Show-off

"Today you will be learning some basic moves," announced Timberfur, standing beside Embercloud, who already had a bored expression on her face. Dawnsong was on Patrol, so the other two Mentors had agreed to take her Apprentice with them on their first battle training session.

"The first move you will be learning is a basic pin down and belly rake," explained Embercloud, inspecting the Apprentices carefully, as if they were some tasty fresh-kill. Gustpaw nodded along, eager to start training.

"Embercloud and I will demonstrate. I will first pin Embercloud down," mewed Timberfur, waiting as Embercloud sauntered to the centre of the Training Dip. She stood there, her expression a permanent look of unimpressed superiority. Timberfur charged toward her and knocked her over, leaping on top of her and quickly pinning her down.

"This can go two ways," began Timberfur, his face expressionless, "either I can slash Embercloud's face or throat, like so," He brought his paw across Embercloud's face quickly, claws safely sheathed.

"Or," Embercloud countered, "I can perform a basic belly rake to get him unpin me." She then pawed at his belly with her back legs, her claws sheathed also.

"The belly is the most vulnerable part of our bodies, so it would hurt a lot; probably enough to get the opponent off of you." Explained Timberfur, stepped off of Embercloud, who quickly got to her feet, her expression unchanging.

"Gustpaw, Cloudpaw, get out here and give it a try," commanded Embercloud, a spark of amusement appearing in her green eyes. The two Apprentices came out, both with determined Apprentices. Cloudpaw stood in the middle, and Gustpaw charged at him, leaping forward, paws outstretched. Cloudpaw was thrown to the ground as soon as they made contact, as if Gustpaw pushed him over before she even touched him. He gave out a surprised 'Oof' as he hit the ground, winded slightly. He quickly collected himself, not before Gustpaw batted him round the face. He scowled slightly and pushed at her belly with his hind legs, a little harder than needed. Gustpaw hopped backwards, rolling back onto her haunches. They looked at each other, satisfied, and stood up fully.

"Excellent!" congratulated Timberfur, eyes shining with pride. Embercloud, however, did not look so impressed.

"You could have been a little more creative; you followed the moves exactly to the letter. In a real battle situation, things will not go exactly to plan, and you will need to compromise," Embercloud commented, her eyes turned back to their usual unimpressed setting. Timberfur let out a small sigh, and gave the Apprentices an apologetic glance.

"Okay, Cinderpaw, it's your turn. You can face Cloudpaw," ordered Timberfur. And so the training continued.

"Hey Gustpaw, you're pretty strong!" exclaimed Cloudpaw, nudging his sister, "I hit the ground really hard!" They were having a break before they had their first hunting session.

"Sorry! I didn't realised I pushed you that hard," Gustpaw mewed, her brow furrowed in thought. I barely pushed him; I'm surprised he even fell over! How could I possibly have pushed him that hard? She thought, drifting off into her own world of thought. Cinderpaw soon snapped her out by cuffing her ear with her paw.

"Hello? Earth to Gustpaw!" she called, whiskers twitching in amusement. Gustpaw shook her head, brining herself back. She looked into the green eyes of her sister, who was still full of energy. Gustpaw stifled a yawn and hopped up, her ears twitching as she heard the Mentors approaching. This time Embercloud was not with them. She gave an inward sigh of relief.

"Embercloud has been taken for an important Patrol, so we will have to do without her," announced Timberfur, trying to hide the triumphant look in his eyes. Dawnsong stood beside him, looking happy and care-free as always. She began to trot out onto the open Moors, and flicked her tail for them to follow. Timberfur joined her at the lead, and soon the dip that served as their Camp disappeared, and they were surrounded by rolling hills covered in lush green grass.

"As WindClan cats, we rely on speed and the direction of the wind to help of hunt," Timberfur told them, lifting his head to feel the direction of the wind. He then got up, scenting the air.

"You must stalk the rabbit carefully for as long as possible without it noticing. Once it realises you're near, it will take off, and you must chase after. The closer you are, to easier it will be to catch up with it," Song explained, flicking her tail to Timberfur, who had spotted a rabbit a few fox-lengths away. He quickly demonstrated how to stalk a rabbit, but did not go after the rabbit.

"Let's makes this interesting," mewed Timberfur, an amused glint appearing in his eyes, "all three of you will stalk it, and hopefully one of you will catch it," his little 'game' seemed like the kind of thing Embercloud would suggest... perhaps she asked him to do this before she went on the Patrol. So the three Apprentices lined up and began to stalk the rabbit. Fortunately there were no thick, long grasses to disturb as they swished their tails with concentration. Cinderpaw wobbled and nearly fell sideways, Cloudpaw was having trouble keeping low and Gustpaw was concentrating so hard on stalking perfectly she was going really slowly. Eventually Cinderpaw tripped and gave a squeal of surprise as she hit the ground face-first, and the rabbit took off, Cloudpaw and Gustpaw in pursuit. Although Gustpaw ran as fast as she could, Cloudpaw easily overtook her, quickly closing the gap on him and rabbit. Gustpaw made a desperate leap to get in front of him, but landed badly and rolled to one side. Cloudpaw hurtled after the rabbit. He made a final leap, claws outstretched, and landed directly on top of the rabbit, and clawed at it until he killed it. He picked up his catch, which was fairly bloodied and mangled after his attempts to kill it, and trotted over to the Mentors, eyes filled with pride. Timberfur and Dawnsong congratulated him, and Cinderpaw soon stumbled over to give him a 'well done' lick on the ear. Gustpaw heaved herself up and marched over, giving a grunt of congratulation. That catch should have been hers.

"Okay, excellent work all of you, but especially Cloudpaw. All of you could improve your stalking technique. Cinderpaw, you must be lighter on your paws, and keep your centre of balance. Cloudpaw, you must keep yourself lower to the ground. And Gustpaw, your technique is good, but you need to be much quicker," Song advised, seeming proud of all the Apprentices. Gustpaw grunted quietly; Stupid Cloudpaw, stealing her catch. He had a triumphant look on his face, and he puffed out his chest in pride. Show-off.

Timberfur then asked them to each stalk a rabbit separately. They trotted a little further into the moors until they found another rabbit nearby. Cinderpaw went first, shakily stalking the rabbit. It quickly noticed her, as she squeaking every time she nearly fell over, struggling to keep her balance whilst keeping low and quiet. She charged after it, her short legs pounding hard against the ground. Eventually she tired and stopped, panting heavily. She came trotting back with a disappointed look on her face. Dawnsong comforted her and told her they could work on it together later.

Then Cloudpaw's turn came. They picked up another scent and he began stalking it, wobbling slightly, his tail lashing against the ground as he tried to keep his balance. Gustpaw growled silently to herself: if he got any closer, he'd easily catch that rabbit. I wish the wind would change direction, so his scent was blowing right into that rabbit's face! She thought. She didn't want her brother catching another rabbit; he wouldn't stop talking about it for moons. Suddenly, the rabbit lifted its head as a sudden wind blew over it, carrying Cloudpaw's scent. It quickly scarpered, hurrying off to a nearby warren. Cloudpaw gave a growl of annoyance; he as just about to leap on it! He stalked back to the others, tail flicking form side to side with aggravation. Gustpaw hid her look of pleasure and shot him a sympathetic look.

"Unlucky Cloudpaw, the wind changed at the last minute," Timberfur mewed, "at least you caught one rabbit." Cloudpaw nodded solemnly and sat next to Cinderpaw.

Gustpaw was the last to attempt. The scented another rabbit and sent her after it. She stalked it carefully, going as fast as she could without falling over. Luckily, the rabbit did not notice her until she was a few tail lengths away. She bunched her haunches, and soared through the air; it was an impressive distance to jump for a small Apprentice. She closed her claws around the rabbit's throat, killing it instantly. She padded back, head held high, the rabbit swinging in her mouth. They all congratulated her, and began to walk back to Camp.

Embercloud came rushing over the hill. There was a large gash across her shoulder, and she was limping slightly. Her eyes were wide with fear.

"Timberfur, Dawnsong, quick! RiverClan attack! Bring the Apprentices too, but watch out for them. We need all the paws we can get!" She yowled, her voice stuttering slightly with terror. The three siblings looked at each other: they were going to have to fight. The light from the sky was fading, and clouds were beginning to dapple the sky, heavy and full of potential rain.

Sorry, it's not great. I'm feeling a little sluggish and uncreative at the moment. :( But, everyone review anyways. :3