The badger landed with a thud on all four paws, trapping Goosefeather under its belly. Its fur stank like rotting flesh, and its hair was coarse and bristly. Goosefeather tried to wriggle free, but the badger spun around far more quickly than its size suggested and held Goosefeather down with one massive paw. Huge sharp claws sank into Goosefeather’s pelt, and he lay still, too scared even to shiver.
Is this how it ends? he wondered, his mind strangely clear. If I see a dead cat now, will he be coming to take me to StarClan?
The badger seemed puzzled by his lack of resistance. It rolled him roughly onto his side and lowered its head to sniff at him. Goosefeather retched as foul breath filled his nose. Then the badger curled back its lips, revealing cracked yellow teeth, and Goosefeather suddenly knew that he didn’t want to die.
He let out a screech, bucking wildly under the badger’s paw until he could tear himself free. With a snap, the badger shut its jaws and lunged for Goosefeather again. Goosefeather knew there had to be something he could do to defend himself, some clever twist of claws or teeth, but all he knew were herbs. And dead cats.
“Help me!” he yowled.
The badger grunted as if it liked the idea of prey that made a noise. It slapped Goosefeather to the ground with its front paw and loomed over him. A globule of drool fell into Goosefeather’s eye.
“Get off him!” There was a shriek behind the badger, and the massive head jerked away from Goosefeather. Blinking away the drool, he spotted a small silver shape clinging to the badger’s shoulders. “Leave him alone!”
“Moonpaw! What are you doing?” Goosefeather yowled.
His sister didn’t look up from jabbing her claws into the badger’s neck. “Saving you, mouse-brain. Get out of here while you can!”
The badger was twisting and snapping at the tormentor on its back. One of its flailing front paws almost knocked Goosefeather off his feet, but he scrambled under brambles until he was out of reach.
I can’t leave Moonpaw to fight it on her own, he thought desperately. But he knew there was nothing he could do to help her. He had no fighting skills.
Suddenly there was a thrumming of paws, and a horde of blurry shapes flew at the badger. Yowls split the air, and the badger hunched under the warriors’ attack. Goosefeather saw Daisytoe tear the badger’s ear with her claws, while Windflight savaged its stumpy tail. Moonpaw sank her teeth once more into the badger’s scruff; then the mighty animal let out a bark and started to shuffle away into the bracken. One by one, the warriors dropped to the ground and chased after it, still spitting and snarling.
Only Moonpaw remained, her sides heaving and blood welling from a scratch above her eye.
“Goosefeather!” she panted. “Are you there?”
Goosefeather crawled out from beneath the brambles. “I’m here,” he meowed. “You saved my life, Moonpaw! Thank you!” He stood up and tried to rub his muzzle against her head, but she ducked away.
“You shouldn’t be out on your own if you can’t defend yourself!” she hissed. “I can’t believe you’ve been given your full name when you don’t even know how to fight.”
Goosefeather shook his head. “Wait, it’s not my fault the badger attacked me. It was Stormtail—”
Moonpaw stared at him. “Really? You’re going to blame Stormtail for this? Who do you think found the patrol and told them what was happening? I don’t believe you, Goosefeather. You put all our lives in danger today. I won’t always be here to save you. Try living in the real world for a while, and learn how to look after yourself!”
She brushed past him and bounded into the bracken, following the trail left by the badger.
Chapter Seven
“I’d say you’ve been very lucky,” purred a soft voice.
Goosefeather jumped. He hadn’t noticed the tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat standing beside him.
“You think?” he retorted. “I nearly get my fur clawed off by a badger, and even my sister thinks I’m a freak.” He paused and studied the cat. “I’ve seen you before, haven’t I? You were watching the attack by the kittypets. Who are you?”
The she-cat twitched one ear. “I’d be insulted that you don’t know, except that I can hardly blame ThunderClan for wanting to forget about me. But I know all about you, Goosefeather, and what you can see. I can help you, if you like.”
“Really? Are you going to show me another vision?” Goosefeather felt his energy returning.
The she-cat snorted. “Why are you so concerned about the future? You have to live in the real world too. You need to learn a few fighting moves, or any cat will be able to flay your pelt if they want to.” She padded around him, and Goosefeather was aware of powerful muscles sliding beneath her thick fur. “In fact, there is no better warrior to teach you how to fight.”
Goosefeather turned around to keep her in sight. “I could ask any of my Clanmates to teach me,” he mewed. “I don’t need your help.”
The she-cat stopped and looked at him. “Oh, I think you do, Goosefeather,” she mewed softly.
“After all, not even your sister offered to help, even when she had just seen you being half eaten by a badger.”
Goosefeather felt the hair rise along his spine. He didn’t need a stranger to taunt him. “Leave me alone,” he snarled, but without another word the she-cat sprang at him, claws unsheathed.
Goosefeather stumbled backward, tripping over his own tail, and landed in the leaf mulch. The tortoiseshell cat stood looking down at him, her lip curled in amusement. “Get up. When I do that again, duck sideways so you take my weight on one shoulder. If you keep your hind legs under you, you should be able to flick me off.” She stepped back, letting Goosefeather scramble to his paws.
“Ready?”
He nodded. She leaped forward, and this time Goosefeather lurched to the side. A frond of bracken jabbed him in the eye and he almost lost his footing, but he felt the she-cat strike him nothing more than a glancing blow as she crashed to her paws.
“Better!” she cried. “Now you try!”
Goosefeather shook his head. “I only want to defend myself. I won’t be attacking anyone.”
The she-cat hissed. “You’ll be useless if you can’t take the fight to your enemy. Attack is by far the best form of defense! Now come to me, and watch what I do.”
Reluctantly Goosefeather sprang at her, halfheartedly baring his teeth. The she-cat stepped to the side and wrapped one paw around his front leg, sending him sprawling to the ground. “You’re making it too easy,” she hissed. “Try again, and this time act like you mean it. Pretend I’ve just clawed out your mother’s eyes.”
Goosefeather pictured Daisytoe bleeding and blind, and lunged at the she-cat with real fury. She tried to step away again, but he kept his weight over his haunches and followed her. His front paws landed a satisfying blow on the back of her neck. The she-cat huffed and straightened up.
“Much better!” she purred, her eyes gleaming. “Now let’s try some ground moves.”
The shadows crept out from beneath the trees and the air turned chilly as they fought. The she-cat showed Goosefeather how to use his own weight against his opponent, how to anticipate a move by watching his enemy’s paws, and how to pummel the soft parts of the belly and throat to cause the worst injuries. Sometimes Goosefeather flinched, and a small voice inside him asked if it was right that a medicine cat should know how to cause so much pain. Then he remembered Moonpaw blaming him because he couldn’t defend himself against the badger, and he let his claws slide out as he raked his mentor’s pelt.
She screeched and sprang away. “Careful, little one!” she spat. “You don’t want me to fight for real, I promise you.” She licked her ruffled chest fur. “I think we’ve done enough for today. I wouldn’t say you’re ready to take on another badger, but I think you could hold your own against a cat.”