I don't own Warriors.
Blackpaw's POV.
I sighed, swallowing the last bite of the mouse before standing up.
"Blackpaw," called Moldstar, walking past with a fake smile plastered on his face.
I tried to turn away, pretending that I didn't hear him.
It didn't work.
"How's the best apprentice in the clan?" Moldstar asked in his greasy voice that sent shivers down my spine.
I cringed. "Fine," I mumbled.
"There's no need to be shy, even if you're talking to the most important clan member!"
I tried to hide the distaste on his face, knowing that the queens were the most important. Without them, there would be no clan.
"Go rest," Moldstar continued, not noticing Blackpaw's discomfort. He gave me a last fake smile before leaving.
I tried to understand what his leader had said. I had just slept through the entire night, why did I need to rest more?
I shook it off as Grayfur padded up.
"Ready for training?" the old warrior asked, looking at me warmly.
"Yes," I replied. "What are we doing, hunting?"
"No, we're going to do some battle training," Grayfur purred.
I sized my mentor up, wondering if I would hurt him.
Grayfur led me to an area deep in ShadowClan territory. "No one comes here," he told me. "My mentor always took me here, and now I'm taking my apprentice here."
"Why?" I asked. The clearing was covered in moss and it was small, the trees encircling it grew up into a point. A hole was at the very center in the top, letting sunlight stream in.
"It's passed on to the worthy ones," Grayfur replied, no really answering my question. "When you're a mentor, you'll pass it on to the apprentice you have that you think deserves it. I was told long ago by my mentor that it was found by a she-cat named Tawnypelt."
"But why is it special?" I asked again.
Grayfur smiled. "Come here at night some time, and you'll see."
I nodded, knowing not to push my mentor any further, but wondering how much of what he said was true.
"Attack me," Grayfur said sharply. "Any way you wish."
I looked at my mentor, surprised at how serious he was. I bunched my muscles, crouching low to the ground and sprang.
It all happened very fast, and the next thing I knew Grayfur had pinned me to the ground forcefully for such a frail-looking cat.
"Try again," Grayfur said.
I looked at Grayfur with respect, and resumed my place opposite of him.
"I'll be easy on you this time," he added, and I nodded.
I crouched again, springing to Grayfur's side, planning on jumping on his back. Once again, he pinned me.
"Alright," Grayfur began. "You want to attack me from the front, as it's usually fair. In battle you don't fight fair." Grayfur licked his paw reflectively. "Did you see what I did to you when you attacked me the second time?"
"No," I replied. "It happened to fast."
"That is the move I'll teach you today," Grayfur said. "Watch, I'll show it to you."
For such an old cat, Grayfur could move quickly. He showed me the move in the full speed, and then slower.
"You see how I'm moving my legs?" Grayfur meowed, kicking them out. "Imagine the enemy cat there. I would be kicking him in the belly. What is the advantage of that?"
I thought. "Well, the air would be knocked out of him so he would be winded."
"Good. Then I can spring onto the cat, and he, still being winded, has to give up. Show me."
Concentrating hard, I kicked my legs out.
"No, swing yourself around!" Grayfur barked.
I nodded, spinning myself around on my front paws, kicking the invisible cat. I completed the turn and leapt on him, pinning him to the ground.
"Good," Grayfur said. "Now, normally, you would do that faster. Can you tell me what the advantage of that would be?"
I stared into the trees behind him. "They…wouldn't see it coming," I said hesitantly, remembering how I hadn't known what had happened when Grayfur had pinned me to the ground.
"Very good," Grayfur replied. He sighed. "We should get back to camp." He stiffened for a moment, his eyes twitching nervously from side to side. "Hide," he hissed hoarsely. "Don't come out until I say so."
I looked at him curiously, but obeyed.
"Oh, Grayfur," hissed a voice I knew to well. "I didn't know you came here."
Moldstar's gray and brown body slipped into the clearing, an unnatural light in his eyes, as I hid in the undergrowth.
"What are you doing here?" Grayfur snarled, unsheathing his claws.
"I am leader, the most important member of the clan, and yet you dare to question me?" Moldstar said coldly. "We both know that I never liked you, Grayfur. Now is my chance to…how would you say? Finish you off, perhaps?"
"You couldn't kill a kit with your fighting skills," Grayfur hissed. I flinched; I had never seen Grayfur act this way.
"I've killed plenty of kits."
"It doesn't count when someone else holds it down and you tear out its throat."
"We both know that I don't like ripping out throats. It draws too much attention."
"So tell me," Grayfur said, sitting down on the moss. "Why did you kill Brightfur?"
"Want some answers before you die?" Moldstar asked. "I suppose it can't hurt to give you them. To be honest, she was getting annoying. I killed her, and threw her in the lake."
I gasped, but neither cat noticed. It was Moldstar who killed her, I realized.
"So that's where Brightfur is now," Grayfur murmured.
"Now," Moldstar smiled. "I will let you live. No one will believe you, the words of a clan leader against an insane warrior! Who will they believe?"
Grayfur only smiled triumphantly as Moldstar left. He flicked his tail for me to come.
"How did you know?" I asked. "That we—I knew about the she-cat in the lake."
"This clearing is strange," the old warrior said mistily. "Sometimes…you just know things." He smiled.
I knew what he meant, but I didn't know how he knew it.
Grayfur smiled, his pointed teeth showing. "When you're a warrior come back here," he told me. "Everything will be different."
Well, I know it seems like Grayfur's out of character, but the clearing changes things. It's special. Also, I know it seems like Blackpaw found out about Moldstar being a murderer a bit fast, but that wasn't meant to be a 20-chapter thing. Course, other things will be…
Review!!
Sparrowflight
