Chapter 4

The next night, after his parents left at the break of First Black to go hunting, Kludd crept to the edge of the hollow, ready to go back to Redwood and to the Pure Ones. He was about to lift off into the black when he heard a soft voice whispering, "Kludd? Where are you going?"

Much to his horror, Kludd turned around to find the black eyes of his brother peering at him. "I've been asked to attend a secret meeting of noble owls." He said, not quite sure why he didn't tell Soren the truth. Soren, however, simply looked a little longer and then fell back asleep. Relieved that Soren didn't push the matter, Kludd took off into the night. Tonight would be his, Garth, Scourge, and Cedar's first fighting class, and he was eager to see what he might learn.

"Where were you when First Lavender appeared?" Garth asked when Kludd arrived at the chamber where they met Jade the previous morning. "We thought you had been owlnapped."

"I flew back home." Kludd replied, aware of how stupid that sounded. "I snuck out of my hollow after my parents left to go hunting this evening."

"Well, I'll be!" Cedar's voice boomed through the chamber as she joined the conversation, her black eyes bright with excitement. "Kludd Alba, favoured by Adjunct General Nyra, rebelling against his own parents! I like it!" She then turned her head towards Kludd and added, "You've got some serious gall grot, Alba; a few of the owls here could stand to learn something from you."

Just as Cedar finished speaking, Jade appeared with slips of parchment in her talons. "Alright, everyone, listen up." Jade said, her voice still chirpy, yet commanding attention. Kludd couldn't help but wonder if she was anything besides an instructor. "These," she said, gesturing to the parchment slips, "are your identification notices. These will allow you to be able to be identified by all Pure One officers and will allow you to go anywhere you like." She then handed a slip to each of the four owls before her, and as she did so, she added in a serious voice, "Keep them will you at all times."

After having received their identification notices, they were dismissed to their first class, which they had to walk to via a long corridor. As they walked, Kludd decided to better get to know his chambermates. "So, Cedar," he began, addressing the amber-coloured owl as he spoke, "how did you end up joining the Pure Ones?"

Cedar cocked her head, as if to try and find any trace of an insult within Kludd's question, then answered, "You know that there aren't many Barn Owls outside of Tyto, correct?" Kludd nodded. "Well, as you and everyone else probably knows, I am from the Kingdom of Ambala, which borders Tyto, Kuneer, and The Barrens, separated from The Beaks by the River Hoole. My family, the Plicata family, is one of the oldest Barn Owl families there, so I guess you could say we're the closest to royalty a kingdom like Ambala might have."

"You've probably noticed that I have a name that doesn't match my appearance at all." Cedar went on. Kludd nodded again. "There's a reason for it; my father named me after the tree I was hatched in. It's a sort of tradition in my family; I had a cousin who was hatched in Silverveil and was named Silver because of it. Anyways, the cedar I hatched in ended up being burned down in a forest fire, but my name stuck, even after my owlet down molted and my adult feathers grew in. To make things worse, many owls in Ambala are fairly superstitious, particularly about Barn Owls, and so I was teased heavily as a result."

"One day, a pair of Spotted Owls began heckling me while I went on a casual flight. They were teasing me something fierce, chanting, 'Little Cedar, little Cedar, caught a mouse and couldn't eat her' and asking if I was pale, if I needed to be fed. I tried to ignore them, tried to keep flying, but they wouldn't go away. Finally, one of them said something really nasty; I can't quite remember what it was, something about albinos, but it set me off and then…" Cedar paused, more for dramatic effect than out of shame. "I clawed both of their faces. I think I blinded one of them."

Kludd's eyes widened, both impressed and envious of Cedar's obvious experience. Noting his reaction, Cedar continued. "As it turned out, Stryker and another Lieutenant, Uglamore I think, had seen what happened and flew up to congratulate me. Stryker told me he was impressed with the sheer power of my rage and offered me a spot amongst the Pure Ones. I wanted it so bad, and so I trained with a retired commander living in Kuneer. From him, I learned how to attack undetected in all kinds of environments, from deserts to forests to canyons." Cedar's eyes glittered with a new fierceness. "And when he thought that I was ready, he escorted me here and I took up Stryker's offer."

For the rest of the walk, Garth talked a bit about his family history with the Pure Ones, Scourge bragged about his supposedly epic feats prior to his arrival, and Cedar simply rolled her eyes and every once in a while, remarked, "Oh, yes, I bet the entire Shadow Forest must be terrified of you, Pigwidgeon." Kludd, however, stayed silent, his eyes fixed on Cedar. She was undoubtedly a skilled and fierce warrior, and Kludd could learn a lot from her.

"Welcome, class, to your first fighting lesson." Shreed a muscular Masked Owl with scars where his right eye should have been. "I am Sublieutenant Katana, and I shall be your instructor for this class."

"Katana?" Scourge whispered, the contempt in his voice evident. "Sounds like a female's name."

"Indeed it does, Pigwidgeon." Kludd retorted, and Scourge's eyes filled with hatred for him. Kludd, however, ignored it.

"Today," Katana went on, "you shall practice testing your skills, as well as learning those of your opponents and figuring out where their weaknesses lie. You will be paired with opponents of different sizes and strengths to yours, and as you win each fight, you will be paired with more skilled fighters until, eventually, you will be paired with one who matches you in strength, size, and skill. For this reason, it is important that you not give your opponent time to think about how to defeat you."

For his first fight, Kludd was paired with a Lesser Sooty by the name of Dustin. Dustin charged at Kludd with great speed and ferocity, but Kludd dodged it, wedging himself into a niche nearby. This move had little to do with fear; it allowed him to be undetected by Dustin, giving Kludd more opportunity to study his opponent. He was a very fast owl, Kludd had to admit, and could attack with great ferocity. However, a blow from above might be enough to take him down – or at least cut the fight short. With that, Kludd plunged into a classic kill spiral and plunged head first into the back of Dustin's head, knocking him senseless.

A loud shree then stopped the fight, and Katana stepped towards Kludd, dark eyes studying the young owl. "Well done…" began Katana, unable to finish that sentence. "Kludd Alba." Kludd finished. Katana gave him a nod and then, wrapping a wing around Kludd, turned to the rest of the class. "Take a look at Mr. Alba, here." He rasped in a commanding voice. "Notice the way he was able to harness the element of surprise, and how he used it to his advantage. I hope you all can learn something from his example." The owls listening began studying Kludd closely, and a few even wilfed.

For the rest of the class, Kludd was paired with various owls of different kinds, all of them Tytos nevertheless. Some were more difficult than others, but for each fight, Kludd was able to keep himself hidden from his opponent's sight, allowing him to find a weak spot on his opponent and attack with great force. The further he excelled, the more owls began to wilf. How would they ever be able to live up to the expectations being set by this young Tyto?

For his final fight, Kludd was paired up with Garth, while Cedar, who was also excelling, was paired with Scourge. Upon hearing this Scourge protested. "She's a female!" He cried. "There's no way that's a fair fight for Scourge." In response, Cedar simply scratched his face and said, "Act like a mooncalf, get clawed like a mooncalf." Kludd was not prepared to make the same mistake with either Cedar or Garth; Garth's father was a commander here, and Cedar he already knew was a fierce fighter. He would have to think critically.

Garth charged at Kludd, and Kludd dodged it like he did with his previous opponents. Kludd then went for a blow to the side, but Garth, to his surprise, dodged that as well. "Not bad, Kludd." Said Garth, shaking his feathers. "Let's see you try and attack me directly."

For the remainder of the fight, Kludd and Garth dealt each several blows, many of which ended up being dodged by the other. Having won in her fight with Scourge, Cedar came to watch the fight, and those who weren't grievously injured followed suit. The fight dragged on and on, with almost no end in sight. Then, Kludd had an idea.

Notice the way he was able to harness the element of surprise. Katana's words came back to Kludd, and he crumpled down onto his back, feigning defeat. Seeing his chance, Garth sprang upon Kludd, ready to deal the blow that would fully declare him victorious, and was right above him when Kludd lifted his claws and raked Garth's belly – not enough to mortally wound him, but enough to give him a good scar. Garth, in pain but nevertheless impressed by Kludd's strategy, fell to the ground and raised his starboard wing, signaling his defeat.

Massive cheers erupted from the owls surrounding them, the loudest of them all coming from Cedar, while Katana simply stood there, his eyes gleaming with pride at this exceptional young pupil. As the crowd died down, Kludd went to help Garth up and lead him to the infirmary to treat his wound. "I hope you aren't upset at me."

"Hardly." Garth replied, despite the blood that stained his belly feathers red. "I can already tell you are going to be a legend." He then added, his eyes sparkling, "And when you do, I'll be proud to say that you gave me my first scar."

A/N: Hello again! As you can see, I am hoping now to be a bit more regular in my updates. I realize that my previous schedule may have been inconvenient to some of you, and I apologize. For those of you wondering, yes, I did base Cedar's response to Scourge's outburst in fight class on a scene in "Kick Ass 2" I found that part to be hilarious, and I soon got the idea of Cedar beating the pellets out of somebody and saying that line. I have a feeling Cedar might get her own spinoff when this is over. As always, show some love and review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Guardians of Ga'Hoole or any part of the Kick Ass franchise; full credit goes to their respective creators.