The Loner's Trial (A Shrouded Path book 2) {COMPLETE}

 Paws scuffed grass and Minnow's breaths escaped in short pants as she battled with Apollo. They had been training for nearly half a moon, and even though Minnow felt that there was a lot more to teach them, they all continued to amaze her. Their willingness to learn and their real knack for adapting to everything Minnow taught them made her feel proud.

Minnow ducked as Apollo flew at her, narrowly missing his paws as they skimmed a whisker away from her ears. He landed on his paws behind her, and turned sharply, managing to maintain balance and quickly slide across the ground, aiming to scoot under her. Too slow, Minnow leaped out of the way, and Apollo managed to wrap his large forepaws around her hindquarters and drag her crashing to the ground. Before she could get up, he had her pinned to the ground by her shoulders. "Gotcha!" he exclaimed.

"Alright, alright," Minnow muttered into the ground, trying to catch her breath. "No need to rub my nose in it."

She heard Apollo purr with mischief as he put a paw on her head and literally rubbed her nose on the ground. Growling, she leaped up and batted at him good-naturedly with a paw. "Cheeky!"

Jay and Smokey were sharing a purr of laughter as well, having finished their own mock battle. Minnow had started separating the four of them into pairs to practice battling with each other, and it was working very well as each cat adapted their own style. Minnow was impressed at the move Apollo had just used on her; it was a purely RiverClan battle tactic, one that the other Clans weren't smooth or nimble enough to master. It worked extremely well when fighting in the water, but if used right could be equally useful on land, as Apollo had just demonstrated.

The sun was rising higher in the sky, and with newleaf in full bloom, it was growing warm quickly. Pleased with everyone's progress, Minnow decided to call it a day. "I want to go hunting," Smokey announced. "I haven't been since the kits were born."

Jay nodded to his mate, touching his muzzle to hers. "Of course," he said to her. "I'll go watch the kits. I'm sure they've worn Oliver out."

Everyone purred at that. Though he was a kittypet, Oliver managed to fit in with the loners very well, and was always willing to watch Storm and Rose while everyone else trained. The growing kits made Oliver more active, and Minnow could tell that he had actually slimmed down a little. Maybe one of these days he'll join one of our training sessions, she joked to herself.

As Smokey wandered away towards the forest, Jay and Apollo headed towards the barn, stopping to look back at Minnow. "Are you coming?" Jay asked, flicking his tail.

"I'll be along later," she told him, and the two toms left. Minnow looked over her shoulder towards the pond several fox-lengths away. She had been so busy since newleaf arrived that she hadn't been able to visit the water, but every hair on her pelt was itching to. The water called to her like a mother to her kits, and she broke into a trot as she approached it. The cool water lapped lazily at the edges of the pond, and Minnow was overjoyed to see the shadows of fish flitting back and forth beneath the surface. She dipped one paw in to test it, relishing at the feeling. She strode forward to stand in the pond, water halfway up her legs, and sighed with pleasure. It had been so long since she'd felt the caressing touch of water. RiverClan or not, she was a cat who belonged in water.

Minnow moved until she was belly-deep in the pond, letting the small waves carry her off her paws until she was churning through the water, swimming a wide circle around the edge. She closed her eyes as she swam slowly, letting the water carry her thoughts away. Oh, how she had missed this. After a few moments, her belly growled, and she moved back towards the edge and stood on the muddy pond floor, watching for fish. The ones here were a little smaller than the ones in RiverClan territory, and their scales weren't as silver or bright, but they also moved slower and more lazily, which Minnow knew would make them easier to catch.