A/N Hey, it's Fwirl again! Not much to say, so onto the story!

Chapter Three

Larkpaw slowly opened her eyes, wondering why it was so bright this morning. She tried to find Otterheart, and was surprised when she saw Nettlepaw and Pricklepaw nearby. Then she remembered: she was an apprentice now. It was so bright because the apprentices' den wasn't nearly as thick as the nursery; that might take some getting used to.

Larkpaw stood up and arched her back before padding out of the den into the camp. The sun was just coming up from behind the warriors' den, throwing its rays of light across the entire RiverClan camp, illuminating the shining dew that covered the ground. The reeds in front of the camp quivered as Pouncetail, Graymist, Mistyfoot, and Grasspaw entered the camp, carrying fresh-kill that they promptly dropped on the pile.

Stormpaw left the apprentices' den right behind her sister, more excited than Larkpaw had ever seen her been in the morning. "Today's our first day training as apprentices," Stormpaw announced unnecessarily to her sister.

"Did you think I'd forget?" Larkpaw asked in amusement, then remembered that when she first woke up, she had forgotten. Oops, she thought to herself. Well, she had just woken up and it only took her a few moments to remember, so it wasn't like it mattered anyways.

"No, I just felt like saying it," Stormpaw retorted. "Is something wrong with that?"

"Of course not," Larkpaw replied.

"Larkpaw, stop lazing around and come on!" Beechfur called amiably from by the camp entrance. "I'm going to show you how to hunt."

"Bye Stormpaw," Larkpaw hastily mewed to her sister, before bolting off after her new mentor. Beechfur didn't even pause at the stream that split around the island that RiverClan's camp was situated on before wading in and starting to swim across. Larkpaw hesitated before following him.

The water dragged at her pelt and it felt like she was going to be dragged with the current, but she swam her way across as quickly as she could manage. Her paws were heavy as she lifted them with each stroke and soon she was almost completely underwater, with only part of her head sticking up above the water.

Larkpaw felt relieved when they reached the other side of the stream, and she shook her pelt to try and dry it, but to no avail. "Watch where you're spraying that water," Beechfur said, backing away.

"Sorry," Larkpaw apologized, and immediately stopped. No sooner had she finished speaking then Beechfur was off running again, heading in the opposite direction from the camp and following the stream that led to the lake. Larkpaw hurriedly pelted after him, her shorter legs making it difficult to keep up.

They ran along for only a short while before they stopped at a spot near the stream. Sunlight sparkled on the surface of the clear, gurgling water, glistening off a school of fishes' scales that seemed to be in no hurry. Beechfur sat down at the edge of the stream, taking care to make sure that his shadow didn't fall upon the fish below.

Beechfur silently flicked his tail to the space next to him, signaling for Larkpaw to sit down. "You need to be quiet and whisper, otherwise the fish will swim away," Beechfur informed her when she had taken her seat. "Now, just watch what I do for now." Larkpaw nodded to say she understood and prepared to observe her mentor's every slight move.

Beechfur slowly positioned his paw right over the stream and waited. He looked relaxed, but Larkpaw could see that every muscle in his body was tense with concentration. Suddenly, his paw swooped down like an owl on a mouse and splashed the water, sending up shining drops of water that scattered back into the stream. When Beechfur brought his paw out of the stream, a fish was stuck in his claws, flopping around ungainly as it tried to free itself. With a swift bite from Beechfur, near what Larkpaw assumed to be the creature's neck, it was dispatched instantly.

"You have to make sure the fish don't know you're there," Beechfur instructed Larkpaw quietly as he set the fish down. "If it sees your shadow, it will think something's wrong and escape. If it hears you or you move too fast, it will swim away. You must be still, but ready for the strike when a fish comes near you. You also need to time it well so that it doesn't get away or slip right out of your claws."

Larkpaw drank in every word Beechfur told her, trying to remember everything at once as he motioned for her to try. She sat on the edge of the bank, very still with her paw stretched out over the water like she had seen the older warrior do. She felt herself tense, partly because that's what Beechfur had said to do and also in anticipation. She watched the fish intently, hardly daring to breathe as one of them slipped away from the others and started to swim towards her.

Larkpaw waited until the fish was right under her paw before she plunged it down beneath the cold surface of the water, landing squarely on the fish's head. The fish instantly tried to swim away, and Larkpaw thrust her other paw in the water to trap it. The sudden movement made her lose her balance however, and she toppled into the water, still grasping the fish in her paws.

Larkpaw held on to the fish stubbornly as she fell into the cold stream. She could feel the other fish swimming past her in their panic to try and flee, brushing right up against her fur. Luckily this part of the stream was shallow and Larkpaw was easily able to get back onto the bank, dragging the fish she still had in her paws with her.

Once she was on dry land again, Larkpaw bit the fish swiftly like Beechfur had and felt it go limp in her mouth. Larkpaw turned around with her catch held proudly in her mouth only to see Beechfur being racked with uncontrollable laughter in front of her. "Nice catch, Larkpaw," Beechfur finally managed to get out.

"It was my first try!" Larkpaw defended. "No one gets it perfectly their first time." Larkpaw set her fish down with Beechfur's and was slightly dismayed to see how small hers was next to his.

He must have seen her disappointed face, because Beechfur suddenly mewed, "You're right; you did a really good job for your first try. Though, now we'll have to move to a different spot since you scared away all the fish in this area."

"Aren't we going to explore the territory?" Larkpaw asked.

"The Clan needs fresh-kill right now, since we're still healing from greencough," Beechfur told her. "This is the best way to help your Clan for now. Later we'll join a patrol and I'll show you around our territory then." Larkpaw felt a glow of pride within her as Beechfur said "our territory." I'm going to protect the Clan now, too, she thought happily.

Larkpaw followed Beechfur to another spot and started fishing again, with him watching her carefully and pointing out her mistakes. Luckily she didn't fall into the stream for a second time, but then again, she was being extra careful not to. She didn't catch many fish, and it wasn't long before Beechfur suggested going back to camp for a little while.

Larkpaw carried the two fish she had caught that day proudly into camp, with Beechfur right behind her with three. Nettlepaw was sitting in front of the apprentices' den, but he ran over when he saw Larkpaw. "Nice catch!" he praised her.

"Thanks," Larkpaw replied happily, but with the fish in her mouth, it sounded more like "Hankes."

"Larkpaw, take your fresh-kill to the medicine cats, then you can get something to eat for yourself," Beechfur told her. "I'm assuming since Nettlepaw is just standing around that the elders have already been given something to eat?" Nettlepaw's ears seemed to turn red as he hurried to the fresh-kill pile before heading off to the elders' den.

Larkpaw watched him go for a moment, then headed over to the medicine cats' den. Larkpaw paused for a moment before heading in, very nearly running into Willowshine. "Sorry!" Larkpaw exclaimed, which sounded more like "Tharry" with her mouth still blocked like it was.

"It's okay," Willowshine replied after she took a moment to figure out what Larkpaw had said. "Oh, did you bring fresh-kill for us? Thank you, can you set it over there?" Willowshine indicated the place by pointing her tail to an empty area of the den, then continued on her way to the back of the den to the store of herbs.

Larkpaw set down the two fish in the spot Willowshine had told her and looked around. "Where's Mothwing?" she asked Willowshine.

"She's out collecting herbs," Willowshine answered absent-mindedly.

Feeling that she wasn't needed there anymore, Larkpaw silently exited the den and left Willowshine to her work. Scanning the clearing, Larkpaw was disappointed when she didn't spot Stormpaw. She must be out in the territory, Larkpaw decided. Her gaze caught Nettlepaw as he left the elders' den, and she bounded over to him.

Nettlepaw looked up as Larkpaw came over to him. "So, how do you like being an apprentice?" he asked.

"It's great!" Larkpaw replied excitedly. "I caught my first fresh-kill today, but I fell into the stream the first time…I still caught that fish though!" Nettlepaw purred in amusement.

"I did worse," Nettlepaw comforted Larkpaw when her face seemed to fall. "The first time I tried to catch a mouse, it moved and I jumped right into a patch of brambles. I had to ask Graymist to help me out when I got stuck."

"You're right, I think I did much better in comparison," Larkpaw joked.

"Have you eaten yet?" Nettlepaw asked. When Larkpaw shook her head, he added, "There's probably something left on the pile if you hurry."

"Thanks Nettlepaw!" Larkpaw called over her shoulder as she headed over to the fresh-kill pile. On her way, she saw Reedwhisker and Stormpaw enter the camp. Based on the strange and unfamiliar scents clinging to her sister's pelt, Larkpaw guessed that she had seen the borders and other parts of the territory.

"Stormpaw, over here!" Larkpaw yelled from next to the fresh-kill pile. Stormpaw looked around the camp, trying to locate her sister, then ran over when she saw Larkpaw. "How did your first day of being an apprentice go?" Larkpaw asked as she picked a fish off of the top of the pile.

"It was so cool!" Stormpaw informed her sister. "We went around the territory and Reedwhisker pointed out the borders and landmarks. ShadowClan and WindClan sure are smelly, though." As she said this, Stormpaw wrinkled her nose for emphasis. "How about you?"

Larkpaw launched into a full account of her day, including how she slipped into the stream, between bites of her fish. Stormpaw also ate while she listened to her sister's story, her ears pricked. When she had finished speaking, Larkpaw was out of breath. "I think we're going on a border patrol later, too," Larkpaw added as she finished her meal.

"Sounds like fun," Stormpaw told her sister. "I think Reedwhisker's a great mentor. He pointed out a lot of little things that I never would've noticed, like types of trees and ways to tell which direction the camp is if you ever get lost."

"I hope Beechfur teaches me those things too," Larkpaw thought aloud.

"I'm sure he will," Stormpaw replied, nudging her sister playfully. "It'd probably be a good idea to take a nap or something before going on the patrol, too."

"Yeah, you're right," Larkpaw agreed, standing up. "Fishing wore me out," she threw over her shoulder jokingly before pushing into the apprentices' den and heading to her nest. Grasspaw and Beetlepaw were also sleeping, and Pricklepaw was just waking up, but other than that, the den was empty. Larkpaw settled down into her nest and instantly fell asleep without a second thought.

A/N Sorry it took me a little while and that it's so much shorter than the others; I had no idea what to write! I'm not sure if any of that is true about how the cats in RiverClan fish either; I just made it up as I went. Thanks to Shadow for suggesting I write about fishing; good luck on the next chapter! ^.^

~ Fwirl