Hello readers! Once more, fanfiction isn't displaying reviews in a timely manner, but I'd still like to respond to them!
To 'WildxPaws'- Thank you very much for submitting those two OCs! I'll be sure to incorporate them into my story.
To the guest who came up with the shipping name- Whitewhisker sounds like a nice ship name! Thank you for the idea!
And thanks to the rest of you for continuing to read my story, and if you like it, show your support with a review, follow, favorite, or anything like that!
-Past-
A scrawny red tom scrambled up the trail to follow his mentor, a grey and white tom with cold blue eyes. "Sleetfang," the apprentice gasped, out of breath. "Are we going to practice with the other apprentices today?"
"No Redpaw," the light colored cat replied. "You aren't strong enough to practice with them. Strongpaw is on the verge of his warrior ceremony, Lionpaw is already as big as full sized warrior, and Stonepaw isn't that far behind him."
Redpaw heaved a sigh, still catching his breath. "What about Shortpaw? She's small, like me."
Sleetfang gave Redpaw a neutral gaze, then looked up thoughtfully. "I actually haven't seen Foxclaw and Shortpaw our practicing together since you were apprenticed. Which is strange, with him being deputy and all. But never mind that, we're solo today. We're doing more climbing and jaw strengthening practice, and neck practice tomorrow."
"But we always do climbing and jaw stuff. I don't even understand why I need to practice with biting when Stonepaw, Sagepaw, and Lionpaw get to learn cool moves," Redpaw complained. It seemed he had finally caught his breath.
Sleetfang ignored him, and said flatly, "Your assignment is to climb to the top of this oak tree, bite off the smaller branches at the top, and let them fall to the ground. Once you've gotten twenty sticks, bite into ten of them, until they all turn to smaller pieces. You may rest once you're done."
"Okay," Redpaw said, accepting defeat. "What about the other ten?"
"Those are for tomorrow. Now, you know I'm doing this because I care about you right? It's not because I want to torment you," Sleetfang mewed sympathetically.
"Sometimes it's hard to remember," Redpaw admitted truthfully.
"Some might see you as a small cat with small claws and a lousy sense of smell. And that might be true. But I see you as an advantageously small cat with shaggy fur to protect you from the claws of other cats, and a naturally strong jaw. I'm capitalizing on your strengths so you can shine where most Greenclanners don't," Sleetfang explained.
Redpaw brightened up at this, as his mentor told him all the things he was good at. "Alright," he said enthusiastically, a new energy in his body. His mentor believed in his strengths! He'd show the other apprentices he could be just as good as they were, that's right!
-Present-
Redwhisker's laughter was suppressed by the ball of moss he had between his teeth. Ah, I used to be so confident I could match skills with the other apprentices. I believed I could do it all. Then I failed my final assessment and my warrior ceremony got pushed back two moons so Sleetfang could actually teach me how to fight, he thought.
As he pushed through the bramble barrier with the moss in his jaws, it pushed back into the corners of his mouth. It wasn't unpleasant, but actually quite soft. It was unlike the rough back he'd had to crunch through as an apprentice. There would even be days when he'd go to see the younger Morningheart about cuts in his mouth and on his lips. The medicine cat would look both horrified and concerned at how he'd managed to mangle his mouth in such a manner, and her aging mentor, Pebblefoot, would go talk to Sleetfang about his training.
Sleetfang never adjusted his training intensity though. He'd simply wait until his apprentice's wounds had healed, then resumed. I suppose it toughened my mouth up. Now I don't need to worry about a stray thorn poking me in the cheek and ruining my already flawed eating habits, Redwhisker thought pessimistically. He emerged into the clearing, shaking off the negative thoughts. They wouldn't do if he was about to enter an environment for kits.
He hopped into the nursery, dropping the big ball of moss. He nudged it to the tortoiseshell queen, and began separating a few clumps off of it, suitable for a nest. Grassfur helped in the process, standing up and shifting the pieces around until a biggish nest had been formed.
"Th-That's a pretty big moss ball," a small voice squeaked from Redwhisker's side. He turned to the owner of the voice, and found himself staring into familiar wide emerald eyes.
That was the first time Redwhisker had heard Leafkit speak to him. The black kit's voice wasn't as high as he thought it would be, but then again, he only had the kit's sisters to pull reference from. "Yes, Leafkit. I got it by gently plucking it from the roots of several trees," Redwhisker said patiently. He was curious as to how this kit thought.
"Trees…" Leafkit mumbled. "I wish I could see the trees. But Mom says we're stuck in the nursery for now. She tells lots of really cool stories about how Greenclan cats are the best at tree climbing!"
Redwhisker couldn't help but smile at Leafkit's enthusiasm. It was refreshing, to say the least, to have more cheerful cats in the clan. Hopefully the kits would stay that way through their apprenticeship. "You'll see them soon, Leafkit. A little patience is all you need," he responded warmly.
Gingerkit and Poppykit seemed to have worn themselves out, and were curled up around each other off to the side of the nursery. Leafkit's attention was suddenly snagged by a leaf that had blown into the nursery by the warm breeze, and he pounced on it.
Redwhisker turned back to Grassfur, and asked, "Have you thought of what else the nursery needs?"
Grassfur nodded her head, analyzing the walls that let the light filter in. "Greenleaf won't last much longer than one or two moons, so I'd like the nursery to be ready for the chills that might come in. I don't want my kits to catch any illnesses. I've got an idea in my mind of how we can maximize temperature control in the nursery."
Redwhisker heard Grassfur's tone change right then, from tired queen to intelligent planner. Grassfur was the deputy after Foxclaw's mysterious death, and before Lionstar, and she had a good reason to hold that spot. She was held in high regard by most of the clan for her cleverness, and her mental skill had saved the clan on multiple occasions, ranging from leaf-bare sickness outbreaks to unbalanced territory disputes.
But now Grassfur resided in the nursery, she gave up her place as deputy since she was expecting kits. Lionstar, being deputy at the time, had only gotten a little over a moon of experience before Rainstar died. And with Grassfur in the nursery, he chose a seasoned warrior, Rockpelt, to be his deputy.
"Get a warrior or two with smooth fur to go with you out into the forest," Grassfur devised, "Then find bramble bushes, anything with long and prickly green vines will do. Bite off the vines and bring them back to camp. Wrap the prickly vines around the nursery, and once leaf-fall and leaf-bare come, the vines will lose their flexibility and become dry, so they'll hold the shape of the nursery. While it won't affect the temperature now, when the cold seasons come along, cats can just stick big beech leaves onto the dried thorns to create protection from the wind and help insulate the nursery."
Redwhisker marveled at how far ahead the former deputy could think. She's quite smart, he thought to himself, then voiced his thoughts, "Greenclan would perish without you, oh wise one."
Grassfur snorted, and rolled her eyes, "Thank you Redwhisker. Though I still have no intention of going back to being deputy. I want more kits, it's so much simpler than commanding a whole clan. But anyway, I know you're the right cat for this job."
Redwhisker seemed slightly surprised, "Oh yeah? What makes you say that?"
"Back in the day when you were an apprentice, rumors of Sleetfang's training methods spread around the camp. Normal apprentices aren't supposed to spend days in the medicine den after a training session," Grassfur mewed, then added, "I heard one time he tied a thick pine branch to the back of your neck with a couple foxlengths of the spiked bramble vines and made you train with it on."
"It was more than one time," Redwhisker said meekly.
"Well, you're the only cat in the clan who's got that level of intimacy with thorns. Now get to it, young one."
Nodding, the dark red tom exited the nursery and headed to the warrior's den. There were only a few dozing warriors, but among them he saw Lilyfoot, her sand colored pelt rising and falling slowly. She sleeps a lot, Redwhisker thought, gently nudging her awake. She jolted, then sat upright, a few pieces of moss falling off of her.
Lilyfoot looked around with dazed eyes, then noticed Redwhisker. "Oh hey," she yawned, shaking herself off. "What's up?"
Redwhisker explained, "I'm on nursery duty, Grassfur says I need a smooth furred warrior to help me collect some prickly vines from the forest. Are you up for it?"
"Sure thing. Let's go," Lilyfoot responded, loping out of the warrior's den and into the intense sunlight. The two made their way through the bramble barrier, and went out into the forest. Soon enough, they found a clumped blackberry bush, ripe with berries and surrounded by prickly vines.
Something seemed familiar at the bush, but he couldn't quite place in his mind how it gave him the feeling. Then, Grassfur's earlier words about Sleetfang's training crossed his mind. He did remember why the blackberry bush seemed so familiar. An old memory crossed his mind.
-Past-
Redpaw followed Sleetfang down a sloping hill through the bright green and brown oak trees of Greenclan. It was a few moons into the red tom's training, and his mentor's methods seemed quite trivial to him. He hadn't learned more than a few different hunting crouches, and battle training was a distant dream to him.
Instead, Sleetfang's training consisted of seemingly pointless and sometimes painful tasks. Sleetfang however, in the wise air he carried around with him, made the training seem essential and a high priority. Redpaw wasn't sure if his mentor was right about how the training methods would benefit him, and no cat ever listened to his complaints. Except the two medicine cats, Morningheart and the elderly Pebblefoot.
"We're here," Sleetfang said abruptly, stopping by a blackberry bush. It bore many small, black, juicy berries. Redpaw looked at it in question, then back to his mentor.
The little cat questioned, "What's so important about this blackberry bush?"
Sleetfang did not respond, instead, he picked up a small rock, and flicking it with his claws, he sent it into the bush. "Go get it," he ordered unwaveringly.
Redpaw looked appalled. "You want me to dive into those prickly vines? You're crazy," he said exasperatedly. He looked at the bush, and at its long green thorns. They were bigger than his claws, and seemed to be hidden under leaves just as much as they were glinting in the sunlight.
"I said go get the rock, Redpaw. Don't make me toss you in there," Sleetfang replied.
"This is an awful idea," Redpaw submitted. He'd seen the nasty side to Sleetfang before, and he'd rather not see it again.
The blackberry bush loomed threateningly in front of Redpaw, and his paws seemed to be treading through thick mud while he approached it. A slight warm breeze ruffled the countless leaves, making the whole bush seem alive in the young apprentice's eyes. He stopped just for a moment, fear of the towering bush chewing him up and swallowing him.
However, that moment of hesitation was enough for Sleetfang to become irked. "In you go," he growled, roughly picking up Redpaw by his shaggy scruff, and forcefully heaving the small cat into the bush.
Redpaw yowled loudly as he flailed through the air. He righted himself just in time, his four paws outstretched toward where assumed the ground was, although he couldn't see it through the thorns and leaves. Then, the bush consumed him.
The sun disappeared as Redpaw crashed through the thick vines, snapping several of them on his way down. His howls were cut short as he hit the dirt, and he immediately crumbled to the cool ground. He painted from the exhilaration of the short trip, and scrambled to his pads. They had taken damage from the thorns, and he hissed softly at the feeling of his pricked pads.
"Find the rock…" Redpaw whispered his reluctant goal. He wasn't sure how to move from the bush, it seemed every time he took a step, he stepped or bumped into something sharp. His eyes, the only sense he might find useful in this scenario, were clenched shut in fear of getting pricked. His breathing began to pick up. He didn't want to be in that bush forever!
Scared, he sank to his belly. His stomach was pricked by this action, eliciting his pained yelps. He buried his face in the rough fur on his forelimbs, still unable to slow his breathing. A tear trickled down his face, followed by another from the other eye. He wanted Flowerpelt. He wanted her to pick him up by the scruff and carry him out of that wretched bush, back to Shortpaw. He so desperately wanted his family's comfort that would not come.
"Breathe, Redpaw," Sleetfang's rough and distant voice came. "I can hear your breathing, and you need to calm down. Forget about the rock. Just focus on getting out. I can go in there if need be," he said in a more controlled voice. "Just calm down. Use your brain. Take a moment and think."
Redpaw tried to obediently follow Sleetfang's advice. He struggled to push the thoughts of his family away, but succeeded in doing so, finally opening his eyes. His tears still came, but his emotions were under control.
The bush was not as dark as he thought, he could see dotted bits of light through the darkness. He closed his eyes again, and thought, where had Sleetfang's voice come from? It was… a little bit to the left of his position. Sure enough, through the small splashes of light, he could see bits of Sleetfang's grey and white fur.
Redpaw knew he wouldn't be able to walk forward without great pain. He'd need a better plan to get through the prickly barrier. He scoured his thoughts for ideas, then a thought of an old medicine den trip crossed his mind. He'd wrenched his shoulder after falling from a tree, and Morningheart was poised over him, ready to fix him up.
The medicine cat had said, "I need to do this quickly. If I do it slower, you're going to go through a lot more pain than if I do it now, understand?"
Redpaw had looked nervously up at her, responding, "Just be gen-"
Morningheart had reset his shoulder while he was in the middle of his sentence.
"That's it," Redpaw thought hopefully, returning to the present. Taking in the new idea and not taking much time to brace himself, adrenaline flowed through his sore limbs as he rocketed forward with his head tucked down.
Sleetfang heard a crashing through the bush, and looked up just in time to see Redpaw barreling out of the blackberry bush. The red apprentice tripped as he emerged in his wild charge, and violently rolled forward, colliding with Sleetfang's front legs. Redpaw gasped as his rotation was brought to a halt, then sprawled out on his back, breathing heavily. "I made it," he managed to say through his struggle for air.
"Yes you did," Sleetfang said, then warmly added, "Good job. The original point of that exercise was to see how you would fare in an unknown terrain with a goal in mind. However, I've changed it. I believe this experience has given you a bit of experience with the importance of keeping your cool while in danger. Remember this always, Redpaw. Be cool. Be relaxed. Be ready to adapt to a new environment should the world push one onto you." With that, Sleetfang padded off towards camp, saying, "We're done for today."
Redpaw got to his feet, following Sleetfang, getting to his side. Then, the adrenaline in his body fizzled out, and he dropped to the forest floor with a low groan.
Sleetfang turned around in alarm at the groan, and saw his apprentice's collapsed state on his side. Redpaw weakly pleaded, "Help… my paws..."
The white and grey tom look confusedly at his apprentice before it clicked in his head, and he inspected Redpaw's paws. All four of the small red cat's paws were sticky and soggy with blood, and several thorns protruded from the separations in each pad. Sleetfang winced at the sight, wary of trying to get his apprentice to move again. Eventually, he walked around to the opposite side of the groaning Redpaw, picked him up by the scruff, and carried him like a kit all the way back to camp.
Morningheart was the first to see the pair of toms enter the clearing, and a look of horror crossed her face as she saw Redpaw limply dangling from Sleetfang's jaws. She sat upright, her fur rising slightly as Sleetfang walked up to the medicine den. He laid down the scruffy red tom in front of her, looking at Morningheart through guarded eyes.
Morningheart gave a quick assessment of Redpaw, and seeing that he was alive albeit his breathing was rather heavy, she turned up to Sleetfang and hissed, "What did you do to him?"
The grey and white mentor absently shrugged, and responded, "It's just a few thorns. But he couldn't walk on them."
Sleetfang walked away, and Morningheart sent a disapproving glare after him. Then, she turned to Redpaw's body. His pads were probably worse off than they had ever been, he was slowly bleeding through each of the thorn punctures, and while it wasn't a lethal amount of blood loss, it was significant. Morningheart began her work, set on fixing up her returning patient.
Well, today we learned a bit about Redwhisker's past apprenticeship, and how Sleetfang trained him apart from the other apprentices. And if you came for the gay cats, well don't worry, I haven't forgotten. I haven't forgotten about that strange omen he saw at the gathering. Stay tuned, WhiteWhisker will soon be yours!
And as always, leave a review! It could be a question, OC, anything! It helps me out a lot!
