Hailstorm's Fear

Chapter One

"Is there anything I can do?"Thrushpaw asked,peering over his mentor's shoulder.

"I have everything covered,"Nightleaf straightened and stared at him. "Will you check Oakstar's shoulder?"

Thrushpaw dipped his head. "Okay."He went out of the den,feeling his fur ruffled by the wind before making his way to Oakstar,who was perched on the Highrock.

"Oakstar,"He called up to the leader. "I'm here to check your wound."

The leader stretched and leaped down the Highrock,his muscles rippling under his fur. Thrushpaw observed the moment,and noted that he was moving slightly stiffly,but he definitely improved from before.

"I think your shoulder is fine. But since they had torn through your muscles,your shoulders might ache after vigorous activity."Thrushpaw meowed,squinting at the fresh scar. Two moons ago,there had been a battle between the Twolegs and the Clans,causing many casualties. Oakstar had lost his life due to his shoulder muscles being torn through,resulting in the loss of a lot of blood.

Thank StarClan it healed. Thrushpaw thought,before Oakstar brought him out of his thoughts.

"I can work with that."Oakstar licked a paw and drew it over his ear. Thrushpaw dipped his head,ready to go back to the medicine cat den when Creekfeather approached them closely.

The deputy dipped his head to Oakstar in acknowledgement before turning to Thrushpaw with gleaming eyes. "Would you like to do battle practice?"

Battle practice!Resentment filled Thrushpaw's gaze. Because of battle,many cats lose their lives. He hated the thought of it,and even the practice for it.

"Er..."Thrushpaw quickly thought up of an excuse. "Nightleaf might need me."

"Thrushpaw can go,by all means,"Nightleaf emerged from her den,a bundle of herbs in her jaws. "Medicine cats are supposed to learn basic moves."

Creekfeather flicked his tail. "Okay. Let's go,Thrushpaw. The other apprentices are waiting at the training hollow."Thrushpaw got to his paws,following the deputy hesitantly.

Creekfeather moved fast,however Thrushpaw could still keep up to him,much to his own surprise. They reached the training hollow in no time,where a few cats were waiting.

"You're here,"Whitewillow stopped grooming herself,and turned to the apprentices. "Now that everyone is present,we will start."

"Where's Sharppaw?"Thrushpaw whispered to Streampaw.

"He was put on flea picking duties after he placed fire ants in Stripedpaw's nest."Streampaw whispered back,her eyes glowing with amusement.

Thrushpaw could not help but give a small smile. Sharppaw always bullied him,along with Stripedpaw,so his absence did make him more relaxed.

Whitewillow and Creekfeather faced each other. Baring her teeth,she leaped at the deputy,but he sidestepped and nipped at her back leg. Whitewillow fell with a small grunt as Creekfeather flipped her over and his jaws hurtled towards her neck.

He paused just before his teeth came into contact with her neck and got off. Helping Whitewillow to her paws,the deputy turned to the apprentices.

"Now,what is the key point in this move?"

"Agility?"Thrushpaw guessed. Creekfeather looked at him,surprise lighting his amber eyes.

"You are correct,"Creekfeather meowed,voice warm with approval. "Even though we are not as fast as the WindClan cats,we will still need to build up our speed."He exchanged looks with Hawkstripe.

"We'll do the battle practice first,"Hawkstripe continued. "Before we have a run in the woods."

"A run?"Creampaw echoed,her tail tip twitching. "Won't the undergrowth hinder us?"

"It's help us,"Whitewillow corrected,before scanning them carefully. "I'll put you into pairs. Stripedpaw,since you're littermates with Streampaw,I'm going to have to put you with Creampaw. Streampaw,you're with Thrushpaw."

Thrushpaw felt a small burst of relief. Streampaw was much more patient than her littermate,and way more reasonable.

"Thrushpaw,you go first."Creekfeather instructed. He nodded,and Streampaw leaped at him without warning.

His breath caught in his throat as he sidestepped,barely missing her paws. Streampaw landed perfectly,however. Thrushpaw whirled around and flipped her over,trapping her in between his paws. He went to give the killing bite when Streampaw pushed him off with her back paws.

"Well done,Thrushpaw,"Creekfeather sounded even more surprised than before as the apprentice shook off the dirt that clung to his pelt. "You'll just need to work on your strength."

"You did it like a natural."Streampaw purred,awe filling her eyes.

Feeling embarrassed with all the praise,Thrushpaw ducked his head. "It was nothing."He mumbled,his ear tips hot.

Creekfeather placed his tail on his shoulder before straightening. "Streampaw,your turn."