Willowbounce's Tale

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

    Icepaw woke early that morning. All his denmates were still asleep, so he thought he would go out for a walk. He stretched as he came out of the den, now that there was room in the open air. Icepaw thought about yesterday with sadness as he remembered how he didn't finish speaking to Willowpaw. I guess I'll tell her another time, but it was perfect! The sunlight was resting on her light gray fur, the white slightly orange from the sun rays. Her eyes shining...Icepaw snapped out of his daze when he realized how much he was blushing. He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. Right, I'll tell her another time. He dismissed himself. As Icepaw walked towards the tunnel, he waved his tail in greeting to the warriors who had sat vigil all night.
    "Going for an early walk Icepaw?" Lightwing said. He had been guarding the tunnel overnight.
    "Yep! I'll catch some prey if I can find any." Icepaw said. When he reached the entrance that opened up to the broad forest, Icepaw took a deep breath, letting the cool forest air fill his lungs. He began to pad in the direction of the Windclan border, passing in and out of rays of warm new leaf sunshine. One day, Willowpaw and I will walk through these woods side by side, as mates. He thought dreamily. Soon he came to the Windclan border, which was a quiet trickling stream. He watched the sunlight gently dance across the water as it trickled downstream towards the lake. The sun also touched his fur, giving it a gentle yellow tint. He walked up stream until he came across a willow tree. He padded up to it, letting it's long, leafy tendrils gently blow against his fur. He sniffed at the buds that were forming on the branches. They would soon form beautiful flowers among the leaves. There was something peaceful about this willow tree. Icepaw suddenly got an idea. I'll bring Willowpaw here, yes, this is the spot! Away from everyone else. Just me and her, at sunset..It'll be perfect.. He thought.
With that thought, Icepaw turned back towards camp and began to pad through the trees. He remembered that he said he would catch prey. So Icepaw scented the air, looking for any signs of a bird eating seeds or a mouse scuttling in the dead leaves. Nothing. Icepaw kept padding on, maybe there would be prey elsewhere.
He was almost to camp when he saw a thrush pecking at the ground. He dropped into the hunters crouch and silently stalked towards it. When he was a tail length away, Icepaw pounced and dispatched it with a swift bite to its neck. A few of its speckled gray feathers fell to the ground. Hm, reminds me of Birdpaw..Icepaw thought with a chuckle. He wouldn't actually hurt him, at the very least swipe at the tom if he tried something. Icepaw didn't want to hurt anyone if he didn't have to. It's in the warrior code. An honorable warrior does not need to kill to win his battles. And plus, sometimes words can speak louder than actions. Icepaw padded into camp, looking around he saw most of his clanmates were awake. Strongstripe was getting ready to send out the morning patrols. He waved his tail in greeting to Willowpaw as he padded by her to the freshkill pile. She waved hers back at him with a sweet smile on her face. Icepaw smiled to himself as he put his catch down on the pile. I should look for Blackwing, today we're supposed to work on battle training. He thought. Icepaw quickly spotted the black furred warrior. As he approached, his mentor turned to face him.
"Oh good, Icepaw. You're here. Today we will be working on battle training with your fellow apprentices Direpaw and Fawnpaw." Blackwing said. Inside, Icepaw felt disappointment. Why in the name of Starclan do I have to train with Direpaw...At least Fawnpaw isn't annoying like him. Direpaw padded up to Icepaw with his sister beside him.
"Ready to fail?" He said. Icepaw kept a calm look on his face and said, "Indeed, you are." Direpaw glared at him. Icepaw smiled slyly. He saw Fawnpaw chuckle behind her brother.
"Right, lets go." Blackwing said. He padded out of camp with Icepaw and the other two apprentices trailing behind.

Soon Icepaw and his group reached the training hollow. There was no one else there besides them.
"Icepaw, since you're the oldest we'll begin with you. Try to attack me and knock me over." Blackwing said, padding in front of him. Direpaw and Fawnpaw sat at the edge of the clearing, watching. Icepaw waited for his mentor to nod to him signaling when it was ok to go. Once he did, Icepaw darted to the left, then the right. His mentor looked a bit confused but kept a close eye on his movements. Icepaw leapt onto the tom's side, grappling at his ears as he balanced on his back. Blackwing attempted to throw him off but failed. Icepaw managed to grab one of his mentors front legs mid air, causing him to fall to the sand. He pushed his mentors hips down into the sand and stood over him in triumph.
"Well done, Icepaw. It seems you have a knack for fighting, huh?" Blackwing said, taking short pants in his words. Icepaw glowed with pride. Most apprentices were not able to knock their mentors down on the first try, but Icepaw was different.
"Direpaw, your next." Blackwing said, waving with his tail for the tom to come over. He got up and headed in his direction. Icepaw trotted to the edge to take his spot. He watched as Direpaw lowered himself to the ground and attempted to run up to the warrior. At the last second, Direpaw leaped up in front of him, attempting to get on top of him. But Blackwing was quicker. His mentor swiped at Direpaws belly, knocking him out of the air and crashing to the ground. He got up quickly, frustration glinting in his yellow eyes. He charged at Blackwing again, this time running around the back of the warrior. He dove at his back paws, swiping and knocking the tom off balance. He was obviously having a harder time with the warrior. Blackwing spun around and quickly pinned Direpaw to the ground. He struggled for a moment but then gave in.
"Nice try Direpaw, I'll tell your mentor you need to work on your fighting techniques." Blackwing said. Icepaw heard Direpaw scoff in frustration. As Direpaw returned to the edge to take Fawnpaw's spot, Icepaw saw him glare at him. Icepaw didn't react, just stared at him. Direpaw sat down a tail length from Icepaw, probably annoyed with him. Icepaw watched Fawnpaw take her turn. He waited patiently for her to finish, wanting to get to the actual lesson.