My pelt was almost on fire. The way Palepaw glared at me was very intense and rather bothersome. While I had slowly grown accustomed to the way things were done in WindClan, some things were difficult to copy and Palepaw seemed to notice each one. In particular I would find her observing me as I tried, and failed, to fall asleep. It was baffling to me why cats would willingly sleep outside and let themselves be exposed to the coldness of night. No matter how much I fidgeted, turned or twisted it was always difficult to get any sleep. So here I sat, exhausted and with Palepaw watching my every move.
Other than her, all I had to keep track of was the mindless banter between the two cats I was sitting with. There was Pinepaw, the brown tabby, who keep nervously glancing away from our little gathering to look at Palepaw. Other than him, the cat beside me was Rookpaw. He was the same brown tom who had seen me in a panic when I first woke up here. While I had compared him to the small, light brown furred Beechpaw, he was more like bad replica. Rookpaw's fur colour reminded me of the recent, unpleasantly dry days in ShadowClan when the muddy spots around camp got coarse and covered in cracks. Another feature, I had not noticed at first, was the awkward dent in his tail that caused its end to stick up. Now that I was aware of it, I had trouble looking away. I could tell there was a story behind it; however it would not be easy to ask about it.
Although I had to give the cat some credit, as he managed a bright smile despite having to live with certain others. Somehow I have come across WindClanners who are far ruder than my former clanmates. So far there was Palepaw, Sandrose, and this black and tan tom who hissed at me the moment we made eye contact. I had yet to learn his name and, despite my reluctance, I probably will have to.
"Hazelpaw are you sure you should be out of the medicine den?" Rookpaw asked softly, providing a nice distraction from my frustration.
I blinked at him for a moment and then replied, "Yeah I'm alright."
"Haha, since when do you pass up a chance to slack off in the medicine den?" Pinepaw chipped in. "Last time you got a thorn in your paw you shut yourself in for a whole moon!"
While it was supposed to be humorous, I could not help but feel insulted. I bristled in annoyance and almost glared at Pinepaw, but Palepaw, of all cats, managed to save me.
"What's with you Hazelpaw? Have you decided to stop being a dead weight around camp?" Her sharp voice hissed right next to my ear.
I flinched at the sudden air and spit that nicked the ends of my fur. I shimmed away and towards Pinepaw. Palepaw and a tiny associate of hers were now standing in the spot I had previously cat she was with had an unusual fur combination of mostly creamy white and a few greyish-blue markings. He was named Shortpaw, and he was very short. He was stocky and had tiny legs that could just barely be seen. While Palepaw went on rambling about something, Shortpaw went and sat closer to Rookpaw and struck up a conversation.
"Vinefire has been so harsh lately!" He groaned, "Did something happen to him or did he just get another thorn in his fur?"
"You haven't noticed?" Rookpaw laughed and curled his bent tail around his paws. "He has been staring at Berrybranch and Adderfur all the time."
"Wait, what?" Pinepaw and Shortpaw said in harmony.
"He's totally in love with Berrybranch!" Rookpaw meowed. "Shame Adderfur got her first."
I made myself mimicked the laugh of the three cats beside me. By the time I got back to ShadowClan I wouldn't need to remember which WindClan cats were mating, but I forced myself to retain this petty gossip. It seemed that whatever was going on between Berrybranch, Adderfur and Vinefire was a very common topic in WindClan.
"Speaking of those two, it's only a matter of time until Berrybranch moves into the nursery…" Rookpaw muttered.
"You think Adderfur will replace her?" Pinepaw asked suddenly.
"It has to be Redberry, he should have been deputy in the first place!" Shortpaw shouted in protest.
"I'm betting on Flamebreeze," Rookpaw interjected. "The deputy should be a cat who is as kind, loyal and strong as him."
Pinepaw and Shortpaw groaned simultaniously, "Here you go again…"
I was actually amused by this new quirk of Rookpaw, and let out a snicker. Soon enough we were all giggling like kits. While consumed in our laughter the four of us missed Palepaw getting up, leaving and returning with a larger she-cat in tow. The apprentice gave a short cough that halted our conversation. All of our eyes were dragged over to Palepaw and the cat. The newcomer's fur was light brown, but a much darker colour than what coated Palepaw. She also had a very particular shade of yellow eyes. It was a lot like the brown and tan lizards that were, occasionally, on the freshkill pile in ShadowClan.
"Badgerstar wants you all to go do some battle training. Seems ThunderClan has been lurking too close to our border lately," She chirped.
I got to my paws eagerly, but gave an side glance to Pinepaw who had also stood up. Even as we all followed the large brown cat out of camp Pinepaw still walked with us and, more specifically, he had trotted to the front and was talking to our leader. Shortpaw and Rookpaw had also broken away from me and now talked avidly about Palepaw and some she-cat named Hawkpaw. Talking about she-cats in that sense was the one thing I wanted to stay far away from while in Hazelpaw's body, and I opted for a bit more comfortable place beside one of their subjects.
"Why is Pinepaw coming with us? He won't be fighting will he?" I asked Palepaw to take my mind off of the whispering toms a few steps ahead.
She gave me an annoyed glare but caved into speaking when I refused to let up staring at her. "Adderfur almost bled to death last skirmish right? Those ThunderClan cats are turning into the savage ShadowClan cats they despise. Come next battle they might even go after Pinepaw or Aspenberry."
"What? Really," I mumbled to myself.
"Is it really that surprising?" She hissed under her breath in a serious tone and leaned closer. "Badgerstar has been watching the forest dwellers. ShadowClan and ThunderClan have been disgustingly friendly for the past few moons."
"No way would ShadowClan side with ThunderClan," I protested and pulled away from her.
"You seem oddly sure of that."
I bristled at the comment, and we both grew silent. Palepaw had turned her attention away and was now far off into thought. I wanted to spark up a new conversation about something which wasn't concerned with me or ShadowClan, but once I thought of a topic the sight of fighting cats drew my attention. There was a blur of orange up ahead as two cats collided in battle. As we got closer, I could make out Sandrose as she rolled with other cat and landed on her back. Above her was a larger tom with blazing ginger fur. He struck out with darker paws which were matched by Sandrose blocking each blow. When the tom wasted a second to look towards our approaching figures he was smacked across the muzzle by my mentor. With a laugh, the cat got off of Sandrose and shook his fur.
"And I thought we were only battling until Mouseroar got here with the apprentices." He said between breaths.
Sandrose disregarded him and turned to our group instead. "First lesson, never get distracted," She instructed.
Per usual Sandrose was still irritable, but she had a point. Although I was thankful for the sudden lesson, by the way the other apprentices were laughing, I could tell this was not the first time she had done this. After another short moment of chuckles, our group was already dispersed. Rookpaw had scrambled away and was now standing next to the ginger tom and chatting away. The cat he was with earlier, Shortpaw, had also appeared by the side of a taller cat. While I had just learned that Mouseroar was the light brown cat who lead us here, it seemed I had another two names to memorize.
The loud ramblings of Rookpaw quickly revealed the tom who was fighting to be Flamebreeze. The second cat's name was a bit more difficult to pick up. Shortpaw was speaking quietly and I had to physically walk over to the two to hear more than just his mumbles. As I approached, I realized how much the cat towered over me. He had long brown fur and, in any other circumstance, I would have mistaken him for a ThunderClan warrior. He stood like a tower and seethed with silent rage.
"So Vinefire, should we go show the others how a real warrior fights?" Shortpaw asked with a hint of desperation.
The older tom gave a simple nod and walked over to Mouseroar who was speaking with Sandrose and Flamebreeze. Shortpaw sighed deeply and followed him
"Vinefire! Good timing," Mouseroar cheered and flicked her tail as said cat lumbered over.
As Shortpaw and I joined them, I noticed that the other cats of our training group had formed into loose circle. Vinefire took a place at the head of the circle with his fellow warriors and left the small gap between Pinepaw and Rookpaw for Shortpaw and I. On the right of the medicine cat apprentice Palepaw had difficulty standing still and was constantly flexing her claws. Mouseroar seemed notice the apprentice's eagerness and called her forward.
"Palepaw, you'll go first," She said and motioned Palepaw forward, "Pinepaw you too. You two will be facing Vinefire. It'll be a mock battle, no claws but anything else goes. Now start."
In a flash of tan fur, Palepaw suddenly leaped at Vinefire with her paws outstretched. Vinefire stepped back and hit her with a loud thud that sent the apprentice twirling away. He moved after Palepaw as she spun out and onto the grass but only achieved a few steps. Pinepaw had jumped onto Vinefire's back and was swiping his paws as if he was scratching the large cat. Vinefire's fur shuddered as he tried to shake the cat off, but Pinepaw held on stubbornly. With a frustrated growl the larger tabby rolled over and crushed Pinepaw under his weight. Without a second to spare Palepaw rejoined the fray, and furiously clawed Vinefire's flank. When he tried to retaliate, he gave Pinepaw enough space to attack. The medicine cat apprentice gave a few critical bashes to Vinefire's stomach before Sandrose stopped the fight.
"Enough," She shouted loudly. With heavy breaths the three fighters withdrew back to the circumference of the ring. "If this was a real fight, Vinefire would have lost. Second lesson is to aim for hits at critical spots. If you can get a few good slices at your opponent's stomach, you will win."
With a few silent nods to Sandrose, we moved onto the next group. Rookpaw and Shortpaw were paired against Flamebreeze and Mouseroar. While Flamebreeze attacked the pair they worked together as a union, but once Mouseroar stepped in to back up her fellow mentor the fight went down very quickly. At first it was a few sideways glances, but eventually Rookpaw would completely divert his attention from Mouseroar. Everytime he pulled of a fancy move or counter against the she-cat his head flew to the side to check Flamebreeze's reaction. It wasn't long before Rookpaw and Shortpaw were battered, bruised and unable to fight.
Sandrose who had been watching with narrowed eyes gave a long sigh. "Stop," She finally said.
She walked over to loom over one of the collapsed forms. "Rookpaw how many times have I told you to stop doing that. If you look for approval from Flamebreeze in the middle of battle you will end up dead."
"There she goes again," Vinefire grumbled to himself and with a lash of his tail he took off back to camp.
The rest of the cats gave a collective sigh and followed after him. The way the cats unanimously left made it seem that Sandrose ranting to Rookpaw was pretty common. My mentor's fur was bristled and she was fuming. Valuing my life, I joined the cats walking away. Unlike our walk out here my fellow apprentices stuck by the side of a mentor. Shortpaw had caught up to Vinefire while Palepaw was cheerfully talking to Mouseroar. With the only other mentor left being Flamebreeze, I took the option of walking with Pinepaw.
"Shame you didn't get to fight." He said with a laugh.
I had to swallow my words before I could say something stupid. I, as in Silverpaw, would have been disappointed to miss out on battle training. However right now I was Hazelpaw and, from what I've managed to gather, I am supposed to be unenthusiastic.
"Ha ha, it's a shame." As I spoke I forced an unnatural sarcastic tone into my words.
When Pinepaw snorted, I knew that I had done something right.
Haaa this was hard to write. Sorry for it being short but I feel like if I forced it to be longer it would have been terrible.
So this time we have the introduction to Rookpaw and Flamebreeze. I think their relationship is fun to think about. Flamebreeze is a lot like his apprentice and I can see Rookpaw admiring him a great deal. Maybe even a bit too much…
Thank you so much for the reviews and character submissions! Even if I don't use them all for Tornclaw, I intend to include all of them at some point in the story.