Choose Your Own Adventure

[Undercover]

Okay

@SamCats

[bobtail]

Three moons later, you sit proudly in the centre of camp, surrounded by Clanmates and the BloodClan leader, Birch, who's looking at you and your siblings curiously. The three of you gleam; your mother groomed you all before letting you out into the clearing.

"Flame, Dawn, and Crow." Birch finally meows, glancing at each of you as he speaks your name. "You are all four moons old and ready to become trainees." You puff your chest out proudly. You still have a bit of kitten fluff behind your ears, but you feel like a warrior already! Birch speaks again, "Do you swear to work heard to learn all you can from your trainers, no matter how exhausting, in order to be able to help your Clan should the need ever arise?"

The three of you answer with a chorus of "I do!" Birch nods approvingly and looks to three cats lined up behind you. He beckons them with his tail and they move forward, taking their places in front of the three of you. You're surprised to find yourself staring into the familiar eyes of Rowan.

"Flame, from this moment onward, your trainer will be Night." A jet-black she-cat dips her head to touch noses with Flame.

"Dawn, your trainer will be Aspen." A dark brown tom copies the action with your sister.

"And Crow, your trainer will be Rowan." You step forward and press your nose to Rowan's; the dark ginger tom smiles down at you, clearly remembering you from your meeting moons ago. His duty done, Birch nods to each Clan member in turn before turning away and padding back to his nest at the far end of the camp.

You scent your mother seconds before seeing her. Sparrow and her two kits, Starling and Raven, trail behind her. The four of them congratulate you and your siblings before going on their way. Well... Starling and Raven just star jealously at you, but you know they're happy. Deep down. Way below the surface.

"So, Crow." Rowan speaks suddenly, capturing your attention once again. "Would you like to learn about fighting or finding food first?"

"Fighting!"

You answer eagerly, eyes lighting with excitement. Rowan purrs with amusement and looks over at your siblings and their mentors. "Would Flame and Dawn like to join us?"

"Of course!" Flame meows, turning his gaze towards you and growling playfully. Night rolls her eyes and pads up to Rowan. To your other side, Dawn is scuffing at the ground with her paws as she meows, "I'd rather find food first... Is that okay, Aspen?" Her mentor nods understandingly and gestures for her to take the lead as they pad out of the camp.

"Oh well." Rowan sighs. "Some cats just don't like fighting as much. We shouldn't let it ruin our fun, though. Let's get going." You nod in agreement and follow after Rowan and Night as they lead you and Flame out of the camp. You turn a corner into a thin tunnel with high walls on either side, forcing you to walk single file with your pelt brushing the sides an Flame's tail tickling your nose. You manage not to sneeze, but have to shake your head a few times once you're free.

You've arrived in a large stone field with short walls surrounding it, as well as a broken-down Twoleg building on one side. The door is made of the clear stuff Twolegs put in holes in the side of their nests, and it's got cracks all over it. On the ground, there's a bunch of faded white lines separating it into little sections that the four of your could easily lie down in without touching each other.

"What are we going to learn first?"

Rowan smiles at your enthusiasm and gestures for you to stand beside Flame opposite him and Night. You pad to your brother's side and turn to your trainer, shifting from paw to paw in excitement. Flame glances at Night and the dark she-cat nods and meows, "We're assuming that, like most kits, you two got some training from your parents. All cats teach differently, so we'd like to see what you know."

You realise with a pang that you don't know your father, but the thought is quickly pushed away when Flame meows, "So you want us to fight?" Night and Rowan nod, and your brother turns to face you with a mischievous grin. He drops into a clumsy crouch and you hurry to copy him, not wanting to be hit with the first blow. Rowan and Night take a cautious step back; Flame lunges forwards without warning, a hiss emanating from deep in his throat.

You dodge to the side just in time and Flame lands beside you, digging his claws into the strange black stone beneath your paws. The ginger tom whirls on you, his green eyes narrowed and his smile turned down into a snarl. You quickly realise that he's lost himself in the fight, just as he did when you used to playfight in the nursery den. You're reminded of the scars on your flanks from that day moons ago, and you nearly miss your brother's next attack when he jumps again, aiming for your back with his claws outstretched.

Dodge to the side.

You jump aside again and Flame crashes to the ground, growling in annoyance and jumping back to his paws. His claws dig into the black stone for a brief moment before he charges forwards, not jumping this time. You're pretty confident that you can take him on the ground, so you rear up and slash at his ears; he swerves to the side and halts a few pawsteps away.

You quickly realise that you can't beat your brother without attacking, so you tense the muscles in your haunches and prepare to spring. Flame notices the shift and lets out a yowl as he charges again, eyes narrowed and claws outstretched towards you.

Meet him on the ground.

You drop onto all four paws and lunge forwards to meet him, lifting your front paws just in time to hold him back by his shoulders. Flame hisses in annoyance and lashes out with both paws, claws outstretched. You feel a stinging pain in your nose and wince. A heartbeat passes like this before your paws slip and your brother lunges once again.

You duck down and underneath him; he growls as he stumbles over you onto the ground behind you. You stand up and spin around, pouncing on him the second you've gathered your paws. Flame writhes around underneath you and it takes all your strength just to keep him still.

Unsheathe your claws.

Reluctantly, you move one paw to your brother's throat and unsheathe your claws. Flame's amber eyes widen suddenly and he goes still, which makes it much easier to grab fur and avoid actually cutting him. The ginger tom glares up at you for a moment before sighing and going limp beneath you. Relieved, you sheathe your claws and step off of him once again. He sits up and begins to groom his ruffled fur, purposely avoiding your gaze.

"Well, it's good to know that you two could defend yourselves in a fight." Rowan meows, his whiskers twitching with amusement. To him, this fight must have seemed like kits playing around; you've heard stories of how deadly the battles BloodClan cats end up in can be. Your nose certainly doesn't feel like it was in a play-fight.

Night glances at Rowan and then back at you and Flame, meowing, "You are quite a bit further along than we expected you to be. Flame, you're good at thinking things up as you go and relying on your strength, but you need to try and think before you act sometimes." Rowan nods at the advice before turning his gaze to you. "As for you, Crow," he meows, "You seem pretty good at thinking fast and deciding what to do the second you need to, but you need to learn how to trust your instincts."

You nod to show your understanding and pad over to your mentor when he beckons you with his tail. Flame moves towards Night and the two pairs of cats separate. While Night starts teaching Flame, Rowan turns to you and meows, "There's two main things you need to focus on: trusting your instincts and reacting quickly. You look pretty capable already, so I'm going to let you decide which we should practise today."

Trusting your instincts. ~ 5 votes
Reacting quickly. ~

[Tundra]

Fighting!

[dino.]

Fighting!

[Static]

Fighting.

[Captain Toad]

Food...
I'm hungry

[Cranesong]

finding food

[Undercover]

Fighting!!

@SamCats (need I do this?)

[NightWarrior4Life]

Oh NOOOW the mentions work...great...right when I miss half the story...ugh this mention not working thing is really annoying me. It's not just you, either. I've been mentioned a couple of times and it doesn't work...

[Zan Partizanne]

Fighting!!