Cherrynose paced around the sandy ground of the training hollow while Greypaw sat watching her; she could hear the chirping of birds in the forest beyond them. Their songs seemed to put her in an even better mood than she was already in.

Cherrynose was deep in thought as she paced back and forth under the shade of the trees. She had no idea where she and Greypaw should start with their training.

Greypaw could sense her mentor's tense state as she listened to her move to and fro.

She'd said that they would train to fight today, but something was wrong, Greypaw realized.

Cherrynose wasn't sure where to start. Usually they would show an apprentice a few moves and make them perform the same moves after they did, but she wasn't so sure she could do that with Greypaw. Cherrynose stopped pacing and closed her eyes to think for a moment.

She could do what they did when she was teaching Greypaw how to hunt. That way they could also test the waters a little bit, so to speak.

Cherrynose opened her brown eyes confidently.

"Okay Greypaw, for now let's see what you can do with that ability of yours."

Greypaw stood up and grinned excitedly at her mentor.

"Bring it on!" she meowed with enthusiasm.

Cherrynose twitched her whiskers in amusement. "Now when I do this," she took one step forward with her paw. "What do you feel?"

Greypaw could feel the release of pressure on the right, front side of Cherrynose's body, she felt the smooth vibrations across the surface of the sandy hollow as Cherrynose's paw slid forward a good bit in front of her.

"You moved your right paw forward," she answered diligently.

"And this?" Cherrynose stepped both hindlegs one pace forward and lifted her left paw into the air.

Greypaw smirked knowingly, oozing with confidence now that she'd gotten the hang of how to control her senses.

"You pulled in your hindlegs and you're holding your left paw up."

Cherrynose put her paw back down. "You're right. So you can feel when certain areas give or release pressure?"

Greypaw nodded. That sounded close enough, she supposed.

"Yes, based on the location I can assume which leg has been moved or which paw is off the ground."

Cherrynose examined Greypaw. It seemed like Greypaw would be able to understand her enemies' movements, but she would need to be able to do it very, very quickly if she was going to be able to fight. This issue was a serious one, and the one that would determine whether or not it was truly possible for Greypaw to be a warrior of DarkClan.

"I want to try a defense training exercise," began Cherrynose, "The idea is that you should be able to avoid all of my attacks. Greypaw, if you're going to be a warrior you'll have to be able to think fast while you're being attacked."

Greypaw listened intently. "Alright." She quickly moved into her own defensive position.

Cherrynose sighed inwardly; she didn't know is she could do this to be honest. She crouched low in preparation for attack, eyeing her apprentice whose eyes were now serious, but held no emotion within.

She couldn't go easy on Greypaw because she was blind. This was a test.

With that thought in mind, Cherrynose's eyes hardened and she pushed her hindlegs off the ground, springing at her opponent.

Time seemed to slow down as Greypaw's eyes widened, feeling the sudden thrust reach her paws; she could no longer feel Cherrynose's presence.

Midair. Jumping. Toward her- Where else?

In a split second, Greypaw shot off to the side, her paws skidding as she rotated her body towards the force that landed where she had been previously, Cherrynose's weight shaking the earth beneath her paws.


The second after Cherrynose had jumped, Greypaw had shot to the side and out of her reach.

After landing, Cherrynose swung her body around and charged towards Greypaw, but the young she-cat held her ground and prepared for the oncoming attacks.

This was it.

Cherrynose ran at Greypaw, and then her forepaw extended; she ran up to Greypaw and attacked with her left paw.

The left!

Cherrynose gasped as her paw cut through open air. Greypaw had shifted just enough to narrowly avoid her strike.

Not letting her surprise distract her, Cherrynose lashed out with her right paw to try and catch Greypaw by surprise from the other side.

The right!

Again, Greypaw moved, side-stepping to avoid Cherrynose's paw.

Cherrynose attacked again and again with her forepaws, but she couldn't lay a paw on the apprentice. Greypaw should not have been able to out-speed a mature, trained warrior.

In a last minute effort Cherrynose shifted her body and slid, kicking her hindlegs under Greypaw in an attempt to knock her over.

The black she-cat's eyes widened and she quickly jumped into the air as Cherrynose's legs swung under her through empty space.

Cherrynose was astonished when Greypaw avoided her attack and jumped over her.

Cherrynose quickly rolled back onto all fours and raised her paws to crush Greypaw while her back was turned..

But the second Greypaw's paws hit the ground she bounced again, springing forward with an extra step and Cherrynose's paws met the forest floor.

Greypaw turned around a bit wildly, having changed her intentions at the last second to avoid Cherrynose, but she re-caught her balance and fell back into her fighting stance. She panted heavily as she waited for the next attack.

Cherrynose hadn't moved, however, and remained in that spot with all four of her paws still on the ground.

She couldn't believe it.

She couldn't even touch her.

Her mentor's sudden stillness and silence worried Greypaw. She instantly relaxed her body and stood up straighter.

"Cherrynose?"

She felt Cherrynose straighten herself as well.

"That's enough for right now," the she-cat said abruptly. "You did...very well."

Greypaw felt her heart warm at Cherrynose's praise.

"How- Can you explain how you're doing that?" Cherrynose questioned.

Greypaw blinked and thought carefully for a moment about what Cherrynose was asking.

"I can feel when you move your legs, then I kind of have to guess what you're going to do next based on that." It was hard for Greypaw to really explain what she felt through her paws.

Cherrynose was watching Greypaw incredulously, having realized the potential of Greypaw's abilities- that Greypaw could see things almost before they happened.


Lostpaw coughed and sputtered as she lifted her head out of the water, gasping for air.

Ivyfoot stood by the side of the stream where he was teaching Lostpaw to swim. "You need to move your paws as if you were running on land. Come on, Lostpaw!"

The young cat paddled her legs as she swam against the flowing current, managing to keep herself afloat.

She gasped as she was pressed underwater by Ivyfoot's paw. Seconds later she struggled to paddle back up to the surface. When she finally made it, her head broke through the surface of the water and she took in big nose-fulls of air.

"You need to keep practicing in order to build up the ability to hold your breath for longer periods of time. Lostpaw, you need to swim under the water!"

Lostpaw battled the opposing current as she took in Ivyfoot's words.

She remembered the time when Eaglekit had almost drowned her in the creek at camp, and the feeling as she tried desperately to pull herself out, but his paws had held her down.

Gathering her courage, Lostpaw told herself that it was different now and she took a big gulp of air before diving under the water.

Being underwater wasn't an unpleasant experience; in fact, Lostpaw enjoyed the feeling of weightlessness, and the sensation of the water running through her fur and around her body, holding her.

Under here it was peaceful and she was away from the world, she let the current carry her a bit before the dire need for air made itself known.

With her eyes now open and adjusted to the blurriness surrounding her, she paddled at an angle, forward and up toward the large rock Ivyfoot was seated on.

She could feel the river's current pushing against her, and her body screaming for air, but she pushed herself forward. She couldn't let herself be swept away. If she faltered, that's what would happen.

But her legs were strong.

She was getting close now and her throat was practically on fire and closing in on itself. When she was almost there Lostpaw swam down and pushed herself off the ground, shooting herself toward the surface.

She was thankful for the air that filled her lungs when she popped up into open air and dragged her tired body up onto the stone.

Now that she was out of the water, her fur was heavy with it and plastered to her body; it was an unpleasant feeling, the exact opposite of how it felt beneath the surface.

Ivyfoot appeared to be pleased with her performance. "Good job, Lostpaw," he praised.

Lostpaw avoided his eyes.

"While underwater you can catch fish using that same technique I showed you above water, only underwater you can press off the ground to give yourself some more speed, it's not an easy thing to do, mind you."

Lostpaw nodded wearily and she could feel her heart beating in her ears; her eyes flickered to Ivyfoot as he turned.

"Remember," he called. "Eleven laps, I know you can do it."