The Barn Cat

Chapter Three

"Remember to shove with all your strength Ivypaw." The black tom with a white stripe down his back pushed with all his force to shove the light-brown tabby she-cat off of him. The she-cat flung backward, and the Ivypaw jumped to his paws and charged at her. He reached out with his white toes before she could move out of the way and pushed her onto her back. He put both his front paws on her front legs so she couldn't move, and put one of his back paws on her belly and left the other one on her back right leg. "Well done, Ivypaw," the dark orange tabby tom with a lighter underbelly called, staring at his apprentice with satisfaction. Ivypaw got off of the she-cat, and padded over to join his mentor, Blazestorm. "What could you have done, Fawnpaw?" The white tom with brown, tabby patches and a torn ear asked the she-cat. "I could have reacted faster and jumped out of the way before Ivypaw could land on me," Fawnpaw mewed as she trotted over to join her mentor. The tom nodded, "next time you can try that." "Jaggedscar and I decided thats enough training for today," Blazestorm mewed, "let's go back to camp and you can pick out pieces of prey." Ivypaw stomach agreed with that, and he walked next Blazestorm as they padded back to camp.

"Ivypaw," a black tom with white paws and tail tip came trotting over to him, his blue eyes curious. "How did you do today?" Ivypaw felt embarrassment, his father did this every time he came back from training. "I think I did good," Ivypaw mewed, licking his chest, "why not ask Blazestorm instead of me? He's my mentor." "Because I want to know how you think you did. As long as you know you're trying your best, thats all that matters," his father's mew rang through the camp, making some of his clanmates flash him mocking eyes. Ivypaw looked at his paws, his father had been like this since he was a kit. He was always so pushy and nosy about Ivypaw's life. He assumed it was because Ivypaw's mother, Littlesong, had died while kitting Ivypaw and his siblings, Blackkit and Berrykit, and he had to be nursed by Fawnpaw's mother, Snowpool, who also acted like a mother for him. Sometimes Ivypaw didn't understand why his father needed to know everything about him, but some of his clanmates explained that it was because he was always worried about Ivypaw. "He did great today, Duskfeather," Blazestorm mewed, sending a sideways glance to Ivypaw. He must have seen how embarressed Ivypaw was. "Good," Duskfeather nodded, "are you going to eat, Ivypaw?" "I was going to eat with Fawnpaw," Ivypaw hoped he could escape his father's embarrassing presence for tonight. "Good idea, go ahead and pick out a piece of prey and join her, Ivypaw." Blazestorm mewed fast so that Duskfeather had no time to argue. Ivypaw sent him a relieved glance, then turned and padded away to the prey-pile. He grabbed a mouse for himself, his appetite was no longer as big as it was when he was hunting.

He padded over to Fawnpaw and laid next to her. "Hiding from Blazestorm again?" Fawnpaw mewed, then took another bite out of her vole. "He's just so embarrassing," Ivypaw muttered, then took a bite out of his mouse. His mouth watering with the fresh taste of blood. "I don't think he's embarrassing. It shows how much he cares about you, and it wouldn't kill you to let him know you're thankful for his worries," Fawnpaw grunted. "Thank him? It's like he's attached himself to my back and is slowly drinking my blood out with all his 'worries' and questions," Ivypaw meowed, irritated with his father's behavior. "He's only worried because of how much he cares for you, Ivypaw. It shows how much he loves you, and you should be grateful for having such a great father who loves you so much that he worries about you all the time. He is just worried he's going to lose you like he lost Littlesong. You need to stop being a stuck-up fur-ball and let him know how much you care about him." Fawnpaw picked up what was left of her vole and brought it outside camp. Ivypaw watched her, shocked by how furious she was. He flicked his tail with irritation, how could she tell him what his father was doing? Duskfeather is Ivypaw's father, not Fawnpaws. If he was Fawnpaws father she would be sick of his attitude too. Ivypaw waited for Fawnpaw to return before he grabbed the remains of his mouse to carry it outside camp and bury it. He padded back in, surprise hit him lick a rock when he saw Fawnpaw speaking to Duskfeather. Who would want to talk to him?