❈Chapter Four ❈

     Briarpaw sat by the apprentice's den while Jaystar divvied out patrols and jobs. She licked her chest thoughtfully. Her mind was occupied with what she had overheard the other night. The prophecy... It was so confusing! Something about "Claws of fire", and a firestorm, and "cold coals, longing for the world they once knew—before sparks flew." It didn't make any sense to Briarpaw. The fire must represent something, but what? She contemplated it, wondering what it could possibly mean. Maybe a fire destroying the clans? Then it hit her. She felt like clawing her own face off for not realizing it sooner. Oh, StarClan! I'm as stupid as a brainless kit! Of course, "Claws of fire" must be the 'claws' those cats were talking about in their secret meeting! "Let the burning claws rise!" They had yowled; Briarpaw assumed the "Claws" were them, and that the "Burning Claws" meant them as well. Fire was feared by all the clans. That must mean these Claws of Fire intended evil to the clans. Fire was destructive. So the Claws must be too. But that still leaves the whole rest of the prophecy to figure out, she thought. She growled lightly.

     The sounds of paw steps broke her reverie. "Hey, get up. We're doing battle training today." Briarpaw looked up to see her mentor, Tigerdawn, staring down at her with dark blue eyes.

     Briarpaw hopped up. When Tigerdawn said "Get up," she meant get up now.

     She followed her mentor out of camp, and into the forest. All was dull, dry, brown and gray. The trees were bare, crunchy red and brown leaves were littered on the ground, and only a few brave cardinals hopped around in the trees. Briarpaw made a mental note to try and catch one later.

     "Alright," Tigerdawn mewed loudly, stopping in a clearing. "Battle training today. Now, Briarpaw, you need to work on this. You are far from being a good fighter, and I want to see improvement."

     Briarpaw clenched her jaw, and nodded. Of course it doesn't matter that I can beat most of the other apprentices, she thought. And as if Tigerdawn had heard her thoughts, the she-cat mewed, "You need to be better than all the other apprentices. You need to be better than me. You need to be better than any foe who comes up against you. Got it?"

     Briarpaw nodded, her face still and determined. One day I will beat you, Tigerdawn. She thought. Tigerdawn leaped at her. Briarpaw let out a yowl, cyan eyes wide, and crouched down. Tigerdawn landed with her legs spread apart around Briarpaw. "Fool," she spat. "I could kill you here and now, because you didn't act in time. If I was a rogue, I'd have you right where I wanted you. Do better." She ordered. Briarpaw slid out from her mentor. "Yes, Tigerdawn," she muttered. Tigerdawn tried another tactic. She slunk toward Briarpaw, and then lashed out with a paw. Briarpaw acted, but not fast enough. She should've known it was coming. Tigerdawn's paw met her face painfully, and she grunted.

     Tigerdawn retreated, sighing. "Alright, let's do some review, because you are clearly not ready for battle practice yet."

     Briarpaw's ears burned, and she looked at the dusty ground, staring at her paws. "Yes, Tigerdawn." She mewed.

     Tigerdawn growled. "Look at me," she ordered. Briarpaw looked up. "Briarpaw, you're a half-clan cat. Do you know, when you were getting close to being apprenticed, three other warriors that Jaystar asked refused to be your mentor? I was the fourth. I said yes. I said I would make you into the best warrior in this clan. They laughed. You hear me? They laughed, when I told them what I would make you. Now I have a score to settle, and I imagine you do too, with those other skunk-faced apprentices. Are you going to prove them right? Or are you going to prove us right?" Her mentor asked sternly.

     Anger boiled in Briarpaw when she thought of the other apprentices, and the way they treated her and her sister. "I'm going to prove us right." She growled, glaring.

     Tigerdawn lashed her tail. "Good. Briarpaw, you aren't putting your heart into this. I can tell. I have the feeling that you could take on anyone you wanted and win, if you just put your mind to trying hard. You never know when you might need to be the best fighter in the clans." Her gaze was unreadable.

     Briarpaw flicked her tail in annoyance. "I am putting my heart into it," she grumbled.

     "Well then, let's do this, and I expect improvement." Tigerdawn mewed simply, flicking her tortoiseshell tail. "Answer me. The rogue leaps at you. What do you do?"

     "I reach up and claw his stomach." Briarpaw answered quickly, used to this kind of review.

     "He sidesteps a blow from you. What do you do?"

     "I wait for his blow, then sidestep it. I quickly try to bowl into him, knocking him down."

     "He goes for your stomach. What do you do?"

     "I crouch down so he can't get to it."

     "It was a fake. He leaps on top of you instead. What do you do?"

     "Um... Fall over so that he lets go and I scramble up and whack him, hopefully keeping him down so I can go for the throat."

     "Good. Enough review for now. Go into defensive position. Let's practice some defense." Tigerdawn mewed, standing up.

     Briarpaw laid her ears flat and fluffed her fur up. She stood up and half-crouched, tensing her muscles. She was used to Tigerdawn's rapid-fire way of training.

     Tigerdawn rushed towards her. Briarpaw sidestepped her mentor, and aimed a blow at her side. Tigerdawn growled and whipped around, batting her to the ground. Briarpaw scrambled up and ran.

     "Mouse-heart! You shouldn't give up so easily!" Tigerdawn shouted angrily at her.

     Briarpaw was little stung by her words, but Tigerdawn didn't know what she was up to yet. She widened her eyes and flattened her ears, and leapt up into a tree, clawing her way up it. She huddled on a branch till Tigerdawn came below her, growling challenges. Briarpaw tensed, and leaped down, teeth bared. Tigerdawn's mouth hung open, and her eyes widened. She had not expected this.

     Briarpaw landed on her mentor squarely, flattening her and knocking her breath out. She lay gasping on the ground, trying to get up. But Briarpaw kept her down by holding her legs still. Tigerdawn struggled, then went limp. Briarpaw relaxed.

     Tigerdawn squirmed out of her grip with a snarl. She smacked Briarpaw on the side with a paw, and growled breathlessly, "The fight is never over until your enemy leaves, scrambling as if a badger was chasing them, or is dead. You should have known it was a trap."

     Briarpaw blinked several times, reorienting herself. "I'm sorry." She mewed, breathing hard.

     "But," Tigerdawn went on, making Briarpaw's ears perk up, "That was a clever trick you did, retreating and then jumping on me. You pulled off the terrified look pretty well. I think that was the key to it working, or else I would have suspected what you would do."

     Briarpaw almost smiled, but caught herself. "Thank you," she mewed, staring at her paws.

     Tigerdawn flicked her ears. "Let's keep going. This time, you attack first."

     Briarpaw ran at her mentor, and fought her. They continued fighting and talking about tactics until just past sunhigh, and when they were finished, Briarpaw had a good number of new scratches and bruises, and very dirty fur.

❈❈❈

     Swanpaw sat in her nest, her hind leg raised so she could clean it. She licked the snowy white fur, snagging bits of moss and loose fur. She was just about clean. To finish, she licked her paw and ran it over her ears several times.

     Just as she was standing up, a russet head poked inside the den. "Swanpaw, I just finished a quick dawn patrol—and great stars, you slept for a long time." It was Fallenleaf, her mentor. Swanpaw shifted in embarrassment. "Well... I was up late last night for the Gathering..."

     He laughed. "I was just teasing. Come on, I want us to do some hunting today." He blinked amber eyes at her, and retreated from the den. Swanpaw followed him.

     She looked around for Briarpaw, but decided that her sister must be training with her mentor as well. She followed Fallenleaf to the training hollow, where to her surprise, she saw several other cats waiting. Mintpaw, Plumpaw, Wrenpaw, and Alderpaw were all sitting next to their mentors, Hawkshade, Brightsun, Frondflight, and Robinheart.

     Swanpaw sat likewise next to her mentor. Fallenleaf curled his tail around his white paws. "Today will not be a time for learning, like we usually do." He began. "Instead, you five are going to have a contest of who can catch the most prey before sunhigh." He informed them.

     Alderpaw and Mintpaw grinned in excitement, and Plumpaw and Wrenpaw looked interested and happy to take on a challenge. But Swanpaw knew this 'contest' was just a ploy to get them to hunt as hard as they could, because the clan was running so short on food. The knowledge defeated her eagerness to take on a challenge, and she cast her blue eyes down.

     Fallenleaf gave her a side glance that showed her he had realized what she figured out. "And don't be afraid to pair up," he added.

     Mintpaw jumped up. "I"LL GO WITH PLUMPAW!" She shouted. Plumpaw looked resigned to her fate, and Swanpaw once again felt shocked how different she was from her bratty littermates, Ravenpaw, Sleekpaw, and Nightpaw.

     "And Wrenpaw can go with Swanpaw, and you," Mintpaw gestured to her brother, "can go alone!"

     Alderpaw gave a small huff. "Hey, you just want me to lose!"

     Swanpaw paid no attention to the argument as Wrenpaw padded over to her. "So, should we do what Mintpaw said? I mean—I wouldn't mind pairing up, but it's up to you." The tortoiseshell she-cat mewed.

     Swanpaw blinked and smiled. "Sure," she mewed quietly.

     "Okay." Wrenpaw wrapped her dappled black-and-brown tail around her paws, and blinked her copper eyes at Swanpaw. "So," she whispered, leaning in. "Where should we hunt?"

     Swanpaw thought for a moment before mewing quietly, "Maybe near the beech trees... Or oak trees... There might be a mouse or squirrel scavenging for nuts."

     Wrenpaw nodded. "Good idea. Probably beech trees first, since they're closer. Then we can hit the oaks. And if we still have time, we should go to this place I found by the stream," Wrenpaw whispered conspiratorially, glancing around to make sure no one heard. "I think a family of water voles lives there, but I haven't caught them yet."

     Swanpaw curled her tail up. Excitement was beginning to bubble up in her chest. It seemed Wrenpaw and her had a good chance of winning.

     She turned her eyes to Fallenleaf as he told them the rules.

     "When you catch a piece of prey, you may bury it to retrieve later. After sunhigh, you may collect prey, but no hunting. And no stealing prey if you find someone else's stash. To eliminate any chances of this happening, one warrior will be following each of you, and keeping watch. We'll come out and tell you when it's sunhigh and time to stop. Don't look for us. Concentrate. And," he smiled at them, raising his tail high. "May the best hunters win!"

     Mintpaw squealed and dove into the bushes, followed by Plumpaw. Alderpaw padded in the direction of the east border. Wrenpaw stood up and mewed, "Come on!" Swanpaw leaped to her paws and hurried out of the clearing.

     The two apprentices moved swiftly and silently through the undergrowth, with Swanpaw in the lead, and Wrenpaw right behind her. The silky white she-cat led the tortoiseshell into a still, quiet beech copse. Swanpaw immediately sought cover in a thick patch of ferns, nestling in to hide her pure white coat. Wrenpaw hunched against a bramble bush, her dark dappled pelt blending in easily with the shadows and twigs. For a moment, Swanpaw envied her camouflage coat. Then, her ears perked as she noticed a skittering sound.

     A rusty colored squirrel came into view by one of the beech tree's roots. It scuffled around quietly, rummaging for nuts. Swanpaw was closest to the animal. It would have to be her catch. If Wrenpaw tried to get the squirrel, it would have enough time to hurry up the tree before she got to it.

     Swanpaw's mouth watered. She hadn't eaten in a day. She watched the squirrel with keen blue eyes, and waited for an opportune moment. The squirrel's little paws grabbed a nut, and it stuffed it into its mouth. It chomped and raked its teeth against the nut, and Swanpaw knew this was her chance.

     Not waiting a second longer, she burst from the ferns in a huge leap, but she was just too far. She landed by the squirrel, but it dropped the nut and scrambled up the tree, and stared at her with beady little black eyes.

     Swanpaw growled, sitting back on her haunches, eyes still on her missed prey. The squirrel curled its fluffy tail up and stared at her mockingly from its perch. Swanpaw glanced back at Wrenpaw, her eyes full of shame. Wrenpaw didn't seem to notice, though. She was flicking her sharp copper eyes between Swanpaw, the squirrel, and the tree rapidly. She made an urgent gesture with her head, and added a flick of her tail, and Swanpaw understood.

     Wrenpaw disappeared into the forest.

     Swanpaw began growling at the squirrel. It stared at her, still as a rock. She sheathed and unsheathed her claws. Distract it. she told herself. She stuck a claw through the nut it had been devouring. She waved it around a bit, and sniffed it. The squirrel tensed. Swanpaw noticed a slight scraping sound, and the scent of Wrenpaw. She began growling again to cover the sound. The squirrel stayed still, petrified. Then Swanpaw saw a pair of copper eyes behind the squirrel. And a paw with of unsheathed claws was reaching out, grabbing the squirrel. The animal made a screechy chittering noise, and a set of white fangs silenced it.

     Wrenpaw pushed the squirrel off the branch, and it fell with a thud on the ground. She shimmied down the trunk of the tree, and padded to Swanpaw. She smiled weakly. "Good plan. Sorry I didn't get the squirrel."

     Wrenpaw twitched her whiskers. "It's fine! We got it, in the end. I couldn't have snuck up on it if you hadn't been there, distracting it."

     But Swanpaw still felt bad about missing the catch. Especially because a warrior—whichever one was following them, had seen her failure. She followed Wrenpaw silently as they padded toward the oak trees. After passing a large stretch of mixed forest, they came to a patch of tall, bare oak trees. Their long branches spread wide, with patches of blue sky visible in between.

     The she-cats huddled under a bush. After waiting long enough for them to start shivering, a mouse began snuffling around. Swanpaw killed it with ease, which lightened her mood slightly. But she was cold now. She glanced up at the sky, and saw that it was about half the way to sunhigh. Wrenpaw covered the prey with loose soil at the oaks.

     They padded to the stream, which was, unfortunately, far from where they currently were in SkyClan territory. But it was probably their best chance of catching more prey. Swanpaw saw that the sun was further up now, and swished her tail anxiously. They reached the stream, and Wrenpaw led them further up, to a place with steep, muddy banks.

     "This is where I found the vole's burrow," she whispered, crouching.

     Swanpaw did the same, but hid herself under a plant that draped its branches over the water. She could smell the unmistakable scent of water vole. Wrenpaw was right. A family of water voles lived here.

     They sat and waited for the voles to show up.

     Swanpaw started shivering again, and fluffed up her fur.

     They waited some more.

     Swanpaw saw through the bare branches of the bush that the sun was two thirds of the way to sunhigh.

     Not much time left.

     And they waited some more.

     Swanpaw's eyes flicked over the muddy banks, her eyes so accustomed to the brown that she almost missed a flicker of movement. A plump vole slipped out of a small hole in the bank. Another followed. Two water voles!

     Swanpaw tensed. They would have to attack before the voles left. She saw out of the corner of her eye that Wrenpaw was slowly advancing, her body so crouched that her belly fur brushed the muddy earth. Swanpaw waited for the voles to look away before she slipped out of the bush, took a few steps closer, and sprang. She leaped on the first vole, piercing its plump body with her claws, and cutting off its shrill squeal with a bite. Wrenpaw darted forward and dispatched the second vole just before it managed to escape to its burrow.

     The two she-cat's eyes shone as they met each other's, and Wrenpaw grinned. "I'd bet a moon of dawn patrols we win." She mewed.

     Swanpaw smiled. "Well... Four pieces of prey is pretty good," she mewed. "But, who knows, maybe the others had good fortune too."

     Wrenpaw shrugged. She glanced up at the sky. "Hey, we still have a little bit of time! I wonder if we could catch a fish from the stream..." Her eyes roamed the water.

     Swanpaw followed her gaze dubiously to the rushing stream. "I don't know... I've never tried it before." She sighed. "Too bad Briarpaw's not with us. She learned how to catch fish at the last gathering, from a RiverClan tom."

     Wrenpaw looked up, surprised. "Briarpaw learned how to do something from a different clan cat? Wow."

     Swanpaw sat down and licked some mud off her paws. "I don't know—it's not that crazy. We talk to other apprentices all the time."

     "Yeah, but this is Briarpaw we're talking about. She hardly even speaks to the apprentices in her own clan."

     Swanpaw sighed. "Briarpaw..." She tried to think of something to defend her sister. "She thinks everyone hates her... And it kind of makes her hate everyone. She hides stuff even from me." Swanpaw's mind flashed to the moment a few days ago, when she had asked Briarpaw if something was wrong. Her sister had told her she would tell her later. And she never had.

     "She gets hurt, but somehow shoves it in a little place in her mind where she stores up all the hurtful things anyone's ever said to her—and sometimes, when that little spot is brimming full, she takes it out on whoever annoys her next. It's her way of dealing, unlike me. I just get hurt, be sad for a little, and then forgive whoever hurt me. I can't help it." She gave a small laugh at the end, to lighten the mood. And...why did I just say all that to someone I barely know? She asked herself.

     Wrenpaw nodded. "I get it. She has a lot to prove and a lot of cats to prove wrong."

     Swanpaw was surprised that Wrenpaw understood so clearly. Maybe this just goes to show that I should get to know some cats more...Sometimes it did get a little lonely only having a quiet, snappy sister for a friend.

     Swanpaw was just about to mew something when a ginger tom emerged from the undergrowth a few paces away.

     "It's sunhigh," Fallenleaf mewed. "Time to head back to the training hollow."

     Wrenpaw grabbed her water vole and hopped up. "K," she mumbled through the mouthful. Swanpaw did the same.

     "I grabbed the other prey you caught, so you don't have to go back and get it." He disappeared into the bushes, only to come back out a moment later, with the mouse and squirrel hanging from his jaws.

     "Thanks!" Swanpaw mewed, the word muffled. It sounded more like she said, "Duhnkhs". She and Wrenpaw followed the deputy into the woods. The cold branches creaked overhead in the breeze, and the freezing ground had long since numbed Swanpaw's pads. She longed to be back in her warm, mossy nest in the apprentice's den. Her white fur was fluffed out, making her look like a ball of cotton instead of a young cat. Her bones ached from the cold and shivers, and she wondered how much worse it was for the elders.

     Finally, they arrived in the training hollow. They appeared to be the last hunting group, as the other teams were already there with piles of prey at their paws. Swanpaw's heart sank a little when she noticed how large Mintpaw and Plumpaw's heap was.

     "Alright," Brightsun mewed, "Let's count the prey!" She, Robinheart, Frondflight, Hawkshade, and Fallenleaf moved toward their apprentices to help count. Soon, the number of prey in piles was calculated, and Brightsun conferred with the others, learning all the numbers. They rest of the warriors backed up, and the cats sat around the hollow in a circle around Brightsun. The ginger she-cat lifted her plumy tail and mewed, "The results of the hunt are as follows..." She used a dramatic voice, swishing her tail, her bright amber eyes flicking over the cats one by one. "In third place... Alderpaw, with a mouse and lizard!" She announced.

     The tom slouched, grumbling. "I knew it." He kept muttering about things not being fair as Brightsun went on.

     "And in second place..."

     Swanpaw tensed. If her team was in second, that would mean Plumpaw and Mintpaw were in first.

     Finally, Brightsun went on. "Mintpaw and Plumpaw, with a two mice and a rabbit!" She announced.

     The two she-cats slumped, disappointed to not be in first place.

     Wrenpaw's eyes brightened as she glanced at Swanpaw. Swanpaw grinned.

     "And the winners are... Swanpaw and Wrenpaw, with a mouse, squirrel, and two voles!" Brightsun cried.

     Plumpaw smiled shyly at them. "Good job," she mewed quietly. Mintpaw sauntered over, mewing more loudly, "How in StarClan's name did you find so much prey?" She exclaimed. "For moons we've been starving, and then... Boom! You two catch four pieces of prey in only a few hours! What's the trick?" She asked, shout-whispering. Wrenpaw shrugged nonchalantly. "We're just geniuses blessed by StarClan, right Swanpaw?"

     Swanpaw giggled. "Yeah."

     Mintpaw rolled her eyes. "C'mon, let's get back to camp! I can't wait to see the clan's faces when we show up with all this."

     Swanpaw agreed. She only hoped there would be enough left for the apprentices to eat a little... But no. Such hopes must be squashed before they took hold. The queens and elders were in much more need of food than she was.

     The cats divided up the prey, each carrying a piece or two as they headed back to the camp. Mintpaw was right; the clan was astonished when they saw the number of animals they brought back for fresh-kill. Jaystar had looked at the sky and murmured, "Perhaps this season of starvation is coming to an end..."

     Swanpaw hoped so, with all her heart.

     She had learned just when she got back that a kit had died from starvation, that day.

     Please, StarClan, Swanpaw pleaded. Don't let anyone else die...

A/N: Above image is Tigerdawn. 

Thank you all for reading! >^~^<