The stars formed a path, leading Flowerpaw out of camp. The starlight reflected in her eyes and her paws itched to follow the star path. Where is it taking me? She questioned, flicking her tail curiously. Where are they going? Flowerpaw stepped forward, in the distance she swore she could see the figure of a cat, but she couldn't be sure. "Hello?" She called out, trying to get the cat's attention. "Is someone there? Where am I?"
The figure stopped walking, it looked over its shoulder and Flowerpaw saw bright glowing eyes. She ducked her head slightly. Why do I feel so weird about this cat? Flowerpaw stepped forward. "Hello?" She called out once again, starting to feel more anxious. "Are you a StarClan cat?" She questioned, the words felt frozen in the air. She had never seen a StarClan cat before, why would a StarClan cat come visit her; she was just an apprentice.
The cat looked at her for a few long heartbeats. With a nod, the cat turned and ran ahead; vanishing into the shadows. Flowerpaw stepped forward, but felt something pulling her back. I shouldn't follow. Flowerpaw thought, feeling slightly disappointed. She turned her head away, trying to forget about the strange cat.
Flowerpaw opened her eyes and found herself back in the apprentice den. Dawn light was barely breaking through the den's opening, shining onto the pelts of her fellow apprentices. It was mostly full with the exception of Thornpaw. Falconclaw taking him out early again I suppose. Flowerpaw sighed, she was worried about her friend. He told me that the cut was from him falling, but... She closed her eyes. Something seems off.
Beside Flowerpaw, Stormpaw shifted in her sleep. Her silver paws twitched and she let out a slight whimper. Is she having a nightmare? Flowerpaw leaned down, touching her nose gently to Stormpaw's head. Almost instantly Stormpaw stopped her twitching, she relaxed and let out a small sigh. I wonder what she was dreaming about. Flowerpaw looked away from Stormpaw and out of the apprentice den entrance.
It looked cold, Flowerpaw was grateful to be surrounded by her denmates and not out there in the cold. I suppose if I'm awake I should do something. Flowerpaw stood up and carefully crossed over her denmates, when she made it outside the cold nearly took her breath away. She stopped and shivered, her breath billowing out in clouds in front of her. I guess leaf-bare's finally here. She thought bitterly. My first leaf-bare. Flowerpaw twitched her stinging ears and looked around for something to do.
It was just past dawn and not a lot of SunClan cats were awake yet, just the dawn patrol and a few select warriors. She looked around the camp, spotting Leafwhisker speaking with Firetail outside the warrior den, both she-cats looked quite cold. Flowerpaw looked around for Owlfoot, wondering if her mentor was awake yet. The only other cats she spotted in camp however were Frostclaw and Jayflight who were sharing a piece of prey near the drinking pool.
It had been half a moon since AshClan attacked SunClan on the border and Frostclaw's injury healed without issue. All that remained was a scar down her side that was nearly hidden by her white fur. The only cat that had a scar was Owlfoot who had a small scar above his eye, Flowerpaw was grateful that no other cats had been hurt.
Flowerpaw looked over at the nursery, it was starting to fill up again. Not only were Tallfern and Marshpelt incredibly close to having kits but Rowanfall had recently moved in as well, expecting Alderfang's kits.
SunClan is going to be filled with so many kits. Flowerpaw thought happily. We'll have more apprentices than we'll know what to do with. She looked towards the sky, which was covered in pale gray clouds. I don't think that's a bad thing, though. Flowerpaw closed her eyes. That's why Foxstar always says that having apprentices shows that SunClan is strong. Flowerpaw sat down, huddling up and trying to stay warm while she waited for Owlfoot to wake up.
She waited outside the apprentice for quite a lot longer, Sandpaw and Applepaw woke up before Owlfoot did and Cloudpaw and Slatepaw woke up shortly after. The sun was starting to rise and the cold was getting slightly better, but it still bit at Flowerpaw's nose and ears. Please wake up soon, Owlfoot. I want to warm up. She looked at the warriors den, Firetail and Leafwhisker had moved away and now several more warriors were waking up. She watched as Rockfall, Moonfur and Brightclaw climbed out of the warrior den and began preparing for the day.
Finally, Flowerpaw spotted the brown pelt of Owlfoot. She stood up and approached her mentor to greet him. "Good morning." She dipped her head.
"Good morning, Flowerpaw." Owlfoot dipped his head as well. "You're awake early, have you been up long?"
Flowerpaw shrugged. "Just since dawn." She looked around. "Are we going to be doing any training today?"
Owlfoot nodded, letting out a big yawn as well. "Yeah, we are. I was thinking maybe some battle training. You haven't done much of that yet and you've been an apprentice for half a moon now. We'll head out in just a bit, I'll see if I can't get another apprentice or two to join us."
Flowerpaw nodded excitedly, she had been really wanting to learn more battle training ever since the battle, she wanted to help her Clan fight and not feel so useless. Flowerpaw watched Owlfoot approach Moonfur who had Sunpaw at his side. Flowerpaw felt slightly nervous, she figured that she would be training with one of Nightwing's kits, not a cat who had been an apprentice longer than even Stormpaw.
Moonfur nodded in agreement to something that Owlfoot said and the three cats made their way back over to Flowerpaw. "Moonfur and Sunpaw will be coming training with us." He explained, looking over his shoulder at the two she-cats.
"Shouldn't I be training with apprentices at my own skill level? Like Crowpaw or Rainpaw." She looked at Sunpaw. "She's had a lot more training than I've had."
"It can be good to learn from an older apprentice and Sunpaw is a very skilled fighter. She'll be able to teach you a lot." Owlfoot replied. "Let's go." Owlfoot turned, leading Moonfur, Sunpaw and Flowerpaw outside of camp.
"Don't worry." Sunpaw mewed, slipping in beside Flowerpaw. "I won't go too hard on you." For a moment it felt like Sunpaw was trying to be insulting, but Flowerpaw looked at her and saw genuine kindness in her green eyes. A sense of comfort washed over Flowerpaw, she felt that she would be okay training with Sunpaw. It was better than training with Slatepaw who took everything way too seriously.
The group of cats soon reached the training hollow, and each of them were shivering from the cold. "Leaf-bare certainly isn't wasting any time now that it's actually here." Moonfur mewed, looking around at the frost covered forest. "It won't be long before prey become an issue."
"We should have enough for a while." Owlfoot assured her. "Foxstar made sure to have the hunting patrols get as much as possible." He rested his green eyes on the two apprentices. "But fighting should warm us up, let's get started." He faced Flowerpaw. "We're going to start with some simple battle moves." Owlfoot looked over Sunpaw and Flowerpaw. "Every second matters when you're fighting an enemy, and any second could be your last if your not careful." Owlfoot flicked his tail. "If you're fighting and you expose your belly to the enemy then they can easily injure you and take control of the fight. However, if you can get them to expose their belly then you can take control of the fight. Sunpaw, what are some ways that you can do that."
Sunpaw lifted her head. "If you're fighting and you pin them on your back then you can easily attack their belly, however you have to be careful because they will be able to get yours at the same time. You have to be fast."
"Good." Owlfoot mewed while Moonfur nodded approvingly at her apprentice. "Speed is also important, you have to be faster than your enemy or they will take you out. Sometimes that's hard, like when you're against a MoonClan cat. However, they may run fast but as long as you attack faster you can win."
Flowerpaw nodded along with what Owlfoot was saying, trying to understand and remember as much as possible. What if I'm not fast enough? Or what if I hurt my leg again, what happens then? She tried to swallow her anxieties and fears about fighting, she didn't want to be a useless warrior.
"I want the two of you try and get at each other's bellies." He instructed. "Don't be too rough though, and keep your claws sheathed." Flowerpaw looked at Sunpaw, she had much more training than she did. How will I ever be able to win against her? Nevertheless, Flowerpaw crouched and prepared to fight.
Sunpaw crouched into a fighting stance, which seemed a lot more stable than Flowerpaw's, she quickly tried to mimic the golden apprentice. "Now!" Owlfoot commanded and Sunpaw ran forward, faster than Flowerpaw had time to react. Sunpaw knocked her to the ground, causing her to land on her back with a yelp. Sunpaw went to attack Flowerpaw's belly. I can't lose this early! Flowerpaw covered her belly with her paws and flipped herself over, Sunpaw's paws uselessly hit her back.
Flowerpaw squirmed out of Sunpaw's grip and whirrled on her, trying to knock her over in the same way. Flowerpaw jumped forward, her paws pushing into Sunpaw's shoulder and knocking her onto her back. Pride washed through her body. I did it!
Flowerpaw felt pain hit her belly and she fell backwards off of Sunpaw. She landed awkwardly on her shoulder and lifted her head in surprise. Sunpaw held her head high with pride and Owlfoot shook his head slightly. "You forgot what I said." He mewed. "Your belly is just as exposed when you pin someone down, Sunpaw got you first." Flowerpaw dropped her head. How could I be such a mouse-brain! She scolded herself. He just told me that, and I forgot.
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Flowerpaw." Owlfoot's tone softened. "This is only your first fight against another opponent, and it's easy to forget the important details in the heat of battle." Flowerpaw lowered her head, still feeling bad about letting herself lose like that. "That's part of learning, as you train more you will become more focused in battle. You have to remember you've only been an apprentice for half a moon, you won't be as skilled as Sunpaw just yet."
His words made Flowerpaw feel slightly better, but there was still a gnawing feeling at Flowerpaw's heart. I should've been an apprentice for much longer. She stared down at her paws.
"Moonfur, Sunpaw." Owlfoot looked at the two she-cats. "Will you give us a moment? I'm going to talk to Flowerpaw." Flowerpaw looked up, her pelt burning with embarrassment. What's he going to talk to me about? And why did he have to say it in front of those two.
"Of course," Moonfur stood up, looking down at Sunpaw. "Let's see if we can't catch some prey."
"Okay!" Sunpaw cheerfully followed Moonfur away from the training area, her tail twitching with happiness. Flowerpaw looked at the floor, trying to ignore Owlfoot's gaze. She heard his pawsteps and felt him sit beside her, his gaze burning into her.
"You can't punish yourself so hard for simple mistakes, Flowerpaw." He mewed, his voice soft. Flowerpaw still avoided his gaze. "Every warrior makes them, and this was just training. I guarantee that every single warrior in this forest, myself included have made those mistakes. I've seen Foxstar fall flat on his face while training. I've seen your father trip on his own tail into a puddle of mud."
The image of Stonewhisker, the big, brave warrior that Flowerpaw had painted in her mind; tripping over his own tail lit up Flowerpaw's mind. She couldn't help but laugh at the thought. Beside her, Owlfoot let out a warm chuckle. "See, what did I tell you?" Owlfoot nudged her playfully. "You'll make mistakes, but you can't torture yourself for making them; you have to learn from them. The best warriors accept their mistakes, they laugh at them and they learn from them. That's how they become the best warriors."
Flowerpaw felt Owlfoot's words reach her, she thought about them over and over. That's how they become the best warriors. Flowerpaw couldn't fault herself for making mistakes, every warrior did. "Do you understand?" Owlfoot questioned.
Flowerpaw looked up, finally meeting his gaze. "I do, thank you, Owlfoot." She purred, suddenly grateful that Owlfoot had been made her mentor. He was a kind, understanding and respectful cat, she couldn't ask for a better mentor.
Flowerpaw and Owlfoot met up with Sunpaw and Moonfur and decided to return to camp to warm up for a bit. Flowerpaw enjoyed the walk through the forest, and she felt better about losing the fight against Sunpaw. I'll just have to try harder next time. She told her, feeling her spirits lift. Even with the cold, Flowerpaw had a slight skip in her step.
When they returned to camp, Flowerpaw noticed that Foxstar was standing with Crowpaw, Thornpaw and Stormpaw. They all looked excited and interested in something that Foxstar was saying. Stormpaw looked over her shoulder when Flowerpaw entered camp and nearly jumped up with excitement. "Flowerpaw!"
"What's going on?" She questioned, looking at Owlfoot who looked just as confused.
"We're all going to the moonstone!"