Warriors- Dawn of An Era: The Journey Begins {Book 1} (COMPLETED)

Chapter Five

Vinepaw crouched down, focused on the leaf not far away. His tail flicked behind him as he stalked toward his bounty. His claws slid out of their sheaths as he neared. As his muscles tensed satisfyingly, he sprang and landed on top of the leaf.

"Better," praised Cloverfur as she sat with Sweetpaw and Thrushpool. "You need to keep your tail still if you want to catch real prey, though. If it flicks during a hunt, the prey will be scared off before you can smell it."

Thrushpool nodded. "She's right," her tail twitched as Vinepaw padded back to the three she-cats. "I think that's enough hunting practice for today." She meowed, yawning. "Perhaps some battle training until sunhigh will wake us all up."

Vinepaw and Sweetpaw perked up, intrigued at the thought. "Yeah!" The tom meowed, tail flicking in excitement at the thought. He turned to his denmate, eyes twinkling with amusement. "I bet I can beat you!"

Sweetpaw's eyes lit up with excitement. "Oh really?" She retorted, crouching down and springing at Vinepaw, paws outstretched. The pair rolled over in a laughing ball of fur. As they came to a stop, Vinepaw had Sweetpaw pinned to the ground.

"See?" He meowed, chest puffing out in pride. "I won."

"Get off me, you lump of fur!" Sweetpaw complained. Vinepaw smirked and backed off, turning to his mentor proudly. There was a playful growl from behind him and suddenly, he was thrown to the ground, dust puffing up and making him sneeze. "Don't let your guard down!" Sweetpaw meowed teasingly, putting a paw on his head.

Thrushpool purred in amusement, eyes twinkling with pride. "Very good, Sweetpaw." She meowed and rose to her paws, stretching. As Sweetpaw let Vinepaw up, they sat down next to each other. "However, there's more to a fight than pinning your opponent to the ground and making them sneeze."

Cloverfur followed the she-cat, purring. "Thrushpool and I will demonstrate the basics of battling." She explained to the apprentices, facing the warrior. "We'll start with an easy move called the forepaw slash."

"To do this move," Thrushpool meowed as she and Cloverfur got into battle positions. "Your opponent has to be directly in front of you and standing relatively still."

Cloverfur nodded in approval. "Let's start," she meowed and shot forward, aiming a blow to Thrushpool's ear. The pale calico she-cat reared on her hind legs and brought down her forepaw, dragging it down Thrushpool's cheek with her claws sheathed. Before Thrushpool could retaliate, she sprang back to avoid a blow. Turning her head to look at the apprentices, she nodded to them. "You try against each other."

"Remember: Claws sheathed!" Thrushpool called as Sweetpaw and Vinepaw faced each other.

Sweetpaw's tail flicked to and fro behind her as her eyes narrowed in concentration. Without warning, she shot toward Vinepaw, catching off-guard briefly before focusing. Vinepaw reared on his hind legs, raised a paw of sheathed claws, and slashed Sweetpaw's face. He fell on all fours and cuffed her over the ear, making her reel and take a few steps back.

"Stop," called Thrushpool as she and Cloverfur looked at the apprentices in pride. "Very good, Vinepaw. You perfected the move and got in another strike while Sweetpaw was stunned."

"Now it's Sweetpaw's turn," Cloverfur looked at the tortoiseshell she-cat as she shook her head, blinking.

Vinepaw returned to his original position and waited for Sweetpaw to do the same. As his muscles tensed, he broke into a run, heading straight for his denmate. This time, she reared on her hind legs and brought down a paw, dragging it down the length of Vinepaw's face. Sweetpaw wasn't done as she fell on all fours and whirled around, kicking out with her hind legs and spinning back to face Vinepaw.

The tabby apprentice staggered back, chest aching from where Sweetpaw had kicked him. He felt winded as he looked at Sweetpaw, whose eyes were glowing.

"Great job!" Meowed Cloverfur as she nodded to both apprentices. "That was a great second attack, Sweetpaw." Vinepaw felt warm as Sweetpaw puffed out her chest at Cloverfur's praise. "We were going to do that particular attack next. It's called the back kick."

"I did it!" Sweetpaw cheered, bouncing up and down on her paws.

"Yes you did, Sweetpaw." Purred Thrushpool as she flicked Sweetpaw's ear with her tail. "Vinepaw, do you think you need to practice the back kick?"

Vinepaw shook his head. "I know what it is because I know how it feels, now." He teased, looking at Sweetpaw. "What's next?"

Cloverfur smiled at her apprentice. "One more then we have to head back to camp." She meowed and flicked her ear. "We'll do the belly rake. It's when if you get pinned, you rake your opponent's belly with your hind legs."

"It also works if you have a clear shot at reaching their belly." Added Thrushpool as she faced Cloverfur. "Ready?"

"Born ready," responded Vinepaw's mentor as she crouched down. In a flash of fur, she leaped at Thrushpool, easily pinning her to the ground. Thrushpool grinned and raised her hind legs and raked Cloverfur's belly with her paws.

Cloverfur grunted and backed off, pretending to be hurt. When she straightened, she beamed at the apprentices. "That's all there is to it," she meowed and let out a sigh. "Let's go to the lake and cool off. The heat is going to kill me."

Vinepaw grinned at the thought of seeing the lake. "Let's go!" He meowed and raced into a random direction.

"Wrong way, mouse-brain!" Called Cloverfur after him.

***

"This feels great!" Vinepaw meowed as he slid into the cool, refreshing water of the lake that bordered all the Clans. Across the lake was ShadowClan's territory along with WindClan's. A dark, dense pine forest and a vast open moorland.

Sweetpaw eyed the water warily, dipping a paw in to test it and pulling it back. "I don't know," she meowed, sitting down at the shore. "It could be dangerous to be in the water."

Thrushpool rolled her eyes as she slipped into the water and wadded to Vinepaw. "Nonsense. We've been taking trips to the lake to take a dip for seasons!"

"Nothing bad has happened yet anyway so why worry?" Cloverfur added as she too gracefully got into the water.

"Nothing's happened in the water yet." Sweetpaw pointed out. "I don't want to be the first cat that something happens to in the lake."

Vinepaw paddled toward his denmate, an idea in his head. "Something like this?" He laughed and wrapped his paws around her neck, dragging her in the water with a splash! Thrushpool and Cloverfur laughed as Sweetpaw's head popped up from the water, gasping as she clawed her way to the shore, panting. "Water too cold, Drypaw?" Vinepaw teased.

Sweetpaw shot him a murderous look. "Too much humor, Laughpaw?" She countered and began to lick her fur dry.

After a while of wadding around and splashing his mentor before getting splashed by Thrushpool, Vinepaw dragged himself out of the water and laid on his back, looking up at the sun as he dried his fur. I never want this day to end. He thought happily as he closed his eyes.

There was movement beside him as Sweetpaw nestled herself next to him, eyes closed and purring. Despite the coolness of the water on his fur, his pelt grew hot as Sweetpaw shifted closer to him and buried her muzzle in his shoulder fur.

Vinepaw's heart did laps in his chest as he looked over at Thrushpool and Cloverfur, who were smiling at him and Sweetpaw. He noticed with a small smirk that the pair were sitting rather close to each other to the point where their fur brushed.

Vinepaw closed his eyes, relishing the sun warming and drying his fur as Sweetpaw slowly drifted off to sleep next to him. This day is perfect.