Honeyfrost looked around the medicine cat den, feeling incredibly proud of her work. The medicine cat den never seemed to be in order these days. Herb scraps were strewn about and stay, dried berries scattered the floor along with bits and pieces of moss. While Pebblestep was out gathering more chervil and juniper Honeyfrost spent her day organizing the medicine cat den. Now it was perfectly clean and neat, the herb store was organized and she cleared up a ton of space but ridding the store of dried out and useless herbs.

Honeyfrost had made her and Pebblestep brand new nests full of comfy moss and bracken, and there was a large stack of moss balls in the back corner of the den. Honeyfrost held her head high, proud of what she had done in such a short amount of time. I can't wait until Pebblestep sees! She thought eagerly, purring to herself.

Honeyfrost continued to amend lose odds and ends until she was convinced the medicine cat den was completely perfect. By the time she finished Pebblestep finally returned with a large bundle of chervil and juniper. Her eyes widened at the sight of the medicine cat den. Pebblestep set down the bundle of herbs and looked around. "Wow, Honeyfrost." She purred. "This is impressive, I haven't seen the medicine cat den this neat in moons!"

"Me neither." Honeyfrost laughed softly. "That's why I fixed it up, I'm sure it will get messy again here soon but we should enjoy a nice clean den for now." She flicked her tail. "I even made us some new nests." She motioned with her paw to the Pebblestep's nest.

"Well I'm sure excited to lay down in it." Pebblestep purred, putting her herbs in the newly organized herb store. "I wish juniper grew closer but we have to go all the way to the AshClan border to get some." She sighed, she sat down in her nest and began washing her paws. "It takes much longer than it used to."

Honeyfrost was inclined to agree, juniper was much easier and more abundant in their old territory, but it had become a struggle to get even one berry as the forest died. "At least we have such a plethora of marigold." She mewed, pointing out the bright side. You could barely walk a foxlength out of the camp without seeing a patch of the golden flower. "And it's so useful."

"That's true." Pebblestep thought, her expression becoming delighted.

Honeyfrost heard pawsteps approach the medicine cat den, her ears twitched and she glanced towards the entrance to see who it was. Falconheart along with Hollypaw stepped into view. Honeyfrost's heart dropped, she knew what this was about. Falconheart had a mischevious glint in his eyes and Hollypaw's eyes burned with excitement.

"Good afternoon, Falconheart and Hollypaw." Pebblestep mewed, rising from her nest with a curious look at Honeyfrost's brother. "Did you two need something."

"Just Honeyfrost." Falconheart mewed, stepping into the den.

"Honeyfrost is busy." Honeyfrost replied, trying to rush to the herb store and make it look like she was actually busy. Why couldn't he have came while I was actually busy!

"Come on, Honeyfrost." Falconheart mewed, walking over to Honeyfrost who avoided her brother's gaze. "You can't keep putting this off."

"What's going on?" Pebblestep asked in confusion from her nest.

"Battle training." Falconheart replied. "Our parents asked me to give Honeyfrost some training. With Echoheart out there she needs to know how to defend herself."

"I'm fine." Honeyfrost argued, sitting up and looking at her brother. "I rarely go out into the forest."

"That's not enough." Falconheart mewed sternly, his amber eyes burning with concern. "You've been attacked by Echoheart before and you had no way to defend yourself. If she comes to camp then what? You can't stay in the camp forever, Honeyfrost."

"Falconheart is right, Honeyfrost." Pebblestep spoke and Honeyfrost withheld a groan. "You need to learn how to fight back, Echoheart threatened you directly."

"She also threatened you and our parents." Honeyfrost reminded him with a mumble.

"Yes but we're warriors. We can fight back, we've had moons of training." Falconheart urged. "You don't."

"Isn't it just like-- natural instinct?" Honeyfrost looked at Falconheart with a hopeful attitude, but Falconheart wasn't convinced. His expression was stale, Honeyfrost sighed loudly. "Fine, let's go."

Falconheart's face lit up and he lifted his head high. "Alright! Let's get going." Falconheart turned back to Hollypaw.

"What's Hollypaw doing with us?" Honeyfrost questioned curiously.

"I needed a cat similar to your size, Hollypaw was the closest I could find."

Honeyfrost narrowed her eyes, was he calling Honeyfrost small for a full medicine cat or was he calling Hollypaw big for an apprentice? Either way, Honeyfrost was convinced that one of them should be offended.

Honeyfrost dragged her paws as she walked behind Hollypaw and Falconheart into the forest. Hollypaw walked with an eager skip in her step and Falconheart walked with pure confidence, something Honeyfrost just couldn't find. Ever since Echoheart had been revealed to be in the territoires, every warrior that Honeyfrost knew was pressing her to learn how to fight but she just didn't want to. It's not who I am. Honeyfrost thought bitterly.

The three cats reached the training area, a low hollow between the camp and the temporary MoonClan border. "Alright." Falconheart faced Honeyfrost who refused to find the same enthusiasm as him and Hollypaw. Falconheart clearly picked up on this. "You know, most cats would relish at the thought of being able to come out and battle train and not deal with herbs or elders."

"Yes, because they choose to be warriors. They chose to hunt and fight, I chose to deal with herbs and elders. After this maybe you can go give comfrey to Fawnheart and then maybe you'll understand why I don't want to do this."

"If that what it takes then I absolutely will." Falconheart stood directly in front of Honeyfrost. "Honeyfrost, there's a violent, bloodthirsty cat out there who won't hesitate to kill you the moment she sees you." His eyes and tone grew incredibly serious. "You need to learn how to defend yourself."

"But it's not who I am." Honeyfrost dropped her head, letting out a small sigh before looking back up at Falconheart. "You know when you become a warrior and you take a vow to defend the Clan, even at the cost of your life?" Falconheart nodded. "Medicine cats also make a vow, but instead we vow to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, to stand apart from rivalry between Clan and Clan and to protect all cats equally. I don't hurt, I heal. That's what I do, Falconheart."

Falconheart's gaze saddened slightly. "Honeyfrost, I know that this isn't want you to and I'm not asking to hurt or kill anyone. I just want you to defend yourself, know how to get away and protect yourself. I would never ask you to fight Echoheart head on and I promise I will always fight to protect you, but I can't always be around. If you're alone or we get separated or I can't be there." Falconheart eyes burned intensely, this was something he had clearly thought about. "Then you need to be able to protect yourself. You love being a medicine cat so much and SunClan needs both our medicine cats for the time ahead. You want to heal your Clanmates, right?" Honeyfrost nodded slowly. "Well you kinda need to be alive for that." Honeyfrost's looked away once again. "I could never forgive myself if you got hurt and I wasn't there to protect you, but if I know that you're able to defend yourself then I'll be able to have some peace of mind."

Honeyfrost flattened her ears, back when they were apprentices Honeyfrost thought Falconheart hated her. Now he was just trying to keep her safe, he made it clear that's all he wanted. Honeyfrost wasn't usually scared for her brother in battles because she knew he was an incredible fighter. Falconheart won't worry about me so much if I know how to defend myself. She realized. If I would've been able to defend myself against Hornet then I never would have gotten taken.

"Alright, Falconheart." She sighed, finally giving in. "I'll give it my all, or at least try to." She promised.

"That's all I ask." Falconheart touched his muzzle to Honeyfrost's forehead then backed up. "Okay, so the main thing you need to understand is that compared to Echoheart, and I mean this in the kindest way possible, you're much smaller and weaker than she is." Honeyfrost listened intently to his words, and she wasn't insulted. Echoheart is a fully grown and trained warrior, I'm just a medicine cat. "If you see Echoheart coming for you, and if you can, then I want you to run first and foremost. If you have a chance to run, then you need to take it, but that won't always be the case. If she manages to get to you, do everything you can to not give her access to your throat or belly.

"If she pins you on your stomach then there's not much you can do against her strength wise." Falconheart looked at Hollypaw who nodded, the apprentice flattened herself on the ground and Falconheart used his large forepaws to pin Hollypaw's down. "Right now all Hollypaw can do is struggle." He continued and Hollypaw wiggled underneath his strength. "However, if she can reach, Hollypaw could bite my leg as hard as she possibly can." Hollypaw craned her neck and placed her nose against Falconheart's leg, right above his paw to signify a bite. "Bite down as hard as you can and I mean as hard as possible. You want this bite to hurt a lot, this will cause the bigger cat to rip their paw back and in that moment there balance won't be as sturdy."

As Falconheart pulled his paw back, Hollypaw arched her back and used her own weight to throw Falconheart completely off balance. "During that moment, you should be able to either run or prepare yourself for her next attack." Falconheart faced Hollypaw once more, giving her a nod of approval. "If Echoheart manages to pin you on your back then you're in trouble as both your belly and throat are exposed. If this happens you need to act fast because hers will also be exposed to you."

Hollypaw laid down flat on her back and Falconheart pinned her once more. "If you're fast enough then you can either go for her belly, throat--" Honeyfrost tensed at the thought of biting into a cat's throat, Falconheart noticed this. "Or--" He corrected himself. "You can use your hind legs to kick her hard in the stomach. Use all your strength and it should knock the air out of her and make her lose her balance. You can then use that to get away." Hollypaw demonstrated, pushing her hind paws into Falconheart's belly, not enough to hurt him but enough for Honeyfrost to get the picture.

"Alright," Falconheart let Hollypaw up and looked at her with a nod. "Thank you, Hollypaw.

"No problem!" Hollypaw chirped, trotting over to sit down.

Falconheart shifted his gaze to Honeyfrost. "Now it's your turn." He mewed and Honeyfrost tensed.

"But I saw you do all that..." She mewed, shuffling her paws.

"But you actually need to practice it." Falconheart mewed, trotting over to Honeyfrost. "You can watch cats fight all day long but your real skills are tested in the heat of battle and physical training."

Honeyfrost had learned by now that there was no arguing with Falconheart, so she sighed and stood up. "Alright. Can we start with the part where I run away upon seeing you?"

Falconheart snorted, he was clearly trying to be stern but the amusement in his eyes have it away. "Don't be funny." He snorted, trying to conceal his laughter.

Honeyfrost shrugged. "Worth a shot." She snickered. Falconheart rolled his eyes, but suddenly his golden-brown tabby fur became a blur and Honeyfrost didn't even have time to register what was happening as Falconheart shoved her to the ground. She landed on the ground, kicking up dirt and grass as she fell. "Ow!" She hissed. "Give me some warning at least!"

"No warning in the heat of battle, Honeyfrost." He replied. "Now act quickly, remember what I taught you. You need to be quick in battle, there's no time to think about what's happening you need to act."

Honeyfrost began to panic slightly, she racked her brain for all that she had seen Falconheart and Hollypaw practice, but finally she remembered. She bumped her muzzle against his leg, hurting her nose slightly in the process. Falconheart lifted his paw and Honeyfrost attempted standing up under him, she felt Falconheart begin to lose his balance and Honeyfrost scurried out from underneath him.

"Not bad." Falconheart mewed once Honeyfrost got to her paws. "Though you took too long, if I was Echoheart you'd already be dead or severely injured. Honeyfrost swallowed nervously. Falconheart moved again, but this time Honeyfrost was more aware. She attempted to dodge his attack but didn't know where to go and moved too slowly. This time he knocked her onto her back. Remember what to do here, Honeyfrost. She told herself and after a brief moment of hesitation, she lifted her back legs and drove them into Falconheart's belly.

Her brother let out a sharp exhale of breath and stumbled backwards. Honeyfrost quickly scrambled to her paws and rushed to her brother. "I'm so sorry!" She cried.

"Don't be." Falconheart mewed, regaining his breath. "I've endured worse, and you did better that time. You tried to dodge my attack again, which was good but you didn't know where to go. Part of fighting is taking in your surroundings in the heat of the moment so you know an escape if you need one. If this was a battle you wouldn't want to run to my left because Hollypaw is there, you don't want to run directly into other cats. Your best bet would be to run to my right because it's clear.

"But if you run a straight line I can easily catch up and pin you down again. So it's best to run diagonally from your enemy, you want to put as much space between you and them as possible. Once you've got enough space, twist and turn to make your movements unpredictable. If you're fighting in SunClan territory you have the advantage because you know this territory, but if you're unfamiliar territory then you need to rely on your senses to get you away safely." Honeyfrost nodded slowly, trying her best to remember everything her brother was telling her.

"Now let's go again." Honeyfrost and Falconheart continued their training, sometimes Hollypaw would step in to show another demonstration. As the sun began to fall through the trees Honeyfrost began to feel more battered and bruised. Her entire body ached from ears to tail tip. She was out of breath and convinced she would be more than sore in the morning.

"That's enough for tonight." Falconheart said much to Honeyfrost's joy. She had never felt more exhausted. "I know I pushed you really hard, Honeyfrost." Falconheart mewed apologetically. "But you kept improving with each moment."

"Thanks." She panted. "But it feels like I just dragged around the forest by my ears."

Falconheart chuckled slightly. "Yeah, that will happen. You'll get used to it as you train more." Honeyfrost looked over Falconheart and Hollypaw, neither of them seemed to be as exhausted as she was.

"Let's get home and rest up," He looked at Hollypaw. "I'll be sure to tell Rosewind how good you did today."

"Thanks! It was a lot of fun." Hollypaw purred. "You did really good, Honeyfrost! Maybe now you can teach me some herbs!"

Honeyfrost purred, Hollypaw's enthusiasm seemed to be contagious. "I'd love to, but that will have to be another day." She mewed then looked at Falconheart. "Since I held up my half of the deal..." She mewed mischievously, Falconheart looked at her. "Fawnheart's going to need more comfrey tomorrow."

Falconheart's ears flattened and fear filled his amber eyes. "That doesn't seem fair, I'd rather face a whole Clan of Echohearts than one Fawnheart. She leaves real scars." Honeyfrost, Falconheart and Hollypaw shared a laugh as they trekked through the forest.

"Thanks again, Rosewind." Falconheart mewed, dipping his head towards the ginger she-cat. "She did really great."

"That's wonderful to hear." Rosewind purred. "Why don't you get some prey off the fresh-kill pile." Rosewind suggested, Hollypaw didn't need to hear it again as she rushed off towards the prey.

"I could use some prey myself." Falconheart mewed who looked at Honeyfrost, she still felt a painful ache throughout her entire body. The walk back to camp seemed to take forever and only exacerbate her pain.

"Me too." Honeyfrost hadn't eaten since the morning before she cleaned the medicine cat den, her stomach was growling louder than her thoughts. After quickly eating some prey with Falconheart, Honeyfrost said goodbye to her brother and returned to her own den where Pebblestep was laying some herbs out in the den to try from the rain.

"Welcome back." Pebblestep purred. "How did the training go?"

"Well I feel like I just fought all of AshClan." Honeyfrost complained, dropping herself down into her nest. "Falconheart says he thinks I did good though."

"Do you think you did good?" Pebblestep questioned, padding over to the herb store.

"I don't know." Honeyfrost admitted. "I don't know what good is." She mewed. "But I believe in Falconheart."

"Well you should take some of this." Pebblestep pushed some poppy seeds towards Honeyfrost. "Those aches are going to keep you up."

"Thank you." Honeyfrost mewed gratefully at her, and happy to finally be back in a world that she understood. Honeyfrost lapped up the poppy seeds and curled up in her nest. It didn't take any time at all for Honeyfrost to slip into a much needed rest.