JUST LETTING YOU GUYS KNOW IM NOT DEAD AND AM CONTINUING THIS
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    "Again!"

    As instructed, Rainpaw leaped into the air. After countless failures, the apprentice was sure she would hit her new mentor this time.

    But yet again, Red sidesteps at the last literal second. Rainpaw could even feel the brush of her fluffy fur on her outstretched paws as she landed on the ground roughly and went rolling.

    Another fail.

    Rainpaw groaned in both frustration and pain. Her shoulder was throbbing after having landed on it so many times.

    "Again!" Red demanded, flicking her tail.

    "Can't you tell me what I'm doing wrong?" She begged, rolling off of her side. The tabby was getting irritated with all of these failures.

    "Giving up already?" She huffed. "Your opponent isn't just going to tell you how to defeat them." She smirked and started to slowly circle the much smaller cat. Rainpaw managed to stand up and move her head to watch the fluffy she-cat.

    "In a battle, you won't have anyone to tell you what to do, or how to do it." She continued, "You have to fix your mistakes yourself, otherwise you're just a walking target."

    Rainpaw never brought her gaze down from those ice blue eyes. She replayed the scene in her head over and over, wondering where she went wrong. Red's great speed was no match for her, she realized. She would have to get extremely close to leap, and when Red dodged it, hit the ground and make a sharp turn to leap again.

    She snapped her head up and crouched down into the sand. Red had stopped circling her now and was waiting expectantly. "Figured it out?" She asked.

    "I think so." Rainpaw meowed. Red gave her a small nod, telling her to go when she was ready.

    When Red saw her stalking forward she was prepared to sidestep. In the second that her front paw took a step forward, the scarred she-cat had her muscled bunched to jump away.

    Rainpaw was only about a fox length away now. She put all of her weight into her back legs and leaped through the air, aiming directly at the older-she cat.

    As expected, Red sidestepped yet again. Rainpaw put her grand plan into action and managed to land on her paws instead of on her side. In the second she regained her balance, she was in the air again. This time she hit Red perfectly in the flank.

    Both she-cats went tumbling through the sand. Somehow, Red had managed to get her balance back and stop. Rainpaw, however, wasn't quite as lucky and continued rolling.

     Her shoulder began to hurt again as her momentum stopped. The pain had completely disappeared in her adrenaline rush.

     "Come on, get up!" Red snickered. "You did good, we're going to try something new now."

      Rainpaw groaned but did as asked. The apprentice turned over and shook out her fur as she climbed to her paws.

     Suddenly, something dark passed through Red's eyes, and her face hardened. The look sent shivers down the apprentice's spine but she stood tall, proud of her accomplishment.

     "Claws out." Red said.

     The tabby could only stare, dumbfounded at the order. "Sorry... what?" She said.

     "Your claws. Get them out."

      Rainpaw looked down and unsheathed her claws, and uneasy feeling sinking in her stomach. What did she need her claws for? No one ever trained with their claws out.

      "Now, leap at me. Pretend this is a real battle!  She ordered. "Always battle with the ferocity of a great lion!"

       The apprentice lowered her body once again and stalked forward. Her heart was hammering against her chest as she nervously went. Would Red use her claws too? She looked, but the older she-cat didn't have them out yet. Rainpaw knew that could change in an instant. The apprentice had never been in a battle, and only used her claws to catch prey. Nevertheless, Rainpaw used the same tactic as before and jumped, claws outstretched. She really didn't want to hurt Red. As mean as she looked, the fluffy she-cat didn't seem that bad. Red again sidestepped and Rainpaw skidded to a halt before jumping again.

       Her claws met flesh before she could process what she was doing. The two tumbled again, Rainpaw keeping her claws hooked into her mentor's side.

      Red hissed and swiped her claws across the apprentice's flank.

     Rainpaw screeched and released her grip, bringing her claws back in. She skidded back and looked down at her wound. Claw marks stretched down her side, but she wasn't able to tell how big they were. In those few mere seconds, blood had stained a good portion of her fur. She stood there gasping as her whole side seemed to ignite in flames.

     The apprentice snapped her head up to look up at Red, her fear now evident on her face. The apprentice was beyond scared now, but with one look up at Red her heart sank down into her stomach.

     There was such fire in her eyes as she stood there watching. Blood stained her side, showing clearly against her white fur. Red didn't even seem to notice it.

      "Hm." Red said nonchalantly, as if it was nothing. As if she was a pesky fly that was swatted away with the flick of her tail.

      Rainpaw was in too much shock to be able to move. She urged herself to run, just run and run and never stop. But her paws refused to obey and stood rooted to the ground.

     "What in the-" She began, her voice wavering.

     "This is true training, claws out." Red said. No emotion. "This is how it is always going to be from now on."

      Rainpaw's side was bleeding pretty heavily now. Adding that pain onto her aching shoulder made her exhausted, both physically and mentally.

     "Until next time." Red said. "Goodnight, Rainpaw."

•

•

•

      Rainpaw gasped as she woke. Instantly she whipped her head around, making sure she was back home. Sure enough, the dark cave and sleeping bodies filled her eyesight on every angle.

      Her heart was rapidly beating against her chest as she tried to calm herself down. But suddenly the pain came back, sharp and stabbing in her side. She managed to stumble to her paws with only a quiet, pained groan and quickly exit the den without waking the others. Even through her injuries she tried to be as quiet as possible to avoid drawing attention to herself. She couldn't cover this up. Not with this much blood.

       Rainpaw glanced around the camp, making sure she was alone. The only sounds heard was her own heavy breathing and what was probably bats flying outside the cave. The apprentice darted forward but stayed close to the ground and walls. She dodged around sharp edges and stopped at Redstar's den. Almost there. Slowly, she poked her head in to make sure the leader was asleep. And he was, his body curled up and breathing shallowly. She was extremely lucky that the only den on this side of the cave wall was his. Anyone from the other side wouldn't be able to see her in the darkness. Rainpaw padded past with her paw steps light. The exit was in view now, the vines hanging over the outside bright with the moonlight shining on them. The apprentice stepped into the light and made her way out of the cave.

      At the second she stepped out she was running through the woods. There was no way she would be able to explain the amount of blood. The scratches, however, she could work around depending on the size.

       The apprentice was even more exhausted by the time she reached the river. Her legs were shaking beneath her and her head was spinning. But she forced herself forward anyway.

       Rainpaw put one foot in the water, but instantly retracted it with a small hiss. This water was freezing!

      She sighed and pushed back her thoughts, slowly stepping into the water. Somehow, the apprentice managed to put one paw in front of another until she was standing with the water up to the middle of her legs. Rainpaw slowly sat down, letting the cold river water wash away the blood. The stinging pain had increased but calmed down as her flank became numb.

      Rainpaw didn't stay in the water for very long. Her paws had long since lost all feeling, and her whole body shivered violently with each passing second. She didn't care though. This blood had to come off, and simply using her to tongue to clean would never work.

      The apprentice looked down to her side and saw that the blood flow had stopped. The cold water had numbed it, so there wasn't much pain anymore.

     The apprentice stood up out of the water and regretted her decision almost instantly. With the usual leaf-fall breeze, her soaked body was even colder out of the water than it was in. Rainpaw took a small step forward and shook out her fur. It was almost impossible to move with her muscles stiff and cold, but she pushed herself forward. Running would not only warm up her paws, but the cold breeze would also help dry out her fur.

     And so she took off, crashing through the woods as her paws thudded on the ground beneath her. Fallen leaves whisked around her gracefully (ironic for the situation, which was not so graceful), and the cold air seemed to pound against her pelt.

      After a while the darkened trees started to fan out, meaning the camp was close. And sure enough, it was there, standing and waiting for her. Rainpaw's pelt was mostly dry now, and she thanked StarClan for her luck. The moon was just above the tree line, so she still had some good time before everyone woke up.

      The apprentice quickly padded into the camp but made sure to keep her paw steps light again. She looked in Redstar's den again, and when deciding the coast was clear, made her way back to the apprentice den in the back.

      After being in the water, her nest was extremely warm and welcoming and she plopped down into the soft moss. The soft breathing of her fellow apprentices was the only sound heard throughout the cave. Rainpaw sighed with relief and thought that it would lull her back to sleep.

     But sleep never came.

      No, all she could do was stare hopelessly at the rocky wall as she waited. All the apprentice could think about was Red. Red's claws ripping down her side. Red's icy blue eyes igniting with a fire so terrifying that she could've died right there.

      She's not quite sure how long she sat there, lost in her thoughts. Her side stung more and more with each passing second. Rainpaw didn't know how she would be able to pass this off.

      The apprentice turned her head and looked down at the wound. Her fur was still lightly damp from the river, but by morning it would be dry. The marks weren't as big as she initially thought. The sharp pain engulfed her whole side, but the wound was maybe only the length of a small mouse tail.

       Thank StarClan. She thought happily. The heat of the battle made it seem as if Red tore up her whole entire side. She could probably get away with the excuse of some particularly large brambles.

     Rainpaw took in a shaky breath and tried not to focus on her flank. She closed her eyes again, and hoped that she could get at least some sleep.

      She knew, though, that this was only the beginning.