Guys, guys, I made an oops. Just pretend that there is an older apprentice called Seedpaw. She is a grey she-cat dappled with darker grey and has blue eyes.
No reviews last chapter, but that's alright!
Fickle sunlight dappled leafy shadows onto the ground.
Silverpaw looked at his sister strangely. They were in the Sandy Hollow for battle training. Flamepaw had a head start to the moves, courtesy of Redtalon. She should've been better equipped to fight than Silverpaw.
So why was she not?
Silverpaw glanced at their mentors as the answer sprung to his mind. Moontail watched disdainfully, nose upturned in an unbothered scowl. She clearly did not care much about her apprentice, looking as if she would rather be anywhere else at the moment. Hailbreeze was glaring at the dappled grey queen with narrowed eyes.
"Again," Hailbreeze flicked his tail, nodding encouragingly at Flamepaw. The ginger tabby and white she-cat shifted back into her stance, uncomfortably looking at her mentor. Moontail was facing the opposite direction.
"Moontail," Hailbreeze mewed sharply, casting a glare at the she-cat. "Our apprentices are starting," Moontail turned back.
"And how is that my problem?" Moontail scoffed, curling her tail over her paws. Hailbreeze rolled his eyes.
"Begin."
Silverpaw began to circle Flamepaw, forcing her to change her position to face him every few moments. As he noticed her begin to tire, Silverpaw struck.
Hooking his sister's paws out from under her, Silverpaw flipped Flamepaw onto her back. The ginger apprentice flailed, trying to grip him from the top as Redtalon had instructed when she was a kit.
Silverpaw stepped off, clasping his sister by the waist and pulling her back to the ground. The light grey tom planted a hind leg over her body, trapping her to the earth.
"Silverpaw wins,"
Moontail stalked up to her apprentice. Silverpaw's ears twitched in shock as she grabbed Flamepaw roughly by the scruff and shook.
"Useless. Why'd I have to get the worst apprentice," Moontail hissed, pelt rippling. She threw Flamepaw onto the ground, spitting.
Hailbreeze slammed his paw down on Silverpaw's tail to prevent him from charging to his sister's defence.
Flamepaw stared up at her mentor, furious. She struck out with one paw, catching the tip of the dappled grey she-cat's nose.
"It's not my fault that you stare at your dumb reflection all day instead of training!" Silverpaw's sister yowled.
Moontail's outrage shown clear in her scrunched up visage. A small bead of blood bubbled up on her snout.
"How dare you-" The grey queen raised one paw up into the air.
"Enough," Hailbreeze ordered. Moontail snarled.
"I do whatever I want with my apprentice," Moontail shifted her paws uneasily.
Silverpaw scoffed inwardly. If you really think that, then why don't you sound like it? Are you scared of a senior warrior?
Moontail whipped her tail and sauntered off.
Flamepaw was left in the dirt by her mentor. Hailbreeze released his grip on Silverpaw's tail and let him rush to his sister.
"Are you okay?" Silverpaw helped his sister up, brushing the dirt from her pelt. Flamepaw stepped away.
"Yeah, just, it's that-" Flamepaw glanced at Hailbreeze, who was staring at the siblings, brow furrowed. "Moontail doesn't really-teach me anything,"
"What does she do?" Hailbreeze's soft tone of voice surprised Silverpaw. The sooty grey tom padded to the two.
"She mainly just walks around and says random things about me killing her kits. Or, y'know, just toss me about the training hollow," Flamepaw sighed bitterly.
"What about hunting?" Hailbreeze rested a tail tip on Flamepaw's flank.
She uncomfortably tapped her white paws on the sandy earth.
"I kinda figured it out by myself," Flamepaw admitted. "I'm not very good,"
Hailbreeze's anger shone clear in his burning grey eyes. "That's it!"
"Please don't tell Redtalon," Flamepaw looked at the grey tom pleadingly. Silverpaw stifled a purr. Redtalon would probably tear Moontail to shreds for hurting his precious daughter.
"Don't worry, I won't," Hailbreeze promised. "But that doesn't mean I'll just stand by and watch it happen."
Hailbreeze turned to look at the ginger apprentice, dark eyes intense.
"I'll train you myself if it comes to that."
...
"Hey there, outcast, whatcha' doing?"
Silverpaw refused to respond to Stormpaw's jeers. Rainpaw whispered something in her brother's ear, and they howled with laughter. Talonpaw and Owlpaw came to sit by them.
Silverpaw's ears burned.
They were laughing at him.
What stung most of all was the fact that Owlpaw, a cat that Silverpaw had considered more or less of a friend, was laughing with them.
Biting back a sob, Silverpaw stormed into the apprentice's den, collapsing back into his nest. His pelt prickling uncomfortably, Silverpaw fell into an uneasy sleep.
Silverpaw's pelt was on fire. He twitched, scratched, rolled, but couldn't manage to shake the pain of a thousand claws from poking and prodding at his pelt.
Through the agony, Silverpaw glimpsed a pool of shimmering water just a tree-length ahead.
Sucking in a deep breath, Silverpaw leaped into the pool, awaiting the cool relief that water would bring to his itching skin.
With a jolt, Silverpaw woke up, biting his tongue as he realized that the pain was still very real.
"Mouse-dung!" Silverpaw spat, trying to shake the tiny bodies of the stinging insects from his fur. He ambled out of his nest, cursing and shaking his body.
The apprentices watched him from a corner of the den, smirking. Aspenpaw was nowhere to be seen.
Stormpaw meandered over, head held high.
"Hey Oddpaw. Quick question, how does your pelt feel? Does it hurt?" The other apprentices laughed. Silverpaw clenched his jaw and shook his head. The many stings and bites of fire ants made his skin feel like burning ash. If he tried to speak, it would most likely come out as a squeak of pain.
"Really?" Rainpaw asked, feigning surprise. "Even if I do this?"
Poke. Silverpaw's pelt tingled where she had prodded him with her paws.
Poke. Silverpaw fought the urge to cry out, biting the inside of his cheek to distract himself.
The pain increased, each poke further bringing fuel to the flame of agony. Silverpaw felt his eyes pricking.
"Oh look, the little runt is about to cry!" Rainpaw sneered. Between laughs, Seedpaw made a sobbing motion.
In response, Silverpaw spat in her face.
Rainpaw's eyes widened until the whites were shown. Silverpaw picked up one of the fallen fire ants and flicked it into Stormpaw's fur. The dark grey tom howled in agony and rolled on the ground, scratching at his pelt.
Silverpaw stalked out of the den, feeling an odd sense of accomplishment.
LOlz.
QOTD: What would you do to Stormpaw and Rainpaw?