Lionclaw was already tired of it. All of it. Training a dog was very challenging, especially when it's three times the size of its mentor. Three moons had passed. There was still at least three more to go before he was free from this. Mudpaw was almost always full of energy, unlike himself. Mudpaw would be able to train all day and night if he wanted.

The golden warrior rose to his paws and padded through the thorn barrier. He cruised through the forest and settled down on the sand by the lake. He let out a yawn as he watched the sun begin to set.

Suddenly he pricked his ears as he heard yowling from the Littlelan border. He glanced over to see two rival warriors yowling at something. He heard a pawstep behind him and turned to see Mudpaw. Oh no…

"What are you doing here?" He hissed to his apprentice through gritted teeth.

The pup cocked his head. "What do you mean?"

"Those are the cats of a rival clan!" Lionclaw nearly yowled. "They're going to think you're dangerous."

"But I'm not." Mudpaw told him.

"But they don't know that!" The warrior growled as he scrambled to his paws. "Get back to camp. Now! I'll take care of them."

"Y-yes, Lionclaw." The tan pup yapped sadly.

Lionclaw watched him dash off before he raced towards the border to deal with the rival patrol. He stopped a tail length away. The other warriors were practically on the border.

"Why is there a dog on your territory?" The Littleclan deputy, Berrytail, asked.

"Stealthclan's problems aren't your concerns." Lionclaw growled.

"Oh really?" Birchleap snapped back. "A dog is all of the clans' concern after what the last dogs did to your clan."

"Stealthclan has recovered well and we don't need any help." The golden warrior retorted, flattening his ears and unsheathing his claws.

"Come on, Birchleap." Berrytail ordered, padding away. "You know he's right. If he's not, let them suffer the consequences."

The warrior let out one last huff before he glared at Lionclaw and padded after his deputy. Lionclaw heaved a heavy sigh of relief.

Chapter 15:

Lionclaw slowly dragged his paws as he headed back towards the camp. I wonder if Mudpaw actually went back to camp…

As if in answer to his question, the pup leapt at him from the bushes. The golden warrior instinctively flattened himself to the ground, spooked. He got to his paws to face his apprentice, but he was amazed when he realized it. He was looking at a totally different sandy dog. It growled at him.

Oh no, oh no, oh no…

"Mudpaw!" He yowled.

Lionclaw unsheathed his claws and flattened his ears. He was about to lash his forepaw out at the dog when suddenly Mudpaw burst out of the bushed and leapt on top of the attacking dog.

He staggered backwards as the two dogs snarled and fought in a blur of tan fur. One of the dogs slashed the other, splattering blood on the warrior as he struggled to get out of the dogs' reach. Lionclaw reached a tree and began clawing his way up the trunk.

He heard one of the dogs yowl in pain and a thump on the ground. He didn't dare look to see which was standing up still. He heard fierce growling and barking at the bottom of the tree. His heart began pounding. The other dog was still up. He climbed as fast as he could.

Lionclaw's paws slipped, leaving him hanging by one claw. He felt it began to tear. He looked down at the dog and saw the blood leaking from its fangs and paws. His gaze moved over to the barely breathing form of Mudpaw.

Suddenly, the warrior remembered something. That he was different. He was elemental. He waved his tail, signalling for the water to come into the area. Just as it swallowed u the dog, his claw tore from his paw and pain split through it. He fell down, down into the water. The water he had summoned.

Lionclaw burst to the surface of the water and began to redirect it towards the lake. His head went under again and he lost control of the water. It kept going downhill, towards the lake. He saw one of the two dogs, kicking wildly. Then he heard a huge splash as the water poured into the lake and began to spread out.

The golden tabby burst to the surface, gasping for air. He saw both dogs swimming around, frantically trying to reach the shore. He couldn't tell which one Mudpaw was. Lionclaw faced the shore of Stealthclan territory, which wasn't too far off. He began stroking his limbs through the water as he swam towards the beach.

Well, I've had my bath for today…