Chapter 18

Hawkpaw lay on his back, looking up at the sun. There was an itch he just couldn't seem to scratch, so he moved his hips into the ground. I hope I'm not getting fleas, he thought

The thought of fleas was disgusting, but no more distracting than other thoughts floating through his mind. The patched tom they'd seen in ThunderClan territory had been reported, and Tawnypelt sent out a patrol immediately – they came back with nothing, though they claimed to have scented him along the Twoleg path. They followed the trail, but it disappeared into the Twoleg nest and they went no further.

It wasn't just that, either – Hawkpaw dreamed again. The same scent drifted over his nose – ShadowClan, but unfamiliar. This time, it had led him through the woods and Hawkpaw was conscious of a darkness following his pawsteps. When he looked back, he swore he saw eyes gleaming in the darkness – the eyes of the patched tom. His dream had ended quickly after that.

I wonder what it all means… He'd heard stories of ordinary warriors – even apprentices! – getting special dreams. But… didn't StarClan show more favor to Clanborn cats? Firestar was different – he was special – but Hawkpaw was… nothing. Just an apprentice with a questionable heritage. Some rogue she-cat's unwanted kit.

That thought saddened him a little.

"Are you just going to scratch your behind all day or are you going to do some work?"

Hawkpaw twisted his head and saw that Sparrowpaw was looming over him. The tabby apprentice – though Hawkpaw's age – was larger than the other apprentices.

"I thought Ratscar was taking you to hunt," Hawkpaw mewed. He twisted and sat right-side up on his paws.

"He isn't feeling well – complained about his back or something," Sparrowpaw grunted. He sat down with a disappointed expression. "He told me to tag along with whatever you and Tigerheart were doing."

Hawkpaw flicked an ear. Was Smokefoot so ill that Tigerheat was being assumed as Hawkpaw's mentor now? As much as Hawkpaw liked Tigerheart, he wondered how Smokefoot felt about it.

"Is he OK?" Hawkpaw asked. Ratscar was the oldest warrior in the Clan – there were few cats who could talk about the old forest or the Great Journey. Hawkpaw didn't think that age was getting to Sparrowpaw's mentor so easily.

Sparrowpaw shrugged. "Something about his chest not feeling right or something," he grumbled. "I don't get why he's still training apprentices when he ought to be an elder."

Hawkpaw kneaded his paws into the ground. "I'll fight as a warrior until my claws fall out," he declared. "I won't let age stop me."

Sparrowpaw's whiskers twitch. "You sound like a kit," he chided. "So… what's the plan?"

"Tigerheart was taking me out for battle practice," Hawkpaw explained. "As soon as he's done eating we're heading for the clearing."

Sparrowpaw rolled his broad shoulders. "I've had some battle training myself – I'd like the chance to show you how a real Clanborn cat fights," he sneered.

"Bring it on," Hawkpaw snarled, his neck fur fluffing out. I could do with some healthy competition…

"Oh, I will," Sparrowpaw promised, curling his lip. "You'll wish you were never brought here, Hawkpaw."

"You'll wish you never opened your mouth," Hawkpaw promised back.

"Stop it, you two," Tigerheart commanded.

The remains of his breakfast were still flecked along his jaws. Tigerheart licked them off and glared at the two apprentices, his eyes flashing. "I hope you two remember that it's claws sheathed in the clearing today," he growled. "I don't want anyone getting hurt."

"Of course," Hawkpaw said quickly. "Sparrowpaw was just -"

Tigerheart raised his tail for silence. He didn't seem to be in the mood for understanding. "Come on you two; time's wasting," he said. "If I'm looking after the both of you, then I want all the time I can get."

"Are you assessing us?" Sparrowpaw asked.

"It's Ratscar's job to assess you," Tigerheart pointed out. "And you tow haven't had enough training to warrant an assessment. I'm just going to teach you some fighting moves that can be helpful when fighting an enemy warrior."

"So… you think there's going to be a fight over that territory?" Hawkpaw wondered.

Tigerheart sighed. Sagging his shoulders, he admitted, "I don't know. What happens is in ThunderClan's paws for now – we'll get our answer soon. The Gathering is in a few nights. If you guys perform well you might get to go – but I won't know how well you're going to do if you don't come with me out to the clearing!"

Hawkpaw flattened his ears. "Sorry," he mewed. "Let's go."

"That's what I've been saying," Tigerheart sighed.

The ground in the clearing was soft with pine needles when they arrived. The sun was just barely peeking over the treetops, warming one half of the clearing and not the other. Tigerheart led them to the warmer area of the clearing to begin their training.

"Show me what you know," Tigerheart decided. "Fight one another with claws sheathed."

Hawkpaw and Sparrowpaw turned towards one another. It was hard to fight the urge to unsheathe his claws to teach Sparrowpaw a lesson, but Hawkpaw knew better than to strike a Clanmate – even if that Clanmate was a huge frog-brain.

They circled each other, spitting, with fur fluffed up for intimidation – basic techniques taught from kithood. Hawkpaw and Sparrowpaw had hardly sparred as kits, since Sparrowpaw's dislike for him had started early – but Hawkpaw had play-fought enough with Nightpaw to know how this dance worked.

It was Sparrowpaw who moved first. He lunged and, using his bigger size, plowed Hawkpaw into the ground using not much but his shoulder. Hawkpaw gasped, feeling the wind knocked out of his small body.

Hawkpaw rolled in the pine needles and gasped for air as he sprang to his paws. Sparrowpaw was charging at him, and Hawkpaw used his superior speed to dart out of the way. Sparrowpaw blundered forward and crashed into a fern.

Whiskers twitching, Hawkpaw teased, "I'm sure that fern deserved it!"

Sparrowpaw's spine bristled as he came charging out of the bushes. He tackled Hawkpaw without a word, and the two began to tussle paw-to-paw. Rolling through the needles, Hawkpaw was hardly ever on top of Sparrowpaw – battering his opponent's belly with his hind paws seemed to be the only option Hawkpaw had, until he hit a sweet spot with one of his paws that sent Sparrowpaw flying.

Hawkpaw got to his paws and did not waste time – he used this to his advantage and leaped onto Sparrowpaw – but his attempt to use his weight to push Sparrowpaw down failed, as the other tom was both heavier and bulkier than Hawkpaw realized.

With one hard swipe, Hawkpaw was bundled away like a bothersome kit.

"Enough!" Tigerheart called.

Panting, Hawkpaw pushed himself up and shook out his pelt. He joined Sparrowpaw before Tigerheart, his pelt burning with shame. How could he lose to Sparrowpaw?

"Clearly there's still a lot of work to be done," Tigerheart mewed. "Sparrowpaw, it's obvious that you're bigger, but you're drained by fighting Hawkpaw. Hawkpaw, it's obvious that you're smaller and aren't sure how to handle bigger opponents. The both of you are too confident for your own good."

Both apprentices flattened their ears.

"Sparrowpaw, let's work on your ability to use your weight to your advantage," Tigerheart decided. "It's easy to knock a cat off of their paws in a fight, but bigger cats wear out more easily than smaller ones. You need to learn how to conserve your energy for when you really need it."

Sparrowpaw nodded.

"What should I do?" Hawkpaw asked.

Tigerheart flicked an ear. "If there were another cat here I'd have them help you, but for now just watch Sparrowpaw and I," he answered.

Hawkpaw nodded and hunkered down in a sunny spot. Tigerheart took Sparrowpaw into the main space of the clearing and began to talk with him about different fighting moves that were better suited for his body type – like shouldering an opponent, kicks, bites, and paw swipes that took advantage of his size. Tigerheart would demonstrate, and then Sparrowpaw would do the move until he got it right.

By sunhigh, when Tigerheart was demonstrating a good way to headbutt an opponent, Hawkpaw was bored. Sparrowpaw was doing well, soaking up all of Tigerheart's information – but none of it was really pertinent to Hawkpaw's training, even though the smaller apprentice was paying attention, too.

Hawkpaw was about to ask when he would be the one training with Tigerheart when a ShadowClan warrior burst through the trees.

It was Owlclaw, a young tabby warrior who was also Applefur's mate. His sides were heaving, and his fur was fluffed to its very ends.

"We've caught him!" Owlclaw exclaimed.

"Caught who?" Sparrowpaw asked. "What's going -"

Tigerheart waved his tail, and Sparrowpaw shut his mouth.

"You'll never believe this," Owlclaw gasped. "We've caught Sol!"