Warriors: Mosspath's Choice (REWRITTEN)

Chapter 10

"Come on, Mosspaw!"

Mosspaw spun around, her thick fur bushed up into furry spikes with frustration. "What? I'm trying, okay?"

"No, that's not how you do it!" Her mentor shook his pure black head in aggravation as he watched his apprentice fail the move yet again. "Watch me."

Mosspaw paused, her body crouched in the beginning of the half-turn belly rake move to watch Nightfrost. His black pelt shimmered in silvery patches through the sunlight between the leaves above. With swift accuracy, he turned onto his side and slipped under the imaginary opponent's belly. The sun caught the glint of his claws for a heartbeat as he sliced through the air before dropping down on all fours.

"Now you try it." Nightfrost turned to Mosspaw, his chest heaving up and down in an effort to calm his heartbeat. A faint glisten of sweat was on his muzzle, with Mosspaw wondered faintly how hard it really was.

"Er..." She hesitated, not wanting to make a fool out of herself once she had watched her mentor demonstrate it with no effort at all. "Maybe later..."

Nightfrost rolled his leaf green eyes, clearly exasperated. He had been patient in the first few sessions but later on, it became evident that he was growing even more frustrated. Mosspaw knew that if she was teaching someone of the same skills as her, she would rip out their fur and line it in her nest. That's how clumsy she was.

"You have to do it now, or you'll never get it because next time we have battle training, you'll forget everything!" Nightfrost twitched his white whiskers in vexation, annoyance rolling off his pelt. She could almost feel the thick tension in the air crackling with vented energy. Her irritation grew even more since she knew that her mentor was right. If she didn't practice today, then she would forget the newly earned skills and become that FireClan apprentice that couldn't fight. "Come on, just try it. It's not that hard."

Mosspaw scoffed at this ridiculous statement. It's not hard? Seriously? She could barely even manage to complete the basic forepaw slash without stumbling over her toes and losing control of all her balance. The back kick was easier, since both mentor and apprentice discovered the astonishing force of her hind legs, despite their size. Compared to other cats, her belly fur barely scraped off the tips of grass tickling her stomach. The duck and twist move though... she could never gain her balance after twisting. She had tried once and instead made a show of falling onto her nose. Sure, she thought, scuffing the sand on the forest floor with her forepaws. Not hard? Yeah, right! Next, Nightfrost'll tell me that birds don't nest in trees!

"You have to keep your weight on your toes," Nightfrost advised, as Mosspaw ducked under her imaginary opponent's belly and gave a rack. Another thump followed as she fell, unable to regain her balance again.

"I can't." With a huff, Mosspaw straightened her back, giving her pelt an experimental shake to clear away the dust. "Can't we just go hunting instead?" Anything to get away from battle practice...

Nightfrost narrowed his eyes, shooting an icy look of green fire at his apprentice. "Fine. But we will practice this move later. Got it?" He shot another glower at Mosspaw, who cowered under his intimidating stare.

"Y-yes..." Mosspaw stammered, scuffing the sandy clearing with the tips of her toes, wishing the ground could swallow her up right now so that she wouldn't have to disappoint Nightfrost any longer. "C-can we go now...?"

She shrank under his stare until he shrugged his broad shoulders, whipping his tail through the brittle leaves to clear a way for Mosspaw to follow. She sighed, feeling small as a mouse under that glare... She gave her pelt another shake, licking her chest fur to smooth it down before following her mentor's lead.