Adderpaw didn't say a word as he followed Darkfoot, but his heart was pounding harder than usual. Timberstar had chosen a really strict mentor. But her green eyes were so happy when she gave her own former apprentice one of his own. Would Adderpaw ever impress the black tom?

"Our territory is so big!" Treepaw spoke up as she and Gingerfur joined them. They had already shown them the land. Who knew what those enemy Clans were thinking?

"You'll get used to it," the ginger she-cat responded, annoyance in her green eyes. "You should make sure to guard it well. ShadowClan has always been strong and you'll keep it strong."

"She's right," Darkfoot nodded, yellow eyes on the lighter ThunderClan trees. "Cats can hide anywhere with enough stealth."

"No Clan will mess with us," Adderpaw puffed out his chest. He would do his best to defend his family and Clanmates from any predator.

"Big words for a cat your size," Treepaw teased. "A mouse could beat you in a tussle."

"Speaking of prey," Gingerfur cut her apprentice off before she could go any further. "Today we are going to teach you how to hunt. Now that you've learned the land, use it to your every advantage."

"It's also good for battle," Darkfoot agreed. "Hiding will give you the element of surprise. That has been used by ShadowClan for many generations. We might not have WindClan's speed or RiverClan's grace in water, but we have that."

"First you smell for prey and track it down. Don't move at all. Once you find it, crouch like this," Gingerfur moved like a snake as she readied herself in a crouch. She kept her tail off the ground as she softly moved her paws along the ground. Wiggling a bit, she leaped at a nearby bush.

A loud squeak hit the air and then Gingerfur emerged, the limp body of a mouse hanging from her jaws.

"Now that you've seen how it's done, do it yourselves," Darkfoot instructed. "Remember to keep yourself low and make sure that your tail isn't dragging on the ground. Especially with leaves on the ground."

Treepaw and Adderpaw obeyed, trying their best to copy Gingerfur. But they didn't have any of her grace, at least not yet. Adderpaw guessed that their mentors could tell.

"Keep your tail still!" Gingerfur hissed at Treepaw. "Your prey will hear and see you before you see them."

"Put more weight on your left side," Darkfoot rolled his eyes at Adderpaw. "Wolfpelt would be better at balancing at you, and she has a belly full of kits!"

Taking a deep breath, the siblings tried again, not getting much better than the first time.

Gingerfur huffed, before her eyes met Darkfoot's, "We have a lot of work ahead of us. We will have to be patient."

Adderpaw had finally mastered his crouch and caught a squirrel one his first afternoon. The squirrel was almost bigger than he was and he actually got a small complement out of his strict mentor. With Darkfoot as his mentor, surely he'd get stronger.

Treepaw was jealous of him, he could tell. She had refused to talk to him the rest of the day. Her two attempts of catching prey had failed. She had stepped on a branch, making a bird fly away. Twice.

"Want to share prey with me?" Adderpaw asked his sister. "I'm sure you'll get something tomorrow."

"No thanks," she brushed him off. "I'm already sharing prey with Weaselpaw. I already told him I would."

"You'd rather share prey with that furball than with your own brother?" Adderpaw growled at that. Why didn't she see how cocky that tom was? He was an annoying pest!

"He's not a furball. If you actually tried to talk to him, you would see. But you have to find some reason to hate him when he's done nothing wrong. And I promised him I would," Treepaw hissed, turning her back on him. "Go and eat with the kits if you are going to act like one."

Lionkit and Thrushkit are so much more respectful than that mouse-heart!

Feeling his heart sink a bit, he took a shrew from the fresh-kill pile and went to eat beside Dovefeather's kits.

"You caught that squirrel by yourself?" Lionkit looked up at him in awe. "That's so cool! When we become an apprentice, will you teach me and Thrushkit how to hunt squirrels?"

"Both of us?" Thrushkit shot her brother a worried look. When she saw Adderpaw staring at her, she dropped her gaze to the ground.

"Of course," Lionkit nudged his sister. "I want to do everything together! Dovefeather will be so proud!"

"Your mentors will teach you," Adderpaw reminded them. "And this is only my first day. I got lucky with this squirrel. It must have been half asleep or something."

"Right," Thrushkit softly nodded, her ears slightly back.

"Yeah," Adderpaw looked around to avoid the awkward atmosphere. Unfortunately his eyes landed on Treepaw and Weaselpaw sharing a large rabbit. He glared at them. Weaselpaw for being annoying. His sister for chosing to eat with him instead.

As he got up after his meal, he heard Lionkit ask his sister a question.

"Hey, Thrushkit. Are you alright? Every time Adderpaw gets near us, you suddenly get all quiet? You seem a bit distant."

When it was time to sleep that night, Sweetfur had quickly asked about him at the entrance of the warriors den.

"How was your first day as an apprentice, honey?"

"It was great," Adderpaw yawned as he padded into his new den. Treepaw was curled against Weaselpaw, her back to Adderpaw in the middle of the den. He sighed as he got into the nest on the far right, feeling alone. Maybe tomorrow would be much better. He didn't have much hope.

Author's Note

I left this story on hold for a little too long. I plan on writing for it more frequently since I have the time.