"Ravenpaw, wake up!" A claw rakes down my side.
"Ouch!" I wail. "What was that for?"
Silverpaw smirks back at me, with a fake glare of innocence. "Oops. My claws must have slipped out..." she murmurs. "Anyways, we have a training session. Make an attempt to get off your lazy behind and come, won't you?" She growls, as if I were the laziest apprentice in camp.
"What are you meowing about? I always attend the sessions!" I retort. "Well, you didn't attend yesterday. You were fast asleep!" She snickers.
"Are you two coming or not?" Lightstep asks, peering in from the entrance to the den
"Of course I am. I'm not sure about Ravenpaw over here, though," Silverpaw taunts, her radiant star-colored fur shining in a beam of sunlight.
"Never mind her, Ravenpaw. Let's go," Lightstep meows, her tail flicking. I make an effort to be quicker than my cocky peer, dashing in front of Silverpaw as I follow my mentor out to the training hollow. Sageleaf is there as well, sitting alongside Vinetail. "Where's Pebblepaw?" I inquire, tipping my head to one side.
"Well, he-" Vinetail mrrows with laughter as Pebblepaw explodes from a shrub, a twig clutched in his mouth. "I am Jayfeather, the old, wise medicine cat of ThunderClan. I am here to teach you how to wave a stick properly!" He jokes, stomping around like a fool. "First, you must hold it high, for the stick is a powerful thing that must be worshipped! And now, we wave it in a magical circle, like so!" He churns his head in a big circular motion, the twig twirling like a snake's tail.
"Now, now," meows Sageleaf, her black-tipped ears twitching with amusement. "We shouldn't be parading about, making fun of an important cat of Clan history. Shall we get on with our lesson?"
We all nod in unison. Lightstep takes a step forward to announce the assignment.
"Today, you will be practicing battle techniques that you've all learned about a moon ago. Since the other apprentice's are either on patrol or have other duties, we are left with an uneven number of 'paws. So, because of that, we have a guest coming who will assist in-"
"I'm here!" A deep voice sounds from across the hollow.
"Birchstar!" I purr. "You're going to help us train?"
"Of course," he replies in a kind tone. "A leader is always there for his Clanmates. Now, two of you can square off, while I'll take on one other apprentice. Don't worry, you'll all get a turn with me," he promises.
"Awesome!" Pebblepaw exclaims. "Me first! Me first!"
Birchstar holds his tail up. "Now, a warrior is always patient. Silverpaw, how about you?"
"Oh, yes, please!" The stuck-up she-cat meows. The leader crouches, the faint gray apprentice following suit. He leaps for her, but she easily slides away from him, dodging the attack. The bigger cat succeeds when he sticks out a leg and trips her up. Silverpaw is pinned, but she uses her size advantage to wriggle out from under him.
I observe this from my peripheral vision as I am faced with Pebblepaw. The slightly larger tom smirks light-heartedly. He leaps high into the air, his trajectory a bit too much. I tuck and roll under him, the tan cat hitting the ground with a soft thud. He chuckles a bit.
"Nice," he compliments, making another attempt to catch me unawares by charging into me. His shoulder locks with my chest, and I stumble back, springing back up immediately. I nod as I bring a paw down on his head, right between the ears.
"You, too!" And I mean it. It's obvious that he tries his best during lessons.
After the scrimmage, we switch off and it is my turn with Birchstar. He beats me, although he gives me praise for my strong effort. Then, Silverpaw let's a slight growl emit from her chest as she glares at me. She flashes her teeth, tail lashing.
She rushes forward, pinning me under her poised paws. She is lithe and slim, yet very powerful. Her claws unsheathe, and I feel the sharp tips pressing into my shoulders. I let out a mew of surprise.
"No claws!" I hiss, and her ears twitch in annoyance. I whip upwards, using the force of my body to knock her away. I've learned much from Velvetwing, and I am very tempted to put an end to the snooty she-cat before me. Her soft belly is exposed. I could do it, right now. But it is against the code. And there are other cats around.
I spring up and land on her, satisfaction rushing through me as I hear the breath knocked out from her lungs. She lets out a whine.
"She's trying to kill me!" Silverpaw rasps, and I roll my eyes. Lightstep gives me a look of disappointment.
"It was probably an accident," she meows simply. "But in the future, be a little more careful, Ravenpaw."
I nod, anger boiling inside of me.
"Why do you hate me so much?" I mew sharply, the silver apprentice taken aback. Her ears flatten, and I can see the exposed skin on the insides of the hearing appendages growing a bit pink from embarrassment. Silverpaw narrows her blue eyes.
"I've hated you since the day I met you," she seethes, quiet as to not allow the other cats to overhear.
"You were perfect! I knew from the moment Tigerpaw saw you that you would steal him from me. So I have to ruin your reputation, you see. Make you inferior, so that Tigerpaw likes me instead of you. I remember your weak father dying. I let him... I was standing there as he was killed by a RiverClan cat."
I screech, toppling onto her. "You're lying! You're just saying that! Nobody would ever do that!"
"But I did," a taunting grin spreads across her face. I know she is satisfied at my anger. "I wanted you to be too sad, too worried about your mother to interfere with Tigerpaw and me."
I take my claws across her face. She whimpers. Liontail knocks me over, and Silverpaw rises to her paws.
"That was extremely uncalled for, Ravenpaw! You know better than that. There is no reason to harm a Clanmate, ever!" He scolds, cuffing me on the ear.
"Now off to camp with you, and clean out the elders' bedding!"
My head hangs low as I sulk off. I hate Silverpaw. I hate her! I wish she would just die! My thoughts surprise me, but I know it's true. She crossed the line. And I wanted Silverpaw to die.