- "Your form is wrong," Goldfoot repeated. "Let me help you-"
- "No! I want to learn on my own. Without you as my mentor!" I hissed angrily.
- "It's not-"
- "I know it's not your fault, but I'm still angry!" I paced around the sandy hollow. I shivered in the cold morning air.
- "Hi, Waterpaw!" I turned to see Brackenclaw and his apprentice, Stormpaw, enter the clearing. Stormpaw had greeted me.
- "Hi, Stormpaw," I replied.
- "You two sound like you're having trouble." Brackenclaw padded over to me, beckoning for his apprentice to stay behind.
- "He's having trouble leaving me alone," I growled.
- Brackenclaw gave me a look of pure annoyance. "He's not supposed to!"
- "Well, if I'm going to stay in ThunderClan, I'm going to be taught when I want to be taught," I proclaimed.
- "Take her back to camp," Brackenclaw suggested to Goldfoot. "Talk to Gorsestar."
- I rolled my eyes. "Don't you see? I have different talents. They just don't show."
- "Oh yeah?" Goldfoot asked. "Then make them show." He stormed away.
- Stormpaw bounded to my side. "You're going to get it now," he whispered in my ear.
- I gave him a look. "Gorsestar can't hurt me."
- Brackenclaw stared at me in disbelief. "You just said all that and you're not scared?"
- "I'm not scared. So what? I'm a warrior. I'm done with this game. Let me go home!"
- Brackenclaw directed me back to camp, saying, "This is your home now. Like it or leave it."
- I sighed and grabbed some fresh-kill from the pile. I dug into the warm squirrel outside the apprentices' den.
- The other three apprentices padded up- Stormpaw, Runningpaw, and Birdpaw.
- "Do you need any help?" Birdpaw asked kindly. "Me and Runningpaw are going to be warriors soon," she added proudly. "We know everything!"
- "Who was the second medicine cat of ThunderClan?" I challenged.
- "Okay, so we don't know everything," Birdpaw mewed, sighing. "I meant everything about being a good warrior."
- "You should know the history of your Clan, too!" I pointed out mildly.
- "That's not a requirement," Runningpaw sneered.
- "You guys," Stormpaw mewed, "I'm tired."
- The three of us stared at him. "Great," I mewed sarcastically. "So go to sleep."
- Stormpaw let his breath out in a hiss. "Fine."
- I heard a weak voice call, "Help!"
- "I've got to go," I explained to my friends. "Um, the elders need fresh-kill!"
- "Okay," Runningpaw mewed.
- I raced to the fresh-kill pile, grabbed a rabbit, and raced out of camp.
- I bounded through the forest until I heard the voice. I stopped and listened and realized that it was near.
- I found myself at the river and crept along the bank. There, I saw the source.
- Smoothpaw was clinging with his claws onto the edge, trying to avoid being swept away. He seemed to have lost all hope.
- "Smoothpaw, I'm-"
- "No!" Smoothpaw was swept away.
- I can't swim as a cat! I reminded myself. But...
- I transformed.