Well hello I am writing this while I should be doing an assignment for French class about Scapin the Schemer (in french) that is already late (remember I go to a French school, I do lots of English though and I love it (((: ), but I saw I had a review and couldn't resist. It's always like that.
Mintflight0245 - I'm always glad to see that people like the disclaimer and the chapter, I work hard to keep both interesting! What have I done to have to deal with 2 really annoying characters in a row? *ignores the fact that she chose them herself*
How right were my guesses? And I'm sorry if it was pinging in class, it's just that when I find a fanfic I really like, I get slightly overexcited... You know I'm a bit insane already! I hope you didn't get into trouble though. I'll remember about the time difference stuff next time!
ivystorm - You raise a valid point about the "screaming inside" part. But for me it's more like "calm on the outside, wanting to rip someone's eyes out on the inside". I am a psychopath.
Thanks to every reviewer, I now have 30 reviews! More than I ever expected to be honest.
Chappie time! (You're used to it by now, ignore the weirdness... I said ignore it!) This chapter, stuff is going to become very very interesting. The plot will finally move a bit! We've been on this too long, gotta keep it new! If the novelty wears off, it's not fun anymore because characters find their balance, however I want them to fall off the tightrope. Would that make me a bad person? No, just a great writer ;) jk
Keep the reviews coming, you know I love them! One thing to specify: IVY HAS FORGOTTEN about the prophecy given to her by Jolie. However this prophecy defines the whole story (I literally reference myself to the prophecy to make sure I don't have inconsistencies)
After the insanely long A/N...
Chapter 25 (every time I write this number here I wonder how a little idea from 11 year-old me turned into this O.o)
"Are you okay?" Scar sounded worried. Ivy shook her head hard to try and get rid of the negative thoughts. Once again, it would not help to panic, it wasn't like she could escape when she was living in a camp full of Blood cats and living in a den crowded with Trainees.
Either way, she would have to work hard; life in the forest was tough, but she intended to be tougher. Training would be tough too, and she'd have to be the best Trainee... Otherwise... She shook her head harder.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." She probably wasn't very convincing, but after a little bit of looking suspicious, Scar relaxed.
"So," he began. "what do you want to start with?" He was asking her opinion? She guessed she was lucky. She wanted to impress him, and decided to choose...
"Battle training!" She squeaked out, excited as a kit.
He looked down at her. "Are you sure? You're kind of inexperienced for battle training." He was underestimating her now? Ugh.
"If you think it'll be too hard for me to beat you," Ivy meowed, not ready to let go of precious battle training, "put me up against another Trainee. You'll get a better idea of my level."
"Ivy... I don't think you understand." Understand what? I understand perfectly! "Training is claws out."
"So what?"
The long-furred grey tom stared at her. He hadn't noticed the little scars that crisscrossed her pelt in places, where her fur was carefully arranged to look as sleek as usual. Crystal was very fierce when she wanted to be, despite her smaller size.
He still seemed indecisive. Time to use the secret weapon.
She looked up at him, blinking big, sparkling, midnight blue kitty eyes. If that didn't work nothing would.
As expected, Scar caved in no time. That wasn't really a surprise, that gaze could probably melt a rock.
"If that's what you want. I think Leaf and her Teacher Holly are battle training today too, in the Poolside clearing." Scar said. "We'll go join them. But be careful," he warned, "Leaf is more advanced than you, she's bigger and stronger."
Ivy was confident she could take her on; though she had only fought with a smaller cat, Crystal, she had been trained to go fast to match her speed, not to take advantage of her extra weight. They'd underestimated her, well, she'd show them that they'd been wrong.
Ivy also doubted that Scar could accurately guess her fighting skill.
He turned around, motioning with his tail for her to follow.
Mildly curious glances followed them across the camp, but the new gossip subject was getting old already. Ivy suspected they would find something else to talk about soon enough. They went out of the entrance, but headed the opposite way to the one by which she and Slick had come.
She had never been to this part of the forest. It was almost exactly the same, but the trees were thinner, and the undergrowth more sparse.
If anyone doesn't understand, she was near the ThunderClan border, and the Blood camp is a bit further up if you think of the map at the start of the books, so closer to WindClan, hence less undergrowth and trees since it's nearer to the moor. This might be important and it might not.
Scar wasn't talking at all, and a strange thought popped suddenly into her head... It was like her brain was trying to push it out and pull it in at the same time. It slipped away, leaving Ivy frustrated.
What was that about?
This sort of thing drove Ivy completely crazy. No matter how much she tried, it was always a pawstep in front of her, just out of reach. She let out a growl. Scar turned around, slightly surprised, but seemed to decide he had imagined it.
Sighing softly, Ivy attempted to forget about the infuriatingly elusive thought. She wished that sort of thing never happened. Now she'd have that idea trotting around her head for the rest of the day.
"We're there," Slick announced.
They had arrived in a clearing filled with dappled sunlight, spotted with a few wildflowers... And spattered here and there with blood. Rushing water could be heard close by, which was, Ivy guessed, why it was called the Poolside clearing.
Two she-cats were sparring in the middle of the clearing, one brown tabby with spiky fur, and one light brown tabby with markings like the shadow of fern fronds. They didn't notice them coming in, so Scar walked up to them and meowed loudly over the spitting and snarling.
"Hey!" He yowled. They separated, Leaf blinking her round golden eyes, Holly looking at Slick through her own pale orange, narrow optics.
"What do you want?" It sounded more like an insult than a question. The Teacher was obviously not in a very good mood, and had been taking it out on Leaf, who looked battered and was bleeding in several places. She didn't look spent yet at all though.
She really was quite bigger than her, but that just made Ivy more confident that she would be slower. While Scar was explaining to Holly why they had come, she studied Leaf, whose attention was on the two Teachers.
Leaf had powerful back legs, so she could jump high and far. She had a rather short tail, which would help Ivy unbalance her, however it would be harder to bite it or yank on it. Ivy thought that was enough information to have a good chance of winning against the more experienced cat.
Holly was nodding at whatever Scar had said.
"We can always try..." She said. "But I really don't think your Trainee stands much of a chance."
I'll show you! She tried to keep calm, getting angry would only affect her fighting. Leaf, who had been listening closely to the Teachers since the start, seemed like she had just caught the fattest squirrel in the forest. No doubt she thought the citypet would be easy to defeat.
Ivy squared into a defensive stance. Her paws were shoulder width apart, her ears down, her tail ready to move out of the way or steady her. She made sure to be almost unmovable, she was certain Leaf would attack first.
She did.
In a massive leap, Leaf launched herself at Ivy. She heard Holly give a little meow of satisfaction at her Trainee's performance. Quick as a flash, Ivy darted under her belly, her opponent nearly missing her and landing with a thump, slightly stunned with the force, where Ivy had been only a heartbeat before.
If she got pinned by the heavier cat, she was as good as defeated, and it wouldn't help her reputation. This time she leapt first, taking advantage of Leaf's slightly stunned state.
She was no fool, and knew that she couldn't pin Leaf underneath her. However, she still landed on her back, and started to claw at the fur with her front paws, clinging onto Leaf with her back legs. She raked the top of her head as the other she-cat bucked to try and throw her off. So Ivy clung on tighter, knowing that she was finished if she fell.
Holly and Scar had disappeared from her mind, so had every other thought, she had to win this fight and nothing else mattered in that instant.
She switched, attacking her flanks with her back claws and holding on by sinking her front claws into Leaf's pelt. Her opponent was weakening. But then, she rolled over.
Ivy jumped off just in time, and Leaf whipped around to face her again. The light of battle was gleaming in her eyes, Ivy was sure it was in her own too.
This time, Leaf jumped much closer to the ground, making it impossible for Ivy to duck like she had done the previous time. She threw herself to the side at the last moment, panting. Before her opponent had a chance to turn around, she grabbed her back leg between her jaws and tugged hard, and Leaf collapsed to the ground with a wail of surprise and pain.
She was defeated.
Holly's eyes were about to pop out. Scar's jaw was going to hit the floor any second. She had impressed them. But the problem was their surprise. They were shocked that she had won.
One day will come when cats will only be surprised if I lose a fight.
Ooh, someone's determined to shake off the 'little citypet' reputation. Let's hope she manages. I'm getting great ideas for this, so follow, fav, REVIEW, all that stuff. Next chapter should be quite short, but it might not be, depending on what it's about exactly. I'm kind of making this up as I go, you know, but it's based around one idea.
Should see you soon, then.
Oh wait I was about to forget the disclaimer again.
Crystalshine: Leaf, say the disclaimer.
Leaf: *scowls* why should I do that?
Crystalshine: because without me you wouldn't be alive? You owe me a disclaimer at least...
Leaf: yeah, maybe, but it's also your fault that I got beaten by Ivy, an now Holly's going to think I'm useless.
Crystalshine: say it or I'll plan further embarrassment in the next chapters.
Leaf: WOAH calm down. Crystalshine doesn't own the Warriors world, that would be the Erins. She owns the plot and her characters, if she did own Warriors, Willowbreeze would have lived forever with Crookedstar.
Crystalshine: *cries*
Ok, well bye.
OOPS I forgot something. Here it is:
Bonus scene
Unknown POV
They were coming out of the clearing with a pool on the side. The two younger she-cats were battered and bloody. But the cream-splotched tabby held the observer's attention. She was new. She smelled different than the others. He wondered who she was.
He often came here, hung around... watched.
He liked how forbidden and dangerous it was. He knew he would get into trouble if he was found here. But he had never been seen, heard, or scented, to his knowledge at least.
His blue eyes scanned the scene. The she-cat, who he knew was called Leaf, was limping, favouring one of her back paws. The two grown cats both looked stunned. The observer wondered what had happened.
He would have to find a hiding place in the clearing, so he could watch what happened there too.
Now, he had to go home.
But he would be back again.
Haha, good luck figuring that one out! This chapter is already longer than usual, so see y'all. Tell me what you thought of the bonus scene, and that means REVIEW! Also, what do you think of the little thought that Ivy couldn't hold on to near the beginning? It's pretty important.
B
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~Crystalshine of LightClan (REVIEW OR TIGERSTAR WILL GET YOU!)