The Apprentice's Curse (A Shrouded Path book 1) {COMPLETE}

Chapter 1

Sorrelpaw swallowed her last mouthful of vole and greeted her mentor warmly. "Hi, Twigtail! What are we doing today?"

"Hunting," the brown tom replied briskly. "Today is a good day to assess how well you're coming along. But remember, I'll be watching you."

Sorrelpaw bolted up and headed for the entrance to the camp with Twigtail, eyes flashing with excitement. Sorrelpaw loved hunting patrols. "Don't eat any of your catch!" Minnowpaw called teasingly behind her. All apprentices knew that it was against the warrior code to eat on a hunting patrol. The first thing they were taught by their mentors was, 'The Clan must be fed first.'

Sorrelpaw flicked her tail to acknowledge her friend's taunt but did not turn around. Minnowpaw watched as she left the camp, then turned to Tawnyclaw. Sitting up straight, she asked, "So what are we doing today?"

"I think we should do some battle training," he mewed. Minnowpaw's claws tingled with excitement. She waited for Tawnyclaw to say something else, but instead he turned and led her out of camp towards the training area. She frowned. Minnowpaw knew Tawnyclaw was a cat of few words, and she respected him as she knew he was a great warrior, but sometimes she wished he was a little more chatty.

But by the time they got to the training area, Minnowpaw's spirits were back up, her mind racing as she wondered what moves Tawnyclaw would be teaching her today. Her mentor turned and faced her and said, "Many times in battle you will encounter an enemy who is much larger than you. Especially if you have to fight before you become a warrior, you'll need to know how to take on bigger cats. So for today's lesson, I want you to simply try and overpower me; get me in a position where, if I was an enemy warrior, I would have to concede."

Minnowpaw gaped at her mentor. He was, in fact, much larger than she was; she was a very young apprentice, and Tawnyclaw was a large, seasoned warrior. Underneath his thick, glossy, dark gray pelt were rippling muscles forged over countless moons of swimming and fighting. She gulped. She knew he wouldn't be easy to take down.

"Claws sheathed," Tawnyclaw reminded her, and she nodded. Crouching low, Minnowpaw prepared to attack, trying to decide the best way to overpower him. Before she could move, however, Tawnyclaw leaped and barreled her over, pinning her to the soft ground with his forepaws.

"An enemy is never going to give you time to plan your moves," he growled, letting her up. Embarrassment and frustration prickled Minnowpaw's pelt, and she shook herself.

"Then how am I supposed to know how to attack them?" she argued. She knew Tawnyclaw and had some idea of how to fight him, but she didn't know anything about warriors from other Clans! How could she fight them if she didn't know where to begin?

Tawnyclaw didn't seem fazed. "Attack first, think later," he meowed through gritted teeth. "Make your move, see how your enemy reacts, and then plan your next move according to that."

Minnowpaw shook her head. "But-"

Tawnyclaw straightened his shoulders. "Fighting is only half the battle," he interrupted. "You have to be constantly thinking. You have to be anticipating your enemy's moves as well as your own. It's something you'll learn with time," he added more softly. "Just remember the moves I've already taught you."

Minnowpaw hadn't heard her mentor ever speak so much at once, but that only annoyed her more. This was all so confusing. She kneaded the dirt with her claws, growing angry.

"Try again," Tawnyclaw instructed, blue eyes glinting in the morning sunlight.

Trying to do what he had told her, Minnowpaw launched herself at Tawnyclaw without too much thought, aiming for his shoulders. Since she was smaller, she knew she had to be somewhere he couldn't reach her. However, he simply stepped to the side and sent Minnowpaw crashing to the ground. She hissed.

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't think at all!" Tawnyclaw sounded exasperated. "Any warrior can see you making a leap like that. Predictable moves make you vulnerable to an attack."

Minnowpaw glared at her mentor. What did he want from her? It wasn't like she'd be fighting ShadowClan at sunhigh! She opened her mouth to protest, but Tawnyclaw cut her off again. "Try again," he meowed.

Bristling, Minnowpaw attacked again. But this time, she didn't leap at him, instead running straight towards him. He clearly hadn't expected it, and his eyes flashed in alarm, but he still tried to jump out of the way. Anticipating it this time, Minnowpaw turned the same direction and barreled into him paws-first, knocking him down. A surge of triumph ran through her as she grabbed her mentor's broad shoulders with her forepaws, pushing him onto the ground. She'd done it! But then Tawnyclaw thrust his head up into her chest, knocking the wind out of her and flipping her backwards onto the ground again.

"That was better," he said, standing. "But you hesitated when you thought you'd won. An enemy warrior will take any advantage to get back on his paws."

"But I had you!" Minnowpaw protested. Wasn't that good enough?

"Yes, you did," Tawnyclaw conceded. "But you only knocked me down once. If you'd been using your claws, you still wouldn't have inflicted enough injury to send me running away. An enemy warrior would still have plenty of fight left. You have to make me want to run away with my tail tucked between my legs. Do it again."

They practiced until sunhigh. Minnowpaw grew more frustrated as the day passed; Tawnyclaw seemed to find fault with everything she did. She got better each time, but he kept criticizing her even when she thought she was doing well. By the time he told her they were done, Minnowpaw was itching to unsheath her claws.

"That's enough for today," Tawnyclaw said at last. Minnowpaw couldn't believe he was so calm when she was seething. She'd never tried so hard at anything before, and it wasn't even close to good enough for him!

"Good!" she spat, turning back towards camp. "Now I can go disappoint someone else!" She lashed her tail as she stomped through the ferns.

Tawnyclaw caught up with her. "I'm not disappointed in you," he said evenly, seeming almost surprised at her words. Minnowpaw rolled her eyes, but he went on. "You did very well for being so young and inexperienced. I know you can do better, but you've got a great start."

"You mean you want me to do it perfectly," she growled.

"I'll never expect perfection from you, Minnowpaw," he told her softly. "There's not a warrior in the forest that could fight a perfect battle."

"Then why do you have to push me like that?"

"It's my job! The other Clans won't take it easy on you in battle, so why should I? I want you to be prepared for anything. I want you to be a good warrior!"

Minnowpaw ignored him and sped up, trying to get away from him. She'd never been so angry. He wasn't even listening to her!

She heard Tawnyclaw racing up to her, and suddenly he spun around in front of her and thrust his muzzle in her face. "That kind of attitude is not going to get you your warrior name!" he spat, and Minnowpaw saw her own rage reflected in his eyes.

Minnowpaw turned sharply around and headed in the opposite direction, towards the river. She just wanted to get away from Tawnyclaw. "Where are you going?" he called.

"Where does it look like I'm going?" she retorted. She pictured him bristling at her words, and half-expected him to chase after her.

Instead he just called, "Well, then don't come back empty-pawed!"

Watch me, Minnowpaw thought to herself, and stomped away towards the river.