Warriors #4: Darkness Awakens

Chapter 11

Swiftkit's POV

I had been lying in Jayfeather's den for what felt like moons. If I tried to do so much as sit up, he would snap at me. All I wanted to do was get up, leave this den...

And claw Goldenshine's eyes out.

Not really, but I couldn't believe that she had blown my cover to Jayfeather. I didn't know exactly what he knew, but it seemed like he knew I was up to something.

Jayfeather is weird, I thought, trying to rationalize, he probably doesn't know anything, and I'm just being paranoid.

I turned my head to the entrance of the medicine den to see that it was nearly moonhigh. Cats were stirring, starting to work their way to their dens.

I'm in the medicine den, I realized, will Ashfur and Tigerstar come visit me tonight, nevertheless?

I then turned to look at Jayfeather, who was padding over to me. He sat down next to my nest, ran his tail over my wound and then sniffed it. I tensed up as he did this.

"Hm, it looks like it's getting better," he commented. "Lucky you."

I let out a small huff, detecting Jayfeather's sarcasm. Well, that's good, I guess.

I had gotten the wound at another battle training session with Ashfur. I had been trying to learn how to defend myself rather than attack.

"I am going to attack you," Ashfur had told me, unsheathing his claws. "Do all you can to defend yourself and... not allow for any wounds." For whatever reason, when he had said that last part, his eyes had been gleaming with determination.

My eyes had immediately gone down to his unsheathed claws. "Shouldn't we do this with claws sheathed?" I had asked, trying not to seem nervous. "I think that's what they do in Clan battle training."

Ashfur had hissed and said, "Foxdung! That won't get an apprentice anywhere. What if a Clan of warriors were to attack your camp, having declared a war, and they leaped into the apprentices' den? Young apprentices would have no idea how to defend themselves with sheathed claws!" Ashfur explained. "You're getting a head start."

I nodded in understanding. That's true, I had thought. Why don't ThunderClan warriors train like this?

I unsheathed my small claws and dug them into the ground, also lashing my tail back and forth, waiting for Ashfur's attack.

I barely had time to prepare any more, for only heartbeats after Ashfur's lecture, he had leaped at me, claws out and teeth bared.

I let out a squeak of fear and tried to leap out of the way, but Ashfur was faster. He landed on top of me, his eyes blaring, and then raked his claws along my flank, causing the injury that seemingly every cat in ThunderClan was freaking out about.

I had yowled in pain, not being able to bear it. Ashfur bent his head down and hissed in my ear, "That's what you get."

I let out a sigh of relief as he backed up off of me. "What do you mean?" I asked, breathless.

Ashfur had stood staring for several heartbeats, his eyes narrowed. He looked like he had wanted to spit an insult at me, but he held back. He shook his head quickly and said, "You didn't get away fast enough! If you want to be the best warrior in the forest, you're going to have to do better than that."

I tilted my head, finally starting to calm down, but still shaken by Ashfur's fierce attack. Realizing how much I had let it get to me, I dug my claws into the dry earth in frustration.

He's right. If I want to be the best warrior I can be, I have to deal with whatever is thrown at me.

I had woken up that morning feeling unbearable pain all over again. I had looked up to see that Goldenshine was still asleep. I turned my body to look at my flank. I held in a gasp to see that the wound that Ashfur had given me looked awful. It was deep and covered in dried blood.