Alright, here we are back with Chapter 3, and time to meet the last of our protagonists. Almost forgot to publish this chapter on time, but here we are luckily. I don't have much to say this time, so... enjoy! :)

CHAPTER 3

"Dodge! No, right, not left!"

Gorsepaw panted, trying to focus on his mentor, Daisystem, standing in front of him. Her white pelt glittered brightly in the sunlight. She lashed out a paw at him again, and he concentrated on ducking down to dodge it, but wound up with it landing across his shoulders.

Daisystem sighed. "Let's try one more time."

Gorsepaw rolled his eyes. They had been at the same move for what felt like seasons. He silently wished that his mentor would give him more rein to do something instead of the same boring attack.

"Are you paying attention, Gorsepaw?" Daisystem asked, flicking her tail across his face. In a heartbeat, Gorsepaw snapped out of his daydream and gave her a brief nod. Taking his consent, she continued, "I've decided that we've had enough battle training for one day. We'll move on to your scenting and observing skills."

Excitedly, Gorsepaw unsheathed his claws into the moorland peat. "Great!" He quickly shook his head, adding, "Er, that's fine, I mean."

Daisystem gave him an affectionate touch of her tail to his shoulder before trotting forward, above the larger dip in the earth where training sessions were held. Gorsepaw quickly overtook her, bounding in long strides until he reached the crest of the hill, the sharp breeze buffeting his gray tabby fur.

"Wait up!" Daisystem called from below, her yowl almost drowned out in the wind.

Gorsepaw impatiently stood at a standstill, waiting for his mentor to finally come up beside him. "You're such a slow-slug."

"I'm not a slow-slug," Daisystem chided him in a teasing voice. "You're just not patient enough."

"Whatever you say," Gorsepaw replied with a flick of his ears. "Where do you want me to go?"

Daisystem scanned the open ground. Her blue gaze rested on a nearby stone about two tail lengths from the ground. "Try that one there."

Without hesitation, Gorsepaw leaped onto the top of the smooth rock, the cool surface pulsing through his pads. He gazed over the moor, StoneClan territory spanning out before him till it eventually cut off by the thick forest of SeaClan.

"What do you see?" his mentor asked, sitting down with her tail curled around her paws.

Gorsepaw squinted against the harsh sun. His eyes darted around the scene before him, trying to decipher what he could. "I think that a bird of some sort just flew down into a tree near our border with SeaClan. Probably a finch, but it was hard to tell. Border patrol headed toward the same area. Rabbit going into a patch of heather."

"Anything else?" Daisystem prompted.

"Not that I can see," Gorsepaw reported. "But I guess I still need practice. At least I'm doing better than Blackpaw - he's as blind as a bat when it comes to this!"

Daisystem cuffed his ear. "Don't speak about your fellow apprentices like that!"

"Sor-ree," Gorsepaw huffed, "but at least I'm telling the truth."

"One more comment like that out of your mouth and I'll have you cleaning the elders for ticks for the next quarter-moon," Daisystem warned him. This time, the tone in her voice was without teasing.

He really can't, Gorsepaw thought to himself. So moody all the time, too. He didn't say anything else out loud to Daisystem, though; taking care of the elders was already a hassle enough. "You try to do some scouting."

Quick as a hare, the white she-cat bounded onto the rock in a single smooth leap. She barely had to take a heartbeat to look over the land. "That bird you spotted earlier is flying back up, and it was a finch. The patrol has just reached the border, but Haythorn must have taken the time to hunt because she has a mouse. I don't see a rabbit so it must be in the heather. There's a buzzard circling close to our border with SilverClan; looks like there's crowfood below it and it can't be long before it swoops down to eat it."

Gorsepaw silently listened, impressed at his mentor's quick observations and sharp report. He knew that someday he could become as good as her; with enough training and dedication it was bound to happen.

"And, right now, it would appear that Plumpoppy and Featherpaw are headed our way," Daisystem noted as she returned to the grass beside Gorsepaw.

Gorsepaw's heart leaped in his chest. Featherpaw?

Plumpoppy padded up to Daisystem and dipped her head in greeting. "How's the training going?" She flashed Gorsepaw a loving glance. "I hope my son isn't being too unruly."

Daisystem purred. "No, he's no trouble at all."

"Good," Plumpoppy responded.

"So what brings you here?" Daisystem queried, licking her paw and then swiping it over her ear.

The blue-gray she-cat shrugged. "I was going to do some battle training with Featherpaw, but it seems that you have Gorsepaw with you, and I was wondering if you'd like to train them together. It would be good experience for them both."

Gorsepaw groaned inwardly. I just got out of battle training! Then a realization crossed over him. But I would get to train with Featherpaw!

Daisystem set her paw back on the ground. "That sounds like a wonderful idea!" Both she and Plumpoppy began padding back down the hill to the training area. "Come on, Gorsepaw!"

Gorsepaw broke into a trot, still hanging back a few tail-lengths from his mentor. Featherpaw fell into pace beside him. Their pelts brushed for just a heartbeat, and Gorsepaw felt his fur heat up.

"I'm so excited to continue battle training!" Featherpaw purred, her silky tabby fur rustling in the breeze.

You and me both, Gorsepaw thought to himself.

"Plumpoppy's been teaching me this really interesting move," the long-haired she-cat continued. "Maybe she'll let me try it out. Mind you, I might have to go easy on you. I'm pretty fierce." Yet she gave Gorsepaw a wink and he could tell she was teasing him.

"There's no cat fiercer in the Clans than me," he boasted in reply.

Featherpaw kinked her tail over her back. "We'll see about that."

Plumpoppy swept her tail out to indicate the training dip. "You two have this whole space to practice."

"Claws sheathed, of course," Daisystem added. "Featherpaw, you've had more experience than Gorsepaw, but don't go easy on him. He won't learn that way, first of all, but knowing him, it'll also be an insult. I know you both have worked very hard, and I expect great results from this."

The two apprentices moved to the middle of the dip, with Daisystem and Plumpoppy observing from an elevated area.

"Begin," Plumpoppy called from her perch.

Gorsepaw wasted no time, quickly leaping for Featherpaw's shoulder to knock her off balance, a useful trick he had learned from Daisystem. However, she dodged him swiftly, leaving him to plummet onto hard moor turf.

"Nice work, Featherpaw!" Plumpoppy congratulated from above. "Although that was pretty easy to see coming."

Gorsepaw growled under his breath. I'll show you something that you'll never have guessed!

He pressed himself low against the ground. Featherpaw braced herself, clearly anticipating him to run at her shoulder again. However, the second he bolted, he ran straight underneath her belly. She yowled in shock as he butted his head against her soft fur, throwing her off balance. She tipped over, falling onto one side.

"Gorsepaw, that was fantastic!" Daisystem praised. Pausing, Gorsepaw flashed a look up at her. She nodded in approval and he puffed out his chest.

Suddenly, Featherpaw rammed into him, fur fluffed out so she looked twice her size. Gorsepaw staggered but managed to stay on his paws. Featherpaw leaped on top of him. Although StoneClan cats were lean and light, being older than him, she was heavier than him, and he dropped to the ground, his muzzle smothered by dust. He fell limp.

Featherpaw relaxed her grip. The moment she did, Gorsepaw wriggled out from underneath her, bolting for the edge of the dip.

"Don't run!" Daisystem growled in frustration. "How are you going to win if you're fleeing like a coward?"

Gorsepaw ignored her. I'm not running from the fight. I'm running to it.

He could hear pawsteps thud on the earth behind him as Featherpaw pursued him. Quick as a hare, she darted straight for him. Gorsepaw had mere seconds to calculate his plan. He pushed off the ground, leaping onto the curved slope beside him and sailed over Featherpaw's head, effectively trapping her in the corner. Unlike him, she couldn't run to the slope and effectively had no momentum to do his maneuver.

Immediately, Gorsepaw could read the worry in her gaze. He pinpointed his position on her, preparing to aim a blow to her head, when she pulled a trick on him he hadn't expected.

As he raised a paw to deliver his swipe, Featherpaw kicked up a pile of dust, blinding Gorsepaw temporarily.

He shook his head back and forth, managing to clear his vision, yet he didn't do it quickly enough - Featherpaw was already on top of him, pummeling him with her paws.

She purred. "I think that means I win."

Gorsepaw stood and shook out his gray tabby pelt, coughing on the remaining dust that was still being brought up from his lungs. "Yeah. You deserved it, though. You fought really well."

Featherpaw's gaze glowed. "Don't be too hard on yourself. I was really surprised by your leaping tactic that you used on the hill. Plumpoppy never taught me how to do that!"

"Well, I, err, made it up on the spot," Gorsepaw admitted sheepishly.

"It was brilliant!" came his mentor's cheerful voice as she and his mother padded towards them. "The enemy would never see it coming, especially on the moor."

Plumpoppy dipped her head in consent. "Both of you did spectacularly. I can clearly see the growth from your training and your attention levels to it. Featherpaw, you'd best keep that in mind - you're getting closer to your final assessment."

Featherpaw's eyes glowed like a pair of miniature blue suns. "I will, Plumpoppy!"

Gorsepaw gave her a look of admiration. She'll be such a great warrior… Oh, StarClan, I wish we could become warriors together!

The setting sun was halfway dipped over the horizon of the distant hills when the group returned to camp. Cloverberry, sitting guard at the entrance, gave them a polite nod as they padded through.

Once inside, Daisystem and Plumpoppy dispersed from the two apprentices to go and report back to Rushstar, while Featherpaw trotted to the apprentices' den. Gorsepaw was about to follow her when Cypresspaw rushed over to her from just outside the den and the two of them brushed cheeks. Willowpaw hurried to the two of them and gave Featherpaw a friendly flick of her tail.

Gorsepaw felt himself halt in his tracks. Does Featherpaw like Cypresspaw? Does that mean she just sees me as a friend? He stopped his thoughts. No, it's okay if we're just friends. That means more than not having any relationship at all.

"Hey, Gorsepaw!" came Featherpaw's voice, snapping him out of his thoughts.

His response came quicker than he was expecting. "What is it?"

"Come over here and hang out with us!" Featherpaw mewed warmly.

Gorsepaw startled. "Oh, uh, sure." He came up to the three, and Willowpaw gave him a disdainful look, almost as if he had dropped a maggot-filled hare at his paws.

"Really? Him? Isn't he a little… younger than us?" she asked her sister, ears angled downwards.

"I'm not that much younger than you at all! We were in the nursery at the same time!" Gorsepaw protested.

Cypresspaw shifted his paws. "Of course. Willowpaw was just saying that being an apprentice is a little, well, different that that. After all, we all have different levels of experience since we're training."

Featherpaw interrupted them and quickly changed the subject. "How about we all share some prey? I'm starved!" She nimbly leaped to the fresh-kill pile and pulled out a juicy hare. Its warm scent tempted Gorsepaw as she laid it down in front of them.

"Delicious," Willowpaw murmured with a lick of her lips. She was the first to bite into the prey with Gorsepaw quickly following.

As his fellow apprentices continued their meal, he paused and looked up at the peachy-pink sky, then back down on the camp. This was it—his home and his Clan. Whether or not he and Featherpaw could become warriors together, he was willing to do his best to become a dedicated warrior, and he would overcome any obstacles that stood in his way to do so. He knew that for sure.