Legend

--- to circling

 Legend

After resting for a while, Whitepaw and I make our way to our next session - past events. Basically it's where we learn what our ancestral Clanmates did and how not to make the same mistakes they did.

It's also the only place where everyone can publicly discuss that ancient prophecy, therefore making it Breezepaw's favorite class. She tags along with us as we head over to that section of camp, walking behind us and not saying a word, yet bubbling with energy all the same.

Our past events mentor pads up to us as we get closer to the learning area. "Sunpaw, Whitepaw, Breezepaw, hello!" she greets us, her expression friendly as ever.

"Hello, Finchfeather," Whitepaw and I chorus. Behind us, Breezepaw mumbles something that might be a greeting.

"If you want to go sit down with the others, we'll get started soon," Finchfeather promises us. "I'm still trying to find Flamepaw. Have any of you seen him?"

Whitepaw snorts. "Last we saw him, Blackthorn was working him hard for being cheeky. He's probably still snoozing somewhere. Want us to go look for him?"

"No, that's okay," our mentor reassures us. "If that's the case, I might just let him sleep. He'll need it! Thanks for letting me know."

Whitepaw and I purr as we walk over to where the other apprentices are waiting for the session to start. We sit close to the group, while Breezepaw hangs back a bit and sits down by herself.

"Hey, Sunpaw!" My ears swivel as I hear someone calling my name. A brown tabby tom is looking right at me, all perky and cheerful like he always is. "You should come sit over here! Icepaw's being suuuper cranky, and it's really hilarious!"

"Be right there, Mudpaw," I call back, my whiskers twitching with amusement. Whitepaw and I stand up and start walking when I pause and turn to look over my shoulder.

"Want to come with us?" I ask Breezepaw.

She shakes her head silently. I shrug and follow Whitepaw over to where our friends are waiting.

Mudpaw is sitting next to a striking white tom who looks like he'd rather have a bird drag him through a river than be here, suffering through Mudpaw's teasing. His fur is spiked out indignantly, and his piercing blue gaze is like an icy claw stabbing into my mind.

"I hate this session," Icepaw grumbles. "It's all boring speculation and nonsense. What if the prophecy is true? What if someone makes the same mistake as our idiot ancestors? Who cares?" He rolls his eyes, glaring at the ground near his paws. "It's stupid," he mumbles, trying to calm down a little. He hates getting too emotional.

"Today we're going to be discussing the prophecy and the history of the Clan," Finchfeather begins. "Many moons ago, legend has it that four apprentices were cast out of the Clan and, under the oath they took as members of the Clan, were granted mysterious powers by StarClan to compensate the loss of their Clan status. Who can recite the powers they were given? Remember to avoid their names. Icepaw, can you tell us?"

Icepaw flinches as he hears his name, and I feel a little bad for him. Getting called on during a session makes him so anxious; he just shakes his head until Finchfeather looks away from him, which is the only time he can relax.

"Breezepaw, remind us all what powers those four cats were given."

Breezepaw, unlike Icepaw, perks up when Finchfeather calls on her - though the only time she's ever exited is when we're discussing the prophecy with Finchfeather. "Their four powers were invulnerability to cold, invulnerability to fire, control over the air, and control over the earth, respectively," she recites in her quiet but uncharacteristically confident voice.

"Very good. Everyone else, repeat after me: cold, fire, air, earth."

I repeat the mindless words with everyone else for the umpteenth time, bored out of my mind by all of this stupid review. At least it's vaguely interesting when we talk about the prophecy; the time we spend talking about the abilities the exiled cats gained is just time wasted in my mind. Besides, everyone knows that no exiled cat gains any mysterious ability for crossing the border. It's all just mythology - interesting mythology, maybe, but a set of lies all the same.

I glance over my shoulder. Despite the number of cats who filtered in after we got here, I'm still sitting near the back of the group. My gaze meets Whitepaw's, and when I use my head to motion away from where we're sitting, Whitepaw's eyes light up, and she nods. So when Finchfeather isn't looking, we turn and quietly stalk away from the session, ignoring the strange looks the other cats around us give us.

"This was a great idea," Whitepaw whispers when we're far enough away from Finchfeather's watchful gaze that we feel safe enough to straighten up. "I can't believe no one else ever thought of sneaking out of past events!"

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