Chapter Seven
THE SPARK
"Reach higher with your claws, Owlpaw! That way you'll be able to push Graypaw backwards if he tries to jump onto your back!"
Owlpaw's muscles were aching, but she didn't complain or make her discomfort known; she rose up on her hind legs and shoved forward with her forepaws. Graypaw, mid-leap, was shoved awkwardly to the side, and his graceful lunge was broken in a heartbeat.
Owlpaw dropped back into a defensive crouch and eyed her brother cautiously. At the edge of the training area, Lionstar looked on with all the apprentices and their mentors beside him. Graypaw's mentor, Hazeltail, stood nearby. Her muzzle was tinged silver from age, but her eyes were still sharp and clear as though she were a young cat.
"If you get knocked aside, make sure you land on your four paws evenly," she mewed. "That way you won't get winded and your paws won't hurt, meaning weaker blows and less agility."
Graypaw spared his mentor a nod. "I'll do my best."
It'd been a few days since Redpaw and Sunpaw had been apprenticed, and most of the warriors involved in the dangerous skirmish at the WindClan border were back to their normal duties. Stormbreeze, however, was still confined to the medicine den, though Jayfeather occasionally permitted her to go outside and lie in the sun.
She and Owlpaw had become fast friends—and since her first night, Owlpaw had been teaching Stormbreeze how to recognize her body language. Ravenpaw had helped a couple of times, translating more complex movements for Stormbreeze to understand and memorize.
Owlpaw took a deep breath. She savoured these days, when she could touch up on her fighting skills. No mixing poultices, no sorting through herbs, no changing stinky bedding or applying salves to wounds—only the fresh air, the soft grassy clearing where the apprentices trained, and the heat of the moment, where she'd have to rely on her instinct and reflexes than her mind and memory.
This is the life I might have led, if I hadn't been born a mute. Not for the first time, her thoughts drifted back to Hookclaw. Perhaps I'll see him again at the Gathering in a few nights! she thought. I'll get Ravenpaw to meet him, too. He's not as creepy as he looks!
Graypaw suddenly leapt towards her. Owlpaw twisted out of his way. When his forepaws came around in a vicious counter, she ducked and thrust her weight against Graypaw's exposed chest. The gray tom gasped with surprise and took a step backwards.
"Nice one, Owlpaw!" Redpaw cheered.
"Go, medicine cat!" Sunpaw added.
Owlpaw's whiskers twitched at her supporters' words, and she spared the two new apprentices a glance. They weren't allowed to take part in the fighting—they hadn't even had a proper training session with their mentors yet—though they were permitted to observe from the side, picking up on the tips and advice experienced warriors threw out, and watching how the older, more experienced apprentices performed each different move.
"Half-turn belly rake!" Hazeltail cried. Graypaw suddenly vanished from view.
"Dodge!" Lionstar commanded. Owlpaw's body was moving long before the order had even processed in her mind. Graypaw's paws beat only against Owlpaw's belly fur, missing the skin. "Counter!" Lionstar ordered. As Graypaw scrambled to his paws Owlpaw dropped onto him, seized his scruff in her teeth and shook him as hard as she could.
But her brother, though younger than her, was stronger and heavier, and wasn't as affected by the scruff shake as another might have been. He pushed up from the ground, knocking his head hard against Owlpaw's jaw. She jumped backwards, jaw throbbing. Graypaw scrambled onto his paws.
"The bout's over," said Lionstar, and both apprentices fell at ease. The ThunderClan leader turned to the apprentices who hadn't taken part in the bout. "Given what you've just seen," he mewed, "what were their strengths and weaknesses—and what was the downfall of the latest moves each performed?"
Clawpaw's tail immediately shot up. "Yes, Clawpaw?" asked Lionstar.
"Graypaw's larger and stronger than Owlpaw," Clawpaw said at once, "but Owlpaw's much lighter on her feet and nimbler."
"Good." Dewclaw nodded to his apprentice. "Anything else?"
"Yes," Clawpaw replied promptly, sounding as though he'd rehearsed this all before. "Because of Graypaw's bigger and heavier stature, he wasn't as affected by Owlpaw's last move, the scruff shake. It gave him time to perform the counter-scruff shake, which is to push up from the ground and jolt your body against an enemy's jaw."
"Excellent," said Dewclaw, satisfied, but he added teasingly, "But don't forget to give your sister a chance to reply, too."
Clawpaw's eartip twitched. "Ravenpaw should've been quicker, then."
Ravenpaw narrowed her eyes at her brother. "Owlpaw," she mewed, "was able to accurately predict Graypaw's move. He gives too much of his intentions away and doesn't move fast enough to perform the maneuver to its fullest ferocity. Owlpaw easily dodged the move because she's light and swift on her paws."
Blossomfall flashed Dewclaw a smug look. "How's that?"
"Impressive," said Dewclaw, whiskers twitching. "Still, Clawpaw knows battle tactics like his pelt. I wouldn't be surprised if he could beat Lionstar here and now. He's almost as big as him."
Lionstar twitched an ear. "I'll be the judge of that," he mewed. He turned to Redpaw and Sunpaw. "Did you hear that? Are you remembering that? This is valuable advice that you could use in the future."
Redpaw solemnly nodded. "Great agility can be met and matched with great strength," she mewed. "The half-turn belly rake is ineffective against a very agile opponent, unless caught off-guard."
Lionstar looked surprised. "Very good!" he praised. "You have been paying attention." Redpaw blushed with pride.
"She's always been a thinker," Runningleap purred, giving Redpaw a gentle nudge with his shoulder. "She'll grow up to be a very wise and clever warrior some day." Redpaw ducked her head.
"And you, Sunpaw?" Lionstar turned to the small golden tabby sitting near his sister. "What did you pick up?"
Sunpaw hesitated. "Um..."
Skymoon leaned close. "Their body movements," she murmured quietly into his ear. Immediately Owlpaw checked her eyes. Still expressionless. What is up with her? "What did you see? What pattern did you notice?"
Sunpaw frowned only for a moment longer. "When Graypaw went low," he began hesitantly, "with...with the...belly half thing..."
"Half-turn belly rake," Redpaw supplied kindly.
"Yeah, that," Sunpaw mumbled. "When Graypaw did that, when he went low to the ground, Owlpaw went up."
Owlpaw gave him an encouraging nod. "When they were sparring paw to paw," Sunpaw went on, a little less nervously than before, "they stood at even height, and they mirrored each other's movements."
Lionstar nodded. "Very good, Sunpaw. Those are good instinctive positions that you've noticed."
Sunpaw has always trusted his instinct above his brains and brawn, Owlpaw thought. One day they'll serve him well in the future.
But her heart felt heavy as she looked between Skymoon and Sunpaw. Something uneasy existed between those two. Runningleap and Redpaw had quickly formed the common bond that was forged between mentor and apprentice; the same friendship that thrived between Hazeltail and Graypaw, Dewclaw and Clawpaw, Blossomfall and Ravenpaw, even herself and Jayfeather. There couldn't possibly be a better, wiser mentor to teach her all about the secrets of the herb and medicinal arts.
But Skymoon...she didn't seem to want to connect to Sunpaw. It was as though something was holding her back. Sunpaw was friendly enough—he was friendly to everyone, though it was taking some time for him to become as confident and headstrong as he had been when he was a carefree kit—but sometimes Owlpaw overheard him confessing to Redpaw that he didn't understand why she and her mentor got on so well when his seemed so...cold.
Skymoon's very young, Owlpaw remembered. She's only been a warrior six moons. Maybe she's taking some time getting used to having an apprentice. Runningleap, in stark contrast, was acting as though he'd spent his entire life teaching apprentices. He truly is a son of Bramblestar.
An auburn leaf spiraled lazily in front of her nose. Without thinking she reached up a muddy white paw to bat at it.
This isn't good for Jayfeather. Owlpaw glanced at the nearby trees. Spots of orange could be seen amidst the boughs of deep green. Or for any other medicine at of the lake. Leaf-fall has begun, and we're low on herbs. The war hasn't lessened any more, either—there'll be more injuries all through leaf-fall and leaf-bare.
Owlpaw sighed. Even on my rare few days I can imagine I'm a warrior's apprentice, my mind's still caught up in the medicine den. Am I becoming so preoccupied with my apprenticeship that I'm starting to forget my mindless love for learning how to defend myself?
It probably won't be long before I'm as addled in the head as Jayfeather—always fussing about herbs and drying mallow leaves in the sun.
"Skymoon and I were thinking we could teach Redpaw and Sunpaw a few simple defense moves," Runningleap mewed to Lionstar. His voice snapped Owlpaw out of her thoughts. "With a war between us and WindClan, it'd put my mind at ease if I knew that the two youngest apprentices can defend themselves appropriately."
Skymoon nodded and said nothing. Her eyes had a thoughtful, blank expression in them. It was as though she wasn't really interested in anything that was going on.
Owlpaw struggled not to gape openly at her. How could she be so heartless? Not even Jayfeather's ever been as disinterested in my training as she is with Sunpaw!
"Yay!" Redpaw skipped into the clearing, and Sunpaw sprang from Skymoon's side to follow her.
"Oh, this should be good," Ravenpaw chuckled as Owlpaw sat down beside her sister. "Two green-paws squalling it out with their mentors."
Don't push it, Owlpaw teased, shoving against her sister. You were just like that in the beginning.
"Was not!" Ravenpaw said indignantly.
Was too, Owlpaw smirked.
The fur prickled uneasily along her shoulders, and she instinctively glanced towards the cat who was watching her. Skymoon. The dusky-gray warrior was staring at the both of them; something that verged between fear and awe seemed to flicker in her gaze. But as Owlpaw's gaze met hers, Skymoon quickly looked away, already focused in teaching Sunpaw the battle crouch.
I wonder what she wanted, Owlpaw mused. Still, she's always staring at me and Ravenpaw these days, almost like she's waiting for something.
She watched Sunpaw and Redpaw practice the battle crouch, but she wasn't really paying attention. Her thoughts had drifted, back to the time only a few days ago, on the morning Sunpaw and Redpaw left the nursery to become apprentices. When I walked in StarClan. When I guided Stormbreeze back from the edges of death. She glanced uneasily at Lionstar. When Jayfeather discovered I had, he told Lionstar...who told three others. Since that moment, my mentor, leader, Skymoon and Dovewing have all been staring at me a bit strangely.
They must have been the two warriors. Owlpaw recollected the two sets of pawsteps emerging from the warriors' den. And the fifth...probably Aura.
She lashed her tail once. But she has had the decency not to gawk at me. She's just interested in Sunpaw's and Redpaw's training—and mine and my littermates, too. They're almost ready to have their warrior assessments, and Jayfeather trusts me more and more to tend to the cats who are sick or injured in his place...
Owlpaw saw Sunpaw do a perfect battle spring straight onto Redpaw. The dark russet she-cat emitted a startled shriek and immediately struggled under her brother's broad paws. Runningleap told her to do something, and suddenly Sunpaw was left on his back and blinking grit out of his eyes, Redpaw standing free of his clutches.
"A very good evasive move, Redpaw," Lionstar praised. "You'll find that what you just did there will throw off most opponents who grasp you like that—but only if they're your size or smaller. Any bigger or heavier, and the move won't work to its full effectiveness, or not at all."
"I'll keep that in mind," Redpaw mewed breathlessly.
"So will I!" Sunpaw declared, rolling back onto his paws and shaking out his rumpled tabby fur.
Owlpaw suddenly realized that Skymoon wasn't just watching her apprentice with a bleak, thoughtless look in her eyes—they were suddenly sharp and full of attention. Her gaze flicked continuously between brother and sister. She is one strange cat, Owlpaw thought, with a small shake of the head.
Ravenpaw noticed the small movement. "What is it?"
Owlpaw shrugged. It doesn't matter.
Blossomfall turned to Lionstar. "Perhaps we could leave these two to practice their battle crouches and leaps," she mewed. "But we could take the rest of the apprentices into the forest and do patrol practice."
Owlpaw's ears flicked up, and her littermates exchanged thrilled glances.
Lionstar slowly nodded. "It'll provide good experience for them if they're practicing ambushing from the forest floor," he mewed. He glanced at Owlpaw. "This is your first time doing patrol practice, isn't it?"
Owlpaw nodded. But I won't let you down!
Blossomfall narrowed her eyes. "I don't know, Lionstar...a medicine cat, taking part in patrol practice? This is not normal medicine cat training."
"I'm well aware of that, but Owlpaw's fighting skills are exceptional for a medicine cat," Lionstar replied certainly. Owlpaw's fur tingled with the praise and she looked at her paws. "I think she can give the patrol practice a trying out."
"Have faith in her!" Ravenpaw put in, flicking her tail along Blossomfall's dappled tortoiseshell flanks. "Owlpaw takes everyone by surprise on a regular basis. She'll do it again today in patrol practice! Just watch her."
Blossomfall's whiskers twitched. "I wasn't about to argue with you, Ravenpaw."
"Good." Ravenpaw lifted her chin, but her eyes glinted with play. She glanced at Owlpaw. "So how about it, little sister? Do you want to give patrol practice a go?"
Owlpaw nodded. This might be my only chance actually on a battlefield. I'd be mad to say no!
"Perhaps this could be the apprentices' battle assessment," Dewclaw suggested. "Part of it, perhaps. It'll be a test of how well they work together." He looked closely at Clawpaw. "I expect big things out of you, young tom."
Clawpaw puffed out his chest. "I won't let you down!" he promised.
"Assessment? Today?" Graypaw's fur bushed out with shock. "But I'm not ready! I wasn't warned!"
"Oh, stop." Hazeltail flicked her tail along her apprentice's shoulders. "You're more than ready, mouse-brain. Use those hunting techniques I've taught you—you'll be the Gray Terror of the forest!"
"Hmm...Gray Terror." Graypaw tested the name. "I like it. Lionstar, can that be my warrior name?"
Ravenpaw and Clawpaw groaned. The older cats mrrowed with amusement.
"We'll have to see how well you do in the patrol practice, won't we?" Lionstar replied, a purr still rumbling in his throat. He looked between the four apprentices and mewed, "Since this is an assessment, you will be in pairs and no warrior will help you." He turned to Owlpaw. "I understand that you haven't taken part in a patrol practice before. It's essentially how well you follow orders, as well as a bit of what you've learned fighting."
Owlpaw nodded importantly and stood as straight as she could. I won't let anyone down with my inexperience! she promised.
"Ravenpaw, you can be with Clawpaw," said Lionstar, looking between them. "Graypaw, you're with Owlpaw. It only seems fair to have teams of brother and sister, is it not?"
Ravenpaw fidgeted. "Lionstar, if I may," she mewed hesitantly, "I'd...I'd rather be with Owlpaw."
Across the clearing, Skymoon looked up, but Owlpaw hardly noticed. Her heart was pounding so fast in her chest. If I could have a patrol practice with my sister...please, Lionstar, say yes!
"Really?" Lionstar asked. "Why is that?"
"Owlpaw and I work best when we are together," Ravenpaw explained without pause. "We know each other—we can predict each other's movements, know by sense if one of us is in danger, and when we fight there's nobody more dangerous than the pair of us!" She puffed out her chest, and the white dash beneath her throat stood out all the more clearly against the black. "We've had plenty of practice against our brothers, both in the nursery and out of it!"
Lionstar looked thoughtful. "So wouldn't it be a challenge of skill if you were on the opposing teams?"
"Not really, Lionstar," Clawpaw put in. He stood beside Graypaw. "Because Ravenpaw and Owlpaw are so close, I've had to become close to Graypaw—so we can survive if we're assaulted by our sisters. They're pretty dangerous when they're together, but Graypaw and I have learned to fight just as well when we're one, too."
"One two?" Graypaw teased. "That's an interesting number." Clawpaw cuffed him.
"It'd be strange for us to be separated to brother and sister teams," Ravenpaw mewed earnestly to Lionstar. "I think we'd much prefer it if we could fight sister against brother."
Owlpaw quickly nodded, as did her brothers. Ravenpaw's right. Come on, I know you've seen us play! Let it be shown again in a much more important scenario!
"What do you think?" Blossomfall turned to Hazeltail and Dewclaw. "Should we let them decide their own teams?"
"Seems like they'll be at their best performance if they do," Dewclaw admitted. "Besides, they each have their own strengths. Clawpaw's a dark tabby tom full of endurance and natural battle talent."
"Graypaw can follow a scent trail from one side of the forest to the other," Hazeltail added. "And his hunting crouch is perfection."
"Ravenpaw makes good choices, and her judgement's flawless in combat," Blossomfall mewed. "And from what we've seen of Owlpaw, I think the sisters will make a pretty lethal team."
"So be it." Lionstar nodded to the forest. "Rules are simple; one team goes ahead, and the next team follows. The first team that leaves is the defending team—the second, the invading. If the invading team reaches the Sky Oak, they win. If the defending team defeats the invading, then they win. Claws unsheathed." Owlpaw shivered in sudden anticipation. She didn't fancy coming back to Jayfeather looking as though she'd tried to take on a WindClan hunting patrol.
"But no serious wounds," said Dewclaw sternly. "All battle moves are permitted, which involves treetop fighting. We'll be watching from the shadows."
"Fight fair and clean, and rely on wit and skill to succeed," Blossomfall mewed. "And good luck, all of you."
Owlpaw's paws tingled. This was it—her first real patrol practice, and her first ever bout with claws unsheathed! Then she looked at her littermates—all she could see in their eyes was solemn anxiety.This is their battle assessment, she remembered. Their performance today determines if they will become warriors. To me, it's just another bout, more experience, an opportunity to see and feel how real warriors fight.
She glanced towards Redpaw and Sunpaw. They were still practicing their battle crouch, though they'd improved. Their weight was more evenly distributed, and their pounces were more accurate.
She also saw that Skymoon was watching her again—and something flashed in her dark blue eyes. Something bordering between alarm and thoughtfulness. She knows something, Owlpaw realized with a shiver. But she doesn't know what to make of me just yet. Has Jayfeather told her about my...my dreaming into StarClan? About Stormbreeze?
"Ravenpaw, Owlpaw," said Lionstar, and Skymoon turned away. "You're on defense. Go!"
Ravenpaw vanished from the clearing. Owlpaw turned away from Skymoon, quickly sprang to her paws and shot after her sister. She could make out her white-tipped tail flashing in the forest shadows just beyond.
And for today...Owlpaw pushed harder into the ground, propelling her forward. Just for today, perhaps only today, I'm not a medicine cat apprentice who can't speak. I'm a warrior, swift and silent, dangerous and determined. Just for today, my paws walk in a world my sister and brothers will walk in for the rest of their lives. A world I will never walk in again.
Soon Ravenpaw stopped. Owlpaw did the same, but she was breathless. Trying to breathe as quietly as she could, in case their brothers were nearby, she turned expectantly to her sister.
Where are we?
Ravenpaw frowned. "About halfway between the Sky Oak and the clearing," she murmured.
They looked around. Sunrays shone through the tree branches, illuminating the forest in a gentle glow. It looked like a perfect day to go hunting—and a perfect day to dry mallow leaves in the sun, Owlpaw added ruefully. Jayfeather probably would have a fresh damp patch waiting for her back in the hollow.
If I have to dry another clump of mallow leaves, it'll be too soon.
"We should probably get off the ground," Ravenpaw mewed. She nodded to the upper canopy, still heavily shrouded in leaves. "Up there, in the birch trees. We can use the branches to navigate our way through the forest. Our brothers might be trying to trick us."
She gave a small purr. "But we have a secret."
Owlpaw gave a quick nod, though she had a bellyful of doubt. They hadn't tried using their curious link for battle purposes before. Would it still work?
Surely it must, she reasoned. We've used it to eavesdrop on warrior conversations heaps of times. It'll just be a little different, that's all. We're adapting it to an ambushing situation.
"We'll split up," Ravenpaw whispered. "You head towards the old Thunderpath. If you see our brothers, show me your location and I'll come running. I'll do the same with you."
Owlpaw nodded, though as she slipped into the undergrowth and scrambled up the nearest tree, she felt significantly nervous about possibly facing her brothers on her own, for however short a time.
Some tree branches were still young, new growth after the great fire that swept through the territory; but many of the limbs in the upper canopies had managed to escape the brunt of the inferno, and were still strong enough for a full-grown warrior to walk over. The younger branches could perhaps just manage a small medicine cat apprentice. Taking care not to linger too long on the juvenile boughs, Owlpaw bounded from tree to tree. She remembered heading to the old Thunderpath a few times, on her way to the abandoned Twoleg nest to check on Jayfeather's catmint supply—it was one of the few locations in the forest she knew by memory.
A blackbird suddenly screeched an alarm call and took flight out of the trees. Shocked, Owlpaw nearly slid from the branches and fall to the forest floor. She dug her claws in and held on, tail lashing and rattling against nearby twigs.
Stupid, stupid, she chided angrily as she steadied herself. If Clawpaw and Graypaw didn't hear that, then they'd have to be deaf! She quickly ceased her tail movement and the leaves stopped rattling behind her. Wonderful. I might have just given my location away. Hookclaw wouldn't be pleased with you for that noise!
She stiffened, bemused. Now why did I just think of him?
Perhaps because she was trying to be silent—something that the ShadowClan deputy had said come so naturally to her, that would be the envy of all ShadowClan apprentices. He said that silence was something she was akin to from her first breath. I might not have a voice, but I'm certainly not quiet in the trees! Owlpaw snorted. I should've been called after some other night bird. Owls are known for their silent flight! I'm anything but silent when I'm on the prowl...
For a moment, Owlpaw dearly wished that it was night. The last Gathering she'd been to, Hookclaw had explained to her about ShadowClan hunting and fighting techniques. It'd been fascinating to listen to—how ShadowClan warriors thrived in the blackest of nights, embraced the comfort of darkness and shadow, made them quick and wily. They perfected the art of stealth, moving only among the shadows and treading on soft pine needles than noisy bracken and fallen leaves.
He'd even shown her how to move noiselessly among the shadows of the Gathering Island. "The trick, you see, is to blend," he'd explained. "Since they tumble out of the nursery, ShadowClan kits are taught to walk in a special way—they will have perfected their 'shadow walk', as I call it, by the time they are apprentices, and do it naturally. It's what gives us that ability to 'vanish' into an environment. Do you notice how you walk? You only really pay attention when you're hunting. What if you could drop in and out of a stealth crouch without thought, creep up on and kill a mouse without need of concentration? The trick is to walk by placing the very edges of your toes upon the ground first, enough to take your weight without pain, then lowering your pad just a fraction slower upon the ground so it lands noiselessly."
He'd demonstrated, and Owlpaw, to her astonishment, could not hear his footsteps, nor feel them on the ground. It was as though he were stalking than walking. Then he'd even taught her how to start learning to 'shadow walk'. It'd been tricky, much harder than she'd anticipated.
"It takes practice for a grown cat," Hookclaw had admitted, "but it is still possible for one to learn to shadow walk. My mother did. My grandfather did. They were grown cats, and they perfected the shadow walk in the end—and they began much later than you."
Since that Gathering, nearly a whole moon ago, Owlpaw had practiced every day when she was alone—whether she was gathering herbs in the forest or doing chores in the hollow. But I haven't practiced for days—no wonder I'm noisy! The WindClan-ThunderClan skirmish completely drove shadow walking practices out of my head!
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, recalling the paw movements that Hookclaw had shown her. He said it could even work in the trees, if she was careful and quiet enough—and patient enough to learn it.
But I've practiced heaps on the ground. Owlpaw began to gingerly move forward, placing her paws down gently and carefully on the tree branches beneath her. I should be able to do it relatively easily in the treetops, too.
She remembered the blackbird. I'll have to make sure I don't disturb any other birds. Their alarm calls could give me right away.
The thought of the next Gathering gave Owlpaw a few shivers down her backbone. I'll meet Hookclaw again, and all his ShadowClan friends. I want to tell them how much I've been practicing the shadow walk. I might even be able to demonstrate to him! Then I'll be a master of silence—swift and dangerous, quiet as an owl in flight.
She sprang from the leaning limbs of a young white oak to those of a sapling ash. She wobbled at first, sending a small shower of bark down to the forest below. They fell against a bramble bush and the barbs shook. Owlpaw cringed. Stupid stone-paws!
"I heard something over there!"
Owlpaw froze. Graypaw!
Suddenly Graypaw and Clawpaw appeared beneath her, like spirits from StarClan. Treading softly on the ground, they approached the bramble bush, sniffing it cautiously.
"I can't smell anyone here," Graypaw muttered.
Clawpaw frowned. He jumped over the bramble bush and spun around, clearly expecting to find one of his sisters crouched behind it. Owlpaw twitched her whiskers in silent laughter at his puzzled expression. "A mouse, maybe?" the dark tabby apprentice wondered.
"But there isn't a mouse here, either," said Graypaw.
"Strange." Clawpaw looked over his shoulder. "Maybe it was just the wind."
Graypaw shrugged, absent of answers. "Hurry up," he whispered. "We have to get to the Sky Oak, remember?"
The Oak! I nearly forgot! Owlpaw took a deep, soundless breath, then concentrated hard. She pictured Ravenpaw prowling through the trees, stalking every shadow like a ShadowClan cat, dark amber eyes bright and alert. Then Owlpaw pictured where she was—above a bramble bush, in the branches of an ash sapling, her brothers just beneath. I don't know if they're near or far to the Sky Oak, but I'm not taking any chances.
She hoped Ravenpaw had sensed her location. I'd be amazed if we could still sense where the other is this far away, she thought.
Owlpaw looked down. Graypaw and Clawpaw were moving away, weaving through the bramble thickets like snakes. I can't lose them. She quickly set off after her brothers, treading the branches as heavily as she dared to.
She wasn't Thrushsong, who moved through the trees with her namesake's ability, at ease in the trees as much as if she were on the ground. But Owlpaw could climb better than her brothers and sister, given she wasn't as heavy as them and she was good at small, precise paw movements from long hours sorting through herbs and digging them up from the ground. Now my pawsteps are lighter than ever, Owlpaw thought, due to my shadow walking practicing. She glided after her brothers, barely making a sound.
A flash of gold tabby fur nearby made Owlpaw freeze. Lionstar? Had she seen him? They're watching us, she remembered, and shivered beneath her fur.
A gentle breeze rocked the canopies—but Owlpaw's sharp hearing caught a faint whisper riding on it, calling her name.
Owlpaw stopped. It sounded like Ravenpaw. Where are you?
"Owlpaw!" Owlpaw jerked her head up. A few boughs away from her was Ravenpaw, breathing her name so softly it strained at the edges of Owlpaw's hearing—but her brothers couldn't detect the whisper and walked on, unaware of their sisters hiding in the branches above their heads.
Owlpaw carefully made her way to Ravenpaw's side. You found me!
Ravenpaw nodded. "I just sensed where you were and found you up in the tree near the old Thunderpath," she whispered. She nodded downwards. Graypaw and Clawpaw were investigating a fern bush that had supposedly rattled too noisily from the wind. "We'll tree-spring them," she breathed. "Take them by surprise."
Owlpaw hesitated. Then?
"Then we beat them off," Ravenpaw finished.
That isn't going to work, Owlpaw said. She nodded at Clawpaw. Don't forget who Graypaw's companion is. Clawpaw probably is as good as Lionstar, and we can't defeat him even with the two of us, as well as Graypaw. Not with a frontal assault.
Ravenpaw frowned. "Then what else do you suggest?" she whispered irritably. "We pelt them with acorns and pretend they're omens from StarClan?"
Owlpaw rolled her eyes. Of course not. But I think we should use some other technique that'll confuse them. She frowned. There was a move special to ThunderClan that they used for just this kind of thing.
"Wait a moment..." Ravenpaw's eyes cleared. "The Lightning Strike technique! You mean that, don't you?"
Owlpaw nodded. That's the one!
Ravenpaw gave a very soft purr and flicked her tailtip against Owlpaw's flanks. "Genius," she whispered warmly. "I don't think they're expecting that. We haven't used the Lightning Strike for moons in training! But do you know how you do it?"
Owlpaw shook her head. I've only heard about it from what I've caught off young warriors and you when you come back from battle training.
Ravenpaw nodded. "It's very simple. We attack, frontal and open and take them by surprise. After we've clawed them a bit, before they really start fighting back, I'll call for a retreat. We disappear into the nearest bramble bushes. Before they can recover, we attack again, but from a different position that they're not expecting us to attack from." Her eyes grew thoughtful. "We could even try an extended Lightning Strike. We attack them for however long it takes for them to give in. Each time we launch a new strike, we could kick up dirt from the ground to blind them and make our attack more effective."
Owlpaw's ears flicked forward. Ravenpaw was so smart! Let's try it, she said, digging her claws excitedly into the branch beneath her.
Ravenpaw nodded. "Just follow my lead," she said, "and you'll be fine." Lithe as a breath of wind, the sleek black she-cat crept across the branches, steadily making her way to her brothers. Owlpaw followed suit, careful not to disturb a single twig beneath her paws.
Then they were directly above Graypaw and Clawpaw. "Ready?" Ravenpaw whispered. Owlpaw nodded, bunched her muscles, and prepared to leap.
Ravenpaw's eyes glinted, her claws extended and she pushed herself from the tree branch with a furious shriek. "ThunderClan, attack!" Owlpaw did the same, but the words flashed like fire in her eyes instead. She crashed into Graypaw—Ravenpaw into Clawpaw.
For a moment there was confusion, particularly for the two who had just been squashed by their sisters. Then Owlpaw recovered, and she swatted furiously at Graypaw's head. The gray tom hissed, then pushed up suddenly. Owlpaw landed on her paws and immediately began to assault her brother with a volley of blows.
Claws unsheathed! she remembered. She slid them out and clawed at her brother's pale gray fur.
Suddenly Graypaw vanished. Owlpaw instinctively twisted to the side, again avoiding his half-turn belly rake. As he scrambled to his paws, she jumped on him and pummelled his head with her forepaws. Graypaw growled and knocked her legs out from under her. Owlpaw let her body twist and roll across the grass, straight back onto her four paws.
"ThunderClan! Away!" Ravenpaw's yowl rang above the clamour, and instantly Owlpaw twisted around and vanished straight into the nearest bramble thicket, not caring if the thorns scraped through her fur or stung her ears. Then she rounded into a soft fern bush and kept as quiet as she could.
After a moment she heard Graypaw exclaim, "What in the name of StarClan are they doing?"
"The Lightning Strike!" Clawpaw yowled. "Those tricky mouse-hearts! Stay close, Graypaw. They'll be striking again any moment."
A part of Owlpaw was a little disappointed that Clawpaw had figured out her intentions so quickly. She also wondered where Ravenpaw was. She cautiously looked beneath a fern frond. Graypaw and Clawpaw had their flanks pressed together, claws unsheathed, warily looking in opposite directions.
Then Owlpaw caught a glimpse of a white-tipped tail. Ravenpaw was on the other side of the clearing! For a moment she considered going over to her, but suddenly an idea—her sister's idea—flickered in her mind. Why not attack from opposite sides instead of together?
Owlpaw loved her sister then. Such a practical idea!
Graypaw is mine, said her sister's intentions. Owlpaw glimpsed Ravenpaw, just a dark shadow, carefully positioning herself near Graypaw. At once the medicine cat apprentice began to gingerly creep towards Clawpaw, praying her older brother wouldn't hear her.
Shadow walk, she thought at once. Use the shadow walk. She eased her paws, claw tips to pad, upon the ground. Even she couldn't hear her own footsteps no matter how hard she tried. Though her legs began to ache a little from the unaccustomed strain, Owlpaw felt pleasure warm her from nose to tailtip. If I can't hear me, nor can my brothers.
Then she was in pouncing distance. Clawpaw still wasn't looking her way.
"Attack!" Ravenpaw screeched.
Owlpaw charged forward; at the last moment, she remembered about the dust, and slid sideways. Her hind paws chucked up a small cloud of dust and Clawpaw stepped back with a startled hiss.
Now I attack! Owlpaw jumped onto her dazed brother, even though anticipation was coiling tightly in her stomach. She slammed all her weight into Clawpaw, but it was not enough to knock him off balance. Great StarClan, he's heavy!
Clawpaw recovered quicker than Owlpaw and suddenly her ear was burning. Owlpaw gasped and countered without really thinking. She caught her brother's cheek and he grunted with pain. Claws unsheathed! she told herself, and drove them through her brother's fur, pulling a few tufts clean out.
Suddenly Clawpaw jumped out of the dust with half-closed eyes. He wrapped his forepaws around Owlpaw's shoulders and slammed her into the ground. Instantly Owlpaw shifted her weight to one side, throwing Clawpaw's forelegs off her, and she pulled herself onto her paws.
"Retreat! Retreat!" Owlpaw scrambled for cover.
As she painfully dragged herself through a bramble thicket, they softly rustled again and Ravenpaw appeared beside her. Her amber eyes were worried.
"Are you okay?" she whispered. Then her eyes widened. "Your ear!"
Owlpaw quickly brought her forepaw up and dabbed at the scratches there. It came away with a few beads of crimson stark against her white toes.
"He drew blood." Ravenpaw frowned. "I shouldn't have put you up against Clawpaw..."
Owlpaw shook her head. It's fine. I'll treat it with cobweb when I get back to the hollow.
Ravenpaw frowned. "You'd better," she whispered. "Medicine cats aren't meant to have scars. Jayfeather will chew Lionstar's whiskers off if he sees it!"
Lionstar will have to say farewell to his whiskers, then, Owlpaw thought ruefully. Jayfeather can even detect if you've stubbed your toe. Nothing escapes his awareness.
Ravenpaw sighed. "Let's make this one count, then," she murmured. "Together—and we'll pair-fight them in submission. If you take Graypaw and I Clawpaw, and keep them separated, we can beat them into submission."
Owlpaw gave a short nod. Her muscles hurt, her ear stung, but she was having quite possibly the best time of her life. Herbs and medicine didn't ever make her blood rush like this in her body, setting every sense inside of her on fire. She prepared herself, Ravenpaw at her side. Tension flowed through both their bodies, gathering energy, coiled and waiting to be unleashed.
Just beyond Clawpaw turned to Graypaw. "You all right? One of our sisters gave you quite the clawing there."
"Probably Ravenpaw," Graypaw muttered with a soft moan. "Her blows are harder than Owlpaw's."
Owlpaw, despite herself, bristled in anger. My strikes aren't hard? We'll see about that, Gray Terror.
Clawpaw frowned. "Don't underestimate our sisters. Together they're as cunning as foxes." He turned around. "We should leave, now. The Sky Oak isn't far from here. They won't be able to outrun us if we get out."
"Not if you have us at your tails!" Ravenpaw hissed. She raised her voice. "Attack!"
She and Owlpaw, in perfect unison, sprang clean over the bramble thicket and crashed into their appropriate targets. Dust whirled up beneath their paws, and instantly Owlpaw and Ravenpaw fell into the pair-fighting stance, flanks brushed up against each other, and facing their divided enemy. As the dust cleared, they swiped and jabbed at their brothers, still trying to find their paws.
Owlpaw would've hissed if she could, but she knew Graypaw could see it in her eyes. She ducked beneath a flailing paw, pummelled his shoulders, forced him further and further away. She bunched her muscles, preparing to spring onto his back and rake her claws down his spine—
Pain bloomed in her cheek and she gasped, falling back against Ravenpaw, who had done the same. Owlpaw blinked a few times and instantly turned to her sister. She was recoiling from a powerful swipe that Clawpaw had delivered, and Owlpaw shared her sister's pain.
But Owlpaw didn't let it hinder her. It made her angrier. She twisted around, forgetting Graypaw for the moment, and leapt at Clawpaw instead. As though they'd practiced it for moons, Ravenpaw turned her attention to Graypaw and swiped and slashed at his nose and whiskers.
Owlpaw's cheek throbbed, red-hot, like her clawed ear. She ducked beneath Clawpaw's volley of forepaw slashes and countered with a few wide, deliberate sweeps with sheathed paws. She knocked against his head and Clawpaw hissed, faltering in his attack for just a moment. Owlpaw took the opportunity to deliver a forepaw slash of her own. She smacked her paw hard across Clawpaw's muzzle.
But Clawpaw, through six moons of hard training, had become as enduring as a rock. He barely recoiled from the paw strike and prepared to lunge on his sister.
Instantly Owlpaw felt something push against her flanks, spinning her the other way. With a furious caterwaul, Ravenpaw took over Clawpaw, countering his attacks with deadly precision. Owlpaw again faced Graypaw, though he looked significantly more battered than she remembered him.
He was also growing tired—Owlpaw was, too. Her muscles were aching so badly that she could hardly deliver forepaw slashes, and she missed a few parries, resulting in a few clumps of torn fur. Then she saw a break. Graypaw had stumbled. She slammed into him with all her strength; it was enough to knock him off his paws. Instantly she scrambled on top of him and prepared to rake her hind paws down the length of his belly.
"Stop!" Graypaw gasped. "I give in! I give in!"
Owlpaw blinked in astonishment. She stared at her brother, lying limp under her. Had he really surrendered to her?
"Now get off me," Graypaw mumbled.
Owlpaw obeyed, still stunned. Graypaw clambered to his paws and shook out his fur, looking absolutely exhausted. "Good fight," he murmured, giving a small purr.
Suddenly Clawpaw gave a sharp, angry yowl. Owlpaw whipped around. The fight wasn't over yet!
But Ravenpaw seemed to have it under control. Enthused by Graypaw's swift defeat, she attacked Clawpaw with renewed vigour. She twisted to the side and performed a perfect half-turn belly rake, leaving Clawpaw cringing in pain, then delivered a savage hind kick that left him staggering. As he fought to regain balance, Owlpaw twisted completely around and pushed off, knocking into her brother and throwing him completely off his paws. Lying on the ground, Ravenpaw immediately pinned him and Owlpaw stood nearby, claws extended and body tensed.
Clawpaw looked from sister to sister in plain astonishment. Then his body went limp.
Ravenpaw tightened her grip on him. "I'm not letting to until you say you're defeated."
Clawpaw sighed; the 'play dead' hadn't worked. It never seemed to on Ravenpaw. "I give in," he murmured.
"And may you remember it." Ravenpaw backed off her brother, and he hauled himself to his paws.
As he was shaking the dust out of his fur, the brambles rustled at the edge of the clearing. The mentors emerged, wearing impressed expressions—especially Lionstar. "Well done, all of you," he meowed. The apprentices scrambled to neatly seat themselves in front of their leader, brother against brother, sister against sister.
"How did we do?" asked Ravenpaw brightly.
Blossomfall shot Dewclaw a satisfied twitch of her whiskers, then brushed her tail against her apprentice's flank. "Extraordinarily," she answered.
"All of you did." Hazeltail affectionately rubbed her muzzle against Graypaw's cheek. "You fought and tracked exceptionally, Gray Terror."
"As did you, Clawpaw." Dewclaw settled down near his apprentice. "You delivered some perfect battle moves, and you showed excellent leadership qualities."
Owlpaw's heart warmed, listening to the warriors praising her littermates. But not as much as Ravenpaw.
"And you, Owlpaw..." Lionstar was gazing warmly at her, and a soft, affectionate purr rumbled beneath every word. "You weren't a medicine cat apprentice today. You fought like a warrior."
Owlpaw blinked and ducked her head, embarrassed.
"It's probably time to head back to the hollow," Blossomfall noted, and spared a glance at the sky. "The sun's starting to set. Runningleap and Skymoon and their apprentices are probably back there already, wondering where we are."
Lionstar nodded. "We'll head back there. All of you, go and see Jayfeather, and have him and Owlpaw tend to your aches and scratches. Then have a good night's sleep; your hunting assessment begins at dawn tomorrow."
Owlpaw didn't share in her littermates' enthusiasm and excitement. All she felt was a sudden welling of sadness inside of her, swamping her. It was back to being a medicine cat. Back to performing an isolated duty full of healing and plants.
I should've expected this. I've made my choice. I can't walk with a paw in each world.
"I'm amazed that any of you survived this supposed 'assessment'," Jayfeather meowed dryly as he applied a dock poultice to Ravenpaw's shoulder. "And I'm amazed that Lionstar allowed you to take part in it." He frowned sternly at Owlpaw. "You'll be lucky if that ear scratch doesn't scar."
Owlpaw didn't answer, just focused on weaving some cobweb on Graypaw's muzzle, where Ravenpaw had opened a scratch just above his nose. Some of the silvery sticky threads already clung to her ear, which she'd treated.
Somehow, putting cobweb on a wound just wasn't as exciting as grappling with Clawpaw in open combat. Claws unsheathed.
"Thanks," Graypaw murmured. As though sensing her quiet despair, he commented, "Your claws are sharp for a medicine cat."
Owlpaw shot her brother a look. So I'm not as weak-pawed as you previously thought?
Graypaw looked surprised. "You heard that?"
What do you think, mouse-brain? Owlpaw lowered her forepaw. There. You can go and do whatever it is brothers do at sunset.
Graypaw swiped a tongue around his jaws. "Yeah, eat and sleep. Share a mouse later?"
Sounds awesome. Owlpaw nodded to the entrance to the den. Off you go. It's crowded enough in here as it is.
"Sure. Thanks, Owlpaw!" Graypaw jumped to his paws and padded out of the den.
Stormbreeze, lying in a nest nearby, paused in her washing to stare after Graypaw in astonishment. "So it's not just you and Ravenpaw who can do your funny body language thing, then," she mewed, glancing at Owlpaw and then Ravenpaw just beyond.
"Nope!" Ravenpaw answered cheerfully. "So can Clawpaw. We can all understand Owlpaw—I just understand her best."
Owlpaw nodded, absently playing with a stray fern near her paws.
"You're so lucky you have a sister," Stormbreeze sighed, shaking out her fur where it wasn't plastered down by salves. "Sometimes I wish I had one and just two brothers."
Owlpaw frowned in puzzlement. Why?
Stormbreeze seemed to understand, because she answered, "Have you ever tried managing three brothers? It's as tiring as being a queen with kits that get up to mischief every half moment!"
"I can believe you," Ravenpaw mewed lightly. "It's hard enough managing two!"
"You're done," Jayfeather said curtly, giving Ravenpaw a flick with his tail. "Now get out."
Ravenpaw snorted at him. "Brusque, aren't you?"
"I always am. Out."
"Yes, O Mighty One." Ravenpaw shot Jayfeather a teasing glance, then nodded to Owlpaw. "I'll see you outside soon—you must be famished after that awesome fighting stuff we did!"
Owlpaw nodded. Her belly was growling like an angry Clawpaw.
As Ravenpaw slipped outside, Jayfeather immediately turned to Owlpaw. "Right. Now that we're finally alone—"
"Ahem," said Stormbreeze pointedly.
Jayfeather ignored her. "—I can give you Aura's message."
Owlpaw's ears flicked up in surprise. Aura has a message for me?
"Clearly. She wants to have a private talk with you." Jayfeather frowned. "You're excused from duties tomorrow morning. I have a feeling it's going to take a while."
"Why? What's going on?" Stormbreeze demanded at once—voicing Owlpaw's thoughts exactly.
Jayfeather rolled his eyes and set about cleaning up the herbs still lying at his paws. "The first night," was all he said—but Owlpaw understood. Suddenly she wasn't hungry anymore.
