The blades of the sun

Chapter 18

Littlepaw felt tiredness grow inside him as he yawned. Spiderpaw was staring at him, mockery in every depth of his amber gaze. Littlepaw didn't dare stare back. He could never argue with the arrogant apprentice now, he knew he was in his debt. Littlepaw felt all his muscles ache and he knew that he would have to have a word with Fox about seeing her. How long could he go on without getting sleep? He looked up and saw Colliesoul trotting up to him. He pushed away from the feeling of pretending to be sick so he could sleep, lying got no cat anywhere. Then where will my meetings with Fox get me?

"Hello, Littlepaw! We are going to do some battle practice with Yellowstripe and Moonpaw today." Colliesoul announced. Littlepaw wanted to be happy, he knew that battle practice was fun, but his visits to Fox had left him exhausted. 

" Great. When do we start?" Littlepaw meowed, trying to stop himself from yawning. Colliesoul's only reply was a tail flick which suggested for him to follow Colliesoul. They made their way to where Yellowstripe and Moonpaw were patiently waiting. Littlepaw felt a surge of panic pass through him if he was tired and no over cat had realized, would Yellowstripe think he was a bad apprentice?

" Hello, Colliesoul and Littlepaw! Today we will work on a few more battle moves then do a little sparring." Yellowstripe meowed. Littlepaw nodded and followed his Clanmates out of the camp. The scent of the forest filled his nose as they trotted through the undergrowth.

" I think this would be a good place to start," Moonpaw announced. Littlepaw felt a flicker of annoyance at the energetic apprentice, couldn't she just wait until they had been told to stop? But he didn't argue as Yellowstripe nodded to her apprentice.

" Today we will focus on defence moves. Do you two know any?" Colliesoul asked Littlepaw and Moonpaw. Littlepaw tried to remember but as he tried to speak, a yawn came out instead.

" Are you sleepy Littlepaw?" Yellowstripe teased. " If you're a bit tired we could do this later, or you could just watch." Yellowstripe meowed. Littlepaw wanted to say yes to that, but he couldn't miss out on training. Besides, Moonpaw would mock him if he did. Although the small apprentice wasn't as rude as Spiderpaw she could be a pain at times. Moonpaw rolled her silver eyes.

" Let's get on with this first, I know one little move I saw Beepaw use on Cloudpaw. When you are pinned to the ground, a good way to get your attacker off you is by using your back legs to kick their belly. It should make them tumble to the ground." Moonpaw meowed. Littlepaw felt a bit of laughter grow inside him, Moonpaw was always nattering about what Beepaw had done. He knew it would be a bit weird for them to become mates because Moonpaw was his foster sister, but Littlepaw knew that Squirrelleap's kits had always seen Moonpaw more as a close friend.

" Very good! How about you both try it on each other?" Colliesoul suggested. Moonpaw nodded and fixed her gaze on Littlepaw,  judging by the way she looked at him Littlepaw could guess she was going to pin him first. She grinned and leapt into the air, Littlepaw braced himself for impact and fell to the ground as she perfectly landed on top of him. He lashed his legs into her belly but he felt a ripple of surprise as she didn't budge. Then he noticed that she had her back paws claws strongly into the ground, why hadn't he thought that the sneaky apprentice would do that?

" That's cheating! Colliesoul wanted me to get you off not struggle under you!" Littlepaw hissed. Moonpaw's whiskers twitched with amusement and she backed away from him.

" He never said I couldn't change the move, you should have dodged my leap." She grinned. Littlepaw glared at the apprentice, he had lost to a cat that wasn't even clan born! He looked at Yellowstripe and Colliesoul to see if they would agree with him but they just nodded at Moonpaw's words. 

" It's my turn to pin you now. Go back to where you were before." He ordered. Moonpaw looked as if she was going to argue but she nodded and trotted to where she had started. Littlepaw decided not leap like Moonpaw did, instead, he raced towards her side and aimed a paw at her shoulder. Expecting to feel her fur, Littlepaw felt confusion spread through him like a fire as she rolled over to avoid his blow. The next thing she did surprised him even more. Moonpaw turned around and kicked a big of mud into his face. He yowled in rage and leapt at her, this time he knew he had her. But then he felt her back legs crash into his stomach and she flung him to the ground. He flinched as he realized he had landed in mud. 

Moonpaw let out a mrow of laughter. " Ashstars going to have to change your name to Mudpaw! And you warrior name can be Mudface!" Moonpaw teased. Littlepaw felt a hot wave of embarrassment spread through him and he wiped the mud off his face.

" Good work Moonpaw! Next time Littlepaw, be more aware of your surroundings." Yellowstripe advised. Littlepaw grunted and saw Moonpaw trying not to laugh. " We should head back now, Littlepaw you should clean that mud off," Yellowstripe instructed. Littlepaw nodded and trotted back to camp. When he got there he saw his clanmates quietly laugh but some had sympathy in their eyes. 

" Look at Littlepaw! Did Colliesoul teach you how to get mud on your fur today?" Spiderpaw sneered. Littlepaw held his head high and didn't meet his gaze. Out of all the Clans, why did Starclan send Spiderpaw to Rippleclan?

" Leave him alone Spiderpaw! Unless you want to miss another training session and do the elders ticks instead!"Solstice growled. Littlepaw shot a grateful glance at his father, Spiderpaw had always teased him. Littlepaw quickly got all the mud off him, using a puddle to see where it was. Littlepaw quickly ate a thrush and headed to the apprentice's den, he pretended to be asleep until everyone else was asleep. He looked toward the camp entrance and ignored the tiredness in his body. He then walked out of the camp to meet Fox once more.