Chapter 4

I woke up early, in spite of my late night, and quickly washed my fur. On my way out, I nearly collided with Bloodfur. He looked startled, and meowed, "What are you doing up so early? I was just on my way to waking you up."

I shrugged, "I guess I just felt like it." On the inside, I grinned, thinking of my mother and I's earlier conversation. My fur prickled when I thought about the small black kittypet from twoleg place, he was so, so strange. I felt awkward too, as I remembered the last time Bloodfur had talked to me. Or rather, argued.

He was looking at me like I was sick, maybe even contagious, making me realize that not a lot of cats are used to seeing my not-mean side. I took a moment to look around, and felt a little comfort at the sight before me. Dawnlilly was grooming Applefur, and Sharpkit was playing with a piece of moss by the camp entrance. Our leader, Peachstar, was enjoying the warm sun, lounging on the high rock with his mate, Deertail.

Bloodfur interrupted my Zen moment, meowing, "Well, I guess we can go battle training today. We have it to ourselves." Normally, I'd be upset at the thought of moving more than it takes to go to the fresh-kill pile, but, having it to ourselves did sound pretty nice.

We ran out the tunnel, and Bloodfur must have thought I really was contagious, because he seemed to be running just to get away from me. (If that was too metaphorical for you, he was running really fast.) We reached the training hollow at light speed, and I was coming to a rough stop when Bloodfur suddenly turned around and leapt at me.

Instinctively, I ducked under his belly, and 360'd to attack from behind. But Bloodfur reacted quickly and swiped a paw towards me, catching my head and pushing me sideways. I lost my footing, and fell onto the sandy forest floor, but before I could stand, Bloodfur put his paws on my shoulders. His greater weight was almost crushing, and I went limp. He backed away, and said,"Well, your reaction time needs work, but-"

I really caught Bloodfur off guard, his eyes seemed to bulge out of his head when I tackled him to the ground. He suddenly shifted from under my belly, and we were back to back for a moment. I "uffffed" as he rolled over me, then sighed in relief as he stood up. "Done this time?"

I nodded.

"All right, as I was saying, we need to work on your reaction time. The fake at the end was clever, you can use that in battle, but no more than once of course " He looked at me a bit more seriously, then mewed, " Let's have at it some more, but first, try this move."

He crouched down, as if facing an enemy, then leapt in the air, dodged to the side, and rolled, flicking out a paw. I imagined his claws ripping through fur, and winced. That move looked powerful.

Bloodfur gestured that it was my turn, and I was a little excited. I could really make him regret what he said about me not being able to do anything right. So, I crouched down, and thought for a moment, picturing myself in the air, completing the move. Then, I ran forward, and leapt into the air. It took me a second, but I realized I hadn't turned soon enough, and I hit the ground with a heavy thud.

Bloodfur shook his head, "Try again."

Determined, I ran and leapt, then twisted, and flicked out my paw, just like I was shown. I landed on all four feet this time, and beamed at Bloodfur. He seemed a little uncomfortable, and said, "Just when did you get so eager to do things correctly?"

For the second time today, I shrugged. I definitely wasn't going to tell him my talk with my mother last night.

The rest of training we practiced like that, and I was feeling like life had just gotten a whole lot easier. But without something rude to say every other second, everything seemed a little strange.

Bloodfur looked kind of relieved, and I didn't blame him. He mewed, "Let's be getting back then, I think we deserve some fresh kill."

By the time we arrived back in camp, the sun was beginning to set, and cats were disappearing into their dens for the night. Bloodfur and I went our separate ways, and I quickly picked a mouse from the fresh kill pile. Last night I had had so much on my mind I forgot to eat at all. The gaping hole in my stomach faded when I finished, and I sat in the last few rays of the sun I could get.

I waited for a minute after the other apprentices went to the den. I wanted them to be asleep so I wouldn't hear any kind of crap about my life's small improvement. But just before I fell asleep, I remembered the small black tom from Twolegplace again, and I realized I had forgotten to look for him again.