Locustpaw dashed through the forest, straight towards his prey. Leaping towards the squirrel, he landed on it and quickly snapped it's neck. He turned around to where Elementpaw was sitting, smiling at him with her bright green eyes. Locustpaw dropped the squirrel and started to lick his black and silver chest.
"That was a nice catch." mewed Elementpaw. Locustpaw looked up.
"Thanks." he said, smiling at her. She was pretty, orange and white with reddish streaks interlaced throughout her fur.
"Let's head back." she suggested. Locustpaw nodded and picked up the squirrel. As they were nearing camp, Locustpaw stopped. There was a group of apprentices gathered near the camp entrance.
"Why, hello, Loserpaw." one snarled. Locustpaw could feel Elementpaw bristling beside him. He shook his head.
"It's okay." he whispered. "They do this every day." Still, he could sense her anger. Before he could stop her, she dropped her mouse.
"You can't say that to him!" she yelled. "It's not his fault his mother was a rouge!" Locustpaw tensed. He liked to avoid the subject of his mother. Before anything bad could happen, Patchstrength padded out of the clearing.
"Alright, break it up" he mewed, as the apprentices reluctantly padded back into the clearing and dispersed. Nobody argued with Patchstrength, even though he was not the deputy. His sister, Spiritcloud, was. When the announcement had been made, everybody was confused as to why Patchstrength wasn't chosen. But it didn't matter, because everybody respected him anyway. Locustpaw especially liked him. Elementpaw and Patchstrength were Locustpaw's only friends in the clan. There was another reason Locustpaw liked Patchstrength. He, like Locustpaw, didn't have a mother.
Author's note: I do realize we skipped chapter 7. Jersey started it, but she hasn't finished it yet. So I decided to write this chapter to keep the blog active. When Jersey finishes the chapter, I'll delete this and repost it. Until then, enjoy!