Disclaimer: I do not own 'Warriors', nor do I own any of the characters from the original 'Warriors' series by Erin Hunter.

Rated: Teen

Author's Note: Welcome to chapter two. :) I'd like to have another update on Friday, if I can. Which means that I have today to work on it, as I'm going to be away all day tomorrow and I might be busy on Friday. I'll probably still update, but I might not have much time to write.

CHAPTER TWO

Laurelpaw picked at his meal, feeling miserable. He was quite insecure about his size, and, despite his best attempts to ignore Bearpaw and the other apprentices' comments, they did get to him. He sighed, finishing his mouse and settling back to groom himself. He licked his paw and drew it over his ears, cleaning every last scrap of moss and dirt from his fur.

When he had finished, he sat up, looking around for his mentor, and spotted Stormwing sitting with Badgerclaw, chatting while she shared a rabbit with him. She looked in no hurry, so he decided to look for Icypaw, Badgerclaw's apprentice. The two apprentices were friends, and he knew that Icypaw shared his dislike for Bearpaw and his followers.

He spotted Icypaw sitting under a rocky overhang, grooming herself before training. He felt the familiar rush of compassion for her: the apprentice found it hard to be in the sun for too long, because her thin, colourless fur did little to block the sunlight. It had a particular harshness for her, and if she stayed out in the sunlight too long, her skin was burnt and sore for days afterwards. She was lucky to have been born in ThunderClan, he realized; she would have had a difficult time in WindClan.

He made his way across the cleaning to her, sitting beside her in the shade. "Hey, Icypaw," he meowed. "How's the prey running?"

Icypaw purred, finishing her cleaning and wrapping her tail around her paws. "Hello, Laurelpaw! Pretty good... I caught a few mice this morning, and Badgerclaw wants to take me to the training hollow this afternoon. How was your morning?"

Laurelpaw couldn't resist bragging a bit. "I caught a mouse and two squirrels," he meowed.

Icypaw's strange, pink eyes sparkled. "Well-done!" she meowed. "I'm sure Stormwing was impressed."

Laurelpaw purred. "I think she was," he meowed. Icypaw always made him feel better about himself. "Are we training together this afternoon?"

"As soon as Badgerclaw and Stormwing stop gossiping," she mewed, her whiskers twitching with amusement.

Laurelpaw purred with amusement, and was about to reply when he heard Stormwing call his name. He looked up, and saw that his mentor had finished her meal and risen to her paws, swiping her tongue around her muzzle to catch the last traces of the fresh-kill. "Training!" she meowed.

"You, too, Icypaw," Badgerclaw called. "We need to practice your paw-work."

The apprentices raced after their mentors, out of the bramble tunnel and into the forest. The warriors leapt easily over a fallen tree ahead, and Laurelpaw felt a rush of panic. I can do this! he thought, readying himself for the jump. Icypaw, a fox-length in front of him, cleared the trunk easily. When he reached it, Laurelpaw pushed off with his hind paws and went sailing through the air. He felt a rush of pride as he, too, cleared the log, which swiftly turned to dismay as he hit the ground hard, stumbling and rolling over in the loam.

Icypaw turned and padded back as Laurelpaw stumbled to his paws, shaking the wet leaves and dirt from his pelt and muttering curses beneath his breath. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Fine," he muttered, spitting out a piece of wet bark. His pelt felt hot with embarrassment, even more so when he heard Stormwing calling, "Laurelpaw? Are you all right?"

"Yes, yes!" he meowed, attempting to run alongside Icypaw. His left hind paw ached, and he found himself limping after his friend, who cast worried glances at him. As they rejoined their mentors, Stormwing gave him a look of concern. "Are you sure you'll up for training, Laurelpaw? Do you want to sit out this session and go see Smallfoot?"

"No!" he cried, embarrassed and feeling utterly wretched. "I can do this!" he declared more forcefully as both Stormwing and Badgerclaw gave him doubting looks.

His mentor hesitated for a moment, and he felt a rush of anger. Even Stormwing seems to think I can't do anything! he thought angrily. Then she leaned towards him and gave him a quick lick on the ear. "Of course, Laurelpaw," she meowed. "I know you can."

He felt his resentment turn to affection towards his mentor, and he stood up straighter, ignoring the pain in his paw. He would do his best this session, and show every cat what he was capable of!

He followed the mentors and Icypaw into the training hollow, hearing Icypaw's quiet purr. His paws were light, and his heart beat fast with excitement. He couldn't wait to begin.

Then his heart sunk. He caught the scent of another apprentice, and his nostrils flared as he realized that it was Bearpaw. The obnoxious tom turned to him and his tail-tip twitched, causing Laurelpaw's heart to sink even lower. "Well, hello there, Laurelkit!" he hissed. "Come to watch us apprentices at training?"

"That's enough!" Stormwing growled, green eyes flashing. "Laurelpaw is here to train, of course, as you are supposed to be. You're not here to insult my apprentice."

"I am training," Bearpaw meowed, his nose in the air. "As soon as Redthorn gets here, we're going to do battle-training."

Stormwing let out a low growl, and Laurelpaw looked up at his mentor, surprised that she disliked Bearpaw almost as much as he did. Then he felt a rush of shame. He should be able to stand up to Bearpaw himself.

"I'm here now," came a meow from the bushes. A dark ginger she-cat stepped from the ferns, amber eyes sparkling with amusement. "Come, Bearpaw, let's get to your advanced training."

The two cats padded over to the other side of the clearing, Bearpaw flicking his tail mockingly at Laurelpaw as he went.

Badgerclaw stared stonily after them. "Someday, I'd like to make them both eat mousedung," he grunted

Icypaw's whiskers twitched with amusement. "You are what you eat," she purred.

Badgerclaw flicked his apprentice's ear lightly with his tail. "Well, that's enough of that," he meowed. "Let's get to training."

Icypaw and her mentor withdrew to another corner of the mossy clearing, leaving Laurelpaw and Stormwing to themselves. The black tabby she-cat nodded to him. "All right, Laurelpaw, try attacking me!"

Laurelpaw stepped lightly, moving swiftly over the ground towards his mentor in a curving path, leaping above her to try to land on her back. Stormwing half-rose onto her back paws, using her front paws to knock him away. Laurelpaw landed on the soft moss, unhurt, and sprang, aiming for Stormwing's exposed underbelly. His mentor crashed down on top of him, pinning his shoulders beneath her strong paws. Twisting and struggling to attack, Laurelpaw found himself helpless. He went limp, his heart sinking even further.

"A good strategy," Stormwing meowed into his ear. "But you have to be faster. Try again."

She released him and stepped back, and Laurelpaw sprang up, aiming a pawstrike at her head. As the she-cat rose to bat him away, he twisted and pushed her with his front paws, setting his teeth lightly into the soft flesh around her neck. Stormwing fell back, kicking at him with her hind paws, but Laurelpaw held on tight, pummeling his mentor with his hind paws.

"Very good!" Stormwing purred, and he released her, springing away. "Now, try stopping me from attacking you!"

As Stormwing lunged at him, Laurelpaw sprang away, evading her attack. As his mentor aimed a pawstrike at him, he ducked and slithered away, turning to keep his eyes on her. The black tabby warrior flung herself at him, and Laurelpaw jumped away again, but this time his hind paws got tangled in the tree roots at the edge of the hollow and he fell, his head suddenly blazing with pain. Clumsily, he untangled his paws and stumbled to his feet, black spots exploding in front of his eyes. Stormwing stood over him, her green eyes wide with alarm, and her voice came to him as if from far away. "Laurelpaw? Are you all right?"

"Y-yes, I'm f-f-fine..." he muttered, the black spots spreading across his vision. Then, the blackness covered his sight completely and his paws gave way beneath him.

"... not..."