Warriors: The Trail of Centuries

Chapter 10

     Wind swayed the trees gently, the leaves whispering as they rustled against one another. Spottedpaw panted heavily as she sparred with her friend, Nightpaw. Around her she could hear several other apprentices scuffling as they sparred with one another; Dustpaw with Pearlpaw, Riverpaw with Rabbitpaw. Off to the side of the training clearing, Rocksplash watched them with a judgmental glint in her eyes. While it was nothing new for the warrior, it still unsettled Spottedpaw.

     Spottedpaw cast a brief glance toward the tortoiseshell warrior. Next to her sat Mudwing, and it looked as though he was desperately trying to strike up some sort of conversation with the stony-faced she-cat.

     “Pay attention to the apprentices,” Spottedpaw heard the she-cat mutter. Mudwing grew visibly uncomfortable as he fell silent. The apprentice felt a pang of sympathy for him; she knew she wouldn’t want to keep someone as cold as Rocksplash company. 

     A brief swipe over her ear brought her attention back to her sparring partner. Spottedpaw held back a hiss as her ear stung from the contact and turned on her friend playfully. She studied her temporary foe and saw an opening to the right, where Nightpaw’s hind-leg stuck out like a sore paw. When Spottedpaw reached out to topple her friend, the grey-speckled she-cat swiped at her flank.

     Spottedpaw leapt back in surprise, not ready to lose their training match quite yet. She and Nightpaw circled each other slowly, and as they did so Spottedpaw felt a flame slowly ignite within her. Ordinarily she would think it was just the “thrill of battle” that all the warriors spoke about, but at the battle at the border she’d felt nothing like this. For the first time in several sunrises, she felt light on her paws—even though the weight of the previous night’s events still hung over her shoulders.

     Her gaze met Nightpaw’s momentarily; there was an unusual twinkle in her friend’s amber eyes, though Spottedpaw dismissed it as mere playfulness. The more they trained, the more Spottedpaw grew accustomed to Nightpaw’s strengths, all the while identifying her weaknesses. She may be swift and cunning, but she doesn’t have the endurance to keep it up for long, Spottedpaw mused, careful not to let her expression betray her thoughts.

     “Come on, already,” Nightpaw hissed excitedly. Spottedpaw couldn’t suppress her amusement as she realized that her friend also lacked patience. Without a word, the golden-spotted she-cat darted forward and nipped at Nightpaw’s tail in an attempt to taunt her. Nightpaw narrowed her eyes and lashed her paw out in retaliation; Spottedpaw hopped out of the way gracefully, each movement meant to further tease and taunt her friend. It took all of her strength to keep her pride down when she saw Nightpaw only grow more restless. The grey she-cat swiped at Spottedpaw relentlessly, each swipe growing more desperate than the last when not a single one landed.

     By the time Nightpaw finally landed a shot, Spottedpaw could see that she was growing tired. A paw barely grazed along Spottedpaw’s shoulder, and Nightpaw let out a triumphant laugh. Spottedpaw couldn’t help a twinge of satisfaction she felt as she took advantage of the opportunity. The golden apprentice lunged forward, knocking Nightpaw right off of her paws. Spottedpaw launched her fellow apprentice back and pinned her against the dusty forest floor. 

     Spottedpaw purred triumphantly, happy to have finally won against Nightpaw. She was even happier that there had been no strange visions interrupting her, no reminders of just how terrifying Deadeye could be. The pride that welled up inside her chest came to a halt when she noticed that the other apprentices had stopped to watch them. Spottedpaw slowly turned her gaze to the two mentors. Both of the warriors had fixated their now-curious stares on Spottedpaw and Nightpaw. Suddenly, she was aware of a near-suffocating silence that had fallen on the clearing.