~ Rising Tide ~

~ Chapter 6 ~

Swiftpaw bounced alongside Blackwind, his ears pricking upwards. His mentor eyed him with amusement.

"You look like it's your first time out of the forest." He mused.

"It's my first time out of the forest today!" Swiftpaw point out with a cheeky grin.

Blackwind let out a chuckle. "I suppose you're right."

Swiftpaw broke into a run while Blackwind called after him.

"Don't go too far!"

Swiftpaw barely heard him, feeling the wind whistle in his ears and ruffle his whiskers.  Suddenly, he felt the trees vanish and his front paws give way to nothing. His front legs plunged down as he jerked forward. As he guessed, he was hanging desperately off the cliff, about to fall to his death when he felt teeth grab firmly onto his tail. He let out a cry that echoed through the canyon as he was pulled back onto solid land. Swiftpaw collapsed forward, panting as his heart raced in his chest.

"I told you not to go to far!" A familiar voice hissed.

Swiftpaw looked up guiltily, meeting his mentors gaze.

"Sorry..." He muttered.

"Tell that to Starclan once you join them after doing something stupid!" Blackwind snarled.

Swiftpaw felt a lump form in his throat as he sat up to fiddle with his paws. Blackwind's hard glare remained for a heartbeat longer before he blinked, his gaze softening.

"I don't want to lose you." Blackwind murmured. "Especially if your death would be you running voluntarily off a cliff."

Swiftpaw looked up at him. "I know..."

"Do you Swiftpaw?" The black tom pressed.

Swiftpaw looked up at him again, earnestly responding. "Yes."

Blackwind nodded, satisfied. "You know... you learn the best not to do something when you have a near death experience with it."

Swiftpaw blinked at him, confused. "Really?"

"Seems you did." Blackwind purred, sounding amused.

Swiftpaw studied his paws with a guilty smile. "I guess."

* * *

"Tuck in you haunches more."

Swiftpaw did as his mentor said, or at least, he tried too.

"You're tail looks like you a bee trying to sting something." Blackwind mused.

Swiftpaw gritted his teeth and loosened his tail, hovering it a little am over the ground. Blackwind studied him then nodded, nudging a leave in front of him.

"Push with your hind legs." He told him.

Swiftpaw shifted his paws, studying the leaf before leaping. He landed awkwardly beside the leafs toppling onto his side. He sat up, shaking the leaf litter from his pelt and gazing at his mentor. Blackwind seemed to stare distantly at nothing as his tail flicking to the side.

"It's funny... no offense, but you're terrible right now at it. But for me right now, it's such a  simple thing to do. Soon you'll get it but it's amusing to see you learn." Blackwind murmured.

Swiftpaw found that strangely comforting, his pelt fluffing out with determination. Blackwind studied him before smiling.

"Let's do this kid." Blackwind chuckled.

Swiftpaw crouched again, shifting into the right position as he fixed his gaze once again on the leaf. Blackwind watched him, his ears flicking. Swiftpaw leaped, landing only a little short. After a few tries, he eventually got it and was ready to try it on real prey. Swiftpaw and Blackwind searched for a bit before finding a suitable candidate. A mouse was eating nuts form a hazel bush, too intent on what it was doing to predict it's coming doom. Swiftpaw crouched down, Blackwind crouched down next to him.

"Try to catch this on your own, if you don't get it, there's always next time. You'll get it sooner or later." Blackwind murmured.

Swiftpaw nodded, slowly stalking closer to the mouse. He made sure to keep his paws light as he neared his prey. He narrowed his eyes before, leaping out of his hiding spot. His claws slammed into the mouse's fragile body. The mouse squeaked before Swiftpaw bit down on its neck.

"Great!!" Blackwind exclaimed, emerging from the grass. "Lets go show off your frost catch to the clan."

Swiftpaw picked up his mouse, not believing he could be more proud of himself at that moment. When they reached camp, Swiftpaw had his chest still puffed out with pride as he and his mentor strode into the camp. Stonepaw and Larkbreeze were exchanging a few words at the fresh kill pile, their tail tucked neatly over their paws. Swiftpaw bounded up to his brother,  dropping his mouse.

"My first catch!" He boasted.

"Great job!" His older brother grinned, ruffling the fur on Swiftpaw's head.

"He really did do great." Blackwind agreed, settling down beside Larkbreeze, who gave him a friendly shove as a greeting. Snowstar then padded up to them, her eyes gleaming.

"How did my sons do?" She asked, giving each of them a lick in between the ears.

"Look at my first fresh kill!" He cried, nudging the mouse towards her.

"That's a nice kill." She purred, her eyes glittering with something he couldn't place.

Swiftpaw blinked as another emotion passed through her gaze. Was it remembrance? Swiftpaw didn't know.