Bright Forest

Chapter 13

The following morning wasn't tough at all: Rustpaw went to take some herbs with Marigold while cleaning a bunch of nests and checking warriors for ticks.

He didn't talk to Glistenfall that morning, but Poolspring already told him what to do. He didn't tell him who he was going to train with, and he impatiently waited all day.

He also felt very bored, as Spottedpaw was pretty busy with Rainingbud, but he'd take care of Flakekit if she would ever become that big of a problem: he taught her how to crouch and a leap attack. She immediately started practicing them on the apprentice, who tried to be easy on the kitten. "This would be a great workout for later!" he said to himself.

Finally, Sun High arrived and the patrols finally returned.

Rustpaw was sitting in the shade of the bramble patch as he ate a mouse. He walked towards Glistenfall.

-Good day, Rustpaw!- she mewed.

-Uh, hi... I was wondering who's gonna take me to the training hollow later?

-Oh right! Deerleap will take you two and watch you.

Rustpaw stopped:-"You two"?

Glistenfall laughed:-Oh right... Branchpaw's coming as well.

Suddenly he felt heavy:-Oh...

His mentor put her tail on his shoulder:-Don't worry. She'll be there in case of any trouble. She's his sister after all, she knows how to deal with him!

The ginger apprentice looked up at her:-Yeah, yeah...

-If anything happens, feel free to tell me or Deerleap. We're here for you!- she reassured him.

He nodded an agreement and returned to the shady patch. "Oh golly, I have to fight him again..."

The tom curled up and tried to find him: Branchpaw just came out of the apprentices' den and walked to the medicine den.

"I have a strong feeling that something bad is going to happen today."

He rested his chin on his paw and sighed. The air was tense. Something felt wrong. After a while the other patrols went out and Deerleap reached him.

-Okay Rustpaw. Are you ready to go?

He stood up, feeling a bit worried:-Pretty much.

-Nice. I'll go get Branchpaw.

While the warrior went to him, the other apprentice sat near the camp exit.

Deerleap returned, with Branchpaw alongside her. -Let's go!

As they walked through the forest, Rustpaw could see the trees changing: their green leaves were getting more and more thick, and it was finally nice to have some warm breeze.

When they arrived, a crow who was hanging out in the clearing flew away.

Deerleap looked at it for a moment:-Ah, could've been a nice catch... anyway, let's get to training!

The two of them looked at each other: Rustpaw suddenly felt fear, while Branchpaw was giving him an impassable look. He seemed to have no emotion, except a small dash of disamusement.

Deerleap jumped on the flat rock and mewed:-Rustpaw, you try to attack Branchpaw. Let's see what you two can do.

Rustpaw crouched down: he looked at him, then looked at his tail as a trick to actually attack the rest of his body. He walked sideways, then leaped.

Branchpaw dodged that, but Rustpaw had a grip on his shoulders, and he made him collapse on the sandy ground. Branchpaw swiftly pushed him away and ran towards a side of the clearing, and Rustpaw started chasing after him.