Chapter 13: Battle Training

Three days later, Rougefoot was well enough to battle practice with his super eager apprentice.

"Ok Specklepaw, first pretend I am an enemy cat coming to get you. What is your first instinct?"

She quickly darted up, smacked him hard on the nose and leaped away.

"I've never seen a cat do that before but that hurt!" Rougefoot meowed.

While he was distracted, Specklepaw circled to his left side and kicked his front legs out from under him. He fell forward and Specklepaw pinned him to the ground confidently.

"Good job." He huffed.

He sprang at her but she was ready, she ducked under him and head butted him in the stomach. He flopped over on the soft grass and struggled to get back up. He ran into the trees and climbed one, leaping silently from branch to branch until he was almost directly over Specklepaw. She was confused on where her mentor had gone and was pacing restlessly. He leaped down from the tree and landed on her back. She crashed down from under him and let out a small squeak of pain before flipping over and battering his belly with her paws.

"Always be aware of where your enemies are." He cuffed her over the ear and jumped back onto her back, this time pinning her to the ground where she couldn't move. He pretended to rake at her back and then gracefully flicked her down the stretch of grass.

She circled him angrily, waiting for a chance to strike. She leapt but he dodged and tripped her again, this time flipping her onto her back where he fake raked her belly. He gently bit on her neck and she playfully went limp.

Rougefoot knew the trick and leapt off her just in time. She retaliated by drawing a paw over his side while she ran past. He spun around and knocked her muzzle with a forepaw.

They continued on for a few more hours until they were both worn out.

"Why don't we go back to the camp and get ourselves some prey?" Rougefoot suggested.

Specklepaw weakly nodded, tired out by her day of battling with her mentor.

Rougefoot sat down next to Tinyflight. Rougefoot munched on his vole thoughtfully while Tinyflight angrily spat out thrush wings.

"I think it's a little too feathery for you Tiny," Rougefoot joked.

"I hate birds. They barely have any meat."

"Then why'd you choose a bird?"

"It was the only thing left on the pile and I was too lazy to go out hunting. Want these feathers for your nest? I won't use them."

"Sure. Thanks." Rougefoot meowed.

"No problem." Tinyflight meowed. "So how's it going with you and Icechest?"

"I haven't seen her in a while. Well I saw her yesterday but she was hunting with other cats. We haven't talked in forever it seems."

"Rougefoot, I talked to her two nights ago at the Meeting." Tinyflight meowed.

"Oh yea how did that go?"

"It was fine. There wasn't really anything to report. But I forgot to tell you Icechest says she misses you and wants to meet you on the border tomorrow night."

"Way to go not telling me earlier." He joked, poking a paw at his friend's shoulder.

"I forgot." Tinyflight meowed.

"Can you help me carry these feathers back?" Rougefoot asked.

Tinyflight looked at him as if he were crazy. "Fineeeee." He sighed overdramatically.

"Oh no I'm dying!" Rougefoot meowed lightheartedly, falling over with his paws to his heart.

"Oh no what shall I do?" Tinyflight meowed and fell over backwards as well.

They both laughed as they picked up the feathers and wove them neatly into Rougefoot's nest.

"Geez! It's not even Low Sun yet!" Tinyflight snorted.

"What will we do?" Rougefoot meowed.

"I don't know. There's nothing really to do."

"We could go to the Underground Spring and discuss our she-cats." Rougefoot winked.

"Why the Underground Spring? We're gonna freeze when we get out!" Tinyflight exclaimed.

"How about Moss Rock?"

"That sounds more reasonable."

They both headed out towards Moss Rock but then realized Flamestone and Brackenpaw were hunting there.

"Where do we go now?" Tinyflight asked.

"You can stay here." Flamestone meowed. "We are just heading back."

"Thanks guys." Rougefoot meowed.

"Anytime!" Brackenpaw meowed.

Tinyflight and Rougefoot climbed up on the security of the moss covered rock and bent their paws underneath their chests.

Rougefoot sigh, then began to speak. "Isn't it a little weird you are mates with an apprentice?"

"Not really. A lot of cats do it. Did you know Leafstream is two litters younger than Snapstar? That's more spread out then me and Pebblepaw."

"I never knew that. I always thought they were the same age."

"I thought so too until Snowclaw told me the one time. Maybe that's why she can't save kits… Poor thing. I bet she hurts so bad."

"Why are we talking about my mother?" Rougefoot questioned.

"I don't know. So tell me more about Icechest."

"Well she's red. And she has a white chest. And she lives in MoonClan. And I'm a butthole for liking her. And she's a little bit older than I am."

Tinyflight glared at him. "I already knew that."

"Well she's nice and her favorite food to eat is birds. Ha."

Tinyflight narrowed his eyes. "What kind of cat would want to eat that feathery mass?"

"Obviously Icechest. So tell me more about Pebblepaw."

"Well her sister is your apprentice. She is grey. She has blue eyes and she has a little patch of white over her back foot."

"Well duh! I knew that!" Rougefoot meowed.

"Hey I'm copying you." He stuck his tongue out.

"Roar."

"She likes to eat… birds too… Wow what is with she-cats and birds!?"

"I guess it's the feathers to line their nests with. Maybe it's more nutritious. We should ask!" Rougefoot meowed.

"She-cats are just too weird." Tinyflight meowed.

"I bet they think we are weird too." Rougefoot giggled.

All of a sudden Rougefoot saw his friend being barreled off of Moss Rock by a small grey mass. Then he got attacked as well by another grey mass with speckled fur. They were easily pinned down.

"Always know where your enemies are." Specklepaw hissed in Rougefoot's ear.

"Good job you guys! I never smelled or heard you coming." Tinyflight and Rougefoot meowed in unison.

"Hey we got good battle training by awesome cats." Pebblepaw and Specklepaw meowed.

"Well it's time for these battle trained apprentices to get back to bed. It's getting late." Tinyflight observed.

"We should be getting back too." Rougefoot added.

They quickly headed back to camp. But a dark shadow was lurking right in front of them waiting to attack.

"Wait. Hold on guys." Tinyflight meowed. "I smell rogue."

"Thanks." Rougefoot meowed.

"No. I mean a rogue."

"Now that you mentioned it I smell it too." Rougefoot meowed.

"Blasted cat come out." Tinyflight screeched into the darkness.

"Looking for me?" A she-cat crept out of the darkness. She was all black in color with a patch of red across her nose. She was one of the biggest cats Rougefoot had ever seen. She was almost as big as Scarface and Spiderleap.

"Attack!" Tinyflight screeched as he careened at the she-cat almost twice his size.

Rougefoot tried to knock the she-cat's paws out from underneath her but she flicked him away with one kick of her back leg. He decided to go for her tail while Specklepaw smashed her nose with one good blow. Pebblepaw fought beside her, digging into the cat's shoulder. Tinyflight was on her back raking down it with his powerful legs. She was being driven closer to the camp.

"I give up!" She screeched and threw herself into the camp blindly. Snapstar, Flamestone and Bloodtooth were talking in the clearing and looked up to find someone very familiar to them.

"Welcome Stardapple." Snapstar growled.