sleeping cats.
Eagleheart’s whiskers twitched as he scented the air lightly. The wind smelt distantly of coming rain.
“Eagleheart...?” a soft mew came from nearby. Eagleheart’s ears twitched in the direction of the approaching paw steps. He could recognize the cadence of those steps anywhere. It was Ashpaw. He purred softly in a pleased greeting.
“Ashpaw,” he meowed pleasantly. Ashpaw ducked his head, and Eagleheart lifted his chin allowing the smaller cat to push his muzzle up underneath his in a friendly greeting. Eagleheart couldn’t help the loud purr that started up as their fur brushed.
“You’re up late,” he commented as the apprentice cozied up to him.
“You too,” Ashpaw responded, and Eagleheart’s whiskers twitched in amusement.
“Touché.” The two sat in silence for a long moment, enjoying the warmth of their mingling pelts. Eagleheart continued to rumble with a pleased purr, filling the silence with a quiet joy that Ashpaw couldn’t really put a paw to how much it meant to him. So Ashpaw met the loud purr with his own equally pleased one.
.
The morning brought the camp to life slowly. Eagleheart had returned to his nest after the moon had started to lean in the sky, figuring the two of them shouldn’t rest too long out in the elements in the middle of the night. With the clarity of morning, Eagleheart felt his pelt warm at the thought of being discovered, the two of them curled together like that, by the dawn patrol.
Still, Eagleheart couldn’t find it in himself to be anything other than pleased that it had happened. The thought of being curled up with Ashpaw brought a certain bounce to his step, and he trotted cheerfully into camp. The sun hadn’t climbed too high over the horizon yet.
“Eagleheart,” Whiteface, the clan’s deputy, meowed in lieu of a greeting, “Could you join Frostfoot and his apprentice for a hunting patrol?” The older calico she-cat looked a little worn out that morning, and the day had only just begun.
“Of course,” he meowed in reply, “Are you feeling ok?” Eagleheart couldn’t help but worry after the older she-cat. She was his mother, after all. Her ears twitched in response, and she gave him a wry look.
“Just the usual aches,” she replied good-naturedly, “It comes with the getting old. You’ll understand one day.” Her tail brushed along his flank gently, and Eagleheart bowed his head lightly. He took that as enough to not dally anymore and padded over to Frostfoot.
“Joining us for the hunting patrol?” Frostfoot asked, his amber eyes turning away from his yawning apprentice. Eagleheart’s own ears twitched at the loud sound of Lilypaw’s yawn.
“I am,” he affirmed.
“Can we go now then?” Lilypaw meowed. Despite her earlier display, she appeared to be raring to go, “The prey isn’t going to catch itself.” Frostfoot snorted softly in response, tilting his head toward Eagleheart.
“We can go,” Eagleheart confirmed, and the three padded off into SandClan territory. The trees were sparse, and plenty of tall grass filled the territory. Lilypaw’s ears were pricked for any sign of prey in their territory. Eagleheart could hear the chortling of ducks out in the slow-moving stream nearby, but the birds usually kept too far out on the water to make for good hunting.
It didn’t take long for the three of them to chase down a couple of rabbits and a stoat to bring back to the fresh kill pile. Lilypaw’s tail was curled tall as they made their way, clearly proud of the stoat she carried in her jaws. Stoats were notoriously tricky to catch, so it was impressive, to say the least, that she’d managed such a feat.
The three returned to the incline where the caves and burrows the clan rested in were, and Eagleheart quickly spotted Ashpaw sitting next to Honeypaw at the fresh kill pile. Lilypaw quickly dashed toward the two of them to show off her kill. Frostfoot’s whiskers twitched in amusement as he followed at a relaxed pace. Eagleheart kept pace with the older tom, feeling equally amused by Lilypaw’s infectious excitement.
The apprentice dropped her prey off and bounced over to her littermate and friend with a happy mrrow in greeting to the pair. Honeypaw’s pale ginger fur shone gold in the bright sun-high light.
“It looks like it’s a good day for hunting,” Gingerstripe meowed in greeting to Frostfoot, brushing their pelts together. The pale gray tom purred in agreement, leaning into the she-cat’s touch.
“It is,” Froststep said in agreement, and Eagleheart padded over to Ashpaw, ears pricking to catch the three’s conversation. Lilypaw was speaking excitedly about how she’d caught a stoat.
“Eagleheart,” Ashpaw greeted him warmly but softly, so as to not interrupt Lilypaw’s retelling of how she’d managed to catch the stoat with a little help from Eagleheart. Though Eagleheart had only pincered off the stoat so it went running back into Lilypaw’s waiting claws.
Honeypaw listened to Lilypaw’s story, her tail flicking behind her with excitement, and her ears pricked toward Lilypaw to catch every word. Eagleheart leaned down to smooth down the tufts of fur that stuck up on the crown of Ashpaw’s head. The smaller tom leaned into his touch with a soft purr. Ashpaw’s tail curled around Eagleheart, and Eagleheart sat down next to his friend happily.
It wasn’t long before their mentors called the other two out of the camp, and Eagleheart set out to join another patrol. The bit of time under the warm sun they spent together still warmed Eagleheart’s heart.
Later, as the sun descended toward the horizon, Ravenstar padded over to Eagleheart with a shrew dangling from her jaws. Her amber eyes were sharp, and she flicked her tail directing him to follow her. Eagleheart padded after his leader without a word. She’d been his mentor before she’d been blessed with nine lives from StarClan, so it was hard for him to feel the same nervousness he’d always felt around the cantankerous Sagestar. Though sometimes, a different feeling of nerves tingled under his pelt when meeting her gaze. This was one of those times.
Ravenstar pushed through the ivy into her den without glancing back to make sure Eagleheart was behind her. Still, he followed her into the cool den. The angle of the sun cast long shadows into the den, and Eagleheart felt a shiver pass through his pelt at the slight drop in temperature inside.
Ravenstar set the shrew down at her paws, looking towards Eagleheart again as she gathered her thoughts, and scrutinized the young warrior.
“Have you...” she started, narrowing her eyes for a moment, and Eagleheart couldn’t even begin to guess at what his leader might be probing at. His whiskers twitched, and he tilted his head slightly, waiting for her to go on.
“Well, this might seem inappropriate of me to say, but I can’t turn a blind eye to it either,” Ravenstar continued, keeping her posture stiff, “Ashpaw seems to look at you as more than a friend.”
Eagleheart blinked, the words not really registering with him. They were best friends, so more wasn’t exactly incorrect to say. He shifted slightly on his paws, trying to guess at what Ravenstar was trying to say, but couldn’t come up with something.
“Should I not spend as much time with him because I’m... a warrior now?” he hedged. Ravenstar blinked, stiffly at the response. It honestly hadn’t been what she’d expected, nor had she realized quite how dense Eagleheart could be.
“You aren’t his mentor, after all,” Ravenstar responded slowly, considering whether or not she should make things plain to the warrior. If he wasn’t noticing Ashpaw’s intentions, however, perhaps it would be best to leave it.
“He needs to be focusing on his warrior training as well,” she continued. The tip of her tail flicked in frustration.
Eagleheart stared at his leader, his ears tilting back slightly as he felt anger welling up in him. He didn’t understand what Ravenstar was trying to say to him. However, he could tell that she was trying to push him and Ashpaw apart, for seemingly no reason.
“I would never distract Ashpaw from his training,” Eagleheart responded more harshly than he intended to. His fur bristled slightly with his emotions, and Ravenstar blinked in surprise.
“I never thought you intended to,” she soothed gently, “That’s why I’m telling you now. It isn’t your fault, after all.” Eagleheart bristled further, and Ravenstar could tell this conversation wasn’t going at all how she’d intended it to.
Eagleheart rose to his paws, staring angrily at Ravenstar, “I’m not going to listen to any more of this.” He padded out of Ravenstar’s den with a stormy expression, and the SandClan leader let him go. She didn’t know what else to do other than to let him go.
Ravenstar hoped her words would at least sit in his mind for a little while. She wanted him to stew over it, and maybe put some distance between himself and Ashpaw again. Her amber eyes were shadowed with thought. She was doing this for the good of the clan; Eagleheart would understand that.