Shade

Chapter Sixteen

Smoketail led the way to the training ground, occasionally glancing at Shadepaw but not saying anything. She wasn't sure if he was offended by something or if he was just trying to figure something out, but it was quite unnerving. She hoped he'd be back to normal when they reached the other apprentices.

The training ground was already scuffed and ruined with the apprentices' pouncing around. They seemed to be practicing an attack crouch. Fawnreed waved her tail brightly when she saw them.

"Shadepaw, why don't you get Shimmerpaw to show you the crouch?" The deputy suggested.

"Okay." Shadepaw narrowly avoided being pounced on by Shimmerpaw, who had heard her name and come haring over.

"Shadepaw, hi!" She purred. "D'you want me to show you the crouch?" Without waiting for a response, she got down into her crouch. "You've got to remember to tuck your forepaws in, and bunch up your hind legs..."

Shadepaw copied Shimmerpaw's crouch, carefully balancing her weight evenly on each side. She pulled her forepaws in close to her chest, and was careful not to let her tail stick out.

"How did you get it so quick?" Shimmerpaw asked. "Well, when you jump, you've got to stretch out your forepaws so you meet your enemy claw first, not nose first. Try it!"

Shadepaw pushed off the ground with all the power she could muster in her hind legs and stretched her forepaws out, just as Shimmerpaw had said. She landed awkwardly, and skidded slightly on the marshy ground.

"Almost," Smoketail praised. "Just try to keep your weight balanced when you're in the air."

Shadepaw tried the pounce again and again. It took a while, but she finally figured out how to jump so that she could land evenly as well. The trick was to use her tail to balance while she was in the air.

"You picked that up quickly," Smoketail said. "Try it against me."

Shadepaw crouched down low, then launched herself at her mentor. He reared up to meet her, and batted her away with his forepaws as easily as if she were a falling leaf. Shadepaw fell and landed on her side, but pushed herself up and shook the dirt from her pelt.

"That's not fair!" She protested.

"It's perfectly fair," Smoketail responded. "If a cat jumped at me like that, I'd push them away."

"I'm just practicing," Shadepaw pointed out. "Can't you just tell me if I'm doing it right or wrong?"

"You're doing it just fine," Smoketail said. "I want you to do it better. Try again, but put more force into it so I can't push you away."

Shadepaw crouched low again, then sprang with all the force she could muster. Smoketail reared up again, and pushed her back easily. Shadepaw pushed herself up to her paws and hissed in annoyance.

"That's the best I can do. How am I supposed to beat you like that?" She lashed her tail angrily.

"Figure something out," Smoketail responded simply. "You're smart."

"Not unless you tell me what to do," Shadepaw grumbled, but she crouched again. Instead of leaping blindly, she waited. Smoketail made no move, so she took her time to consider his strengths and weaknesses in the hope that she would be able to find something to use against him.

She leaped and stretched her forepaws out, and Smoketail reared again. Instead of just crashing down on him, Shadepaw batted his paws away with her own and head butted him in the chest. Balancing on his hind legs and taken by surprise, Smoketail fell onto his back, and Shadepaw pinned him down.

"I win!" She purred. She knew he could get her off him at any point, but Smoketail just lay there purring heavily.

Shadepaw stepped back to let him up, and he shook his pelt out. "Of all the things you could have done, I wasn't expecting that," he purred.

"I beat you, though," Shadepaw said.

"Just this once," Smoketail admitted. "You did well."

"That was a nice move, Shadepaw," Fawnreed commended. "Could you try it again on me?"

Shadepaw turned to face the deputy and slid into the crouch. Fawnreed braced herself, too, and when Shadepaw leaped, she reared up to push her back. Shadepaw batted away Fawnreed's forepaws and pushed at her chest. Fawnreed had seen the move before and was expecting it, so she simply stumbled a little before finding the balance to push Shadepaw down onto the ground. Shadepaw rolled away quickly as Fawnreed's paws came crashing down, and sprang to her paws, expecting another attack.

Fawnreed left the brief scuffle there, however. She nodded to herself, then said, "I think it's a good idea if you teach these others how to do that. It's not perfect, but it's pretty good."

"Me teach them?" Shadepaw shrank a little. Teaching Shimmerpaw would be fine, but Leopardpaw and Lilypaw were a few moons older than her, and although both were very nice cats, they were just a little intimidating.

"You'll be fine." Smoketail nudged her good-naturedly with his flank. "I'll help."

"Alright, you three!" Fawnreed called to the other apprentices. "Shadepaw and Smoketail are going to show you a new trick."

Shimmerpaw came bounding over, and skidded to a halt beside Shadepaw. Leopardpaw came next, looking curious, and Lilypaw was last. She sat down calmly and observed.

"Shadepaw." Smoketail nodded to her encouragingly.

"Um," Shadepaw stammered awkwardly. "Well, when you use that attack crouch in battle, your opponent will probably rear up and try to push you away. I came up with a little way to counter that, and it's quite simple. All you have to do is use your forepaws." Shadepaw was gaining confidence as she saw the bright gleam in Shimmerpaw's green eyes, and the intrigue Leopardpaw displayed. "Just push their paws away with yours, and that gives you an opening to use your head or your jaws to attack, right here on their throat."

"Do you want to demonstrate?" Smoketail suggested.

"Yeah. Watch my paws." Shadepaw crouched down again, and leaped at Smoketail, who reared up. She pushed his forepaws away, and butted him in the chest, much harder than she had before. Smoketail fell back again, panting heavily. Shadepaw placed one of her paws on Smoketail's throat to demonstrate how clear a shot she had at delivering what could be a serious or even fatal injury. "See? I could- eep!"

She squealed as Smoketail suddenly lashed out with his hind legs, throwing her off him. She barely managed to land on her paws, but when she crouched down to launch another attack, she saw that Smoketail was already standing, ready. She flicked her tail irritably and stood up straight. "Well, you get the idea."

"That was cool," Leopardpaw meowed. "Did you come up with that yourself?"

"I... Well, yeah..." Shadepaw confessed. "It's not much, though, and Fawnreed says it isn't perfect-"

"I think it's brilliant." Leopardpaw cut her off, and Lilypaw nodded in agreement, making Shadepaw's fur prickle with embarrassment.

"Why don't we divide up and practice?" Fawnreed suggested. "Shadepaw with Shimmerpaw, and Leopardpaw with Lilypaw?"

"Alright, I'm coming to get you, Shadepaw!" Shimmerpaw crouched down and wiggled her rump. Then she leaped, and Shadepaw reared up to try and bat her away. Shimmerpaw pushed at her forepaws, but that made her stumble, and they both crashed into the ground in a tangle of black and white.

Shadepaw managed to get up to her paws. She shook the dirt from her pelt and purred. "You have to use your tail to balance."

"Oh! Alright, here I come again!"