Shadow wrinkled her nose at the dirty bedding. She had been cleaning out nests since dawn. It was a punishment for losing a fight to Shimmer. Ivy had been harsh on her, even though the older apprentice had had more training.

She hauled the dirty moss and ferns outside the camp and buried them, ignoring Shimmer's snickers from where the she-cat lay on a sunlit spot.

Shadow spotted Ivy heading towards her and she brightened, hoping that she would be relieved from her duties.

The calico scanned Shadow's work and nodded. "Finish up here and meet me at the training hollow for battle training, you need it." Shadow flinched at her mentor's words and scolded herself for even thinking that Ivy would feel sympathy.

She cleaned the rest of the nests and arrived at the training hollow with tired muscles. Ivy hardly spared her a glance before drawing two lines into the dirt with her claw, spaced apart.

She then faced her apprentice. "You will take a running leap, don't cross the first line and land after the second line. When you were fighting Shimmer your leaps were short and powerless."

Shadow nodded, remembering the bruises she had received from crashing to the ground after a failed attacking leap.

She backed up a few fox-lengths and narrowed her eyes at the first line, determined not to cross it. The black and gray apprentice launched herself forward, aware of Ivy's deep green eyes boring into her.

She leaped a few paw spaces before the line, reaching forward with her front paws. Lashing her tail furiously, Shadow managed to stay upright in the air. She landed on all four paws and started to stand up proudly before freezing when she spotted the second line a good tail-length away.

Ivy stalked over, her fur bristling angrily. "What was that? I've seen kits do better! Use your hind legs, dig your claws into the ground as you run, it gives you more momentum."

Shadow padded to the front line and tried again, digging her claws into the ground and putting more strength into her hind legs. She watched the ground flash beneath her as she soared through the sky.

The apprentice landed hard and stumbled, then looked back to see the second line behind her. Pride filled her heart until a heavy paw cuffed her on the head. Ivy shook her head, "You started your leap after the first line, try again."

Shadow growled in frustration but padded back to the first line. After many failed attempts and bad-tempered growls and corrections from Ivy, she finally managed to clear the jump by crossing the lines.

She lay down in the shade of a bush, panting hard. But Ivy shoved her back to her paws and ran her through multiple complicated battle moves, driving her until she collapsed in fatigue.

Black dots danced in front of Shadow's eyes, the blurry shape of her mentor approaching. Ivy snorted in disgust and padded back to camp, leaving her apprentice to recover by herself.

After several heartbeats, Shadow could see again. She dragged herself to a stream close by and drank as much as she could, water dripping down her chin and wetting her chest fur.

The apprentice began inspecting the bruises and scratches covering her body from the brutal training. Clearing out the nest wasn't Ivy's punishment for losing to Shimmer. This was, she realized, shivering as a cold rain began pattering down on her already damp fur.

She quickly went back to camp, sickness was a dangerous thing in BloodClan, few cats had herb knowledge. Shadow plopped herself beside her sister and started licking her wet fur. Spark gasped when she saw her littermate’s condition and helped her untangle her matted fur.

After Spark had heard the story her eyes turned dark and stormy. “I hate being an apprentice!” She hissed. “All everyone does is hurt each other and hate. What kind of twisted world is that?” Shadow stuffed her tail in Spark's mouth before she could say more.

“If someone hears you we’ll both be dead in a heartbeat!” She whispered fiercely, shocked at her sister’s treacherous words. Such an act of betrayal could get a cat wishing for a short and quick death. Sky showed no mercy to rebels.

Spark shut her mouth but still lashed her tail angrily. She picked up her prey and stalked over to Diamond on the other side of the camp clearing. Shadow rolled her eyes and went to get prey from the prey pile.

Before she could lower her head to pick up a squirrel a heavy shove knocked her aside. She whipped her head up to see Frost looking at her.

"Have you provided for the clan today?" The assassin asked, her tone silky yet dangerous. "N-no, I was busy training and I had to-"

Frost silenced the stammering apprentice with a sharp hiss and turned her back, forcing Shadow to walk away with an empty stomach.

She curled up in her nest, angry, miserable, and hungry.

What do you think about Spark's words? Do you think Shadow agrees with her? Let me know your thoughts! Don't forget to vote and comment <3

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