☁ 𝒜𝓈 𝒞𝓁𝑜𝓊𝒹𝓈 𝒞𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝓀𝓎 ☁

Chapter 17

𝒦𝑒𝑒𝓃𝓅𝒶𝓌

~ ✵ ☁ ✵ ~

Ever since his ominous dream, he felt so vulnerable, as if at any moment, the sky would darken and something would come to harm his clan. The words of Breezestar kept echoing in his mind, and it felt impossible to focus on anything.

Beware the clouds that cover the sky, Keenpaw. He found himself glancing up at the sky at every moment, watching for any sign of clouds obscuring the sky above him, but nothing was there. The sky was bright blue and clear. There wasn't a cloud in sight.

The sun beat down on him as he and Mistpaw practiced their combat skills in the soft muddy patch that marked their battle training grounds. Off to the side, their mentors Heronclaw and Shiningsoul stood, watching them through narrowed eyes.

Mistpaw struck out at him first, landing a powerful blow at him with one of her white forepaws. He stumbled for a moment before shaking himself and lunging at his opponent. He slammed into her, knocking the she-cat to the ground and sending the both of them tumbling. He felt thick, sticky, mud splash against his pelt, clinging to every one of his silver furs. But by now, he had participated in enough battle training sessions that he was used to it.

Keenpaw felt his paws slip as he tried to pin his sister down and Mistpaw was able to retaliate with astonishing speed, throwing him off of her. He stumbled, skidding on the wet mud beneath him and eventually falling. Mistpaw took the opportunity to pin him down, placing a paw on his neck as if to let him know she was a capable warrior.

"Nicely done, Mistpaw!" Her mentor praised, padding toward them with pride shining in her blue eyes. "I just know you'll be a great warrior of StreamClan one day. Maybe you'll even reach the position of a leader."

"You really think I could be a leader?" Mistpaw questioned, her shining eyes wide. Heronclaw nodded in reply.

"You'd be an excellent candidate." Shiningsoul agreed. "If you think you could take the responsibility, you could work toward such a goal." He looked to his own apprentice. "You as well, Keenpaw. You both will make excellent warriors for our clan."

Keenpaw tried to imagine himself as a leader. Perhaps he would make the Clanless Clowder let Tiny back into StreamClan. Or maybe he could convince the other clans that the Clowder isn't even needed at all.

The whole group sounded mouse-brained to him. How come each clan couldn't have their own cat to speak to SpiritClan and mediate the clans? Then they could take on an apprentice as usual. There was no point in splitting them up from all of the clans.

Even if he didn't become a leader of his clan one day, he was still determined to get his sister back. Who cared that she was a part of some destiny? She should have the chance to forge her own path, to determine her own fate. Prophecies are mouse-brained anyways. He thought to himself, and the odd message resurfaced in his mind once again.

Beware the clouds that cover the sky. But he shoved it in the back of his brain. Hopefully the sky would stay bright and sunny and he wouldn't have to worry about some unknown and dangerous threat.

Keenpaw shook himself, glancing subconsciously at the sky. Still the same shade of vibrant blue, as it had been since the sun had risen.

The tom let out a sigh and tried to refocus his mind, letting his gaze rest on Mistpaw. He readied himself to spring at her again, feeling the muscles in his legs surge as he prepared to pounce. The she-cat did the same, but rather than positioning herself to attack Keenpaw, she seemed to be analyzing his stance with her yellow eyes as if trying to predict what the tom was going to do.

He lunged in a swift motion, but she had been expecting him to make such a move and she easily dodged his flailing paws. Keenpaw clawed at empty air before he was sent tumbling into the mud. The splash sent thick, brown sludge toward Mistpaw, distracting the she-cat momentarily as it clung to her gray and white fur.

She shook herself, giving Keenpaw the chance to spring at her again. The tom barreled into the she-cat while she was distracted with her muddied pelt and knocked her down. He was able to pin her for just a moment before his paws slipped and Mistpaw rolled away from her attacker.

Mistpaw let out an irritated hiss. "Why don't we ever practice somewhere dryer? I hate having to clean my pelt after training. It takes forever to get all of this mud out." She rolled her eyes.

Keenpaw took that opportunity to lunge at her again, getting a better grip on her this time and succeeding to pin her down.

"Nicely done, Keenpaw." His mentor purred from beside the muddy training area.

"Thank you." The apprentice replied with a grateful nod before releasing his hold on Mistpaw.

"I think it's about time we wrap up this training session." Heronclaw meowed, with a glance at Shiningsoul who nodded his agreement.

As the two mentors strode ahead, Keenpaw found Mistpaw trailing behind a few pawsteps and slowed to fall in step with her.

"You let me do that, didn't you?" He asked her, referring to the previous session when she had been distracted.

"How'd you know?" She asked, swiping at his ear with a paw, but Keenpaw dodged, ducking his head. Amusement glittered in her eyes. "Oh, come on, I let you defeat me, can I at least swipe your ear?" She let out a laugh. "You deserve it after all, mouse-brain." Her throat vibrated as she purred.

"You're too slow." He replied. They both walked in silence for a few moments until finally, Keenpaw gathered enough courage to say, "Thanks for letting me win that. I've been a bit distracted with training lately." He admitted.

"Is it about Tiny again?" She asked. "I know you miss her, Keenpaw, but you should also be proud of her. She's set to accomplish so much in the clans. So many cats will rely on her once she becomes a full member of the Clanless Clowder."

Keenpaw found himself glancing at the sky again, just for a moment, before returning his focus to his sister. He nodded, knowing very well it wasn't the entire truth. But he didn't want to worry her with the ominous message he had received.

"I'm just worried about her. What if the destiny planned for her isn't what she wants? What if she wants to become a warrior like us?" He asked.

"Keenpaw..." Her voice trailed off for just a heartbeat before she sighed and picked up her sentence. "You and I both know she can't become a warrior. SpiritClan chose her for a reason. She must be the most capable young cat out of everyone else." As they neared the camp entrance, Mistpaw reminded him in a soft tone of voice, "Be proud of her. That's all we can do right now."

And Keenpaw, although he didn't want to accept it, knew it was true. He was just an apprentice. All he could do for his sister was feel proud of her and encourage her, even if she couldn't see them doing so.