| abstract | - Heronpaw stretched and blinked in the early sunlight pouring into the apprentice's den. Getting out of his nest, he made his way out into the camp, where warriors were already hurrying about busily. "Good morning Heronpaw," called his father, Oakswoop. The large reddish brown tom was helping repair RainClan's nursery, which had been partially destroyed in the last flood. He was working with Heronpaw's mother, a pretty, jovial ginger she-cat named Cherrybeam. The two of them were laughing and talking as they worked like old friends. Waving his tail in greeting at both of his parents, Heronpaw walked over to the fresh-kill pile, where his best friend Eaglepaw was devouring a shrew. "Can I have some?" he said, sitting beside his friend. Eaglepaw gobbled the last few bites. "No." "Fine then," Heronpaw laughed, selecting his own mouse. "We have fight-training together today, don't we?" Eaglepaw nodded. Then he nudged Heronpaw, a cocky smile blooming on his face. "Look who it is." Heronpaw raised his head and immediately his fur grew hot. Willowpaw had just emerged from the den. "So?" he muttered, nudging Eaglepaw back. Eaglepaw watched as Willowpaw, along with her pretty sister Robinpaw walked towards them. Then he sauntered over, a regular ladies cat. "Hello," he purred with that crooked smile that always flipped their hearts. Heronpaw turned away before he was sick. He was less then graceful with she-cats, and tended to trip over his tongue and his paws. Then he felt a rush of sweetly-scented air, and Willowpaw was standing in front of him, her green eyes bright. "Hi Heronpaw." "Oh, um, hi Willowpaw. It's going how? I mean-" She let out a tinkling laugh. "You're so funny." "Right." He wanted to slap himself, but decided it would only make him look more crazy. Meanwhile, Eaglepaw and Robinpaw were laughing and play-fighting dizzily. StarClan help me. "Willowpaw!" Her mentor, Duskfall, emerged from the warrior's den. "There you are! Come on, we have to gather rushes and grass to patch the nursery. We're going down to the banks." "Okay," Willowpaw meowed. She flicked her tail lightly against Heronpaw's shoulder lightly, giving him another glorious whiff of her perfume. "Bye Heronpaw!" "Bye," he called several seconds later, when her slender gray shape had already vanished. Eaglepaw was at his side instantly, laughing hysterically. Heronpaw felt himself growing irritated, but he let his friend have his fun. "Wow," Eaglepaw said when he could breathe. "You're really a charmer Heronpaw." "Thanks," Heronpaw said glumly. The apprentices huddled together as they watched the rain pour down in buckets. "Well," meowed Robinpaw after a few minutes of silence. "No one can say our clan doesn't live up to our name." Willowpaw gave a faint smile, a fleeting light illuminating her pretty, daintily-featured face. For some reason, Heronpaw felt a need to see her smile, laugh, be happy. It gave him a pleasant feeling inside. "Those evil rogues that live down by the marsh will find a way to blame us for it, you can bet." Instantly the light was snuffed out of Willowpaw's eyes. "I don't like them. They're up to no good." "As if," snorted Eaglepaw. "You just worry too much." Willowpaw frowned. "There's a difference between worrying and knowing." Wanting to change the subject, Heronpaw meowed, "Well, maybe it will clear up soon and we can go outside. Who wants to go for a walk by the lake?" Robinpaw wrinkled her nose. "In this weather?" "Sure, why not?" Eaglepaw nudged her playfully. She smiled, then gave an exaggerated sigh. "Fine. But if we all get sick, I'm not responsible." "Willowpaw?" Heronpaw said, then felt his fur grow hot as he realized how childish and hopeful he sounded. Luckily, she didn't seem to notice. "I'm in. I love the world after it rains, it's so pretty and mystic. I wouldn't want to live anywhere but RainClan." "Yeah," Heronpaw agreed. Robinpaw purred, and glanced at Eaglepaw, but the brown tom seemed suddenly lost in thought, his eyes focused on something else. Finally the steady drum of rain outside slowed, then stopped. The four apprentices crowded out of the den and stretched their legs. Oakswoop stepped outside the warrior's den, listening good-naturedly to his friend Badgerstripe's complaints about the wetness. "Let's go," mewed Willowpaw. She headed down the thickly-planted slope that led up to RainClan's camp, which was on a little penisula that jutted out from the mainland. The big lake stretched out endlessly all around them, it's water smooth and gray-blue. They entered the thick, leafy woods. The air was fresh and moist, a mist-enchanced breeze blowing cool vapor into their faces. The ground was soft and spongy underpaw. Droplets of water slid off fat dark green leaves and onto the cat's fur. Willowpaw turned her face up, her green eyes starry and filled with wonder. "It's so beautiful," she said, her face bathed in the emerald light filtering down through the thick forest canopy. "Yeah." Heronpaw tried to focus on the splendor around him instead of her. "Are you two soft-hearts done?" crowed Eaglepaw from up ahead. "Come on! Hurry up, will you?" "Coming," Heronpaw said. But Willowpaw didn't budge. "Willowpaw?" "Sorry," she said, shaking few raindrops off her whiskers. "But Eaglepaw's too bossy. I want to just enjoy this day." Heronpaw paused, glancing at the place where Eaglepaw and Robinpaw had disappeared into. "Then let's walk on our own," he offered. She beamed at him. "Sure," she meowed. "Can we go down to the Moonlight Meadow? We can hunt there too." "Okay, race you!" Heronpaw took off into the woods. Seconds later she was at his side, matching each stride. He had to admit she was fast, but his pride wouldn't let her overtake him. They both galloped out onto the meadow and skidded to a stop on the slippery grass, panting. The Moonlight Meadow was called that because of it's silver appearance during the night of the full moon. Since there were no other clans nearby, RainClan didn't attend any Gatherings, but they did go to the meadow every full moon and have their own event. Today, the lush green grass was springy and bright, thriving on the rain that new-leaf had brought. Wildflowers dotted the emerald ocean, nodding buttercups, smiling daisies, and clumps of bluebells. The two apprentices sat next to each other and gazed out over the fields contentedly for several minutes. Then they slowly made their way back to camp. "Hey guys," Robinpaw said as they entered. "Want to share this rabbit with me?" "Where's Eaglepaw?" asked Heronpaw as they joined her. She shrugged, looking puzzled. "He went off on his own, so I headed back. I thought he was going to find you." "He'll probably be back soon," said Willowpaw, taking a bite. "Right," Heronpaw said, but he was a bit unsure. It wasn't like Eaglepaw to not find them, even in the rain. He knew Heronpaw would be likely to go the Moonlight Meadow; they were best friends and knew everything about each other. Maybe something else had come up. With a shrug, Heronpaw began to eat. At least he had gotten some alone-time with Willowpaw. They hadn't said much, but what could be better then that?
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