This is it. I hope you enjoy.
Also, this one's special, since it's told from Stoatpaw's perspective. It's the first time it's been told from the same cat's perspective consecutively.
Stoatpaw didn't speak to Tigerpaw when he woke up. He could tell that Mothpaw was feeling somewhat remorseful, as she kept looking at him and trying to get him to talk to her, but he refused.
His mind was racing all morning as he struggled to remember Coppersnake's words. He told himself that she'd see him tonight, but the more he thought about their meeting, the more he realized it was probably just a weird, weird dream.
Leafclaw and Shiningeyes knew nothing as they approached, all smiles. Shiningeyes exchanged loving glances with Rowanleap, and Tigerpaw and Mothpaw were chatting. Stoatpaw began to wonder about Tigerpaw's relationship with Silverpaw, and if he had moved on now that Mothpaw was here.
To distract himself from his possible impending doom, he padded over to the nursery. His mother had moved in a little sooner than usual, as there really wasn't anything to do but patrol the borders during greenleaf and catch prey. Outside the nursery was Larkkit, Hollykit, and Cloudkit.
"Stoatpaw! It's been forever!" Larkkit exclaimed, throwing her small body onto his and ravaging his foreleg with her tiny claws. Her big green eyes were like saucers; questioning.
Hollykit barreled up, tackling her sister. Stoatpaw backed up as Cloudkit threw himself into the mix, and the three siblings tousled on the ground. Stoatpaw was content standing there and watching them, when Leafclaw called him.
"Come on, Stoatpaw! Tigerpaw says you're feeling confident about sparring. We'll head on over and get started!" the brown tabby tom hurled himself up the cave wall and out of sight. The rest of the mentors and apprentices followed suite, once again waiting for Stoatpaw.
I'll ask Coppersnake if she knows anything about climbing stone walls, he mentally told himself. In front of him, he glared at Tigerpaw's large, muscular form, and hated his tiny, fat one. Starclan, I am one ugly cat.
The patrol made it to the training clearing, where the groups split up. Tigerpaw and Mothpaw sparred a bit, with Mothpaw being the victor fair and square. Leafclaw sparred Stoatpaw, commenting on how good he was getting, seemingly overnight.
Stoatpaw had to mentally prepare himself for his sparring match with Tigerpaw. Remember, Stoatpaw, you are going to win. Coppersnake told you herself that you were going to train hard and become strong. Prove yourself to her by beating Tigerpaw!
Leafclaw stopped their sparring match after a particularly nasty blow from Stoatpaw sent his head spinning. He shook out his fur and exclaimed, "I think Stoatpaw's trained pretty well! He's ready to uh... to take on Tigerpaw!"
Stoatpaw asked himself why the rest of his clan viewed him as a weakling. Am I not good enough to be considered an equal? He thought, his tail drooping. He only narrowed his eyes and perfected his battle stance. Mothpaw sat in the background, looking sick. It was obvious she thought that Stoatpaw was going to die.
Shiningeyes, Rowanleap, and Leafclaw all sat next to each other, watching the young apprentices for the first move. Tigerpaw got right in front of his brother, leaning down on all fours. Stoatpaw did the same, remembering his sparring match with Coppersnake. She'd been a full on warrior, and she'd said that his sparring was pretty good!
"Start!" Leafclaw shouted, and Tigerpaw rushed at his brother.
Stoatpaw remembered everything before the first blow. A soft breeze was hitting his right ear; the scent of a vole wafted nearby; Hawk's Talon Peak sat above him, mocking him; the leaves rustled.
It was as if he'd struck a revelation. His muscles tensed as Tigerpaw swiped his leg, trying to uproot him; it was obvious he'd overthought his ease in winning, because Stoatpaw didn't budge. Tigerpaw stared at his unmoving brother in confusion, before the white tom leaped.
His paws went straight to his brother's, pinning him to the ground. His hind legs pummeled Tigerpaw's stomach, before his brother sent him sprawling with his own hind legs.
The brown and white tom leaped up and rushed once more at Stoatpaw, who hadn't stood up yet. He crushed him into the ground, holding his shoulders down. Stoatpaw struggled; he couldn't wiggle free! So, he did what came to his mind first.
He went limp.
Tigerpaw froze immediately, concern plastering on his face. "Stoatpaw, oh Starclan, I'm so-"
Stoatpaw leaped up and bashed into his brother, a yowl escaping his lips. Tigerpaw's eyes widened as he was thrown several feet from the impact; Stoatpaw thought he'd won when his brother's form rushed at him through the cloud up dust, striking a paw against his head.
He saw stars, and fell against the ground. He couldn't stand. His body ached, his stach cramped, and his lungs hurt. He felt drool pooling beneath his face as his brother and mentor approached.
He barely heard Leafclaw when he yowled, "Tigerpaw is the victor!"
Mothpaw gave a squeal of delight, rushing up to him. The two tussled on the ground like long lost siblings, while Leafclaw helped Stoatpaw to his feet.
Stoatpaw had blocked out all noise. One word raced through his mind: weak. He was weak! Mothpaw and Tigerpaw were right, he'd never be as strong as them! He should just give up all his warrior training and become Darkseed's moody apprentice who was too bad to be a warrior apprentice!
Leafclaw sensed he was not happy about this, and dismissed the apprentices. Tigerpaw and Mothpaw raced back to the camp, Stoatpaw dragging behind.
He watched the two go to grab a mouse to share; he just went straight to the apprentice's den and fell asleep.
Coppersnake was looking down at him, a mother's worry shining in her eyes.
Even in Starclan, Stoatpaw had retained his bruises, and the fur around his eyes was crusted in tears. He stood rigid, his mouth in a grimace as he cried, his fur sticking straight out in fear.
"Coppersnake, I tried. I tried everything you-you taught me, but my brother still beat me into the ground." Coppersnake padded towards him, sitting in front of him. "I-I'll never be a good warrior... I should just give up and become a medicine cat!"
"Stoatpaw, stop crying." Coppersnake demanded in a soothing tone, and Stoatpaw shut right up. Her eyes pierced his, and he felt a spark ignite within him. "Leafclaw hasn't been teaching you as rigorously as Shiningeyes and Rowanleap, and you need to stop eating half of the fresh kill pile for dinner." She sat up straight, looking down at him. "Stoatpaw, I, Coppersnake, will make myself your honorary mentor until you become a warrior."
Stoatpaw looked up at her in disbelief. "R-Really?"
Coppersnake nodded, her fur glinting in the light of Starclan. "Yes. And I will make sure you become the best warrior you can ever be!"
There we go. Veeery short, but full of important stuff to the plot. Things are going to be picking up pretty quickly from here, and I hope that the chapters steadily become longer.
Please? Can we make it to at least 5 reviews?