"Now, you love your clan very much, right?" Bounceheart prompted once they were back to camp and were in the training area.

Horsepaw nodded vigorously.

"You have to fight against Grindpaw like it's a real battle between ShadowClan, okay? It's just so I can see how much you know so we can work on things." Bounceheart meowed, as Grindpaw and his mentor, Hawktalon, padded up to them.

"Hello, Bounceheart and Horsepaw," Hawktalon said cheerfully. Grindpaw waved his tail at his sister and her mentor. "Are you ready for the face Grindpaw in a fight?" Hawktalon faced Horsepaw. Horsepaw nodded half heartedly. "Remember, claws sheathed!"

"Okay, Grindpaw and Horsepaw, get in the middle and try your hardest. Good luck!" Bounceheart said to the apprentices, as they padded to the middle of the training ground. Horsepaw swallowed nervously. Grindpaw smiled encouragingly.

"Okay, ready, set, GO!" Hawktalon announced.

The apprentices began to fight. Horsepaw leaped on Grindpaw, and landed on his back.

"Ooh!" He gasped as the breath was knocked out of him.

Horsepaw pawed at his shoulders and neck. Suddenly, Grindpaw stood up threw her off. Horsepaw couldn't get her balance to stand up because of her missing leg. Grindpaw jumped on her stomach, making her exhale loudly. Horsepaw tried to swipe at his head and ears, but she only had one leg with claws. It didn't help. Grindpaw smiled triumphantly. "Got you!" He laughed. Horsepaw smiled. "Good job!" She mouthed.

"Okay, you can stop." Bounceheart's voice rang in the silence. The fight was finished.

"Grindpaw, you won this round. But Horsepaw did very good with her disadvantages. We haven't done battle training yet either, so we still have a lot of work. So good job, you guys!" Bounceheart noted. "Hawktalon, you and Grindpaw can go back to whatever y'all were doing before I called you guys. Great practice, Grindpaw. Thanks for coming!" Hawktalon nodded once, and Grindpaw smiled. The two walked back into camp together.

"Alright, now I'll show you some battle moves. We'll start with the belly rake. If you're pinned on the ground on your back, you can try to get either your back paw or front paw to rake your claws down the opponent's belly fur. You'll immediately get control so you can jump up, and attack them. It's really helpful, and it's the first move every apprentice learns. Wanna try out?" Bounceheart spoke very fast, but with authority. She was very descriptive and Horsepaw understood well. Horsepaw nodded.

"Okay, I'll be the one on top. You can be the one on your back on the ground. Use sheathed claws." Bounceheart instructed. She let Horsepaw lay done on her back, and she climbed on top of her. "Now, use your back or front claws to swipe at my stomach. Use whatever leg you can get free. Try it." Horsepaw swiped with her back paws and Bounceheart pretended to fall on the ground. "Ow, your sharp claws ripped my belly!" She had a amused gleam in her eyes. Horsepaw laughed silently. "That's was actually great, Horsepaw!" Bounceheart smiled approvingly. Horsepaw grinned back.

"Go get some fresh-kill. I think we did enough for today. Great practice!" Bounceheart walked back into camp to go join a hunting patrol. Horsepaw followed, but turned to go to the fresh-kill pile. She picked a skinny rabbit and sat down near her the apprentices' den.

"Hey!" Whirlpaw called from across the camp. He was walking into camp with his mentor, Grassfoot. He became an apprentice about a week ago. He was training very well, Grassfoot had said to Bounceheart.

"Can we share this r-rabbit?" He asked, sitting down next to the other apprentice. His white and brown pelt gleamed in the sun.

"Sure," Horsepaw mouthed happily. She pushed the rabbit in front of them both. He nodded gratefully and began to eat. "How's training going–"

She was interrupted by a heart wrenching wail. The apprentices turned towards the Elder's den.

"Hazelpelt! No!"