A/N: Okay, the plot is developing more and more in my head... Oh yeah, his warrior naming ceremony is coming up! I'm thinking his name will probably be either Graystorm or Graytail... If you want, you can tell me which name you'd perfer! Well, here's the new chapter!
Another moon had passed, and even thoguh Mudpaw had offered to tell kits a story and not work with Silverpaw, the two had gotten closer every day. Graypaw grunted at the thought. The other thing that had been bugging him was the fact that he hadn't seen his dead sister or mother in any dreams yet. He longed to see their faces again, and hear their purrs...
At least there's only a few sunrises until I'm a warrior... maybe things will get better? Graypaw thought, looking down as he padded through camp. Most of Flameclan territory was safe and the dens were all mostly rebuilt, except for the nursery.
Leafclaw had decided that the hole in the roof of that place was too big to fix, so they would have to pcik a different nursery. Graypaw chuckled, remembering how angry the Queens had been.
There also, in fact, was a new Queen. Rainnose, Mudpaw and Hazelpaw's mother, had a second litter of kits.
Graypaw's eyes darted over to the broken nursery where the new kits were suckling. There were three of them, and they almost looked identical to Mudpaw and Hazelpaw.
"Hello, Rainnose. How are you?" Graypaw asked, padding over towards the Queen.
"I'm great, thank you. I hear your almost a warrior, huh?" Rainnose purred, curling her tail around her newborns.
"Yeah," Chuckled Graypaw, sitting down near her. "How are the little ones?"
"Oh, they're good as well." Rainnose said, rasping her tongue over one of her kit's forehead.
"Do they have names yet?" Graypaw asked, licking his own paw as he spoke. Rainnose smiled, and gazed down at her new kits. "Yes."
"What are they?" The grey apprentice mewed, grinning.
"Well, this bigger one," Rainnose rested her nose on the biggest kit's head. "His name is Branchkit."
Graypaw nodded, looking at the kit. It still hadn't opened it's eyes, and was wiggling around like crazy.
"And this she-kit here," Rainnose nudged a hazel brown kit. "She's Splashkit."
"Last of all, there's this little one. He's small, but brave!" Rainnose purred as she licked the smallest kit. "His name is Sunkit."
"Those are nice names!" Graypaw smiled. Rainnose nodded. "Thanks,"
"Hey, Graypaw!" Called a voice. The grey apprentice turned to see his mentor standing nearby. "Yeah, Echosky?" Graypaw asked.
"Would you like to go training?" The dark grey tom asked, stepping forward. Graypaw's eyes lit up with joy. Lately, Echosky had been very busy rebuilding. They hadn't trained in half a moon!
"Of course!" The apprentice answered.
"Great, C'mon!" Echosky smiled. "We only have a little bit of time; Oaktail orginized a patrol for you, Ashcloud and I."
Graypaw nodded. He noticed Echosky blush a little at Ashcloud's name.
Ever since Streampaw, Ashcloud's best friend and apprentice (And Graypaw's sister) had died, the poor warrior had been very depressed. Echosky had started being with her more, and comforting her... Graypaw chuckled. The two looked perfect together, and the apprentice imagined that Echosky and her would become mates soon.
"Alright, lead the way!" Graypaw said, lifting a paw in excitement. Who knew? Maybe things would get better!
Echosky grinned and began padding towards the training log. Graypaw followed, ears pricked up. The two ducked under a patch of tangled brush, and headed down the trail. The fresh dirt and grass felt good under their paws. Birds chripped and the forest buzzed with life as Graypaw and his mentor squeezed their way towards the training log.
"Okay, let's practice some dodging." Echosky said once he was in a good position.
"Got it! I'm ready!" Graypaw said with a grin, standing barely a fox-length away from his mentor.
"Slow down, Graypaw! You need to remember; take your time. I'll leap at you, and you need to dodge." Echosky explained. Graypaw groaned lightly.
"I already know all this! Just jump!" He said hurridly. Echosky sighed and chuckled a little, and bunched his muscles.
The dark grey tom sprang, eyes focused on his apprentice and claws sheathed. Graypaw smiled, watching his mentor fly through the air. The grey apprentice spun out of the way, dodging the attack. He laughed a little as Echosky landed with a thud. The warrior managed to keep his balance though, and shook off his fur afterwards. "Good job!" The warrior praised. Graypaw grinned. He had done that move sevral times, and was used to it.
"Thanks, now, what else do ya have for me?" Graypaw chuckled. Echosky chuckled back. "It's not always easy, my friend. How about you practice a pouncing move on me?"
"Sounds good!" Graypaw got back into the fighting stance as his mentor moved a few steps back. The apprentice crouched, blueish amber eyes staring at Echosky. He took a minute to remember this move, and make sure his claws stayed sheathed. Graypaw breathed in calmly, before leaping up. He flew through the air, expecting to land on top of his mentor. But Echosky knew how he liked to do the move, and where he liked to strike. The dark grey warrior stepped to the right, and watched his apprentice let out a confused mrrow? and flail his paws around.
Graypaw landed with a thud, face-first on the ground. Dust clouded up around him, and Echosky laughed a little.
"Not everyone can be perfect at everything!" Graypaw hissed, licking his matted pelt. Echosky nodded.
"Yes, I know. You just need to improve at that move. Now, let's try one more time." The warrior said. Graypaw sighed, and got back into stance.
"Alright, remember this: The key is to strike from different sides. If you only pounce from one side every time, your opponent will knwo your moves and outsmart you. Try to surprise them." Echosky advised.
"Okay, here I go!" Breathed Graypaw. He sprange once again, aiming for the same place he always did. But before Echosky could react like usual, the apprentice twisted around and hit his mentor in the side. Graypaw grasped his paws around Echosky's flank, and chuckled as his mentor coughed at impact. The grey apprentice pushed with all his weight so that his mentor fell down to the ground with a thump, and dust swirled up around them. Echosky smiled, and Graypaw returned that smile as he got off.
"Great! Now, I have one more move for you to practice." Echosky exclaimed. Graypaw sighed glumly. He had hoped they would train for awhile, and hated to have his training cut off.
But I know we can't pass on patrol duty, so I might as well enjoy this next move! Graypaw thought.
"Okay, what move is it then?" He asked. Echosky grinned.
"It's a sneak attack move, one that you haven't learned yet. Alright, so you crouch down low to the ground like this," The dark grey warrior explained. Graypaw mimicked the crouch. Then, Echosky instructed him to crawl carefully across the ground and sneak up behind his opponent.
"Then, pounce! It can seem like a simple move, but you mustn't mess it up. The key is to remain quiet. If you make any noise, this useful sneak attack move will be failed. Got it?" Echosky said. Graypaw nodded. He was ready.
Echosky closed his eyes and sat peacefully in the middle of the training hollow, giving Graypaw time to hide. The apprentice felt as if he was a kit again, playing games with his... Sister. Graypaw sighed quietly. He still missed her and Dewstripe with all his heart.
Echosky opened his eyes and stared off into the forest, glancing around every few seconds. Graypaw dropped down close to the ground, taking a silent breath in. He focused on his one goal: Staying quiet. The rest of the sneak attack he could do without to much trouble. The apprentice took one step forward, holding his breath. He felt hsi heart beating as if it wanted to hop out of his chest. Graypaw continued taking tiny steps, creeping towards his target. Silence filled the air, expect for the ocasional chirp of a bird.
Echosky was only a tail-length away, and Grayapw began to get impatient. He crept forward faster, and faster. Echosky got closer and closer, and Graypaw smiled. He had his chance. With one more step...
Echosky yowled and hissed in surprise. Graypaw stared down at his feet. His paw was on top of his mentor's tail. Fox-dung!
Echosky chuckled, and tackled his apprentice softly. The two laughed, but soon got up.
"You'll need more practice on that move later, but now we have patrol!" Echosky exclaimed. He leapt up, and began sprinting towards the trail. Graypaw chuckled.
"Slow down! I know you're excited to see Ashcloud-" Echosky shoot Graypaw an embarrassed glare and cut him off. Graypaw sighed and walked off. Maybe things were getting a little better for him.
Or not.
A/N: Whew! There you go! Sorry for the long wait! I had to re-write this four times because I felt like it didn't sound right, but I finally think I have it! Tell me if you think it's good! Sorry for so many exclamation marks! (LOL). Anyway, I'm thinking my goal of 20 reviews may be too much... After all, this is my first warriors story. Well, thanks for reading!
