Edited ✔️

I made another long chapter. I haven't done this in a while lol ^o^ enjoy~

Icetail was leading his apprentice, Amberpaw, to the Training Hollow. Right beside him, Flameheart followed silently. Dawnstripe and Volefur spoke to one another in hushed tones as Blackpaw and Goldenpaw boasted about new battle moves they had recently learned.

Underpaw, the remains of the dead leaf-fall leaves cracked and cackled. Icetail's fur blew in the wrong direction by the cold wind, and the sky was dark and filled ominous clouds that promised to bring another storm. The scents of the forest surrounded Icetail as he led the party to the Training Hollow.

Not a single sound of prey was to be heard the whole way there. Icetail's head hung low. Of course I can't hear or scent prey, he thought sadly. His belly growled, and he hoped no cat heard. I can't have Silverleaf finding out that I have been giving my prey away to my Clanmates. She'll get so mad at me.

"Are you hungry, Icetail?" Amberpaw asked, trotting up beside him. She must have noticed despite his silent pleas.

Icetail shrugged and tried his best to mask his emotions. "We're all hungry. I don't need to eat now, so we'll all have a meal back at camp."

She nodded happily even though they both knew there wouldn't be enough food to go around. He was grateful to have Clanmates who would care if he was starved, but the last thing he wanted them to do was to risk their lives for his own well-being.

As soon as he entered inside the Training Hollow, he glanced around. No matter what changes the forest was going through, this area never changed. It was as if this spot was the only that could never be found by the Twolegs, protected by the cats of StarClan themselves.

To Icetail, the Hollow would always be MoonClan's safe haven.

It had always excited him to return. He breathed in the stale scents of when he was last here, including all of the newer scents of his Clanmates who often came to battle-train.

I'm going to be here a lot more often, he thought. Brightstar wasn't joking when she told me that we were going to train our warriors and apprentices more.

Maybe that battle with DarkClan will be inevitable.

"What are we going to start off with now, Icetail?" Amberpaw asked eagerly, bounding over to him.

Blackpaw raced into the clearing, and Goldenpaw excitedly followed him. "Can we continue that move Volefur was teaching us last time?" Blackpaw asked. "The half-turn belly-rake?"

"No, I want to practice the duck-and-twist! I've been working on it, Dawnstripe," Goldenpaw meowed. "I want to show you how I perfected it!" Her eyes shone eagerly.

Amberpaw looked up pleadingly to Icetail. "Can we please do the jump and pin?" she meowed in a half-whine. "You promised to teach me that since last quarter-moon, Icetail!"

Icetail laughed softly. "Quiet down," he told all the apprentices. "We're going to start off with warm-ups so your muscles can loosen up. Volefur, would you like to lead them?"

"Sure thing," Volefur said. "Everyone, run three times around the clearing. Remember, long strides. This'll make you faster and it'll really get you fired up."

Blackpaw raced from his spot and began to do as told, but Goldenpaw dashed as quickly as possible, trying to pass him. Amberpaw bolted from her position a few seconds after the two of them had began, snapping out of a daze. "No fair! You two got a head start!" she complained.

"Blackpaw, Goldenpaw, Amberpaw, this is not a race!" Volefur called.

Icetail turned his attention away from them. He looked at Flameheart. "This reminds me of my apprentice days," he purred to him. "All we would do is argue over what battle move we should learn. But we always had fun in the end."

Flameheart smiled. "You must have had a fun time as an apprentice. When I was still training, DarkClan was absolutely brutal." His gaze clouded as his smile faded. "If we did a move wrong, we'd get punished with some bone-shattering exercises. And we mostly fought with unsheathed claws."

"Why?" Icetail asked, his fur bristling.

"Because," Flameheart meowed, "Sandstar was crazy. I tried to trust her because she was my mother, but she was very unreasonable toward her Clanmates. I wonder how Dewstar is leading DarkClan now."

He didn't want to think of it, and steered away the topic. "My mother and Sandstar were sisters," Icetail said. "That means we're kin."

Flameheart nodded. "I know the story. I also knew at the time why Silverleaf and Squirreltail were stolen as kits. Don't forget, I was born and raised a DarkClan cat."

"But your loyalty will remain in MoonClan," Dawnstripe meowed, padding over. She smiled lightly. "You've proven yourself so many times to MoonClan already, no cat doubts your heart anymore. We all are in debt to you."

Flameheart dipped his head. "There's nothing for MoonClan to be in debt to me about," he said. "I am the one who owe them my life because Brightstar took me in, gave me my warrior name and kept me with you all."

Icetail purred, thinking about it. When Flameheart, Dewstar and I were apprentices, we all became warriors together because of the courageous deed we did to save MoonClan's kits, he recalled. His heart ached at the thought of his brother. It never did well for him to recall their happier memories.

Volefur trotted up. "I finished warming them up," he reported, angling his ears toward the apprentices. "I think they are all filled with energy now."

Icetail looked at them, and almost laughed to see them all wrestling with each other, trying to pin each other down. "Amberpaw, Blackpaw, Goldenpaw, cut that out!" he called. "We're going to start battling training now!"

Amberpaw pushed away her brother and sister away ran up to her mentor. "Are we going to do the jump and pin like you promised?" she asked. "Pleaaase?"

"That depends on Dawnstripe. What do you want to do?" he asked her.

Dawnstripe ignored the apprentice's pleading gazes. "We'll start off easy," she began. "First, we have to practice our back kicks."

"What?" Goldenpaw groaned. "We did that last time!"

"Back kicks are good for balance," Dawnstripe retorted. "And they help build strength in our legs and paws. Besides, you didn't do it perfectly the last time. Can you demonstrate for us, Volefur?"

Volefur nodded. "Gladly. Flameheart, want to help me?"

"Sure," Flameheart meowed, walking into the clearing. "I have to have my back turned, right?"

"Yeah, that's right. It's the proper way to do it," Volefur meowed. Flameheart moved his body as instructed and braced himself. Volefur burst from his spot, quickly estimating the distance it would take to perform an effective back kick. When he got to a good distance, he lashed out his hind legs, taking all the weight in with his front paws, and slammed his paws onto Flameheart's back, knocking the flame-colored warrior over.

"Wow, that was cool!" Blackpaw meowed.

"It would be cool for me, but I already learned that trick," muttered Goldenpaw. She sighed, and turned to Dawnstripe. "If I prove that I know this move, can I do something cool, like the duck-and-twist?"

"Maybe," Dawnstripe meowed. "Practice it on me, and I'll determine whether or not your estimations and balance is good enough for a real battle. I suggest all apprentices and mentors should work together, too."

"Okay," Blackpaw said, padding over to Volefur.

"I'll observe," Flameheart said, walking around the groups.

Icetail and Amberpaw gathered together, and he sat down with his back turned. "Make sure you keep your claws sheathed," he advised. "I don't want any bloodshed."

No matter how much we train, we'll never be like DarkClan, he thought with determination.

"Got it," Amberpaw exclaimed. She got onto her forepaws, trying to balance, and then turned to Icetail, grunting with effort. "Is this . . . good?" she asked, getting in a position that could land a back kick.

"You're almost there." Icetail nodded. "Try it on me. Let me see how strong your kick is."

He braced himself and in a swift moment, Amberpaw brought down her hind legs and kicked hard onto her mentor, her back claws digging into his flesh. He held back a yowl of pain. "Be careful! Sheathe your claws!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry—" Amberpaw began. "I didn't mean to!"

Icetail sighed, turning over to lick clean the scratch. "I-it's nothing. We can continue. But please remember not to unsheathe your claws, Amberpaw." He looked at her disapprovingly. "Hurting your Clanmates is against the warrior code, remember that. Our rivals are Clans who we don't share our hunting grounds with-those are the cats we really fight."

"None of the Clans share our hunting grounds," Amberpaw pointed out.

"Exactly," Icetail said. "So that means you're only allowed to unsheathed your claws towards them, alright? So now that you've shown me that your kick is strong, let's get a second opinion." He turned around. "Flameheart, how do you think she did?"

Flameheart nodded of approval. "I think she can do better, like Goldenpaw. Her sister's kick was stronger. But Amberpaw was extremely good at estimating, and she shows that she understands the movement. I don't think she has to work on it more."

Amberpaw looked eager. "Did I really do well?" When Flameheart nodded, her eyes lit up. "So that doesn't mean I have to practice it anymore! So what move are we going to do now, Icetail? Are we going to do what we all wanted?"

Icetail looked at Dawnstripe and Volefur to see that they both finished working with their apprentices as well. "Blackpaw did just as well as his sisters," Volefur commented. "I don't think that they have to practice it anymore. And last time, we taught the apprentices the upright lock. So I think we cleared that move too."

Icetail nodded. "Okay. Let's do the duck-and-twist move first. It's simpler than the other things you wanted to try."

"Yes!" Goldenpaw cheered. "I'll show you how well I'm at it now, Dawnstripe. You'll see."

Her mentor rolled her eyes and took her place in the center of the clearing. "I'll demonstrate," Dawnstripe meowed. "I think I'm best at it."

She ducked and twisted around swiftly, with movement as quick as a rabbit. Amberpaw watched, amazed at the warrior's speed as she rolled over on her back. Then, she sprung to her paws. "This is a dodging move. Warriors don't want to or need to fight all the time, and a simple dodge isn't enough to escape an attack.  So the ideal way to this move is with great speed and agility."

"That was amazing," Goldenpaw gasped. "Let me try!" She ducked and twisted down, but she fell onto her belly, scrambling up. "Wait, I slipped. Let me try again!"

"You need it perfect," Dawnstripe said, shaking her head. "I would of clawed your ears off by now if I were an enemy."

Goldenpaw sighed. "I really have been practicing it! Let me just try again." She tried the move again, and when she rolled over, it took her a moment to get up.

"You did better this time," Icetail observed. "You just need to be quicker. Amberpaw, Blackpaw, you two try it. The sooner we clear this move, the sooner we can do the other two moves that you wanted to learn."

He watched the apprentices immitate Goldenpaw and Dawnstripe. Amberpaw looked funny as she tried to be fast, and it took Blackpaw a hard time for him to get up after doing the move.

But in enough time, both apprentices did it correctly. Goldenpaw swiped at Amberpaw as she ducked away. And just as Goldenpaw was about to leap onto her, Amberpaw swiftly rolled over, dodging both attacks with one move. Volefur tried it with Blackpaw, and the dark-furred apprentice did it as well as his sisters.

"There are minor flaws," Icetail meowed, "but I'd say as long as the enemy doesn't catch you, you are good to go with your duck-and-twists."

"What next?" demanded Blackpaw. Energy was pulsing through the young tom. He could see it through the look in Blackpaw's eyes.

Icetail decided what next to do quickly. "We will practice the half-turn belly-rake, like you wanted, Blackpaw."

"I thought we were doing the jump and pin!" Amberpaw complained.

"Quit your yapping—" Blackpaw began, but Volefur cut him off before the two apprentices began arguing.

"I'll demonstrate the move." Annoyed by the two apprentice's content kit-play, he flicked his tail dismissively. "And Amberpaw, we will do your move after we finish Blackpaw's. Just be patient."

Amberpaw sighed and slumped back. "Sorry, Volefur."

Volefur nodded of approval, and went to work. "So here's how to do it," he began. Icetail sat back to watch. "It's like the belly rake; where you claw against the soft of your enemy's belly. That move, however, is only ideal when they've got you pinned down. The half-turn belly-rake, on the other paw, is different because you can only use it when you are at the advantage of the fight. Here, I'll show you how to do it."

Without warning, Volefur darted from his spot and lunged at Icetail. Swiftly, the warrior turned to his side, slipping under Icetail's belly, and pretended to rake it with sheathed claws. Then as fast as he could, Volefur turned back on all fours out from under him. Icetail lost his balance and tripped over.

"Ouch," he groaned.

"Sorry," Volefur apologized. He purred as he helped Icetail up. "I wanted to do it as a surprise to show the apprentices that it's not easy."

"That was cool!" Blackpaw exclaimed. "Especially since Icetail tripped over. That'd make you so much stronger if he were an enemy; Icetail would be shredded if he were a DarkClan cat!"

"Don't say that about him!" gasped Goldenpaw. "Icetail is the Clan deputy! It's an honor enough that he's here watching us practice battle moves."

Icetail purred. "Nonsense, Goldenpaw. But Blackpaw is right—if I were a DarkClan cat, I'd be dead. The half-turn belly-rake completely dominated me!"

Suddenly, Icetail heard another presence. He turned to the entrance of the Training Hollow to see his mate, Silverleaf, padding up to him. Her gray-silver pelt shone, and her tail flicked in greeting. "What's this I hear of the half-turn belly-rake?" she asked. "I'm the master at that move!"

"Is that so, Silverleaf?" Amberpaw asked. "You'll have to show it to us one day!"

Icetail purred and touched his nose to her's. She sat right beside him, their pelts brushing. "Well anyways, we finished patrolling early so I decided to stop by and watch you all train," she announced.

"That's fine by me," Blackpaw meowed over his shoulder. "Watch me, Silverleaf! Volefur's is teaching us the half-turn belly-rake!" He copied Volefur's move, slipping down underneath Goldenpaw's belly and pretending to swipe at her, but he wasn't fast enough to move out of the way. Goldenpaw crushed him with her weight. Blackpaw fought back, kicking her over. The two wrestled with each other, but Dawnstripe cut in between the two with annoyance, grabbing Goldenpaw by the scruff to drag her off her brother.

"No fooling around while we teach!" she meowed, spitting the apprentice she-cat back into the floor. She quickly scrambled up to her paws in embarrassment.

"Goldenpaw started it!" Blackpaw blurted out.

"No, you're the one who dove under me. Don't except that I won't fight back!" Goldenpaw retorted.

Icetail growled. "You two, since arguing is your favorite hobby, I suppose today isn't a good time to be learning the half-turn belly rake," he threatened. Blackpaw's eyes widened with disbelief. "Instead, we will do the jump and pin like Amberpaw wanted."

"What?" groaned Blackpaw. "There's nothing special about that! All you do is jump and pin a cat!"

"There's more to the move than that," Flameheart objected.

"What Flameheart said is true," Silverleaf agreed.

"I'll demonstrate this move," Icetail said, standing up. "The move itself is actually very complicated, Blackpaw. It takes strength and good concentration."

Blackpaw sat back, now getting a little curious. Icetail nodded of approval, and dashed from his spot, racing toward the nearest tree trunk. He leaped into the air, backwards, and bounced off its surface, landing squarely on Volefur's shoulders with exact precision.

Volefur gasped with surprise, and landed flat on his belly. "Hey!" he called.

Icetail mrrowed of laughter. "I got you back, Volefur." Then, he turned to look at the apprentices, whose eyes were wide with awe. "See, I told you it was complicated, Blackpaw. The hardest part is the measurement."

"How's the measurement hard?" Amberpaw asked.

Flameheart spoke up. "It's hard because the point is to weaken your opponent. We have to crush them underpaw, but there'd be much more action if it were a real battle."

Silverleaf nodded in agreement. "And the backward part takes a lot of effort, too. You'll know where you have to jump, at what time, to land exactly where you need!"

Icetail felt grateful for the support of the fellow warriors. "Okay, apprentices. Let's get training!"

* * *

By the time Amberpaw, Goldenpaw and Blackpaw were good enough at the jump and pin move, the sun was sinking down into the horizon. Icetail knew that it would rain later because of the fresh and heavy scent that remained throughout the forest, and because of the cold dew stuck to his pelt from the dampened forest.

Icetail, Silverleaf, Flameheart, Dawnstripe, Volefur and the apprentices were headed toward the river to have a drink of water. They were all tired from a hard day of training, but Icetail felt that he was loosing energy much too fast. He was starved, and he didn't feel like he could give it his all anymore.

He padded on, his head hanging low. Silverleaf was following close behind him before padding up to him, her gaze concerned. "Is there anything wrong?" she asked, her voice quiet and small.

"I'm fine," Icetail responded. "Just parched."

That was true at least—but he wouldn't want to tell her that he was hungry. She would give up her own share for him, and he didn't want that.

When they got to the river, he was relieved. He crouched by the water, lapping it up. It felt good when the river water filled in his belly, and when he wasn't thirsty anymore, he stopped drinking, satisfied. The fur on the bottom of his lip was wet, but he didn't care.

"It's so good!" purred Amberpaw. "I can never get over this river water. Much better than wet moss balls!"

Icetail nodded with agreement. "The first time I was out of camp, I had a good taste of this water too—" he was cut off. Suddenly, his stomach began to hurt badly. Icetail cringed, coughing. He vomit out the water he drank, and everyone ran to him, worried.

"Icetail, what's wrong?" gasped Dawnstripe. "Did you swallow something bad?"

Silverleaf was at his side at an instant. "Icetail—are you okay?" she asked, crouching by him.

Icetail gave a tiny nod. "I-I'm fine . . ."

"We have to take him to the medicine cat!" Amberpaw squeaked. "Look how awful he looks!"

Flameheart padded beside him, Volefur on the other side. "Icetail, lean on me. We will help you back."

Icetail looked back and forth between them, feeling pressured. He felt terrible. I must of pushed my hunger by drinking the water from the river, he thought. He leaned between Volefur and Flameheart, knowing he couldn't argue. "I'm fine," he rasped. "Maybe there was something in the water."

Silverleaf's eyes grew concerned. "We both know that the water was fine," she mewed. "You're probably hungry. Let's get you to Sweetheart and find you something to eat."

Icetail sighed and looked to his paws. "I suppose that'd be nice." He still didn't want to admit that he was hungry to her, but he couldn't argue with so little energy. Flameheart began to let them lead them through the forest back to the camp, but Icetail's paws felt weak. His legs wobbled unsurely with each step as if he were a newborn kit again. Before he knew it, he was on the forest floor again, his mind hazy and the vision around him going dark. He couldn't hear what his friends were saying anymore, but he could tell they were alarmed.

The last thing he saw was Silverleaf before his world had gone completely dark.

* * *

Icetail woke once more in the camp. Sweetheart and Amberpaw were standing worriedly over him, and Brightstar was right beside him along with Silverleaf. He could hear his Clanmate's shocked mews. Instantly, a jolt of pain hit Icetail in his belly. He groaned in pain, cringing once more.

"What's wrong with him?" demanded Silverleaf, her eyes wide. Her eyes scanned his entire pelt. "There's no thorns—no bugs—"

Sweetheart silenced Silverleaf with a flick of her tail. "He's hungry, that's all." She looked over to the fresh-kill pile. "Amberpaw, go get Icetail something good. He needs to eat."

Silverleaf crouched by him. "Why didn't you tell us that your stomach was the problem?" she asked softly. "I was so worried for you. I would've given up my prey for you in a heartbeat, Icetail."

He managed a raspy purr. "That's alright. I'll be fine after Sweetheart tends to me."

Amberpaw returned, holding a plump vole between her jaws. "This was the best I could find," she reported. She dropped the vole at Icetail's paws, and nudged it close to him. "Eat up, Icetail! You haven't got all day to heal!"

"She's right." Brightstar's mew rose from the surrounding cats. "We can't have our deputy neglecting his work because he is hungry."

Icetail nodded, sitting himself up. He took a small bite of the vole, and choked it down. The meat felt good in his belly. It was warm, indicating that some cat had just caught it. He could smell Squirreltail's scent all over it, and felt grateful that his Clanmates managed such a great catch.

"He'll be okay, right?" Icetail heard Blackpaw whisper to Goldenpaw.

Goldenpaw snorted. "Of course he will!" meowed the she-cat. "He's the Clan deputy."

"But he's still a cat with the same abilities and limitations as us," retorted Blackpaw.

Icetail flashed a glance over to them, making them hush down. The two looked down to their paws with embarrasment. Icetail simply got back to his vole, eating in slow bites, savoring the taste.

Sweetheart shooed everyone away. "Give him space to breathe!" she snapped. "He can't recover with his Clanmates all over his back!" Reluctantly, the apprentices left first before being followed by the warriors. The only cats who remained with him were Silverleaf and Brightstar.

They both talked silently to one another, pelts close and meows hushed. He strained to hear what they were saying, but their voices sounded seemed too muffled. Icetail decided to let it go and return to his delicious meal. He ate until he finished, burying the scraps and bones. Thank you StarClan, he silently prayed.

Sweetheart padded over, dropping some herbs in front of him. "Lap that up," she ordered. "It's going to help bring down your bellyache."

"Alright," meowed Icetail. "Hey, how long was I out?" He leaned over, beginning to lap up the leaves as she ordered. They tasted bitter; Icetail hated it. He reluctantly swallowed. At least they'd make him feel better.

Sweetheart shrugged. "Not that long. You were only gone for a moment. As soon as Volefur and Flameheart set you down in camp, you woke up."

He nodded. "I wish that portion of MoonClan territory were never stolen," he muttered darkly. "If we kept it, then maybe none of us would be starved. I'm not the only one."

"I know," Sweetheart replied. "But Brightstar will know the best time to take it back."

"When will that be?"

"When the Clan is ready, I suppose." Sweetheart beckoned Icetail toward the warrior den. "Go ahead, get your sleep. Tomorrow you're going to have to get straight back to your regular duties—no objections. And I don't want to see you neglecting meals again, understood?"

I'm not a kit, Icetail thought crossly. "I know, I know," he murmured, groggily crawling into his nest. He was still exhausted. Being hungry had made him tired, especially after a long day of battle training. But at least now he had some warm food in his belly.

I'll make do of this feeling and savor it, he decided. I'm sorry, Silverleaf. I shouldn't of made you worry like that.