Fall of the Panther || Chapter 12

Instructions

“Chasingpaw?” Shimmersnow called out hesitantly. “Are you ready to train?” It had been a moon since the… incident, but Chasingpaw had been avoiding her like she was a fox. And, Shimmersnow admitted to herself, she really was no better than a fox, but she was Chasingpaw’s mentor, and she would follow through on her responsibilities despite her pounding heart. She prayed that Chasingpaw would at least be open to working with her. After a painfully long few minutes, Chasingpaw appeared. Thank StarClan. She wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or terrified. “Hello, Chasingpaw,” she greeted. Chasingpaw looked up at her blankly. Shimmersnow cleared her throat and tried to fill the awkward pause. “W-we’ll be training in the clearing today. Follow me.” Her apprentice nodded, but still didn’t say anything. The silence was enough to make Shimmersnow’s heart start to sink, but she led the way out of camp anyway. Perhaps once they both got into the rhythm of training, they’d feel better. The walk to the training hollow was quiet, and without the chatter of the other cats to fill it up, Shimmersnow’s thoughts rudely crowded into her mind. Chasingpaw still hated her, that much was clear, and she didn’t blame her for it at all. But the fact that she wasn’t speaking concerned Shimmersnow deeply. Why wasn’t she getting upset? What was she thinking? Oh, she’d give her left paw to know what she was feeling right now. “We’re here,” Shimmersnow said, her voice ringing out in the hollow clearing. She turned to Chasingpaw, feeling her chest get lighter at her excited expression. “Why don’t we start with some basics?” She asked, now more confidently. “You can stand over there, and we’ll go over some attacks and defenses.” Chasingpaw moved to where Shimmersnow had pointed and finally spoke. “Which one should we do first?” “Let’s start with the most basic of attacks, a slash,” she began, her voice falling into the rhythmic timbre of her authoritative tone. “When facing a cat head on, where is the best place to slash?” “The neck?” She guessed. Shimmersnow purred, pleased with her response. “Right. Or the face, if you can’t reach the neck,” she said. “Let’s work on aim for now. Claws sheathed, try to slash me three times in the neck. I won’t attack you, but I will try to defend.” Chasingpaw’s eyes gleamed with determination as she launched herself directly at Shimmersnow. Knowing this was coming, Shimmersnow simply side-stepped out of the way and began to run. “Simply attacking isn’t going to work on a cat that’s more skilled than you,” she called out behind her. Her apprentice was pursuing her, but paused. “Then what do I–” Chasingpaw broke off, understanding dawning on her. Shimmersnow stopped as Chasingpaw ran in a different direction. Strange. “Chasingpaw, what are you doing?” She said, following her. Chasingpaw didn't even turn back, continuing to run. Shimmersnow grunted. “You’re leaving the clearing. That's not–” she broke off in surprise as Chasingpaw swiftly leapt up a tree. Before Shimmersnow could react, she leapt off and landed – right on her back. Both of them tumbled, a confusing ball of fur and claws. Finally, as they rolled to a stop, Chasingpaw started slashing her. Shimmersnow stumbled, managing to block the first, but twisting around her, Chasingpaw managed to get in three shots before hastily pulling away. “I did it!” Chasingpaw said, prancing around happily. Shimmersnow let out a breathless laugh, shaking off the lingering dizziness from the roll. “Yes, you did,” she said, pride evident in her voice. “That was clever, I'll admit. CraneClan needs a warrior that can not only fight, but adapt.” Chasingpaw beamed, fur fluffed up from her mentor’s praise. Then her face fell, as if remembering something. “Slashing didn’t work on that eagle, though,” she said after a moment.