Through the Dark

Chapter Seven

Leafpaw shuffled her paws nervously before walking up to Emberleaf and Brightlight. What should I say? she questioned herself frantically. I don't want to make a fool of myself, but I don't just want to stay silent either...

She decided on just a simple "Hi." Always a great way to start a conversation. "Uh, hello," Emberleaf replied curtly, her gaze sharply running over Leafpaw. The tension between them was so strong that Brightlight began to feel

uncomfortable. "Well, I gotta go organize my herbs. See you later, Emberleaf." She briskly took off towards her den.

"What do you want, Leafpaw?" Emberleaf growled. "I don't exactly have time to talk with an amateur like you."

An amateur!?!?!?!? Leafpaw thought.

"Okay, look-" she started angrily.

Calm down, she thought to herself, cutting off her sentence. Emberleaf's just trying

to ruffle your fur to get the temper tantrum reaction she wants. Don't satisfy her.

"-I know I'm an amateur compared to your job as deputy, but you're also my mentor," Leafpaw went on in a more kinder tone. "And mentors are supposed to teach their apprentices hunting, fighting, whatever. Aren't they?"

"I suppose," Emberleaf muttered, glancing at Leafpaw strangely. "To the training hollow. Let's see what you've got."

Now that Leafpaw had confronted her own fear of facing her mentor, she could enjoy the cool Newleaf breeze that rushed through her fur, the birds chirping in the morning air, and the soaking of her feet from the grass coated in dew.

"This is incredible," Leafpaw murmured. "Being an apprentice is amazing!!"

"Not for long, for you," Emberleaf muttered sourly as they arrived at the sandy training hollow.

Darkstar was crouching there, churning sand with his paws. When Emberleaf and Leafpaw entered, he whirled around to face them.

"Darkstar," Emberleaf greeted, dipping her head. Leafpaw copied her example. "Hello," Darkstar responded curtly. He looked at Leafpaw. "Training?"

Leafpaw nodded.

"Just seeing what she can do," Emberleaf added. "Which, I assume, is not much."

Darkstar shrugged. "You may be right." He looked at his paws. "Well, I probably have to go now."

"Why? Don't you want to see Leafpaw train?"

"I have errands to do, Emberlight," Darkstar said coldly, slipping past mentor and apprentice back to camp.

"Why was he in the training hollow in the first place?" Leafpaw wondered out loud once the leader was out of earshot.

"And who are you to question that?" Emberlight shot back. "Show me your hunting position, Leafpaw, and make it good."

Leafpaw's ears flattened in concentration as she pictured what a good hunting position looked like. Her mother had shown her it when she was still in the nursery, but she couldn't really remember.

"Quickly, I don't have all day!" Emberlight snapped.

"I need some time to think though," Leafpaw protested.

Emberlight rolled her eyes. "You don't need to think. It came naturally for me." "Maybe some cats are different."

Yeah, ones that have kittypet heritage, Emberlight thought.

She watched as Leafpaw attempted a hunting crouch but failed miserably. "That is seriously the most horrible hunting position I have ever seen,"

Emberlight snapped. "Leafpaw" - she stalked over to her apprentice and forcefully shoved her swaying tail down onto the ground - "you're going to be easily seen with your tail waving in the wind like that. Mice aren't blind, you know."