Lunarpaw woke up the next morning with a huge yawn. Her new nest was so soft and warm, she didn't want leave it. Her paws still ached from touring the territory the day before. Even so, she was still very excited to begin her training today. She hopped to her paws and dashed out of the apprentices' den. Looking around the camp, she tried to find Ravenpaw. The lazy fur ball is probably still asleep. She thought affectionately. Lunarpaw decided to walk over to the Medicine Den to visit.
The small cat padded to the entrance and peaked in. "Ravenpaw?"
"Lunarpaw?" she heard a voice mew.
"Yeah, it's me, Briarlight," Lunarpaw replied. She lifted her nose and sniffed to find the scent of her sister. "I just wanted to see Ravenpaw."
"Oh, you can't!" Briarlight said quickly. "H-her and Jayfeather are talking about something important."
"Oh, nonsense," Lunarpaw said while trying to go further. "That can wait."
Briarlight drug herself in front of Lunarpaw. "I can't let you in. You'll have to come by later."
Lunarpaw glared at the crippled cat, but then she caught part of the conversation that was happening on the other side of the lichen.
"... it was some sort of omen, Ravenpaw," Lunarpaw heard Jayfeather say lowly. "You were not dying, or else you'd be dead. Now, tell me again what you were feeling. I need every detail."
"I've told you a thousand times, already!" Ravenpaw said. She sounded tired and exasperated. She sighed and began to talk, "Okay, as I've said so many times before, I felt a sudden chill wash over me, and then I couldn't stand anymore, so I fell down. It just got colder and colder. Then when you said it was greenleaf, I think it got a little warmer. When we got back to camp, though, it got colder. Then I fell asleep. I didn't sleep well, either, but I can't remember anything I was dreaming!"
"You said when I told you it was greenleaf you got warmer?" Jayfeather asked.
"Y-yes?" Ravenpaw sounded confused.
"As for the dreams, I tried to walk in your dreams, but I couldn't," Jayfeather explained. "I'm not sure why, but I was able to walk in other cats' dreams. Maybe we can find answers tonight at Moonpool. You need to get some rest."
Lunarpaw heard Jayfeather approaching, so she quickly backed up to make it seem like she hadn't heard anything. He pushed through the lichen and looked towards Lunarpaw. He missed where she actually was by just a mouse-length. "What are you doing here, Lunarpaw?"
"I-I was just coming to see Ravenpaw," she stammered. He narrowed his eyes at her, but then he just walked out of the den.
"She's resting right now, so come back later," he said bluntly as he was leaving. Lunarpaw stared after him then glanced over at Briarlight. She heard Icecloud calling for her, so she ran out of the den and met her mentor in the center of camp. What omen? What did I miss yesterday? She thought frantically. And what did she mean when she said it was cold?
Her head was reeling. She had no idea what was going on with Ravenpaw. Something happened to her sister and she didn't even know about it! All she wanted to do now was to help her. As she left the camp with Icecloud, she realized that she had completely pushed training to the back of her mind. Icecloud stopped and Lunarpaw almost crashed into her mentor. She halted and backed up. Looking around, she noticed they had reached the training area. There was no grass, only moss. It was the mossy hollow with trees thick with leaves surrounding it. Lunarpaw looked up and squinted as she saw the sun had almost reached its height. The moss under her paws felt soft and cool. She caught herself wondering what Ravenpaw was doing at that moment.
"Lunarpaw!" Icecloud's voice snapped Lunarpaw away from her thoughts and training had pushed its way back to the front of her mind. The apprentice looked back at her mentor apologetically.
"Sorry," She mewed. "So, what are we doing today?"
"Well, yesterday we toured the territory, so today we'll begin with simple train exercises," Icecloud explained. "I hope you're ready."
"I am!" Lunarpaw meowed excitedly. "Since we are in the hollow, does that mean we are battle training?"
"No, no!" Icecloud denied quickly. "No, today we are just practicing hunting techniques."
"Oh..." Lunarpaw said as her tail drooped.
"Sorry, Lunarpaw, but you're going to have to wait a while for that," Icecloud purred. "Okay, first things first. Your hunting crouch. Show me."
"But, I've never gone hunting before," Lunarpaw protested.
"Yes, but it should be instinct," Icecloud dismissed her protests with a wave of her tail. "Go."
Lunarpaw nodded reluctantly and then crouched down into the best hunting crouch she could think of. Icecloud purred in amusement.
"Okay, not too bad, actually. Stay in your crouch. First, you need to keep your tail off the ground and keep it still. Just lift it slightly and make sure you don't move it. Always have your paws in a position that makes it easy to spring. So, adjust them comfortably. I'll show you, and then I want you to mimic me."
Lunarpaw stood up and watched Icecloud drop into a flawless hunting crouch. She studied it and tried to memorize it, then she dropped down and attempted to mimic Icecloud's crouch. Icecloud stood up and observed Lunarpaw's crouch.
"That's really good, but tuck in your back paws a bit more," Icecloud instructed. Lunarpaw nodded and pushed her hind paws in so that they were touching her belly a little more. "Okay, do you see that leaf over there?"
Lunarpaw followed Icecloud's gaze and saw there was an oak leaf laying directly in front of her a few tail-lengths away. She nodded. "Pretend you're hunting and catch it."
Lunarpaw nodded again and she shuffled quietly toward it. As she got closer she stopped and began to wriggle her haunches. She pushed off the ground and pounced, but didn't land quite on the leaf. She landed a few mouse-lengths short of the leaf.
"What?" She said astonished. "How did I miss it?"
"It's okay, you're just new at this," Icecloud reassured her. Lunarpaw huffed and backed up. More determined now, she dropped into her crouch again. She slowly crawled toward to leaf again and pounced. This time she landed closer, but still didn't make it.
"Don't get too irritated," Icecloud warned. "You'll get there, but, first, some improvements. When you walk closer, don't drag your paws and match sure you don't drop them so loudly, or your prey will hear you. Also, pay close attention to where you step. If you make a single noise, then anything you hunt will hear you and run away. Also, try to get closer without getting spotted. Keep trying."
Lunarpaw sighed and nodded. She took a few deep breaths and dropped into her crouch again. She adjusted her back paws and she padded slowly and quietly forward, getting as close as she could. She stopped a few tail-lengths away and pounced again. This time landing with the leaf directly under her front paws. She grabbed it in her mouth and turned around to show Icecloud her "catch."
"Perfect!" Icecloud purred. "Want to try actually hunting now?"
"Am I ready?" Lunarpaw asked.
"It's easier to learn on the job," Icecloud explained. Lunarpaw nodded. Icecloud motioned with her tail for Lunarpaw to follow. Lunarpaw jumped up and followed behind her mentor. They walked out of the hollow and back into the forest. The wind blew lightly against Lunarpaw's face. After walking for a bit, Icecloud stopped. Lunarpaw stopped in front of her as her mentor turned to face her.
"Okay, first I want you to smell the air for some prey," Icecloud instructed. Lunarpaw nodded and parted her jaws to taste the air. She smelled many different scents mingling with each other. She looked up and shook her head.
"I can't make out anything," she sighed.
"That's fine," Icecloud meowed. The white cat parted her own jaws and tasted for the scent of prey. "I smell a mouse."
Lunarpaw perked up and looked around for a mouse, but couldn't see anything. Icecloud flicked her tail at Lunarpaw and pointed at a small brown creature that was scuttering around the roots of a tree. It stopped and began to sniff at a small nut that was laying on the ground.
"I want you to watch what I do closely," Icecloud whispered in Lunarpaw's ear. "Back out of the way for a moment."
Lunarpaw nodded and backed away. Icecloud dropped into a crouch with her tail elevated and her paws tucked. She moved forward in complete silence and effortlessly dodged a twig laying on the ground. She grew closer and stopped. Her haunches rocked and she pounced and landed on the mouse. She quickly nipped it on the neck and it went limp. The white she-cat bounced over to Lunarpaw with the mouse in her jaws and then laid it at her apprentice's paws.
"Smell that and learn the scent of mouse," Icecloud meowed, nodding to the prey. Lunarpaw nodded and bent down to sniff the mouse. She drank in the smell and felt her mouth begin to water. Quickly, she drew back.
"Tasty," Lunarpaw purred. Icecloud looked at her with amusement.
"Okay, your turn," Icecloud mewed as she dug a shallow hole to put the mouse in. She pushed dirt over it and then she stood next to Lunarpaw. "Smell the air."
Lunarpaw nodded and parted her jaws to taste the air again. This time she smelled another mouse. She followed the direction the scent was coming from and saw it under a bramble bush.
"Okay, make sure the wind isn't blowing toward the mouse, or it'll smell you," Icecloud whispered. Lunarpaw nodded and felt the air. It was blowing directly toward her. She looked over at Icecloud. "It's blowing toward me."
"Okay, then try to catch it," Icecloud instructed her. Lunarpaw dropped into her crouch and moved toward the mouse. Her tail was stiff and elevated, and her paws dropped silently. She stopped. She rocked on her haunches and pounced. He paws landed on the mouse, but before she could kill it, it squeaked and slipped out from under her paws. Then, it scuttled away.
"Mouse dung!" Lunarpaw cursed. Icecloud padded up next to her and purred with amusement.
"Don't get so irritated," Icecloud soothed her. "You did very well, today. Just don't hesitate like that. I think we are done for the day. Let's get back to camp."
Lunarpaw sighed and followed her mentor. They reached the camp. Lunarpaw was about to go over to get a piece of fresh-kill, but Icecloud stopped her.
"No, you have to wait until the queens and elders have gotten their food," Icecloud warned. Lunarpaw looked at the fresh-kill pile longingly. "I'm going to go see Ravenpaw."
She padded away toward the medicine den. She went inside and saw Briarlight curled up in her nest. The injured cat lifted her head and looked at Lunarpaw.
"Are you here to see Ravenpaw?" She asked. Lunarpaw nodded. "Her and Jayfeather already left for Moonpool."
Lunarpaw sighed. "Thanks, Briarlight."
The she-cat nodded and rested her head on her paws. Lunarpaw turned around and left the den. She looked around the camp for someone to talk to. She saw Icecloud walking over to the fresh-kill pile. Her mentor met her gaze.
"Hey, you can get something to eat now!" She called out. Lunarpaw nodded and walked over to grab something. She sniffed around and found a vole in the pile. She pulled it out. She noticed Dovewing was eating with Bumblestripe next to the fallen tree. Lunarpaw padded over to them.
"Lunarpaw!" Dovewing exclaimed. "How was training?"
Dovewing's mouth was filled with squirrel. Bumblestripe's eyes glinted in amusement at the gray cat.
"It was okay," Lunarpaw meowed. She took a bite out of her vole.
"Only okay?" Bumblestripe mewed. Lunarpaw nodded as she swallowed her food.
"I'm not very good at hunting," She sighed.
"Well, it was only your first day," Dovewing said softly. "You have to be patient."
"Yeah, you'll get better!" Bumblestripe reassured her. Lunarpaw purred. Her parents had always been so encouraging. She gulped down the rest of her food and stood up.
"I think I'll get some sleep, now," She informed them. "I want to be awake for when Ravenpaw gets back. She gave them a nod and walked away.
When she entered the apprentices den, she saw Dewpaw sitting in his nest, bathing himself. He looked up at Lunarpaw and flicked his tail.
"Hey, Lunarpaw, how was your first day?" He greeted her excitedly. She walked over to her own nest and sat down.
"It was alright," She mewed. "I think I'm more excited about learning fighting moves than I am about hunting."
"Most apprentices are, but don't worry because you'll get there soon enough!" He mewed. She nodded and curled up. She wasn't feeling particularly social. Lunarpaw mainly wanted to talk to Ravenpaw.
"Well, goodnight, Dewpaw," She mewed.
"Night!" he replied. Lunarpaw rested her head on her paws and drifted off to sleep.
