Flamepaw's Destination

Chapter 3

            Upon waking up the following morning, Flamepaw was still reluctant to follow Duskpelt's advice. She knew it would be wise to talk to Mothwing, but her friend was so busy anyway training Spotpaw, it wasn't like she wanted to bother her.
            Flamepaw opened her eyes to find the other apprentices sleeping soundly. Noticing it was just sunrise, she quietly crept out of the den, wondering if perhaps she should approach Mothwing. Only a few cats were up and about, mostly those joining on morning patrol.
            Flamepaw's feet began to take her to Mothwing's den, despite her wish not to go there. Her heart pounding heavily, she thought back to the nightmare she'd had the previous night. She and Barkpaw had been happily playing in the forest when Korosu had appeared and slaughtered the tom...Flamepaw shuddered just thinking about it.
            Peeking her head into the opening of the medicine cat den, she noticed Mothwing organizing herbs. From what Flamepaw could tell, it seemed Spotpaw was still sleeping, as the small she-cat did not appear beside her.
            Letting out a deep breath, Mothwing turned in surprise, then relaxed as she noticed it was just Flamepaw.
            "Ah, Flamepaw," Mothwing said, turning back to her herbs. "You scared me."
            "S-Sorry," Flamepaw stammered, slowly padding into the medicine cat den. Before she could speak, she noticed Spotpaw on the other side of Mothwing. The brown she-cat was so small that Flamepaw's friend easily concealed her.
            "Hi, Flamepaw!" Spotpaw squeaked. "Mothwing's showing me how to organize herbs!"
            Mothwing giggled slightly. "Yes, that's right. We're just about to go out to fetch some more cobwebs. Was there something you needed, Flamepaw?"
            Flamepaw immediately felt embarassed, not feeling comfortable enough to tell Mothwing her troubles in front of Spotpaw. Unfortunately, she hadn't come up with a good excuse as to why she had appeared.
            "Um...I think I may have gotten a thorn in my paw or something from yesterday," she lied, holding out her right paw.
            "Can I look?" Spotpaw asked excitedly.
            Mothwing nodded, then turned back to Flamepaw. "Spotpaw will inspect you while I finish organizing the herbs."
            Flamepaw nodded. Fox-dung, she thought to herself, sitting down as Spotpaw instructed her to do so.
            "Which paw is it?" Spotpaw wondered.
            Stupidly, Flamepaw held out her left paw.
            "Wasn't it your right?" Spotpaw asked.
            "Yes, sorry," Flamepaw replied, holding out her paw. She watched as the medicine cat apprentice inspected it, and after a few moments of silence, she paused.
            "There's nothing in the pad of your paws," she explained.
            "I didn't think there was. It was hurting yesterday, so Duskpelt told me to see Mothwing, but I decided to wait. It must've come out. Thanks for your help," Flamepaw spoke quickly, exiting the den and leaving the confused Spotpaw behind.
            Flamepaw rushed out of the den and immediately bumped into Barkpaw, who held a large robin in his jaws.
            "Ah, watch it, Flamepaw!" he shouted, regaining his balance.
            "Sorry," Flamepaw muttered, swiping dust off his pelt with her tail. She glanced at the robin at his feet. "Is that all for you?"
            "I got it for us to share at breakfast," Barkpaw admitted.
            Flamepaw's heart warmed at the tom's gesture. She had definitely grown towards him and enjoyed every moment being with him. Though recently, she felt another feeling growing inside her when he was around her.
            "Thanks. Sorry about running into you," Flamepaw told him. She followed him to a spot right out in the sun and sat down.
            "It's fine," Barkpaw admitted, taking a bite out of the robin. He chewed slowly, then swallowed.
            "Why were you in Mothwing's den?" he wondered.
            Flamepaw felt herself getting red with embarrassment. "I just wanted to visit her. She's my friend and all."
            "Oh. I thought you'd gotten hurt," Barkpaw thought.
            Flamepaw shook her head and took a bite of her robin before she could embarrass herself anymore. She and Barkpaw talked quietly as they completed their breakfast. Suddenly, Flamepaw heard footsteps behind her and spun around to see Duskpelt.
            "Ready to go, Flamepaw?" he wondered.
            Flamepaw glanced back at Barkpaw, then turned back to her mentor. "Are Rosepettle and Barkpaw joining us?"
            Duskpelt shook his head. "Not today. I thought we'd practice some more battle moves."
            "Have fun, Flamepaw," Barkpaw called as Flamepaw rose nervously. She waved good-bye to her friend and trotted off with her mentor toward the RiverClan forest, unsure of how the day would go.
            Each time Duskpelt opened his mouth to say something, Flamepaw winced, expecting the tom to ask her if she'd visited Mothwing, but the question never came. Slightly relaxed, Flamepaw followed him to the clearing in the forest where they'd practiced earlier.
            "Here's good," Duskpelt admitted, stopping in the center of the grassy clearing. Flamepaw glanced around at the multi-colored trees of leaf-fall, the warm colors calming her slightly.
            "What are we practicing?" Flamepaw asked, hoping Duskpelt couldn't see her legs shaking furiously. The last time she'd practiced fighting had been a disaster, and she wasn't too happy to try again.
            "Let's try blocking," Duskpelt decided. "Blocking blows is important in battle. It can also help you defeat your opponent. Come forward, Flamepaw."
            Flamepaw slowly padded forward.
            "Try to swipe at me," he said.
            Flamepaw swiped her paw at Duskpelt, only to be blocked by his strong paw.
            "It's simple," he explained. "Though I suppose it becomes more difficult in the middle of a full-out battle. Blocking isn't just done with your paw though. It can be with your leg, your tail...whatever works to keep the opponent from hurting you. Now, I'm going to swipe my paw at you. Are you ready?"
            Flamepaw gulped and nodded slowly, watching as Duskpelt's paw came. Weakly, she hit at it, but Duskpelt still managed to swipe her aside.
            "Aw, come on. I know you can do this," Duskpelt encouraged her.
            Flamepaw took a deep breath and stood, firm, waiting for Duskpelt's paw to come again. As he swiped, she used her paw to push his aside.
            "Good! Good!" Duskpelt exclaimed. "That was a good start. We'll have to keep practicing."
            For a while longer, Flamepaw spent time with her mentor practicing blocking, though with each attempt, she felt herself losing more and more control of her actions. Perhaps her first block had just been lucky, as Duskpelt repeatedly kept swiping her.
            "Let's try one more then call it a day," he decided.
            Flamepaw nodded, knowing she couldn't miss this one. As his paw came however, his black fur turned white, and his sheathed claws were replaced by silver unsheathed ones. Flamepaw yowled and jumped aside.
            "Well, that was a good dodge, but it wasn't blocking," Duskpelt admitted as he placed his paw down. Flamepaw blinked, seeing his paw was still black and his claws sheathed.
            "Let's head back," Duskpelt decided.
            "But I didn't block you," Flamepaw admitted, disappointed.
            "That's okay. There'll be more time to practice later," he said.
            Flamepaw's heart sunk, and she followed her mentor out of the woods. Why couldn't she just forget about Korosu? If this kept up, she'd never be a warrior!
            As Duskpelt led her out of the forest, he turned to her and spoke quietly.
            "You didn't speak to Mothwing, did you?"
            Flamepaw glanced down at her paws and didn't reply.
            "Please, Flamepaw, I insist. I think it'll help you. I know, and I think you know, too, that this is severely affecting your training. I don't want to see you become a warrior late because of this. You have so much potential. I know what you're capable of," he explained.
            Flamepaw sighed and glanced back up into the tom's yellow eyes.
            "I-I'll talk to her," she decided, knowing she couldn't let Duskpelt down. He was her mentor, after all.
            "Good," Duskpelt said as they entered camp. He patted her back with his tail and smiled warmly. "I'm hoping you'll be mastering those battle moves in no time."
            Flamepaw smiled weakly, grateful for the tom's support. She then padded once again to Mothwing's den. One warrior was inside getting his paw inspected by Spotpaw while Mothwing grabbed the apprentice some herbs.
            Flamepaw waited patiently near the entrance of the den until the two had finished up.
            "You're good to go," Mothwing told the warrior. He grinned, thankful for their help, and exited.
            "Back again, Flamepaw?" Mothwing asked as she turned around and placed herbs away.
            "Did you actually get a thorn in your paw this time?" Spotpaw wondered.
            "Actually, I was wondering if I could talk to you, Mothwing," Flamepaw spoke. She glanced at Spotpaw, then added, "Privately."
            Mothwing's eyes widened, and she nodded. "Spotpaw, we're almost out of marigold. Why don't you grab some more?"
            "Okay!" Spotpaw agreed, happily skipping out of the den. Once she was gone, the calico she-cat turned to her friend in concern. "Is something wrong?" she wondered.
            Flamepaw didn't know why, but tears gathered in her eyes.
            "Ever since the journey...I've been having visions, dreams about Korosu. She scares me, Mothwing, and I know it's because I'm scared of her! And normally it wouldn't matter, but it's been affecting my training with Duskpelt, and I just want her gone!" she sobbed.
            Mothwing sat, her face in a frown. She rubbed her tail along Flamepaw's back as she cried, hushing her calmly.
            "There, there, let it out," she spoke.
            Once Flamepaw was able to get all the tears out, she calmed down and waited for Mothwing to speak.
            "I understand. We've been through a lot, Flamepaw. I never got too close to Korosu, but I know what she's capable of. Remember I was with the foxes too and captured by them. That scared me, and I remember having dreams for a little bit and being scared of foxes coming after me. What you faced is much worse, but we have to be strong," Mothwing explained.
            "But how do I make them stop?"
            "You only let yourself make these dreams come," Mothwing told her. "You are convincing yourself of something that won't happen. It's okay to be afraid, but you can't let your fears control you. Flamepaw, RiverClan is a strong clan. Korosu has not stepped near our border since Goldstar's return, thanks to you. I assure you that you're safe."
            Flamepaw nodded, but was still not eased.
            "I know this is hard for you to believe. What I can tell you though is that we all must face our fears. It is a process we all must go through when becoming a warrior. I am not a warrior myself, so I won't go through this process as vigorously as you will, but you must take your fears and use them as energy to fuel you. Just think, if you master those battle moves, you won't be frightened of Korosu."
            Flamepaw's heart lifted, and she suddenly felt a bit better. "Really?"
            Mothwing nodded. "It's important to focus on the positives too. Think of your family, Barkpaw, your friends. That should help the dreams cease. Try to replace your fears with happy memories and thoughts."
            "Thank you, Mothwing," Flamepaw said, dipping her head.
            Mothwing smiled. "I'm glad I could help. Come to me if you need any more help. I might be able to get a sleeping aid for you."
            "Thanks, but I don't think I need it," Flamepaw admitted, walking toward the entrance of the den.
            "Then I'm glad," Mothwing replied, grinning.
            Flamepaw smiled and exited the den with new confidence. She wouldn't let Korosu control her anymore.