Chapter 5 - Into the Forest - HC x WC

Instructions

Everyone would be looking for a hint to what I was and who I was. I would need to be extra careful to not expose myself. I still needed to train my magic to become stronger and keep my wings strong and healthy. I started thinking about who would injure other cats to target me… Sleekbristle maybe… Gorsewhisker perhaps… or a greater enemy I gain? I didn’t have any clues right now. The Clan meeting ended and cats said goodbye to each other as they separated to go back to their Clans. An apprentice ran up to me. They were from LightClan, a close ally to FlameClan as their territories were somewhat close to each other. “Hi! I’m Emberpaw! You look so cool!” Emberpaw excitedly said. “Thanks kiddo. If you didn’t catch it already, my name is Amara.” I responded. Emberpaw’s mentor, Nightfur, walked over, “Come on Emberpaw, we have to get back to LightClan.” “Ok…” Emberpaw said. “Bye Amara!” “Bye Emberpaw!” I said. I caught up to Sandstripe, Brackentail, Moonflame, and Silverfeather and started walking with them. We made it back to FlameClan territory without incident. I fell asleep with everyone else. I woke up in the middle of the night as I had planned. I carefully got up and stretched out my wings. I set up an illusion just in case someone woke up. My wings carried me into the night sky. I landed in an open spot of land. I set another illusion to hide my features so I couldn’t be recognized by anyone. I focused on training my magic tonight. Summoning moving targets, I started my training session. Magic poured from my paws. My training session ended and I was a bit tired. I flew back to FlameClan with sleep on my mind. Carefully landing, I made sure to not make noise. My wings were then hidden. I walked back to my bed and slept until morning. “Clan meeting!” I heard the shout from Cometstar. I stretched, got up, and walked into the gathering of cats. “I would first like to give some kits their apprentice names and mentors. Cloudkit you become Cloudpaw and your mentor is Silverfeather. Fallowkit you become Fallowpaw and your mentor is Brackentail. Russetkit you become Russelpaw and I will get to your mentor in a moment.” “Cloudpaw! Fallowpaw! Russelpaw!” Shouts rose from the gathering celebrating the kits transition to apprentices. The apprentices themselves stood proud. “Everybody quiet down. The meeting’s not over yet. Amara, would you please step forward.” Cometstar added. I stepped forward like he asked. “Amara, do you promise to keep the Clan code?” “Yes.” I said. “Amara, I officially make you a FlameClan warrior. You are one of us now. Russelpaw, Amara will be your mentor. Clan meeting dismissed.” Excitement ran through my chest. I was officially a warrior. I also had an apprentice to train. It showed that Cometstar was trusting but testing me. “Hello! I’m so excited that you’re my mentor and that I became an apprentice!” Russelpaw said. I could already tell that he would be a handful. I smiled, “Would you like to go hunting with me, Russelpaw?” The prey pile had already diminished. “Yes!” His excitement could be heard in his voice. He excitedly followed me to the entrance. I told Moonflame where we were going as we headed out. We walked for a bit before I spotted movement. “Stop and be quiet. Something’s here.” I whispered. Russelpaw stopped and matched my position in a low crouch. My eyes scanned the area. Locked onto a rabbit. “You see the rabbit right there, Russelpaw?” My voice still low. Russelpaw responded in a whisper, “Yes.” I whispered back, “Okay. Watch what I do and we can talk about what I did after I catch it.” Russelpaw nodded. I crept low, still in a crouched position. My tail flicked. I pounced. As my paws landed on the rabbit, my teeth sunk into its neck. The rabbit was dead in seconds. “That was amazing.” Russelpaw said. “Thanks. So let's talk about what I did….” I started explaining hunting techniques for hunting various animals and locating them. “Alright. Let’s find something for you to hunt.” I said to Russelpaw. We started scanning the area looking for any sign of another animal. “There is a squirrel.” Russelpaw said. “I’m going after it.” I responded, “You got this.” I carefully watched Russelpaw as he started moving towards the squirrel. His posture was low and crouched. Russelpaw sat up slightly and flicked his tail. He pounced and successfully killed the squirrel. “Good job.” I said. “Thanks.” Russelpaw said around a mouthful of squirrel. We continued hunting for a bit; making an efficient duo. In the end, I had a rabbit and squirrel and Russelpaw had a squirrel and bird. We started walking back to camp. My refined hearing picked up something… A bark. My ears went back and my fur up. A dog was close. I dropped the prey I held. “Russelpaw, run to camp as fast as you can. Leave the prey. Don’t look back. I have this handled.” I suddenly said. Russelpaw dropped his prey. “What?” He said. “Go. Please. I don’t want you to get hurt.” My voice was ice cold.