TAINTED LINE

"Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?" (Proverbs 27:4)

Skypaw is determined to ignore the sense of betrayal that her father has left in his wake. But when she must face the consequences of his actions in the form of her own kin, she is left to carry his burden on her own shoulders.

Chapter One

"Keep your focus on me!"

The smaller cat heaved with the effort she had already put in, taking a few moments to catch her breath. Her mentor looked more impatient than angry, although she was sure it wouldn't take much for him to declare that they had done enough for the day. The exhaustion pulling at her paws made her almost willing to end it here, but the tom would not allow her to get away so easily with such meager results.

Grunting, the she-cat kicked up dirt as she leaped at her mentor, digging her claws into his back as he had instructed earlier. Usually training would require claws be sheathed for the entirety of the session, but it had been mutually decided between the two of them that for less intense battle training, claws would be unsheathed to simulate a real battle. There might have been hopes that she could have picked up the move a little easier this way, but she was still unable to perfect it, never being able to get away before her mentor could counter with the drop-and-roll technique.

She always knew it was coming, but she was never quick enough to bounce back after it had happened. Sometimes she would be caught underneath his weight, and other times, like today, she would jump away in time to avoid being crushed. However, her landing was never satisfactory, and she stumbled when she felt her paws hit the soft earth.

The black tom stood up to his full height, shaking off any of the dirt that his pelt could have collected. He gave the apprentice a look. "We've been trying this for almost half a moon, Skypaw," he sighed. "You need to learn not to put so much of your weight on one side. If you keep things balanced you won't risk falling over like you did just now."

"I know, Jaggedclaw," she groaned. That had been a constant reminder ever since she screwed up the first time. As much as she might try and take his advice to heart, she could never quite manage it. It was growing tedious and even more so, frustrating, as she knew that he most likely would not teach her anything else until she could do the move ten times over with no mistakes. As annoying as it might be, moving on without being able to perform the move would almost be like admitting defeat. She knew herself well enough that it would bug her from that point forward if she gave up. "I'll get it right this time."

"Actually," the tom interrupted before she could try again. "I think it's about time we head back to camp."

It was easy to see that they wouldn't be training much longer, as they had been for a good portion of the morning, but she couldn't help digging her claws into the dirt in frustration. She could have had it!

Appearing to notice his apprentice's growing agitation, he smiled gently. "You'll get it, Skypaw. Some moves take a little longer to get right. You could say that I had similar problems when I was an apprentice. Mind you, I was also a lot less patient and probably would have stopped trying a while back."

The thought reassured her and even made her smile when she thought of her mentor as a young apprentice. She had only heard stories from the elders of how much of a nuisance Jaggedclaw was when he was younger—quite a contrast to the humorous, mostly calm front he put up now. It made her laugh, trying to imagine him stomping his paw in anger when he didn't do something right.

"What are you laughing at?" Jaggedclaw looked at her, lifting a brow. His smile was teasing, as he probably understood just what she was thinking.

"I bet your mentor was more than frustrated with you," she laughed, her previous doubts slowly melting away.

"Eh, well, he wasn't as good as a mentor as I am…" he stood up as if to show up. "…but he knew that things like this can't be rushed. We sometimes argued over stuff like that, when I spoke with my mouth instead of my brain. I swear I can still feel where he cuffed me over the ear." He rubbed his ear and winced, and Skypaw looked on, amused.

"But you know, I guess he did know what he was doing. I was a huge mouse-brain, thinking that I should just forget about it and move on. I really thought I knew what was best for me. But, like I said, I was a mouse-brain," he shrugged.

"I was under the impression that you were still a mouse-brain," Skypaw muttered, giving him a mischievous look. He must have heard, for he turned and glared half-heartedly at her.

"That's not the point." The apprentice watched as he tried to hold a straight face, but it didn't take long before he gave up. Being serious wasn't really Jaggedclaw's thing, in her opinion, although she didn't say so out loud. He was far too witty and laid back to be considered wise by any means. It didn't mean that she didn't take his words to heart, but she also figured a little teasing wouldn't do any harm. "My point is that you haven't learned everything you have to learn yet. Neither have I."

The lack of response from Skypaw seemed to send him a message, and he quickly cut in, "I'm not going on about how 'you'll learn at your own pace' and all that, since I'm sure you already realize that. Or at least, I hope so."

Skypaw shrugged, too lost in thought to even react in a way that showed she was listening. These thoughts did, however, spark some interesting considerations. Jaggedclaw only sat and watched, accustomed to his apprentice's tendency to remain silent as she thought things over. Skypaw finally made eye contact when she saw her mentor flick his tail, as if to bring her back to reality.

"…Yeah, I know. I just don't want it to take another moon before I can get it right." She could only imagine how far her brother and the other apprentices would get in their training in that amount of time. Shaking her head of those doubts, she looked back at him. "But I assume that you'll whip me into shape before then, eh?"

"I would like to think so," he laughed at her assumption, probably fairly accurate. "My apprentice will not be held back while the rest get their warrior names. I won't allow it." It was as if he could read her mind.

"I'm sure that would show Silentstar your excellent mentoring skills," she said sarcastically, laughing as he swung at her, claws sheathed, as if to cuff her over the ear like he had recalled his mentor doing.

"Anyway," he said, getting to his paws. "This was a good training session, and I'm glad that we're on the same page now. But it really is time that we be getting back to camp, before someone starts looking for us and wonders what's taking so long."

You just want to rest your own paws! Skypaw thought, but she couldn't say she disagreed. She was tired too, and curling up in her nest sounded even better the more she thought about it. Her spirits were brightened a bit more after their conversation, and it encouraged her that the next day would produce better results.

They had been training close by, so it didn't take them too long to return to camp. By the time they moved through the barrier of brambles and twigs, the cats in the camp were already starting to move together, excited whispers moving through the crowd. Jaggedclaw went his own way soon after they entered the camp, and Skypaw wasted no time moving towards the apprentices' den, which was closest to the entrance, spotting a brown and white marbled tabby she-cat outside.

"Hey, Wrenpaw, what did I miss?" She greeted her friend with a flick of her tail, indicating the cats who were slowly gathering together. She was patient as Wrenpaw yawned loudly, but she didn't have to wait long for an answer.

"Apprentice ceremony," she said.

"Really?" That was surprising. She hadn't paid much attention to anyone other than her own den mates in regards to ceremonies. Her warrior ceremony took up most of her thoughts, so it rarely occurred to her that they might soon be gaining more den mates.

"Come on, Skypaw, what else could it be? No one died, so obviously it's something good." Her words sounded harsh, but knowing Wrenpaw, she knew that they weren't meant to be offensive.

"Yeah, we get to share our den with another cat. We barely had enough room to begin with."

She felt Wrenpaw shove her shoulder. "You just say that because you can never get comfortable in your own nest. Thankfully I can sleep through your tossing and turning—Brackenpaw and Snowpaw are just pushovers and are too nice to say anything about it. Maybe this new apprentice will."

The teasing grew quite annoying sometimes, but Skypaw didn't pay any mind to it this time around. She was far too tired to let it bother her, and her mood had only just improved, so she refused to let it get to her. She glanced around, suddenly realizing that Brackenpaw and Snowpaw were nowhere to be seen.

"They're still out training. I think they're due to be back soon," Wrenpaw said, probably noticing her wandering eyes. Skypaw wondered if she might have enough time to catch them outside of camp before the meeting started.

Noticing Silentstar coming out of his den and climbing on top of the stones, she knew that she couldn't, and she promised to herself that she'd talk to them later tomorrow if she did not tonight.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the High Stone for a Clan meeting!"

She took a few steps before taking note that Wrenpaw was not following her. She was just sitting in the same spot, staring at the ground with a blank expression. She had to wonder if Wrenpaw had even heard the call in the first place—but then again, her friend was good at pretending. If she did not want to do something—such as cleaning out bedding or fetching prey for the elders, she pretended not to have heard to order to do so. It somewhat irritated Skypaw, and she questioned her.

"You coming?"

A few seconds passed before her friend finally answered, lifting her head. "Eh…" She paused, glancing at her den, and Skypaw could admit that it looked far more tempting then a ceremony, but Wrenpaw followed her other thought as she replied, "Sure." Wrenpaw looked almost as tired as her, but she was reassured by the reminder that after this they would be able to rest. Ceremonies didn't happen all that often, so it wouldn't hurt to sit in and listen.

As she approached, she finally caught sight of the cat that would—presumably—be sharing their den for the coming moons. She was an off-white tabby with large, pale amber eyes. Quite small, in her opinion, but then again she figured that most of them were probably that small when they were first apprenticed. She watched as the she-cats eyes locked on the leader as he began to speak.

"We are coming together for one of our own to become an apprentice," he informed them, although most of them had already guessed by then. Addressing the kit, he continued. "Whitekit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Whitepaw."

Skypaw couldn't help looking around at all of the faces of warriors, each one who either currently had an apprentice or would make a good mentor to one. She briefly caught the eye of Jaggedclaw, and he winked to her in response. Smiling back, she turned her attention back on Silentstar.

"Mudwhisker," the ashy brown tabby dipped his head in acknowledgement. "You are ready to take on an apprentice. You have shown yourself to be honest and independent, I expect you to pass on all you know to Whitepaw."

The tom gave an almost smug grin, one that showed that he might have been expecting this honor, but you couldn't miss the look of excitement in his eyes. He bent down to touch noses with the newly named Whitepaw, and the timid apprentice hesitated before doing the same.

Skypaw felt Wrenpaw stand beside her, and she watched as the she-cat stretched out her legs. "Well, now that that's done, I think I could sleep for a moon," she said. Skypaw briefly wondered if she should go greet the new apprentice, but she was tired as well, and Wrenpaw was already heading off to sleep. She could always meet them later, when she was awake to give a proper greeting.

She followed her friend and didn't waste time before curling up in her own nest, located near the back of the den. It was true that she often had trouble getting comfortable, but today she had worked hard, and the conversation with Jaggedclaw seemed to calm her nerves and take away the doubts she had—at least for the time being.

For the first time in days, sleep came without any trouble.