A New Beginning: Book 1 Flamestar's Promise

Chapter 13

"So, Flamepaw, are you ready for your first battle training?" Timberstar asked walking up to me.
It had been a few days since the squirrel incident, and Timberstar insisted that he felt perfectly fine.
"Sure!" I said through a mouth full of rabbit.
I had been eating when he asked me. He laughed and padded to the fresh kill pile to grab something of his own. He had been wary of eating since the squirrel, but now he insisted that he were to know if his food was rotten or not. He grabbed a starling, and padded back to me. When he sat down, I found it as the perfect opportunity to, once again, try and make things right.
"Timberstar, I'm really sorry for yelling at you when you made me clean out bedding." I meowed.
He stopped eating and looked at me.
"What, no, don't be sorry! I actually forgot about that. I'm not mad. You were going through a lot, and I shouldn't of given you the job that would usually be given to a naughty apprentice." He reassured me.
"But a good apprentice would obey their leader's command without argue." I meowed slowly.
He nodded.
    "But you had a good reason to be upset. You had just lost your mother." He reassured.
I finally realized that he was right. But I still felt bad.
When we finished, we padded up the hill and into the woods. We walked to a wide clearing. It was grassy, but the grass was short and almost gone.
"This is where we battle train. Wasppaw should be here any moment." Timberstar meowed, sitting at the edge of the clearing.
Wait, I had to battle Wasppaw? Oh boy. Not only was he bigger than me, but he was also much more experienced. Battle training was his first lesson. He was going to crush me.
"O...ok." I stuttered.
Just then, Wasppaw and Windymist came strolling into the clearing.
"Oh, hey Flamepaw!" Wasppaw exclaimed when he saw me.
I nodded and smiled. His muscles rippled under his pelt as he walked, which not only made me more nervous, but I also felt, queasy. I didn't know why, or how do describe the feeling, but it made me feel warm.
But also weak. And that was the last thing that I needed.
"We shall start with the basic invader scenario. Wasppaw, you will be the invader. And Flamepaw, you will be the patrol." Timberstar's voice called out.
Wasppaw nodded as Windymist dug the line that represented the border.
"Begin." Timberstar commanded after a few moments.
We nodded and I started padding along the line. Wasppaw had disappeared. I looked around for him, but saw nothing.
Suddenly, there was a rustling in the bushes and Wasppaw came running out. He immediately pinned me down and tried to nip at my muzzle. I struggled, but he was too strong. I kicked his belly with my hind legs, and he finally jumped back. We circled around each other, snarling and hissing. I darted forward, claws sheathed but paws stretched out. He smiled, but I had a trick up my paws. When he veered to dodge, I jumped to his side and toppled him over, pinning him down and giving me time to ask the traditional battle training questions.
"Why are you in my territory?" I snarled in his ear.
"I need to talk to your leader." He growled.
I hissed.
"A cat wishing to speak with my leader would not start by attacking the patrol." I spat.
He looked at me and then suddenly wriggled. Not expecting it, I fell over and he leaped on top of me, pinning down my chest with is paws, and delivering a fake killing bite to my neck.
"Enough." Timberstar meowed.
We stepped away from each other. We were both panting, me more than him since the air was knocked out of me when I was pinned.
"Your problem, Flamepaw, was that you were not alert. You let your guard down when you pinned him, and he took advantage of that.
Warriors, are ready for anything."