Stormpaw lay in his nest, dawn approaching. He sighed, and listened to Seedpaw's quiet breathing, and jumped when Jaypaw let out a snort as his legs twitched. It took all he had to hold in a meow of laughter, and he stepped outside.
"You're up early," Rippleclaw commented, whom was sitting outside of the elders den.
Littlesky was sitting next to him, and nodded at the young apprentice. He bounded over, and smiled up at the elders. They seemed to always have his back, besides Seedpaw and Jaypaw.
"Do you need anything?" he chirped, bouncing up and down.
Stormpaw tended to wake up early in the morning. He was allowed more freedom, before Sharpclaw would awake and take him to train. His mentor would never compliment him, and always found a flaw in his training.
Littlesky said warmly, "That's nice of you to ask. You're one of the first apprentices to enjoy helping elders!"
Stormpaw shrugged, looking up cheerfully. He liked the elders, he thought of them as kin.
Rippleclaw replied to his question, "Our bedding is a bit old... But we can-"
"I'll get to it," Stormpaw meowed, bounding outside of camp to collect new moss.
Finding the tree stump where the clan gathers most of the moss, he began stripping bits of the green plant from the bark. When he could carry no more, he returned to camp. Sharpclaw was up by now, munching on a minnow.
He called to his apprentice, "Let's go, Stormpaw. Training time."
Sharpclaw stood, arching his back in a stretch.
"Okay, just let me finish helping the elders with their bedding," he muttered around his ball of moss.
Littlesky and Rippleclaw had the old moss sitting outside of their den. Stormpaw made their new nests, and threw the old stuff outside of camp. Meowing goodbye to the elders, he bounded over to his mentor.
Excitedly, he asked, "What today?"
Sharpclaw said as they walked out, "Battle training."
Stormpaw gave a little happy jump. He loved battle training, and hadn't done it in quite awhile.
When they reached the training area, Sharpclaw sat down. Stormpaw sat in front of him, waiting eagerly for directions.
"Today, I'll be teaching you one of RiverClan's best moves. It usually tricks the enemy, and is simple, but useful," he informed the apprentice, staring at him.
Stormpaw asked, "What is it?"
Without warning, Sharpclaw leaped to his paws, and charged at Stormpaw. On instinct, he darted to the side, but Sharpclaw knew his move before Stormpaw ever had. He dove to the side Stormpaw moved to, landing in front of him. Taking the apprentice's surprise as an advantage, he swiped numerous blows at his face.
Stormpaw tripped over his paws trying to get up and block the hits, and was quickly pinned. Sharpclaw glared at him.
"What was that for?" Stormpaw spat at him.
Sharpclaw growled, "That was the move!"
That was it?
Stormpaw was released, and he clambered to his paws.
"Was that necessary, though?" Stormpaw grumbled.
Sharpclaw hissed, "You want to leave, or train by yourself? I will happily tell Redstar to get you kicked out!"
That did it. Stormpaw narrowed his eyes, and lashed his tail.
"Why don't you trust me? Why can't you give me a chance!?"
Anger surged through him, and he took a step closer.
"Is it because I'm a kittypet? Does kittypet blood affect who a cat is?"
He yowled in a twisted rage, and leaped on his mentor. He pummeled his back, then twisted and dealt a few blows at his face. Stormpaw leapt off, and tripped his mentor, pinning him down.
"Not the move," Sharpclaw spat, smirking.
His mentor got up, and Stormpaw stared at his paws. For once, Sharpclaw didn't have a smart remark. Instead, he sighed.
"I'm sorry, let's try it now," he said, backing off.
Stormpaw looked up, and fluffed out his fur. He charged at Sharpclaw, looking at his left side. Sharpclaw moved to that side, but at the last moment, Stormpaw snaked to the right, and tripping the warrior, dealing a few blows when he fell.
Stormpaw asked, satisfied, "Good?"
"Great," his mentor grunted as he climbed to his paws.
Stormpaw smiled, and the two practiced the move till he had it down.
"For a kittypet, you aren't too bad," Sharpclaw meowed as they headed back to camp.
Stormpaw looked up, and asked, "What's up with the sudden change in mood?"
"I had a sister just like you. I used to be a rogue, and I've always hated kittypets for their smugness. Except she didn't mind them... We joined RiverClan many seasons ago, and she couldn't get anything right the first try. It'd take her awhile. Cats didn't trust her until she proved herself worthy in a battle with WindClan. She reminds me of you," he breathed, face lost in the memories.
Stormpaw meowed, "I had a sister. She ran away before my housefolk-I mean, twolegs, left me by a thunderpath. I know, or hope anyways, that she's okay and safe somewhere, and not alone. It's my goal to find her one day..."
"Well, I hope you do find your kin," his mentor said, pausing before speaking.
Stormpaw nodded, and they finished the day with fishing. A growing pile was in between them of minnows. They carried back their catches, and set them in the fresh kill pile. The gray apprentice chose a large one they had caught, and gobbled it down in a few seconds with hunger. When everyone had ate, he ate one more small one.
After being satisfied, he headed for his den.
"... I think he's doing great!"
He paused by the entrance, hearing Seedpaw's protest.
"I only was nice because... kittypets don't belong... I don't trust..."
It went silent as Stormpaw pushed his way inside, and meowed as if he didn't hear anything, "Hi, Jaypaw, Seedpaw!"
Seedpaw meowed quickly, "Hello, Stormpaw. How's training going?"
"Great," he meowed happily, sitting in his nest next to her.
Jaypaw gave him a look, and sniffed.
"Whatever," he muttered.
What was his problem? He was so nice yesterday... Did Stormpaw say something to make him mad? Oh well. If he wanted to act like he was so much better than Stormpaw, then it didn't matter. He'd prove him wrong!
It looks as if Stormpaw has some competition, competition that has no faith.
A/N From Silver: Btw..This chapter takes place the same day Chapter 4 does. Chapter Three was yesterday and blah blah lol.
Just wanted to make sure you guys knew that.
