Warriors Super Edition: Yellowfang’s Secret (9 page)

Deerleap gave her an approving nod. “Good. You’ll remember next time, won’t you?” Glancing out from the thicket, she added, “And now you get another chance.”

Yellowpaw poked her head out and saw that the bird was back among the tree roots, pecking away as if it had forgotten the threat.

I’ll get you this time!

Checking the wind direction again, she crept forward; this time she looked down at the ground in front of her, assessing everything that lay between her and her prey. She avoided a fallen twig, and used a clump of frostbitten grass for extra cover. At last she was close enough to pounce; bunching her muscles, she shot forward in an enormous leap, and sank her claws into the bird before it realized she was there. Once the limp body was securely in her jaws, she trotted back to her mentor.

“Well done,” Deerleap purred. “That was a perfect bit of stalking.”

Yellowpaw felt warm all over; Deerleap’s praise had to be earned. “It’s a little scrawny,” she confessed after she had dropped the bird on the ground.

“Never mind. Any piece of prey is welcome in weather like this.”

The ground was too hard to dig a hole and bury the fresh-kill while they kept hunting, so Yellowpaw scraped leaves over it before starting to search the area for more prey, moving in widening circles around the ash tree. But it seemed as if nothing else was moving in all the frozen forest. Claws of frost dug deep into Yellowpaw’s pelt, and she was almost ready to ask if they could go back to camp when she spotted a flicker of movement between two stones. Swiftly she flashed out a paw and was startled to find that she had hooked a lizard on her claws. It wriggled for a heartbeat and then was still.

“That was lucky,” Deerleap commented. “You don’t usually see those in weather as cold as this.”

Yellowpaw swelled with pride as she carried her two pieces of prey into the camp. Nutpaw and Rowanpaw were standing by the fresh-kill pile with their mentors.

“We’ve been on a hunting patrol!” Nutpaw mewed, scampering up to Yellowpaw. “I caught a mouse!”

“And Rowanpaw caught a starling,” Finchflight added. “They’ve both done very well.”

“Well, there’s no point in standing around watching our fur grow,” Deerleap meowed. “What about giving the apprentices a joint training session? They could all do with practicing their battle moves.”

“She never stops, does she?” Rowanpaw muttered into Yellowpaw’s ear as the other two mentors murmured agreement and led the way to the thorn tunnel.

“At least fighting will keep us warm,” Yellowpaw pointed out.

She and her littermates followed their mentors to the shallow training scoop not far from the camp. Raggedpaw and Scorchpaw were already there with Brackenfoot and Crowtail.

“Watch this,” Crowtail mewed. “They’re getting really good.”

The two older apprentices were circling cautiously around each other. Raggedpaw flashed out a paw, but Scorchpaw leaped backward and the blow never connected. With a yowl Raggedpaw pushed off with his hind legs and thrust himself into the air. Yellowpaw winced, expecting him to land on Scorchpaw and knock him to the ground. But while Raggedpaw was still in the air, Scorchpaw twisted onto his back. He splayed out all four legs, claws extended. Raggedpaw landed on Scorchpaw’s belly, and immediately Scorchpaw fastened his four sets of claws in Raggedpaw’s shoulders and haunches. Then he rolled over, pinning Raggedpaw to the ground.

“Enough,” Crowtail meowed, and the two apprentices broke apart. “Now try it again, and Scorchpaw, you leap this time.”

“That’s a brilliant move!” Rowanpaw exclaimed.

“It’s a good one to remember if a cat leaps on you in battle,” Brackenfoot explained as the older apprentices circled each other again. “Often the cat who’s underneath has the worst of the fight, but this way you can get back in control.”

“Can we try?” Yellowpaw asked when she had seen the move demonstrated for the second time.

“Of course,” Deerleap meowed. “That’s what we’re here for. Yellowpaw, you can work with Nutpaw. Scorchpaw, you practice with Rowanpaw.”

Rowanpaw looked slightly disconcerted at the thought of working with an apprentice who already knew the move, and Scorchpaw was obviously not too happy about being paired with a younger cat. But they knew better than to argue.

“Keep your claws sheathed,” Brackenfoot instructed. “We don’t want any shredded fur.”

Each pair of cats began circling. Yellowpaw was leaping down onto Nutpaw, who had his paws extended ready for her, when she heard a startled yowl from Rowanpaw. At the same time a sharp pain sliced through her shoulder. She let out a screech and crumpled to the ground at Nutpaw’s paws.

“For StarClan’s sake, what’s happening?” Finchflight exclaimed, bounding over to his apprentice. “Rowanpaw, are you okay?”

As Yellowpaw rolled over, gasping with pain, she saw her sister sprawled on the ground on the far side of the training area. Blood was welling slowly from punctures in Rowanpaw’s shoulder.

“Scorchpaw, we said sheathed claws!” Crowtail snapped.

“Sorry,” Scorchpaw muttered. “I forgot.”

“I don’t understand how two apprentices could be injured at the same time,” Amberleaf meowed, padding up to Nutpaw. “What did you do?”

“Nothing!” Nutpaw’s eyes were wide with dismay. “I never touched Yellowpaw, honestly!”

“Whatever. It still hurts,” Yellowpaw snapped, scrambling awkwardly to her paws.

“I’m okay.” Rowanpaw sat up, turning her head to swipe her tongue over the spots of blood on her shoulder. “I want to try again.”

“Okay,” Finchflight meowed. “But let’s
all
be more careful this time.”

The pain in Yellowpaw’s shoulder was fading, but she was wary of being hurt for a second time. When they practiced the move again, she knew she wasn’t giving it her best effort.

“Grab your opponent harder,” Deerleap advised. “Don’t think about what his paws are doing. Just concentrate on hanging on to him and pinning him down.”

“I think that’s enough for today,” Finchflight decided, when the apprentices had practiced the move once more. “Rowanpaw, you’d better see Sagewhisker about those scratches.”

Rowanpaw nodded, though Yellowpaw noticed that the claw marks weren’t bleeding anymore, and her sister hardly limped at all as they headed back toward camp. While Rowanpaw padded off to the medicine cat’s den, the rest of the apprentices and their mentors gathered around the fresh-kill pile.

“Yellowpaw, do you think you should see Sagewhisker too?” Deerleap prompted.

“No, I’m fine,” Yellowpaw mumbled through a mouthful of the squirrel she was sharing with Nutpaw.

Deerleap looked doubtful. “You’d better take the rest of the day off,” she mewed, giving Yellowpaw’s shoulder a sniff. “I can’t see any injury, but you never know. Get some rest, and see Sagewhisker if the pain doesn’t clear up.” She turned away to choose some prey for herself.

Yellowpaw didn’t want to rest.
I feel okay now,
she thought.
Maybe I just landed badly
.

When she had finished her share of the squirrel, she decided she would go off by herself to practice the new move. She still wasn’t used to being able to leave the camp on her own and she felt a thrill of confidence as she strode out through the thorns. When she had found a secluded spot in a hollow screened by holly bushes, she tried the move again: first the leap, and then rolling over to splay out her paws, ready to grab her opponent.

It doesn’t work so well with only one,
she thought, disappointed.

“Do you want any help?”

The voice startled Yellowpaw; she looked up to see Raggedpaw standing at the top of the hollow. “No, I’m fine,” she mewed, scuffling her forepaws in the earth.

Ignoring her refusal, Raggedpaw padded down to join her. “You really need a partner to do that move,” he meowed.

Yellowpaw gave her fur a shake.
I’d be mouse-brained not to let him help me
. “Okay,” she agreed.
Won’t Deerleap be surprised when she sees I can do the move perfectly!

Raggedpaw gave her a brisk nod. “I’ll leap and you grab,” he told her. “That way, you get to practice the difficult part.”

At first, Yellowpaw was afraid that she was going to be squashed into the forest floor by the heavier apprentice. “I can’t get my paws in place fast enough,” she complained, sitting up and shaking scraps of dead leaf off her fur.

“You have to watch me more closely,” Raggedpaw replied. “You should know when the leap is coming, and be ready. Try again.”

This time, Yellowpaw spotted the tensing of Raggedpaw’s muscles before he leaped. She rolled onto her back and spread her paws wide. “Got you!” she yowled as she wrapped her paws around him and flipped him over.

Raggedpaw scrambled to his paws and gave her a cool nod. “Better.”

Better?
Yellowpaw thought indignantly.
It was brilliant!

“You’ll be able to do it next time you’re in a training session,” Raggedpaw went on. “Now I’ve got to go. I want to hunt before it gets dark.”

“Thank you!” Yellowpaw called after him as he climbed back out of the hollow. “You really helped!”

Raggedpaw didn’t respond. Yellowpaw stood blinking after him, surprised by her feelings of gratitude.
Maybe he’s not so bad after all
.

The early morning sunlight sparkled on
the dewy grass and on the cobwebs draped across bushes and clumps of bracken. Yellowpaw paused to taste the air. The scent of damp earth flooded her jaws, with a trace of fresh green growth.

Newleaf will be here soon
.

Yellowpaw and her littermates were following Deerleap, on their way out of camp for a training session. As she leaped over a broken branch, she spotted a hint of green. She turned back, pushing the branch aside, and discovered a few delicate shoots poking up through the covering of rotting leaves. Very gently Yellowpaw scraped away the debris, giving the shoots a chance to reach the sun. Bending down to give them a good sniff, she thought,
I’m sure I’ve smelled this in Sagewhisker’s den before. It must be an herb
.

As she straightened up, she heard yowls of excitement, and the two newest apprentices, Foxpaw and Wolfpaw, hurled themselves over the branch. Yellowpaw leaped backward to avoid being knocked over. Two sets of flying paws stomped down hard on the tiny shoots, crushing them into the earth.

“Mouse-brains!” Yellowpaw called after them, her fur bristling in fury. “Watch where you’re going!”

Brightflower, Foxpaw’s mentor, and Blizzardwing, who was mentoring Wolfpaw, followed their apprentices more slowly. Brightflower gave Yellowpaw an inquiring look as she passed, but Yellowpaw just shrugged and brought up the rear.

The rest of the apprentices and their mentors had gathered in a clearing not far from the marshes. Wolfpaw and Foxpaw were charging around the edge, shouldering aside Nutpaw and Rowanpaw if they happened to get in the way.

Rowanpaw padded over to Yellowpaw. “They’re even more annoying than Raggedpaw and Scorchpaw.”

Still angry over the damaged shoots, Yellowpaw nodded. “They’re acting like kits.”

Deerleap called the cats together. “Today we’re going to do a hunting exercise,” she announced.

“Aww, do we have to?” Wolfpaw interrupted. “That’s so boring! I want to fight!”