Warrior Cats: The Deaf Warrior

Chapter Nineteen

Goosepaw dragged himself out of the apprentices' den, following Fuzzypaw to the centre of the camp, where their mentors were waiting. They were going to be doing battle training, along with Lilypaw.

Goosepaw could already feel Lilypaw's eyes on them. He turned around, and she smirked at him, eyes flicking from Goosepaw to Fuzzypaw.

He remembered the plan he had made with the grey tabby. Feeling very shy, he moved closer to Fuzzypaw, pressing himself gently against her shoulder. She turned around to look at him, smiling sweetly, before turning back to Lilypaw.

The speckled she cat looked stunned, though also a little amused. As soon as Goosepaw noticed that Bramblepelt was giving them a curious glance, he pulled away from Fuzzypaw. We need to show Lilypaw that her teasing only makes us stronger. Faking a relationship... is an interesting way to go about that.

The apprentices left the camp along with their mentors. Applepelt started talking to Fuzzypaw and Bramblepelt started talking to Lilypaw. Goosepaw headed over to his own mentor, waiting for him to say something.

"All three of you are quite evenly matched in terms of skill," Oakfang meowed. "First though, show me what you remember."

The huge tabby waited for Goosepaw to make the first move. His heart thumped nervously, and he turned around, making sure that neither Fuzzypaw nor Lilypaw were watching him. While he looked in the other direction, Oakfang slammed into him.

Goosepaw was stunned as his mentor pinned him to the ground.

"Sorry," Oakfang meowed. "Just don't get caught off guard. Now, attack me. Forget about them." He flicked his tail in the direction of Fuzzypaw and Lilypaw. Goosepaw knew his mentor was right, but he was just so scared about being judged.

Oakfang released him, and Goosepaw carefully sized up his opponent. Oakfang was huge. Maybe tripping him up would be a good strategy. Too bad he had no idea how to do that.

Goosepaw headed towards Oakfang, batting feebly at one of his mentor's front legs. The young tom simply stepped away, pushing strongly against Goosepaw's shoulder. The white tom stumbled to the ground. Oakfang lunged at him, ready to pin him. He felt a paw on his neck. Goosepaw managed to stand up before Oakfang could lay another paw in him.

Oakfang looked surprised. He smiled a little at his apprentice.

Goosepaw darted around to the back of Oakfang. The warrior twisted around, trying to grab Goosepaw, but he moved away, nearly tripping over his own paws in the process. He batted at one of Oakfang's legs. In combination with Oakfang's swift and slightly clumsy movements, this sent Oakfang crashing to the ground.

He knew there was no way he could pin Oakfang. The brown tom would be back on his paws in an instant. Still, he pressed his paws down on Oakfang, trying to hold him down, maybe just for a moment or two.

Oakfang grinned, and gave the white tom a nod. He easily freed himself from Goosepaw's grip, standing up straight. "Good job." He told his apprentice.

If that was an actual battle, it wouldn't be quite so good.

He felt a rush of embarrassment when he realised the four other cats were watching. Applepelt didn't really seem all that interested, nor impressed. However, Bramblepelt was smiling approvingly, and Fuzzypaw bounded over to him, placing her tail on his back.

"Good job!"

Goosepaw caught Lilypaw's eye. Lilypaw simply smirked again, amused by the closeness of her sister and Goosepaw. Fuzzypaw's tail lingered on his back for quite a while, until this time, Oakfang noticed it. The two apprentices drew away from eachother, and Lilypaw narrowed her eyes.