"Alright, Ivorypaw. Now you try." Ivorypaw flicked droplets of blood of his ear, one of the wounds Blackclaw had inflicted while showing his Apprentice an ancient move from the old clans; the Lightning Strike. He had said the move was unwell known, and not everyone in Twilightclan knew it. Only those good enough.
Ivorypaw slid into the trees and tangled undergrowth, his paws silent with practice. Blackclaw eyed the spot were the young tom had entered, but by now Ivorypaw was at least a fox-length away from that spot. "Mudbank, take the left flank!" He feinted to the left quickly, and yowled again. "Faithheart, the right!"
Once he had called out enough Warriors to greatly outnumber Blackclaw, he leaped in from behind the tom; making sure to push off hard with his hind paws so he landed on the tawny tom's back. Blackclaw nimbly shook the Apprentice off his back, right when he was reaching up to claw the Warrior's ears, and leaped onto his side. Ivorypaw winced as he felt sharp claws prick his pelt.
In the short time that he had known the dark Warrior, he had quickly learned that Blackclaw had an amazing talent of drawing blood yet never leaving any permanent marks. Ivorypaw struggled underneath his thick paws, flattening his ears as his mentor hissed. "I wasn't surprised! That's the whole point of the Lightning Strike!"
Blackclaw let his Apprentice up, his blue eyes icy shards. "Your voice didn't change in tone or direction at all." Ivorypaw sat up, licking his flank painfully. "Altitude changes your tone. Also calling through foliage and leaves. Practice. I'm going on patrol." He watched the tawny Warrior go through the tangled trees till he disappeared. Speak through a leaf. Pfft.
Ivorypaw padded to one of the trees, raising onto his hind paws and stretching upward until his claws could grip one of the broad green leaves. With a scowl, he pressed it to his jaw with both forepaws. "Mudbank, take the le-....." He trailed off as his voice came out deeper, more muffled. If he was an intruder, it could have fooled him. Why does Blackclaw always have to be right!?
There was a distant hiss in the trees behind the brown tabby. He spun around, pricking his ears and parting his mouth. There was no strange scents, but Ivorypaw knew he should investigate. Slipping into the ferns, he padded forward; dipping his head under a low growing branch, slipping past some holly, and finally squeezing under some brambles. The thorns tugged at his broad shoulders, but he managed to settle in.
Peering through the branches, Ivorypaw spotted a confusing pattern of flecks and stripes and looking closer realized it was Bramblestripe. The brown tabby tom seemed to be fighting an invisible enemy. Raising onto his forepaws, lashing out with his hind and then switching swiftly. "That's how you fight if your surrounded." He mewed to someone, who Ivorypaw strained to see.
A familiar scent wafted past his nose and instantly he recognized it. Whisperpaw? The tabby she-cat was now trying to copy the move she had just been shown, her tail flailing in the air as she tried to keep balance. "That's hard!"
Bramblestripe straightened with pride. "Yes, well I thought that too when Weaselstar first taught it to me." Ivorypaw felt confusion sweep over him. Bramblestripe was Weaselstar's Apprentice? How could that be when Blackclaw had also taught him some moves of Weaselstar. That can't both have been his Apprentice?
Suddenly Bramblestripe's eyes narrowed, and he swung his head around to look right at Ivorypaw. His fur stood on end as the green eyes bore into him and, in an effort to save his last bit of dignity he had, padded out of the brambles into the clearing.
"Ivorypaw?! What are you doing here?" Whisperpaw shuffled her paws nervously. Ivorypaw narrowed his eyes.
"I could ask you the same thing. Isn't Casey your mentor? Why is Bramblestripe showing you moves?" Bramblestripe stood next to Whisperpaw, his tail lashing defensively.
"You know Casey couldn't train a mouse how to run away from predators." He spat, fur bristling. "I'm trying to help her. Is that so wrong?" Ivorypaw sighed, realizing the Warrior was right. Casey obviously wasn't going to help Whisperpaw be a great Warrior. She's my competition....Should I let her get away with this? Whisperpaw's ears flattened and she looked desperately at her brother.
"Please don't tell."
There was a long pause before Ivorypaw finally answered. "Alright, fine." Bramblestripe's ears pricked and he looked at the young tom with a friendly purr.
"Why don't you train with us? Show us what Blackclaw taught you, huh?" The brown tabby Warrior's voice was encouraging, but Ivorypaw noted silently to himself not to show Whisperpaw anything too important. Just simple moves. Nothing to dull my edge. As the three trained, he noticed something that had never been apparent to him before. They all shared one distinct feature; a dark brown pelt with stripes brimming the legs, tail and face and dark flecks going down the back. Also, the emerald green eyes.
Bramblestripe's markings were very dark and distinct, while Whisperpaw's faded into her dark pelt yet were still noticeable. Ivorypaw's own markings were a mix; sharply outlined stripes with faded flecks. His stomach chilled as he realized Fallenshadow looked nothing like them, with his silver pelt and light gray eyes. Both have a fancy for Nightpelt...
"Ivorypaw? Did you see that move??" Bramblestripe's joking mew pulled him out of his thoughts.
"Oh, could you show me again?" Father?
The starlight beamed down into the clearing below, turning the cats gathered a dim silver. Ivorypaw watched silverpelt through half closed eyes. The warmth of Whisperpaw was beside him and the rhythmic rasp of Nightpelt's tongue atop his head soothed him into a doze. The clan was sharing tongues now and Ivorypaw realized that he had been an Apprentice for a quarter-moon. He sat up adruptly, knocking the top of his head against Nightpelt's jaw; who happened to be mid-lick.
The black she-cat yelped in pain, causing Ivorypaw to feel guilt sear through his pelt. "Sorry!" He nuzzled his mother's face. "It's just I remembered something. The Gathering is two nights from now!" Nightpelt stretched open her jaw, looking irritated.
"Your right, but don't get your hopes up. Apprentices your age don't go." Ivorypaw lashed his tail in irritation, remembering Blackclaw's words. Age doesn't matter, skill does. Whisperpaw also looked downcast. "But that's alright, we can find something fun to do. Like moss ball." Nightpelt's amber eyes glowed with love for her kits.
"Or maybe we can pretend your the fox and attack you like we used to." Whisperpaw teased, giving her mom a friendly shove.
"Oh no! That's was painful enough when you were little, crawling over my pelt like ants!" Ivorypaw flattened his ears and looked around desperately for a reason to get away from the reminiscing she-cats. He spotted Blackclaw sharing tongues with Rosenight, and bound over to his mentor. Blackclaw blinked open an eye from licking his paw.
"Blackclaw, the Gathering is two days from now. I'm going right?" Rosenight's gray eyes filled with amusement.
"Weaselstar doesn't take kits." Ivorypaw flattened his ears at the dark ginger she-cat's remark. He looked to Blackclaw, but the tawny Warrior didn't speak. "But don't worry I'm sure you'll be able to go to the next one." He clawed up the ground, forcing his fur to lie flat in front of the Deputy. Her eyes flicked to the Nursery as her sister, Silverear, padded out of the den.
"I'm going to go see how Silverear's kits are doing. See you around Blackclaw." Her tail flicked the tip of his chin as the ginger she-cat walked away. Ivorypaw flattened his ears, annoyed at how his mentor acted as though he was just a bothersome kit when the Deputy was around.
"I have to go to the Gathering! I beat Beetlepaw in battle practice and he's been an Apprentice for three moons longer!"
"Weaselstar chooses who goes, not me." Blackclaw stood, his blue eyes regaining their usually seriousness. "Why don't you go talk to him about it. He's in his den." Ivorypaw felt his stomach turn to ice. He had never spoken to Weaselstar, and for good reason. The dark tom was known for being irritable, and malevolent. The brown tabby tom crept toward the gaping entrance of the huge boulder den, straining to see any movement inside.
Forcing back any second thoughts, Ivorypaw padded into the cool darkness; darker than the night outside. The walls of the den were close at first, brushing his pelt, but with his whiskers he could feel the sides open into a bigger cavern. Through the blackness, Ivorypaw could scent the musky odor of another cat. Was that a pair of eyes?
"Ivorypaw, is it? I don't like my den being intruded." A dark voice disturbed the darkness, shaking the young tom to the bone. He whipped his head around, panic rising in his chest, but where ever Weaselstar was, he didn't want to show himself.
"Sorry, Weaselstar....Its just..." Ivorypaw forced himself to stand tall and still; eyes focused ahead at the darkness. "The Gathering is two nights from now and I want to go." There was silence to answer the blunt request. He began to feel the fur along his shoulder's rise as Ivorypaw worried he had spoken, again, to freely.
"What makes you think you deserve to go to the warrior Gathering." It was more of a statement than a question. The leader's voice bounced off the hollow's walls, confusing Ivorypaw even more of his position.
"Well, I-I beat Beetlepaw in battle training and I've been doing every chore Blackclaw tells me too." Ivorypaw searched desperately for something else to say. "I...I'm a great hunter!" He began to feel helpless for words, as if Weaselstar's dark presence was sucking the thoughts out of him. There was again silence to answer him, but Ivorypaw was surprised by the reply.
"Yes, I suppose you have been working hard. But, you will understand when I say you need to be tested." The voice paused. "The warrior Gathering is a place to show strength and find weaknesses. I want my strongest cats there, so you'll have to prove your strength." Ivorypaw felt exhilaration pump through his paws. A test! That was something he could do. He could simply show Weaselstar how great he was, how strong.
"I'll do it! Any test." Ivorypaw responded swiftly, his claws unsheathing to scratch the cool stone beneath his paws. Weaselstar finally stepped into the starlight shining through the entrance, his dark brown fur illuminated; his dark brown eyes still unseeable with the shadows cast across his face. The hair along Ivorypaw's spine rose unconsciously, making the ice that had been forming in his stomach crawl up to his heart.
"Alright. Tomorrow at sunhigh. You will be tested." Weaselstar's voice took the form of a purr, but just barely. "And again at Moon high." Ivorypaw's tail tip flicked. Two tests? It seemed odd to him, but he was too busy thinking about how exciting the Gathering was going to be to decline the curious task; to distracted by thoughts of the other clans to notice the way Weaselstar had unsheathed his claws and seemed to be plotting silently about what dreadful tests he could conjure up.
"Get some sleep, Ivorypaw. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."
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