Owlpaw glided silently through the trees, following the owl's every movement. It was moon-high and the forest was illuminated with silvery moonlight. Owlpaw suddenly caught the scent of a mouse. Like a snake, he weaved his way through the undergrowth, and soon saw the small creature. The mouse, confident that it was hidden under the shadows of night, had strayed far from its burrow. Owlpaw effortlessly sneaked up it and pounced, killing it with one swift bite. He buried his prey and moved on, following the owl's direction, like its shadow.
Owlpaw had done this many times by now. Every night, at moon-high, he'd journey out to the Owl-Tree and follow the owl's flight path, knowing that the majestic bird would lead him to prey. He'd learned to stalk silently through the forest, without even the ever alert mice being able to sense his presence. His eyes had grown large and he rarely blinked. He had noticed that his leader, Thunderstar, had taken an interest in him.
Thunderstar was the first leader of ThunderClan, which was newly founded. The warrior code was young, but quickly growing. The ThunderClan deputy, Lightningtail would certainly become leader when Thunderstar died. Lightningtail was a yellow-furred tom with striking green eyes. He could kill a mouse before you had a chance to blink. But, only Owlpaw knew how to sneak up on a mouse without it noticing. All of the other cats of ThunderClan had to pounce on a mouse because mice can sense you coming from far away.
Owlpaw found another mouse and killed it. He'd also caught a vole. He collected his prey and returned to camp. Just as he was about to enter through the gorse tunnel, when Lightningtail stepped out.
"Where have you been, Owlpaw," he growled.
"I-I was just out hunting," he stammered.
"In the middle of the night? You need your sleep, Owlpaw. How do you ever expect to pass your assessments if your so weary your tripping over your own paws?" Lightningtail scolded. "Put that on the fresh kill pile and get some rest already!" Owlpaw nodded and did as Lightningtail said. He curled up in the apprentices' den and tried to get some sleep. He was just drifting off as he heard Robinpaw snicker.
***
Owlpaw woke, blinking in the dimness of the apprentice den. It couldn't be any later than sunrise. He yawned and stretched, then left the cramped den. He looked around the camp. The dawn patrol hadn't left yet. Owlpaw trotted over to where they stood.
"Can I join the dawn patrol?" he asked.
"Sure, Owlpaw. I don't see why not," said Bramblefoot, one of the senior warriors. Owlpaw smiled and joined them. The small patrol set off into the woods, towards the RiverClan border. As they neared the pounding river, Frostfang, a younger warrior, began sniffing the air.
"I smell RiverClan", he growled. The patrol quickened their pace until they could see the river, swollen with last night's rain. Owlpaw spotted the source of the fishy stench almost immediately. On the other side of the river, stood a beautiful she-cat, her light gray fur barely visible against the foliage. She stared at him with her striking green eyes. Owlpaw stared back, unblinking. Why was she looking at him so strangely? She looked slightly familiar, but he didn't know how.
"It's just the RiverClan medicine cat," said Bramblefoot, relieved. The patrol renewed the scent markers and left to check the WindClan border.
"Who was that?" Owlpaw asked.
"That was the RiverClan medicine cat, Dovewing. She brought you back to camp after Sparrowpelt died," said Bramblefoot dryly. Owlpaw didn't feel sad when others talked about his mother. He knew that StarClan would take good care of her. And besides, he hadn't known her, so how could he miss her?