“They need a lure for their tracking exercise,” Dawnstripe told him.
Shrewpaw wove around Cloudrunner. “Can I help, too?”
The pale gray tom dipped his head. “Ask Hareflight.” He turned to Dawnstripe. “Let’s meet at Outlook Rock.”
“Okay,” Dawnstripe agreed. “I want Tallpaw to warm up first.”
“I’m already warm,” Tallpaw told her. The greenleaf sun was hot on his pelt, even though it had hardly lifted above the heather.
“I meant I want you to stretch your muscles,” Dawnstripe told him. “You’ll need to lose yesterday’s stiffness before you work with the older apprentices.”
Tallpaw’s pelt burned, and not from the sunshine. He glared at Shrewpaw, ready for a stinging comment. A gray pelt slid in front of him, distracting him.
“Hi, Hickorynose,” mewed Tallpaw.
The tunneler padded past Tallpaw without speaking and pushed his way through the entrance tunnel. Sandgorse followed.
Tallpaw darted forward. “Sandgorse!”
But Sandgorse didn’t seem to hear him. Tallpaw stared in surprise as his father ducked into the tunnel and disappeared.
Dawnstripe’s whiskers brushed his ear. “He must be thinking about the new tunnel,” she murmured. “Mistmouse was saying they’ve reached a tricky seam of gravel.”
“I guess.” Tallpaw stared sadly at the trembling heather. Were the tunnelers going to treat him like he was from a different Clan now?
Hareflight marched past Shrewpaw. “Let’s get going.”
Dawnstripe followed him. “Come on, Tallpaw. Let’s race some of that stiffness from your legs.” She ducked through the gap. Shrewpaw pushed in after her. Tallpaw followed, wondering if it was possible to race stiffness away.
A light breeze whisked his ears as he emerged onto the smooth grass. He scanned the moor for a sign of Sandgorse, but his father had already disappeared. Dawnstripe’s golden tail flashed between two bushes. Tallpaw could hear paw steps thrumming, and raced after her. He zigzagged along the weaving track, narrowing his eyes against the twigs that lashed his face. Would he ever know all the trails on the moor as well as Dawnstripe seemed to? She ran ahead, sure-pawed, making each twist and turn as easily as a rabbit. Tallpaw felt awkward, jerking around the corners, tripping on roots, and trying not to fall.
The trail lightened up ahead and the heather suddenly opened onto a clearing on the hillside. Dawnstripe skidded to a halt. “This is where you’ll do most of your training.” She nodded to the wide sweep of grass. Boulders clustered at the far end of the sheltered space.
Hareflight and Shrewpaw burst from the heather behind them and stopped. Hareflight flicked his tail. “Three laps,” he ordered Shrewpaw.
Shrewpaw tore away, following the line of bushes around the edge of the clearing. He sped over the grass, fast as a skimming bird.
Tallpaw blinked at Dawnstripe. “Me too?”
“Just once around,” she told him.
Tallpaw hared after Shrewpaw as fast as he could. He didn’t want to lag behind his denmate.
“Take it easy!” Dawnstripe called after him. “You’re just warming up, remember?”
So’s Shrewpaw! Tallpaw raced harder.
His lungs ached. A cramp stabbed his ribs. Shrewpaw was already halfway back. At this rate, the dark brown tom would lap him by the time he reached Dawnstripe. Tallpaw forced himself to keep going. The grass flashed beneath him as he fought for each breath. Shrewpaw slithered past Hareflight and Dawnstripe. Tallpaw began to gain ground. Dragging in another breath, he hurtled the last few tail-lengths and skidded to a halt beside Dawnstripe.
He collapsed onto the grass, flanks heaving. “Fast, huh?” he gasped, pleased with his effort.
“It’s not a race.” His mentor leaned over him. “The best warrior is the one who’s still fighting at the end of the battle. Don’t use up all your strength in the first fight.”
Tallpaw looked up at her, eyes glazed as he panted.
“Come on, Shrewpaw!” Hareflight called to his apprentice. “Longer strides!”
“Watch him,” Dawnstripe ordered. “See how much land he covers with each step. Watch how he stretches forward each time his paws leave the ground. Speed is vital, but you need to be in control of the speed.” She nosed him to his paws. “You’re fast, but you run like prey, not a hunter.”
Hareflight was still watching Shrewpaw. “Nice paw-work,” he called as Shrewpaw swept past. Tallpaw felt the wind from his pelt.
He watched how Shrewpaw curved his spine with each stride, stretching his forepaws and tucking his hind legs in close before thrusting himself out flat again. “Can I try again?” he asked Dawnstripe.
“Got your breath back?” Dawnstripe asked.
“Yes.”
“Don’t aim for speed,” Dawnstripe warned. “You need your strength later.”
Tallpaw dipped his head and padded away. He broke into a run, not pushing hard at first but gaining rhythm and speed as he crossed the grass. He focused on each bound, curving his spine the same way Shrewpaw did, and reaching out with his forepaws a little farther before they touched the grass. He pushed harder with every stride until he was aware of nothing but the steady thrumming of his paws and the way his breath fell in time with his pace. He was suddenly moving with ease, as though the wind were carrying him while the grass slid beneath him like air beneath a swallow’s wings.
“Very good!” Dawnstripe’s mew surprised him. He’d completed a circuit of the training ground already, so focused that he hadn’t seen her. He pulled up, slowing to a trot before turning and padding to her side.
Hareflight dipped his head. “Nice work, Tallpaw.”
“You learn quickly,” Dawnstripe meowed.
Shrewpaw slewed to a halt a few tail-lengths away. “Not bad for a tunneler.”
I’m not a tunneler! Tallpaw choked back the words.
Hareflight glanced up the hillside. “We should meet the others.”
Tallpaw followed his gaze. “Is Outlook Rock over there?” He squinted across the heather but could see nothing but blue sky arcing over the moor.
Dawnstripe headed up the slope. “I’ll show you.”
Outlook Rock stuck out from the moor-top like a snipe’s beak. Below it, the land dropped away, the valley so steep and long that Tallpaw couldn’t tell whether the white shapes in the meadow below were sheep or dandelions. He padded gingerly over the stone, feeling the wind tug at his pelt as he peered over the edge. The whole world rolled out before him, fading against the clouds on the distant horizon. Dizzy, Tallpaw shrank back. What if a gust of wind lifted him off? The granite beneath his paws was too smooth to grip.
“Look ahead, not down,” Dawnstripe warned from behind him.
Tallpaw fixed his gaze on the horizon. Highstones gleamed palely in the sunshine. Beyond them, mountains nudged at the sky. Movement flickered at the corner of his vision and he found himself twitching, his gaze flitting from a wind-ruffled tree to a distant monster flashing along a Thunderpath. A buzzard swooped in the distance, snatching his attention up to the sky.
“They’re coming!” Shrewpaw’s call made him turn.
Cloudrunner, Aspenfall, and Larksplash were leading their apprentices up the slope. Dawnstripe beckoned Tallpaw with a flick of her tail and he hurried to her side as Stagpaw, Ryepaw, and Doepaw leaped onto Outlook Rock. The three apprentices looked somber and focused as they lined up along the rock and sat down.
“What are they doing?” Tallpaw whispered to Dawnstripe.
“They’re being tested on their observation skills,” Dawnstripe hissed back. “Keep quiet so you don’t disturb them.”
Cloudrunner stood behind Stagpaw. “What do you see?” he asked his apprentice.
“Red monster; lapwing diving for insects; a Twoleg walking across the Thunderpath.” Stagpaw leaned forward and squinted. “Dog running along a hedgerow.”
“Which way?” Cloudrunner prompted.
“Toward the scent l
ine.”
“How long before it reaches it?”
“Long enough for a runner to fetch a patrol from camp.”
“Good.” Cloudrunner looked over his shoulder at Aspenfall. “Doepaw’s turn.”
“Twoleg climbing a fence; rogue crossing the Thunderpath.”
Tallpaw watched her steadily scan the landscape. His attention had been caught by one movement after another, and his neck ached from jerking his head around. Doepaw seemed to be directing her gaze at each place in turn, picking objects out with fixed concentration before shifting her head.
Ryepaw was even better. “The Twolegplace loner is sunning himself on his green-patch. There’s a heron fishing the stream beside Long Wall.”
Dawnstripe leaned down to Tallpaw. “Ryepaw has the best eyesight in WindClan,” she whispered.
Tallpaw glanced up as a buzzard swooped high overhead. Ryepaw’s gaze remained trained on the land stretching below her. “How come they don’t get distracted?” he asked.
“Training,” Dawnstripe breathed.
Larksplash padded from the rock. “Nice work,” she told Ryepaw. “Let’s test your hunting skills.”
Tallpaw felt Dawnstripe press against him. “This is where you help out.”
Tallpaw gulped. “How?”
Cloudrunner paced around the older apprentices as they assembled on the grass, their eyes wide with anticipation. “We need to test your tracking skills.” His gaze flashed toward Tallpaw. “You’ll be the rabbit, Tallpaw. Stagpaw, Ryepaw, and Doepaw will hunt you.”
“They’ll catch Tallpaw easily,” Shrewpaw snorted. “I should be the rabbit.”
Hareflight narrowed his eyes. “You’re good at open-running, Shrewpaw. But in the heather, I think Tallpaw will have the advantage.”
Shrewpaw bristled. “Why?”
“He’s smaller,” Hareflight explained. “And more nimble.”
Tallpaw’s heart was speeding. His denmates were going to hunt him? He leaned closer to Dawnstripe. “What will they do when they catch me?” he asked in a nervous whisper.
Dawnstripe purred. “Don’t worry. They’re being tested on how they pursue you,” she whispered. “They need to work together to track you down. Aspenfall and Cloudrunner will be watching to see how they manage to stay out of sight while still giving one another tail signals.”
“So I just need to keep running.” Tallpaw’s pelt tingled. He knew how to run!
Cloudrunner flicked his tail. “Head for that boulder,” he told Tallpaw.
Tallpaw narrowed his eyes. Beyond a vast stretch of heather and gorse he could just make out a tall stone standing against the sky.
“Try to reach it without being caught.” Cloudrunner crossed the grass and whispered into Tallpaw’s ear. “Switch course a couple of times. Include a double-back. Make it as hard as you can for them to run you down.”
Tallpaw nodded, dazed. At the last sunrise, he had been a kit, living with his mother in the nursery. This was his first ever taste of warrior training, and he was already being lined up as prey for bigger, stronger, faster cats.
It’s my second day. How am I going to outwit three trained apprentices?
CHAPTER 8
Tallpaw felt Dawnstripe’s tail sweep his spine. “You’ll do fine,” she murmured. “Just keep moving, and think like a fox.”
“A fox?” Tallpaw had no idea how a fox thought. He’d never even seen one.
“Be smart.” Dawnstripe nosed him away.
Tallpaw slid into the nearest bank of heather. Quiet as he could, he darted between two stems, hoping he’d find a rabbit trail that would lead closer to the rock. The gap opened for a few tail-lengths but ended in a thick gorse stump. Tallpaw’s heart quickened. The apprentices would find him straight away. Shrewpaw would laugh at him for the rest of the day—for the rest of their lives, probably. Tallpaw turned and pushed through the thick heather branches, wincing as he forced his way past. He struggled onward until finally he burst out into a gap between the bushes.
A sharp tang touched his nose. Tiny dirt-berries! He’d found a rabbit track. The trail led among the stems. Tallpaw raced along it. Instinctively he kept low, crouching down so that his spine didn’t set the heather quivering and give his position away.
Am I going the right way? Where’s the rock?
He couldn’t see it through the heather, but if he stretched up his head to get his bearings, the others would spot him. He tasted the air, hoping for a clue. Peat and heather. And the familiar scent of Stagpaw. Was the young tom close?
Tallpaw pushed on harder, twisting his ears back for sounds of pursuit. Paw steps thrummed behind him. Switch course. Cloudrunner’s instruction echoed in his ears as the path forked ahead. Tallpaw swerved, taking the trail that sloped upward. He could feel the ground trembling. More paw steps pounded behind. The apprentices were on his tail.
The path sloped steeply, growing rocky, which forced Tallpaw to slow down so he didn’t trap his paw and break his leg. He told himself that his pursuers would have to slow down too. After a frantic scramble over the stones, the trail emerged from the heather onto a grassy hillside. Tallpaw flattened his ears and ran faster. Remembering his practice earlier, he lengthened his stride. The grass blurred beneath him. Snatching a breath, he glanced over his shoulder.
Stagpaw exploded from the heather. Ryepaw and Doepaw fanned out behind. Tallpaw saw Stagpaw’s tail flick one way, then the other. They were planning to surround him! He swerved sideways, his paws skidding on the grass as he switched direction. Cutting across the apprentices’ path, he blocked their attempt to trap him from on both sides.
“Come on, Stagpaw! Think!” Aspenfall called from higher up the slope.
Wind streamed through Tallpaw’s whiskers. Exhilaration pulsed in his belly. He was running fast as a bird. But the apprentices were gaining on him.
Double back. He was smaller than his pursuers, and that made him nimble. He slowed, gradually at first. They’ll think they’ve outrun me. Tallpaw glanced over his shoulder, pleased to see triumph flash in Ryepaw’s eyes. She was in the lead now, Stagpaw racing just behind, matching her stride step for step. Beside him, Doepaw veered away.
Tallpaw saw the she-cat narrow her eyes. She’s going to try to overtake me and block my path. Suddenly he slammed his paws hard into the grass. He spun around, leaving deep scars in the turf, and charged straight back toward the apprentices. Their eyes stretched wide in astonishment.
Surprised, huh? Ears flat, tail streaking behind, Tallpaw raced down the slope through the gap between Stagpaw and Doepaw.
“Don’t let a kit outpace you!” Cloudrunner yowled from above them.
Kit? I’m an apprentice! Tallpaw sprinted down the hillside. The rock flashed at the edge of his vision. He’d have to change course to reach it. Stagpaw, Ryepaw, and Doepaw were still trying to turn, slithering clumsily on the grass behind him. Tallpaw needed to make a break for the rock before they found their footing. He darted sideways, his hind paws slipping out from under him. His belly hit the ground but he scrambled up and kept running. Stagpaw was pulling closer. He could hear the young tom’s breath. Ryepaw and Doepaw pounded at his tail. He was closing in on the rock. If he could just keep running, he’d make it. Excitement thrilled through him.
Then paws grasped his flanks. A swift push sent him sideways. The world spun as Tallpaw tumbled over the grass and skidded to a halt.
“Great chase!” Stagpaw leaned over him.
“Are you okay?” Doepaw pushed past her brother and looked anxiously at Tallpaw. Ryepaw was just behind, panting too hard to speak.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Tallpaw scrambled to his paws, struggling to catch his breath.
“Good work!” Cloudrunner ran across the grass toward them, Dawnstripe at his heels.
“You nearly made it!” Tallpaw’s mentor skidded to a halt in front of him, her eyes shining.
Stagpaw nudged him with a shoulder. “I thought you’d outrun us for a moment,” he panted.
Aspenfall, Larksplash, and Hareflight pounded across the grass with Shrewpaw trotting behind much less eagerly.
Hareflight reached them first. “That was impressive.”
Shrewpaw glared at Tallpaw. “I would have made it to the rock.”
Doepaw swished her tail. “I don’t think so, small-paws.”
Tallpaw wanted to purr, but he was still trying to get enough air inside him.
Cloudrunner jerked his nose toward Fourtrees. “Let’s test your hunting skills.”
Ears pricked, looking as if he’d done nothing more strenuous than chase a leaf, Stagpaw led the way down the slope. As the apprentices disappeared into the heather with their mentors, Dawnstripe tasted the air. “It smells like they’ll find good hunting there.”
Tallpaw stuck out his tongue. He couldn’t taste anything but the wind.
Dawnstripe shook out her golden pelt. “Don’t worry, Tallpaw. Before long you’ll be able to scent prey halfway across the moor.”
“I’m hungry.” Shrewpaw glanced hopefully at the thick line of trees running along the bottom of the moor. “Can we hunt too?”
“Battle moves first,” Hareflight told him.
“With Tallpaw?” Shrewpaw’s tail drooped. “He won’t know any.”
Hareflight glared at his apprentice. “Then teach him some.”
Shrewpaw stomped across the grass and stood a tail-length away. His brown pelt looked like a stray piece of wood against the windswept moor.
Dawnstripe swept Tallpaw forward with her tail. “He’ll need to learn defensive moves first,” she called to Shrewpaw. “Attack him, but don’t forget that it’s his first session.” She nodded to Tallpaw. “The simplest defense is to raise your forepaws. Don’t jab out wildly. Focus on protecting your muzzle and pushing your attacker away.”
Tallpaw nodded, trying to remember everything Dawnstripe was saying. He could still feel his heart pounding from the chase. He curled his hind claws into the grass to steady himself, then fixed his gaze on Shrewpaw.
Shrewpaw’s eyes glittered. “Ready?”
Tallpaw nodded. Letting out a ferocious yowl, Shrewpaw flew toward him. Tallpaw gasped and lifted his paws. He was too slow. Claws raked his nose. With a yelp, Tallpaw tripped over his own tail and rolled onto the grass.