Warriors: Hidden Secrets - Blood Moon

Chapter 12

Rainpaw pounced, landing in the pile of snow where the fluffy tail of a squirrel had been moments before. By the time he landed the squirrel had escaped up a tree and was now out of sight. "Fox-dung," He said under his breath, turning back to his mentor.

"That's alright," Redwhisker said encouragingly. "It's hard not to alert your prey in the snow sometimes. What's important is if you learn from this experience, if you could try again what would you do differently?"

"Catch the squirrel," Rainpaw muttered, still disappointed. The snow had been falling almost nonstop for half a moon, and the clan was having trouble finding prey in the thick snow.

"Rainpaw, don't be difficult," Redwhisker sighed. "You seemed off-balance, making it easier to detect your jump. The squirrel heard you push off the ground and ran up the tree. If you were paying attention, you landed crooked, which would have made it difficult to take the final kill."

"Okay," Rainpaw said, so they could continue. Unlike his sister, he disliked hunting. He had no trouble finding the prey, but catching it was harder. He had an easier time when there was no snow on the ground.

"I know what might warm your muscles," Redwhisker said, turning into the forest. Rainpaw followed him and noticed that they were heading towards the Training Clearing. "All you need to do is try your best."

"Are we doing battle training? Can we learn a new move?" Rainpaw asked, his energy building. He loved training for battle, hoping that one day he could use his skills to protect the clan. His energy stalled as he saw Spottedpaw and her mentor Emberfoot waiting in the clearing.

"Good, we can begin now," Emberfoot said, walking towards Rainpaw. "Now, I know she is older than you and more experienced, but it's good practice for when you have to fight an older warrior during a battle."

"She'll rip me to pieces!" Rainpaw complained, turning to Redwhisker. "Do I have to fight, or just defend?"

"That's up to you," Redwhisker explained. "Just be ready, it's just practice, remember?" The two mentors positioned themselves on either side of the clearing, so they could watch the fight.

"Ready to get crushed?" Spottedpaw snarled, positioning herself in a good position to spring at Rainpaw. Expecting the move, Rainpaw jumped out of the way as Spottedpaw sprang, watching her land in the dirt beside him.

Taking the chance, Rainpaw moved his body and rammed into her, making her off balance. He jumped onto her back and pinned her to the ground. Rainpaw knew it couldn't be that easy as he felt Spottedpaw grow limp under his paws.

"I know that one," Rainpaw said, remembering Redwisker telling him to become limp if someone pinned him down. Rainpaw stayed positioned on Spottedpaw's side, never losing his grip. His muscles were too tight and he didn't have time to react when Spottedpaw suddenly swiped at him, knocking him off.

Quickly getting back up he looked for Spottedpaw, who had positioned herself onto the other side of the clearing. She started running toward him and Rainpaw's first reaction was to run. He turned around and went a few paw steps before stopping. Turning around again he was too late to react to Spottedpaw's paw swipe and was knocked to the ground.

Rainpaw grunted as he felt Spottedpaw jump on top of him, raking her paws down his side. He was glad her claws were in as he felt her press into his side. Ranpaw tried to move, but as he did so Spottedpaw put her paw on his shoulder, pressing down hard.

Suddenly, there was a yowl and Spottedpaw's weight was taken off of him. Getting out of the dirt Rainpaw noticed Dewpaw fighting a surprised Spottedpaw. Strengthened, Rainpaw leaped forward and bit Spottedpaw's leg, not hard enough to draw blood, but enough to get Spottedpaw's attention.