Silentpaw stared down at his paws as he dug them deeper into the still cold sand, eyes clenched shut. Pure frustration filled his body, frustration he couldn't even vocalise. He hated the fact he couldn't talk. He hated the fact it had landed him on the path of a medicine cat. He hated the fact his friends and siblings would all move on without him.
"Hey Silentpaw- you alright?" the voice of Gingerpaw mewed. She moved round and sat next to him. He was aware of her presence but kept his head down.
He felt a paw nudge his chin up and his blue eyes met with Gingerpaw's pale green eyes. "You'll make a great medicine cat you know, Your smart, your caring, your always there to listen" She paused at the end hoping he'd get the joke. He forced himself to smile because he knew she meant well. "Whats got you so down about it?" She asked. Silentkit tipped his head towards the other apprentices and then her. Gingerpaw looked back at him. He then gestured pointedly to himself and the medicine cat's den with his tail. She was still looking at him blankly.
He stood up and scratched a Y shape in the sand, two paths diverging. Gingerpaw squinted at it for a moment. "Oh your worried about not being with us?" She asked. He nodded quickly. "aww Silentpaw, I'm not gonna ditch you. We'll still be friends. I can pretend to be sick and then I can come say Hi every once in a while" Silentpaw opened his mouth, his breathing having quickened. It looks like he was panting but it was his equivalent of laughing, with any other cat it would be obvious.
"Why don't we go catch a bite to eat with everyone else? Empty stomach should make you feel brighter" Gingerpaw suggested. In all fairness they were both hungry. The rest of camp was bustling now, the nursery was being cleaned out by Willowheart, Nighstar was speaking with Cloudfang and the elders were emerging from their den to bask in the sun. Gingerpaw trotted over to the kill pile to join her brother and Shadedpaw, a black tom with green eyes. Silentpaw padded after her, sitting near Shadedpaw but not too close.
"So Shadedpaw, how'd you feel about your mentor?" Gingerpaw inquired as she picked out a small vole. She was probably prying for a negative answer. Silentpaw picked out a small fish and began to crunch through its skull. "Brambledip? Well, He's tough but a good warrior. That's all I need, but I must admit I'm a tad scared" He chuckled good-naturedly. "Im happy with Owlface, she's nice and she's strong enough to send a badger packing" Tigerpaw piped up. "Can't believe mouse brain managed to get Owlface" Gingerpaw flicked her brother's ear. The larger tom barged into her, causing her to stumble. They all laughed, apart from Silentpaw. He was concentrating on eating and ignoring their obnoxiously positive interactions.
"Gingerpaw and Shadedpaw, once you've both done eating, we're going to be doing battle training on the beach. Brambledip's waiting for us at camp entrance" Crabfang informed them. "I'll see you there" Shadedpaw responded. Gingerpaw's eyes lit up and she wolfed down the rest of her meal, choking a little towards the end. Silentpaw grimaced a little, Shadedpaw seemed to find it funny.
Gingerpaw sprinted tail raised to the sky. She wanted to show that she was a natural fighter, just like her father before her was. She never met him, but her mother had told her story after story of the bravery, strength and loyalty he had, as well as being a loving caring mate and friend. Shadedpaw followed cooly behind her after saying goodbye to Tigerkit and brushing past Silentpaw. Silentpaw frowned, now sat by himself. He stood up hesitantly before taking a few steps towards camp entrance. Maybe just say bye? yeah, just say bye and have a good day.
Quietly he trotted towards the group by the entrance. "Now Crabfang has probably told you we're training together, just to show you the basics of combat. If you could keep your neck in and listen to me Gingerpaw that would be nice" Silentpaw heard Brambledip say offhandedly. Lizardglare who had previously been talking with his own apprentice turned briefly to his brother.
" Her mother and father are and were good warriors, and I'm sure she will be as well. Don't put her off before she's even started. I'm sure she'll listen and learn from you" He said in an authoritative voice. There was a tint of coldness. It was well known the brother's had a frosty relationship. Luckily for Lizardglare he was in a position of power. Brambledip sneered at him, a sense of tension in the air. Silentpaw only wanted to wish his friend good luck and now these two were potentially going to argue.
"You need to go, this is gonna trigger something an your not gonna like it" a voice of a she-cat seemed to pierce his skull and cause his ears to ring. He must have made an audible intake of air because Gingerpaw's head snapped round to stare at him. He was aware of his own wheezing, his heart in his ears, the fur on his back rippling as it rose and the clenching of his jaws and paws to the point it was painful "I'm so sorry, try to stay calm, we'll get through this and I'll try to explain"
He looked up and was suddenly aware of a change of scene. A sandy clearing, bordered by high waxy grasses and wildflowers. Rain was pounding down, causing the grass to dance as if it was on fire. He was freezing, fur soaked to the skin and his small pink paws were raw with cold. A split second and he was smacked into by a larger weight He became aware of his wet face being smushed into the sand, sand scratching at his eyelids and mouth. Opening his mouth to call for help was a big mistake as he inhaled the fine grains of long ago pulverised rock. His small body was too tired to defend itself. This had been going on a while.
The weight seemed to back off for a second. For a few seconds he was able to lift his his head from the sand, eyes watering as he sobbed. "Dad!" He cried out. "Dad, make him stop!" He knew this young scared voice was not his own, but he felt this young kits fear an unbridled distress. A tall tabby tom stared back at him but said nothing from the edge of the clearing. He merely seemed to be a spectator. "Please, please Da- I want to go home" He wailed. It was a truly heart wrenching wail, the kind any mother would run to protect even if it wasn't her own kit making it.
"Bramblekit, go again. You need to get your enemy whilst he's weak" an indifferent voice said. It was the spectator talking. He looked ahead and saw another kit, the same age as him, shivering and cold but with eyes like autumn fires. "No!' He screamed. "Stop! go away go away-" His voice faltered towards the end as he croaked. The larger kit leapt towards him, paws pushing down into his throat. He felt his eyes bulge as he fought for his right to breath. He had one thought: I'm going to die.
A surge of desperation, primal instinct and fear caused him to kick upwards. the other tom flew off him. He took his chance. He used the last of his energy.
He launched himself at the kit, forcing his paws down on his small throat. Tears were streaming down his face. He was overwhelmed by the hatred he felt in his hear. Hatred should be a foreign concept to any kit.
With the last of his energy he screamed exactly what he thought of his brother.
Well definitely made that darker than the original. I want to say thank you to succulentsofa for helping me out with advice, go check out her stories. She's working on quite few warriors fics :)