The Forbidden Prophecies: A New Light

Chapter Twenty-Three~

Brightheart stared at her apprentice from across the training hollow.

Phoenixpaw stared back. Her fur trembled with anticipation as her mentor's eye traced the dark roots and leaves that surrounded the clearing.

It was a deep pool blue, emotions lapping like flowing waves in that sea of vision.

This wasn't like any training session before.  Brightheart hated one on one lessons with her apprentice. And so did Phoenixpaw.

Phoenixpaw tried to follow her mentor's eye, struggling to figure out where she was looking at. Her voice seemed stuck in her throat, a question swept through her head, her paws shifted nervously, her tail lashed with curiosity. A single sentence formed on her tongue.

"What are you looking for?"

Brightheart flicked her ear but did not answer. Those eyes of blue had finally found what they were seeking.

The white and ginger patched she-cat padded towards the brushes.

Phoenixpaw watched curiously as her mentor dropped two sticks, a stone, and a bundle of leaves at her paws.

Birghtheart spoke at last, "ThunderClan's territory has been destroyed by fire on multiple occasions -"

"What does that have to do with my training?" The dark ginger apprentice stared with one cloudy blue eye and the other piercing ultramarine.

The senior warrior glared at her apprentice. "You are rather impatient, I was going to give you a history lesson, but now I have something else in mind."

The ginger striped she-cat huffed, rolling her eyes as she readied for a challenge.

"You will create a spark of fire."

"What?" Phoenixpaw looked outraged, her eyes blazing as she leaped to her paws. "We are warriors! We fight to protect our home, not burn it down!"

Birghtheart was glaring at apprentice. "I will train you in the art of fighting once you've understood why I have placed this task upon you."

"How do expect me to craft flames of fire when not even StarClan is capable." Phoenixpaw yowled after her mentor, who had already started walking away.

Birghtheart didn't turn around, just kept padding away. "Figure it out."

The young she-cat was left standing baffled in the center of the training hollow.

~~~~~

"That's amazing!" Willowshine yelped for the thirtieth time since Leafpool had told her. "No, incredible!"

Firepaw sighed. "It's more annoying than anything."

The sun was slowly sinking in the sky, the six cats were heading through WindClan territory, Mothwing keeping an eye out for Kestrelflight. Jayfeather and Alderheart were further back, talking about some herb for an eye wound.

"So you always see StarClan warriors?" The she-cat questioned again, glancing over at the young medicine cay.

Firepaw nodded. "Only those from Thunder and Shadow, but yes. I always see StarClan warriors." She shook her head. "No, scratch that. I only see cats that have died as apprentices."

"What?" Willowshine was deeply intrigued.

The fire pelted she-cat nodded. "I see the cats from StarClan that are on the same level as me. So at the moment, I see apprentices. A few moons ago I saw kits."

"That's so cool." Willowhsine breathed, blue eyes shimmering 

Firepaw shrugged. "It can be a real pain."