Morning's Light: Tipping The Balance Of Fate

by Topaz B. Rainheart

The secret is out and choices have been made. Are Littlepaw, Silverpaw, and Morningpaw willing to fight to stay in Riverclan? Closer to camp, Silverpaw starts secret training, Littlepaw struggles to please the clan, and Morningpaw fights to cling to the warrior code, all she's ever known. Will time tear these sisters apart? Book two of the Morning's Light series.

10. Chapter 8

"Faster!" Silverpaw hissed in frustration as she missed Silverdawn again. "You're not fast enough!" Silverpaw tried it again. This time she missed even more. "Whats gotten into you, Silverpaw? You used to get moves right the first time, perfect the second! Now you can't even get it right the fifth time!" Silverpaw growled, getting fed up.

"Its not my fault Pebblewhisker won't train me to fight anymore!" she complained, "All I do these days is hunt and fetch herbs!" The next thing she knew, Silverdawn had lashed out, scoring three clawmarks down her ear. Silverpaw was shocked by the action. In battle training they always kept their claws sheathed. They didn't want the apprentices to be killed during training. Only rogues trained with unsheathed claws. "What was that for?"

"Pebblewhisker isn't here," Silverdawn snarled, "I am. Now listen to me, and go faster!" Silverpaw ducked as Silverpaw slashed at her head, twisted around and rolled onto her back, then sprang to her paws, only to be knocked off her paws by Silverdawn. She tried it again and again, finally getting it right not long before she was woken up by a weight on her flank.

Silverpaw woke up to Petalpaw nosing her frantically. "Get off!" she snapped grumpily, sitting up to groom herself. "Whats your problem?" Petalpaw didn't answer. Her eyes were wide.

"Whats wrong with your ear?" Petalpaw whimpered. Silverpaw glanced at it. Her ear was bloody, just like in Starclan. What in Starclan? Her wound had somehow followed her to the real world.

"It's probably just a thorn in my nest," she soothed, feeling confused, "I'll go see Nightfall and he'll give me something for it. No big deal." Petalpaw still looked worried. Silverpaw licked her paw and ran it over her ear a few times, cleaning the blood off, then went to the medicine cat den. She didn't see the point of it. All the warriors had nicks in their ears. It meant they had earned them, just like they had earned the right to be warriors. Nightfall looked at her a little funny when she passed it off as a thorn, but didn't say anything, thank Starclan. He got her ear treated and she was good to go. Not a moment too soon. She barely had time to gulp down a skinny shrew when Pebblewhisker called her for the dawn patrol. A scratched ear wasn't a big deal. At least it meant she was getting proper battle training from one of her mentors.