Warriors: Power of Three 01 - The Sight by Erin Hunter

Jaypaw!”
    â€œCome in, come in,” Longtail meowed.
    Brightheart ducked down under the low branch entrance and padded into the space that ringed the trunk of the honeysuckle bush. Jaypaw followed, keeping his head low, uncertain for once about his surroundings. He had not been in thisden before, but he knew by the scent that Longtail was alone. Mousefur must have gone out into the forest after all.
    â€œCongratulations, Jaypaw!” Longtail purred. “You’ve been given a great mentor.”
    â€œThank you, Longtail.” Jaypaw heard shyness and pride in Brightheart’s mew.
    â€œFirestar has set you quite a challenge for your first apprentice, Brightheart,” Longtail remarked.
    â€œJust because I’m blind doesn’t mean—” Jaypaw began hotly.
    â€œI wasn’t referring to your blindness,” Longtail interrupted. “I meant your attitude.”
    â€œWhat’s wrong with my attitude?”
    â€œIt’s not many cats who’d try foxhunting before they were even out of the nursery.” There was humor in Longtail’s mew.
    Jaypaw bristled. I was only trying to help my Clan! But before he could point this out, Brightheart was issuing orders.
    â€œFirst I want you to clean out the moss, get rid of any dusty or dirty pieces,” she instructed. “I’ll fetch some fresh for now, because you don’t know the best place to gather it.”
    Cleaning out bedding! Jaypaw knew it was a routine apprentice task—he had heard Berrypaw and Hazelpaw complain about it often enough—but knowing that Lionpaw was already exploring the territory made him want to snarl.
    â€œThen,” Brightheart went on, “check Longtail for fleas and ticks, and Mousefur too, if she’s back by then. While you’re busy, Longtail can tell you about using other senses rather than sight.”
    Jaypaw wanted to wail with frustration. He and Longtail were totally different. Longtail had lost his sight after he had been a warrior. Blindness must have been devastating after relying on his sight for his whole life. But Jaypaw had never seen the world with any other senses apart from sound, scent, and touch. Being blind was totally natural for him. How could Longtail know what that was like? He could probably give Longtail more advice than the blind cat could give him—how to pick the freshest prey from the pile, how to tell where your denmates had been by the scents on their pelts….
    â€œYou might as well make a start, Jaypaw,” Brightheart suggested. Was that impatience he heard in her mew? You’ll be feeling more than impatience if you keep giving me rubbish tasks like this! he predicted mutinously.
    As Brightheart nosed her way out of the den, he began sorting through the moss, feeling with his paws for pieces that had grown dry and scratchy and sniffing for pieces that were beginning to smell stale. “This apprenticeship is going to be so dull,” he hissed under his breath.
    â€œWhat was that?” Mousefur had padded into the den, her pelt smelling of the forest. Her pawsteps were uneven, and she breathed in sharply as she sat down. “You’ve missed a bit over here,” she pointed out.
    â€œHe’s only just started,” Longtail defended him.
    Mousefur snorted. “Does that mean we’ll have him scrabbling around the den until sunhigh? I was hoping to get some sleep.”
    â€œIt’s not my fault you’re stiff!” Jaypaw snapped. “You’re theone that went out into the forest when it’s damp.”
    He felt Mousefur look closely at him. “How did you know I was stiff?”
    â€œI could tell when you sat down,” Jaypaw replied, hooking out a wad of dry moss and flinging it toward the den entrance. “You moved slowly and made that noise.”
    â€œWhat noise?”
    â€œA sort of gasp, like it hurt.”
    A purr of amusement suddenly rumbled in the old