Эрин Хантер - Battles of the Clans

The stream curved between banks shored up with tree roots and then opened out beside a broad, sandy shore. Mistystar used her tail to steer her toward the beginning of the shore and bent her legs as soon as her paws brushed the bottom of the stream, staying in a crouched position to slip quietly out of the water. “Follow me,” she called over her shoulder. “I don’t want to hear any of you leaving the stream!”

She stood halfway up the shore, facing inland, listening for her apprentices. A whisper of droplets told her that the first cat had emerged. That was fine; a border patrol would pay no attention to that. Heavier pads on the sand gave away Tanglepaw’s exit, but masked any sound of Duckpaw.

Now they were waiting for Rushpaw.

“Ow!”

The muffled yelp was followed by a splash. Mistystar spun around to see Rushpaw vanish headfirst under the water, then bob up almost at once, spluttering and thrashing with her front paws.

“I stubbed my toe on a stone!” she wailed.

Pikepaw curled his lip and Tanglepaw rolled his eyes. “Honestly, Rushpaw, you’re hopeless!”

Rushpaw stumbled out of the water and stood on the sand, tilting back her head to glare at her brother. “I am not hopeless! I’m just a lot smaller than you!”

“If you’re that small, maybe you should have stayed in the nursery,” meowed Duckpaw. “You’re spoiling everything!”

Rushpaw’s tail drooped like a piece of wet fern. Mistystar stepped forward. “I would have made you all do the exercise again, anyway.” She didn’t want Rushpaw to get into trouble from her denmates because she had ruined their first exit. But Mistystar was beginning to have doubts about the undersized apprentice. RiverClan cats weren’t known for their long legs, but Rushpaw’s were shorter than most, and she didn’t seem to have the serious attitude toward training that the other apprentices did. Should she go back to the nursery for a couple of moons to gain some maturity?

The apprentices paddled back into the stream and swam out to the center.

“I’m going to be an enemy patrol,” Mistystar called. “See if you can surprise me upstream.” She trotted across the shore and ducked into the undergrowth farther up the bank.

In the water, Tanglepaw took charge. “Let’s swim ahead of her and set an ambush.”

“The bank slopes down again on the far side of that willow tree,” mewed Duckpaw. “We can climb out there.”

“Okay, but don’t swim too fast,” puffed Rushpaw.

“Perhaps you should stay here and keep watch in case she comes back?” Pikepaw suggested as he pushed off from the bottom.

Rushpaw splashed water at him with her front paw. “You’re not leaving me behind! I’ll get it right this time, I promise!”

Duckpaw circled around and swam alongside the little apprentice. “Don’t worry; we won’t leave you here. Just try to keep up, okay?”

“Er, I think we’re supposed to be swimming silently?” Tanglepaw reminded them over his shoulder. He struck out, leading the group around a curve in the stream, toward the willow tree. He couldn’t see Mistystar in the undergrowth that grew along the bank, and the noise of the water in his ears made it impossible to hear anything but the loudest birdcalls overhead. He just had to hope she was deep enough in the reeds that she didn’t know how far the apprentices had swum.

A narrow strip of pebbly beach opened up as they passed the trailing willow branches.

Tanglepaw steered into the cover of the delicate silver-green fronds and carefully lowered his paws to the bottom of the stream. The stones were larger here, and he took a moment to find his balance.

Duckpaw, Pikepaw, and Rushpaw swam in behind him. They were enclosed in a pale green cave dappled with sparkles reflecting from the water and hidden from the bank by the trunk of the willow tree. It was a perfect place to launch an ambush.

A tiny crackle downstream revealed that Mistystar was approaching.

“Get ready,” Tanglepaw whispered. “And remember, we can’t make any noise as we leave the water.”

Tanglepaw eased himself forward, placing each paw down before he lifted the next. Pikepaw, Duckpaw, and Rushpaw kept close to him, easing through the branches toward the open shore. Out of the corner of his eye, Tanglepaw glimpsed a pale gray flash behind the willow tree. Mistystar was coming closer.

“Quick!” he hissed under his breath. Crouching low, he waded clear of the water, keeping his belly fur on the surface until most of the water had run off his fur. Pikepaw followed, then Duckpaw.

But the she-cat moved too fast and sent back a small wave that slapped Rushpaw squarely across the muzzle.

“Ack!” she spluttered.

Tanglepaw froze. Behind the trunk of the willow tree, one of the shadows on the path stopped moving. Mistystar had heard the noise, too. She knew they were here; the exercise had failed!

Behind him, Rushpaw took another cautious step forward, as if she didn’t know the task was already over. Her paw slipped off a smooth stone underwater and she stumbled forward. She flicked her tail as she tried to keep her balance, sending a glittering arc of droplets through the air to land with a splash downstream.

Tanglepaw was about to tell Rushpaw she was the clumsiest cat in all of the Clans, ever, when he realized that the shadow behind the willow tree had changed shape. It had whisked around, and he could see the outline of two pointed ears facing the other way, in the direction where the drops had landed. The splash had confused Mistystar into thinking the apprentices were downstream!

“Come on!” whispered Tanglepaw, leaping out of the water. In two swift bounds, he crossed the stones and leaped into the mottled shadows behind the tree. Mistystar spun around, her mouth open with surprise. She didn’t have a chance to speak before all four apprentices bundled on top of her, claws sheathed, knocking her off her paws.

“Got you!” Duckpaw declared triumphantly.

“Did we pass the test?” Tanglepaw asked.

Mistystar pulled her muzzle free from Pikepaw’s tail and puffed, “Yes! You passed! Now get off me!”

“Oh, sorry.” Tanglepaw jumped up and gave the leader room to stand up and shake herself.

“Are you all here?” asked Mistystar, craning her neck to count them. “So who made that splash downstream?”

Rushpaw hung her head. “That was me,” she mewed in a small voice. “I lost my balance and my tail flicked some water.”

Mistystar stared at her. “It was a brilliant move! Making a noise downstream made me think you were somewhere completely different.”

Tanglepaw nodded. “I saw from your shadow that you’d turned around, so I realized we could still catch you by surprise.”

“That was very observant of you, Tanglepaw,” Mistystar praised him. “Now, Rushpaw, do you think you could show us exactly what you did?”

Rushpaw blinked. “You mean I did something right?”

“Better than that,” Mistystar told her. “You invented a brand-new tactic for water combat! And I think we’ll call it the Rushpaw Splash!”

RiverClan warriors have developed special techniques for fighting in the water. The water techniques are a closely guarded secret among RiverClan cats, so all training is done out of sight, along the streams that run through the territory.

DOUBLE-FRONT-PAW SLAP-DOWN:Splashes water into the face of the enemy.

UNDERWATER LEG SWEEP (FRONT OR HIND):The opponent will not see it coming under the water so won’t have a chance to brace himself before losing his balance.