Chapter Five
The small golden body flew through the air and slapped against the mud harshly, making the apprentice grunt slightly as he heaved himself to his small paws weakly. His opponent was crouched low in a defensive position, watching him with beautiful light amber eyes as she caught her breath. Both cats claws were sheathed or it couldn't be told through the mud that covered their paws.
"That was better, Goldpaw, but can you tell me why I was able to buck you off?" Her voice was silky like always, barely a commanding voice. Today Berrytail was having Goldpaw attack her. It had confused the apprentice at first, but he soon began to understand, attacking her again and again. He was quite surprised at his mentor's fighting skills, not suspecting the small she-cat able to defend herself against so many continuous attacks.
"No, I don't. Share what you know, Great One." Goldpaw took his chance and laid down to rest his muscles, hoping Berrytail would end this soon. So far he couldn't find a weakness, he was sure brutal strength would weaken her, but apparently she had the swiftness of a cheetah.
"You weren't gripping on. When you land on an opponent's back you bite into their neck and push your claws into their side." Berrytail responded, looking at Goldpaw's lazy position dubiously. "Try again."
"But that would hurt you!" The golden tom started, but silenced himself when he saw it worthless as Berrytail was already crouched down in a defensive position once more. With a sigh he reluctantly unsheathed his claws and bared his teeth, hissing fiercely at the 'enemy warrior.' His amber eyes looked around sharply and locked onto a tree behind the she-cat warrior. Slowly, he began to creep toward her, increasing speed all the while. Berrytail looked aggravated, probably thinking Goldpaw planned to do the simple charge attack, but as he neared her he dodged her swipe and ran around her, jumping to the tree and clawing his way partially up it. Before Berrytail had time to react he launched himself from the tree trunk at her, landing squarely on her back and knocking her to the ground. His teeth sank into her neck satisfactorily and his needle claws dug into her sides as she screeched in pain.
The red she-cat began to buck wildly, rather harshly, almost as if she meant it. Goldpaw clung on for dear life, feeling a flicker of pride to know he was succeeding. When his mentor shrieked again he loosened his grip, but it was too late. She flipped onto her back harshly, crushing the apprentice underneath her. His tiny paws stuck up in the air as he groaned in pain, feeling as if all his rib bones were broken. He squealed in alarm when Berrytail looked about ready to pounce on him, crying out in alarm. "Berrytail, no! It hurts…"
For a moment he thought he saw a flicker of confusion go through his mentor's eyes, but it was quickly masked when she sat down neatly. He could almost swear she looked embarrassed as she busied herself cleaning her face. "I think we should get back to camp. You did well. C-come along."
The apprentice heaved himself to his paws slowly, silently thanking StarClan that his wounds were practically history and had not reopened themselves. It hurt. A lot. But not as much as it could have, at the moment he looked forward to returning to his warm nest at camp, but it seemed StarClan had different plans for him as when he arrived at camp he was almost immediately sent out hunting by Hope – a golden she-cat with black paws and stunning hot blue eyes. She, and her sister Golden, had yet to receive their warrior names since they had joined RiverClan. All he knew about the subject was the two had been found at the river and after rescuing young Kashkit had been welcomed to the clan. Sometimes he wished they would have just let him drown. Unfortunately the three had developed a close bond and though neither of the two she-cats were made the black tom's mentor they still protected him under anything and loved to pick on their young friend's favorite enemy.
Of course the young tom obeyed without complaint and found himself padding off the small island and toward the forest when a loud voice made him stop and turn. The blue pelt of Brookepaw could be seen running toward her, a friendly smile upon her pretty features. He sighed inwardly, having hoped for some time alone, but it seemed Brookepaw always took the opportunity to go hunting with him or share a meal at supper. The blue pelt had become memorized far more than Goldpaw thought it should be. He knew her every turn, curve, and different shade of color on her pelt, just as he did Lightningpaw's. "Goldpaw! Goldpaw! Wait! Can I please come? I want to show you a place Swiftrain showed me a few training sessions ago. You'll love it. It's just outside our border – there's quite an abundance of prey as well.
Goldpaw could not help, but be interested in the news she shared about the mysterious place and after a few moments hesitation nodded and let her lead the way. It was quite a interesting path, down the river and under a grove of trees with a sweet smelling fruit in them, passing plenty of prey that Brookepaw didn't give a second glance to. The golden tom found this quite odd, but said nothing as followed her, looking down at the fish in the river hungrily, silently pleading Brookepaw would let them stop and make use of it before it got too cold. She did not stop. Instead she kept going, well past their borders, forcing him to say as the first signs of the stars began to show. "I thought you said it was only a little ways out of our territory. It feels like we could have traveled to Highstones by now!"
"Honestly, one would think Berrytail hasn't taught you patience!" She brushed a tail over his muzzle and poked her head out of the trees for a moment before walking out with the proud announcement of: "We're there."
