Changes: The Elementals/Season 1/Rookies

Latest revision as of 21:57, 9 January 2017

I am redoing this episode as well as the second episode. It'll probably be finished by next monday. Enjoy!

Rookies

Scorchpaw

There it is...

The raven was sitting on a fallen tree just ahead of me. Vines of ivy twisted around the log like the roots twisting around the brambles that gaurded the ThunderClan nursery. Ferns and even tiny saplings grew out if the rotting remains of the tree trunk. The plump raven squatted atop the log, picking ants off the bark with its pointed black beck.

It's huge! That'll feed at least three elders back at home!

The bird stood at least a tail-length from the ground. I'd never thought that a bird could be muscular, but this one was.

I began creeping forward on light feet. But my heart jumped twig cracked beneath me feet. No! It's going to fly away!

But the giant black bird just glanced in my direction sleepily, squawked, and continued digging for food.

Birdbrain.

I continued stalking forward. I was so close to the log now that I could reach out and touch it. And the bird didn't even notice me... or if it did, it didn't care.

Ready... and...

I leaped. The bird cawed in alarm, its feet shuffling in the moss that grew from the trunk of the log. Its wings flapped, but it was too heavy to get its own body off the ground in time. My claws met its pitch-black feathers and I bit into its throat in midair. The raven squawked, and its head fell to one side.

Ha!

I picked the raven's body up from off the ground and began dragging in back to the training hollow.

The training hollow was a in sandy clearing. Trees overhung the hollow so that it was shaded from sunlight. The leaves of the trees cast shadows that dappled the ground like fallen branches. It still got hot, though, so the Clan used a cave jutting from the far end of the hollow to cool down water for tired apprentices.

I trotted into the hollow. Cloudpaw was already in the hollow, with a mouse, a thrush and two sparrows at her feet. Rainpaw was also inside. She had caught three voles and a fish- one of the most succsessful catches so far.

I dropped the fat old raven next to my other prey I had gotten earlier- a squirrel and a thrush.

After a while, Stonepaw entered carrying five mice and two squirrels!

"Impressive, Stonepaw," said Birchclaw. She was a brown tabby she-cat with sharp green eyes, like Stonepaw. She was a placid cat and the hardest to please of our mentors. But she had to be moved by her apprentice's plentiful catch.

Stonepaw puffed out his chest. "I found a whole nest of 'em."

"Very good," responded his mentor. "Mouse nests are hard to find." Birchclaw prodded the squirrel. "But this one is scrawny," she told him. "You could have at least caught another shrew or something."

"Well this is all I have. Only a whole nest full of mice and two enormous squirrels. I must be such a disapointment to you."

His mentor snorted and turned away.

My mentor inspected my prey next. He was named Brakenpatch. He was a golden-brown tom. He leaned over and sniffed and prodded my prey articles. He let out a murmer of praise when he looked at the raven. Then he touched the squirrel, picked up its claws to look at them, and then set it back on the training hollow's sandy floor. Finally, he observed the mouse. He sniffed it vigourosly until I thought there was something wrong with his nose. Then he looked in its mouth, under its arms, even at his tail.

Then he turned to me and praised, "The raven and the squirrel are very good catches! The squirrel had to have been harder to catch than this bird, since it's so quick and streamlined. But the mouse... where did you find it?"

I looked down at my feet sheepishly. "Dead, next to the fox den..." I muttered.

Brakenpatch gave me a dissaproving look. "First of all, apprentices like you should never get close to the fox den. Second..." he unsheathed his claws- "it's crowfood." He sliced one claw down the mouse's belly. This revealed a large amount of maggots crawling across the dead creature.

"Sorry," I murmered.

Brakenpatch smiled. "It's fine. It's only your third day. But make sure next time that you don't go near the fox den, and never pick up crowfood from off the ground. We don't want anyone to be poisoned!"

I nodded. I had only just started my apprenticeship, but he was right- I shouldn'tv'e picked crowfood off the ground that belonged to hungry, sneaky foxes.

Cloudpaw was the next to be inspected. Her mentor was Snowmuzzle. She was pale, pale gray with a pure white chest, tailtip, and muzzle (hence her name). She looked really innocent but was still pretty tough on her apprentices. She observed her prey. "A bird-catcher already," she declared. Her eyes looked pleased.

Bird-catchers were nicknames for warriors in ThunderClan that were good at catching flying creaures, like songbirds, bats, and even hawks. Hunting flying prey was challenging for most of the other warriors in the Clan, because it required vigorous leaping from tree to tree and perfectly- timed pounces. Only those with the longest legs and the sharpest claws could be named bird-catchers.

Finally, it was Rainpaw's turn. Her mentor, a black tom named Blackscar, stepped forward to observe the voles and the fish. He nodded aprovingly at the voles. Then he turned to the trout and wrinkled his nose.

"Fish again?" he sighed. He poked the golden-brown fish with one claw. "I've told you not to catch fish."

Rainpaw stepped forward defiantly. "It's easiest to catch!" she denied.

"ThunderClan doesn't eat fish!" he snapped. "Now dispose of this... this crowfood, or no sparring with the older apprentices for you!

"But-"

"NOW!"

The long-haired she-cat grumpily picked up her fish and pushed through the ferns seperating the hollow from the rest of the forest.

I flinched. Well, that was a little harsh.

Blackscar turned the rest of us. "Now! Looks like Nightpaw is still hunting, so-"

Suddenly, the brambles rustled behind them. We turned, and a scrawny, skinny tom was stumbling towards us. He had a tiny shrew in his jaws. He was huffing as if he'd just ran a lap around the lake. His purple eyes were watering. There was also many bleeding scratches all over his pelt as if he'd gone hunting in a patch of brambles while being chased by all of ShadowClan.

"Nightpaw," sighed Blackscar, "what happened this time?"

Nightpaw lowered his head. "I caught a shrew, and then I was looking for my mentor."

Blackscar snorted. "First of all, your mentor is still looking for you!" he groaned. "And second, why were you looking for your mentor? Couldn't you catch a mouse or two on your own? Or were you to tired after all the work of catching that scrawny shrew?"

Nightpaw shook his head, a strange look in his eyes. Sadness? Frustration? Fear? Then he dragged his patheticly tiny body away to the edge of the hollow.

"He looked like he went swimming in brambles," pointed out Stonepaw helpfully.

Snowmuzzle nodded. "Yes. Yes, he does. Now, we will move on!" she added quickly. "I will be directing sparring in the training hollow today. Once the older apprentices arrive, you will be put into partners. You've only had three days of training, so we'll be observing your fighting techniques so that we can take advantage of them and make any edits if nessesary."

Blackscar nodded. "The other apprentices-"

Snowmuzzle whacked him upside the head with her tail. "Stop it! I'm directing this!"

Blackscar rubbed his head with his paw.

"The older apprentices will be here any minute," she told us. "Go over to the south side of the hollow and wait for them to arrive."

I trotted over to the side of the hollow nearest to the lake. My siblings followed- all except my dumb little brother Nightpaw, who was on the east side.

"That's not the south side, Nighty!" barked Birchclaws.

Nightpaw glanced around blearily. "Where is it, then?" The whole group of cats laughed.

Brakenpatch sauntered over to where all the rest of the apprentices were sitting. "Over here," he told him. Nightpaw's ears drooped and he dragged his feet over to the south side.

Soon, Nightpaw's mentor Shredfang arrived. He was a tough, light-brown senior warrior, with tabby stripes all over him and a scratchmark over his nose. He didn't say anything, but gave loathing looks to the small apprentice.

After a while, Snowmuzzle's ears pricked. "They're coming!" she said. The pale gray she-cat took an elegant leap to one of the lower branches overhanging the hollow.

Then 10 cats entered the hollow- the five older apprentices and their mentors. We had not trained with them yet, so I didn't know any of them very well, or what to expect from the 8-moon-old cats.

The one in the front looked like the leader of the pack. She was a brown tabby with sharp amber eyes. Her leg muscles rippled as she walked. She was almost as large as my mentor, Brakenpatch. The four other cats followed her as if she was Clan deputy already. Her claws were unsheathed and glinted in the sunlight streaming down into the hollow.

The apprentices and their mentors gathered on the north side of the hollow.

"Okay, apprentices!" called Snowmuzzle. "Today we will be doing sparring practice on each other, older verses younger cats. Younger cats, you will be tested on your skills and stratigies with little fighting experience. We want to see what your fighting instincts are like individually. Older cats, you will be tested on your reactions to unfamiliar fighting moves. Whoever successfully pins the other cat down for five seconds, wins!"

"We have already chosen partnerships for sparring based off the fighting knowledge, battle skill, size, and technique that we know of so far. When I call your name, step forward."

The pale gray cat looked down at the apprentices. "Rainpaw and Patchpaw!"

On the other side of the hollow, a white tom with black spots stepped forward. He was burly and muscular, and would make a good match my nimble and lithe sister.

"Scorchpaw and Spottedpaw!" My ears pricked as I heard my name. I shuffled forward. On the older cats' side of the hollow, another cat stepped up. Her pelt looked excactly like Patchpaw's, but she was very small and her body was clearly built for speed. I wasn't very fast and got tired out easily, so she would be a challenge.

"Cloudpaw and Redpaw!" called Snowmuzzle. I felt my sister, who was next to me, step forward. Redpaw was a rust-red she-cat that had huge, powerful paws. Cloudpaw was pretty strong, though, and dispite being 2 moons younger than her opponent, she was nearly as large.

"Stonepaw and Clawpaw!"

"What kind of name is Clawpaw?" snorted Cloudpaw.

But Clawpaw was no weakling. She was the huge brown she-cat I had seen before. She towered over Stonepaw. She sniffed the brown tabby and snorted. She murmered something to herself, then sat back down to observe the last partnership.

"Last but surely not least, Nightpaw and Bigpaw!"

Bigpaw? I thought. Why would they match a large cat with Nightpaw? Luckily, his name didn't give anything away on his appearence. He was the smallest of the older apprentices, even smaller than tiny Spottedpaw. His head, in fact, was only a mousetail above Nightpaw's. His eyes were filled with fear, and his brown tabby tail drooped between his legs.

But he can't be that scared, I thought. He's two moons older than Nightpaw. So... is he faking it?

Snowmuzzle meowed from atop her branch, "Our first matchup is.... Rainpaw and Patchpaw! Apprentices, step into the ring.

My blue-gray sister bounded up to the sandy hollow. Dispite being the oldest of us five, she was quite small. Patchpaw could've put his chin on her head if he wanted to. The stocky tom unsheathed his giant claws. My sister hissed and ruffled up her long fur, making her look bigger.

"All right!" called Snowmuzzle. "Claws sheathed! And... fight!"

Rainpaw

As soon as Snowmuzzle called the order, I took a flying leap towards the giant white-and-black cat. His eyes flickered to my left. He's going to dodge me! Just in time, I kicked off the ground as shot to the left just as Patchpaw jumped out of the way. My paws met his chestfur and I bowled the giant tom over. He yelped and kicked my stomach with his powerful back legs.

I went flying. My legs flailed in midair as I was whacked off of Patchpaw's body. I turned and twisted in the air and, fortunately, landed on at least three of my legs. Unfortutantely, my opponent was waiting. He was standing at near the base of Snowmuzzle's tree. I crouched, bracing myself for his next attack. Suddenly, he leaped backwards, kicked off the tree, and plummeted straight for my body. I tucked down and rolled out of the way just in time before the huge cat crushed me. I leaped up and slashed his face with my paw (claws sheathed, of course).

Patchpaw growled and ducked down, nipping my ankle. I lost my balance and toppled away from him. He used this advantage to leap on top of me.

I yowled in anger and wriggled beneath his body, but he was too heavy. I couldn't push him off. In seconds, Snowmuzzle would call the winner of the fight as Patchpaw. I hissed at this thought. No one defeats me! I unsheathed my claws the tiniest bit and pummeled the bottom of my opponent's stomach.

He cried out in pain and lept away. He scrambled towards the trunk of another tree. You can't trick me this time, foxface! I was ready for his leap. Instead of jumping away, I put my wieght on my haunches and stretched my paws in the air. Just before he landed on my forelegs, I slashed a paw at his incoming belly. He twisted in shock and landed a tail-length off. Before he could scramble up, I ran straight into him and he screeched in suprise.

But before I could pin him to the ground, he slammed his forepaws over my back. I yelped and gave way as the enormous apprentice held fast to my own paws and pressed me to the ground. All four of my legs were unable to move. But my tail was still free. I whacked him in the hindquarters at full force with my tail. He let out a hiss of frustration as he fell forward. I dodged him just before he toppled my over.

Patchpaw lay scrambling on the sandy ground, his belly facing the sky. I promptly sat on top of him.

"One... two... three... four... five! Rainpaw wins!" cheered Snowmuzzle.

My brothers and sisters cheered. I lifted my head triumphantly and stared Patchpaw straight in the eyes. That's right, weakling. You've just lost to a kit. But the aggorant tom just smiled slyly.

"Nice moves, she-cat," he murmered, still grinnning mischieviously. He spat out the word "she-cat" like they tasted like crowfood.

"What is it?" I responded. "Do you have something against she-cats? Or is it because one just turned you into freshkill?"

The female apprentices all meowed, "Ooooooooh!" while the mentors looked on dissaprovingly.

"Okay, next we have Scorchpaw and Spottedpaw! Apprentices, step into the ring!"

I headed back over to the edge of the clearing while my sister and her opponent entered the ring. Spottedpaw was small and lithe, and looked like she could easily outrun Scorchpaw, but in this small space, my burly sister had the advantage.

After both cats were in the center of the sandy hollow, Snowmuzzle called out, "Claws sheathed! And... fight!"

As soon as the fight began, my sister charged at her opponent at full speed. Spottedpaw easily dodged the larger cat, who skidded across the groundright passed her. She yelped and wipped around. She rushed forward and tried to hit her with her paws. The white-and-black cat crouched and dodged Scorchpaw's blows. She swiped at the orange tabby's ankles and caught her, tripping her.

Spottedpaw took this moment as her advantage and leaped onto her back. Scorchpaw bucked, trying to get her off, but her grip was tight on her fire-colored fur. Thinking fast, my sister rolled onto her back, squashing her opponent under her wieght. Then she flipped around and attempted to pin her down, but Spottedpaw squirmed out of her reach just in time and ran out of the way.

Stonepaw, sitting next to me, whispered into my ear, "Spottedpaw is a really good fighter, but Scorchpaw is to big to pin down."

I nodded in agreement.

But eventually, after a while of them sparring and jabbing with their paws, Spottedpaw did pin my sister down.

"Spottedpaw wins!" cheered Snowmuzzle.

I expected Scorchpaw to have an outburst or get angry, but she just got up from off the ground and congradulated her fellow apprentice. Spottedpaw nodded and turned back to her friends.

"Next we have... Stonepaw and Clawpaw!"

"Good luck, Stonepaw!" I whispered into the brown tom's ear. "You're going to need it!"

Stonepaw rolled his eyes. "I can handle her," he told me.

"No one can handle a she-cat like that, especially not a clumsy doofus like you!"

Stonepaw snorted and gave me a little shove, then headed out into the ring.

Stonepaw

Clawpaw was a huge, burly she-cat. She strided into the hollow with confidence. Her jaw was set and her ears slid back behind her face. Her claws were unsheathed and were as large as a small dog's. Her teeth were crusted with dark brownish-red... blood?

But her eyes made my heart jump. They were orange-brown, like a wildfire. They weren't cat-like at all- they were like a cornered fox's eyes, or a ramaging badger, dark and malicious and wild. I could imagine her with those eyes as she ripped out an enemy's throat, yowling in triumph, blood dripping from her jaws.

I had seen the other apprentices and known I could defeat them. Patchpaw was clumsy. Spottedpaw wasn't very strong. Redpaw was slow. Bigpaw had no confidence. But Clawpaw- she wasn't just ambitious, or haughty. She was a killer.

I shivered as she trotted to her place in the ring. Her eyes flickered over me, as if to observe all my weaknesses. Then she sniffed and sheathed her claws.

Snowmuzzle stepped forward and called down, "Ready... fight!"

I braced myself for Clawpaw's attack. But nothing came.

I turned to see Clawpaw crouching on the sandy ground in front of me. Her eyes are hard and watchful, and her brown pelt is speckled with sand. I stand still but she does too- she just stays still on the ground, calm and silent.

Here's my chance! I lunged at the brown tabby she-cat. I fly down upon her, paws outstretched.

But I wasn't ready for her trap.

In one swift movement, she slides out of the way of my attack, hesitating only a second to let me fall onto the ground, then swiped at me with fully unsheathed claws.

I screech. That's no fair! But the mentors don't even notice. Clawpaw yowls and lands on top of me, drool dripping from her bared teeth. She scratches me more. I try to get out but her big paws pin me against the ground. Her claws dig into my chest, in the thickest fur patch where the mentors won't see the blood.

I writhe and thrash, but the huge cat does not react. She grins slyly and slowly slides her claws down my face. The pain throbbes in my whole body. Blood roars in my ears.

And only seconds into the challenge, Clawpaw has won.

"One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Clawpaw wins!"

Clawpaw gives me one last scratch, then steps off of me. I stumble up off the ground. No fair! She's a cheater! The older apprentices and the mentors cheer in excitment while the young apprentices stare wide-eyed at the 8-moon-old warrior.

I grumpily sit down next to Scorchpaw.

"You did really good!" said the optimistic she-cat as soon as I sat down. "She was just... tough to beat!"

I nod. "She was hard," I said. "And she was using her claws!" I hiss and hunch my shoulders. Scorchpaw frowns. "That's not fair," she says matter-of-factly. She pricks her ears as Snowmuzzle calls up the next group of apprentices. "Oooh, it's Cloudpaw's turn!"

We look up to see tall, light-footed Cloudpaw standing in the ring facing a tough-looking she-cat. Her russet fur glows in the green light filtering through the trees, and her blue eyes flicker around nervously.

Snowmuzzle's branch rustles. "Cloudpaw and Redpaw!" meows the gray and white she-cat. "Claws sheathed! Ready... fight!"

This fight went much faster. Cloudpaw and Redpaw sparred and batted paws back and forth for a minute. Redpaw stumbled as she tried to balance on her back legs, but my sister stayed focused and steady. Her eyes flickered towards her opponent's feet. She swept her forepaw beneath the other she-cat, who fell over. Then she pounced on top of the russet apprentice.

Snowmuzzle leaned towards the fighting apprentices. "One.. two... three... four..." Redpaw struggled under Cloudpaw's wieght, but the white she-cat's weight held the flailing apprentice down.

"Five!" shouted Snowmuzzle. "Cloupaw wins the fight!"

Cloudpaw jumped off the other she-cat, who looked on disapointingly. My siblings and I cheered and congratulated the white she-cat.

After praising her sister, Scorchpaw leaned over to my ear and whispered, "Of course Cloudpaw won. Redpaw has large paws, which makes her powerful, but it's easier for her to trip and harder for her to balance. It also makes her slow. Cloudpaw has long legs, which makes her faster, stronger, and stable. It's impossible to beat a warrior with an advantage like that."

I nodded in agreement. Scorchpaw was usually a cheerful and carefree young cat, but when it came to battles or hunting or competition, she was the most sensible cat of the four of us. (Well, five, if you count Nightpaw, but he's barely half a cat.)

Snowmuzzle called up the last group. "Bigpaw and Nightpaw!"

Scorchpaw snorted. "Well, this is going to be short. Might as well leave now."

Cloudpaw, who was sitting at my other side, retorted, "No, they're evenly matched. Look at Bigpaw! He's scrawny."

Scorchpaw shook her head. "Bigpaw's acting unconfident so that his opponent won't expect his skill and experience. He's been training just as long as these other cats, so I bet he's hiding something. Nightpaw isn't going to expect his attack because he looks vulnerable. Clever."

I nodded. "That is clever," I said. "More clever than you!"

Scorchpaw whipped around. "Hey!" she mewed. She shoved me playfully, almost so hard that I fell over. "Well, you're a scaredy-mouse!"

Cloudpaw was ready for the opportuntity to tease me, as usual. "Chicken! Chicken!" she jeered.

"Shut up, airhead!" I laughed.

Rainpaw sstared disaprovingly. "Guys, the fight's about to start!" she sighed. "I can't hear Snowmuzzle over all your racket! By the way, where did "chicken" come from?"

Snowmuzzle called out into the ring, "Ready! Fight!"

And the fight began, but it didn't last long.

Cloudpaw

Scorchpaw was right about Bigpaw. As soon as Snowmuzzle called the start of the fight, Bigpaw's fur rufffled, his tail bristled, and he launched himself at Nightpaw. The cowering black kitten squeazed his purple eyes shut and braced himself. His brown-furred opponent crashed into my little brother, who went flying into Snowmuzzle's tree. Then Bigpaw bounded up and triumphantly stood on top of the apprentice.

"One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Bigpaw wins!" All the apprentices roared in excitement and suprise as Bigpaw strutted back to his place next to his friends.

"All right," said Snowmuzzle. "Settle down, settle down." Finally, the last of the excited cheers died away. "Our winners today were Rainpaw, Spottedpaw, Cloudpaw, and Bigpaw! They will be awarded with first pick from the fresh-kill pile!"

Clawpaw stared defiently up at the warrior sitting in the tree's branches. The dark, untamed look in her eyes made me shudder. "You forgot to mention my victory against a certain little nusience over there," she sneered, glancing at Stonepaw.

Snowmuzzle flicked her paw at her. "Hold up your claws, apprentice," she said.

Clawpaw groaned and held up a paw with her nails showing. I gasped. They were caked in dried blood.

Snowmuzzle leaned towards the other apprentices. "Do you know who's blood that is, kits?" She didn't wait for us to answer. "Stonepaw's." She looked down at her own claws with a bored expression. "We know what leaders do to Clanmates that hurt other Clanmates." She drew one claw out and guestured clawing it across her throat. "And we don't want that, do we? So why don't we just stop doing that? Why don't we heal our Clanmates instead of hurt them... like medicine cats do?" She turned back to Clawpaw. "Maybe the medicine cats will help you with your problem, won't they?"

She waved he paw dismissively at the apprentice. "Go to the medicine den and get the mousebile. Molepelt may need some help getting some ticks from his pelt. And while you're at it, help Brairleaf sort her herbs. She'll be grateful for that." Clawpaw scowled at Rainpaw's mentor. "Also, you might as well get some moss from the her den and clean out the nursery."

Clawpaw began, "But I just wanted to-"

"GO."

Clawpaw sighed, gave Stonepaw a terrifying glower, and then trudged out of the brambles.

Snowmuzzle shifted her wieght and looked back over at the rest of us. "You may now go, apprentices! And let the winners choose their prey first!"

I sat down with the rabbit I had chosen from the pile. As the sun sank in the sky and sky glimmered red at the horizon, ThunderClan began to slow down the day's work. The last hunting patrols returned with freshly-caught mice and squirrels and birds. The lush scent of herbs wafted from the medicine den as Briarleaf and Nettlespine sorted the healing plants. The soft rumble of elders telling bedtime stories to the kits drifted from the elders' den through the cool night air. The chatting and laughing of the queens preparing to put their kits to bed along with the annoyed sighs of Clawpaw helping them came from the nursery. On the Highledge, I could see Swiftstar and her deputy, Blackscar, speaking to each other. Blackscar's cunning and wittyness showed through his confident stance, contrasting with the soft, wise gaze of the leader's blue eyes.

I heard a grumpy rumble from the nursery, and Clawpaw trotted out of the entrance. As she neared the fresh-kill pile, I could see that her fur was covered in patches of moss and bramble and fern, and she smelled like kit's dirt.

I decided to avoid talking to her. I wasn't Scorchpaw- I didn't go around making friends with everyone I met. Clawpaw looked dangerous.

But after she grabbed Nightpaw's soggy shrew from the remains of the pile and walked over to me, I realized there was no avoiding it.

"Hi, Cloudpaw," she muttered grumpily.

"Uh... hi." I bent down and pulled more meat off the rabbit at my feet.

"You better not go hunting tomorrow," she sneered. "A scrawny little she-cat like you would make good prey... for the monster."

My eyes widened. "A monster? What monster?"

Clawpaw rolled her eyes and picked at her shrew. "You know, the monster. The one that is creeping around ThunderClan and killing apprentices." She nodded at Nightpaw, who was several fox-lengths away from us and couldn't hear. "You see those scratches?"

I nodded. "But those are from brambles, when he went hunting."

The brown she-cat shook her head. "Look at them, though. See how long and deep they are? See how there's no thorns in his fur? That's got to be monster scratches. He's been attacked by the monster, but he isn't telling us, because he doesn't want to look weaker than he already is."

I stared at Nightpaw. She actually had a point- the scratches were deep and crusted with blood, which no bramble could ever do. Also, they seemed to be in rows- like a cat had unsheathed all four claws and raked them straight across his pelt.

A cat.

"No," I whispered. A shiver of fear rattled my body. "Who would do that to an inoccent apprentice?"

"Huh?" Clawpaw mused.

"They're not a monster's scratches," I said. "They're-"

"Cat scratches?" interupted the burly cat. "That's impossible. What cat- especially one with that much skill and strength- would target a tiny, weak apprentice? And besides, wouldn't he tell us about it?"

I chewed my rabbit thoughtfully. Exactly! But if it was a fox or a badger that attacked him, then we would smell it all over him. And if it was a bear, he'd be dead. If it was a mystery creature, like Clawpaw says, well, that's impossible. But if it was a cat... the cat could've talked to him. Threatened him, told him not to tell anyone. Or maybe it was someone in this Clan... someone Nightpaw doesn't want to get in trouble...

I shuddered.

The question is, who would do such a thing?

That's it! Sorry it came out a bit late. Hope you enjoyed! Please comment <3