Welcome back to A New Destiny, old and new readers alike!
Ahh, summer is so close now, I can just barely taste the lemonade and smell the freshly-mowed grass...
"Fantastic job, Beepaw," Lilyfern purred encouragingly. "I believe this is the best pinning you've done so far!"
Beepaw beamed at her mentor, while Lakepaw squirmed uncomfortably under her grasp. His broad, bony shoulders jabbed her paw, and she gasped a little in surprise as he finally threw her off.
"Well, you almost got it," Lilyfern sighed, shooting the big black-and-white tom a fleeting glare. "Come on now, Lakepaw, there's no need to always be the winner."
He jutted out his chin, and Beepaw could tell it was difficult for him to not return the dark tabby's scowl. "I wasn't trying to be the winner. I was just… well, isn't it good that Beepaw gets practice with a realistic opponent in battle? A realistic ShadowClan warrior wouldn't just lay there, they'd try to throw her off."
Beepaw's fur prickled in annoyance, and she turned her face away from her kin so that he wouldn't see her ears, which had turned a deep shade of red. Stupid furball thinks he knows about everything under the sun.
In the half-moon since the battle with FoxClan, tensions in ThunderClan had settled down somewhat. Unfortunately, FoxClan still occupied a portion of the cats' territory, though it was a smaller chunk; the strip of land between the shore and the foxes' stench was now wider. At the Gathering tonight, Bramblestar planned to discuss with Ashstar a foolproof plan to drive out the fire-colored predators once and for all. Its success was ThunderClan's only hope at this point.
Beepaw shuddered as she imagined a horrific future, with constant battles against foxes, and so much bloodshed that scarlet always misted her vision. The gray tabby shook herself, however, and returned to the present.
"That might be so," Lilyfern was saying. "But, nevertheless, I did not ask you to behave like a real opponent. I just asked you to be a dummy for Beepaw to practice on." Her feathery tail lashed once, and she turned to blink at Amberear, the final cat standing with them in the mossy training clearing. "Would you like Lakepaw to practice the same on Beepaw now?"
The gray she-cat lowered her head. "Yes, but just a few times. He won't need as much practice as her…" She stopped short when she saw both Lilyfern and Beepaw begin to bristle. "No, I just mean that he's almost mastered this move already. It's been the first time these two have trained together in a while, so I don't know what you've been working on with her."
"Right," grumbled Beepaw. She narrowed her eyes and moved herself in front of the other apprentice. For added effect, she bared her fangs and pulled her ears flat against her head.
"Okay, just two times, Lakepaw," Lilyfern reminded the young tom, lowering her hackles. "Then you two should return to camp and rest up for the Gathering."
Another thrill of excitement tingled up Beepaw's spine: her first Gathering! Finally, at six-and-a-half moons, I get to explore some of the world beyond ThunderClan's forest! In her ecstasy, she struggled to keep her menacing snarl plastered on her face. After forever, Lakepaw finally backed up and then lunged his thick body toward her.
He landed on her with a hardly-fazed grunt, and before she could protest, he planted both of his forepaws on her throat. Now all she could do was gurgle and flail helplessly under his suffocating weight. I feel like I'm actually being strangled in battle!
She wriggled and twisted, and still Lakepaw, like a deadweight, remained above her, slowly crushing her ribcage. Why aren't Lilyfern and Amberear stopping him? He's literally strangling me! Black mist crowded at the edge of her vision, contorting his face, lined with determination, for a moment.
Then his face reappeared. And surely, she thought, that couldn't be Lakepaw. But it was an older Lakepaw, with a viciously torn ear and red-stained teeth gritted— in pain or in supreme triumph, Beepaw did not know.
Just as quickly as the vision appeared, however, it was gone. The rock-hard, blood-bathed battlefield she'd felt beneath her was once again soft, cushiony moss. First she was choking, but then that turned into laborious breathing.
Lakepaw loomed over her, and her heart rate heightened again. "Beepaw? Are you alright?" he asked cautiously, reaching out a scruffy paw to poke her cheek. "You started having a spaz attack when I pinned you down," he explained.
He stepped back as Lilyfern and Amberear heaved her to her paws. "Beepaw? Do you need me to get Jayfeather?" Beepaw's muzzle twitched as her mentor's wide amber eyes gazed deep into her own glowing blue orbs.
"No, I'm fine," she growled, stumbling forward until she was sure on her feet again. "I just was surprised by how plump Lakepaw is."
Her mild joke was only met by a snort from Amberear, who in turn received one of Lilyfern's burning stares.
"Very funny," the dark tabby mewed crisply. "Let's just get back to camp before there's another… episode."
Beepaw whisked herself forward to avoid having to lock eyes with that smoldering copper gaze again. She felt Lakepaw hard on her heels, and sure enough, once she was a few tail-lengths away from the thorn tunnel, she felt his breath hot on her neck.
"It's not fat," he hissed in her ear, like he'd apparently taken her lame joke seriously. "It's muscle. StarClan, I'm not a kittypet."
Beepaw just shook her head and tried to think of the image of the current angry Lakepaw, instead of the future, torn-eared livid Lakepaw. She shouldered through the thorns into camp, and took a petite shrew from the fresh-kill pile as per Lilyfern's instructions. Lakepaw was already settled in front of the apprentices' den, sharing tongues with Flintpaw. Well, fine then.
She scanned the clearing, hoping to find someone she could share her shrew with. Her eyes landed on Honeypaw, who was debating something hotly with her mentor, Tigerheart. The dark tabby strode away, grumbling, and Honeypaw, her creamy fur fluffed up, began to pad in Beepaw's direction. Hope rose like pleasant bile in Beepaw's throat; she hadn't spoken to her old friend from kithood much lately. Maybe she needed some cheering up.
Beepaw put a spring in her step and trotted over to Honeypaw. The golden she-cat wasn't looking where she was going, and ended up nearly ramming right into Beepaw, who was bounding forward too fast to slow down.
"Heh," Beepaw mewed, suppressing a giggle as she leaped back a mouse-length to give Honeypaw some space. "Sorry about that. I'm just… really excited for the Gathering." Hopefully she's going, too.
Honeypaw blinked dully at her, but she forced on a smile. "I'm glad to hear that. I'm excited to go too; it'll be my second time." She smirked at the younger apprentice. "I guess Bramblestar let me go so I can keep all four of you youngsters in line," she continued.
Beepaw rolled her eyes. "Trust me, you won't have to worry about my sister Morningpaw. She has about as much energy and fun in her system as a grumpy old elder." The gray tabby motioned for the sleek she-cat to follow her to a patch of shade— even though it was nearly leaf-fall, it was still particularly hot. Beepaw felt a surge of relief as the coolness of the shadows washed over her burning pelt.
"Ahh, this is nice," Honeypaw remarked as she settled down beside her Clanmate. She nosed the shrew. "Is this for me?"
What? Beepaw coughed. "Um, ac- actually—"
"I was just messin' with you," Honeypaw laughed, giving Beepaw a small shove with her shoulder. "Is it just yours or are we sharing?"
Beepaw's shoulders slumped in another wave of relief. "Sharing. We're, er, sharing," she meowed, a half-grin forming on her face. Slowly, she leaned forward and took a bite of the shrew before passing it to Honeypaw.
Honeypaw snatched a few bites, and Beepaw watched her a chew for a few heartbeats before saying casually, "So, what was that whole thing with Tigerheart?"
"Tigerheart? Well," Honeypaw swallowed, juice dribbling down her chin, "he's being a real pain in the tail. I mean, he's a great mentor and all, but he always compares me to how his own kits' training is going. Like, we'll go hunting and I'll bring him back a nice, juicy bird. And he'll say, 'Nice job. Yeah, Bloodpaw caught a squirrel earlier!'. Just now, when I asked him for permission to go for a walk so I could get some fresh air outside of camp, he told me no and to go rest up for the Gathering. He then went on to say that Puddlepaw always makes sure to take a brief nap before he goes to Gatherings, blah, blah…"
Beepaw's stomach gurgled loudly, and Honeypaw snorted as she at long last pushed the shrew back over to the gray cat. Beepaw wolfed down a couple mouthfuls and then said, "Wow, that stinks."
Honeypaw blinked at her.
Beepaw's whiskers drooped apologetically. "Sorry, I'm not very good with the whole sympathy thing."
"No, I'm glad," Honeypaw said, a hint of a laugh hiding behind her firm words. "Even my mother would be all, 'Oh, that's horrible, sweetie! Let's go talk to Bramblestar and get this sorted out, because my only daughter needs the best of the best of ThunderClan's mentors!'" Again, she rolled her eyes. I wonder if her eyes ever get sore from rolling them so much, Beepaw thought curiously.
"Um, no offense, but your mentor isn't completely ThunderClan-blooded," she pointed out.
"Yup," Honeypaw mewed. "True. But these days, is there anyone who doesn't have mixed blood?" She tilted her head in thought, her jaw working absently on a tough piece of the fresh-kill. "For example, you have kittypet blood," she told Beepaw. "From both sides of the family— your father's mother was a kittypet, and your mother's—"
"I know," Beepaw interrupted. She didn't need to hear any mention of Dovewing. "Kittypet blood. Yeah. Lame. But you have WindClan blood… now, that's cool. You have ThunderClan bulk and you can run fast."
"Well, I wouldn't say that," Honeypaw said humbly, but Beepaw could tell the golden she-cat believed every word she'd said.
Honeypaw launched into yet another story about her time as a kit in the mountains, and Beepaw took the time to glance up at the sky. She was shocked to find that she and Honeypaw had been talking so long, it was already past dusk. Mouse dung! I had an endless day of training, and I just wanted to have a quick meal with a friend before hitting the moss for a while. But now I'll have to go to my Gathering, my first Gathering, with sleep weighing down my eyelids…
Luckily, halfway through Honeypaw's interminable tale, Bramblestar's yowl echoed through the clearing for the Gathering cats to assemble by the exit. Honeypaw excused herself, hopped to her paws, and jogged over to touch noses with Stonepaw in farewell.
An irritated breath puffed out of Beepaw's nose as she prodded the half-eaten shrew into the bushes. Then, in an unexpected, short-lived fit of anger, she kicked the food and sent it flying deep into the undergrowth surrounding the camp. I need to calm myself. Not to act like a rabid… fox.
She smoothed her fur and joined the Gathering group, which consisted of herself, Bramblestar, Squirrelflight, Leafpool, Dewclaw, Icecloud, Dovewing, Ivypool, Rosepetal, Cloudtail, Honeypaw, all of the younger apprentices, and their mentors.
"Wow, a lot of cats are going," Beepaw observed aloud to Morningpaw, who had materialized beside her.
"Makes sense," Morningpaw replied. Her thin pelt was fluffed up against the cold— now that night had fallen, a chill had settled over the lake. "With FoxClan still lurking around, it's a smart idea to have an extra layer of warriors protecting us."
Beepaw flicked a leaf out of her path with flexing claws. "But I feel so useless. I could fight; I even had battle training today."
Morningpaw sighed. "Great StarClan, Beepaw, we've barely scraped the six-and-a-half moon mark. At this point, the best we could do is growl at an enemy."
She picked up the pace, and Beepaw let herself fall behind. They had reached the lakeshore, and her sister's silver fur was illuminated by the brilliant moonlight. But all Beepaw could think of her sister was far from beautiful. Just someone who over-exaggerates too much.
Thanks for reading, see you tomorrow~