Waiting for someone

It had been some time since Willow saw her RiverClan friend. Today, she snuck into RiverClan territory once again, to see if Applepaw would appear, and maybe hunt a bit while she was there in the prey-filled forest. She trotted through the grass, enjoying the cool shade of the trees. She bounded to the river where she had first met the ginger tom. After checking the riverbanks without traces of other cats, Willow dashed to the water's edge. Silver shimmered beneath the surface as if taunting her for not being able to fish, but she ignored it. Instead, she dipped a paw into the rushing water. Clenching her teeth, Willow waded a few paces into the river and the water soaked her legs and underbelly. Gasping at the shock of the cold, Willow jumped back and out of the liquid. Hmm. Maybe trying to swim wasn't really a good idea for her.

The ginger tom was wading in the river when he saw a cat step in. Swimming quietly, he popped up beside Willow. ”Boo!” he mewed, touching her with his wet tail. Applefang’s eyes glowed mischievously.

Willow shrieked when a ginger blob popped out of the water, spraying water everywhere. "Hey! that's not fair!" she complained when she realized it was Applepaw. "I can't swim... Also, Applepaw, where have you been for the past few days?"

Applefang pulled himself out. ”I became a warrior! I’m Applefang now!” mewed the ginger tom proudly.

"Wow, that's great! Congrats!" Willow grinned, happy for her friend.

Applefang nodded. ”Thanks. What’s been up with you?” he asked.

"Well I've met Streampaw recently. You know her? She sneaked off to Twolegplace..." Willow trailed off when she realized what she had done. She had told Streampaw's clanmate that she had sneaked off. "You won't tell anyone, right?"

Applefang brushed it off. ”Nah, I won’t tell anyone, but that’s cool!” he mewed. He sat down, shaking out his fluffy ginger pelt. His emerald eyes met his friend’s.

"Soooo... tell me about Streampaw!" Willow mewed, casting a sly glance at Applefang. The apprentice definitely had a crush. She wondered if her friend returned Streampaw's feelings.

Applefang shrugged. ”Uh, we’re really good friends? And she’s...” he blushed as his voice dropped to a whisper. ”She’s kinda pretty.” he mewed.

Willow smirked. This ship was about to sail! She had to choke down her laugh when she saw Applefang blush. "Just a friendly tip, but she said you're handsome too."

Applefang rolled his eyes. ”Hey, Willow, wanna learn to fish?” he asked. It was a useful skill for any cats Riverclan or not!

"Ooh, yeah! I wanna fish! I never could figure out how you RiverClan cats did it." Willow grinned.

Applefang led her over to the river. ”You wait until you see a fish.” He did so, ”Then you claw at it and flip it onto the shore.” He mewed as he did what he said. Then he swiftly killed it. ”Your turn!”

Willow observed Applefang swiftly kill the fish before it could flop back into the water. "Hmm, I'll try," she mewed and watched the surface of the river intently. Silver flashed beneath it, and Willow plunged a paw into the cold water. When she felt the fish with the pads of her paw, she unsheathed her claws and scooped the fish out of the water. It landed on the bank, flopping around before Willow pinned it down with a paw. Then she killed it with a swift blow to its head. Probably. "That was good, right!" she purred.