☁ 𝒜𝓈 𝒞𝓁𝑜𝓊𝒹𝓈 𝒞𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝓀𝓎 ☁

Chapter 10

𝒯𝒾𝓃𝓎

~ ✵ ☁ ✵ ~

Tiny lunged at her attacker, striking his flank with an outstretched paw. The light brown and gray tom dodged her attack though, rolling just out of her reach. The tom jumped to his paws, ramming into Tiny while she was distracted and pinned her to the grass.

"You mustn't let yourself get distracted," he told her, letting go of the hold he had on the young she-cat and nudging her to her paws once again. "In the heat of a battle, you have to stay focused!"

Tiny let out a sigh. She wondered if training to be a warrior was any worse than her training to be a member of the Clanless Clowder. Besides battle training, she also had to memorize every herb the clans used as well as hunting and how to keep the clans at peace, or what to do when they weren't.

Why was it her who had to learn it all? She thought back to the two siblings she left behind in her former clan. What if Mistpaw or Keenpaw were chosen instead? Surely, they would be a better fit for such a destiny than she was.

To make things worse, she was the youngest of all of the clowder's apprentices. Fox and Feather were almost done with their training and Badger were getting to that point. But everything she was being taught seemed to go way over her head. She always found her mind wandering when she was practicing battle moves with her mentor, and she always mixed up every herb or plant she was taught, no matter how much the older members tried to engrave it into her mind with imaginary claws.

The only thing she was good at was hunting, and even then, she only caught prey every once in a while. She looked into the bright blue sky, wondering if SpiritClan really thought she was fit to be in the Clowder. What if Lynx had made a mistake?

"Any luck?" A white tom with pinkish-orange markings emerged from the undergrowth that surrounded the training area. He shook himself, sending the leaves and twigs that were caught in his long fur to the ground beneath him. It was Mumble, the clowder's oldest member after Grass.

"She's gotten a little better," Lynx began, though Tiny knew he was lying, "But at least the clowder has yet to engage in battle, so it isn't a priority at the moment."

The apprentice grew hot with shame, her ears drooping slightly. She would be useless to them. She wouldn't be surprised if Lynx refused to pass on his immortality to her once it came time.

"Good. Even a little progress is better than none." He gave Tiny a nod, his pale orange eyes glinting in approval. "Why don't you show me what you've got then?"

Tiny's heart began to race as the tom approached her. He was unusually small and thin, maybe he would be an easier opponent for her. She took a deep breath as Mumble waited for her to make the first move.

She lunged at him, hoping to knock him off balance, but the tom rolled out of the way before she could even reach him. She tumbled to the ground; the air knocked out of her. In almost an instant he had her pinned down and defeated. She underestimated the tom's size. He may be a small cat, but he was fast, especially considering his age.

"Keep practicing," Mumble told her, looking to Lynx as well who was off to the side, watching. "I'd try working on the way you charge into a fight. Most cats will be expecting their opponent to lunge at them, so it's easy for them to move out of the way and catch you off guard." He explained. "Don't fret. Mistakes are meant to be made during training. That's how you learn. You've only just started your training, so there's plenty of time for you to prepare yourself."

He was quick on his paws, but he was also very wise and clearly knew how to speak to a learning apprentice. If only he was my mentor instead. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with Lynx, he just seemed disinterested at times, as if he didn't want any part of the Clowder's apprentices at all. And usually, if she got a move wrong or forgot a property of an herb over and over again, he'd scold her and tell her how worthless she would be to the future of the four clans if she didn't get it right.

I shouldn't blame him though, she thought, remembering that Lynx was kind of an outcast compared to the other three members. He was a last-minute replacement for the last member who betrayed them after all, I'd be mad too.

She was so deep into her thoughts, she hadn't even realized Mumble had left, and Lynx was staring at her, his bright green eyes full of disappointment.

"Why can't you do anything right?" He hissed, his tail lashing behind him. "I bet your littermates would be much more successful."

My progress isn't helping his reputation at all. She didn't say a word, only blinked up at him with emotionless eyes as she always did when he got on to her.

"You can make up for it by hunting. Just catch something, to bring back to the others. I'll meet you in camp." And with that, the tom stalked off.

She let out a sigh. At least she was better at hunting than anything else she was taught. Lynx was right, about everything. How could he not be? He was an advisor for SpiritClan after all. Every Clowder member was once they received their immortality.

She left the training area, sniffing the air around her for any prey scent, but all she could smell was the grass, the leaves, the vegetation that surrounded her. She didn't smell anything, but as she sat there in silence with her nose up to the air, she definitely heard something.

It was a cry of distress, a yowl. The sound had come from another cat, near where she was as she drank the air. She pricked her ears, following the sound. It wasn't prey, but she was going to be a member of the Clanless Clowder someday. It was her duty to help any cat in need. So that was what she would do.