Chapter Eight

"I don't understand why this is so hard for you," Tigerfrost growled, prowling in a circle around Rainpaw. He was flat on his back again, slammed there for the thousandth time by his mentor's strong paws.

"There's no way for me to knock you off your feet, Tigerfrost," the apprentice snarled back. A frontal attack on an opponent nearly twice as big as he was? It was folly, no matter how much his broad paws promised he'd grow. Rainpaw flipped to his feet and shook out his blue-gray fur. Bits of grass and twigs clung to him like swamp leeches. Tigerfrost snorted, his icy yellow eyes lighting as the apprentice took his bait.

"Is the little leader's son too good for this training, then? Show me a better way, kit!"

Rainpaw growled. He streaked at his mentor, hoping the speed would surprise the older warrior. If he just rammed hard enough into his knees, it might send him tumbling. He lowered his shoulder.

Tigerfrost's massive paw slammed into him once more, sending him tumbling sideways. Rainpaw was dizzy and disoriented by the time he came to a stop, and his mentor was already on top of him, pinning him with a paw to the throat. He went perfectly still.

"You are a pathetic fighter, little kit. I don't know how you survived the battle. Find some way to execute this move by next time or we fight for real."

Rainpaw fought not to shiver. He nodded as much as the paw on his throat would allow. Tigerfrost leaned close and growled, "Good," before turning and stalking away. Rainpaw climbed to his feet. He could already feel aches from his mentor's powerful blows. The older tom had never held back, not even when Rainpaw had been a new apprentice. Fighting for real was the same as practice—the only difference was, for real had claws. Rainpaw couldn't think of anything to do but wander back to the knoll.

The past half-moon had been a frenzy of change around the GrassClan camp. The size had been doubled to make room for the OneClan army, with nests of grass exposed to the open air as the GrassClan converts labored to dig underground dens. Rainpaw still scoffed at that, though the strong winds at night chilled him to the bone. The tangle of brambles was also being removed in favor of better fortifications. Already, the territory was being scoured for bramble bushes to be woven into a wall around the base of the knoll. Though attack was unlikely, Froststar was always known for being prepared.

Rainpaw saw a white pelt flashing towards him and grinned. "Swanblossom," he called. Her green eyes flicked towards him.

"Oh good, you can help with this bramble we found," she said, and flicked her tail. Rainpaw trotted behind her. The grass obscured the scene right up until the moment when Rainpaw ran up on the bramble bush. Toadflick let out a chuckle through a mouthful of the spiny plant.

"Ow, there's a reason we use these to defend the camp," Rainpaw yelped. He bounced away, yanking thorns out of his pads. They stung!

"No kidding," Toadflick laughed around the bramble. Swanblossom just shook her head and grabbed on to a branch. Rainpaw copied her and the three of them began dragging the heavy bush towards the knoll. It was hard work in the hot sun, and Rainpaw looked forward to a nice nap once they put the bramble in place. The day had already been an exhausting whirlwind.

Back at camp it didn't take long to fix the bramble to the perimeter defenses. Toadflick chuckled more than once at Rainpaw's blunders as they tangled the spiny plant to the other brambles. Fine for him to laugh, he's not being scratched to StarClan, he thought grumpily.

"Thanks for your help, Rainpaw," Toadflick said when they were finally done. The gray furred apprentice shook plant bits out of his coat and nodded.

"What are apprentices for, right?"

The older cat laughed and trotted away, flicking his tail in a quick farewell. Rainpaw glanced at Swanblossom.

"Is everything okay?" Rainpaw muttered quietly. He didn't like the faraway look in her eyes. She'd been subdued all morning and it was starting to worry him. Swanblossom turned her green eyes to the apprentice and sighed.

"Sure, Rainpaw, sure. Just feeling homesick, I guess."

Rainpaw wasn't sure why she was lying to him. It made him angry. He shook his head. "I'm going to go take a nap." He trotted away without another word. Maybe it was his tiredness that was putting him in such a bad mood. Sleep would do him some good.

"Rainpaw," a voice called, and Rainpaw almost growled aloud before he realized whose it was. Blackflash was at his side in an instant. "Your father asked to see you." Rainpaw resisted the urge to sigh. He should have known sleep would elude him. Blackflash's thin tail whipped excitedly through the air with the lightning quick energy she never seemed to lose.

"This way," the deputy said, and flicked her tail for him to follow up the side of the knoll. Rainpaw fought with his paws to hurry as Blackflash pulled farther and farther ahead. They ran clear across the crest of the knoll, rushing down the other side and past the perimeter, into the rustling grasses. Even after their half-moon in GrassClan territory, the breezes still confused Rainpaw's nose. There were too many scents from too many directions. Blackflash seemed able to navigate with ease, however, darting through the grass with confidence.

It took a while for Rainpaw to pick out the scent she was following. The trail of broken stalks was much easier for the apprentice to notice. Blackflash streaked ahead, seeming to gain energy as they went on. For Rainpaw it was the opposite. He was beginning to really feel the bruises from Tigerfrost's training and his pads were scratched messes from dealing with the bramble defenses.

"Keep up, Rainpaw," Blackflash called. She barely slowed as she raced in a circle around the apprentice. Her green eyes shone with a special fervor. "Don't keep Froststar waiting."

"I can't, Blackflash, I can't," he panted out. His legs trembled. He felt on the edge of collapse. The deputy's eyes sparked dangerously.

"Rainpaw, you are part of your father's great legacy." Her thin black tail curled around him as she inexorably drew him forward. "When he was an apprentice he came down from the mountains in the dead of night and walked for a full day and a full night, and when he found me being attacked by a fox, he fought it off singlehandedly. Exhaustion has never stopped him, and if you're his son, it won't stop you."

The frantic tumble of words cut off suddenly. Blackflash's manic gaze trapped Rainpaw as they both froze. "Don't you dare let him down, Rainpaw," she said. And then suddenly Rainpaw was free and she was off again, darting into the grass. Rainpaw slowly felt his heart restart.

His father's white pelt gleamed from the top of a small rise, his long fur whipping in the wind. Rainpaw felt his own fur begin to flap as he ascended from the cover of the grass. His father turned, freezing the apprentice with his blue gaze.

"Ah, Rainpaw. I wondered when you'd arrive."

Rainpaw ducked his head. He pushed away his exhaustion, remembering Blackflash's words. The green eyes she-cat nodded to him and vanished into the grasses, pausing only long enough to send a shining glance at Froststar.

"Let's take a walk, shall we?" the leader asked, though it was clearly not a question. His pelt rippled as he strode forward. He was as powerful and tireless as a glacier.

"I haven't had time to speak with you since we reached the edge of our forest territory. How are you doing?"

Rainpaw was taken aback. When had his father ever been so soft around him? "F-fine, I guess," he answered, not sure what he was expected to say.

A deeper edge entered the leader's voice. "Tigerfrost tells me that you've been falling behind in your battle training."

Anger sparked in Rainpaw's chest. That crowfood eating gossip… "He expects me to do the impossible," Rainpaw growled.

"There is a reason I made the best fighter in OneClan your mentor, Rainpaw. It is not your place to say what is and isn't impossible. If he expects you to do it, I expect as much too."

It took a moment for Rainpaw to realize that neither of them were walking anymore, that he'd been frozen in another cat's gaze again. It scared him, how many powerful cats were around him. Blackflash's unpredictable moods and deadly speed, Tigerfrost's barely controlled physical power, those terrified him. Most of all, though, Froststar's undeniable power petrified him. It was more than his physical build—otherwise Tigerfrost would have betrayed him long ago. Froststar simply oozed charisma, a promise that if a cat was set against him, that cat would lose. When Rainpaw was caught by his father's eyes, he felt as though he were being weighed and found wanting. His judgment was just being postponed.

"Let's move on. There's a reason I've brought you out here," Froststar said finally. They walked on, though it felt as though they'd already been walking for hours. The sun was hanging tiredly in the sky directly ahead of them. It looked as ready to go to sleep as Rainpaw was. The soft loamy earth that cushioned the long grasses was growing rougher, though, and Rainpaw could see that the generally uniform terrain was growing hillier the farther they walked. He had to push his aching muscles to follow his father up the slope.

"Magnificent, isn't it?" Froststar breathed as he gazed at the vista spread before the two cats. Rainpaw didn't agree. The hills descended into a sea of sand, emptier than Wavestorm's home—at least the ex-SeaClan tom could snag fish from the ocean. Rainpaw couldn't think of anything that would be able to live in that dust bowl. Even in the cooling light of the evening Rainpaw could see heat mirages dancing across the sand. There was nothing to break up the glaring, heat-filled emptiness.

Froststar's eyes reflected the orange sands. "The scouts say that there is a Clan that lives there, in the middle of all of that sand. Imagine their resilience," the leader said, his deep voice rough with admiration. Rainpaw looked up at Froststar with trepidation. We are not built for this place, he thought nervously.

"I've visited this border twice since we incorporated GrassClan. Once we are finished with our mission here, we will descend into the desert, just as I have planned. It will be the biggest challenge OneClan has faced, I think."

The sun drooped and hit the horizon, sending a wave of orange light across the sands, across Froststar's eyes and fur. He looked like a cat on fire. "I'm counting on you to be the best, Rainpaw. You're going to have more responsibility than ever before once we take the desert. Don't let me down."

Rainpaw felt a thrill run through him. With fervor like that, what cat wouldn't be inspired? "I won't, sir," he promised. Just let StarClan smile on us enough to get us there, Rainpaw prayed. Froststar's lips curved upward for an instant.

"Then let's get back to the Clan. There's work to do yet!" Rainpaw took off after his father, the two of them chasing their shadows back to camp.

~O~

Rainpaw dropped into his nest as the others trooped below ground to the rabbit dens. The wind was already chilling his coat, sending the grass into rippling waves. The sound of it crashed against his ears. The apprentice could feel exhaustion pulling at his eyelids, but every time he closed his eyes, his agitation opened them.

He'd have to face Tigerfrost in the morning. His foul tempered mentor wouldn't be pleased with excuses of tiredness if he failed again. Rainpaw's mind filled with more agitation. How was any small cat supposed to tackle a larger one? He was too slow to get to Tigerfrost's knees, too small to get much leverage against his sides… But his father didn't make Tigerfrost his mentor on a whim. There had to be a trick.

Rainpaw spent what felt like days tossing and turning before falling asleep without an answer. He was still drooping with tiredness when he awoke. Every pawstep felt weighed down. He scarfed down a field mouse and then followed heavily after Tigerfrost when the tabby tom flicked his tail. The perfect circle of tramped down grass was becoming a familiar training ground for Rainpaw. Tigerfrost turned a contemptuous yellow eye on his apprentice and smiled a threatening half smile.

"Let's see if there's any improvement since yesterday, kit."

Rainpaw felt like a badger was trying to claw its way out of his stomach. I can't do this, he thought in a panic. Tigerfrost's malicious yellow eyes gleamed across the clearing at him. His thoughts from the night before floated through his brain… there has to be a trick. Trick. A plan formed in his head pieced together from his hurried thoughts.

The gray apprentice hurled himself forward just as he had the day before, sprinting across the clearing. He could see Tigerfrost's chest muscles bunching to swat him away again. A heartbeat later he threw himself to the ground, sliding underneath the swiping paw and slamming his back against the now unbalanced warrior. He could feel Tigerfrost stumble and quickly sprang away, ready for the claws.

A deep chuckle met Rainpaw's ears. It took a moment for him to realize his fur was on end.

"Well done, kit," Tigerfrost said, still laughing in his deep voice. "StarClan knows you're too tiny to actually knock me down, but that was good enough." The tabby flicked his tail in dismissal at the apprentice. "I get to tell your father the good news."

Rainpaw couldn't help himself. "What's that?"

Tigerfrost blinked lazily at him and drawled contemptuously, "That you're not a complete failure after all," as he walked past.


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