Right, reviews.
Cloudy Dreamcatcher- Glad you liked the names. I try hard to make them creative and not boring.
Foxpaw rushed back into camp.
"Look!" she mewed loudly. "I've got two birds, a squirrel and a shrew. Is it enough to pass the assessment?"
"Of course it is," her mentor, Weaselcloud, sighed.
"I got more though," Squirrelpaw boasted. "Three birds, a hare and a whole nest of mice."
Weaselcloud rolled her eyes. "You did not."
"Do you two want to do the battle assessment or not?" Hareleap asked.
"Of course!," Foxpaw and Squirrelpaw mewed.
"Good."
Hareleap led them out of camp to the training hollow.
"Where's Tigerpaw?" Squirrelpaw asked.
"She finished her assessment last quarter-moon," Weaselcloud purred. "She learnt quicker than you, remember."
"And now she's waiting for you slow slugs to catch up," Hareleap teased.
"I'm not slow," Foxpaw protested.
"Prove it Foxpaw," Ratfang hissed, sidling up to the patrol. "Or should I say Slugkit."
Foxpaw felt fiery anger flow through her.
"I'm not a kit," she spat.
"Sorry," Ratfang sneered. "My mistake. You look an awful lot like one."
Foxpaw growled and leapt at the warrior, claws outstretched. She sliced into his shoulder and he hissed in surprise and pain. He flung her off and she tumbled through the air, hitting the ground with a painful thud as all the breath was sent whooshing out of her lungs. Ratfang jumped onto her, slashing his claws across her belly. Foxpaw lay still, barely able to breathe, let alone move. Dimly she noticed Hareleap and Weaselcloud dragging the furious warrior off her.
"What do you think you're doing?" Hareleap snarled.
"Teaching her a lesson," Ratfang growled.
"What important lesson were you teaching that involves beating up an apprentice?"
"She has to learn to respect her elders," Ratfang hissed. "Did you see Foxpaw attack me?"
"You know better than to attack her back like that," Hareleap growled.
"Foxpaw, are you ok?"
Weaselcloud's face came into view, her eyes dark with worry.
"D-don't thi-think so," Foxpaw managed.
The words had used up all her breath and she could feel herself slipping away.
Foxpaw blinked open her eyes.
"Foxpaw?"
Horseflight was staring at her, worry was etched on her mother's face.
"I'm ok." Foxpaw mewed.
"I've been worried about you," Horseflight said gently.
"I'm not a kit anymore," Foxpaw said. "Don't worry about me."
"Horseflight," Sheeptail said. "You should leave now. She needs to sleep."
"I feel like I've slept forever," Foxpaw groaned.
"You haven't slept long," the healer reassured her. "It's barely past Sunhigh."
"Can I go, then?"
"I guess so. Just take it easy," Sheeptail mewed.
Foxpaw struggled to her feet, wincing at the pain from her wounds. She walked out of the healer's den.
"Come on Foxpaw!" Tigerpaw called. "We're having a training session."
"I'm supposed to be taking it easy," Foxpaw replied.
"Since when did you care about that?" Tigerpaw shot back.
Foxpaw grinned, and ran after her sister, but Ratfang blocked her way.
"You sure you're not too scared, Slugkit," the warrior taunted. "Those wounds look awfully painful."
"Oh, I'm fine," Foxpaw returned. "How are your wounds?"
"When I'm leader you'll be dead at my paws," Ratfang growled through gritted teeth.
"Ever noticed how you're a senior warrior, who's never had an apprentice, and so you can't be leader," Foxpaw mewed back sweetly.
Ratfang snarled at her, but didn't attack.
"Watch your back, Slugkit."
Foxpaw hurried out of camp and arrived at the training hollow just as Hareleap was starting the session.
"Good, Foxpaw, you're here," Hareleap mewed. "Will you be ok fighting?"
"I'll be fine," Foxpaw mewed.
"Right," Hareleap said. "This is a battle assessment."
He paused, and beckoned three cats forward. Foxpaw recognised them as the newest warriors- Pumashade, Bearheart and Skunkpelt.
"You'll each fight one of these warriors. Tigerpaw, you'll face Pumashade. Squirrelpaw, you'll face Skunkpelt. Foxpaw, you will face Bearheart."
Foxpaw stepped away, turning towards Bearheart and crouching, wincing at the slight pain this movement caused. The warrior copied her position.
"Go," Weaselcloud mewed.
Bearheart leapt towards Foxpaw. She dodged the strike and swiped at him, connecting with his shoulder. Her blow carried enough force to unbalance him, and he swayed on his paws. Taking advantage, Foxpaw rammed into his side, knocking the warrior over. She pounced on him, but Bearheart was stronger, and quickly flipped her underneath him. His paws pressed against her shoulders, holding her down. Foxpaw struggled for a moment, before collapsing, and letting her body go limp. Bearheart loosened his hold on her and she sprang up, knocking the tom backwards. He quickly got to his feet and leapt at her. Foxpaw jumped up, landing neatly atop the warrior's back. Bearheart shook before she could get a firm hold, and Foxpaw was flung off his back. She landed with a heavy thud. Bearheart, not leaving her a chance to get her breath back, shot towards her. Foxpaw flashed out a paw, catching him squarely on the muzzle. Bearheart recoiled.
"Ow!"
His nose was a painful red colour, and, as Foxpaw watched, a wisp of smoke drifted up from it.
"What happened?" Weaselcloud asked, trotting over.
"I-I don't know," Foxpaw mewed. "His nose…"
Weaselcloud frowned. "I'm no healer, but that almost looks like a burn."
"A burn?" Foxpaw questioned.
"Foxpaw, show me your paw," Weaselcloud mewed.
"But…"
"Show me!" her mentor snapped.
Foxpaw lifted her paw, and stared at it in disbelief. The pads glowed red-hot, and although Foxpaw could feel no pain, she could feel the heat that radiated off it.
"What? W-why..?" she managed.
Weaselcloud stared at Foxpaw's paw a moment longer.
"I'm getting Mousepelt," she muttered, dashing off.
Dazed, Foxpaw continued to stare at her paw, dreamily watching the wisps of smoke that curled off it, and drifted into the air. She only half-noticed Weaselcloud returning with Mousepelt, and only woke from her daze when someone called her name.
"Foxpaw, Foxpaw, it's ok," Mousepelt mewed. "Focus."
Foxpaw stared at him. "But, my paw…"
"It's fine," the black healer said. "It doesn't hurt, does it?"
"No."
"It must be an omen," Mousepelt said.
"An omen?" Foxpaw asked, her blood running cold. "Of what?"
Mousepelt was silent for a moment.
"It can't be an omen," he said finally. "Omens can only be seen by healers."
"Then what is it?" Foxpaw asked.
"I don't know," the healer replied. "But it's got to mean something."
So, something's up with Foxpaw. I'm not going to be doing her perspective again (just a one-off, sorry if you liked her. She will be important to the story, though). Next chapter will be about PlantClan. I won't be updating for a while as I'd like to get a few chapters finished so you guys actually have something to read.
-SkyStorm