Warriors Super Edition: Starlingcloud's Prophecy

Chapter 2

"Try again when you're ready," Larkpaw meowed, calmly grooming his fur. He sat across from her in the dusty clearing on top of the cliff that hugged the DawnClan camp. The sun was setting and light had begun to drain from the forest. Starlingpaw was breathing heavy and her fur was messy from the relentless training Larkpaw was putting her through. Without fail, he had dodged or countered every single attack she had thrown at him. It felt unfair that a cat born in the same litter as she was infinitely more capable.

Growling with frustration, she leaped into the air, stretching out her paws to latch around her search brother's neck. He sidestepped away from her jump with ease and she tumbled to the ground, skidding against the hard earth and scraping her legs. Angrily, she whirled to face Larkpaw.

"What was that for?" she hissed at him, grooming hastily.

"Enemy warriors aren't going to stand in place waiting for you to hit them," he replied simply. Starlingpaw thought that his power in his position as mentor was getting to his big, stupid head.

"Fine," she spat, then ran at him, trying to take a different approach. He sprinted away, and they ran in loops around the clearing until Starlingpaw was too exhausted to continue. She fell onto the ground, breathing heavily.

Larkpaw gave her a sympathetic glance. "Maybe offense is just too hard for you. Defense will be simpler, and it's just as important."

Starlingpaw glared up at him from her spot on the forest floor. "When did you become my mentor?"

He flicked his tail indifferently. "I'm just trying to help, Starlingpaw."

Grumbling, she dragged herself up from the ground, her paws nearly slipping out from under her with the exhaustion of the training session.

Larkpaw assumed a battle stance, his legs spread wide and his ears nearly flat against his head. Without warning, he launched at Starlingpaw, bowling her over and pinning her to the ground under his paws. If there was one thing Starlingpaw could remember from training, though, it was how to get out of this specific situation. With confidence, she kept her back claws sheathed and kicked at his exposed underbelly, loosening his grip just enough for her to slither out. She managed to scramble onto her paws, standing ready to face her search brother.

Larkpaw looked pleased, but he did not call for them to stop the fake battle. Starlingpaw assumed he meant to go until one of them suffered what would be a battle-ending blow if they had unsheathed their claws.

Intending to stay defensive, Starlingpaw waited for Larkpaw to come at her. It took a couple of heartbeats before he lashed out at her, swiping with his paws and knocking her front legs out from under her. Surprised and defenseless, as Starlingpaw attempted to get back up, Larkpaw leapt onto her back and began to nip at her. With great effort, she launched up, standing on her hind legs, knocking Larkpaw off of her back. He whipped around from where he was thrown off and bit down on her back leg. He didn't grip hard, but Starlingpaw hadn't yet noticed that his teeth were embedded in her and attempted to jump away, jerking her leg out of his teeth and tearing the flesh in her hind leg. She cried out in pain, feeling her leg weaken and buckle beneath her.

"Starlingpaw!" Larkpaw yowled, running over to check her wound. "I'm so sorry! Are you hurt?"

"What do you think, bird-brain?" she hissed back, trying in vain to get back onto her feet. It hurt far too much to stand. Larkpaw pressed against her side to support her and she began to crawl across the clearing with his help.

"I'll take you to the medicine cat's den, and Honeypool can look at it." Her search brother meowed. "I'm really, really sorry that I hurt you."

It wasn't your fault, Starlingpaw thought. I only got hurt because I'm useless at fighting and couldn't defend myself. If I was talented like any other warrior in the camp, my leg would be perfectly untouched.