Here's a new chapter! I'm a few days late but it's a bit long so I didn't have time to type it properly before...
If there was something that no cat could be prepared for when deciding to become a medicine cat, it was the shift in relationships. Not sleeping in the apprentices' den combined with the difference of duties and responsibilities as well as the length of learning period created a definite rift, even between those who grew up together in the nursery. In a way, it was much more than merely forbidden to have a mate and kits that condemned medicine cats to a peculiar type of loneliness despite being surrounded. It could be said that the Clan itself excluded then unconsciously.
Bayfur considered herself lucky: having Springstripe as her twin kept a link, albeit tenuous. Sometimes she wondered if that involuntary cut was what had made her former mentor so blunt.
At least, Pricklesong was still there and they could share the heavy burden of bearing everyone's lives on their shoulders. That, and it allowed her time before she had to talk to Blossomstar like an equal – not that the leader was mean, but she was intimidating… Anyway, she was keenly aware of the gap between herself and the young warriors, which made the proposition she had just been given all the more surprising.
"Sorry, what?"
"Battle training," Cheetahpatch repeated patiently, "to cheer up our new warriors. Do you want to come?"
The recent loss of Hootpuddle had tainted Flashrump, Tawnyfoot, Hopespot and Rainrun's ceremony, even if their mother and Blossomstar had done a great job at pretending everything was fine. Play fighting was a good way to get them to think about something else, if only for the time it lasted.
"I don't know if I…"
"Just go!" Pricklesong shouted from the other end of the den.
"Well," she mewed, a little taken aback, "it seems I'm free so why not!"
It had been a while since she had done that, and after the last moon, she could also use the distraction. Crossing the clearing, she attentively listened to Cheetahpatch's explanation of the game.
"A little friendly competition is good, so to help them lighten up, we shouldn't let them win. It would look like we're doing it on purpose anyway and-"
"Oh! You're going to the thing Oliveseed organised?" Springstripe interrupted, trotting towards them. "Let's go together."
The grassy spot was rather crowded: it had never seen fifteen grown cats at once. Bayfur marvelled at the sight. It was a tight fit, but the good-natured atmosphere made up for the lack of space. They were really going to have fun.
Oliveseed had prepared a stack of twigs, sorted by length, to chose the opponents randomly. He was in the process of asking who wanted or didn't want to participate when the three of them squeezed in.
"I won't," Springstrpie mewed. At everyone's surprised stares, she let out a rumbling purr, "I have no need to fight for honour when my sister is there to do it for me."
Bayfur didn't even bristle at the disbelieving laughs garnered by the bold declaration. She had always considered herself rather laid-back and learning to deal with suffering patients had really heightened her ability to appear gentle at all times. And, well, both Springstripe and her usually agreed on that anyway.
"I'm not good enough to fight for your honour?" Honeystripe grumbled.
"Well, you're not my sister are you?" the she-cat answered, triggering another round of giggles.
"So," Oliveseed cut in, "we have twelve contestants. We're going to do individual matches and the final round will be three cats against each other. And remember, no hurting anyone, alright? Since you're not fighting, Rainrun, could you be in charge of the twigs?"
The young warrior nodded and soon they all waited in line to pick one. Bayfur felt her Clanmates' excitement rise and she had to admit that she was far from immune to it. When her turn finally came, she delicately took one of the last twigs in her jaws and sat to examine it.
A shadow blocked her view and another almost identical twig was dropped next to her paws.
"Looks like we're against each other," Skyivy chirped joyfully. "Let's give it our best!"
The other she-cat was slightly taller than Bayfur, leaner too. The medicine cat didn't remember seeing her fight, but it seemed logical that she would be quick on her paws.
Their fight was the third out of six, so they settled to watch the others. Firefur and Tawnyfoot circled each other for a while before pouncing, but experience won in the end when an ambitious jump left the tabby warrior at the mercy of his opponent.
Then, Cheetahpatch managed to defeat Oliveseed with a few well-placed strikes and a tail yank that looked bordering on painful.
And all of a sudden, Bayfur was in the training ring, crouched opposite to Skyivy. The warrior reached her in a few strides and jumped. Letting instincts take over, she twisted on her back at the last moment, receiving her opponent with a hard blow of her back legs to the belly. Unable to find a stable footing to counter the attack right away, Skyivy staggered and, not passing up the occasion, she locked her front paws on the unguarded shoulders and sent them both rolling on the side with a movement of the hips. Stockier than the other, Bayfur nailed her down after a short struggle, taking care og also blocking her back legs to avoid a belly rake, and pretended to bite her neck.
From the audience, Springstripe whined.
"That's so unfair, you never taught me that twist you just did!"
"If I teach you everything," she answered as she sat back to shake the dust from her fur, "I won't get to fight for your honour anymore, will I?"
Bayfur bumped shoulders with Skyivy before joining her sister who proceeded to chatter so much that they barely saw Silverbird's victory against Hopespot. After them, Skyshine faced Mousefur, who almost smothered him after an artful torsion allowed her to land right on his back.
Honeystripe's fight finally refocused, even if he eventually lost in the face of Flashrump's seemingly boundless energy that permitted her to jump around at all times.
Randomly drawing twigs again put Bayfur against Mousefur for the second round – she was almost certain to have heard a few bets as they took place to go first. It was obvious that she wouldn't be able to use the same tactic twice. Another warrior might have believed that the first fight was a fluke, a stroke of luck, but her opponent was more cunning and less arrogant than most. They even were of similar builds so winning would be tricky.
They exchanged a few swats that didn't lead anywhere before Bayfur resolved to make the fight tip in her favour. One of her back legs scrabbled on the grass, vulnerable belly flashing upwards. Mousefur pounced. Taking of her weight having shifted on her front paws she launched a back kick, catching the other in the shoulder and sending her reeling. Twisting back to face her, she gave a rough shove to unbalance her further then gripped the scruff of her neck between her teeth – careful to hold gently or it would be embarrassing to explain to Pricklesong.
"You did it on purpose, right?" Mousefur whispered as they congratulated each other. "Showing me your belly, knowing that I wouldn't let the opportunity pass… Great thinking, I should train to copy that move too!"
The two other fights went by quickly. Silverbird put Firefur down with a powerful swipe at his front paws and, once again, Flashrump danced around her opponent, causing Cheetahpatch to leave opening in her guard.
As Oliveseed had planed, there were three of them left. The final round could start – and the bets weren't even quiet anymore. Facing to cats at once was different from battling a single one, but she doubted that they would ally against her. Or with her, for that matter. Silverbird was too sure of himself and Flashrump too impatient.
As if to confirm her thoughts, the youngest warrior jumped on the tom, in a perfect position to make up for what she lacked in stature. Bayfur was too far from them, but a risky move could make the fight end as quickly as it had started. Circling around the two grappling warriors, she carefully chose her angle, took a deep breath and decided to try her luck. She leapt backwards and, bouncing on the tree behind her, headed straight for her opponents. The landing wasn't the most graceful but she still managed to grip the she-cat's shoulder and the tom's rear. The added weight made him grunt and topple forward but she held on, keeping him pinned to the ground with the other cat squished between them. After playfully biting at their necks and giving them each an apologetic lick on the shoulder, she rolled to the side.
Her sister immediately barrelled into her flank, purring so loudly that she vibrated.
"You mad cat! A jump and pin, out of nowhere?!"
"I'd never do that in a real fight, but it worked so it's fine…"
"Of course you'd say that! Have you all seen? My sister is the best!"
Bayfur dropped her head down, suddenly feeling aware of the cheers and all the eyes on her. Her ears quickly warmed under the attention.
"I told you she would defend our honour well-enough," Springstripe continued, either oblivious to her embarrassment or, most probably, enjoying the teasing she was getting away with. "Now that all of you know that she's the best fighter, did you know that she actually put Snaildapple on his back during her assessment?"
"Springstripe! Don't brag about-"
"Bayfur!" Pricklesong's voice rang in the clearing. "We have to check on the kits!"
Hastily making her escape, she bowed lightly to her audience before reaching her former mentor. In the end, the isolation of medicine cats wasn't so terrible; she didn't think she could have survived all this teasing and liveliness on a daily basis.
As soon as they were out of earshot, the older medicine cat gave her a serious look.
"Did you win?"
"Uh, yeah?"
"Of course you did! Ah, that must have really shown them! These young warriors, believing they're better than us…"
Bayfur groaned. Maybe the teasing just came with living in MistClan.
"Next time one of them tries to be sassy with me, I'll make them eat the wrong herbs."
"… Please, don't do that, Pricklesong."
I remember having a lot of trouble writing the fights... How do you even describe cats fighting?