Stupid stinki cat story meowww

2 - Elk

Elk had just settled himself when he heard his name hissed from outside the den.  He glanced to his denmates who simply shrugged or looked away, leaving him to fend for himself.  Groaning, he got to his paws and walked out.  "Feather told me to take you for training."  Elk could see a twitch of disgust in Mist's face as he spoke.  "Alright."  He mewed unenthusiastically.  Mist twitched his whiskers and turned to walk toward the camp entrance and Elk followed obediently.  Once out in the snow, Elk fluffed up his fur against the cold and made sure to follow in Mist's tracks to avoid getting frozen and soaked like earlier.

The two toms eventually came to a clearing where the snow was packed down to a slippery, hard surface.  Mist lead the way down into the center and turned to Elk, sitting down.  "We're going to practice battle moves."  He meowed.  "You must be prepared to fight at any moment.  Foxes, dogs-"

"And even outside cats."  Elk cut off his mentor.  "Yes, you've said this before, every time, and yet you always seem to forget about Feather's parents, or that weird guy in East Camp that Jackdaw likes."  He made eye contact with Mist after he finished speaking and realized he should have held his tongue as he saw the bared teeth and flattened ears that faced him.  A flash of a white and grey striped paw sent Elk to the cold ground as Mist struck him on the ear, making it ring.

"You're just as argumentative as your father."  Mist hissed quietly.  Elk had to keep himself from responding to the comment as he staggered to his paws and shook himself.

Mist took a breath in and flattened his hackles, clearly trying to control his anger.  "Now if you'll pay attention for once, I can show you a move or two.  You clearly need it."  He meowed, flicking the paw he'd swiped at Elk.  "Crouch.  Now-  No! Not like that!  Who told you to do it like that?"

Elk had crouched, and he thought he'd done it well, but now he had to tolerate Mist prodding him into a 'better' crouch.  Finally, Mist stepped away from him.  "Now, you're going to leap at me."

"Then what?"  Elk asked.

"Just do it."  Mist meowed his response, seeming too calm.

As Elk was just about to jump, Mist was faster.  A flash of terror coursed through him as the weight of Mist landed on him.  His legs splayed out, unable to bear the weight.  Mist's white paws covered his eyes, hitting him harder than he probably should have in a training session, causing Elk's vision to go grey and have a bunch of squiggly lines that reminded him of worms and mouse tails.  Mist had his teeth fastened in Elk's scruff, and Elk went limp.  Elk felt Mist step off of him as his vision started to clear.  He heard Mist let out a snort of triumph as he released Elk's scruff.  Slowly, Elk got to his paws, feeling humiliated...yet stubborn.  He took a few steps away from Mist, who had turned his back and was rambling about something that Elk quite frankly did not care about.  He forced his hackles flat, glanced at the ground, then to Mist.  No...ground, Mist, ground.  He felt a growl rise in his throat and he was suddenly flying through the air toward his mentor.  He rammed into the larger cat with enough speed to knock him over.  Mist let out a shocked shriek, then grabbed Elk and rolled with him.  Elk found himself pinned, with Mist's paw on his throat.  He could feel the points of claws holding him down, but Mist wasn't looking at him.

When the blind rage faded, he realized Mist was talking, and the paw on his throat lifted.  Elk rolled to his paws, feeling hot with shame that he'd just attacked his mentor.  He looked up the slope towards whoever it was that Mist was talking to, and saw Twig, a scrawny brown tabby that lived with them in North Camp.  "I heard a shriek and came over and saw you two fighting, just making sure you're alright."  The tom's voice was nervous, like he knew something was up.

"No, no.  We're fine here.  Just a training session."  Mist fixed Elk with a gaze that dared him to say otherwise.

Elk simply blinked, and stayed silent, staring at Twig.

"Alright...uh...Maybe you two should come back to camp.  I- I know you've not been out long, but there's a storm rolling in and uh..."  Twig's voice trailed off.  It was clear he knew that the friendly tussle wasn't very friendly.

Mist nodded.  "We'll be right there."  As Twig scurried off, Mist turned to Elk.  "One word about this and you'll spend the next moon with Spider."  And with that, he turned and followed Twig.  Elk waited a while before following.

He lagged behind the entire walk home, and headed right back to his den once there, taking a glance at Mist taking the last piece of prey, a shrew that was skin and bone.  He curled up into his nest and looked at a snow covered trainee who was cleaning himself off.  "I don't know why you don't just ask Feather for a new mentor."  He mewed between licks.

Elk drew a paw over his sore ear and checked it to make sure he wasn't bleeding.  "Oh, yes, what a wonderful plan, Fox.  I'm sure Mist wouldn't hate that.  And who would I get as a replacement?  The poppy addict, or the only cat trained to torture another with his voice alone?"

Fox barked a laugh at Elk's statement.  "Toad's not that bad so long as he's got a few seeds lying around, but you're absolutely correct about Spider."

Elk laid his head on his paws, sniffing with amusement.  A sudden exhaustion crashed over him like an avalanche.  He was sore from his trek through the snow and his ear throbbed, and...and...

His eyes drifted shut and sleep engulfed him in it's warm embrace.