Sablepaw paused, taking a deep breath to right herself. Minnowfoot was somewhere to the left of her. Listening closely, she figured out that she was about four tail lengths away. Slowly but surely, she turned in that direction and walked towards her mentor.

One paw step at a time...

---

Viperstrike slowed down, checking the direction the breeze was headed in before advancing. Good; she was downwind from the mystery tom. His scent his her like a smack in the face, though. Rogue. Wanderer. Loner. Stranger.

Supressing the urge to yowl and attack, she straightened and walked into sight. "Hello," she meowed stiffly. If she hadn't been a loner before herself, she may have just attacked. "Is there a certain reason why you're in our territory?"

---

"Thank you!" Phantomstep purred heartily, picking up the borage. She quickly put it away before returning to Wingpaw. "It's very much appreciated. Now that we have everything we need... you can tun along now. I'll call for you if I need you."

"Good," Minnowfoot praised as Sablepaw reached her. She licked her apprentice affectionately on the ear. "Now, what should we do today? It's all up to you. But think carefully. Take in what's around you. Is the fresh-kill pile low, meaning we should hunt? Have we had threats from other Clans, meaning we should practice fighting? Think, now."
----

Badger scrambled up, and stared at Viperstrike. After a few moments, he collected himself. "And why, may I ask, has fate brought me in front of sch an elegant lady?" He asked, giving a cat-like bow.
----

"Yes Phantomstep," Wingpaw nodded and exited the medicine den. She now wondered what she should do. She felt like going for a walk, but Wingpaw would need to have an escort, or whatever. Wingpaw's ears twitched in annoyance.
----

Whistlepaw decided to go bother Quailfeather. That seems like a good idea. After locating him, Whistlepaw crept silently forward, then pounced. "Gotcha!" he yowled triumphantly.
----

Wingpaw stared at Whistlepaw and shook her head. "Toms," she muttered, going to the fresh-kill pile to select a nice shrew or bird.
----

Whitefrost stared moodily at a brook that lay in front of him. They had too little apprentices, one likely to never live to become a warrior, one medicine cat apprentice, and two boneheads, StrifeClan had placed a threat to them, something about scent-marking their trees, or something, no pregnant queens, one of their best warriors running off to become a kittypet, and- Something interrupted Whitefrost's train of thought.
Goldpaw? Whitefrost flicked his tail in annoyance. He stalked the tom apprentice for a while, then jumped out of the bushes and tackled him to the ground. "Now, where is your mentor?" Whitefrost glared at Goldpaw. "No leaving camp without warrior supervision."

"Goldpaw will be back soon," Quailfeather said ignorantly. "If I know that little kit any better, he's gotten himself caught by now." He laughed. "And just because a cat is a she-cat, does not mean they can't be a friend. I was friends with a medicine cat apprentice a long time ago, and she was a she-cat." He rolled his eyes. "Cut Sablepaw some slack."

Standing up, he shook out his thick russet fur. "What do you want to do, then?"

~

Sablepaw really had to think about that one. "hm... The stream is cleaner than the creek. Wouldn't there be more prey there?" She started to use her nose to guide her to the camp entrance.

~

"Fine," Goldpaw snapped, wriggling out from under his deputy. Righting himself, he shook out his fur and picked up his rabbit, casting only a single dirty look at Whitefrost before dashing off towards camp. Being small, he could dart through small spaces and make good speed. He wasn't trying to outrun Whitefrost; he just wanted to get back to camp as fast as possible.

~

Viperstrike's eyes widened, and she shook her head. "No, no it's alright!" she meowed. "You can stay here as long as you keep yourself hidden from the other cats." She paused, thinking for a moment. "If you'd like, we could meet up every few nights and I could teach you to fight." She smiled slightly, eyes warm. 

Quailfeather groaned comically. "Of course you do. How about we train you in the art of sitting still and being quiet? I'm good with that."

~

Sablepaw bobbed her head and walked with a slight bounce in her step. It messed up her balance so she did more wobbling than walking, though her tail tip twitched back and forth in anticipation.

~

When the badger broke through the trees, Viperstrike had arched her back and hissed, fur standing on end. She relaxed, though, watching Badger with wide, shocked eyes as he told it to leave. Or at least, that's what she thought he said. 

"Forget what I said," she blurted out rudely, padding up to him so her muzzle was only a whisker away from his. Viperstrike gazed into his eyes carefully. "How in StarClan did you do that? Teach me!" She paused, pulling back a bit when she realized how close she'd gotten. "You teach me how to speak badger, and I'll teach you to fight and keep you safe from the other cats around here..." She licked the fur on her chest. "A warrior's promise." 

"Okay. It'll be a contest!" Whistlepaw sat down and stared at Quialfeather. Two seconds later, he called out, "I lose! Now what? C'mon, can we at least ask if we can go on patrol?" Whistlepaw bounced on his paws. "C'mon, c'mon c'mon c'mon! Lazy mentor!"
----

They got to the stream, and no sooner had they stepped on the bank when Minnowfoot saw a mouse. "Sablepaw," Minnowfoot whispered, "mouse on your left."
----

Badger's eyes widened. "You don't- oh of course." Badger sighed. "Badger is actually my native tongue. I was raised by her," Badger indicated where the mother badger had left. "she found me in the woods near her den,  and I looked like a badger, so she thought I'd left her den and got lost." Badger shrugged. "her name is Shisk. My badger name is actually Qmakelu, but Badger is just simpler."
----

Whitefrost got back to camp. he was wondering vaguely what the Clan leader was doing....
((Since Badger was raised by badgers, he has a bit of an accent ;D ))

(Sh-isk)
(Kek-me-lel)

"Fine," Quailfeather barked. "We'll go on patrol." Growling under his breath, he starting on his way out of camp without Whistlepaw. "Come on, then."

~

Sablepaw swivelled her ears, inhaling deeply as she turned her blinde gaze on the mouse. A fox length away... she thought, dropping into the crouch they'd been practising. Just sink your claws into it and worry about the kill later...

She lunged, and landed a few inches short. The mosue squealed and took off, Sablepaw scrambling after it. It escaped under the foliage, Sablepaw stopping when she found its scent growing faint.

"I missed," she said quietly, turning back to her mentor. "It got away."

~

Viperstrike tried to pronounced his badger name, but failed miserably. "So you've been in this forest a while, then?" she asked tentively. She thought about why they'd never noticed him before, but realized slowly that he reeked of badger. Any cat the came across him probably never came close enough to realize he wasn't actually a badger.

"Well, Badger..." she began. "That's quite a story. You never knew your real parents?"

~

Alderstar was nearly cross-eyed, watching the rainbow-hued butterfly that was perched on the tip of his nose. He saw Whitefrost enter camp from his spot on High Rock, the butterfly fleeing when he turned his head suddenly to look. 

"That sounds like a jolly good plan," Alderstar purred, rising to all four paws with a hearty ex
pression on his muzzle. "Who else will be going with us?" He flicked his ears, brushing past his deputy. "Come on, then." I'm so glad I have six lives left, he thought to himself.

~

Viperstrike saw him run off, his black and white pelt not gone from her thoughts. Tomorrow... She blinked slowly, green eyes puzzled. But not displeased. She turned slowly, and started back towards camp slowly, nose low to the ground. She would return tomorrow. But in the meantime...

~

"Ready!" Sablepaw whispered back, creeping towards the right. She had her ears angled and her mouth slightly opened, the glands on the roof of her mouth picked up the rabbit's scent easily. She pinpointed it, waiting for Minnowfoot to chase it her way. 

Sablepaw didn't miss this time. Lunging, her teeth closed around something warm and soft- she bit down harder, cutting off the squeal the creature had started to emit. Standing tall and proud, the young calico she-cat held the rabbit by the throat, purring wildly. "Goh iih," she mumbled through a mouth-ful of fur. 

----

Viperstrike slid into camp, shaking out her ginger and white fur. Green eyes hiding a deep secret, she dropped the few mice she'd caught in the fresh-kill pile and looked about the camp. Nearly everyone had gone, save for her, Phantomstep, and the few other cats who were getting ready to go on patrol.

Sitting down, she began to groom herself, feeling proud that she finally had something she didn't have to share- a secret.

----

"Yes please," Alderstar replied happily as me moved away from Whitefrost to join Whistlepaw and Quailfeather. His eyes danced. "Hello,"

"Hi," Quailfeather grumbled sourly, earning him a short laugh from Alderstar.  

Sablepaw only fell two times all the way back; once over an unexpected tree root jutting out from the ground, and the other from trying to leap over a fallen log. She was still pleased, though, her mood bright with her accomplishments.

~

Viperstrike cringed inwardly, but from her short life as a rogue she knew how to hide her emotions better than that. She snorted, rolling her eyes as she tossed her head. "Don't be silly. Every cat knows it's almost impossible to speak with a Badger." She was starting to get antsy, almost completely nervous. What if he knew about Badger?

He can't. He just...can't.

"I don't have another plan. But I'd rather we just leave the badger alone, at least until the cubs are old enough to fend for themselves." 

~

"But the difference is, Wingpaw," Goldpaw muttered sadly. "You're not supposed to. You're supposed to collect herbs and tend to the sick and stuff. I'm supposed to be out learning with Whisperpaw! Not sitting in camp!"

But, pausing for a moment, his eyes became brighter. "But, at least you're here. Would you like to go exploring with me or something? Or maybe I could teach you how to hunt!"

{whatisthiscrushismell. o3o badgoldpaw} 

~

Alderstar chuckled. "We'll go along the Strifeclan border, and the DeathClan border, and round back one we reach the large willow near the creek. That will give us a lot of space to avoid the badger, I think."