Picked Off In the Dark

Chapter 4

"No, no! You're doing it wrong!" Longstripe exclaimed.

Ivypaw stopped and let out a groan of exasperation.

"What am I doing wrong?" Ivypaw exclaimed.

"You have to LOOK at your target when you do that move," Longstripe explained.

Ivypaw clenched her teeth in frustration. She had been doing that every time!

"Try again," Longstripe ordered.

Ivypaw turned around and glanced over her shoulder as she kicked her back legs out.

"Better..." Longstripe meowed.

"Alright Lightningpaw, now you try the move," Starlingfeather ordered.

Lightningpaw let out an exasperated sigh. Ivypaw nodded to her in agreement. They had been doing this since sunrise and it was now getting close to sunset. In fact, all the apprentices had been practicing their battle moves all day. All of Windclan was seemed fully convinced Shadowclan would attack soon. The camp was being fortified, border patrols were increased, and Eaglefeather was filling his stores and it had been like that for the past few days. On the bright side however, no one had died in their sleep. Lightningpaw gazed backward and effortlessly kicked her back legs out.

"Put more effort into it!" Starlingfeather hissed.

Lightningpaw sighed and did the move again, this time kicking harder.

"Try the move on Ivypaw," Starlingfeather ordered.

"Ivypaw, you try to keep your balance," Longstripe ordered.

Ivypaw nodded and glanced at Lightningpaw. Her friend whipped around and kicked Ivypaw's side. Ivypaw sank her claws into the dirt which held her in place against the ground.

"Continue fighting!" Starlingfeather ordered.

Lightningpaw slammed her paw against Ivypaw's head. In retaliation, Ivypaw slammed her head against Lightningpaw's chest, knocking her over into the dirt. Ivypaw sheathed her claws and leaped into a fighting stance. Lightningpaw did the same before lunging at Ivypaw and throwing the two into a scuffle. Ivypaw kicked against Lightningpaw's stomach who in turn, pawed against Ivypaw's face and chest. Suddenly, Lightningpaw grabbed Ivypaw's scruff in her jaws and tossed her aside. Before Ivypaw could get up, Lightningpaw pinned her to the ground. Ivypaw kicked at Lightningpaw as hard as she could without hurting her but still could not get free.

"Lightningpaw wins," Starlingfeather announced.

Ivypaw let out a sigh as Lightningpaw backed off her. Ivypaw stood up and shook the dust out of her fur.

"Don't sweat it Ivypaw," Lightningpaw encouraged, "You'll beat me eventually."

"But what if I don't?" Ivypaw sighed.

Lightningpaw affectionately nuzzled Ivypaw's cheek.

"Then you're lucky I'm your clanmate!" Lightningpaw teased.

Ivypaw smiled and pressed against her friend.

"Alright you two," Starlingfeather meowed, slightly teasing, "Let's go hunting before it gets dark."

Lightningpaw and Ivypaw nodded, following their mentors out of the ditch where they were practicing. Ivypaw and Lightningpaw scanned the moor for any sight of prey. Ivypaw caught a white flash out of the corner of her eye and immediately began bolting after it. It was a skinny rabbit. Ivypaw took long strides when suddenly, her paw was caught behind a rock and she flopped down into the grass, flat on her face. Ivypaw looked up and saw the rabbit escape into one of the tunnels. Ivypaw let out a sigh. Lightningpaw was no luckier. She had let a starling get away when she was normally pretty efficient at catching birds. Longstripe and Starlingfeather stepped forward and exchanged glances.