Chapter 6
"Every cat in the Clan needs to learn how to fight," Leafpool explained, leading Jaypaw to the training hollow. It had been two moons since the battle with ShadowClan and the Clan cats were patrolling their borders even more carefully. The Gathering had been the night before and Onestar- leader of WindClan- hinted that there WindClan was suffering from low prey. It wasn't a surprise though. Every cat was. Rosepaw and Briarpaw- the only apprentices to go to the Gathering- had spent no time informing their friends of what had happened. "Even though our real duty lies not in the thrill of battle, but in the aftermath, we still need to be ready in case we our called upon to defend our Clan."
Jaypaw nodded, trying to control the burning excitement that was blazing from her ears to her tail. Finally something that didn't have to do with herbs! Jaypaw had a sharp mind and easily remembered all the herbs Leafpool pointed out so she grew bored in the endless random questions her mentor would ask her.
Behind them, Foxfang was pointing things out to Stripepaw. Jaypaw tried to silence their loud chatter that kept ringing behind her ear fur. "Can we hunt, Foxfang, please? I smell squirrel and I still haven't caught one yet. Please?"
"No," Foxfang meowed sternly, although Jaypaw knew he was actually pleased about Stripepaw's desire to learn, "Today, we are going to practice our fighting. With the growing threats of ShadowClan and WindClan, you want to be prepared. Anyway, you have moons to catch a squirrel."
"You won't be able to catch a squirrel, stomping around like that," Jaypaw teased, looking at Foxfang and Stripepaw over her shoulder, amusement bright in her gray eyes. "All the prey from here to Sky Oak will be scared away."
"I don't stomp!" Stripepaw whined good-naturally, her amber eyes flashing brightly. Although they shared tongues every night, Jaypaw and Stripepaw hadn't been out of the forest together since the day they were showed the boundaries. Jaypaw missed Stripepaw more than she would ever let on.
"Quiet you too," Leafpool purred, flicking Jaypaw's ear with her tail. "We're here."
Jaypaw looked around and recognized the place she had been sent to fetch nettle leaves once. Jaypaw hadn't realized that it was the training hollow as well. Stripepaw looked around, excitement in her eyes, but no surprise. Obviously she had trained at the hollow before.
"Okay Stripepaw, let the two cats practice. I want you to show me how you would handle a badger attack," Foxfang meowed, padding over to the other side of the hollow. Stripepaw followed, mouthing 'bye' over her shoulder.
Leafpool padded after the two cats and at first Jaypaw thought she was leaving her before she realized her mentor only moved to put space in between them, "Okay, I want you to try and get past me."
Jaypaw nodded and sprinted ahead. Suddenly, Jaypaw felt something trip her and she landed on the ground. Looking up, Jaypaw saw Leafpool pacing around her, "Think, Jaypaw, think. I'm going to be expecting you to just run at me. Do something creative!"
Jaypaw nodded again and returned to her beginning spot. There Jaypaw sprinted ahead as before, but once she was a fox-length away from Leafpool, she remembered the battle with ShadowClan. Jaypaw pushed off the ground and landed on the other side of Leafpool. The light brown tabby looked around in surprise for a moment before praising, "Very good, Jaypaw."
Jaypaw purred, suddenly realizing that this was one of the few times she was ever praised by Leafpool. The light brown tabby then padded to the spot where Jaypaw had been standing moments before, "Okay, now I'm going to run at you and I want you to trip me."
Blinking her gray eyes to show she understood Jaypaw watched as Leafpool sprinted at her. Not knowing what to do, Jaypaw just followed her instinct and shot out a paw, tangling it in between Leafpool's feet. Leafpool crashed to the ground and Jaypaw instantly darted to her side, thinking she hurt her mentor.
Leafpool scrambled to her paws and panted, "Well done, Jaypaw. I was not expecting that."
"Leafpool?" A voice meowed and Foxfang padded towards them, his eyes filled with interest as he stared at Jaypaw. "Do you think Jaypaw could try to trip Stripepaw? I have the unfairness of size and I want to see how Stripepaw would fair with a cat that was around her size."
Leafpool nodded and Foxfang flicked his tail to show that Jaypaw should follow him. Jaypaw obeyed Foxfang and stood a couple of mouse-lengths away from Stripepaw. Flicking his tail at Jaypaw, Foxfang signaled to start running. Stripepaw began to sprint and remembering what she did with Leafpool; Jaypaw tripped her sister, sending the brown apprentice crashing down on the ground. Now knowing that her trick was fatal, Jaypaw didn't rush over to Stripepaw as her sister slowly got to her paws.
The rest of the day was spent battle training although by sunhigh, their small group disbanded. Leafpool lead the way home, Stripepaw at her side while Foxfang continued to question how Jaypaw became such a great fighter.
"I don't know. Maybe the battle with ShadowClan?" Jaypaw suggested, remembering the time she had fought off Rowanclaw and then worked with Brambleclaw to chase off another ShadowClan warrior. Jaypaw's feet tingled with the excitement of battle.
"Maybe," Foxfang agreed although Jaypaw could see in his eyes that he didn't really believe her. Either that or Foxfang was wondering why Stripepaw- who also fought at the battle- didn't gain the same skill as Jaypaw.
"Leafpool! Foxfang!" A chorus of voice suddenly shouted and Jaypaw looked over to see Squirrelflight racing towards them with Brambleclaw and his apprentice, Blossompaw. Instantly Jaypaw could tell something was wrong. All of the approaching ThunderClan cats were bristling with fear and their eyes were wide.
Stopping infront of Leafpool, Brambleclaw explained, "There is a dog loose in our territory. Firestar is leading Sandstorm, Dustpelt, and Graystripe to see if it's by the ShadowClan border. We," Brambleclaw flicked his tail to his small patrol "Were sent to check the WindClan border. I decided to come this way and warn you four."
"You aren't going to the WindClan border just the three of you!" Foxfang protested and then shared a glance with his apprentice, "Stripepaw and I will come with you. Then at least you have enough cats if the dog is at the border."
"But what about Leafpool and Jaypaw?" Brambleclaw meowed, looking at the two medicine cats. Leafpool opened her mouth to protest, but Brambleclaw continued, "I know you two can defend yourself, but it would make me feel better if you had a warrior with you."
"I'll go," Squirrelflight meowed and Brambleclaw's face was relieved. Jaypaw instantly remembered that Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight were mates and it would make sense that the dark brown tabby would want to protect her.
"Okay see you later," Brambleclaw meowed, nodding to Leafpool and Squirrelflight while Stripepaw darted forward to touch noses with Jaypaw. Giving her sister a slight nod, Jaypaw prayed to StarClan that her kin would be safe.
Leafpool led the way back to camp, sharing anxious murmurs with Squirrelflight. Jaypaw followed listening with only half an ear. The most interesting thing that Leafpool asked, was did Squirrelflight think that Crowfeather was going to be alright? The question didn't make any sense to Jaypaw and she wondered if Leafpool was just really good friends with this Crowfeather.
Suddenly an unfamiliar scent filled the air and Jaypaw was about to point it out when a dark shape suddenly lunged at Leafpool. Squirrelflight whirled around to face Leafpool's attacker and suddenly the ginger warrior yowled, "Dog!"
Jaypaw unsheathed her claws and lunged into the scuffle that consisted of Leafpool, Squirrelflight, and the dog. Jaypaw landed on the dog's back and climbed onto its neck, holding on to its short fur with her hind legs. Then Jaypaw stretched her paws forward and clawed at the dog's face just like she did with Rowanclaw. Out of the corner of her eye, Jaypaw saw Leafpool clinging to the dog's wide shoulders and Squirrelflight snapping at its hind legs. Jaypaw pulled herself up the dog's neck more and began clawing at its neck with her hind legs, feeling the warm blood splash on her paws.
The dog howled in pain and shook its massive head, throwing Leafpool into a nearby tree. From behind her, Jaypaw heard Squirrelflight let out a painful gasp as the dog kicked her. Now spitting with fury, Jaypaw then sunk her teeth and claws into the dog's neck. As the taste of blood filled her mouth, Jaypaw felt herself crashing to the forest floor, the dog's weight on top of her. Kicking and spitting, Jaypaw managed to pull herself from underneath the dog and when she looked at the massive creature, she was beyond shocked.
The dog was dead.
