Book 1 - Warriors: The Shadow Outcast

Chapter Seven

Rainpaw lunged forward, his claws sheathed as he tried to fight against his mentor. Sharpfang was fast, but Rainpaw was turning into a speedy midget that actually took advantage of his small body instead of trying to be just like everyone else.

Sharpfang had a proud grin on his face as his apprentice continued to train, but Rainpaw had no idea why. It was as if his plan to get Rainpaw's insanity under control was working, which it wasn't. No matter how many times the scar was scratched and he rejected himself back into his mind, Rainpaw was still just as much of a killer as the time before. It had already been two weeks since his visit to RiverClan, and still the whole 'special training' wasn't working, meaning that he was coming back to camp with the same wounds on his shoulder for nothing. 

"Good, Rainpaw," said Sharpfang then. "Now, let's try this again and see if we make any progress. If not, we'll just call it a day, okay?" Rainpaw nodded, his rapid breathing catching onto the icy cold snow on the ground.

Leaf-bare was only barely beginning, but it seemed too slow. Snowdrift had hoped that Thorntail would have the kits after leaf-bare, but she was already so swollen that Rainpaw couldn't understand why his previous mentor hadn't exploded. The kitting was soon to come, and with leaf-bare moving as slowly as it did, there was no doubt that she'd have them during the dead of winter.

As Sharpfang walked up to him, he held his breath. Rainpaw knew what was next, and he didn't like it. Sharpfang swiftly gave his scar a small scratch, and then it began. Like the other thousands of times that Rainpaw's scar had been scratched, he immediately lunged at Sharpfang.

Sharpfang was ready for this, and quickly dodged to the side before Rainpaw was able to catch him. Rainpaw's small body was agile, though, and turned quickly back toward Sharpfang. His mentor, however, was anticipating this move as well. Sharpfang gave a quick dodge to the left and then quickly lunged forward toward Rainpaw. Rainpaw used his small body to get underneath Sharpfang, and then he pushed himself from the ground and into Sharpfang's stomach. His mentor gave a small yowl, and then fell to the ground. Rainpaw was proud that Sharpfang hadn't expected the move, but he didn't stop to gloat about it. His mind was focused on killing.

Rainpaw turned and pinned his mentor down, his dark blue eyes narrowing with anger on his prey. His claws were unsheathed now, and they were digging into Sharpfang's skin. His lips were drawn back, showing his long fangs to his mentor. Rainpaw laughed a laugh that he hoped never to hear ever again. Even though his mind was focused on killing, there was a still small voice in the back of his mind telling him not to do anything.

Suddenly Rainpaw felt teeth in his scruff. Jayflight—the volunteer helper—was doing his job and pulling him off of Sharpfang before he got killed. Rainpaw's body was struggling, but his mind was not. It was relieved, happy that he was being saved.

It wasn't long before Jayflight got him off of Sharpfang and then got his body to give up. Soon Rainpaw was engulfed into shadows, and then quickly woken up again. Rainpaw's body was shaking as he stood but he didn't care. He didn't want to do this anymore—he wanted to just simply leave his scar be.

"Where are you going, Rainpaw?" asked Sharpfang curiously behind him as he tried to leave. Rainpaw sighed.

"I'm going back to camp," Rainpaw meowed, "this is getting us nowhere." With that, he left and headed for camp. Well, at least he hoped it was for camp. Truthfully, he had no idea where he was going.

Rainpaw's mind was buzzing. Even though he'd just said to Sharpfang that the special training had gotten him no where, it was a lie. Something was happening, but he couldn't tell his new mentor about it.

His mind was changing. He was no longer feeling such an urge to kill, though he still wanted to. It just wasn't as demanding. That part of his mind was dulling and at the moment Rainpaw didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.