Dawnpaw crept up stealthily beside the bramble bush, careful to place her paws gently on the leaves that scattered the forest floor. She resisted the urge of swishing her tail back and forth, and made sure that the wind was blowing towards her before getting ready to pounce.
Suddenly, the mouse must have spotted her gray pelt, because it darted into a hole at the bottom of an oak tree. Dawnpaw crashed into the earthy ground, frustrated at her failure.
"Mouse dung!" She cursed as she shook of a few leaves clinging onto her untidy pelt. She sat up, giving her pelt a quick grooming before dashing off to find better prey.
"Dawnpaw!" Spinning around, the young cat spun around to see her mentor, Frostclaw, standing behind her with approval glinting in his eyes. "That was an excellent bit of stalking there, but remember to creep up more quietly before you pounce."
Dawnpaw ducked her head in embarrassment at her mentor's rare praise. "But it still got away," She complained, scuffing up leaves, tail tip twitching in frustration.
"Yes, and you should have crept up on the other side since the wind direction shifted." Frostclaw pointed his tail at a hazel bush nearer to the oak. Dawnpaw groaned inwardly. Now she wished she hadn't pointed out that she hadn't managed to catch the piece of prey. She had only been an apprentice for a few moons, and she was bound to have uncorrected flaws.
The tom flicked his ears, dismissing the conversation. "Let's take a look at how the prey is running over by the stream." Together, mentor and apprentice padded off to the stream by the WindClan border.
Dawnpaw's fur bristled as she got closer to the border. For the past few days, WindClan was especially hostile with ThunderClan, claiming that they had scented ThunderClan scent on their side of the border. If any cat is trespassing, it's got to be WindClan, Dawnpaw thought inwardly.
A rustling noise from the other side of the bank startled Dawnpaw, and a whole patrol of cat's burst out from a bush, blocking the other side of the stepping stones. The young she-cat recognized Flintshade, the WindClan deputy at the front of the patrol, and Bushpaw, Prickletail, and Ripplefoot following behind, fur bushed up and baring their teeth.
"Prey-stealers!" Flintshade hissed.