The Night Circle (The Red Tide #1)

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

he morning air was crisp and cold as Ashpaw stood and stretched after the vigil. Her thick fur was still damp, though the rain had stopped hours ago, and she shivered from the added chill. All around her, the Clan was stretching out their stiff muscles, eyes bleary with exhaustion. Most of them had been patrolling all day the day before, and the vigil had taken its toll.

Sleetstep — now Sleetstar — emerged from his den with Darkflame close behind, the shimmering silvery Meeting Stone clutched between them. Ashpaw watched them out of the corner of her eye as they slipped into the medicine den. Sleetstep padded out a few moments later and leaped onto the Pine Branch.
"Let all cats gather beneath the Pine Branch to here my words!"

Everyone was already here, but the cats who'd stood settled back down and curled their tails around their paws.
"Last night StarClan granted me my leader's name, Sleetstar, and my nine lives. I saw old friends and received great gifts, which I sincerely hope to use, to the best of my ability, to make this Clan great!"

His speech was met with yowls of approval, and he had to raise his tail for silence.
"Now," he said, "it's time we got the day's patrols underway. Hawktalon, I want you to take Mossfire, Mistwater, Leafscratch, and your apprentice to mark our eastern and southern border. Riverclaw, take Rainpaw, Mothnose and Nightpplash to mark the northern and western borders. Oatspeckle and Yewbranch, take out two hunting patrols; let's get this fresh-kill pile stocked."

Cats raced to follow his orders, and soon, the patrols padded out of camp, heads and tails high.

A tap on her shoulder drew her attention to her mentor, who stood at her shoulder.
"You, Heronpaw, Applepaw and Seedpaw are training today in the hollow. Take a nap, you look exhausted, and be there by sunhigh."

"Yes, Quickstrike," Ashpaw meowed, waving her tail to the black she-cat as she turned toward her den.

* * *

She woke just before sunhigh, thank StarClan, and washed herself quickly. She was up and jogging out of camp a few minutes later, the sun warm on her pelt now that the morning chill had faded. She'd made a point to look extra put together; she and her siblings never trained with the older apprentices.

She arrived in the training clearing to find Applepaw already doing warm-ups. Her mentor Brightskip sat, tortoiseshell tail curled around white paws, correcting her technique as she ran through some basic moves.
"Keep your paw under you better for that twist— yes, that's it. Push off more with your hind paws on that leap. A little more, you almost have it... Yes!"

Ashpaw came to join her, entranced by Applepaw. Even as her mentor called out her flaws, the ginger and cream apprentice was perfectly confident and graceful, body flowing seamlessly from one battle move to the next, her softly swishing tail the only constant thing about her. She felt a flutter of nervous excitement watching her denmate, and pressed it back. Don't let your crush get to you, she reminded herself. If you want to impress her, you have to do well.

"Warm-ups, let's go!" Quickstrike appeared out of nowhere, eyes gleaming with laughter but voice firm.

"On it," Ashpaw replied, trotting into the clearing. She'd been so distracted with Applepaw that she hadn't noticed her brother's arrival either. Heronpaw was already doing some practice front-paw swipes, and she bounded over to join him.
"You are so not subtle, big sister," he whispered as she came over. Ashpaw felt her fur flush hot, and she glared at him before beginning her own practice swipes.

Seedpaw and Creekfeather were the last two to arrive, racing into the clearing together. Seedpaw's dappled pelt was ruffled and had bits of bracken stuck in it.
"You took your time," Quickstrike muttered, "but let's get started! Applepaw and Heronpaw, positions."

Applepaw and Heronpaw took up positions facing each other in the center of the clearing. Ashpaw sat beside the mentors, and Seedpaw began warming up just outside the ring.
"On my mark, get ready, go!" Heronpaw's mentor called. His golden-striped tail flicked down with a swishing sound, and the two apprentices unfroze.

Heronpaw leaped first, muscles rippling under his fur, but Applepaw darted nimbly away, then moved in for a quick, powerful swipe to his muzzle. She was so fast, like a bi-colored blur as she fought. Heronpaw swiped at her again, this time landing one on her flank and making her stumble slightly. Pressing his advantage, he knocked her over with a series of swipes and pinned her.

Applepaw wasn't finished, though. She curled herself up into a tight spiral, and his paws slipped on her thick, silky pelt, losing purchase. With a meow of triumph, she leaped up and attacked him with new vigor.

The battle continued, and when they had finished with Applepaw as the victor, their mentors whisked them aside to critique them, and Ashpaw and Seedpaw stepped into the circle.

Ashpaw took her position in front of her friend, a challenging gleam in her eye. Seedpaw smirked, and Creekfeather's "Go!" rang in the air.

Seedpaw leaped at Ashpaw, and the apprentice dodged to the side. Seedpaw landed smoothly on all four paws, though, and lashed out as Ashpaw was regaining her footing. Ashpaw stumbled, slipping on the wet sand of the clearing, but managed to prevent herself from falling. She swiped at Seedpaw, catching her on the side of her cheek. She landed a blow of her own on Ashpaw's ear, and they went back and forth like that for awhile, exchanging blows, neither of them making much headway.

As Ashpaw moved in to land another blow on Seedpaw's shoulder, she caught sight of Applepaw watching. Her heart fluttered unnecessarily at the sight of her, and new nerves bubbled up. She felt her cool slipping and quickly focused back on her battle.

It was too late.

Seedpaw darted in, hooking Ashpaw's hind paw with her own. Ashpaw landed on her back, leaving her soft belly exposed. Her opponent pounced, pinning her shoulders beneath strong paws, and Ashpaw had officially lost.

She stood up, shaking off sand, pelt hot with humiliation. She hated losing, but especially in front of Applepaw. She didn't want the beautiful tabby she-cat thinking she was just some klutz who couldn't ever win her battles.

She padded over to Quickstrike, ready for corrections.
"You have to keep your head in the game," the black warrior meowed, "you got distracted, and Seedpaw used that to win. Also, your dodging needs a bit of work. Otherwise, though, it was an excellent fight."

Ashpaw sighed.
"Thanks," she said.

Quickstrike purred.
"Don't be glum," she said, flicking Ashpaw's ear with her tail, "there's still time to impress your she-cat yet. Everyone loses sometime." Ashpaw looked around quickly, making sure Applepaw wasn't within earshot, and Quickstrike chuckled behind her.

"Well," her mentor said, "we should be getting back; the sun's just about setting. Tomorrow we'll touch up on your weave and dodge technique, and do some hunting, sound good? Go get some food and rest, and I'll see you at sunrise."