Aang: Hey, Avatar Cat! Katara and I heard that your birthday's coming really soon!
AvatarCat12: You're right. It's coming tomorrow.
Katara: Then that means that there'll be new episodes of Legend Of Korra and Pokémon! Are you excited for that?
AvatarCat12: Heck yeah!
Aang: I bet you are. And if it's okay with you, I'll go ahead and say the disclaimer.
Disclaimer:
Summary: Goldwing's training in EarthBending has finally begun. However, things get really tough when he shows signs of weakness in training. In the meantime, Ashfeather gets into a jam when he goes out hunting. And Bearclaw tries to learn lightning redirection from his recovering uncle.
Uploading Date: April 27, 2012
All three: Enjoy!
...
Cats At Work
It was a few days after the terrible encounter with Frostfire. Now Goldwing and his pack had a new enemy on their tails besides Bearclaw; the dark brown tabby tom was too occupied to chase after them. Irontail had been injured by Frostfire's lightning attack, making Bearclaw very upset about this. But they couldn't help them right now, for they had to continue their journey.
The four cats cats had settled in a large canyon and were sleeping a lot due to being up all night when they tried to avoid Frostfire. Now they could sleep peacefully like hedgehogs in their hibernation.
But one cat wasn't asleep.
"It's today! I can't believe it!" Goldwing squealed like a kit, leaping up and down around his sleepy friends. "After a moon, I finally get to EarthBend! And this place is...is...perfect! What about you, Ashfeather?"
He looked down at the dark gray tabby tom. Ashfeather was curled up in a ball, glaring up at him with one blue eye opened. He even let out a groan to show that he was tired.
Goldwing flattened his ears. "Sorry," he mewed in a whisper.
All of a sudden, a deep noise under the ground made Goldwing yelp and leap back, unaware of what was going on. But then he saw the rock den of Nightpaw burst open, and a black shape shot out, leaping from rock to rock until it was resting at the top. Goldwing liked this introduction.
"'Morning, pupil!" Nightpaw cheered, standing up and raising her tail in the air. Then she leapt down from her perch and dipped her head to Goldwing.
The Avatar Cat nodded back. "Good morning, Master Nightpaw."
"Hey..." Silverheart's sleepy mew made Goldwing turn around to see Silverheart rising up and stretching her slender legs. Then she yawned, "You never called me Master Silverheart."
"Well...should I call you that?" Goldwing asked her, feeling embarrassed as he lowered his head.
Yet another noise made the three cats turn about to see that Ashfeather was already awake. The WaterClan warrior had raised his head and gave the three other Clan cats a glare through tired eyes. Giving a snarl, he curled up back into a ball and mumbled something about Benders before going back to sleep.
Nightpaw called, "Sorry, Sleepy! We'll EarthBend as quietly as we can."
But Goldwing saw a smirk form on the blind black she-cat's face as she stomped her front paw onto the ground. At once, he saw a crack travel fast towards Ashfeather and go beneath his nest. Ashfeather himself let out a yowl of surprise as a large pinnacle of rock shot up underneath him, and it turned to a scream as he was launched into the air and to the other cats.
As Silverheart giggled, he hit the ground with a thump, then he got up and tramped sluggishly to Goldwing and Nightpaw, muttering angry gibberish. Then Ashfeather muttered some angry gibberish again and lumbered back over to his nest.
"So what move are we gonna learn first?" Goldwing chattered, leaping around Nightpaw. "The Rockalanche?" He swept his tail around to demonstrate it did some front rolls on the ground as if he was wrestling a cat to the ground. "I bet we're learning to make a sandy whirlpool, right?" He completed that by rearing up onto his haunches and spun his front paws around.
"Soon," his mentor replied as she head-butted his shoulder mildly. "But how about we start by moving a rock?"
And as she padded off, Goldwing followed her, yapping like a pup, "Yeah! Yeah!"
...
Goldwing and Nightpaw had arrived at an open area in the canyon with several rocks around them. Silverheart had followed behind them, for she was sitting on a rock mound a little distance away, flicking her ears sometimes at passing flies. In reality, Goldwing didn't mind that she came along, but if she tried to interfere, she could get hurt.
He didn't want that to happen again. That reminded him of when he wanted to learn FireBending, but he remembered his promise. After he had accidently and nearly killed Silverheart just a few moons ago, he promised to never FireBend ever again. But he pushed it out of the way, for now was the time to EarthBend.
"Now the key to EarthBending is posture," Nightpaw began. She lowered herself to the ground and widened the distance between her legs. Even though it wasn't his best, Goldwing tried hard to imitate her. "Now stay firm and tough. Earth is one stubborn element." Then she shoved the Avatar Cat (to his surprise), causing him to stumble to the side. "And the only way to move it is to be like a rock yourself."
"Got it." Goldwing turned to lick where she shoved him, wanting to keep that info in his mind.
Nightpaw twitched her ears with satisfaction. "Good. Now the true motion of moving a rock is simple." She padded over to a nearby rock, lunged forward, and struck her paw at the rock. That caused the boulder to fly into the distance, slamming into the side of the canyon. She looked over at her apprentice and meowed, "Can you handle that?"
Goldwing took a similar pace and nodded. "I'm ready."
His eyes narrowed as he leapt forward, yowling and lashing his paw outwards. But a blast of air sent Goldwing shooting backward, making him slam into Archie's side and fall on his face. The golden AirClan warrior slowly got up, licking any amount of dirt from his pelt. So far, the first lesson didn't turn out good, but it wasn't too bad either.
Fits of laughter made Goldwing sit up and look towards a rock a little bit away from Silverheart. Ashfeather was sitting on one of the other rocks, fully awake now and laughing. As he rolled around, the dark gray tabby tom hooted, "Rock beats Air!"
...
Irontail looked up ahead of himself as he saw a single tree up on top of a lush hill in the sunset. The tree had beautiful autumn colors of red, orange, and golden. He looked around him find out that a certain kit wasn't following him. At first, he felt as if something had gotten him, but then a dark gray blur raced in front of him.
"Gotcha, Dad!" Wolfkit squealed as he leaped at him. Irontail's son shared the same amber eyes, long pelt, and flat face like him. But unlike him, he had dark gray fur with no tabby stripes.
Irontail let out a cry of mock pain as his son tackled him in the chest, sending him straight to the ground. As he laid down, Wolfkit leapt on him and started laughing with delight. The FireClan deputy couldn't help but laugh with him as he ruffled his head fur with his paw. Quickly, Wolfkit leaped off of his father and started wagging his rear in the air, ready for more.
"Come to me, son," Irontail meowed gently. Wolfkit obeyed as his father rolled over onto his belly.
When Wolfkit settled on his shoulders, he mewed, "Dad, we're pals, right?"
Irontail purred, "That's right, son."
"And we'll always stick together, right?"
This made Irontail look to the ground and turn to his son. "Wolfkit, I want to tell you something my father and my mentor had told me. Look up to the first stars coming out in the sky. StarClan is up there. Our warrior ancestors are watching over us. They live in us."
Wolfkit looked up. "Whoa. Really?"
"Indeed." Irontail looked up at the sky again. "So when you feel alone, look up to the sky beside the friends and allies you make along the way. And remember: StarClan will always watch over you forever. And so will I."
(Author's Note: What I'm doing next is to make sure that it's still Irontail's dream stuff. It doesn't count for the memory thing. Just watch the rest of the series and you'll find that out. And that last part there was from The Lion King, which Disney, and not me, owns.)
Rain fell all over Irontail as he sat underneath the same tree from earlier, except this time, two things were wrong. The first was that the tree was no longer alive, and Wolfkit (later Wolfcloud) was no longer behind him. Instead, there was a small tombstone in front of him, and he had tears falling down his face.
As he looked down from the dark crimson sky (a sign to show evil times up ahead), he choked, "Wolfcloud, my beloved son, I hope to see you again."
...
"Uncle!"
Bearclaw kept nudging his uncle to try and wake him up again; his uncle had been unconscious, his left front leg and chest covered in cobwebs. After hauling Irontail out of danger, the large dark brown tabby tom had brought him all the way over to a small broken-down hut. If it wasn't for Frostfire, they wouldn't be like this.
That evil bitch! How dare she do this to Uncle!
Suddenly, Bearclaw saw Irontail's amber eyes slowly open and heard the gray tabby moan. Relieved, he padded cautiously over to him and embraced him.
"You're back, Uncle," he purred. Then his voice turned serious as he went on, "Back there, you were knocked unconscious. Frostfire did this to you."
Irontail tried to get up, but he winced and partly fell down. Bearclaw rushed over to his uncle and gently helped him up, worried that he would get hurt. To help him, he let him lean against the wall, making him groan a little from the pain.
Bearclaw helped him settle down as he continued, "It was a surprise attack."
"Why am I not surprised?" Irontail grunted blankly.
Noticing a bowl of cream he had made earlier, Bearclaw rushed over and gingerly picked it up. Believe it or not, it was discovered that the mare that Bearclaw was riding on was pregnant, soon expecting a foal. Bearclaw had to milk the horse like a Twoleg would do for a cow before adding some other ingredients his uncle would love.
He hoped his uncle didn't mind.
"I made you some cream," Bearclaw meowed, setting the bowl before Irontail. "Hope you enjoy it."
Irontail purred gratefully towards his nephew before weakly lapping up the cream. Suddenly, his amber eyes lit up, and Bearclaw thought he had perhaps made some good cream. But to his slight disappointment, Irontail let out a grunt of disgust, but seeing the hurt look on his nephew's face, he quickly tried to disguise it with a somewhat delighted grunt.
Then the fat gray tabby tom croaked, "It's really good." He lapped some more cream up although he looked reluctant and grunted. "It's...er...refreshing!"
Bearclaw made sure to keep him strong by reaching behind him and pushing another bowl of cream to Irontail. But when he heard splashing noise behind him, he could tell that Irontail had thrown the cream out the window. Bearclaw felt a little offended that he didn't like the cream, for he worked hard to make it the best he could.
Despite that, he couldn't afford to get his pride broken. Bearclaw knew that his low confidence had caused him to abandon Irontail before and he wasn't willing to do that again. He didn't want to go through that again.
"Uncle, I was thinking of something," Bearclaw began as he wrapped his tail around his paws. Irontail sat up and nodded to show that he was listening. "There could be a day that I might get into another battle against Frostfire. I'll have to learn advanced FireBending moves if I can be a match for her." Noticing his uncle's frown, he added, "I know what you'll say: You want me to be nicer to Frostfire and that I should get along with her since she's my sister..."
"No," Irontail suddenly disrupted him. "She's a crazy bitch, and she needs to go down."
Bearclaw stared at his uncle in shock. He had never heard Irontail swear before; the plump gray tabby elder wasn't usually one to swear.
In spite of that, Bearclaw nodded, so Irontail wearily stood up and grunted, "I believe we should get back to training right now."
...
As Goldwing tried repeatedly to charge at the rock, Silverheart and Nightpaw looked from left to right, watching him charge again and again. Finally, giving up, Goldwing limped away from the rock, muttering under his breath.
Damn! It's too hard!
Silverheart flicked her tail to Goldwing and was speaking to Nightpaw. "What the hell went wrong there? He did just what you told him to!"
"Maybe if we try a different way..." the Avatar Cat mewed. He took up a fighting stance and began to prowl towards the boulder. "If I could move towards it from a different approach..."
"...then you're repeating your problem." Goldwing felt Nightpaw's teeth grasp his tail as she hauled him back.
She jabbed her paw frivolously on his head, telling him, "When you EarthBend, you have to stop thinking like an AirBender. There's no different approach, no other way around, and no tricky tricks that'll move that rock." She shoved him away quickly, making him yowl in surprise before going on, "You need to face it head-on! And when I mean head-on, I REALLY mean head-on!"
And to prove that, she lowered her head, pawed the ground like a rhino, and charged at the rock. She leapt at the rock and crashed her head into it, making it shatter into many little pieces.
Goldwing winced when he saw Nightpaw not flinching from that. He looked down to the ground and shuffled his forepaws, unsure of himself. He didn't know how he could do that; learning to EarthBend was hard indeed. When he looked up, he saw Silverheart get up and pad over to the two cats. But he lowered his head quickly to hear what she had to say.
"Hey, Nightpaw," Silverheart mewed to her apprentice. "I've trained Goldwing in WaterBending for a while. He really responds well to a helpful training experience. Be sure to give him lots of encouragement and good praise. Kind words. If it looks like he's doing something wrong, just give him a little nudge to get him back on the right track." She demonstrated that by giving the small black cat a small nudge on the shoulder.
"Thanks, Silverheart," Nightpaw meowed. "I'll do that. A gentle nudge."
...
"Keep that head held high, Twinkletoes!"
Goldwing puffed with fatigue as he strained to hold a large rock on his back, something that was normally difficult. Instead of taking Silverheart's advice, Nightpaw seemed to follow her own. In the meantime, the small blind black she-cat was stomping down and causing rock pillars to rise under his forepaws and hindpaws as he padded along. But Goldwing lost his balance and fell to the ground, the rock falling right beside him.
In another part of training, Nightpaw led Goldwing over to a small pond under a hanging rock. Then she rubbed her paws together and began digging through a flat rock on the ground with ease. Goldwing also rubbed his paws together and struck the rock with his claws, but it ended up hurting them and making them bleed a bit.
In the third part of training, Goldwing was sitting there, looking from left to right. He could feel his eyes twitch a little bit as he kept up his caution.
"ROCK-LIKE!"
Goldwing yowled in surprise as he leapt into the air; the noise had come from below. When he fell onto his back, Nightpaw had dug out a hole she dug into and flicked her paw to the ground. A pillar of rock shoved him back up as she poked him with her other paw. The golden AirClan warrior grinned nervously.
Then Nightpaw took Ashfeather's badger-bone boomerang and held her left forepaw out, keeping him front getting it. He grunted, trying to move, but she still held that weapon out of range. She shoved him backward and he stalked away, grumbling to himself, before she handed the weapon to Goldwing, who was blindfolded.
Then they moved off to the second part of this training. Nightpaw stood on a rock in the distance and began to kick the ground, causing columns of rock to emerge and fly at him. Goldwing tried to hit them and finally succeeded after missing four. When he looked up and took the blindfold off, he saw his EarthBending mentor nod in approval.
When they were at a clearing, Nightpaw raised her forelegs and two walls of rock rose on either side, leaving Goldwing amazed. Then Nightpaw moved her left forepaw in a straight line in front of her, and a line was drawn in the ground at her feet. She held up her tail, and rocks shot toward her, covering her body except for her eyes in armor. Then, as Goldwing gasped in awe, she slid forward. Goldwing used his head to stop her and slowly began to push her back. He soon began to lose ground, but finally pushed her past the line she drew in the ground.
Finally, Goldwing was tossing a rock with a handle on it into the air and catching it in his jaws. He was standing on two tall pillars of rock with two paws on each one with Nightpaw at the base. She padded between the pillars, slammed her paws down, and hit the columns with her forepaws, causing tremors to go up them.
"ROCK-LIKE!" she cried.
This time, Goldwing didn't flinch; he had learned to stay calm after what happened last time. As his face hardened with determination, he watched as Nightpaw rose on her own pillar of rock and nodded in approval. Goldwing gave her a huge grin and swore that she gave him a smile.
I'm getting closer!
...
Ashfeather crouched low and slunk in the long grass at the other side of the canyon. He was on the prowl for prey, for he felt that it was his duty to feed his Clan. But even though the pack only had four cats, he felt that this was a second Clan he was loyal to.
All of a sudden, there was a swishing noise in the grass that got closer. With a yowl, Ashfeather unsheathed his claws and clambered up the nearest red cedar tree as fast as his paws could carry him. He gripped the bark carefully with his claws to avoid sliding off and falling into the jaws of a predator.
But what he saw made him almost coo.
The creature making the rustling noise was a little creature about his size that looked like a baby rhino. It did look like one, except there was a lump of skin behind its head and it had a longer tail than a normal rhino. It also had orange coloring on the top and a yellow belly and jaws. When it saw berries on a raspberry bush, it squealed with joy, walked over to the bush, and started eating some berries.
"Okay, little whatever you are," Ashfeather meowed, leaping down and facing it. Prey was prey to him. "You're cute, but you're made of meat. Just closer."
The young animal watched as Ashfeather stalked closer and closer. It didn't even try to run, but it was just watching him with curiosity. Stupid animal!
He let out a yowl and sprang at the creature, but it moved out of the way. Ashfeather thought it was fleeing, but it had only spotted some more berries. Thus, Ashfeather missed his catch and instead landed in a fissure near the bush; fortunately for him, his front paws and boomerang were still out of the crack. Seeing him, the animal walked over to him and started wagging its tail.
"Gotcha!" Ashfeather howled, lashing his front claws at it.
But he failed because he fell deeper into the fissure and unsheathed his claws. Now he was stuck until only his head was showing out of the ground. He struggled to free himself, but he couldn't budge. He growled as the creature pranced around him, making cute little squealing noises.
Ashfeather muttered, "You are one lucky little animal, you know that?"
...
Bearclaw had watched as Irontail made some cream for them to drink; he was impressed with the way his uncle made it correctly. The milk from a wild cow was much better than the milk from the mare (who was now living in the wild). He and Irontail were still sitting in the small faulty shack, lapping up some cream.
Irontail was meowing, "Lightning is a pure version of FireBending excluding the aggression that a normal FireBender uses. It is not fueled by emotion like the way other FireBending forms are. Some call lightning the Fire of Cold Blood." He took the cream pot off the fire and poured it into another kettle. He began to pour two bowls, adding, "It is exact and lethal like Frostfire. To reach the skill involves peace of mind."
He pushed one bowl to Bearclaw, who lapped some cream up and mewed, "So that's why we're drinking cream. It's to calm our minds."
"Oh yeah! Right you are!" Irontail purred. But then he mewed calmly, "I mean, yes. We are."
So they didn't have more to say as they lapped up their cream calmly. Then, after they finished, the two former FireClan cats padded out of the broken-down shack to the cliff outside. Bearclaw could see Irontail squinting when the sunlight lit up his face, which showed that it was a while since he set paw outside. When the fat gray tabby tom stumbled a little, his nephew was there to help steady him a little.
Finally, the two cats had arrived at the edge of a grassy hill overseeing the valley with a walled abandoned city at the bottom. Bearclaw looked around it to admire the scenery.
"You see, Bearclaw, there is energy in nature around us," Irontail began meowing. "The energy is yin and yang; positive and negative energy." He sat down and held out his forepaws to stand for the two forms of energy. "Only a few FireBenders can truly separate these energies. And this creates an inequity. The energy needs to reinstate balance, and the positive and negative energy can strike back together." He brought his paws together to show the point. "You provide release and guidance, creating lightning."
Then Irontail flicked his tail at Bearclaw, signaling for him to step back. He held his right front paw up and, with two claws unsheathed, began to create lightning by circling his paw around his body. He mimicked the motion with his left forepaw while Bearclaw looked on. The young dark brown tabby tom felt impressed.
Irontail brought his two forepaws together and sprang forward with his right forepaw extended, claws drawn out. He whirled around on the spot and shot lightning into the distance. Bearclaw was amazed of what he saw; he hoped to do something like that, feeling like a kit again.
"I want to try it myself," he finally announced.
Irontail turned his head to lick his injured shoulder before looking at his nephew. "Very well. But do not command energy once you split it. Learn to be its humble guide. Breathe first."
So Bearclaw breathed in in and closed his bright golden eyes. Then he began imitating the flows that Irontail performed, except, to his anger, that he did not create traces of lightning. Furiously, Bearclaw snarled with rage and thrust his right front paw forward, but it merely caused a fiery explosion that shoved him backward. He fell on his back next to Irontail, who just shook his head slightly.
Feeling upset, Bearclaw got up by himself and stalk away, feeling angry that he couldn't get it right. If he tried again, he didn't know what would happen during the next lesson. But if he didn't try at all, Frostfire would beat him up...or worse.
...
After some time in training, Goldwing and Nightpaw had stopped for a little bit to hunt. Since Silverheart was still the blind she-cat's mentor, Nightpaw had to learn more hunting techniques from her. When they were done eating their fresh-kill, it was straight back to training.
Goldwing felt very nervous when it came to the training. When he had practiced WaterBending with Silverheart, she had been kind and gentle to him. But when he practiced EarthBending with Nightpaw, it was nothing but strict training and discipline. Despite that, he knew that without discipline, he could never perform any of the Bending arts.
"Let's move to something different." Nightpaw's voice made him listen. "Instead of just moving a rock, you're gonna stop one instead. So get your ass into your crane stance!" At this, she pounced at Goldwing and knocked him away from her, making him wince.
Since he didn't want to argue, Goldwing rose onto his hind legs and lifted one hind paw up and his front legs held in an angle like a crane's wings.
Nightpaw sat in front of him with a trail leading up to a cliff behind her. "I'll roll that rock down at you." She used her tail to point up the hill at a large boulder sitting at the top of the cliff. "Stay in that stance and stop that boulder if you've got an EarthBender attitude. Like this."
She pointed her paw to the rock and swung it down to show what she meant. But the Avatar Cat didn't say anything; he looked up at the boulder on its high perch, looming over his head like a buzzard. He couldn't help but fidget, and that caused Nightpaw to glare at him, making him get back into his stance.
"Nightpaw?" Goldwing turned around to see Silverheart approaching them. "Sorry to bother you, but is this really the best way to teach him EarthBending?"
"Glad you mentioned that!" her apprentice replied. She pulled her bag forward from under him and pulled out a green banner, which she wrapped around Goldwing's eyes. "Now this is a better way. Now that he's blindfolded, he'll have to sense the vibrations of the rock to stop it this time. Thanks, Silverheart! I salute to you!"
Shit. Now it's harder than before! Goldwing thought. Out loud, he mewed sarcastically, "Yeah. Thanks, Silverheart."
Silverheart just shrugged.
Quickly, Nightpaw leapt up towards the rock until she was on the cliff. Goldwing was waiting at the bottom, waiting for that rock to hurl itself down towards him. Silverheart was watching from a distance, her tail sweeping anxiously across the dusty ground.
Leaping down and using her hind paws, Nightpaw shoved the boulder forward and it began to roll down the slope. Goldwing felt really anxious and frightened as it rolled toward him while Silverheart was looking on, her tail now lashing around in the air. He could hear the rumbling of the boulder as it got closer and closer to him, possibly crushing anything in its path.
Goldwing gritted his teeth while he dug his foreclaws into the ground. He could scent the dusty smell of the rock as it made its way down quickly towards him. A part of him was telling him to use his instincts and leap away, but another part of him was saying to block it quickly. Starting to panic, the young AirClan cat began kneading the dirt with his paws as he tried to decide what to do.
Dodge it or stop it? Dodge it or stop it? StarClan, what do I do?
...
Commercial Break
...
Jump or block? StarClan, show me what to do!
Panic gripped Goldwing's heart like a paw ready to smash a mouse to a pulp when he heard the rock tumbling down towards him. Unknown to him, Nightpaw was watching him with narrowed pale green eyes while Silverheart was looking away, unable to watch any further. Then he made his decision, hoping that Nightpaw would accept it, for it was a natural way of avoiding danger.
So before it could hit him, Goldwing took a deep breath and leapt with ease over the rock, which rolled past Silverheart and smashed into the side of the canyon. Upon impact, it shattered into a lot of little pieces of rock. Hoping that Nightpaw wouldn't get angry at him, he let her come to him and take the blindfold off. But what happened next made him wrong.
She wasn't nodding at him or anything. Instead, she was glaring at him angrily.
Quickly, he mewed, "I...I just panicked. I don't know what to say..."
"There's nothing left to say," Nightpaw growled. "You blew it. You had the chance and you were in the correct form! But when it came down to it, you didn't show some spine!"
She gave him a rough shove, and it made him tumble a bit. Feeling ashamed, Goldwing lowered himself to the ground, hoping he could succeed in apologizing to his EarthBending mentor. He hoped she would be okay with it.
"I know. I'm sorry."
But Nightpaw leaned in close and snarled, "Yeah, you should be, stupid furball! I see you're not tough enough to stop the rock then! Then at least give the rock the pleasure of smashing you like a bug instead of jumping out of the way like a yellow-bellied pussy! DO you have the stuff to be an EarthBender?"
Goldwing looked down sadly, not looking at the small black she-cat in the eyes. This was an act of submission, but he also did it because he was now close to giving up. He knew he just wasn't good at EarthBending; he tried everything he was taught, but it didn't work.
So he mewed, "I...no."
Nightpaw snorted and stepped back from the Avatar Cat, although she still glared over at him. Apparently seeing that Goldwing was upset, Silverheart padded over to him and sat next to him. She leaned against him and licked his ears in a comforting way to help him feel better.
The silver warrior meowed, "Goldwing, it's okay. How about you take a break, and then you can try again later? Besides, we still have some WaterBending to do. Is that all right?"
"Yeah...sure," Goldwing meowed as he sat up.
Silverheart gave him a soothing smile as she stood up and began to pad away. Goldwing looked over at Nightpaw to see if her attitude had changed, but she was still glaring at him. Groaning, he got up from his spot and followed Silverheart to see if there was some water nearby.
"Sure. Whatever." he could feel Nightpaw's words sear through his brain like a wildfire. "Just splash in a kit pool until you feel better."
Goldwing looked away and walked on as Silverheart looked over her shoulder behind her to give her apprentice a stern and disapproving glare. But Nightpaw was already swaggering off in the reverse path, unaware of her mentor's frustration. Then he watched as she noticed a rabbit nearby and used EarthBending to knock it to her, killing it with her fangs.
Now he felt worse than ever as he followed Silverheart...but this wasn't the only time he felt bad. Goldwing remembered when he was an apprentice, he hid a secret map of Emberstar, father of Silverheart and Ashfeather, from them. He felt bad for doing it, because he didn't want them to leave just yet, but Ashfeather's reaction had made him feel worse. And he also remembered when he burned Silverheart by accident with FireBending.
This wasn't FireBending, but he already felt worthless like an old piece of fresh-kill. He felt it would take a long time before he could EarthBend.
...
Another explosion...again. Bearclaw hissed at this as he tried again to get the attack right. He was getting more and more frustrated as he unsheathed his claws while Irontail watched him, leaning against the shack.
He had done everything his uncle had told him to do, but he kept messing up. If Darkstar had been Bearclaw's mentor, then he would be more ruthless in this training than Irontail would be. But he didn't want to think about that; instead, he focused more on trying to stand his ground against Frostfire.
But he couldn't concentrate because of the explosions. After one more, he gave up and sat down on the ground.
"I don't believe this!" he spat. "Every time I try to do it right, it blows up in my face! Why the hell can't I get it right? Nothing's ever right for me!"
But when he looked over his shoulder, he could see Irontail getting up from his spot and padding over to him. His uncle had seemed to be slowly recovering from his wounds.
The fat gray tabby elder explained gently, "I knew this would happen. You cannot learn to master lightning unless you deal with the turmoil bubbling up in your heart."
Bearclaw glared at him. "What turmoil?"
"Bearclaw, if you want your anger to disappear, you have to let go of your humility." Irontail's orange eyes were grave.
"What humility? I don't feel any!" Bearclaw cried out. "I'm just as full of pride as ever!"
Irontail explained, "Listen. I know pride is what makes a FireClan so strong and makes a cat the way it is. But pride is the source of shame, not its object. The key to shame is true humility and following the Warrior Code."
This caused Bearclaw to look down and mew, "Well...my life's been full of humility lately."
"Tell you what, Bearclaw," Irontail meowed, looking to the side. "I have another idea. I could teach you a technique that even Frostfire doesn't know. Do you want to know why?" When Bearclaw shook his head, he added as he smiled, "It's because I created it all by myself!"
Bearclaw couldn't help but smile at this. It was always like Irontail to cheer him up like this in this time of need. Maybe there was a chance to fight against Frostfire after all.
...
Ashfeather grumbled as he watched the unknown "little" animal frolicking around him, which looked like torture to him. But no matter how many times he had tried to get out of the fissure, the dark gray tabby warrior couldn't free himself. If only Nightpaw were here to help him out, or Goldwing if he could EarthBend, then he would be back to hunting.
But in the meantime, he was stuck with nothing much to do except stare and talk. This could also expose him to predators. Or even worse...FireClan cats.
"Do you think I deserve this?" he asked the animal. When it looked at him and wagged its tail, he muttered, "I guess you're right. Look, I'm sorry I tried to hunt you, but this is nature. Big animals hunt small animals and eat them, but it's not personal. You know that! But I guess it's the reverse way now."
The baby yawned and walked in a circle around Ashfeather's head before lying down again and closing its eyes. It was now dozing with its head resting on top of his, to his humiliation.
Ashfeather sighed as he meowed, "All right, fine. You're a cute little creature." As the baby made cooing noises in its nap, the WaterClan warrior groaned, "Fine. You convinced me. If I can get outta here mysteriously, I'll give up eating meat. It's gonna be nothing but a wittily correct veggie life for me. And no more meat, though it's delicious."
His mouth watered at the thought of fresh squirrel meat or something better: fish. As if it knew what he was thinking, the baby got up and scampered off in the opposite direction. Just then, a fly flew on from the left and began to buzz around Ashfeather's head, making him make some groaning noise as he struggled to swat it away with his head. The fly landed on top of his head, and Ashfeather just grunted in defeat.
Suddenly, Ashfeather's ears began twitching, and the fly flew away from him. It was because the baby creature had finally returned with a Granny Smith apple in its mouth. It stopped in its tracks and rolled the apple toward him.
"Fate's givin' me another chance!" he cheered.
But to his dismay, the apple only made it until only a mouse-length between Ashfeather and the baby creature. He almost wanted to tell the creature to fetch it or he would eat it, but he held it back in time. This time, he would have to depend on himself.
"It's okay, tyke. I got it," Ashfeather meowed, reaching his head to the bag and got it, fortunately. He found his badger-bone boomerang inside and fetched it with his jaws before tossing it at the apple. Unluckily, it only landed right next to the fruit and stayed there. "Return, boomerang!"
The baby animal watched him, its tail waving in the air.
...
Goldwing looked over to the side, where he saw Tobias flying after a small leopard frog. He and Silverheart had found a good pond where they could train while the hawk could hunt. Tobias swooped down from the sky and landed on a rock, catching the frog in his talons. But the yellow amphibian wriggled out of his grasp and hopped away. Tobias chased after it and captured it, killing it with a scratch to the back of the neck before falling into the water in an awkward way.
But even with Tobias' funny antics, Goldwing felt his ears flatten with shame as he remembered how he acted in EarthBending. He felt like he was letting Nightpaw down, though he wanted to follow his friend's advice. In fact, he now felt so ashamed that he just weakly helped Silverheart WaterBend a ball of water between them.
"Goldwing, you do know this block is temporary?" Silverheart's voice made him look down.
"Please, Silverheart. I don't wanna talk about it," he muttered miserably.
A sigh made Goldwing look up to see that the beautiful silver she-cat was watching him with concern. He didn't want to disappoint her like he did with Nightpaw, but he didn't want to tell her about what he felt.
But then she meowed, "That's the problem; you know that. If you just face the problem instead of fleeing from it, then..."
But what she said made him look up and snap, "All right, all right! I know! Shit! I have to meet it head-on like a rock!" When he saw her look at him in dismay, he sighed and meowed calmly and sadly, "I'm sorry. I just...I can't do it. I don't know why, but...I can't."
"Listen, Goldwing. Water and Fire are opposite elements, right?" Silverheart meowed, looking calm now. Goldwing nodded, so she went on as if she was training a kit, "So what's the opposite of Air?"
"Earth?" he guessed.
Silverheart nodded. "Yeah. That's why it's hard for you to get through it. You're working with your opposite element, and that's always hard. But have faith. You'll get it right. I promise."
Goldwing took this at heart and looked down to the water, where he could see his reflection. But instead of his own reflection, he could see another cat's face; this cat had bright green eyes and a coat as orange as fire. He felt some nature of power press onto his mind like jaws at seeing this, but he pushed it away with all of his might. When he looked down again, he was staring at his own reflection.
Now Goldwing saw that the cat he loved was right. He had been working with his element, and he had to have more patience from now on. But he didn't have time to think, for Silverheart had sliced off a reed with her claws and yowled, "Think fast!" before tossing it at him.
Goldwing looked up in time to see the reed charging at him like bees chasing after a bear that stole honey. But instead of running away, he planted his hind claws into the mud and lifted up one forepaw while water surrounded it. And when the reed almost reached him, Goldwing leaped into the air...and sliced the reed in two with his claws. His whiskers ruffled as the two halves of the reed passed by him before landing in the water.
"Good job. You have the neat reflexes of a WaterBender," Silverheart praised him.
Goldwing dipped his head to her and mewed, "Thank you...Master Silverheart."
He looked up to see her dark blue eyes widen with wonder before a warm smile widened across her face. To his delight, she lowered her head in a bow of respect. Earlier today, she had been jealous because he didn't call her Master like he did with Nightpaw. But now that he called her that, he had really gotten her confidence back.
Kinking his tail to her to carry on, Goldwing and Silverheart spent some more time practicing their Bending. Now the burden Goldwing had gotten on his shoulders had lightened a little.
...
After the talk, Irontail led Bearclaw to sit down in front of them until they sat across from each other. Bearclaw was confused about this until Irontail began using a stick in his jaws to trace the Clans and their symbols. He sat quietly before he let his uncle speak.
"Fire is the element of power. The cats of FireClan have aspiration and willpower, and their own energy and ambition to achieve in what they want. Earth is the element of substance. The cats of EarthClan are varied and durable. They are obstinate yet stable. Air is the element of liberty. The cats of AirClan had separated themselves from worldly worries and found peace and freedom. And rumor has it that they had pretty good senses of humor!"
He purred at this and looked at his nephew, but Bearclaw didn't smile back. He really didn't find this funny, for that reminded him of the Avatar Cat.
Sighing, Irontail went on, "Water is the element of change. The cats of WaterClan are capable of changing to many things. They have a deep sense of kinship and love that holds them together through anything."
"Uncle?" Bearclaw asked him, feeling confused now. "Why are you telling me this?"
"It is wise to learn about the neighboring Clans around you and gain their wisdom," the elderly tom replied. "Your entire life may become strict and humdrum if we draw wisdom from only one place. But if we understand the other Clans and their elements, then we can become whole. That also goes for cats outside the Clans and the Warrior Code."
Bearclaw was surprised yet rapt about this. Before he was exiled, he only knew about FireClan territory and FireBending, so he had felt a little stale. But now that he was a rogue and Irontail was telling him this, he could understand some more.
StarClan, I don't know if you're watching over us now. But help us in our fight against Frostfire.
...
Goldwing sat on a small mushroom-shaped rock, meditating by wrapping his tail around his paws and closing his eyes. Silverheart's words drummed into his brain like an angry jellyfish, but he was thankful for her advice. If it weren't for her, he believed, he would go into insanity. And where would leave the world? In ruins.
Tobias was churring in his sleep, and Goldwing looked down at him in time, for Nightpaw had suddenly appeared in front of him. He wondered if she was still mad at him, but she had a weird sly grin on her face instead. Goldwing hated to find out what other grueling task she would lay out for him.
"Hey, Goldwing!" Nightpaw meowed, holding a small bag that said "Goldwing's Nuts: Do Not Touch". "I found some tasty peanuts in this bag! Besides, even if you wanted to, you're too much of a big soft pussy to do anything about it. Isn't that right?"
Goldwing looked down at her in frustration, for she was bullying him into getting his peanuts back. But he didn't want to get into a fight with her like last time, when he had unintentionally driven her away from his pack. He didn't want that to happen again.
So he replied, "Go ahead. I don't mind. I'd be more than happy to share food with my friends." Then he closed his eyes and began meditating again.
Nightpaw mewed, "Good! Glad you feel that way, buddy! I just wanted to show you this nifty stick I found among your stuff! Now I can get those peanuts out of their shells!"
Goldwing's dark gray eyes snapped open; he knew what nutcracker Nightpaw was talking about. In a few seconds, the small black apprentice pulled his glider staff from behind him and tossed it into the air before catching it in her jaws. The golden Avatar Cat flinched at what would happen if his only weapon and other travelling item were abused.
Then it happened. Nightpaw smiled up at him sketchily, lifted up the staff with her jaws, and slammed it down onto a stray peanut, smashing it open to reveal the nuts inside. He wished he hid his glider staff more accurately.
"Actually, I'd rather say you shouldn't..." Goldwing began.
But there was another crack as Nightpaw slammed the staff down and smashed another peanut. This made him cringe.
Goldwing tried again a little inversely, "Nightpaw, that's an antique! It was crafted by the monks of AirClan..."
Another crack. Goldwing felt more frustrated as he cringed and tried again.
"...it's a fragile tool!"
However, Nightpaw just ate some of the smashed peanuts by shoveling them into her mouth and eating like a pig. Tobias had probably heard the cracks, for he had woken up and started nipping at the crumbs like a songbird.
"It's not the only fragile tool I see!" she taunted mockingly back at him.
Yawning, she got up and padded off with Tobias, carrying Goldwing's staff in her jaws. She hit it along rocks as she padded away, casting a mocking jeering look at the Avatar Cat before she left. Glaring after her, Goldwing settled himself down and tried reciting a tale of Ga'Hoole he heard a few times.
"Once upon a time before there were kingdoms of owls, in a time of ever-raging wars, there was an owl born in the country of the North Waters and his name was Hoole."
But he heard Silverheart's voice meow, "Goldwing..."
He snapped back, "I'm meditating here!"
"Very funny, smartass, but this is important!" her voice snapped. Then her voice grew soft as she meowed, "Ashfeather's not back yet, and the sun's almost down! We should look for him."
Goldwing looked around his shoulder, catching sight of Silverheart's anxious look on her face. He wished he didn't speak so sharply to her, but it was because of Nightpaw. Sighing, he leapt down from the rock and padded up to her until they were face-to-face.
"If we split up, we'll find him faster," he told her.
Silverheart nodded and sprinted off in one direction while Goldwing went in another. He hoped Ashfeather was okay and that another predator didn't catch him yet. If a fox got him, he would blame himself for not rescuing his friend on time. But he couldn't think of that right.
He had a friend to save.
...
Ashfeather growled as the baby animal began chewing on his ears. The horny beak it had was enough to pierce the ears, but it wasn't enough to tear a hole through it. But he had enough.
So he prayed, "Look, God or karma or whoever StarClan sent here, if I get outta here alive, I'll give up meat forever!" He growled as the baby bit on his ears some more before he went on, "It's basically my identity!" When the baby left, he mewed, "I was Ashfeather, the meat and sarcasm cat. But now I'll be Ashfeather, the veggies and straight talk bloke."
But then, he saw a familiar cat with a golden pelt rush t towards him. It was Goldwing, his white arrow stripes glowing in the dying sunlight.
"Goldwing!" Ashfeather rasped. "Thank StarClan you came! You got a fish on ya? I'm starving!"
"You're okay!" Goldwing greeted him, stopping in front of him.
But then he grabbed his scruff and began to pull. This was enough to make Ashfeather groan, "Ow! Stop it! You'll pull the fur off of my scruff!"
Goldwing let go and sat down, thinking. "Sorry. Maybe I can AirBend you out."
He rose to his hind paws and smashed his front paws down, causing a huge gust of air to erupt from the crevice that sent dust flying. When the dust cleared, Ashfeather still felt trapped and his head fur was blown up in what resembled a Mohawk. His boomerang came down and hit him in the head, flattening the Mohawk.
"Okay, I know you're just a novice EarthBender and all that shit," Ashfeather meowed. "But can you can use it to help me out here? How about it?"
To his confusion, the AirClan warrior looked down to the ground, looking uncertain of himself. Ashfeather wondered what had happened to make him look like that, so he kinked his head to him to let him continue. If it was Avatar Cat stuff, he could try his best to listen.
Finally, he mewed, "I can't. I...I just can't do it."
...
Commercial Break
...
Giving up on AirBending Ashfeather out of the crevice, Goldwing sat down, wrapped his tail around his paws, and began thinking. How could he try to get the dark gray tabby out of there without hurting him? He felt that Nightpaw could help, but asking her for that would make her view him more as a coward.
As if reading his mind, Ashfeather told him in an annoyed tone, "Well, can you get Nightpaw to help me out?"
"I...can't do that either," Goldwing confessed, looking away from him and looking to the setting sun. He stood up and began pacing around, thinking about what else to say.
"What? Why not?"
Goldwing looked back at him. "I don't know. It'll just seem too... awkward."
Ashfeather looked down to the ground. "Awkward, eh?" Looking up at his friend, he mewed, "Well, I for one won't do anything to make you feel awkward, my friend. I'm an open book. So go ahead and say whatever goes on in your head."
"Thanks, Ashfeather." Goldwing was grateful for his goofy yet faithful friend. He padded over to him and sat down next to him. "I'm just feeling confused right now about this EarthBending shit. I mean, there's a lot of pressure in doing it, and other cats expect me to do it perfectly since I'm the Avatar Cat. It puts me in a situation I don't like."
"A situation you don't like," Ashfeather repeated, looking down at the crack he was stuck in. "I know how you feel."
The golden cat nodded and went on, "Well, if I try my best, I screw it up. But if I don't try, then I won't get it. It feels like I'm being crushed between a rock and a hard place."
But just when Ashfeather was about to say something else, the thorn bushes in front of them started to crackle. What came out of the bushes made Goldwing eye it with wonder: a small orange-&-yellow animal had wandered out and was sniffing the air. Catching sight of them, the animal squealed with delight and ran over to them, licking Ashfeather like it was a dog.
Goldwing felt that this was a baby dinosaur since it was gazing at them with its curious face. Young baby dinosaurs were adventurous and they also loved to play.
(Author's Note: In other words, they're like the dinosaur kids from The Land Before Time.)
"Huh. How about that," Ashfeather commented when it finished licking him. "Goldwing, this is my new friend named Choo Choo Fluffykins. Choo Choo Fluffykins, Goldwing."
"Aww," Goldwing cooed, letting the baby dinosaur lick him happily. "That's a cute name for a baby Triceratops."
The WaterClan warrior looked up at him, amazed. "Huh? It doesn't look like a Triceratops."
Goldwing held the baby Triceratops still with his front paws as he studied it. "That's because the horns haven't developed and the frill could take several months to grow. They use the horns and frill to defend themselves from predators. I know it's hard to tell, but you'll see later." Looking at the baby, he cooed, "Aww, what're you doing out here, little guy? Where'd your mama go?"
The baby ceratopsian tilted its head to one side, but before Goldwing could say anything else, a loud bellow echoed across the canyon walls. The young golden AirClan warrior looked around his shoulder to see a larger Triceratops stomping towards them. It was a large beast with a dark gray overtone with a light gray underbelly, the three thick horns on its head, and a mean look on its face.
When the baby Triceratops saw the adult, it ran over to it and nuzzled it before running off to join Goldwing while an adult pink Triceratops watched. Since this was possibly a female and the baby's mother, Goldwing supposed that the angry dinosaur was a male and the baby's father.
Now Goldwing was left with the male Triceratops, who pawed the ground and shook his head while the female and the baby left the battle. He had to fight.
...
"WaterBending cats deal with the current of energy. A WaterBender lets their defense moves become their attacks, turning their foes' force against them. I learned from cats of WaterClan, so I learned a different way to do this with lightning."
Irontail had been instructing Bearclaw about how lightning was like WaterBending. Even though Bearclaw was no WaterBender and never would be (unlike the silver she-cat who was with the Avatar Cat), he was amazed.
"So you can teach me to direct it?" Bearclaw mewed, excitement running in his veins.
Irontail nodded. "The lightning will follow the energy if you let the energy in your body flow." He pointed with his right paw at an angle into the air and pointed at it with his other paw. "You must create a path from your claws up your muscles to your shoulder and down into your belly." He moved his left front paw from his muscles to his shoulder and then to his stomach. "Your belly is the source of energy in your body. It is the sea of chi. In my case, it's like a vast ocean!"
Then the fat gray tabby tomcat laughed, but Bearclaw didn't laugh. He still remained passive, for he desperately wanted to learn how to direct lightning. Seeing this, Irontail sighed and went on.
"You direct it up again and out the other paw." He pointed off into the distance with his left paw. "The stomach detour is critical. You must not let the lightning pass through your heart or the damage could be deadly."
At that, Irontail limped up to Bearclaw and pointed his claws gently at his nephew's chest. Bearclaw felt rather uneasy; it was like watching Frostfire almost killing his uncle all over again. But this time, he would use that lightning to throw it back at her.
"You may wish to try a bodily motion to get a feel for the path's flow. Like this." He pointed to the left with both his arms and Bearclaw imitated the motion. Irontail then took his right front paw and pointed it in the other way; Bearclaw mimicked this move as well. Then the two rogues moved their left front paws to the right and back again. "Are you focusing your energy? Do you feel your chi flowing in, down, up, and out ?"
"I think so," the dark brown tabby replied.
At this, he continued copying the moves Irontail taught him. Irontail was sitting on his haunches and swaying his front paws in the air in a sweeping motion.
His uncle encouraged him, "Come on, Bearclaw. Feel the flow!"
It took several hours to finish until sunset. By the time the sun was ready to sink behind the mountains, Bearclaw had started to get the hang of it.
"Excellent, Bearclaw!" Irontail praised him. "You're getting it!"
Bearclaw felt happy under the elder's praise, for it felt as warm as his mother's fur. "Awesome! Now I wanna try real lightning!"
To his surprise and small annoyance, Irontail gave him an inquisitive look. "What? Have you got bees in your brain? Lightning is a dangerous force of nature."
"But I thought that was the point," Bearclaw meowed, starting to feel annoyed. "You know, teaching me to protect myself from lightning?"
"Yes, but I can't go around shooting lightning at you!" Irontail protested, his eye twitching at the last comment. "Maybe if you get lucky, then you won't have to use that skill to defeat Frostfire!"
A distant sound of thunder made Bearclaw look up at the sky. There was a thunderstorm brewing on the horizon, and he had a faint memory of Irontail directing lightning away from the ship they travelled on. He knew that somehow, someway, he could create some lightning to use against his former littermate.
So he looked back to Irontail and growled, "Well, if you won't teach me to direct it, I'll find some other lightning."
Immediately, as if called by an unspoken command, the pregnant mare had arrived and allowed Bearclaw to leap onto her back. Despite the mare being pregnant, her stomach wasn't swollen with her unborn foal yet; thus, she was still capable of carrying some kinds of weight. Bearclaw settled down on top of the mare to look back at his uncle.
Irontail's amber eyes were closed as if he accepted this, but there was a faint tremble that rippled through his aged body. Bearclaw could feel his uncle's aged concern like the sun warming the tip of his fur on a warm day. Despite that, however, that wasn't going to stop him from training hard to defeat Frostfire and reclaim his right as a warrior.
If I don't, I'll lose everything I ever wanted. Honor...and the chance to make Father see me as a true warrior...
Giving the mare a sharp yowl, the dark tabby rode off to a place to find some training. He didn't see Irontail open his eyes, which were filled with concern and mild sadness.
...
"H-Hey there, big guy. We've got your kid!" Goldwing mewed tensely as the male Triceratops kept pawing the ground. The baby dinosaur was beside the golden AirClan warrior, looking from left to right.
The Triceratops let out a bellow, which made the baby scuttle over to its father and nuzzle him again before running off towards its mother. The pink female Triceratops, who seemed to see no harm in Goldwing, gave a low growl and plodded off to another part of the canyon. Her mate glanced over at her and his offspring before whirling back to Goldwing.
The Avatar Cat himself meowed, "See? There you go! There's no problem with that!"
However, the large animal let out a furious roar as he tossed his head to and fro, his three horns glinting in the dying sunlight. By the way he was glaring at Goldwing, he was angry at him for being near his offspring.
"Goldwing, I do not like this!" Ashfeather squealed when he heard the dinosaur roar. "Get me out of this hellhole! Literally!"
Roaring once more, the Triceratops lowered his head and began charging towards the two cats like crazy. Ashfeather closed his eyes with fright and squeaked a few times, but Goldwing stood his ground. At first, though, he felt like leaping over the charging beast and run to Nightpaw and Silverheart for help. But he couldn't leave his friend to get trampled; besides, going to get help from Nightpaw would make her taunt him more.
So he took a deep breath, and, when the Triceratops got nearer, AirBended the charging creature over his head. But it was for a short distance and it barely passed over Ashfeather's head, landing on its large feet and roaring once again. The ancient behemoth pawed the ground again, lowered its head, and charged once again.
"I REALLY do not like this!" Ashfeather wailed to Goldwing. Then what he said next made the golden cat nervous: "You gotta EarthBend me outta here! Hurry!"
Goldwing almost told the dark gray tabby tom to wait until Nightpaw could come and free him. But when he saw the gray Triceratops charging at him again, he had to try it now. So he lifted up his tail, rose to his hind paws, and crashed his front paws to the earth. But instead of earth rising up to the sky and freeing his friend, nothing happened. Goldwing gave Ashfeather a nervous grin before turning around to see what the Triceratops was doing.
It had stopped charging at one point, for it was taking its time to sharpen its horns on a nearby palm tree. Then it turned its armored head towards the two cats, snorting and pawing the ground once again. But now it was glaring at Ashfeather again, for its mean little eyes were filled with blind anger.
Oh shit! What do I do! Goldwing thought madly. Getting an idea all of a sudden, he leaped away from Ashfeather onto an outcropping of a rock jutting out of a cliff. When he got on, he stood on his hind legs and let out a yowl for the Triceratops to pay attention.
"Hey! Over here! Look at me!" Goldwing called. He turned around away from it to waggle his behind at the monster to get its attention.
However, sadly, the Triceratops turned away from him and began to charge at Ashfeather, the earth rumbling from its charging. Goldwing pounced off the ledge to land next to Ashfeather before leaping into the air and sending a gust of air at the Triceratops, blowing it away from his friend. The Triceratops landed on its feet and spun around once again, tossing its head about and roaring angrily.
Ashfeather sighed with relief before telling Goldwing, "Don't leave me like that again."
"I won't. I promise you that," Goldwing replied, his voice full of determination.
He stood his ground and crouched low to the ground, his tail brushing up dust, as the Triceratops raced nearer and nearer. Goldwing was getting ready for a swift AirBending attack head-on to show Nightpaw soon that he could attack head-on. Finally, he leaped up into the air and thrust one forepaw forwards in an uppercut, using AirBending to move the massive animal away from him and his friend with a strong gust of wind.
The Triceratops fell with a thud on the ground, slightly injured but alive. He lifted himself to his feet, glared over at Goldwing, and ambled slowly towards his mate and child, who joined him in walking to another area in the canyon. Goldwing himself was happy while the dust settled; if he had went away to fetch Nightpaw, Ashfeather would have been crushed under those heavy feet.
A slow clapping sound made Goldwing turn around to see where the noise was coming from. It came from Nightpaw, who was sitting on her haunches on a rock and clapping her front paws together slowly. Goldwing felt confused at what was going on.
"Nightpaw? What the hell are you doing here?" Ashfeather asked her with surprise.
The small blind black she-cat stopped clapping. "Enjoying the show. Why?"
"So you sat there the entire time? And didn't help us?" Goldwing asked, feeling his blood boil.
"I guess you can say that," Nightpaw just answered.
Goldwing felt his blood boil in anger like hot lava when he heard this. How dare Nightpaw just sit there and watch her friends being trampled by a dinosaur! Right away, he felt like clawing a lot of sense into the EarthClan apprentice. That would teach her a thing or two about lying about and watching her friends get attacked.
But he wasn't like that. Instead, he leaped up to her, stuck his muzzle to hers until they were just whiskers away, and snarled, "Why the hell didn't you do anything? Ashfeather was just in danger from being trampled by a dinosaur! And I was in trouble since I can't EarthBend! You could've helped us out by freeing Ashfeather and helping us escape!"
But Nightpaw didn't look defying or hurt from those accusations. Instead, she just shrugged and nodded. "I guess I didn't think of that before."
Then she pulled Goldwing's staff from behind her and let him see it; it still made Goldwing mad that she was using it for a nutcracker. Nightpaw picked the staff up in her jaws and raised it high in the air, preparing to smash down onto a nut she brought with her. Anger roaring in his blood as angrily as a lion, Goldwing leapt up into the air and caught one end in his jaw before it was brought down.
"Enough is enough!" he spat at her forcefully. "Give me my staff back! Now!"
He yanked it away from her, but Nightpaw didn't look like she was going to grab it again. As an alternative, she was gazing at him with some kind of willpower and, when he leaped away from her off the rock, she followed him down. Then, she uttered two words:
"Do it."
Goldwing glared at her. "Do what?"
"EarthBending, dumbass," the black cat retorted. "Look, Twinkletoes, you stood up to a big ol' prehistoric monster; that takes skill. But what impressed me was that you just stood up to me. You've got the guts be to an EarthBender."
"What?" Goldwing mewed, his anger dissolving into confusion.
Nightpaw rolled her eyes. "DO IT!"
Goldwing gave her a confused stare before turning to face the rock they were on a few moments ago. The golden AirClan warrior stomped the ground with his paw and swung his head forward. To his amazement, the rock moved away and landed with a crash a short distance away from them.
The Avatar Cat stared on in shock for a few seconds before becoming excited and relieved. He had finally learned to use the element that was opposite to his element: air. But after facing off with the Triceratops and standing up to his EarthBending mentor, he finally did it. He could EarthBend now.
"You did it!" Nightpaw meowed with pride. "You're an EarthBender!"
"This is...this is awesome!" he squeaked, his voice sounding like a kit's for a moment. "I can't believe it!"
Ashfeather's voice made the two cats turn around as he commented, "Aww, that's nice. How about you set me free from this hellhole and I give you two a big ol' hug?"
Goldwing nodded. "Sure!"
He was about to free him when Nightpaw blocked his path by holding out a foreleg to block him. When Goldwing was going to complain, the black cat told him, "Just let me handle this, okay, Twinkletoes? You can EarthBend now, but you're new at this and you could crush him."
"That's right. No crushing, please," Ashfeather mewed with a wide smile on his face.
Nightpaw nodded, padded up to Ashfeather, and lifted her left forepaw before stomping it down. The WaterClan warrior popped out of the hole like a weasel and Nightpaw grabbed his scruff, dragging him out as she ambled away. Goldwing followed them, skipping around and wriggling like he was on fire, though he wasn't.
Silverheart's speech about learning to face his opposite element made him feel better than before. He was sure that the silver cat he loved would praise him for the hard work.
...
Despite not being injured, Ashfeather did seem to limp along the way back to camp. Goldwing supposed staying in that hole for a few hours seemed to have given his friend quite a cramp. So he helped steady Ashfeather on the left with his shoulder while Nightpaw helped by steadying him on the right side her own shoulder. She was carrying the Avatar Cat's staff in her jaws, but Goldwing had let her carry it this time.
After they stopped to hunt for a bit, the three cats finally arrived back to camp all safe and sound. As soon as Ashfeather recovered well enough to walk, they were quickly greeted by Silverheart.
"You found him!" she cheered, running up to her brother while nuzzling him and licking him.
Ashfeather returned the licks as he explained, "The whole time I was in there, not knowing if I'd live or die, it makes a warrior think about what's really important. I realize now that..."
"Silverheart! Watch this!" Goldwing called out.
As the silver she-cat turned to look at him, Goldwing stomped the ground with his right paw and swung his head around at a nearby rock. That rock was split in half and one half blocked the path from the Triceratops territory and leaned against the canyon wall.
Silverheart dashed up to Goldwing and nuzzled him, purring happily, "You did it, Golding! I knew you could do it! I'm so proud of you!" Turning towards Nightpaw, she asked her, "So you used the positive reinforcement after all, huh?"
"Yeah," Nightpaw told her mentor. "It does all kind of wonders and all the other shit you talk about."
Roaring sounds made Goldwing turn to see Archie walk up to them, wonder in his brown eyes. His owner, meanwhile, raced up to the dragon and hugged him around his muzzle, letting go to rest his paws on Archie's muzzle.
"Archie! I can EarthBend now! Isn't that great?" Goldwing crowed happily. He went into a Bending stance as he went on gladly, "The key to EarthBending is being rooted to the spot. Unmovable by physical or mental ways!"
But when Archie licked his small owner with his python-long tongue, Goldwing fell over from the force of the lick. Ashfeather began laughing at that, and the Avatar Cat got up to laugh along with the gray WaterClan warrior. Soon enough, Silverheart and Nightpaw joined the two toms in laughing along.
Finally, Goldwing knewhow to EarthBend. Of course there were more EarthBending moves to learn, but he was willing to work hard. As long as Nightpaw trained him hard in her ways of EarthBending, he could be on his way to defeat Darkstar. Plus, he felt like he could do anything alongside his friends like defeating FireClan in a few moons.
I'm on my way!
...
Rain sprayed into Bearclaw's face like blood from prey or from another cat. When the moon had risen in the sky, clouds had covered it, and it began to storm like a hurricane. The dark brown tabby tomcat was sitting on the peak on top of the mountain where he and the mare rode to. He glared up at the stars, which were covered by clouds as well.
"StarClan! You've always thrown everything you could at me! I can take it! And now I can give it back!" Bearclaw howled to the sky in torment. Some lightning flashed from a distance and he cringed at this a little. But he stood up and howled, "Come on! Strike me! You haven't held back before! Don't hold back now!"
He closed his amber eyes as tears threatened to fall to the ground. The rain crashed down on him harder than ever as the lightning got nearer by the second. Bearclaw crouched low to the ground before raising his head to up the heavens and letting out an ear-piercing screech. It was a screech of betrayal and loss.
To be continued...
...
AvatarCat12: Well, that's the end of that chapter. And someone from FanFiction gave me this bit of advice...
Aang: What is it?
AvatarCat12: I'm getting there. I could write every chapter and just wait until they're all finished before going on.
Katara: Hmmm...that doesn't sound bad.
Aang: I'll say. Now let's go to the review and preview for The Ancient Library! (To the readers) Read and review, please! That way, you can get a virtual cookie cake with any ice cream flavor you choose! Constructive criticism and advice is allowed, but flames aren't.
Preview: The four Clan cats have decided to take a little break before carrying on with their mission. When choosing a vacation, Ashfeather decides to visit an ancient library to learn about FireClan. But while they explore, he discovers something that could turn the war around in their favor.
All three: See ya next time!