Hello Feline Friends

"Ha!" Treepaw raced past her, elated to finally be in front.

Violetpaw yelped when he nipped her tail, distracted long enough to trip over a branch and fall.

Treepaw tired to distract the she-cat by nipping at her tail as it billowed out behind her, though he continued to steadily lose ground.

Feeling him draw level, Violetpaw chanced a glance at the grey tom out of her pale blue eyes. Pinning her ears back, she concentrated fully on what was beneath and in front of her again, crouching slightly as she ran, her tail streaming out behind her.

Treepaw, less familiar with the terrain, stumbled far more frequently than she, but he willed his way to a burst of speed and almost drew level with her.

Violetpaw didn't make the mistake of looking back, as so many did. It would just make her trip, like so many others. She focused entirely on racing through the forest at her breakneck pace without stumbling or falling.

Treepaw had spent plenty of days idling as a rogue, though he had also had to fend for himself. His days spent mostly lounging and catching prey made him a good sprint, but not as good at catching prey, as he quickly found out when she began to draw ahead.

Violetpaw was just as determined to not lose, pushing herself as she ran, heading towards the river. I won't let him catch me. 

Treepaw tore off after her with a yowl, not intent on losing the race by any means.

"Okay," Violetpaw purred, suddenly racing for the camp exit. "Follow me!" She called over her shoulder to him, leaving camp.

"I don't know. Take me somewhere important in the territory! I haven't learned it yet!" Treepaw's eyes lit up at the prospect of the friendly competition, the tom bubbling with excitement as he waited for her choice.

"Race to where?" Violetpaw asked, perking up at the thought of something to do. Her mentor didn't train her much, being rather lazy and often engaging in other 'activities.'

Treepaw smiled somewhat awkwardly at her before returning his gaze to his paws, nervously scraping one across the dirt beneath. Finally, he mewed "Wanna race?"

Violetpaw rolled her eyes when she got his meaning. "Oh. Meh, whatever. Other cats do that and more all the time. I just speak the truth."

"You!" Treepaw smiled warmly at her. "Talking about... You know." He looked down at his paws, mildly embarrassed by mentioning this topic in front of Violetpaw. At the very least, she was his closest friend, and, he secretly hoped, more.

Violetpaw stared at the other apprentice in confusion, her head cocked to one side. "What....?"

Treepaw chuckled, not even having thought of that. "Dirty!" He accused her with a purr, bumping her chest with an outstretched paw.

She shrugged. "I don't know. All I know is that they don't realize we need to let loners and kittypets, etc, join occasionally or we'll all be breeding with our family."

Treepaw pinned his ears back when she called him that name again. "Why do they label cats negatively just because they decide to live on their own? Not everyone needs a clan."

Violetpaw shrugged. "Well, most of them don't like you because you were a rogue. Mouse-brains."

"Thanks. For supporting me." Treepaw mewed quietly, looking around at the rapidly dispersing throng of cats. "Not many did."

"Yes, Treepaw?" Violetpaw asked, tilting her head slightly to one side. What does he want?

Treepaw looked thankfully at Violetpaw when she was one of the few cats to acknowledge his new place within the clan. Climbing down from the rock that was ysed for clan meetings, he padded over to her first. "Violetpaw?"

(Okey)

Not many cats cheered for the newly renamed Treepaw, but Violetpaw was one of them. She had, after all, deciding to be nice to the tom… and found him sorta cute.

(Yeah! Can you make the thread?)

Walnut stood proudly beside his new leader as he lost his former identity. From this moment forward, he was Treepaw, never to be known by his housecat name again.