Gingerwhisker padded out of the warriors den a little after dawn and tasted the air. She quickly picked up the scent of Darkstorm, who was sitting on a ledge, deep in thought. She yawned and saw that the Fresh Kill pile was a bit low.
Then her apprentice, Mountainpaw, came running out of the apprentices den.
"What are we doing today Gingerwhisker?!"
"I thought we'd hunt. The pile looks low."
"Ok!"
As they walked toward the thorn tunnels she glanced back at Darkstorm, who was still sitting there staring into space.
She wondered what was troubling him as she walked through the thorn barrier.
Mountainpaw was already waiting at the entrance, kneading her paws on the ground.
"Can we go please?!"
"Ok, ok I'm coming."
"Why are you always gazing at Darkstorm?" Mountainpaw asked with a mischievous grin.
"He was acting weird. He kept mumbling and fidgeting in his sleep and now he's staring into space." Gingerwhisker said, somewhat annoyed.
"Suuuure." Mountainpaw said before running ahead.
Gingerwhisker felt hot with anger.
I don't like that creepy tom.
She thought to herself. Mountainpaw was just being annoying.
"Hey! Wait up!" Gingerwhisker yelled to Mountainpaw.
She caught up to her to see her scenting the air. Suddenly her ears perked up and Gingerwhisker watched her go into a hunters crouch. Eventually she saw that she was stalking a mouse. Although she was hunting a mouse Mountainpaw was in a hunters crouch to stalk a vole and the mouse easily heard her and darted off.
"Mouse dung!"
"You'll get the next one. But you were in a crouch for stalking voles, not mice."
"Oh."
Gingerwhisker remembered that Mountainpaw was only apprenticed a few days before.
She watched Mountainpaw scent the air again and watched her stalk a shrew, using the right crouch this time. She pounced and dispatched it with a swift bite to the neck.
"Excellent!"
Mountainpaw held up her shrew, looking proud of herself.
"Thanks!" she said, through the shrew.
When they got back to camp Mountainpaw had caught another shrew and a vole, and Gingerwhisker caught two blackbirds. She put her catch in the pile and looked around camp. Astonished, she saw that Darkstorm was still sitting on the ledge.
"Take something to the elders." she told Mountainpaw.
Mountainpaw grabbed her shrews and a blackbird and ran to the elders den.
It was nearly sunhigh so Gingerwhisker decided to take a nap in the warriors den. She wanted to ask Darkstorm what was bothering him but hardly anyone talked to him and the ones who have said it's scary talking to him from the coldness in his voice. She started to wonder, as she walked to the warriors den, what could make a cat so cold hearted his clanmates didn't want to talk to him.