Hi, sorry for the wait! And really sorry but this chapter is fairly short, because I'm trying out first person view from Stormpaw's POV. :) I also have several new one-shots out if anyone's interested in reading them, and I've posted the Prologue and Allegiances of Just A Shadow. :3 So enjoy this small glimpse into Stormpaw's training and remember to review your thoughts and criticism! ;D
"Stormpaw", Suntail began. "Use those long legs you have! You should have been able to hop over Ravenpaw like a rabbit, not the other way around!" I could tell she was frustrated. Long legs? I thought incredulously. I mean, sure. I have long legs compared to the rest of me!
"Suntail, you do realize that Stormpaw is much smaller than Ravenpaw. Maybe you're setting your expectations too high for her." a cool voice spoke from the shadows as Amberstar padded out, her golden pelt shining in the daylight.
Oh, please! It's not too much! I thought angrily at the thought of my size holding me back. I flattened my ears as I replied, "Oh, it's not too much, I can take it." All three of them snapped their attention towards me as I spoke, surprise in their eyes. I guess I didn't usually speak like that. Confidence wasn't one of my strong traits, but if that was what it would take for my clanmates to take me seriously, then so be it.
Amberstar recovered first. "Alright Stormpaw. Show me then. Prove that you are a worthy-" I didn't let her finish before I sprang from the dirt floor of the training hollow. Following what Suntail had instructed us to do, I tucked in my hind paws as close as I could towards my belly and slammed into Ravenpaw.
The impact knocked my breath out of me, and in the time that I took to regain it, Ravenpaw had leapt onto me and started battering my ears with his front paws. Grunting, I reared up and rolled onto my back, effectively squashing the orange tom. I vaguely heard Suntail call out a suggestion to me, but there was a roaring in my ears that prevented me from hearing it.
While Ravenpaw was subdued on the floor, I leapt on top of him and pummeled his belly, claws sheathed. But without too much of an effort, the older apprentice heaved me off of him and sent me flying across the clearing with a powerful back kick. Pain spread through my ribs as I landed with a sharp thump.
When I failed to get to my paws, Suntail came hurrying over Ravenpaw on her heels. Worry sparked in their gazes as I huffed in pain and staggered to my paws. "Are you okay?" Suntail fretted, gently pushing me back down.
"Oh Starclan, Stormpaw, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hit you that hard!" Ravenpaw loomed over me with a strange expression that looked almost like...Pity? Sympathy? I'm not going to fall apart with one well-placed kick!
I removed Suntail's paws from my flank from where she was checking for injury and pushed myself onto my feet. Why does everyone have to fuss over me? I thought lividly, completely ignoring the sharp pain on my side. I did the only thing I could do in this situation: I turned to the one cat that wasn't fussing. The one cat who sat calmly, watching the whole process with narrowed eyes and an interested expression: Amberstar.
"I'm fine!" I hissed as I shook Suntail and Ravenpaw off. "So, any feedback?" I demanded as I stalked toward Amberstar, tail twitching.
Amberstar paused in her grooming of her paw. As painfully slow as possible, she returned her paw back onto the dirt. "Well", she began slowly. "You had a good start."
I stared in disbelief as the ThunderClan leader returned to washing. "That's it?!" I retorted. "You watched the whole thing and came up with that?"
Amberstars eyes met mine, pale blue and my now greenish ones. "Did you want more?" she asked lazily, twitching one ear. Suntail sighed from behind me, and stepped forward.
"What Amberstar means is that your leap was much better than last time", she gave me a pointed look as I struggled to hold back an annoyed hiss. "But your balance was off when you slammed into Ravenpaw, and that made you fall down. Your attack probably caused you more damage than to Ravenpaw!"
Slightly embarrassed now, I leaned down and gave my injured side a few licks. Amberstar stood up, and stalked over. "Your attack was clumsy at best." she snapped. "You should have at least thought about it first!"
So now she talking? I scowled at my black paws and flattened my ears. "Anyways!", Amberstar finished. "Let's get back to camp. It's about to rain."
Rain? I glared up at the sky, which was clear and blue as water. To confirm, I sniffed the air to test for moisture, and found that it was dry as a bone. I frowned as I got up and followed them slowly. Amberstar would never make the mistake of forgetting to check for moisture, so what's her motive for cutting our lesson short and heading back to camp early?
I trotted stiffly into camp, trying not to aggravate my injury too much. "You should probably go see Shadowwing about that", Ravenpaw suggested, pacing himself in order to stay by my side. "Suntail said it looked pretty serious."
Not wanting to show weakness, I replied shortly, "I'm sure I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" the ginger tom leaned closer. "Because I did hit you pretty-"
"I said I'm fine!" Silence.
Then, "Are you certain that you're not still caught up about this? It's not weak to take a visit to the medicine den!" That was it.
"What do you know about looking weak?" I snarled. "Leave me alone!" I spun around and marched across the clearing, making a beeline towards the apprentice den. Fresh pain spread through my side and I flinched as it worsened. Ravenpaw was right. I thought ruefully.
Suddenly, I slammed into something in the darkness. My legs buckled underneath me, as I was unable to withstand the new burst of pain that felt like a thousand claws were digging into my flank. Out of my mind with the pain, I let out a small cry when I landed on my injured side.
The scent of Bluepaw washed over me, and I braced myself for a remark about me being small and weak. It never came. Instead, a worried mew floated through the den. "Stormpaw?" the grey tom's eyes widened as he heard my cry of agony. "What's wrong?"
I gritted my teeth and tried to haul myself to my feet. It was no use, and I ended up panting for breath and staring at a startled denmate who was waiting for an answer. "Why would you care?" I spat, the tearing feeling making me speak sharper than my usual soft meow. "You've never cared about the runt." Talk about bitter. Way to go, Stormpaw, driving away all the cats that actually care about you! I winced at my own tone, but Bluepaw didn't seem to mind.
He simply nudged me to my feet gently, then started to herd me towards the medicine cat den. "I'm staying right here!" I hissed and planted my paws stubbornly into the ground.
Bluepaw shrugged, his arrogance back in a heartbeat. "Fine." he meowed, leaving the den. "I'll just get Shadowwing to come here!" I cursed for not thinking of that alternative sooner and sank into my nest slowly.
However, I was still curious about why Bluepaw was helping me. He had always been my enemy. Since my birth all he had done was taunt, tease, shove, and do anything that he could to harm me without any of the warriors or apprentices knowing it. Since when has that jerk turned into a cat that cares? About me, anyways. I thought wryly, thinking about how the grey tom got along with most of the apprentices, even with the grumpy Cinderpaw.
Bluepaw returned all too soon, and brusquely interrupted my thoughts.
"So where does it hurt?" I sighed. It seemed like I couldn't be left alone for a second.
"Stormpaw?" prompted Shadowwing, looking at me expectantly.
Here we go again.
So? How was it? Like? Dislike? Review please! :) Oh, and xxsnow was the first to review about that quote so she got to name the rogue! (Which I will not tell you about. :P
Cow345: Thanks for submitting those characters! :)
Snowfeather4876: Aw, thank you! And yes, she's the OC you submitted. :P So how was this chapter? What do you think happened to the mean, arrogant Bluepaw we all saw in the previous chapters?
xxsnow: You were correct, lol thanks for submitting a reply. I think your the only one. x3
Snowdapple: Thank you! You're all too kind. :3
Grasswing of Wingclan: Yep, I sure hope so! :D And thank you! :P
Next Chapter:
Stormpaw sneaks out of camp and meets a strange rogue
A little bit of insight about Snowkit is revealed
Question: Who is the cat you hate most in this story so far?
Remember to review your answer! :)
Storm of Skyclan
