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"Dovepaw! Lilacpaw!"
The apprentice huddled closer behind the bush, stepping on her friend's paw in the process. Lilacpaw's eyes bugged out, but she kept quiet. Sorry, Dovepaw mouthed.
The voice grew closer, and a ginger tom emerged from between the tree trunks, his handsome face tinged with irritation. "Come on guys, we're done playing hide-and-seek. The mentors will kill us if we don't get back in time. And guess who'll get the blame? Not you two 'angels'. Me," he grumped.
A slow smile worked its way across Dovepaw's features. She flicked her tail at Lilacpaw, who understood immediately. They both crouched down in the snow, eyes intent on the apprentice as he wandered closer and closer to their hiding place, still muttering curses.
Right when he was nearly about to step on them, Dovepaw burst out of the bush. She tackled him with a bloodcurdling screech. Behind her, Lilacpaw was yowling her head off and batting the tom with her paws. Letting out a high-pitched scream, he scrambled backwards, his eyes wide with panic. When he saw who they were, he deflated like a balloon.
"You guys are so lame- I'm going to kill you!"
"Fat chance, Blazepaw! You'll have to catch us first." Lilacpaw shot up a tree, her white-socked paws eating up the bark like she was running across regular ground. Dovepaw, however, wasn't so lucky.
As she made for the deeper woods, she felt Blazepaw's paw on her tail, pinning her down. With a screech, she fell over, and they wrestled, crashing into shrubbery and undergrowth in the process. Though she put up a valiant attempt, she knew she was no match for the larger, stronger tom. In seconds, Blazepaw had her against the floor. Their faces were inches apart. With a sudden jolt, Dovepaw suddenly remembered self-consciously that Blazepaw was a tom. Not to mention an adorable tom.
To stop the fluttering of her heart, she rolled out from under him, grooming her fur to hide her flushed cheeks. "Oaf," she muttered.
"Don't go creeping around next time," he retorted.
Lilacpaw had made her way down from the tree, and stood facing them with an impishly wide grin on her face. "You two behave like an old married couple."
"Do not!"
"Ew!"
Dovepaw glared at her friend, then turned her nose up haughtily. "Well, we'd better get back to camp."
"Agreed," Blazepaw said. They trotted off through the woods, side by side.
The ThunderClan camp was languid and quiet in the stifling heat of late greenleaf. The drone of bees and the rustling of dried, parched grass was like a drowsy lullaby to Dovepaw's ears. Her eyelids drooped, and she swayed lightly on her paws.
Lilacpaw noticed and laughed lightly. "I feel the same way. Want to go take a catnap?"
"There isn't much else you can do in this heat," she agreed.
Before the two apprentices could make their way towards the den, Blazepaw butted in without hesitation. "Mind if I join you ladies?"
Dovepaw shrugged. "I don't see why not, as long as you don't make a nuisance of yourself."
Flashing a charming grin, he said, "When have I ever done that?"
A gusty sigh accompanied Dovepaw's reply. "There isn't enough time in the world to list them all."
He pretended to be offended, giving her a wounded look and dragging his tail in the dust. "Well, I see how it is now."
"Good. That'll save me a lot of explaining," she shot back.
Giving a giant yawn, Lilacpaw mewed, "Shush, both of you. I'm not in the mood."
"He started it."
"She started it."
A overly-sweet smile spread across Lilacpaw's face. "Awwwww. Isn't that adorable? I love the way you two always talk over each other."
"Do not!"
"As if!"
"Argh!" Dovepaw exclaimed, glaring at Blazepaw as if it was all his fault(when a tiny portion might have been hers). "Whatever," she said huffily. "It doesn't mean anything, just that he's annoying."
"Yeah," agreed Blazepaw. "I mean-"
Neither she-cat paused to listen to him; they flopped down in the shade of the bramble-covered caves. Dovepaw rested her head on her paws and slid her eyelids shut, letting the honey-scented, humid air lull her to sleep.
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