Chapter 2: First Battle Training Session

Stormpaw woke from a deep sleep. She tried to remember what she had been dreaming about. Something about catching mice? Stormpaw turned her attention to what had woke her. A paw was prodding her side.

"What?" she mumbled. Stormpaw twisted to nip the offending paw. It was Falconpaw's brown tabby paw. "I was sleeping."

"Firelight wants you to get up," he hissed, trying to keep his voice down.

"Okay, okay, I'm getting up. Why does she need me anyway?" Stormpaw let out a huge yawn.

Falconpaw grinned, "Go ask her yourself! I was just coming back from the dirtplace when she asked me to get you up."

Stormpaw nodded, and walked slowly out to the entrance of the apprentice den. She then jumped from the edge onto the cold hard ground. Stormpaw shivered. Why did Firelight need to get me up so early? It's not even dawn! She grumbled to herself. The sky was still a dark gray. She saw her mentor waiting for her at the camp entrance.

"Sorry Stormpaw, you're probably wondering why I would wake you up so early, and it's because I want to show you something," Firelight seemed excited. Stormpaw nodded, stiffling a yawn. "Follow me," Firelight meowed. Stormpaw nodded again and had no choice but to follow her. Firelight dipped her head to Sandpelt, who was keeping guard. She then led Stormpaw through the forest, pointing out landmarks and good places to harvest moss, which Stormpaw promptly forgot. "Ah, here we are," she announced a short while after they left the hollow. They had arrived a rock outcroping where Stormpaw could see all the way to Four Stones. While the view was impressive, it was not worth getting up before dawn for.

"This is it?"

"No! Wait, it's almost time..." Firelight gazed anxiously at the distance. Suddenly, a beam of light shot through the twilight. The sun peeked over the horizon, turning the sky different reds and pinks and yellows. Firelight tapped Stormpaw's shoulder with her tail. "Look at the trees!"

Stormpaw turned and looked. She gasped. The sunlight bathed the trees' branches in pink light. The darker branches turned a deep red while the bark was a rosey pink. It was beautiful. Mentor and apprentice watched as the trees slowly faded back to their normal colour, still with a pale pink tint to it though.

"That was amazing! Is that why this clan is named Dawnclan?" Stormpaw asked.

"Yes. The founder probably experienced what we just saw and decided to named this clan for it's beauty," Firelight responded. "My mentor, Larkwing, showed me this. Every mentor does.

"Firelight?" Stormpaw asked hesitantly.

"Yes?"

"Can I sleep for a bit longer? I can still train, but I'm a little tired," Stormpaw meowed.

"Of course! I want to give you some battle training at sunhigh, so don't sleep longer then that," Firelight flicked Stormpaw's ear affectionately. "Go run along to your nest," she purred.

Stormpaw nodded gratefully. At the end of the entrance tunnel, they parted ways. Stormpaw yawned again and practically leapt in her nest. With her tail on her nose, she quickly fell asleep.

o-o-o

Stormpaw blinked. Sunlight filtered through the den, lighting everything up with a soft glow. Stretching, she hopped out of the cave. Cats were talking and sharing tongues. Stormpaw's belly growled. She saw Foxpaw by the freshkill pile so she padded over to where Foxpaw was crouched.

"Foxpaw, do you want to share?"Stormpaw nodded to the freshkill pile.

"Sure! How about a squirrel?" Foxpaw meowed. Stormpaw nodded. Foxpaw picked the squirrel up in her jaws and led Stormpaw to the shade of the holly bushes where the apprentices often ate. "You can have the first bite," Foxpaw pushed the squirrel towards Stormpaw. Stormpaw bent down and took a bite. Her mouth was filled with the nuttiness and fresh taste of squirrel.

"I have a new favourite type of prey," Stormpaw announced.

Foxpaw purred in amusement. "Squirrel is delicious," she agreed. "I like shrew the best actually. The spiciness and woody flavour is delicious," she licked her chops. They took turns taking bites of the squirrel uuntil all that was left were scraps.

"Foxpaw, we're going to practice hunting in pairs today," Mossheart walked up to where they were finishing.

"Okay. See you later," Foxpaw said brightly. Stormpaw watched her new friend follow Mossheart out of the tunnel. Stormpaw got up and looked for Firelight. The ginger she-cat was sharing tongues with Oakfur.

"Firelight, are we going to train soon?" Stormpaw asked her as she hurried over.

"Finally! I thought you would never wake up," Firelight teased. "But yes, let's go. Is Willowpaw still here? It would be good if you had a sparring partner."

Stormpaw looked around. She saw Willowpaw lying in a patch of sun, grooming herself. "Get up, lazybones. Can you train with me? Firelight wants me have a battle partner," Stormpaw prodded her sister's side.

"Sure, I guess. If it's okay with Birchtail," Willowpaw got up and stretched her lithe body. "I'll go ask Birchtail now," she grumbled as Stormpaw poked her again, this time with a claw.

Willowpaw quickly came back with Birchtail. "Birchtail said yes! Where's Firelight?" Willowpaw meowed.

"Over there," Stormpaw nodded toward where Firelight stood. "Come on, she'll be waiting," Stormpaw hurried over to Firelight. "We're ready," she told her.

Firelight nodded. "Let's go then. Birchtail, lead the way," Firelight stopped, letting her brother be in the front.

"We will go to the Sandy Clearing. That's where we do battle training," Birchtail informed the apprentices. Birchtail led them left, toward the Rippleclan border. They ended up in a little clearing surrounded by leafy bushes and shrubs. The dirt was soft and loose, like sand. Stormpaw scuffed the dirt. It would be easier falling here than other places.

"So we should put them together, and we can give our apprentice a quick lesson at the end of each fight," Firelight suggested.

"Okay, Stormpaw, Willowpaw, try to pin each other down," Birchtail walked over and sat at the edge.

"And keep your claws sheathed," Firelight reminded them.

Stormpaw studied Willowpaw. Her sister was smaller and probably faster, but she was stronger and smarter. She shifted her weight visibly to her left side. Stormpaw darted forward, Willowpaw reared, ready to slam on her, but Stormpaw had anticipated this. She unsheathed her claws and dug them into the ground, springing to the right and then pouncing on Willowpaw who had fallen on empty dirt. Stormpaw pinned her littermate to the ground. Willowpaw squirmed and kicked, but Stormpaw just out her full weight on her.

"Stormpaw wins! Well done," Firelight meowed. "You can get off her," she added, amused. "Now I will show some things to Stormpaw and Birchtail will teach Willowpaw," she flicked her tail at Stormpaw beckoning her to come. "Stormpaw, you did well. You're strong, so you can mostly just attack cats head on, but there will always be a bigger, stronger cat. Be quicker and instead of countering and deflecting your opponents claws, be faster and dodge your opponent. You're also smart. I saw that when you were fighting Willowpaw. Fighting isn't just knowing a bunch of fancy moves. You need to be able to plug them in when you see need. Attack me," she ordered.

Stormpaw rushed forward, swiping a paw towards Firelight's muzzle. Firelight darted forward in an arc around Stormpaw, using a single paw to knock her legs while she was unbalanced. Stormpaw fell and looked up at Firelight. Her mentor was about to come down and pin her. Her body was angled so if Stormpaw tried to roll away she could still jump on her. Stormpaw decided to do the thing Firelight would least expect; she rolled toward Firelight. Firelight fell back awkwardly. Stormpaw shot back but Firelight was too quick. She grabbed Stormpaw and pinned her down.

"That was good," Firelight praised. "Now try to unbalance me," she reared.

Stormpaw hooked her paw under Firelight's hind legs. She pulled with a quick, firm tug. Firelight wobbled and Stormpaw shoved her flank. Firelight just twisted and came down on Stormpaw.

"Hmm... maybe you shouldn't try that on a full grown cat. Only on other apprentices," Firelight meowed thoughtfully. She turned to Birchtail. "Is Willowpaw ready to try again?"

"Yes, I showed her some moves," Birchtail meowed. "Willowpaw, Stormpaw, ready, fight!"

Willowpaw leapt at Stormpaw, placing well placed blows and jabs. Stormpaw hissed in annoyance. She began to counter them with blows of her own. Willowpaw tensed, ready to jump but Stormpaw noticed. When Willowpaw flew at her, she ducked and came up when Willowpaw's hind legs were directly above her head. Willowpaw landed easily and spun around. Stormpaw swatted her flank and jumped back. She eyed Willowpaw warily. Suddenly Willowpaw sprung into the air again and her leap was more accurate. Stormpaw rolled on her back and tensed her hind legs, ready to kick Willowpaw in the chest. When Willowpaw did come down, Stormpaw clumsily kicked upward and her sister fell to the side and lay panting. Stormpaw winced as she got up. Willowpaw's paws, though sheathed, still hurt.

"Okay, that's enough for today!" Firelight meowed from the side of the clearing. Stormpaw jumped. She had forgotten they were there. Stormpaw sat down. She was surprised at how much better Willowpaw just got.

"Let's get back to camp," Birchtail came over. Willowpaw stood up and walked to the entrance with Stormpaw. Their mentors followed.

"That was-fun," she said after a pause. "I don't really know how to describe it. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't really fun."

Stormpaw nodded. "I want to train again. I'm going to be the best fighter in Dawnclan," she vowed.

"And I will be the best hunter," Willowpaw added. They continued in silence.

Willowpaw stopped, "Race you back!" She bounded off. Stormpaw dashed after her. The bluish gray tabby jumped over a small bush, paws brushing the dry leaves. With a jolt, she realized it was almost leafbare. She had never experienced leafbare, but many of the stories Larkwing and Graywater told were of the harsh cold and snow. She knew it was white stuff that fell from the clouds but that was it. Stormpaw wanted to know what snow was. She was so caught up in these thoughts she didn't notice the tree coming up.

Stormpaw ran headlong into the tree. "Oww..." She muttered and collapsed on the ground.

"Ha ha! You ran into a tree?" came Willowpaw's teasing voice. She had doubled back when she couldn't see Stormpaw anymore.

"I was thinking!" Stormpaw protested. "You know how I get when I think." Whenever Stormpaw went into deep thought, she tended to block out everything else, so she was alone with her thoughts.

Willowpaw sighed. She knew. "Okay, whatever. Come on mousebrain," she helped Stormpaw to her paws. "Just no more running into trees okay?" She purred in amusement as Stormpaw growled.

Stormpaw glared at her. Willowpaw had no right to teased her like that! She had run into a tree for StarClan's sake. I wonder, will snow hurt our paws? Only if it's cold or sharp. What's it made of?

"Stormpaw!" Willowpaw meowed, shoving her sister to the side.

"What?"

"You almost stepped in a rabbit hole!"

"Sorry, I was thinking about snow. Leafbare is coming up and remember the stories the elders told us? About snow and frost and the cold? I was trying to imagine snow. I wonder what's made of," Stormpaw meowed.

"Whatever it's made of, we're here, so let's get some freshkill, I'm starving!" Willowpaw trotted down the entrance tunnel.

At the newly restocked freshkill pile Stormpaw delicately picked up a mouse in her jaws. She padded over to the holly bushes and set her mouse down. Stormpaw was aStormpabout to take a bite when a voice came from behind her, "How was battle training?" It was Silvermist. She was also carrying prey. She set down a vole.

"It was fine. Willowpaw and I sparred," Stormpaw meowed, looking surprised at the question.

"No need to look so shocked. I am your mother," she purred and sat down next to Stormpaw. "So," she prompted. "What did Firelight teach you?"

"She explained good fighting technique and how when I'm older and bigger I can use my size to my advantage, but now when I'm smaller I have to be faster and dodge blows instead of countering them.

"So you're enjoying being an apprentice?" she asked.

"Of course, why wouldn't I?" Stormpaw replied.

Silvermist shrugged, "You are my kit, I want to know." She bent down licked the top of her head. Stormpaw tried to duck out of range of her mother's tongue. "Stoneclaw's waiting for me. I have to go," Silvermist got to her paws and picked her mouse up again. She padded over to Stoneclaw.

Stormpaw bent down and said a prayer to StarClan, thanking them for this piece of prey. She took a bite and chewed it slowly. Stormpaw liked being alone. She preferred to listen to conversations rather than participate in them. Other times she just enjoyed the solitude close to her, but still feeling the presence of other cats. Stormpaw cleaned her whiskers and stood up. It was growing dark and cats were heading to their nests. She stared at the darking sky, a deep blue colour and was slowly becoming darker as the night progressed. Little silver stars were beginning to peep out and Stormpaw wondered whether each star really was a cat in StarClan. She was growing tired so she quietly slipped into the apprentice den. Willowpaw was already asleep and the other 'paws weren't there. Stormpaw curled up in her nest beside her sister and let Willowpaw's steady breathing lull her to sleep.