Warriors: Rainfeather's Honor

Chapter Three

Rainpaw was awake and already groomed when her mentor came to get her. She'd woken up still cozied next to Wolfpaw. He had been awake when she opened her eyes.

"Did I wake you?" she had asked, as her tail was flopped over his flank.

"No, not at all. I just didn't want to disturb you." He'd gotten up and left the den as soon as she scrambled to her feet. Now, as she followed Beesting out of the den, she felt warm inside.

"I'm surprised you were awake on time." Beesting commented. Louder, he said, "Most apprentices don't wake up on time, even after five moons of training." He pointed his remark at his own kits, Wasppaw and Stonepaw.

"That's not fair! Once you start training all day, everyday, you won't wake up on time either," Wasppaw said indignantly. Her father flicked her on the nose with his long tail.

Rainpaw's whiskers twitched in amusement. She joined her mentor and Thrushswoop in the clearing. Torrentpaw was already there, stretching his long, gray legs.

"Where are Stormpaw and Floodpaw?" she asked. Her other brother and sister were missing.

"Foxfang and Doeleap took them on the border patrol. While they do that, you're going to learn to hunt." Thrushswoop got up to leave the camp. She moved swiftly to the thorn tunnel.

"Aren't we going to eat first?" Torrentpaw whined. He hurried after his mentor.

"You can eat when we get back." The cream-colored she-cat kept walking. Rainpaw and Beesting exchanged a look. Thrushswoop could be harsh sometimes. The deputy sighed and whisked his tail for her to follow. The two of them followed the rest of their patrol into the forest.

Rainpaw's ears twitched, trying to follow the sound of every bird chirp. Her nostrils flared as she caught the scent of some of her Clanmates. They passed a hollow in the forest that was full of sand. On the sand, cats were practicing battle moves. Wolfpaw was there, fighting his mentor, Reedflow.

When he caught sight of Rainpaw and the rest of her patrol, he waved his tail, then lunged back at Reedflow. Rainpaw jumped at a meow behind her.

"You two seem to be getting pretty close."

Whipping around, she saw Beesting standing there. Her ears and tail tip started to burn.

"That's perfectly fine, but you mustn't let anything distract you from your training." He brushed his tail over her ears. "Especially tomcats."

They started through the forest once more, not stopping until they reached a small clearing. Thurshswoop took Torrentpaw to the far end of the clearing and Beesting turned to his apprentice.

"The first thing you're going to learn is the hunting crouch. It is the basis of any hunting move. It's like this." He crouch down, drew his tail to his side, and bunched his legs under his body.

Looking to Rainpaw, he said, "Now you try." Rainpaw did her best to replicate his stance. The yellow warrior circled her, looking for flaws.

"Not bad," he purred at last. "Other than tucking your hind legs in the tiniest bit more, there's nothing wrong with your crouch. Now, try moving forward silently."

A while later, after practicing stalking, scenting, and pouncing, Rainpaw, her brother, and their mentors returned to camp. The silver-blue apprentice was carrying a wood mouse, who happened to scurry across a trail in front of her as they were heading back to camp. Rainpaw had leaped onto it without even thinking about what she was doing.

As soon as they entered the camp, Beesting headed to Blossomstar's den.

"I'm going to report to Blossomstar. Take that mouse to Bluegrass and then eat." Rainpaw nodded, took her mouse to the elder, then plodded over to the fresh-kill pile. She sifted through the prey until she found a squirrel, her favorite. Settling down by a tuft of long grass near the nursery, she bit into the squirrel. Her ear twitched as she heard meows drifting from the nursery.

"I'm okay, Reedflow, honestly."

"But, Streamheart, you shouldn't be changing your own bedding while you're expecting kits. Get one of the apprentices to do it. In fact, I'll get Wolfpaw to do it tonight."

Rainpaw directed her attention back to her prey. Reedflow and Streamheart's conversation was none of her business.

Maybe one day I'll be a mother. She could imagine watching her kits play. One would be silver-blue like her, of course, and another gray. She could even see one of the kits eyes already, multicolored, one blue and one brown, just like Wol-. She jolted her imagining to a halt.

There's no way I can imagine having kits with Wolfpaw already. I've just become an apprentice, for StarClan's sake. I should be focusing on becoming a warrior, like Beesting said. Besides, he doesn't actually like me, he's just being nice.

Her thoughts were interrupted by her sister sitting down next to her.

"I'm exhausted," Floodpaw huffed. Rainpaw glanced up at the sky. The sun had just barely reached its highest point.

"It's only sunhigh. We still have a bunch of training to do before we get to sleep again," Rainpaw pointed out. Floodpaw moaned.

Rainpaw had just finished her squirrel when Beesting yowled for all the apprentices. Rainpaw followed her sister towards the deputy in the center of the glade. Rushpaw emerged from the elders den with a piece of moss stuck to his shoulder. Stormpaw, Wasppaw, and Torrentpaw appeared from the entrance of the apprentice den, while Stonepaw and Wolfpaw padded over from the thorn tunnel. Wolfpaw sat next to Rainpaw as they waited for Beesting to begin.

"How was battle practice?" Rainpaw whispered.

"Great! I beat Reedflow and Stonepaw!" His eyes were bright with excitement.

Rainpaw purred. "I bet you'll be the best fighter in the Clan by the time you're a warrior."

Wolfpaw puffed out his chest. "Well, I need to be a good fighter if I'm going to defend my future mate and kits, especially if-." He was cut off by Beesting's announcement.

"I've spoken to Blossomstar about all of your training," the yellow tom began. "We have come to the conclusion that we should do training sessions with all of you together." Murmurs spread through the crowd of young cats. Beesting raised his tail for silence.

"In two days, we are going to start our first training session. It will be a mock battle. Since our newest apprentices have not learned battle moves yet, we will have to take the session slow."

Whispers sprang up from the throng of apprentices. Rainpaw turned to Wolfpaw.

"I can't fight," she said anxiously. "I'm going to fail and embarrass myself!" Wolfpaw swept his tail around and touched the tip of it to her muzzle.

"Hush," he meowed. "You're going to do fine. Beesting will show you a few moves, and I think you'll pick up on them quickly. The rest is just instinct. We're warrior cats; we were born to fight."