Waging War Book 2: Gray Skies {COMPLETE}

Chapter 14

Blossompaw pressed her body against the ground and Oakpaw reared up on her. She shot forward as quick as she could manage, swiping at Oakpaw's legs. She hit them hard enough and knocked his hind legs out from underneath him. Oakpaw hit the ground and let out a huff of air. Blossompaw jumped back to her forelegs, she placed her paw at the base of Oakpaw's tail and tried to place her paw on his neck, but Oakpaw was stronger.

Using his weight, he pulled his tail out from underneath Blossompaw, causing her to lose balance. Oakpaw twisted on his paws and delivered a sharp bow to Blossompaw's ribs, sending her falling to the ground. She hissed at the pain and Oakpaw did to her, what she was trying to do to him. He placed one paw at the base of her tail and one paw gently at her throat. Blossompaw struggled to break away from his grasp.

"That's enough." Mudfall spoke up, rising to his paws. Blossompaw's pelt burned with humiliation. Why can't I get this.

"Let me try again." Blossompaw pleaded. "I can get it this time."

"There's no need for that, Blossompaw." Mudfall shook his head slowly. "You've shown great improvement since we started today. We'll practice more later, last thing we need is one of you getting actually hurt." Blossompaw flattened her ears. Why can't I get this? They had been training for quite a long time on a battle move and while Oakpaw learned it almost instantly, Blossompaw had yet to execute it correctly.

"Let's head back to camp." Burnclaw suggested. "Oakpaw and I are scheduled for the evening patrol." Blossompaw stayed silent as the others agreed and bitterly followed them back to camp. She drug her paws through the leaves and kept her head low. Seems like this is becoming a common thing. She thought sadly. She just couldn't understand why she struggled so much with fighting.

I'm a good hunter, so why can't I be good at fighting too? She glanced at her brother. Oakpaw is good at hunting and fighting. Rushpaw isn't as good as fighting at Oakpaw, but he's still learning and improving all the time. Blossompaw felt like she was falling behind her siblings. When Owlpaw had been in camp she struggled with both hunting and fighting, but she was also out exploring the world and learning so much. She's going to come back so much stronger and smarter. But at least she would understand what I'm feeling.

The group of cats entered the camp and Burnclaw and Oakpaw broke away to join a patrol with Windsong, Fawnheart, Briarrose and Maplepaw. "Why don't you get some prey?" Mudfall suggested.

"Okay." Blossompaw grumbled, but she didn't really feel like eating.

"Don't feel bad that you're struggling." Mudfall told her as Blossompaw walked away. "Just because you're struggling doesn't mean that you're failing."

"It feels like it." Blossompaw muttered. "It only takes Oakpaw and Rushpaw one day to master a battle move. It takes me like five."

"If you compare yourself to your brothers then you're going to set yourself up for failure everytime." Mudfall brushed his tail against Blossompaw's pelt. "You're are not your brothers, you are Blossompaw. Believe me."

"Did you do the same with Earthpelt?"

Mudfall shook his head. "Not with Earthpelt, but with Falconheart."

"Falconheart?" Blossompaw tilted her head. "He's not your brother."

"No but he's my cousin, and he was so skilled. Even as a kit he was brave, reckless, but brave. I wanted to be as strong and as brave as him, but it just never happened. Eventually, with his help, I learned to not be ashamed of my own skills. I became my own cat and didn't worry about what I couldn't do and started focused on what I could do."