A Flash of Friendship

This story is by IcewrathXFeatherswirlXCraneheart for Mistybird's contest.

Chapter 1

Flashpaw sat down in the ferns with a vole, away from his Clan. Nobody gave him any thought.

He scowled. Everyone hates me! he thought, The leader wishes I wan't even born. My father, the deputy doesn't either. My mother is in another Clan. My littermates are dead. And all the apprentices pick on me.

What if I never become a warrior? Flashpaw thought worriedly.

"I can't wait to become an apprentice!" Flashpaw heard Dustkit squealed to his best friend, Morningkit.

"I know!" Morningkit breathed.

"Hey, look, it's Flashpaw!" Dustkit yowled.

"Hi, Flashpaw!" Morningkit meowed, bounding over with Dustkit.

"Hi, kits. How are things?" Flashpaw asked, resting his head on his paws.

"We're becoming apprentices tomorrow!" Dustkit meowed, puffing out his chest with pride.

"I heard," Flashpaw mumbled.

"What's wrong?" Morningkit asked.

"I have no friends. Everyone has a bone to pick with me." Flashpaw gnawed on the leftover bones of his vole.

"Oh," Dustkit meowed, his eyes filling with sorrow.

"Hey, Flashpaw!" a scathing voice rang out, "Flutterstar wants you to go on a patrol, or are you just going to sit there socializing with kits and eating all the fresh kill."

Flashpaw turned to see Treepaw, his blue eyes glimmering snootily.

"Yes, Treepaw, I'm coming. You'll just have to work you fat, brown hindquarters to catch up."

Dustkit and Morningkit started to giggle and Treepaw bristled with fury and opened his mouth to retort, but couldn't because Flashpaw zipped past him and into the forest.

Arrogant furball! he snarled inwardly to Treepaw.

He froze and widened his eyes, Ahhh, I'm such an idiot! I don't know which patrol to join!

Flashpaw shrugged his worry off, I'll just hunt. This'll teach Flutterstar not to have the apprentices rag all over me.

Flashpaw stalked a mouse, keeping his body low, his senses sharp, and he pounced.

By the time the sun set, Flashpaw had caught a pile of prey and he hauled it all back to camp.

Flutterstar padded up to Flashpaw smoothly, "Why didn't you go on the patrol?"

"Treepaw didn't tell me where to go!" he protested, "He just stalked off into the forest and I tried to follow him."

"It's true!" Dustkit interrupted.

"I saw it too! He speaks the truth!" Morningkit meowed.

Treepaw's mouth was open wide with shock and Flashpaw smiled gratefully at the kits. They had taken quite a risk lying for him, with their apprentice ceremonies so close.

Flutterstar eyed them and meowed, "Very well. Treepaw will have tick duty for a moon and he cannot go to the Gathering. Flashpaw you carry on and you kits will have your apprentice cermonies first thing in the morning."

Treepaw simmered with rage and he dug his claws into the dirt. He stalked off, stiff with anger. He started to worry and he felt a bit guilty.?

What if he uses unsheathed claws next battlle training? What if he blames his next fault on me? What if...

"Isn't this great, Flashpaw. Treepaw is in trouble and we get our ceremonies. We can put our nests next to each others' and we can hunt and train tomorrow together!" Dustkit meowed.

Flashpaw smiled and he shook off his fears about Treepaw. For the first time in his lonely kithood and apprenticeship, he had two friends. Dustkit smiled back and Morningkit gazed up at him with big beautiful amber eyes.

I have friends now. Maybe now, things will start to look up.

Chapter 2

"Flashpaw!" Sunclaw, his mentor called, "Come on! We're going to the Sky Oak for some battle training with Treepaw, Dustpaw, and Morningpaw."

Flashpaw stopped grooming his white fur and got up with his mentor. Once again, his head was filled with worry about what Treepaw would do to him from the other day's incident with the patrols, but he was excited about Morningpaw and Dustpaw being there.

He had started to slightly crush on Morningpaw. He figured Dustpaw would have an easier time attracting she-cats than he would and Morningpaw was the only she-cat to like him.

He and his mentor padde to the Sky Oak where Treepaw, his mentor; Leafpelt, Dustpaw, his mentor; Softclaw, and Morningpaw, with her mentor; Eaglenose, were waiting.

"First Treepaw will face off against Flashpaw," Leafpelt announced.

Treepaw smiled narrowing his eyes, and furtively unsheathing his claws.

Flashpaw's blood froze with a jolt.

So he is going to use his claws!

Flashpaw scowled.

Well, if that's how it is, then that's how it is!

He kept his claws sheathed and Flashpaw sprang at Treepaw. Treepaw lashed out with a front claw, but Flashpaw ducked, Treepaw's claws whistling past his ears. Flashpaw sprang at Treepaw's legs and bit him, rolling away after, then springing again.

"Yay! Go Flashpaw!" Dustpaw yowled.

"Wow!" Morningpaw breathed, "Flashpaw is good!"

Flashpaw was caught off guard by her praise and that's when Treepaw caught him on his cheek. Blood started gushing from the wound.

Dustpaw gasped.

"Oh no!" Morningpaw murmured.

"Treepaw! Sheath your claws!" Leafpelt scolded.

Flashpaw whirled around, blood flying from his cheek and he ran at his opponent, weaving from one end of the clearing to the other and sprang at him, landing on top of Treepaw's shoulders. Treepaw crumpled to the ground and Flashpaw pressed the apprentice's cheek to the ground. Blood dripping from his wound, he lifted his head, triumphantly, not lightening his grip on him.

"The winner is Flashpaw!" Leafpelt announced.

"Hooray!" Dustpaw cheered.

"Yay, Flashpaw!" Morningpaw bounced up and down on her toes.

Sunclaw nodded at him approvingly, "You'll be a warrior in no time. In the meantime, you should get that wound checked. It looks like a nasty scar."

"Nah," Flashpaw meowed, "I'm alright. I want to train some more."

"Ok, Dustpaw. You and Morningpaw face off," Softclaw meowed.

The battle was over quickly, ending with Dustpaw pressing Morningpaw's face into the mud.

"Morningpaw, you train with Flashpaw. Dustpaw will train with Treepaw," Eaglenose meowed to the pretty tortoiseshell.

His heart skipped a beat as Morningpaw padded over.

Morningpaw asked, "Can you teach me how to fight like you did? That was so good!"

Flashpaw smiled and swept a paw over his ear, "Sure!"

Chapter 3

Flashpaw padded into camp with Dustpaw and Morningpaw, each carrying quite a bit of prey. They had been hunting as much as they could to keep out of trouble with Treepaw so Dustpaw and Morningpaw had become quite the hunters. They set their prey on the pile.

"There you are, apprentices. Flutterstar wants me to take you three out to get some moss. It's your turn to change the moss in all the dens," Softclaw meowed, padding up to the friends.

"No. That's okay. We'll do it ourselves," Dustpaw meowed.

As Softclaw padded away, Dustpaw turned to Morningpaw and Flashpaw and whispered, "I have a quick way of doing this. Flashpaw will collect the moss because he is the fastest. I will clear out the bedding to spare you both the dirty work and since Morningpaw is the most delicate, she will put the moss in place."

"Good idea!" Morningpaw meowed.

Flashpaw nodded, "We'll be done in no time."

Flashpaw bolted to the forest and he went to where he could find the softest moss. He cut it off the trees quickly and cleanly and zipped back to camp with his jaws full, passed it on to Morningpaw, and went back for more.

Flashpaw inhaled deeply on his way for the moss and he closed his eyes, letting the thump of his paws on the ground cleanse him of his worries.

Then he hit something solid. He looked up. Treepaw was staring down at him, a mouse in his jaws.

"Watch it!" Treepaw hissed. Treepaw unsheathed his claws and bunched up his muscles. Flashpaw's green eyes widened. Treepaw was actually going to kill him... right there.

"Treepaw!" Leafpelt called.

"Another time, Flashpaw!" he spat, stalking off.

Flashpaw heaved a sigh of relief and gave his ruffled, white fur a lick before collecting some more moss and bounding back to the camp. Dustpaw had a heap of dirty moss by the entrance of the camp and was wildly scraping old nests from the elders' den. Morningpaw was taking the last pieces of moss from the earlier load to the apprentices' den. He dropped the moss and went back for the third and probably last load since his first load had filled the apprentices' and warriors' den. The second would fill the nursery and elders' den and the last would fill the medicine den and the leader's den.

Hurriedly, he ran back into the forest and came back in a matter of minutes. Morningpaw was rushing to finish and Dustpaw was sitting next to the moss pile he had made.

"Hi!" Dustpaw greeted him, "Let's carry this moss out now."

Dustpaw and Flashpaw carried the soiled moss out of camp and left it there just as Morningpaw finished in the medicine den.

"I left the leader's den for all of us!" she breathed, her amber eyes sparkling with excitement.

Dustpaw and Flashpaw exchanged a glance of excitement. Dustpaw, Flashpaw, and Morningpaw each grabbed a bundle of moss and headed into Flutterstar's den. She wasn't there. Flashpaw looked around in awe. How he wanted a den all to himself, but he knew he would miss Dustpaw and Morningpaw.

Flutterstar let out a hiss behind them.

Flashpaw shrieked and dropped his moss and the three apprentices spun around.

"Pesky apprentices!" Flutterstar growled, "Change my moss and go." The three obeyed quickly and scampered out of the leader's den.

Chapter 4

"Wake up, Flashpaw!" Dustpaw meowed.

Flashpaw sat up, grumbling and started grooming his messy, white fur. Dustpaw waited patiently.