Rosepaw skittered through the forest, her bushy tail swinging. She'd strayed farther from camp than usual, but she knew she had a good reason. 'They always get mad at us for going too close to the MoonClan border, but I know that's always where the best mice are.'
Soon, the she-cat reached a thorn bush lodged between a cliff and a gigantic oak tree. "Here we go, the border. Now where are those mice..."
She heard pawsteps, and looked up to see a cat on top of the steep rock, scanning the area below him.
Rosepaw's ears perked up and she dove into a nearby berry bush to watch him. Just as she hoped the tom hadn't noticed her scent, she saw him narrow his eyes at her hiding spot and jump down from the rock. "I know you are there," he said.
"H-hello?" She mewed nervously, slowly stepping out from the bush.
"What," the stranger paused before finishing, "...are you doing here?"
Rosepaw gazed at the cat above her. "Hi! I'm uhh... hunting! I should ask you what your business is in our territory!"
"Just taking one of my walks. Not that it interests you, anyway." The tom huffed nonchalantly, "I didn't expect to see one of your lot... by themselves?"
Shrugging, Rosepaw meowed, "Do you live in SunClan territory? I've never seen you around here before." She tried to change the subject.
"My den is at the edge of your clan's territory, my dear," he said, "There is a difference." He leapt down from his cliff and began to circle Rosepaw, examining her carefully, his brown fur now half-lit by the shards of sunlight shining through the thick leaves, "Although out of all the warriors I've seen around, I don't think I've seen you."
Rosepaw gulped, suspicious of this stranger. "Well, my name is Rosepaw!" she dipped her head, trying not to give the potentially dangerous tom an attitude.
"I am Ashenflame." He flicked his tail before jumping onto a tree branch and curling up, closing his eyes, ready to sleep.
"Umm... that's a nice name! It's so nice out today, isn't it?" Rosepaw leaped onto the tree beside Ashenflame. He opened one of his eyes, half-wondering why the young she-cat hadn't left yet. "Well, if you say so." He shuffled away from her to the base of the branch and settled again.
"I-is something wrong?" Rosepaw asked.
"Haven't you been taught by your parents not to get too close to strangers when you were a kit?" Ashenflame snapped, bringing a deep flush to Rosepaw's ears and face. "S-sorry..." she mewed sheepishly, then shook her head, "A-and no, I never had any."
"What?"
"Parents, I mean. I never met them, they apparently died when I was a kit."
Ashenflame pushed away a stab of sympathy for Rosepaw, then shifted a little. "You should get going, the sun is setting, and nights in Sunclan... are ironically cold. This isn't a very great time for hunting, to say the least."
"Oh..." Rosepaw sighed. Sunstar, her Clan's leader, expected her to at the very least be back with fresh-kill, but instead she got distracted by some rogue! "U-um... c-cold... That's true... but I'm actually trying to find food for--"
"I can help you."
"Really?" Rosepaw gasped, "This is great! L-let's go!" She immediately jumped off of the branch, looking up at Ashenflame expectantly.
The rogue sighed, regretting his offer, but honored it and leapt down after the apprentice. It was very wrong of her to trust him, but he wanted to see how far she'd go, and then teach her a lesson.
=_-\*/-_=
Got it! Rosepaw landed on what she thought was a vole, but looking under her paws she realised it was only a clump of dirt: The prey had already flown away.
"That was terrible," Ashenflame huffed.
"Hey!" Rosepaw pouted, "At least I'm trying! Be nice!"
"If every cat tells you you're doing a good job, even when you aren't, you'll never learn to differ right from wrong. Here, do it like this," He glanced around and tasted the air for prey, and crouched down as soon as he spotted something: a squirrel. The fast kind; perfect to show off his speed.
Slowly stalking toward the tree the squirrel was standing next to, Ashenflame made sure to keep his eyes on the prey. He walked along the areas on the ground that were free of fallen leaves, so as to not make any noise, and before Rosepaw could register what he was walking towards, he pounced, catching the squirrel in his jaws before it could even squeak.
"Wow, that was so perfect!" Rosepaw cheered, her eyes wide open.
Ashenflame carried the squirrel over to Rosepaw. "There," he set it down at her paws, "You can take it back to your Clan now."
"This?!" Rosepaw squeaked indignantly, "This isn't even enough to feed half of me!"
"Well, then, catch the rest yourself." Ashenflame turned away from her and padded in the opposite direction. He stopped when he realised the she-cat was following him. "What are you doing?" he scoffed, but she did not respond. He padded deeper into the woods. She stayed right behind him. "Do you think this is a game?" he snapped, "Go back to your Clan, mouse-brain!"
Rosepaw refused to move.
Ashenflame narrowed his eyes. Maybe he should give her his lesson now.
Growling, the rogue tom whipped around and pounced on Rosepaw before she could skitter away. Her eyes narrowed and her ears flattened as the older cat immobilised her.
"H-help!" she squealed, "Somebody help me!"
Ashenflame chuckled sickly. "Should I eat you now... or save you for later?"
"N-no! G-get away from me!" Rosepaw tried to kick at the tom's belly, but he sat on her paws and stopped her from moving.
"You were the one who started following me!" he hissed, "I'll teach you a lesson on who to trust in this world, Rosepaw!"
Effortlessly lifting the she-cat by the scruff of her neck, Ashenflame took her away into the forest, where he knew she wouldn't be found anytime soon.
"They'll learn not to let kits out of their camp alone ever again," he mumbled, feeling Rosepaw's struggle cease.
=_-\*/-_=
Rosepaw slowly opened her eyes to find she was in a dark place. She couldn't see anything. "Where am I?" she mewled. Managing to push herself to her paws, the apprentice looked around. She could scent the forest all around her, along with a familiar scent...
"Up so soon?" she heard a voice. She didn't need sight to know it was Ashenflame, a rogue she had crossed paths with earlier while hunting. He stepped closer as a flash of lightning lit up the sky behind him, and Rosepaw was momentarily able to see his silhouette. She then realised they were inside of a small cave, and the only exit was past the rogue cat.
"G-get away from me!" she squealed, burying her head in her paws.
There was a long pause, during which all Rosepaw could hear was the rain and Ashenflame's claws scraping the ground. Then, he stopped. Rosepaw shivered as she felt Ashenflame's hot breath on her head, and had almost started to cry...
Then, Ashenflame licked the top of her head.
"I'm not actually going to kill you. Stop crying."
The she-cat slowly looked up at her captor, puzzled, but still not hopeful of escape. "Wh-what?" she mewled, as Asheflame began to laugh.
"It was a trick, mouse-brain. Since you were never taught this the easy way, i decided to teach you a different way. Not the easiest, but not the hardest, to your luck."
"Oh, thank you!" Rosepaw shook her head and looked down at her paws, "I... I'm so sorry, for everything, I'll leave now if you--"
"I can't let you do that."
Rosepaw's ears fell flat again. "What?"
"It's raining so hard outside, you'll be more soaked than the stream! Can't you see? There's even lightning outside!"
Rosepaw breathed a sigh of relief and flopped down on her side at the far end of the cave. "You may sleep here," Ashenflame meowed, "But first thing tomorrow, I will take you back to your Clan."
But Rosepaw was already asleep.
Pacing over to the end of the cave opposite her, Ashenflame settled down and closed his eyes. He had personally liked the look on the apprentice's face when she realised he wasn't going to harm her.
=_-\*/-_=
Ashenflame couldn't sleep. He got up and began to pace around the cave, occasionally stopping to look at Rosepaw. She seemed to be sleeping soundly.
Suddenly, a rough, cold wind blew from outside, and the rain began to fall into the cave. Ashenflame stepped deeper in, near Rosepaw, and noticed something...
She was shuddering.
"Oh boy," he huffed, "here we go." And he laid down beside the young she-cat, curling up and letting her soak in his warmth, and him as well in hers.
=_-\*/-_=
The sun began to soak Rosepaw's fur and she woke up. Standing on all four paws, she looked around the cave. "A-ashenflame?"
"Mrrr" all she heard was a long deep purr.
Looking behind her, Rosepaw noticed ashenflame was lying down, his tail curled neatly around one of her hind paws. "Waah!" she stumbled back, "H-hey! What the-- what are you doing?"
"Hmm?" Ashenflame lifted up his head to look at her, "You were cold and shivering... and bothering me with your insufferable mewling."
"S-sure..." Rosepaw couldn't help but to make the sarcasm in her voice obvious, and blushed deeply.
"Now we should go," Ashenflame began to groom his fur. "Unless you want the others to worry for you even further."
"N-no, you're right. Let's go."
The apprentice quickly skittered out of the cave followed closely by the rogue tom.
