Author's Note: I apologize again for the last chapter. No more explaining the territory again, I promise. This one is a little better. :)
Goldenpaw felt a paw prodding her side. "What is it?"
"Time for training." A voice whispered in her ear.
She slowly got up from her nest and stretched. Her sister, Silverpaw, was waking the others. Goldenpaw padded out of the apprentices den and made her way to the fresh-kill pile. She chose a vole that was caught yesterday and ate it quickly. She had just swiped her tongue around her muzzle when she smelled Lionstar approaching. Whiteface, Redheart, and Tornclaw followed him.
"Come." Lionstar bounded through the thorn tunnel with the other three warriors at his heels. Goldenpaw leaped after them. She could hear Meadowpaw, Thornpaw, and Silverpaw pounding behind her. Goldenpaw realized they were heading to the training hollow.
"Right." Lionstar meowed. "First thing to hunting is learning the hunting crouch. This is the basic position you will use to stalk prey, but it changes slightly depending what type of prey it is. For instance, a mouse would feel your paw steps first, while a rabbit would hear the swish of your fur first. Crouch down, putting your weight equally on all four paws so you'll be balanced and can control your movements. Keep low, so your prey can't see you coming." Lionstar began to stalk forward showing them the crouch. Goldenpaw wished she could see, but she could hear the faint rustling of his fur. "Silverpaw, why don't you go first?" Silverpaw nodded and crouched down and stalked forward. Goldenpaw couldn't see what Silverpaw was doing, but she could hear the loud swish of her fur.
"You're moving forward too fast Silverpaw, but your crouch is very good. If you slow down, your fur won't make as much noise." Whiteface told her. "Thornpaw, go ahead." Thornpaw moved forward stealthily, and Goldenpaw was surprised to hear that he was only a little louder than Lionstar.
"Very good Thornpaw! Just keep your tail and rear down so the prey won't see you." Tornclaw meowed. "Meadowpaw?" Meadowpaw did his best crouch, but Goldenpaw could hear the loud thumps of his paws on the ground.
"You need to keep your weight equal on all four paws and step lightly, Meadowpaw, or you'll scare the prey with your loud paw steps." Redheart meowed gently. "Goldenpaw, you're up." Goldenpaw nodded and crouched down, feeling her body fall into what she thought was the right position. She stalked forward, imagining she was creeping up on a mouse. She thought she was doing well until she stepped on a twig and it broke with a loud snap.
"That was good for a first try Goldenpaw, but be careful not to step on any debris." Lionstar meowed.
And how in StarClan am I going to be able to see the sticks? Goldenpaw worried. But there wasn't time to think about this.
"Let's try it on real prey." Lionstar suggested. "Go ahead, and go back to camp when you've caught something." Goldenpaw charged out of the hollow. The other three took off in different directions. She stalked along, lifting her nose to draw in scents. Rabbit! Goldenpaw could smell the furry creature. She hesitated. Rabbits were hard to catch even for warriors. Usually only ValleyClan hunted rabbits. I may as well try. Remembering what Lionstar said, she crouched down and sniffed to pinpoint the rabbit. Slowly she stalked forward, so the rabbit wouldn't hear her fur moving. She smelled the rabbit ahead of her. But which way is it facing? Is it looking straight at me? Slowly she crept up. When she was a few tail lengths away she heard the rabbit's quick steps moving away from her. It was running away! Goldenpaw leaped after it and pounced, sinking her teeth into the back of its neck. She took a step backward, only to let out a startled yowl as her paw fell into the ground. Goldenpaw's jaws hit the ground as she fell shoulder deep into the earth. The rabbit's burrow! If only I could see it... She hauled herself out and stood on three paws. Pain shot through the fourth one when she tried to put weight on it. This whole blind thing is harder than I thought. Goldenpaw licked her paw a few times and limped over to her rabbit. She flicked her tail forward and ran it along the length of the rabbit to see how big it was. It was pretty small as far as rabbits go, but that didn't matter. At least I caught something. She picked it up and dragged it to camp, tripping over it. She had caught her first prey! Goldenpaw padded through the thorn tunnel eagerly, wanting to show Lionstar her catch. She paused, hidden in the shadows, when the scents of the others reached her. They must be waiting by the tunnel. She flicked her ears forward and heard Redheart muttering to Lionstar.
Lionstar's voice reached her in a reply. "We'll give her a little more time."
"Maybe she didn't catch anything." Redheart continued. "Will she be even be able to hunt being blind? There's no way she can be a real warrior." Oh yeah? You wait. Goldenpaw thought. She stepped into the sunlight.
"I heard that, Redheart. Because I'm blind, my hearing and sense of smell is better than any cat's in the Clan." Goldenpaw spat. Cats were appearing out of their dens, drawn out by the noise.
"As for hunting, do you use your eyes when you're hunting at night? No, you use your hearing and sense of smell. So why should I be any different?" Goldenpaw didn't give him a chance to respond. "I will find a way to become a warrior, blind or not." Goldenpaw stalked forward and dropped her rabbit at Redheart's paws. Goldenpaw could smell the prey the others brought. Silverpaw had brought down a mouse. Thornpaw had caught a squirrel. Meadowpaw brought a shrew. Goldenpaw lifted her head and stared at where she knew Redheart was, even though she couldn't see him.
"All right you can hunt. What about fighting? Warriors need to fight too," Redheart pointed out. "How will you be able to fight in battle? You won't be able to smell an enemy in the thick of battle because there will be cats everywhere. Their paw steps will get drowned out by yowls and screeches. You might be able to learn the fighting moves, but there's no way you could be a real warrior." Shocked mews came from the cats watching. Goldenpaw hissed at Redheart. It was enough. Her claws slid out. She let out a yowl and leaped at Redheart. Her claws hit fur, and she held on. She sank her teeth into Redheart's neck. Redheart yowled and shook her off, sending her sprawling on the ground. He sunk his teeth into her shoulder, and Goldenpaw hissed in pain. Ripping free, she sank her claws in his fur. The pair rolled over and over in a tangle of paws and tails. Suddenly Lionstar thrust his way in between them. Goldenpaw felt herself pushed backward.
"That's enough." Lionstar snarled. "Warriors do not attack their clan mates, no matter how much they deserve it." Goldenpaw felt Lionstar's gaze burn into her fur. Goldenpaw hissed and let her claws slide back in. "Redheart, go see Windfur and get patched up. Goldenpaw, come with me." Lionstar stalked to his den. Goldenpaw sighed and followed him, limping from her injured shoulder. She could feel blood oozing from the bite. She leaped onto ShortCliff and winced. Then she padded into Lionstar's den. Lionstar was sitting waiting for her.
"Goldenpaw I can't believe you would attack a fellow clan mate!" Lionstar began. "Redheart did say some things he shouldn't have, but it's no excuse."
"I felt like I had to prove to him and the Clan that I'm worthy to be a warrior." Goldenpaw spoke up. "All I did was prove something that shouldn't need to be proved. I can't feel sorry for doing that." Lionstar was silent with shock, clearly impressed.
"Those are some wise words young one, but I still want you to know how wrong it is to attack a member of your Clan."
"I know that Lionstar, but you have to admit, Redheart got what was coming to him." Goldenpaw pointed out. Lionstar purred with amusement.
"I'm not going to punish you this time Goldenpaw," Lionstar meowed, becoming serious once more, "I don't want to delay your training. You did well today. Your hunting skills are excellent. You fought well too, although you have had no battle training."
"Thanks, Lionstar." Goldenpaw felt warmed by the praise.
"I do, however, want to tell you one thing. Redheart had some truth to his words. I will teach you the fighting moves, but there is no guarantee that you will be able to use them in a battle against another Clan." Lionstar warned. He must have noticed Goldenpaw's fur bristling, because he added quickly, "Think Goldenpaw. How did you know where Redheart was when you were fighting him, or what he was going to do next?"
Goldenpaw thought for a moment. Then she slowly mewed, "I could smell where he was, and I knew from the sound of his voice. I could hear his paw steps pounding on the ground, and his fur swishing as he moved."
Lionstar nodded. "In a huge battle with many cats, there will be many cat scents, all tangled up together. You won't be able to pinpoint one scent. Your enemy is most likely not going to be talking Their paw steps will be echoed all around you by other cats fighting. The yowls from others will drown out any sound of your enemy. You will have to rely on sight alone."
"But my sense of smell and hearing are even better than yours!" Goldenpaw protested.
"The next time there is a battle, I will let you join in, provided you have had enough training. The only way we will find out if your skills are good enough is if we put them to practice in a real battle." Lionstar meowed. Goldenpaw nodded. That sounded fair, at least.
"Now go see Windfur and get healed. You're still bleeding. Then get some rest. Tomorrow, we will do some battle training." Lionstar meowed. Goldenpaw dipped her head and padded to the medicine cat den. Redheart must have left; the only cat in here was Windfur. She looked up as Goldenpaw entered.
"Stay there." Windfur picked up some herbs off the flat rock in her den and began treating Goldenpaw's wounds. Goldenpaw flinched at the sting but nodded her thanks when the medicine cat had finished.
"That feels better." Goldenpaw sighed in relief. Windfur padded towards the exit of the den.
"I'm going to speak to Lionstar. You can run along to your den and get some rest." The medicine cat tossed the words over her shoulder, her pawsteps growing fainter. Goldenpaw followed her out of the den, before heading towards the apprentice's den instead. Suddenly she halted. Windfur talking to Lionstar? It must be important. Her ear twitched. Is it about my fight with Redheart? Goldenpaw changed direction, crossing the clearing. She leaped onto ShortCliff and paused outside Lionstar's den. Her ears strained as she tried to catch what the two cats were saying.
"Oh yes, yes, they'll both be fine. But that's not what I came here to talk to you about." Windfur sounded irritated.
Lionstar's voice reached her as well. "Well, go on then, what's the problem?"
Windfur now sounded anxious. "I recieved a dream from StarClan. A prophecy. It's got to be important, or they wouldn't have repeated it-"
"Repeated?" Lionstar cut the medicine cat off. "You mean they spoke to you of this before!" A pause, in which Goldenpaw pictured Windfur nodding. "And how long ago might this have been?" Lionstar demanded.
"Um... about... seven to eight moons ago..." Windfur mewed hesitantly. In a rush she added, "But that was when we were having the border disputes with FallsClan and there were so many injured cats to look after and I meant to tell you but I forgot and-"
Lionstar once again cut off the rambling she-cat. "All right, I understand. Now, describe your dream." Goldenpaw pricked her ears forward even more to make sure she heard it all.
"It wasn't very clear," Windfur began. "I saw cats of all Clans fighting. I couldn't see where, but it was horrible. Blood and bodies everywhere." The medicine cat's voice trembled and she paused before continuing. "Then, I heard this voice. It said, 'A time of peril will descend upon the Clans like a dark storm. Every cat's life will hang in the balance. But do not be without hope, for the heart of a lion and the wisdom of a raven will be enough to rid the forest of these storm clouds and save the Clans.' "
"What?" Lionstar sounded puzzled. "What does it mean?"
"I don't know." Windfur replied. "I've thought and thought, but I don't know."
"And you haven't had any more dreams with a better explanation?"
"No, I haven't. All I know is something terrible is coming, and there's nothing we can do to stop it." Windfur's voice sounded fearful.
"You're right, Windfur." Lionstar sighed. "I just hope that this.. 'lion heart' and this... 'raven wisdom', whatever or whoever they are, will save us when the time comes."
Author's Note: Yeah, I'm no good at making prophecies either. I was gonna put the prophecy in the prologue but then realized I never made one! XD silly me... so I stuck it in there. Next chapter in at least the next week!