Chapter 3 – Victory
Foxstar's face was unreadable when he yowled, "Start!"
Duskpaw's opponent was a hulking RiverClan apprentice: well-fed from the river, and all the slower for it. The RiverClan cat did not leap, as a WindClan or ThunderClan cat would have; he stood his ground as Duskpaw waited for him to make a move. Finally, Duskpaw struck.
They were circling each other when Duskpaw finally feinted with a leap that fell short. The RiverClan cat quickly tried to leap on him, but Duskpaw had already leaped backwards, and rushed back in to bat at the RiverClan cat's face with sheathed paws. The RiverClan cat snarled and seemed to grow faster, but Duskpaw was faster still. He had chosen the thinnest mouse he could fine on the fresh-kill pile this morning, to give him the energy to fight while not slowing him down.
The RiverClan cat apparently had not made the same choice as Duskpaw. The fighting blood runs thin in this one, Duskpaw thought as he danced away from the bigger cat. It would be harder for him if he fought WindClan—they were too fast to use such a tactic. He would dodge, feint, and use small irritating attacks to infuriate the slower RiverClan apprentice until Duskpaw could sense that his enemy was losing his energy. His powerful blows came slower, and there was a clear look of doubt on his face.
As if Duskpaw gained a magical spurt of energy, he met the RiverClan cat's rush head-on. He could feel the immense strength underneath the other cat's glossy pelt, but it was brief. In the end Duskpaw knocked him off his feet and held him down before the RiverClan cat could gain another spurt of energy. His fallen opponent spat curses at him, but what mattered was he won.
Foxstar now had a smug look on his face, as if he knew what the outcome would be. Stormclaw's face was a look of pure pride, and all the faces of the ThunderClan cats in the circle around him had an inspiring look in them—all except Rowanpaw's. The brown cat scowled as he strode forward, meowing in a loud voice so all could hear above the noise: "I challenge Duskpaw."
Those three simple words awoke such confusion in the circle of cats that finally the elderly Russetstar rasped, "But you're ThunderClan too. If you have some personal in-Clan matters to settle, do it inside your Clan!"
Foxstar stepped forward as well. "You have time enough to do this in training tomorrow," he mewed gently, looking down on Rowanpaw. Rowanpaw's look was pure fury as he glared at Duskpaw. The look was one that Duskpaw himself knew of. It was determination, and Duskpaw braced himself for something unexpected. To make sure Rowanpaw would attack first, Duskpaw used his cutting smile. "Are you sure you can really beat me now, in front of all these cats?"
As he predicted, Rowanpaw leaped at him with a yowl, and the familiar rush of energy came back to Duskpaw as he neatly sidestepped. He's going to use his move, Duskpaw realized. Thankfully, he had his own little counter for it. I'll use it just for you, dear Rowanpaw.
Duskpaw flew at Rowanpaw, landing on his back while the circle of cats made a cacophony that Duskpaw was entirely deaf to. By grasping Rowanpaw's scruff, he was inviting him to use his little 'secret' move. Duskpaw had guessed that the point of it, really, was to gain an advantage over enemies that had a grip on him.
Rowanpaw was predictable as ever, and leaped backwards to land on the ground back-first. It meant Duskpaw would be crushed underneath Rowanpaw, but he didn't mean to stay there to be pummeled. Duskpaw swiftly let go of Rowanpaw just as he started to land backwards, and for one sweet heartbeat, Rowanpaw's belly was unguarded. Duskpaw immediately pinned Rowanpaw down while his hind legs thrashed his belly, but nothing was half as sweet as the look on Rowanpaw's face. You worked on that move for hours yesterday, and it's proved to be nothing but a farce, Duskpaw thought, exulting.
It was done. Duskpaw got off Rowanpaw, humiliated and defeated. His ears flattened as he gave one final snarl, but Duskpaw could see it in his eyes: total defeat. And this time, nothing protested inside him as he basked in his own glory.