Chapter 2 - Singing cats

Chapter 2 ~ Singing Cats

"Leopardstripe?"

Stormpaw slammed his paws into the ground when he heard Sickleears shaky voice, and turned around. They had almost completely walked around the boundaries, and until now the she-cat had not made a sound. Stormpaw had been worried her memory would not come back.

"Sickleear, do you remember us?" he asked excitedly.

Clearly confused, the cat's head turned to him. "How am ... Why .. Who?"

Purring with relief Leopardstripe stepped up to her. "Finally you are your old self again!"

"My old self?" spat Sickleear. "What do you mean? What am I doing here?"

Stormpaw had forgotten how crabby the gray warrior could be. Alternately, the three toms told her what had happened.

"And you really can't remember anything? " Stormpaw asked, disappointed.
Sickleear shook her head apologetically and said, "unfortunately not."

That was hard. The apprentices had hoped for a detailed description of the attackers.

"Although there is something... I can't catch hold of it ..."

By these words, Stormpaw, now hopeful, lifted his head.

"Singing ..I remember singing cats. That's all," Sickleear swung her head from side to side, like she was trying to organize her thoughts.

Stormpaw let fall himself into the leaves which covered the ground. 'Singing cats? Looks like Sickleear got a blow on the head,' he thought doubtfully.

Leopardstripe put his tail on the she-cats back comfortingly."That's ok Sickleear, don't worry. Whoever has done this to you, we will catch him. But now we should check whether you kept your skills!"

The she-cat nodded nervously. Her special talent had been her outstanding jumping abilities, and that's why she set her sight at a high branch. She cringed and her muscles tensed.

'Please let it work!' Stormpaw sent a silent prayer to StarClan.
But it did not work. The jump was judged incorrectly and the she-cat hit with a crash against the tree. She shrieked, fell and hit hard on the floor. Startled, the three toms ran toward her.

"Are you allright, Sickleear?" Worried, Leopardstripe bent over the light gray she-cat.

But she already jumped on her feet and shook her head in daze. "Again! I wanna try it again!"

But the big tom held her back. "No, enough!"

Sickleear looked at him pleadingly."Please!"

But the warrior remained firm. Sickleear narrowed her green eyes to slender slits and hissed: "Mousebrain! I can do it! That was just an unhappy coincidence!"

Leopardstripe shook his head. Compassionate, Stormpaw watched as the she-cat crouched on the ground. She struggled with her composure. But then her anger won. Her hackles stood on end and she cried in the cat's face. "You have no idea what this is like! Who do you think you are?! Standing here and telling me what I am able to do and what I'm not! Acting like this is normal! "

Anxious, Smokepaw and Stormpaw exchanged glances. It seemed that in her excitement, the she-cat had apparently forgotten that Leopardstripe had been the second warrior that had been kidnapped. The face of the spotted warrior turned to stone. Back then, he had lost all his hunting skills and trained night and day in order to recover it. Just now Sickleear seemed to remember it. Her mouth opened and closed several times before she was able to get a sentence out of it. Her green eyes were wide with shock as she stared at the tom.

"Oh ... Leopardstripe, that... that... I'm sorry", she stammered, startled. "I did not mean it!"

But the warrior had already turnend on his heels and was stalking toward camp, acting like the She-cat did not exist.

"HEY! I'm talking to you!" Immediately Sickleear was angry again and ran loudly clamoring after the tom .

".... Well then," said Smokepaw.

"... Then everything is back to normal!" Stormpaw added with a grin and together they followed the two cats.

Weaselfur was already waiting for them at camp. "Well done, you two," she said. "Sickleear seems to be back to her old self! Im sure since their arrival, she and Leopardstripe have fought and made up with each other three times, at least!!!"

The two apprentices chuckled. Everyone in Moonclan knew about the special relationship between the two warriors. They could not live with each other, but also not without.

Weaselfur smiled. "All right then, take something from the fresh-kill pile now! For the rest of the day you have free-time! "

The two students nodded gratefully and laid down in the soft grass infront of the apprentices den to eat their meal. Stormpaw was about to pick apart his blackbird when he noticed that Lilypaw entered the camp. Her fur was ruffled because of battle-training, but that did not negate the fact that she was quite elegant.

Smokepaw did not miss the admiring gaze of his friend and giggling, he pushed him with his paw. "Forget it! She isn' t interested in you at all! "

Stormpaw nodded sadly. Lilypaw was nice and friendly to him, but she was also like that to everyone else. He sighed and turned back to his food. Suddenly Smokepaw moaned beside him. In surprise Stormpaw looked at him, though when he did, he got a warm and somewhat floral scent flow into his nose.

"May I join you? ", asked Lilypaw.

"If you must... " growled Smokepaw in response.

Startled Stormpaw poked him in the ribs. ".. Well O-Of of course!Please!", he stammered.

Lilypaw smiled at him and sat down beside the spotted tom. "And what have you done today?", she asked.

"Oh .. nothing special..", said Stormpaw quickly. "And... and you? You had battle-training today, right?"

He stared in admiration at Lilypaw, but she misinterpreted him. Concerned, the little apprentice inspected her back.

"Oh ...you can see it still? I have taken the greatest pains to straighten my fur ... It looks awful, right? "

"No, no, you're beau-" the young tom quickly bit his tongue.
He had almost said "beautiful". The she-cat looked at him.

"Yes?", she asked anxiously.

"He wanted to say that your fur is perfectly fine," said Smokepaw annoyed.
"Really? I'm so relieved!" purred Lilypaw ans smiled at Stormpaw.
The tom gave his friend a grateful look. He had saved him once again.

"We also have not done 'nothing'. We were out with Sickleear for her memory-run!" continued Smokepaw.

Astonished his listener's eyes widened. "And, did she remember anything?"

Since Stormpaw still could not utter a word of sense, his friend gave a detailed report. He had just ended when a loud shout went up.

"All cats that are old enough to catch their own prey, may gather here around me! " Morningstar, the leader, had called together the clan and sat on the dead tree that stood in the middle of the circular clearing. At the foot of the tree Icebreath settled: her deputy.

"As you know, today is the night of full moon and so I have to choose the cats that will come with me to the great gathering."
At these words of the tortoise-colored cat, the last whispers died away and the three apprentices were trotting side by side at the edge of the meeting.

"Dimflower and Miststripe will come with me. Also, I choose Leopardstripe, Weaselfur and their apprentices . The rest of the clan will be guarding the camp. Do not worry, we will return safely."