Mapledawn took Waiting Falcon and Patchkit with her to the mock skirmish with Pig, Butter, Billy, and Yew. Mist Shadow came along, too. Mapledawn had to remind herself that the gray she-cat wasn't a medicine cat. This wasn't a Clan. She wasn't stuck in her den counting herbs all day.
Patchkit insisted on playing Badger Ride, both on Mapledawn and Waiting Falcon's backs, for half the walk to the little maple and beech copse between the moors and the Lesser Oak Crash. It was dry, shady, and crowded with undergrowth. It would be a perfect pretend Thunder forest. The maples were strong enough for climbing, but not so tall they risked injury if a cat fell, so long as they didn't climb to the very top.
"In the Clans," Mapledawn said, "kits don't leave camp until they're six moons old. It's a good rule when you live in a huge territory bordered by rival Clans. Here, we're close enough to the nest, and we don't have rival cats to worry about." Barring Frecklefang and her mysterious band of followers. She licked Patchkit's white and ginger face and murmured: "This is a special treat for you, little one. Mind Waiting Falcon, okay?"
"Yes, Merble," Patchkit mewed.
"We'll have our own little mock battle," Waiting Falcon said with a deep, low laugh—Patchkit was wrestling his big, fluffy claws, shouting that they were foxes. "I'll keep him safe," he said in an undertone.
Mapledawn nodded. After Bloomspirit's message, she wasn't letting her kit out of her sight for a moment .
"Mist Shadow." She dipped her head to the she-cat. Medicine cat or not, she deserved the respect of one. "Observer or participant?"
"I want to see how you forest cats do it," she said. "Participant."
Mapledawn nodded. "In that case, you, Yew, and Pig can be the attackers. Butter, Billy, and I will be FireClan. Before we skirmish, I'm going to cover some basic fighting moves. Remember, this is practice. No biting, and keep your claws sheathed."
First, she showed them how to climb tree like a warrior; she shimmied up the biggest maple quietly and quickly, and clambered onto a branch thick enough for her weight. "Here," she called down, "I can see my prey, but they probably don't see me! Remember, cats rarely look up." She called down to Butter: "now, how can I know if my enemy can smell me?"
"Um." Butter frowned. "Oh! Check the direction of the wind."
"Good. It's blowing toward me. The enemy is in front of me. That means they can smell me. What should I do?"
"Run?" Butter offered.
Mapledawn shook her head. "It means I've lost some of the element of surprise—but my enemy hasn't found me yet. That means I need to act now." She pointed her ears at a leaf a few tail lengths from the trunk of the tree. "That is a BlackCan cat slinking through my forest, trying to find where my scent's coming from. I wait for them to pause, and…" She leapt from the trunk, yowling, and landed squarely on top of the leaf.
"Wow!" Pig shouted. "You can fly!"
Mapledawn chuckled. "Climbing trees is a sacred, little-known FireClan strategy. But it's dangerous. You have to be very careful not to fall. You could end up crippled for life." She nodded to Billy. "This tree is pretty small. A fall won't kill you. And the bark is easy to climb. Give it a try, Billy."
Billy nodded and approached the tree. "Remember," she said, "you can always climb back down. It feels strange to climb backwards down a tree trunk, but it works perfectly well. Don't panic. You can't get stuck."
Billy screwed up his haunches and tried to jump up the tree. He lost his hold and fell back down, looking embarrassed.
"Try again."
She told Billy how to get up the trunk, how to test if a branch could hold his weight, and how to get back down safely. After two more passes, he was as quick as a FireClan-born apprentice. Butter grasped the concept with ease; Mist Shadow couldn't figure out how to get back down until Mapledawn climbed up to show her; Yew, light and gangly, didn't climb so much as run up the tree; and Pig, despite his weight, managed to get most of the way up the trunk. She stopped him before he could climb onto a branch.
"We work with our strengths," she whispered. "A good warrior knows their limits." And quieter: "this tree's a bit small for you."
She showed them all some tried-and-true FireClan moves, like the heavy swipe, the feint, the turn-and-rake. Patchkit watched from the edges with rapt attention, trying to mimic each move by himself. She even taught them a few CrookedClan moves before realizing that's what they were. I learned a lot in the Dark Forest, she thought, why not use it?
"Okay, take a break." She padded over to Waiting Falcon and Patchkit while the others sat and cleaned their fur, chattering with each other.
"How's my kit?" Mapledawn purred.
"I wanna be a warrior just like you!" he chirped.
"One day," she said, purring deeper. "You're still too young."
"Mousedung," he said. Waiting Falcon and Mapledawn both broke into laughter at that.
"Do you think they'd take me?" Waiting Falcon asked, his eyes guarded.
"You already look the part," Mapledawn said. You even smell like FireClan, in a way. "They'd take you in a heartbeat."
"I hope so," he said quietly.
"I promise." She licked his cheek and rubbed herself along his flanks, coating him in her scent, and coating herself with his. "I'll make it happen. Patchkit, hungry?"
"Not yet," he mewed. "Wanna watch you fight some more!"
Mapledawn purred. "Gather around!" she yowled. "This is the scent border." She drew a line in the dirt with her paw. "The side with the climbing tree is FireClan. The other side is BlackClan. Mist Shadow, Yew, Pig, you just crossed the scent line and killed a squirrel. Billy, Butter, you're with me, FireClan. You just saw them trespass." The cats lined up on each respective side of the line. "Remember, claws sheathed. You win if you push every rival cat into their territory. FireClan, when you call BlackClan out, they attack!"
"How dare they!" Yew yelped.
"You're BackClan," Mist Shadow reminded him, chuckling.
"Oh, right… BlackClan, attack!" he screeched. "Get 'em!"
Yew jumped into battle with a theatrical leap and a ridiculous ear-splitting screech, the kind only Yew could possibly make.
Good, Yew, Mapledawn thought as she flicked her tail to direct her side of the battle. That'll send BlackClan running screaming to their dens!
"Remember," she called, "play to your strengths! Size up your opponents!"
Not unlike a real battle, each cat ended up squaring off one-on-one with another. Mapledawn got Mist Shadow.
"Show me what you got," Mapledawn murmured, curious to see what the healer could do, and waited for Mist Shadow's attack.
For a moment, neither cat moved. She's waiting, too. Mapledawn nodded. She's like me: patient, reactive. Well, I can be the aggressor. Mapledawn snarled and swiped at Mist Shadow's head; she made the move intentionally slow to give the gray she-cat a chance to counter. Mist Shadow sidestepped the blow and came for Mapledawn's flank. She ducked, slid under Mist Shadow, and pushed up—but not too hard. Mist Shadow suddenly went slack and fell on Mapledawn, crushing her.
"I didn't teach you that," Mapledawn choked out. "Good!" Mist Shadow let her up, grinning.
"Billy," Mapledawn shouted, "switch with me!"
Billy disentangled from Yew, who he'd been wrestling, and hurried to trade places with Mapledawn. So far the battle was anyone's game; everyone was more or less right on the border.
Mapledawn leapt for Yew, who looked up, eyes wide, and rolled to the right. Mapledawn got to her feet and twisted to face him.
"Wait!" Yew mewed. "We're friends, you can't hurt me!"
"You're a BlackClan cat," Mapledawn reminded him. "You hate me. You want to shred me. Attack!"
Yew swiped his paws at her face; first slowly, then picking up speed; Mapledawn countered each one, but they kept coming. Good, she thought. Tire your opponent out. She backed up and reared onto her haunches; Yew dove to swipe at her belly, but she leapt over him, then backed deeper into "BlackClan territory," trying to force him to follow.
Yew bunched up his muscles—then thought better of it and turned away to team up on Butter, who was fighting Pig.
These cats are smart… Okay, time to stop holding back.
Mapledawn snaked between the cats, dealing blows to exposed weak spots, shoving cats off balance, testing to see how they'd respond. Pig, unsurprisingly, had a straight forward attack style; overcome the other cat with his weight and strength. Yew relied mostly on speed and distraction. Butter was fast, but tricky, too. Billy fought with a healthy mix of strength and speed. He had impeccable stamina. And Mist Shadow was patient and thoughtful in her attacks.
Mapledawn was so busy watching and testing each cat, she didn't even notice the "BlackClan" cats had shoved "FireClan" into their side of the border. Woops. Her paws were well within the border, too
"BlackClan wins!" she shouted. The cats fell apart, panting; Pig flopped to the ground and sighed.
"No fair!" Patchkit mewed from the sidelines. "Stinky BlackClan!"
"You all did very well," Mapledawn mewed. "Pig, you're clearly a powerful cat. Try not to leave your weak spots exposed too much. Mist Shadow, don't be afraid to go on the offensive sometimes—but good work. Billy, I saw that right jab. Very precise. And Yew, very clever strategy. Not many cats are so adaptable." She nodded approvingly at the cats. "If you were FireClan cats, well, BlackCan better watch their backs."
"FireClan!" Yew and Pig yowled. "For FireClan!"
"FireClan!" the others shouted.
"Go get some prey and take a rest," she said. She felt warm with pride.
"I asked Lark's Call to hunt," Mist Shadow put in. "She brought back enough for everyone."
"Good thinking," Mapledawn said. "In a Clan, we hunt for the whole Clan, not just ourselves. Eat and rest. You've earned it."
"Thank you, ma'am," said Billy. "I mean, Mapledawn."
Mapledawn went over to Patchkit and his father —well, that's what he is, isn't he?—and flopped down, surprisingly exhausted.
"Nice moves," Waiting Falcon said.
"Yeah! You're a killer!" Patchkit mewed. Mapledawn winced, but let it slide. Patchit suckled while Waiting Falcon licked the tops of her ears.
"About my… visit… the other day," she whispered. Patchkit was too focused on eating to listen, anyway. "I'm wondering what we should do." She flicked her tail tip. "StarClan shouldn't be able to see me here. Unshaken Leaf had to take—" she paused; " the little ones from here to StarClan… Yet they're leading Frecklefang here?" Mapledawn shook her head. "They must know where the Clearpool is, but not be able to see it. Which would give us the advantage—if we knew when they would arrive."
"You spoke about an evil place," Waiting Falcon mewed, "where Mapleshade influenced living cats."
Mapledawn shook her head. "Bloomspirit said these cats were from StarClan," she mewed.
"You're training these new cats to respect StarClan. Worship it, even, from what I understand about the Clans."
"Every Clan," Mapledawn said, "has its rotten cats… And that includes the ancestors." She shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Old enemies and new are coming here to kill me. That puts all of these cats in danger." She cast her gaze west, toward the TallClan moors. "We have to get them ready."