snakepaw

~~~

FOXSTORM'S EYES WERE UNREADABLE as Snakepaw padded over.

"Listen, I know what you're going to say," Snakepaw started.

Foxstorm ruffled his fur. "Oh, do you?"

The gray tom nodded eagerly. "Yes, I know you're very disappointed and angry, and I promise I'll never do anything like that ever again. I'll take any punishment you give me."

Hopefully that would spare him the shouting.

However, to Snakepaw's surprise, Foxstorm shook his head. "That's not what I was going to say at all."

Snakepaw's ears twitched. "Huh?"

"I'm proud of you, Snakepaw."

At those words, Snakepaw felt his chest puff out. "Proud?" he echoed. He'd never heard those words used for him before.

"Very," Foxstorm answered with a grin. "You didn't just sit and wait around. You took initiative to try and help the Clan. That's exactly what I would've done when I was your age. You're on the right path."

Snakepaw felt that if he got any happier, he'd burst. So, all he managed to do was choke out a, "Thanks."

The ginger warrior chuckled, swishing his tail. "I can tell, you've got a lot of promise in you. Though you didn't know how to fight, you had the spirit. Next fight, you'll dominate the battlefield. Well, go on, go finish eating."

Snakepaw was absolutely brimming with joy as he gave his mentor a small nod and padded over to Viperpaw, who had just been dismissed by Sandstrike.

"So?" Viperpaw mumbled gloomily. "What task did Foxstorm assign you? Sandstrike's making me take care of the elders completely for a moon, ticks and everything."

Snakepaw gave his brother a sheepish look. "Um... Well, Foxstorm didn't give me a punishment."

Viperpaw's ears stood up. "What?" he yelped in surprise. "No punishment? How is that possible? During the time I just spent with Sandstrike, he spent half of it complaining about you."

Snakepaw let his brother's words roll easily off his pelt; Sandstrike's disappointment hardly mattered when Foxstorm was proud of him. "I guess Foxstorm has different views than Sandstrike. He's happy we took the initiative and joined the battle instead of just sitting around."

Viperpaw frowned, but didn't say any more as the brothers made their way over to the half-finished rabbit; Mintpaw and Frozenkit were still sitting around it awkwardly, neither of them speaking.

Mintpaw stood up right as her brothers approached. "Thanks for the rabbit, but I've got to go, Clearfrost needs my help," she meowed briskly, turning around and padding away without waiting for an answer.

Snakepaw stared after her, tail-tip twitching. There was something wrong with her, but he didn't care to figure it out; she probably wouldn't tell him, and he hadn't had a good conversation with her in moons. He had no idea why Viperpaw invited her to sit with them in the first place.

"Mintpaw's acting kind of weird," Viperpaw commented as he sat down, staring after his sister worriedly. "Do you think we should ask her?"

"Don't bother," Snakepaw replied breezily. "It's not like she'll tell us anyway."

"Maybe not, but you guys are her brothers." Frozenkit's melodic voice joined into the conversation, and Snakepaw found himself sitting up taller. "Even if she won't say, it'll probably still make her feel good to be asked."

Viperpaw tilted his head, humming lowly to himself in thought. 

~~~

WITHIN THE NEXT WEEKS, Snakepaw and Viperpaw were brought out on countless training sessions. It seemed with the recent attack, their mentors decided it'd be best to teach their apprentices as much as possible in the shortest amount of time.

However, throughout those sessions, it became abundantly clear that Snakepaw was more talented than his brother. He mastered everything much quicker. He reached the top of a tree before Viperpaw, performed combat moves with more precision, and always caught more prey.

Not only that, but he was often called one of the best apprentices ShadowClan's ever had.

"You're going to be the next Foxstorm," Snakepaw was frequently told. "Like mentor, like apprentice."

And he lived for it.

He soaked up every single praise he got, chest proudly puffed out, confidence rising exponentially as the days went on.

Viperpaw, on the other paw, was having a harder time with it. He'd always been naturally clumsy, and therefore often found his paws tangled together when he tried performing a move or creeping through the undergrowth.

It seemed, slowly but surely, Viperpaw was fading away into the shadows as Snakepaw bathed in the glory.

As the end of the third week came, Foxstorm and Sandstrike decided to let the two apprentices have their first mock fight.

Snakepaw and Viperpaw had been brought to Muddy Dip, which was used as a training area for apprentices. Past the dip lay a small clearing, which the two brothers stood on opposite sides in, tense, as they waited for their mentors to start the fight.

"Keep the claws sheathed," Sandstrike instructed. "I want no serious injuries. Other than that, you may use anything you've learned so far."

"Ready?" Foxstorm twitched his ears. "Go!"

Neither apprentice moved for a while, simply studying the other. Snakepaw's eyes narrowed, waiting for Viperpaw to make the first move.

"It's a battle," Foxstorm meowed with an amused voice, "you guys need to actually fight each other, you know."

Flicking his tail, Viperpaw shot forward with a mighty leap. Only, it would've been mighty if his large paws hadn't been caught in mud and therefore dragged down. Viperpaw almost lost his balance and fell down.

Snakepaw darted forward, giving Viperpaw's ears a cuff. Though he was very good at the fighting moves, he'd never actually practiced them before on a cat. However, as he brought the blow down, he suddenly felt... incredibly happy and light. He didn't know what it was, but it was like he'd found his calling.

He moved fast and with agility. The attack Viperpaw sent back at him was easily dodged, and he jumped around his brother, catching him off guard and nipping lightly at his pelt. 

It was easy. It was fun.

Despite combat being viewed as such a violent and chaotic thing, Snakepaw felt nothing but peace as he danced circles around Viperpaw. His mind was fully focused on the fight, and it was as if nothing else surrounded them.

A cuff here, a nip there, and before long, Viperpaw was snarling with frustration. Snakepaw quickly found his brother's weakness: though Viperpaw was larger, that only meant he was more clumsy, and therefore more likely to slip on the mud.

Eyes sharpened with determination, Snakepaw took a few steps back. Taking this as a retreat, Viperpaw chased, but due to his eagerness, didn't pay attention to where he was putting his paws. He soon lost his balance, about to slip.

And that's when Snakepaw took his chance.

Snakepaw jumped onto his brother, knocking him over, tail lashing triumphantly as his gaze finally fluttered over to the mentors.

They were both shocked into silence.

Foxstorm was the first to speak. "Was that your first ever fight?"

"I- yeah, it was," Snakepaw answered, feeling himself tingle with pride.

"That was great," the ginger warrior commented, "absolutely brilliant!"

Snakepaw beamed as he climbed off of his brother, helping him up, before the two of them trotted over to their mentors. Viperpaw flushed, standing in front of Sandstrike with an embarrassed expression.

"I... saw improvement," Sandstrike meowed at last. "For that jump you did at the beginning, try tucking your hind legs in more next time, and don't frail about randomly during the fight. That won't do you any favors."

"Well, shall we go hunting now?" Foxstorm suggested. "It's almost sunhigh, and we still haven't brought back any prey."

Sandstrike gave a curt nod, and the four toms set off into the pine forest.