Ghosts of the Clans

Chapter 13

"Oh hey, Minnowtail!" Hollowflight greeted her. She halted sharply, staring at Shredtail. "You want Clanmate to fight Clanmate?" she questioned, her amber eyes wide with shock. The ragged dark brown tom looked pleased with himself and meowed, "In the final battle, you will have to do that."

Fight my own Clanmates? Minnowtail's head reeled. "What do you mean?" she asked, her tail lashing. Shredtail bared his yellow teeth at her. "Stop dawdling and hurry up! Remember your promise to Brokenstar."

Left with no choice, she hurled herself at the young warrior, raking his ear. He screeched, and Minnowtail muttered an apology, digging her claws into his shoulders.

Dark amber eyes flaming with rage, Hollowflight struggled free and slashed her belly, a blow which she narrowly avoided. He landed heavily, so she took the chance to dance in, land a blow to his cheek, and leap out of the way.

She wasn't fast enough. Fast as a striking snake, the dark brown tom slashed at her shoulder, reopening a closed wound, then sank his teeth into her front leg. Memories of Breezepelt doing almost the same thing flashed into her mind, but she determinedly shook it off. That was the past, and Hollowflight wouldn't wound her like the black WindClan tom had.

Ripping herself free, Minnowtail hooked his tail up and pinned it down, preventing her opponent from moving, She raked her claws on his spine, then jumped away, letting him go free.

She probably shouldn't have, for Hollowflight turned on her and began swiping, one way then another, before leaping above her and clawing her hindquarters. By the time Minnowtail had whipped around, he flashed away, grazing her side with one claw.

Pain throbbed through her body, and Minnowtail thought, I must end this! Moving quickly, she leapt and sliced his flank as he dodged, then slammed both paws on his head. Hollowflight collapsed, his paws flailing as he tried to swipe at her chest.

Ducking easily, she placed a paw on his neck and one on his chest. When Shredtail nodded, she let him go, and the dark brown tom wriggled from underneath her.

"Good, Minnowtail. Hollowflight, not bad. but-" Shredtail was interrupted by a roar coming from...somewhere. The dark brown tabby tom frowned. "That's Brokenstar calling for a meeting. Come on, you two."

The matted dark brown tabby tom was standing in the centre of the clearing, together with Thistleclaw, Tigerstar and Mapleshade. Darkstripe paced around them, and Shredtail nudged him sharply out of the way. "Stay together with your Clanmates," he instructed Minnowtail and Hollowflight before disappearing into the crowd.

Hollowflight gave her one last nod and went to talk to Ivypool, the silver-and-white tabby ThunderClan she-cat. Minnowtail, on the other paw, sat down where she was and began to cleanse her wounds.

"Hi, Minnowtail. I didn't know you trained here as well." She looked up to see Beetlewhisker with his mother, Icewing. She shrugged nonchalantly to his surprised tone. "I didn't know you two did, either."

Finally, the cats quieted down, and Brokenstar began to speak. "Are we all here?" his orange eyes gleamed in the darkness. All of the trainees, especially  Ivypool, Applefur, Breezepelt and Beetlewhisker, who were sitting in the centre lifted their chins, listening carefully to the dark brown tabby tom.

Mapleshade took over. "Our young warriors have practiced hard. I've watched their traing carefully. They can climb, run, swim and fight, though not enough of them have learned to deal the killing blow." Her gaze slid toward Beetlewhisker, who shuffled his paws.

Applefur frowned. "Warriors don't kill." Good-bye. Upon hearing her reckless words, Minnowtail inwardly sighed as Mapleshade whipped around, her amber eyes blazing. "Clan cats don't kill but they're not warriors. If they were, why weren't you satisfied with their training? Why did you seek us out?" she hissed.