Silenced Nights - wc

FERNKIT/13

     My paws left the ground as he leaped. My teeth latched onto his scruff, sinking in so deep he let out a yowl. "Leave my brother alone or I'll..." The words left my mouth, but they didn't seem to have any effect upon him before his claws were raking against my side.

     "No, no, no, no!" I yelped out, scratching the ground as his claws delved deeper into me, drawing crimson blood. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts so badly...

     I saw myself get ripped apart, torn apart, blood pouring out so horribly that I collapsed and-

     "Fernpaw! Come on, what are you waiting for?" A huff awoke me. I glanced up, a piece of moss hanging from my mouth as I shook, thoroughly checking myself over for any blood on my paws. When I found none, I slowly calmed down, the image of my body being torn apart repeating over in my mind.

     "I know I messed up, but, please... can't I just have a break?" I dropped the moss, dry of any former liquid, my paws weary and exhausted. Emberpad went silent, glancing away dejectedly as he nervously shuffled his paws. 

     "I... know. Even so, you can't just fall asleep when you're supposed to be serving your punishment, Fernpaw... we haven't even gotten to battle training yet, and if-" Emberpad started. I scoffed, pushing my head down angrily.

     "I don't care about that stupid little competition anymore! I don't understand why all those mousebrains are obsessed with it..." I muttered, glaring at Emberpad. He sighed, going silent for a moment.

     "Look, Fernpaw. It's okay. Even if Icefeather gave up on being your mentor, it doesn't mean I'll be like her. You know, she wasn't always like this. When she was a younger warrior, she was kinder, but I guess life hit and she just..." He sighed sadly, whiskers twitching. 

     As if I give a single pawstep about that foxheart!

     "Just, can you try? Please?" He begged, slumping down. I sighed; I didn't want to have to change mentors again.

     "Fine, whatever. Just don't blame me when I do bad, okay?" I huffed, glancing away before I dropped the moss beside my paws. He glanced away with a sigh, before nodding. He shuffled a bit farther into camp, opposing me. I crouched down, glaring at him, imagining he was that foxheart.

     "Ready?" He murmured, looking up at me carefully. I hissed, my paws leaving the ground an instant before his. I knocked him over swiftly out of surprise, but it didn't take long before he overpowered me, sending me sprawling. I crouched down with a sigh, rolling out of the way of another paw swipe.

     Even if he looked puny and weak, and sounded like he couldn't hurt a mouse, he wasn't... terrible, exactly. I had underestimated him... Even so, I could tell that he lumbered around a bit. It would be hard for him to catch me if I used my fast paws to my advantage. Just as he stopped, skidding on the ground in order to turn, I found an opening.

     I leaped at him, latching onto his back like a leech and using a paw to yank on his tail. He whipped around, throwing himself onto me and pushing me onto the ground. All the wind flew out of me as he pinned me down with his large paws before timidly shuffling back.

     "I apologize, Fernpaw. I must've gotten... rather carried away," He meowed, ducking his head down while he stared at me with kitten eyes. I straightened up, glancing away.

     "Don't... don't worry about it! I feel fine. Perfect, actually. Heh, heh. What's next, marking the borders?" I blurted out, flashing him a sheepish smile as I leaned down to retrieve the moss.

     "Well... I was figuring we could work on some of your battle weaknesses, but I also haven't seen you hunting before. Well, that'll wait for another day. We should hurry on up and get some hunting done; I see that most of the clan is focused on other duties," He meowed with an enthusiastic tail flick, stretching down to my level before raising himself up.