(I wasn't planning to release this chapter so early because I literally just written this, but you guys really are supporting this story. Plus, I figured this chapter was exciting near the end. Remember, the more you support, the more likely chapters will come out faster. Thank you so much for the reviews/follows/favorites!)
Chapter 3: The New Mentor
Jaypaw's tail waved quickly, literally wagging as he excitedly followed Brightheart in anticipation. He was finally going to learn something useful! The warrior glanced up from the shady hollow they were currently training in," Now, show me your battle stance." The pale gray feline nodded as he slipped into his perfected pose, which was aided by Tigerstar. "Well, I see you clearly don't have to work on that," she replied, disbelief and happiness for her apprentice rippling through her pelt. "This is one of the moves I have discovered when I was… when I was training as an apprentice," she mewed, her eyes suddenly going distant. The apprentice scented depression and fear emanating from her.
Brightheart shook her head before covering up her emotions with a light smile. "First, you lean onto your hind legs and 'fall' upon your opponent. Cling to them using your claws and let your back legs lift up and pummel the enemy's stomach," she explained, doing a presentation of the move. "Now you try on me." Being a quick learner, Jaypaw nodded as he leaped on top of the warrior, unsheathing his minuscule claws and digging them into her back. Using his forelegs, he punched her stomach lightly, to avoid too much pain to his mentor. "Impressive," the torn face warrior mewed, grooming her shoulder. "Try to be quicker when pinning your opponent or they might kick you back. If you don't want their tail to lash at your face, see if you can bite it."
Jaypaw repeated this move, getting better and better thanks to Brightheart's aid. "Perfect," she purred after two more tries. "The next move might be harder for you," she said while licking her chops. "Perform your hunting crouch, but make your shoulders more square and your tail tucked under your body." Recognizing these orders, he assumed the move she was explaining. "Now, you then-" her sentence was interrupted by her apprentice suddenly lunging out lightning flash. "... Uh… yes that's correct. Excellent job…" she mewed, surprised.
Throughout the training, Brightheart was usually lost in thought, her emotions were very hazy and mixed so Jaypaw couldn't figure out what she was pondering. Along with that, he usually knew all the moves the she-cat was teaching him. After what seemed to be the time of low sun, she meowed flatly," Training dismissed. You did wonderfully today. Go back and rest." The apprentice nodded his head obediently and dragged his paws back to camp.
Jaypaw collapsed into his nest of cool and comfortable moss, wriggling deeper until he was satisfied. As his consciousness drifted away, he recalled Leafpool's visit to the Moonpool today, he wondered about the other clan's spiritual dreams. During his sleep, his eyes fluttered open to greet a place that wasn't the Dark Forest.
Jaypaw froze as he gazed upon StarClan's hunting grounds. What was he doing here? Had Tigerstar and Hawkfrost abandoned him already? Instead of multiple trees partially blocking the complete sunlight of the sky, the field he was standing in was a vegetation less moor. Only very few and tiny shrubs grew as the apprentice scented the earthy taste of WindClan. "How many dogs will come, Tallstar?" he overheard a tom's frightened mew, presumably Barkface. Following the noises, he hid in a clump of ferns overlooking an area where Barkface stood, facing the former WindClan leader. "I don't know," the sable and ivory patched tom reluctantly admitted, his ears flattened. "When will they reach us?" "The two legs will bring them when they bring the sheep to eat the newleaf grass. You must be ready." "I will warn Onestar."
As Jaypaw attempted to reach forward to hear more, he felt a tail touch his flank. Turning around to expect a StarClan cat, he found Tigerstar gazing at him through amber slits. "We do not come here during training," he growled, leading the apprentice back to the Dark Forest. "But, Tigerstar!" he objected," We can take advantage of WindClan and steal part of their territory!" The ghostly leader smirked mischievously," Perhaps you are right…"
Instead of immediately stopping at their usual training spot, Tigerstar brought Jaypaw past it and to the center of the forest. "Meet your other friends. This is Thistleclaw," the long clawed tom introduced, gesturing to a slate and dark gray striped warrior. "This is Mapleshade, this is Brokenstar, and this is Lilywhisker." He pointed to a ginger and inky she-cat, then at a tabby tom with scars over his eyes, and finally at a light brown she-cat with a crippled leg. "There are others here, but you may not meet them yet…" The pale gray apprentice nodded knowingly. "We will be learning fighting tactics from different clans, not just ThunderClan. Mapleshade will assist you for RiverClan," the ghostly leader mewed, sentence punctured with him pushing his apprentice into a pool of slimy murky water nearby.
As a tiny portion of water entered Jaypaw's mouth, he choked on it, feeling as if chemicals were mixed in causing his lungs to burn. Mapleshade gracefully landed in the nontransparent liquid, she mused," Tigerstar had mentioned you before. I hope we can get to know each other…" The apprentice winced at the water flowing through his fur, attempting to shake it out. "Are you willing to give up so soon?" the ginger and sable she-cat challenged, eyes narrowing. "No, it's just that it's so c-c-cold and unc-c-comfortable," he shivered, fur bristling with chilliness. "Oh, well, this should help." Suddenly, the she-cat plunged his head into the freezing dirty depths. Pulling him out by the scruff she hissed," I am certain you are used to the cold by now."
Jaypaw coughed up the foul water, cold as ever. "Y-Y-Y-Yes I am, thank you Mapleshade," he stammered, biting back his shivers and a retort. There was a splash, the stinging liquid entering into his cerulean eyes. "What was that for?!" the apprentice hissed, wiping it out. "You should have dodged or raised your paws in defense," Mapleshade smirked. "You can swipe water at your enemy to temporarily blind them and attack. Ah, but I forgot how incompetent you are without knowing how to swim. Move forward and pick up your paws to do a circular motion like this," she explained, performing a doggy paddle-like movement while rolling her eyes. "This can cause your head to stay out of the hit mark from the waves." The silvery tom's paws left the stable ground of the mud and started to create the same motion, getting the hang of it within a few tries. Despite the Dark Forest cat's seemingly insulting tone, he sensed a small flare of surprise about how quick he got the move. "Decent, but not the best," the ginger grimalkin praised sternly. "Now, if you want to emerge yourself underwater, create these motions slowly and surely, don't panic or else you might sink like the giant oafish cat you are," she taught, placing her head in the h2o and doing a movement similar to a frog stroke.
Jaypaw became fluent with swimming and even slightly enjoyed it, as long it wasn't in the slimy water. After the short swimming lesson, Mapleshade went back to teaching him water attack moves which he got in a quick matter of time. Not only did she teach him regular RiverClan fighting techniques he recognized during battle, but she also taught him created ones that gave him a very high advantage. "Now that you have learned all my moves, I believe it's time for a fight," she mewed. Instead of counting down or informing her temporary apprentice about it, she lunged at him and scratched his throat. Diving under the water, he forced his eyes open through the stinging sludge and grabbed the ginger warrior's legs. She thundered her paws on top of his head, nearly stabbing his eyes. Sliding out of the way of her pummeling feet, he used her chest as a launch pad to reach the surface and take a giant breath. A claw hooked the slate feline's elbow, dragging him back into the murky depths. The Dark Forest cat flipped his body over with a brief stroke, pressing his face into the sand on the pool floor. Choking on the oxygen-less dirt, his lungs felt as if they were going to shrivel up any moment. Claws shredded into his backside as he closed his eyes for a second and felt the vibrations and certain splashing of the water. Letting his tail wrap around Mapleshade's throat, he emerged her into the sludge and then kicked her back. Resurfacing, a large gulp of air relaxed his lungs as he tackled the she-cat to the bank and then torn her fur with unsheathed serrated nails. She sent a splash of water into his peepers using her tail, then disappeared. Wiping his eyes, Jaypaw reared around feeling jaws wrap around his appendage. Kicking out, he thunked the opponent before placing his back feet on her shoulders to hold her under the water, making sure his tail was tucked in. A sudden push brought him up as the slime in the liquid became tinted with crimson ichor. The mud made his wounds burn as he landed a kick upon the foe. Finally pinning her apprentice, the warrior lisped," You did an excellent job for a small kit like you. We can work on your errors sometime later once I get the chance to meet you again." She nodded toward Brokenstar who stood eagerly nearby.
Jaypaw padded out of the water, shaking the mulch from his fur. Claw and teeth marks flared on his skin as Brokenstar mewed," Now you will be learning ShadowClan tactics." "What about my wounds? They really sting!" the apprentice complained, gesturing to them. "Brave warriors don't care about injuries! They keep on fighting! Why do you always complain whenever you stub your toe?!" the scarred leader hissed, almost raking his claws against the younger feline. He was about to say more when suddenly, the slate tom felt paws rock his side as everything went black and the scent of rotting plants faded away.
"Jaypaw! Jaypaw!" a youthful female voice hissed, words lined with concern. Scenting Hollypaw standing over his nest, Jaypaw murmured sleepily," Is it tomorrow yet?" "You were saying something in your sleep and-" she interrupted herself when she flipped her brother to the side a bit. "You have claw and teeth marks all over you! How did this happen?!" she hissed, eyes slitting in worry. "Look, it's none of your business," the apprentice retorted in a grouchy tone as he matched muzzles with her. "As your sister and a former medicine cat apprentice, it is!" the inky she-cat growled, biting onto his already slightly freshly torn ear and dragging him to the medicine den. "I don't need to- ow!... go! Don't tug- ow!... so hard!" the slate feline complained as she dropped him in front of the medicine cat while rubbing his sore ear.
Leafpool stared at him through fretful amber eyes. "How did this happen?!" she asked, checking the wounds that were inflicted upon his back, tail, thighs, arms, throat, and belly. "It doesn't matter! There are only small scratches!" Jaypaw argued, attempting to get away from the medicine cat's grip. "Small?! You call this small?!" she dared, lapping at a rather deep cut on his backside. "How did you get them?" she queried again, making a face that literally meant that there was no getting out of this problem. "Uh… I fell into a bramble patch and kinda got stuck as I made my way to camp," he lied, giving her a mock sheepish grin to hide the truth. "These are fresh." "I… uh… I didn't sleep for long when Hollypaw woke me up!"
Leafpool continued to inspect him up and down. "At least they are not infected…" she murmured as she whipped up a poultice which Jaypaw had deduced it was made of chewed up comfrey and horsetail. Applying it to his multiple wounds, she then placed a layer of cobwebs over it. Right when the stubborn apprentice was about to scratch the poultice off, the medicine cat's paw slapped his. She then placed catchweed over them, preventing him from removing the healing balm. "Now, I don't want to see any battle training until they are mainly healed!" the coffee she-cat ordered while the slate felis catus padded out of the den. Recalling a certain piece of special information, he swiftly left Hollypaw's side to find his leader.
Scrambling into Firestar's den, Jaypaw burst through the entrance, his pants loud and clear in the limited space. "Jaypaw?" the ginger leader mewed with surprise echoing through him. "What is it?" a waking up Sandstorm asked, her tail flicking lazily to touch the paw of her mate. "I had a dream about StarClan. WindClan will be attacked by a bunch of dogs!" the slate cat explained, fantasizing about he ordeal. After a small strategy offer, the giant tom before him stood up and declared in a commanding tone," We will not take advantage of WindClan's troubles." "But surely StarClan let me share this so we could take advantage of it!" "Are you sure that it wasn't just a dream and a message from StarClan?" "You weren't there! How could you know if it was StarCl-" he was cut off by the sound of pawsteps coming up to the den.
"Firestar?" Brightheart's voice requested. "Come in," the leader replied, watching the torn warrior enter. "Oh Jaypaw… you're here too, this is an efficient coincidence." "What do you mean?" the ginger leader queried. "I was meaning to talk…" she took a deep breath," about Jaypaw's apprenticeship." "Has he decided to be a medicine cat apprentice?" The slate feline bit back a retort. "No, I was… I was…" she stammered, making Jaypaw unsure of what she was so hesitant about. "I believe he needs a new mentor," she finally blurted. "He has shown a vast improvement and an above average knowledge of fighting and hunting tactics. Plus, he seemed to have overcome his blindness problem. I believe… he deserves a bett-... more experienced mentor," the she-cat mewed, ears flattening. The apprentice couldn't believe his ears. "Do you think you'll like that?" Firestar asked, staring at Jaypaw. "Yes!" he replied eagerly, before suddenly sheepishly covering his words," I mean… if no one else has a problem with it." Nodding his furry head, the emerald eyed cat turned to Brightheart," I am very glad you told me." "Of course, Firestar." "I will try to think of a new suitable mentor for him…" Expecting for his leader to say more, Jaypaw stood there awkwardly before turning around and padding out along with Brightheart. "Thank you for helping me," he meowed to her hesitantly. "It was my pleasure," she answered, rubbing his flank with her tail.
Jaypaw decided to relax after the excitement so he padded toward the fresh kill pile and expected it with his nose. Breathing in a warm juicy fresh scene, he plucked a newly hunted vole and sat in a shady corner by himself. Ripping the tender meat, he snarfed and wolfed the food down, attempting to push down the anticipation of getting a new mentor. He glanced across the camp to see Brightheart alone, glancing at her reflection in a tiny puddle. Feeling a pang of sadness for her, he went back to his food. After he had finished and was licking his chops, Firestar's vibration shown that he had walked out of his den.
Scenting Firestar standing in front of him, he heard the leader say," I have decided on your new mentor. Follow me." Gesturing with his tangerine tail, Jaypaw followed eagerly behind. They both stopped in front of two scents, Mille and Graystripe. His heart fell a little, assuming that his leader was going to make Millie train him. "Graystripe, will you be willing to take on an apprentice even though you have came to camp recently?" the ginger tom queried. Exhilaration crossed the young slate feline's face as he pondered the other tom's reputation. Graystripe was recently deputy and he is a great warrior that usually strategizes well. Yet, a kittypet is his mate… The gray warrior stood up, joy flitting through him," Of course I will, Firestar," he mewed with a dip of his head.