Waterstar's Heart

Chapter 14

Licking away the blood that had trickled into his mouth, he grimaced as the familiar metallic tang bathed his tongue.

Cricketscream's breath was hot on his ears. The faded tom had entered into his dreams again, and once more he stood in front of Mapleclaw. He was exhausted. He could see the look in Mapleclaw's eyes. She was tired of training, too. The scratch on her forehead trickled with blood, and one eye had been tainted with it.

Training non-stop was taking a toll on the both of them. When Heathertail had seen his wounds from a previous night, she had questioned him about it, but he just gave excuses. She didn't seem convinced, though.

"Now, Waterheart!" Cricketscream hissed, giving him a hard shove forwards. He caught himself tumbling, and hared towards the warrior.

Side stepping, Mapleclaw swiped her claws across his cheek. It left a searing, burning pain in his cheek, blood dribbling down his face.

There was an apologetic look in the warrior's eyes as she watched him stagger away. Clenching his teeth, Waterheart hit back, hooking his claws into her flank. Mapleclaw snarled, twisting to tackle him to the bloody floor.

They both rolled under each other's weight. Clawing, nipping, they both drew blood from wherever they could find.

Waterheart twisted, clawing her with his hind paws. He gave a good kick afterwards, sending her stumbling backwards. Mapleclaw raised herself onto her haunches, and gave a gnarly blow onto his back. Hissing, she sunk her teeth into his shoulder, and dug her claws deep into his fur. The grey warrior howled in pain, forcing himself to roll all of his weight onto the calico.

He could hear the groan of frustration from his opponent, and then the sound of Cricketscream's satisfied, raspy purr.

Tufts of ginger and grey fur lay on the ground, and the damp floor was coated with bits of blood.

He got to his paws in a flash, ready to attack, but relaxed as Mapleclaw shakily rose onto her paws in defeat. Her white, fluffy belly was soaked in blood, and her black flank was streaked with red as well. Her breath was hoarse as she stared at Waterheart.

He avoided her gaze, guilt welling up in his chest. He couldn't hurt her more. How many more times would they have to do this? How many more times until one of them was killed?

"What are you waiting for? If this was a real battle, you'd be dead by now!" Cricketscream bellowed. The brown tom was pacing forwards, eyes wide and angry. His claws were unsheathed, and his pelt was bristling. "You're weak! Both of you are weak! Where is your strength?"

"If we injure each other more, we'll be weaker in the real world..." Mapleclaw painfully croaked. "We can't fend for our clans. We'd be stuck in the medicine den— we'd be burdens." She took a step towards Cricketscream, wincing from her wounds. "Why make us fight? We know how to fight. We can fight better than our clan-mates any day."

Not a burden... Waterheart brooded. The grey tom lifted his paw, and let his pads touch his cheek. It was red, and it throbbed. Surely I can get this to not scar...what will I tell Heathertail? He craned his neck to look at his bites and scratches that covered his pelt.

The warrior lifted his head to look at both cats who were arching their backs and hissing.

Cricketscream paced wildly, and swung his head towards Mapleclaw. "If you complain about a scratch— you aren't a true warrior. If you don't fight, you're not a true warrior. " He spat. "There were the days where the clans were strong, and now look what's happened..." The tom slowed, his pelt softening. He spoke to both of them now. "...You both can make your clans thrive. You cannot forget what I've taught you."