Chapter 6

Paws flew through the air like leaves falling from the sky. Cats tumbled around and with each other. In the mist of it all was a dark brown tabby with a wide head and wide muscular shoulders, blood spilled from a long gash on their pale-furred underside.

This is impossible, I can't be here! "Mousepaw! Mousepaw wake up!" A cat was calling me. I felt sharp jabs on my side and without thinking I flung my self at the paws'.

"Mousepaw! Quit attacking Flamecloud! Mousepaw!" A she cats meow came from behind me. "Honeypaw go get some water. Quick!" There was a rush of paws and I felt someone pulling me.

Water splashed from the sky on my face. Coughing I looked up and saw a flat, white rounded face with a bright splotch of orange, and two black ears standing over me. "What happened? Where's Flamecloud? He was just here, why are you standing over me?" Realizing Flamecloud was behind me, pushing himself up off the ground and glaring at me, I knew what had happened.

I've been having these weird memories that I know weren't from my memory, if that makes any sense. "Sorry Flamecloud! I don't know what happened," I lied, hoping he didn't see through it. "Are you ok? This isn't going to effect our training today is it?"

"I'll take over training for the rest of the day, you and Mousepaw have been out everyday for a moon, from sun-high to sunset. Let me handle the paws' by myself for a while." There was the smallest hint of pleading in Jayberry's response.

"As a senior warrior, and you being a newer warrior than most..."

"Just because I'm a young warrior means that I should be able to recall a lot of my skills that I was learning for moons! I help out in the nursery as much as I can, I'm even trying to learn about some herbs, or at least as much as Brightbreath is willing to teach me. Then there is also the Elders' den and the normal patrols, hunting and border. I think I can handle four apprentices by myself." Blue fire seared the air around them from her eyes.

Flamecloud sat back, thinking, "You make a good point Jayberry. We'll see how you do for today and if you come back with good results, you can take lead sometimes in other training sessions." He padded off when he finished, "I expect to see their outcome in the camp tonight."

Eagerness seeped from the calico's pelt; she separated us into pairs and showed us a few battle moves to start with. I felt like someone was watching me the whole time. The itchiness of it on my pelt was so bad and distracting that it made me lose concentration and Honeypaw landed a few hard blows.

"Okay, you guys seem to have that down, like a warrior, so were gonna work on this." She demonstrates a move I've excelled at many times. "Mousepaw, since you seem to be out of it today, you can help me show the others." Her white tail-tip twitched in annoyance when she noticed I was staring at the sky. "Mousepaw!"

"What?"

"Come here. You're gonna help me demonstrate," she says pads to the other side of the clearing into the shadows. "Close your eyes and concentrate. Don't worry about them," her meow floats through the air towards me.

Steadying myself, I close my eyes, crouch low to the ground and listened. I could hear the sounds of scraping, too small for the young warrior I thought. The sounds of birdsong filled the clearing, rustling leaves, and the smell of the pine trees drifted from RisingClan's territory. There was something different in the sickly sweet smell of it that shouldn't have been there, then a twig snapped from the same direction.

As I twitched my ears back, I could feel the ground tremble slightly. When I couldn't feel the vibration anymore I tucked lower and rolled to my right. I opened my eyes and the calico she-cat was right where I would have been. Without pause, I quickly counter-attacked, leaping and landing squarely on her shoulders. Then I lightly stepped off of her. I guess she didn't think I'd counter-attack it, or even do what I did, because she dropped straight to the ground under my weight.

"That was terrific! Where did you learn to do that? Did you even hear me explain what do to?" Her surprise was... well surprising.

"I'm not really sure where I learned that from... I've been able to do that for as long as I can remember." Three pairs of eyes stared at me. The fourth pair glowed with pride. Before I knew it, we were split into pairs again. A taunting bracken tabby stood before me, I just walked away into the shadows like Jayberry did. I walked all the way to small clearing where twolegs like to come in newleaf, and I could still here his sharp meow. I wound around to the other cats and wouldn't you know! Honeypaw was still yapping.

Instead of waiting for him to finish I pounced. Anger rippled off his pelt when I flattened him. "Wow! That's five for five!" Excitement rose in Cinderpaw's meow. I turned around to talk with him so that Honeypaw could go and try to attempt to do that to me again, but instead I was greeted with a sharp pulling at my shoulders.

Automatically I rolled unto my back hoping to dislodge them, but he held on with his teeth. I pulled forward and heard a snap of teeth. I turned around ready to defend myself when I ran into black fur. I looked over and Jayberry was next to him.

"There needs to be no fighting!" Her black ears swiveled as Honeypaw grumbled. "Why did you attack her? She was doing what she was supposed to be doing. You're supposed to listen for your attacker. And Mousepaw, there is no need to take as long as you did to circle. Cinderpaw, concentrate on what you and Ravenpaw are doing." The calico scolded everyone but Ravenpaw. "Ravenpaw, if he was an enemy, could've taken you by surprise and possibly wounded you badly. I think that's enough training for the day. Head back to camp. Cinderpaw, hang back with me, please."

Everyone left but Cinderpaw; Ravenpaw was never more than two-tail lengths away from me the whole way back. I was left to my thoughts for awhile. That usually doesn't happen; Honeypaw's going to be a warrior any day now, so why would he risk attacking me? It makes no sense. But then again nothing these days makes any sense.

When I passed the entrance into camp Otterkit and Moonkit were wrestling near Risingwater. Horizon, Pepplepath, Midnightstar, and Flamecloud came in with fresh kill. Walking over to the mouth-watering pile I picked up a plump squirrel and went to the rock near the apprentice's den. I didn't even get one mouthful down when the kits raced over.

Ravenpaw's P.O.V

"Can you believe that mouse-brain made a show out of me today? Where did Flamecloud go, we were supposed to show him what we learned or whatever." The bracken tabby rambled on and on about how the she-cat pinned him; five times in a row.

"I don't know where he is, maybe he went to rest, from the hunting patrol he went on. Go ask Nightspots, she might know." The black tom wasn't paying much attention, he was looking at the brown tabby Honeypaw, apparently, didn't like. The only two kits in the Clan right now were so infatuated with her that she can't even eat one meal without being attacked.

Ravenpaw looked over and Honeypaw was gone. The last cat to walk in from our group was Jayberry; who headed straight for Shinewhisker. The two she-cats were inseparable since Jayberry became a warrior. Losing Lionflight seemed to have had a hard effect on her the most; she's always trying to do more than she can, and she only seems to be leased stressed when she's around Shinewhisker.

"Ravenpaw, come join our hunting party! We're going by CloudClan territory so this should be fun! Especially with the rogues in that area!" A deep growl drifted through the air, pricking the tom's ears. Reluctantly he turned and trotted after the small group.

A squirrel darted in front of Ravenpaw, not seeing it till he stumbled upon it, raced after it. With a quick bite to the neck the squirrel lay limp in his mouth and the ferns next to him shivered. Honeypaw's eyes were dark and anger rippled off him; again.

"That was my squirrel. You may have just ruined my chance of my hunting lessons for my assessment!" A growl ripped the air between them; a quick flash of orange caught the corner of the black tom's green eyes.

"Didn't know you were doing that today. Sorry." The black tom hissed when he padded away. Not wanting to hunt he headed back to the camp; the brown tabby she-cat was in the apprentices den. Sky blue eyes looked curious so he told her what had happened.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather around the Stump for a Clan meeting." The orange cat and Honeypaw were sitting by the Stump. Pride shone in Risingwater's eyes; her one and only kit was becoming a warrior. "This young cat has proven to be a strong cat in many ways within this Clan, he studied our warrior code, and trained eagerly to be sitting here today," Midnightstar started the meeting as Mousepaw squeezed out of the dens' entrance. " Honeypaw, you have learned all that Echostream could teach you." She then turned to the orange tom, "Echostream, do you feel that he is ready?"

"Yes, I do."

"I, Midnightstar, leader of MountainClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn." Looking at Honeypaw she purrs, "Honeypaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Honeypaw, from this moment you will be known as, Honeynose. StarClan honors your strength and courage, and we welcome you as a full warrior of MountainClan."

"Honeynose! Honeynose! Honeynose!" The Clan cheered the bracken tom's warrior name. A golden and gray she-cat nosed her way to him.

I'm no longer putting Chapter titles (other than the Chapter... whatever). I can't remember if I put that in the little interval thing. lol :P I'll try to get another chapter up as soon as I can... Its just my Summer is A LOT busier than I thought it would be.

Midnightflash22