Warriors: A New Hope

Chapter Seven

“Watch out!” Yelped Bramblestar before flinching. He opened his bright amber eyes only to see his apprentice sprawled out on the floor, her legs still kicking. He let out a purr of amusement as she got back on her feet and stumbled around. The pale lights of dusk dappled the ground as it seeped its way through the treetops. The tinted leaves above were beginning to fall more and more with each passing moment; it wasn’t long before leaf-bare would arrive. A cold breeze ruffled the two cat’s fur as they walked. Bramblestar had decided to begin battle training Shadowpaw before anything else, incase ShadowClan is planning to invade again. He highly doubted that, though, since StarClan themselves had told Blackstar that it wasn’t right to attack them when his own Clan was so weak. “Watch where you’re going next time, stupid fur ball!” He teasingly mewed to his apprentice, only to receive a pounce for a comeback.

Three weeks had passed since the invasion of ShadowClan; Bramblestar had delayed her training because in the battle she had sprained her left hind paw, and Jayfeather had told her she couldn’t put pressure on it at all until it had fully healed.  She got the okay from him, and the first thing she did was ask Bramblestar for some training. Her blue eyes shone with pride as she toppled over him, a strong sense of power surging through her. “Show me how to do the ducking thing one more time. I think I’m starting to get the hang of it.”

He ducked down, pressing his belly against the ground. He acted as if another cat was directly above him, and kicked up with his hind legs. He flipped over on his back, and began to claw viciously at the air with his front paws. “Never leave your belly exposed too long.” He warned her, “The enemy will take advantage of the position and rake his claws over your belly. Alright, try it on me. And keep your claws sheathed this time.” He looked at his side, which had a light scratch over it.

“Okay.” A heartbeat later, he charged full speed at her, his brown fun plastered back. She braced herself and ducked under him as he flew overhead; she reared up and knocked him off balance, causing him to fall sideways. She battered his nose, causing him to sneeze. As he did, he stumbled backwards and fell into a thorn bush. He let out an ear-piercing squeal as he rose up, showing that he had numerous thorns stuck in tail and rump. “Ouch! Get them out!” He yelped.

Shadowpaw laughed. She couldn’t remember the time when she last laughed so hard that her eyes began watering. She snorted, padded over to him, and began examining the thorns. “Be still.” Three weeks in the medicine den did her good; she knew all of the basic herbs, and how to remove thorns. She herself has even trodden on one before. The pain was horrific for just a thorn no larger than the tip of a claw. She wrapped her teeth around one, gently pulling it out. A bit of blood began welling up, so she licked it off and held her paw on it. A heartbeat later she began pulling another one out, and before she knew it, they were all out. She picked a marigold leaf off and began chewing it into a poultice. As she began smearing it on, she realized how much she felt like Jayfeather at the moment. Is this the feeling of being a medicine cat? She wondered, a tiny spark of joy hitting her. It faded a second later. But I’d hate to be a medicine cat. You always smell like herbs and are constantly working around sick cats. She frowned. How does Jayfeather stand it, especially since he is blind?

“Thanks, Shadowpaw. It feels much better now.” His warm praise was returned with a purr of thanks. “We should be getting back to camp. The sun has set, and the moon is beginning to rise.” They walked side-by-side the entire way back, tiredness over taking Bramblestar’s body. They padded into the camp silently incase others were sleeping. “Go get some rest. We’ll train some more tomorrow.” Without another word, he stalked over to the warrior’s den and plopped himself down with a tired yawn.

As she was on her way to the apprentice’s den, a voice called her name. She looked around, only to see that the space surrounding her was empty. Oh gosh, I hope I’m not beginning to hallucinate now. The voice called her again, this time more clear. It was only Sandstorm calling her over to join her hunting patrol. A wave of relief flooded over her, causing her to sigh. It was only Sandstorm. She trotted up to the patrol, and realized that Scorchpaw was joining them. Oh no, not this stupid flea-brain! She hated him. Absolutely hated him. He was one of those who are just so irritating that you want to stuff leaves in your ears, let alone the fact that he picks on her because of her tails. Sometimes she won’t even sleep in the apprentices den if he was in there. Now she was stuck on a hunting patrol with him. Great.