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The look that Shrimptail was giving him told Clampaw he was probably cooking the fish just a bit too much. It looked a bit — no, a LOT — like it had been struck by lightning. Clampaw would know, since all the apprentices watched that tidepool get struck by lightning. It had entirely cooked the small fish, not even sparing a single one. Seeing it as a culinary experience, Clampaw had tried one and despite its burnt crunch he decided it would work good as a small side for that night’s dinner. Whalestar himself was impressed with the white and light grey tabby apprentice.
His own mum, though? She’d been displeased. Not an expert in culinary, not an expert with tastebuds. “Too small, too burnt” she had complained. Which was stupid because that was kind of their entire purpose — bite sized and crispy. (Perhaps a bit too crispy, but when you’re cooking with lightning you can’t really control that).
“So are you just going to stand there?” Shrimptail’s ginger paw poked into his side, and he nearly slammed his paw down on the smoker. The smoker was constructed with three long and sturdy sticks in a triangular formation, tied together with some spare twine from MapleClan. Near the top was a shelf constructed of twigs, with the top layer having two (very black) fish. A second shelf was further down but not in use. Underneath the structure was a round pit, filled with smoking, small bits of wood.
“S-sorry!” Clampaw ducked his head in respect before grabbing the small flat utensil that MarshClan had stolen from the twolegs. Carefully wedging it under the fish without disturbing the shelf, he lifted them and placed them onto the clean rocks that their kitchen was built around. Located by the shore, it was an area with grassy flooring and square, flat rocks, refined over a long time by Moonblessed cats. They were laid out in an outer square formation with a few breaks, one holding the smoker.
In the middle of the kitchen was probably the most useful cooking tool. Flat stones were piled securely around the ashes of a fire on the ground in several layers. Above it, a long slab would get the heat of the fire, and held up by more rocks was another slab that kept the heat in. Where the fire and food went was only open to one side, the rocky walls covering them. They called it an oven, and although it was based on a twoleg thing, he wasn’t actually sure if a Moonblessed cat had helped make it. It seemed fully natural to him, at least. For Warriors, Moonblessed cats hardly had an impact on their lives, but they certainly improved kitchen work.
It was in this area where ShimmerClan’s Chefs cooked and prepped meals, at least for the cats who wanted them. Some still preferred raw food, while others would have a mix. Clampaw hated raw food — once he ate cooked food, he could never go back.
On the subject of awesome kitchen history, it seemed Clampaw was making some. Just not the good kind. Shrimptail cautiously inspected the burnt fish before hesitantly slicing into it with his claws and popping a small bit into his mouth. Almost immediately, he began coughing and trying to scrape the burnt flakes out of his mouth, his eyes clenched. Clampaw’s heart began to skip beats. Shit! Did I just kill my mentor with overcooked fish???
“Clampaw!” Shrimptail wheezed after a little while, still recovering. “What was that???”
“Why did you even eat it?” Clampaw protested. “It was clearly burnt to oblivion!”
“Because no cat would ever burn anything that bad on purpose… I was thinking you had some plan in mind. Clearly not.”
“I’m sorry…” Clampaw glanced away towards the sand. “I just… got distracted.” It was the truth, of course. The whole time he had been grilling it — stars, way before it — his mind had fumbled around like a flopping fish out of water.
Shrimptail’s gaze softened, and he crouched down, putting a supportive paw on Clampaw’s shoulder. “Hey, you’re my apprentice. You can tell me about anything, and I’d be glad to help. You’re one of the best Chefs I’ve seen, so you slipping up like this means something is wrong.”
“I’m one of the best Chefs? Do you mean it?”
“Of course! Few cats see a lightning strike and are able to work with the result like you did. You’ve made so many great dishes and been, well, a vital part of our team.”
Hmm. Maybe he would make (positive) awesome kitchen history someday, a story told in the many legends of ShimmerClan.
“Thank you. It really does mean a lot right now,” Clampaw slumped against a rock counter, stretching a paw to the sky to block out the sun that beat down on him. It was just past midday, and the other Chefs were busy gathering ingredients or on hunting patrols. Clampaw and Shrimptail were meant to do some prep, which didn’t involve burning food. “It’s just… my mum. You know how she protested me becoming a Chef despite having helped you guys since I was a kit? She’s been complaining again. Saying I’m wasting my time and all that.”
“Well, clearly not, since the whole Clan praises you for your service!” Shrimptail said, flicking his tail in the direction of the main camp. “For all I care, Warmwind can stuff a fish in her mouth! Preferably, your overcooked one.”
For a bit, Clampaw was able to laugh. “She says it’s important to be a proper warrior, since Chefs don’t really fight or border patrol.”
“But this is what’s important to you,” Shrimptail argued, his dark brown eyes filled with sincerity. “The Clan won’t die because you aren’t patrolling. You’d have the brain of a sand flea if you were to do it anyway, since that rogue attack. Who’s to say it won’t happen again?”
“Surely we’d have a better warning system in place in case of that.”
Shrimptail let out a loud laugh. “Ha! Fat chance. Whalestar didn’t even believe Raypaw. Besides, isn’t cooking helping the Clan?”
“I guess you’re right. And it’s delicious too!” Clampaw sat up, filled with determination. “I just need to show that to Warmwind! An ‘awesome food adventure’!”
“I’ll be there every step of the way. We’ll make her proud, I promise you.” The two of them looked eagerly at each other, ready to make the best meal ever, when a third voice broke into their conversation.
“Yayyy, ‘awesome food adventure’?” A young tom’s meek voice hesitantly spoke from the other side of the counter. “Well, I have some, um, ingredients for that. If you’d like.”
“Raypaw! How are you doing?” Shrimptail asked as Clampaw picked himself up off the floor.
“Um, fine enough…” he deflected with a glance to the sea, before redirecting attention to the ingredients. Next to him, a smaller black she-cat seemed to stare past them, fixated on the counter behind him. It was Hadalpaw, Raypaw’s sister. “Here. I traded them from Dash, since he visited.”
“What did you trade these for? They seem good!”
“Manual labour. A lot of it,” Hadalpaw commented as Raypaw sighed. “Dash had him running up and down the beach like a kittypet carrying goods.”
“At least these should be enough to impress Warmwind…” Raypaw separated the two items he had bought. Since they came from Dash, he had expected them to be in twoleg packets, but it seemed Pearlfoam’s dripping remarks made him think twice. Twoleg packaging was more convenient, sure, but it had to be brought back to the Twolegplace to be properly disposed of. No wonder Raypaw was enlisted to help carry everything…
“This bowl is full of some kind of rice, then this pile is delicate, it’s uh-”
“Oh! Those are perfect!” Clampaw’s eyes lit up like pearls. “Seaweed strips! Properly made.”
“What, you don’t like our attempts at replicating it?” Shrimptail feigned mock hurt.
“It… needs more refining, let’s just say. Anyway, these should be perfect, thanks.” Clampaw grimaced, remembering the extremely poor attempts at the start, curvy and soft. Over time, it had improved, but… not quite there, and certainly not ready to be served.
“Alright then, good luck,” Raypaw turned to leave, before freezing. “Hadalpaw?”
“Are these for testing?” Hadalpaw asked from behind Clampaw, and with horror, he realised she was reaching for the burnt disasters. Shrimptail lashed his big, fluffy tail and smacked her paw away.
“Absolutely not! Besides, you know the rules. No entering the kitchen without asking.” Shrimptail scolded her as he escorted her out of the kitchen, where she returned to Raypaw’s side. He apologised profusely for the trouble until the two left, leaving Shrimptail and Clampaw staring at the soon-to-be masterpiece in front of them.
“You’re thinking what I’m thinking, right? That rice looks perfect for it, and we should have ingredients inside our storage.” Down the beach, they had a well-secured and well-kept storage cave, where they kept preservables for use in cooking. If he combined a few things with the rice and wrapped it in the seaweed strips, they could make an uncommon but certainly well-tasting dish!
“I certainly am. Though what will the meat focus be? It could be fish, I suppose. Do we have crab?”
“Different idea. Since you helped me to think clearly, why don’t we make you tonight’s main focus?” Clampaw racked his head on the nearest place to get shrimp. There’s probably a lot at the Albatross Point…
“Hmm. Um, yeah, that’s nice and all, Clampaw, but I don’t feel like giving my life for this meal…” Shrimptail grinned mischievously at him.
“I meant shrimp! Obviously!” He gave Shrimptail a playful hit on the head. “For that one, you’re fetching the shrimp.”
“They always seem to slip through my claws… right, I’d best go see Fishcatcher then, so it doesn’t take all day.”
“That’s a load of Gulldung! You just want to go see him!” Clampaw was rather certain they had some relationship after catching them messing around in the night when they were SUPPOSED to be cleaning the kitchen. Fishcatcher was ShimmerClan’s best sea catcher, though, and shrimp were obnoxiously hard to get. “Just don’t spend too long hugging him or whatever you do. We have a meal to cook.”
“I won’t. What do you take me for, your apprentice?” Shrimptail dashed off, though — like an apprentice, of course — leaving Clampaw finally by himself. I’m going to make her proud.
⏾ ⏾ ⏾
After a while, Clampaw had finally mapped out the entire recipe in his mind. The shrimp would be the main focus, wrapped with whatever vegetables they had secured in the Leafbare Box inside the seaweed strips. Before wrapping it though, they’d have to put the prepared rice into the sheets of seaweed. It probably wouldn’t be filling enough to be a main dish, but since Fishcatcher was getting the shrimp…
Urgh, I’ve been thinking for far too long that I think my head's going to fall off! I’ll just go get the ingredients first. Clampaw stood up a bit too fast, nearly stumbling over, before heading to leave. On his way out, two very not appealing burn victims caught his eye. I should really dispose of these, before I actually kill someone! Wincing at the dry crackling sound and bitter smoky taste, he delicately fit them between his teeth and made sure not to bite down or swallow any of the flakes that’d come off.
He stepped onto the sand, feeling it burn for a moment before quickly adapting. Life on the beach had hardened his pawpads, and he no longer had to fear hot days like a kit would. Still, being out for too long could be a death sentence, and his fur was dangerously warmed from the sun’s rays. Hopefully, the temperature would fall with the incoming night. Taking extra care to ensure it would not break in his mouth, he hurled them into the sea, watching them plop into the water and slowly begin sinking. A rush of colours and shapes flitted under the water towards it, before immediately vanishing. It’s THAT bad, huh?
Now with a slightly more crushed ego than before, he scraped the taste off his tongue with desperate claws and then carried on his way to the storage cave. From the left of the kitchen’s beach entrance, in the opposite direction of the camp, was a one-and-a-half tree-high rock formation. Its sharp grey rocks covered in moss jutted out of the ground, piercing through the flesh of the sandy beach. A small cave was located at the bottom with long vine tendrils at the door, which blocked the sand from breaking into the storage. As he gently moved past the vines, his eyes began scanning among the shelves and every nook and cranny of the place for any useful herbs. None stood out, and he doubted the ripeness of some too. Just as he was about to check the Leafbare Box, a voice interrupted the faint whispering winds.
“Heya Clam? What are you looking for?” A chipper light-grey she-cat meowed.
Clampaw let out a small cry. “Ack! Minnowsplash! You can’t just barge in like that!” He protested with a few self-conscious chest licks.
“What was I supposed to do then? Knock?” Minnowsplash gave him a dubious look. “Fine then, I’ll go be a twoleg.” With great, dripping emphasis on the ridiculousness, she left and pointedly rapped her paws against the rocks a few times. It made no noise.
“Yep, I get it...”
“Great! Anyway, I heard about your, uh, ‘awesome food adventure’. What are you thinking of making?” Minnowsplash pushed through the green curtain again. “Not those overcooked fish, right?”
“How did you even find out about all of that?” Clampaw stalked off towards the Leafbare Box. It was made of some kind of metal, shiny and white and… box-shaped. “Shrimprolls. Shrimptail is with Fishcatcher, getting them right now.”
“Good luck with that! You aren’t seeing those shrimp until sunset!” She gave him a playful nudge as she made her way to the Leafbare Box as well. “The only shrimp that man is focusing on catching is your mentor.”
“You can say that again…” Clampaw sighed.
“That again.”
“That was a low one… I think you’re banned from jokes for the day.” Clampaw winced.
“Whatever the ‘awesome food adventure’ team leader says.” Minnowsplash purred, sticking her paw in between the gap of the Leafbare Box and pushing up forcefully. It opened with a jolt and its immediate cold aura diffused into his face. He breathed for a moment, relaxing in the chill it radiated, before staring down into its icy contents. Enchanted by a Moonblessed cat to emulate the coldest of coldest winters of Leafbare, it was where ShimmerClan cats would store extra fish, or resources which would go bad otherwise. The vegetables around the rest of the room were generally placed by Greyclaw, who in his old grouchy voice would yowl “Freezing it ruins the taste!” and a thousand expletives. Of course, no cat would ever complain about a “frozen taste”, and though his snippy attitude could be very annoying, Clampaw still looked up to him. He very clearly was passionate about his work and had a lot of special recipes. He was never mean to any of the Chefs either, and would stand up for them if something went wrong or a taste wasn’t right. Moon, he still remembered when Greyclaw scolded Whalestar for complaining about salad!
“We’re cats! We mostly eat meat!” Whalestar had hissed. “There’s no meat in here!”
“Then don’t eat it!” Greyclaw snapped right back. “There’s plenty of cooked fish over there. This is for cats who want to actually have some nice-tasting food.”
Clampaw smiled. Life in the kitchen was certainly a lot of fun.
“So are we getting ingredients oooooooooor are we playing glance at a cave wall and smile?” Minnowsplash flicked her ears.
“I think I'm just gonna use cucumber and lettuce.” Clampaw mewed before digging around in the mostly green icy jungle to find them. A chunk of lettuce and a cucumber would be enough, hopefully, and he could always grab more.
“Good idea. Too exotic and you'll probably kill the poor woman,” Minnowsplash laughed. “Never seen her eat any of our cooking, so you'd best make her come back for more!”
“I can only hope it goes well… Uh, can I entrust the basics to the rest of you? The regular cooked food?” Clampaw pulled out what he wanted and placed it onto a ledge beside him. Next to him, Minnowsplash dug up a bunch of fish, no doubt from Raypaw. The little grey tom would often come back absurdly late from fishing all day — to the point where Clampaw wondered if he ever trained with his mentor — with a heap of fish. At some point, Shrimptail had just given him access to the Leafbare Box so the Chefs wouldn't be disturbed.
“Of course you can! You might want to round up Shrimptail soon, though.” Minnowsplash gave him a determined grin before yoinking out another fish. He smiled at her before taking the supplies and dashing out, returning to the kitchen in a quick shoreline sprint. The salty breeze never failed to refresh his lungs, no matter how used to it he had gotten.
He placed the vegetables on the counter next to where the rice and seaweed strips were, and bent down. He gently tapped the centre of the stone counter's side three times, and it slid to the side, exposing a rectangular crevice under the counter. Supposedly, a Moonblessed cat had been taken to the Twolegplace by MarshClan and modelled it after… whatever below the moon a ‘cupboard’ is.
He hooked a round and shiny metallic object out of the cupboard, and another one of a smaller size shortly after. He could get started on the rice right away, but had no idea when — if — Shrimptail would get back. That fishbrain… He growled to himself.
He poured the rice into one of the pots before taking a clay bowl they’d traded from ValleyClan to a nearby stream. Its crystal clear water rippled onwards, and he gently lowered the bowl below the water, letting it fill. He returned to the kitchen — it was only a short walk, thankfully — and poured it into the rice. Carefully, he clamped the handle of the pot with his teeth and moved it onto the top shelf of the oven. He’d have to light a fire, but he wanted to cook the rice and the missing shrimp at the same time. So, yet another task was added to his fetch quest: get the shrimp!
Small problem: Albatross Point was located on the other side of the territory, on a lush piece of land that stretched a claw out towards the ocean. He didn’t want to leave the Kitchen that far, fearing the wrath of a gluttonous seagull.
“Shrimp acquired!” Shrimptail’s voice suddenly called out, the tabby tom triumphantly holding his head high. In his jaws was a clay bowl. That's… oddly convenient. Clampaw just decided to brush it off as the moon blessing him today.
“You took a while.” Clampaw muttered as the clay bowl was set down.
“Only because I already shelled and deveined it!” Shrimptail snorted. “You’re welcome.”
“Hmm. Well, thank you then.” Clampaw hummed considerably, pouring the bowl onto the surface. He pushed half of them to Shrimptail before getting to work on his. Like a skilled warrior aiming their blows for weak points, he made six small horizontal slits on the shrimps’ inside, with precision to not cut the full way through. They were squishy beneath his claws and smelled slightly fishy. He then flipped them over and firmly pressed down all the way to their tail, flattening and lengthening them so they’d fit in the rolls better. Finally, he trimmed their tails before throwing them into the second pot.
“You took your time,” Shrimptail was already licking his claws clean. “Hmm, they taste alright.”
“They’re not even cooked yet…” Speaking of that, it was probably about time for it. They got more water and put it in the pot, and then placed it in the oven as well. “Can you start the fire with the glass? I’m going to get one of the thin mats.”
“I already had the glass ready!” Shrimptail held the glass up, a devious grin on his face. I’ll keep an eye on cooking the things, you just prepare the rolls.”
Clampaw nodded gratefully and returned to the cupboard, where he pulled out a thin wooden mat between his teeth. It bent easily, but was resistant to actually snapping. That would be key to folding the rolls — but the food needed cooking first.
By now, cutting and slicing were second nature to the Chefs. They kept their claws sharpened at all times, making things like cleanly slicing through the lettuce and cucumber like Clampaw was doing as easy as catching fish in a bowl. It had taken a lot of training, practice, and unpalatable cuts, though. Some cats trained to hunt and fight, while others trained to hunt and fight… vegetables and meat. He hadn’t just trained it, he had mastered it. Well, hopefully at least. If Warmwind hated the food, then he’d just blame it on Shrimptail. (More likely, he would just cry).
Finishing the prep, there was nothing more to do than wait for the cooking to finish. Burbling boiling rice water was silenced by Shrimptail with a lid as it was moved to the side, leaving just the shrimp in the direct heat. Before long, it was boiling too. With a sigh, Clampaw slumped over with his forepaws on the counter. He was bored out of his mind, and worried too. Since his own dad died of sickness before he became an apprentice, Warmwind had insisted that he and his brother Singedpaw were to follow in his legacy and protect the Clans. Singedpaw was more than happy to — a ‘young buck’, as the senior warrior Palmbreeze put it — but Clampaw pretty much only knew the kitchen. It wasn’t like he didn’t go on hunting trips and the extremely occasional patrol when they were short of cats either. If he couldn’t manage to cook something nice for Warmwind, it wouldn’t be the end of the world, he guessed. It just meant their relationship would stay strained, and cooking was kind of the only way he knew to solve his problems.
He sheathed, then unsheathed, and resheathed his claws a few times. Moon and stars above, please let this work out…
“Yo, Clampaw!” His respite was broken by one of the cats he was thinking about. Speak of the dark forest…
“Hi Singedpaw.” He kept flexing his claws, hoping that his brother would just see him as bored and not nervously pondering his entire life.
“So I heard about your ‘awesome food adventure’ and–” Clampaw shot up, nearly knocking the seaweed strips off the table. Singedpaw kept on going. “Whoa! You look… not happy about that.”
“How does the entire Clan know?” Clampaw demanded.
“You know how drama spreads,” A taller, fluffy white she-cat sighed from behind Singedpaw. Pearlfoam was one of the deputies of ShimmerClan. “We were just on the way down the shore for a patrol, and Singedpaw insisted on seeing you.”
“I did my part! I got Mum to agree to coming for tonight’s feast!” Singedpaw chirped. Clampaw’s heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly felt dizzyingly nervous.
“She’s… coming? Tonight? She knows!?”
“I dunno if she knows about the whole ‘awesome food adventure’ thing, but she’s coming to dinner. That’s all I told her,” Singedpaw, a mostly ginger tom, licked a black forepaw. “Eurgh. Sand.”
“Right, well we’d best be going before we give Clampaw a heart attack and suddenly, no more feast,” Pearlfoam meowed with a tired sigh. “Come on Singedpaw, your mentor is waiting. And good luck to you, Clampaw.”
“See ya, bro!” Singedpaw called as he left, tail high. Pearlfoam gave Clampaw a look of pity (he was very pitiable at the current moment) before padding off after him.
“The whole Clan knows…” Clampaw murmured weakly. This ‘awesome food adventure’ — which he was getting progressively more annoyed at each usage — was now a whole lot of pressure.
“Sure, the whole Clan knows, but that only means they’re gonna watch you impress her,” Shrimptail reassured him, gently packing him on the back. “It doesn’t matter who knows or who's watching, it’s our ‘awesome food adventure’.”
“Thanks, I think? But you kind of lost the meaning there with the ‘our awesome food adventure’ thing.” Clampaw sighed. “But what if it doesn’t go well? What if the whole Clan watches me fail?”
“They’re not excited about this because they’re interested in the drama. They’re excited because they believe in you. They want you to succeed. Fishcatcher immediately agreed to help despite being busy because it was important to you. We’re all ShimmerClan in the end, we support each other.”
“Would they still support me if it didn’t work?” Clampaw meekly asked, feeling his spirit returning already.
“Of course! They’d offer more and more help until it does!” Shrimptail offered a paw to help Clampaw stand up. “It should be finished cooking by now. Let’s do this.”
Clampaw was on his paws, determined.
“Hey, look who it is? Some of our lovely kitchen staff finally arrived to help with the other food tonight!” Shrimptail declared as a group of cats, including Greyclaw and Minnowsplash, appeared. Though still a bit far away, they let out a few cheers which pierced through the air.
“Let’s get this on a roll!” Minnowsplash purred to him as she entered. Was that a pun?
Next to her, Greyclaw approached the vegetables with a sniff. “Eugh, frozen. Though the sun’s sure warmed them up enough. You got this kid.” A rough paw patted him on the head.
“May StarClan and the Moon bless tonight to make sure everything goes well,” A smaller, thick grey she-cat mumbled between fish she was carrying. “Not that I don’t trust you, Clampaw. Everything will be fine.” Silverheart went to help Greyclaw.
Minnowsplash circled back around with an obnoxiously large smile on her face. “Did you get it? On a roll?” It was a pun! A horrendous one at that.
“Just get cooking, Min. Let’s leave Clampaw and Shrimptail to get everything perfect,” Embertuft, a strong well muscled she-cat ordered with a commanding voice. Her calico pelt was scarred from many battles. “Clampaw, I believe in you. I used to feel when I switched from Deputy to Chef that I was letting my Clan down. But I wasn’t, and you certainly aren’t.”
“Exactly! Life's more than hunting and patrolling. Even if she doesn’t accept it, you’re always one of us, Clampaw.” Minnowsplash added.
The friendly talk was interrupted by a pan loudly hitting the counter with a clang. Steam radiated from it. “Ahem, I think it’s time for us to start putting it all together.” Shrimptail curtly reminded.
“Of course,” Embertuft dipped her head politely. “Best of luck.”
Clampaw was still feeling a bit dumbfounded at the sudden rush of praise and support. Of course Shrimptail had been right — ShimmerClan was his family too. They had his back no matter what, and he knew he had theirs. He would make a dish worth remembering!
Determined, he put the sheet of seaweed onto the mat and sliced it in half. He made a quick trip to the river to wet his paws and then returned to the rice. He spread it carefully and evenly across the strip, making sure not to leave any unpleasant lumps. He flipped the side with rice so it was face down, then he placed a shrimp, and a strip of lettuce and cucumber onto the shiny side of the seaweed. Finally to create the roll shape, he folded the mat over the filling. His claws tucked the filling in as his paws rolled it into a cylinder shape.
“Looking good there!” Shrimptail purred. He had gotten to work on one already. Clampaw gave him a confident nod and then began to shape the mat, pushing down. He took a deep breath. They needed to be presentable, so the cuts would have to look good. With clean slices he carved through the sushi like a warrior through an enemy, 7 pieces perfectly presented.
“Onto the plate they go.” Clampaw resisted popping one into his mouth. It wasn’t just because Shrimptail would scold him, but more because he wanted to taste it among the Clanmates who supported him. He gave them a quick inspection. Their exterior was clean white rice clumped together, with a thin line of seaweed separating it from the orange and green strips inside. The shrimp was cooked to a perfect snow white, and not a charred mess like the earlier fish.
“They look good!” Minnowsplash called from the smoker. Embertuft friendily headbutted her. “Okay, okay… work first, talk later!”
Clampaw was proud. No cat below the moon and the stars wouldn’t enjoy chomping down on these.
“That’s only two rolls,” Shrimptail prompted, putting eight slightly cruder pieces onto the plate. “Don’t have the same talent as you do, but I’m doing my best.”
“They look good, really!” Clampaw laughed. “Let’s finish this. How many more do you think we can make?”
“As many as we can.” That was always Shrimptail’s response. Clampaw couldn’t disagree — the more, the merrier! He hadn’t even noticed that the sun was falling into the ocean as the moon claimed victory. The sun’s red, orange, and yellow blood soaked into the sea, dying it a beautiful colour.
“I never realised how lucky I am.” Clampaw blurted out. “Thank you.”
“There’s no need for thanks. It’s just what we do.”
⏾ ⏾ ⏾
Barely any time later, the food was all ready. Among the seafood, Clampaw could spot mostly regular smoked fish. They didn’t want to outshine me. He thought with a smile. Extra food had been stored away in the Leafbare Box already, and the only thing to do was… eat! And clean afterwards, but eating!!
The group of Chefs had begun to take the plates over towards the main camp, where in front of the Shellrock Whalestar would give commands from, there was a giant and long square stone table they would eat from. On a windy day, eating there would seem stupid, but that table was quite special. No sand would stick to the table. Clampaw had heard that at one point, a Moonblessed she-cat had yowled, “May sand never rest on this table again, nor touch its food!” in fury as a breeze went past. Though it was probably just exaggerated, as every ShimmerClan legend was.
Darkness had begun falling, and the camp was kept warm and bright with flaming torches on long stands. He went around with the plates of food, distributing them fairly down the table with the others. Finally, it was time to take a seat. He normally sat with Singedpaw next to the other apprentices, occasionally with the other Chefs, but now it seemed everyone else had chosen for him. There was an empty spot on the sand, next to Shrimptail, Fishcatcher, and the other chefs on the left, Singedpaw on his right, and a certain silver grey she-cat was directly opposite. He took his seat on the sand with a nervous gulp.
“So, what’s this I’ve been hearing of an ‘awesome food adventure’?” Warmwind asked, a bit of mischief in her voice.
“Uh- you knew!?” Clampaw gasped.
“Sort of hard not to when the whole Clans have been so excited about it,” Warmwind purred. “They’ve — we’ve — been quite excited for it.”
“Well, no eating yet…” Clampaw muttered. “Whalestar needs to do his whole speech thing.”
At the head of the table closest to the ocean, as if on cue, Whalestar launched up. “ShimmerClan! Another day of hard work at our home has ended. Stories continue to be written and passed on as we make the most of the life the stars and moon have granted us. May the stars and the moon carry on watching, may the sun forever warm our pelts, may the fish leap into our paws and may we carve legends into the future. Let’s feast!” A few members let out cheers while others demolished the shrimp rolls with alarming speed. It felt like the whole Clan was here, including the sub-camps!
“Two shrimp rolls each, remember that.” Clampaw heard Shrimptail sternly remind everyone as he glanced down at his paws. Would Warmwind enjoy the food?
She unceremoniously stuck her claw into one. “Clampaw.”
“Uh, yes?” His legs were shaking.
“I’m sorry that you felt like this was the only way you could show me what you really wanted. I hate that it was.” Warmwind confessed. “I’m your Mother. We should be able to speak to one another.”
‘Perhaps I rushed it… I wasn’t intending for it to be a whole thing…” Clampaw admitted, twirling a claw self-consciously in the sand. “I’m still being of use to my Clan as a Chef. It might not be patrolling, but it's ensuring they get the nutrients they need and a delicious meal to fight for every day.”
“I know that. I always have, deep down. But when your father died, I didn’t really want to confront the fact that he was gone. I shouldn’t have pushed you to complete his legacy when what you want matters more. You make your own legacy.” He finally looked into her blue eyes, seeing them like an ocean full of love that could drown him at any moment.
In the flickering firelight, the two shared a moment. What he cooked didn’t end up mattering. It was the bonds that did; they couldn’t be broken by a good or a bad meal. Not even death could.
She then promptly put it into her mouth. “Oh wow! It is good!”
“Good is all you have to say?” Singedpaw butted in. “These are delicious! It tastes just like the ocean!”
“I’ll have to come nightly then,” Warmwind decided. “Must say, I don’t really like smoked fish.”
“Then I will see what I can do.” Clampaw grinned at her. Other options wouldn’t be hard, and it was worth it for his mum. His mum, who had always loved him so much… Why had he feared talking to her? Perhaps the grief put some distance in, but now that life had returned to normal, the distance couldn’t stay.
Well, it was time to taste his creation. He gently put it onto his tongue; the flavours danced on it. Neither the shrimp nor the vegetables overpowered the taste, the seaweed strips and the rice being the main flavours. Singedpaw was right — it really did taste like the ocean. The seaweed strips were salty-sweet, sort of like seawater, just buried below rice to balance it out and only enhanced by the other food.
In short: it was tasty.
“I guess everything worked out after all,” Shrimptail nudged him as he bit into a slightly sweet bit of smoked fish, where he could taste the distinctive flavour of smoke. “It’s like I said.”
“Maybe I was fretting a bit,” Clampaw agreed. “Wonder what we’ll cook tomorrow?”
“Who knows! Some other trader might bring something nice.” Minnowsplash salivated. “Ooh… please be a squid. I want squid.”
He talked with his family and friends — thought it was clear now all of ShimmerClan was family to him — as the night went on and the flames gradually dimmed. He was too stuffed to think of the cleaning afterwards. Eventually, though, Shrimptail suddenly stood up next to him.
“This really was our ‘awesome food adventure’.” Shrimptail loudly yelled. Clampaw just gaped at Shrimptail for a moment. What was he even saying? Some cheers only served to further his confusion, even worse when one came from Warmwind!
“Where did ‘awesome food adventure’ come from anyway!?” He demanded.
“You?” Shrimptail questioned. He was right, but Clampaw just refused to admit it.
“Nuh uh. Whatever. Let’s just cheer for ShimmerClan instead. The best family and home I could have asked for.”
Now that was something everyone could cheer to.
⏾ ⏾ ⏾
The feast was over, and the cats dispersed to clean up the scraps. From behind him, Warmwind pulled him into a hug. “I love you.” She fiercely told him.
“I love you too. Really. I’m sorry I didn’t just come to you directly.” Clampaw buried his head into her fur, feeling properly at ease.
“Well, we’d never have the ‘awesome food adventure’ if not for that.” She chuckled.
“Seriously! The next cat to say that gets their ear cut off!” He hissed, earning a howl of laughter.
“Alright now. The Chefs said you could have tonight off from cleaning the kitchen. There’s still those two extra rolls, aren’t there?”
Throughout dinner, Clampaw kept a conscious eye on the plate. He had put two extra on for their stretch and was determined to make sure that no cat would take extra. He had only barely managed to do so; once Singedpaw realised there were extra, he immediately made an attempt.
They weren’t for himself, no. He enjoyed seeing other cats happy with the food he ate more than eating it. Really, they were for a certain apprentice who didn’t show up to camp till long after Whalestar had gone to sleep. He had brought the ingredients, it was only fair.
“Thank you. I’ll speak to you later!” Clampaw reached and grabbed the clay plate in his mouth, turning and heading out of camp in the opposite direction of camp. He wasn’t sure exactly where to find Raypaw, but a strange-shaped rock that stared out to the water a while from camp gave him all the information he needed.
“Raypaw?”
Raypaw stiffened. “Oh, Clampaw. Hello, what are you doing out here?”
“Looking for you, actually.” He murmured around the plate. “Here, two pieces of shrimp roll.”
“From dinner? Were there extra or something?” He seemed confused, but it was hard to tell in the darkness.
“I saved them for you, since you were the cat who actually got the ingredients.” Clampaw put the plate down on the rock next to him. “You never… show up to dinner, so I saved them.”
Raypaw gave him a weak smile — assuming he could properly tell in the dark — and pulled the plate closer. “Thank you. How did the ‘awesome food adventure’ go?”
Clampaw did not claw him. “It went really well! We made up long before she even ate the food. I guess I just let it get to my head.”
“That’s what families are for, right?” Raypaw suggested. “They’ll always look out for you and be there for you, like you will for them.”
“That’s exactly what I figured! In a way, all of ShimmerClan is my family.”
“I like that outlook on things. Finding family… is quite nice.” Raypaw’s voice almost seemed strained, and he was about to apologise for bringing up family around him, when Raypaw ate both of the rolls. “These are good, really. I’m quite glad I got all those ingredients now.”
“Thank you. I do need to clean the plate, though…” He realised with a grumble. Guess he wasn’t off cleaning.
“Don’t let me keep you waiting then.” Raypaw turned back to the ocean. “Thank you for thinking of me. I enjoyed them.”
“You’re not coming back?” Clampaw asked.
“I might sleep out here tonight, honestly.” Raypaw had been known to sleep in strange places since he was a kit — he was a bit weird in general, to be fair — but Clampaw wasn’t sure if he had upset the tom with his talk about family. Raypaw’s relationships with cats were… strained.
“Alright then,” he collected the plate. “That makes us family, too, you know. So I’ll look out for you.”
“Guess I’ll have to return the favour then.” Raypaw laughed. “See you around.”
“See you!” Clampaw dashed off, the coldness of the night suddenly creeping in. He heard a drop of water fall into the ocean, and took a glance back at him.
Hopefully, Raypaw would be able to find a family for himself, just like Clampaw was sure he had now.