Heart Of A Fighter (Book 4): Magic In The Valley

Chapter 7: Take To The Sky

Wren breathed deeply as she followed her clan up the cliff, the two Search-And-Rescue Colony members Snap Hawk and Lithe Brook guiding them. They moved in sync, their tails swaying together in a hypnotic rhythm.

It had been two days after the encounter with the hostile Golden Rose Cult cats, and by now the higher-ups had taken the rest of BlazeClan to earn their wings as the Elemental Circle had decided now was time that BlazeClan finally learned the ways of the sky.

The other apprentices had been assessed too, and were waiting their pending mentors and new apprenticeships that day. Though, the news about their testing wasn't all good from what Wren heard from the other apprentices' giggles.

Trickle and Shrike had told the whole apprentice nest that the Starpaws had all fared badly in most of the tests while most of the Titanpaws' cockiness was short-lived when they failed at sparring with Flurry tremendously.

Wren supposed she shouldn't be surprised by that fact. Brute strength and impulsive attacks were useless against moons of honing agility and tactical skills; a feat that it was clear the Titanpaws had yet to learn.

While they were still free though, Glacier Storm had ordered them to follow Lithe Brook and Snap Hawk to the Flight Peak to practice flying.

It was to build up their wing muscles and prepare them for sky battles or navigation class in the future, and it made sense since what would a pair of wings be for if one didn't use them?

As they were gathered at the top of the cliffside, Snap Hawk carefully eased Wren over to her side before she turned to the rest of BlazeClan to speak. "Since this is your first flight, we need a demonstration so you have a brief idea of what it is like, so Wren, could you-"

But before Lithe Brook could even finish her sentence, Swanpaw suddenly jumped up excitedly and butted in, "Oh! I can demonstrate! I'm the best!"

And of course, her sister just had to try and show off to prove she was still the better sister.

Snap Hawk and Lithe Brook gave her incredulous stares. "We need someone with actual experience, not a cat who just earned their wings a few days ago," Snap Hawk groaned, disdain clear in his tone.

But of course, her stubborn sister just wouldn't listen, eager to show off to put her down.

"I don't even need training!" Swanpaw bragged, as she spread her soft white wings wide open. "I'm better than her in every way, so obviously I'll be better than her at flying without any training!"

Azurestar ducked his head, looking extremely embarrassed and Swanpaw's mentor Floralstreak immediately looked away in humiliation. "She has to realise no one will think she's mute if she doesn't talk, right?" Thornslash hissed softly to Elmriver, who shrugged.

"Yes! She's better than her sister anyway, so why even bother with training? She'll obviously beat every cat!" Boasted Dovetail, shooting a discreet glare at Wren full of hate. Beside her, Sagethroat and Minkstripe cringed.

The cream and brown heiress chose to inch away towards Snap Hawk and ignore her mother the best she could. The two tribe cats on the other hand, glanced at each other, their faces masked with expressions Wren couldn't quite put her paw on.

"Alright, prove it then," Lithe Brook finally grunted with a lash of her tail and stepped aside. "Show me that you can really fly better than Princess Wren."

With a prideful smirk, Swanpaw spread open her wings even further and started to flap them vigorously, only for Snap Hawk to swipe his claws at her wings, prompting her to snap them shut immediately.