Hi guys! I'm figuring to call these warrior ancestors Fallenclan. After all, who says that a Starclan in a different place has to be called Starclan? Tell me what you think in the reviews!
I think I got some of the hunting poses wrong. Tell me if I get them wrong.
The following, day, Hazelpaw shook herself as she approached the Stream of Emotions with her siblings and their mentors, except for Duskwatcher. Wake up, she told herself crossly.
The bush she had slept under last night had actually been a little comfy. In fact, she had felt happy, comforted by the warmth of her siblings around her.
"Look, Hazelpaw! The Stream of Emotions looks so pretty!" exclaimed Ivypaw.
It was true. The stream reflected the morning sun, making the water look red and pink.
"Isn't that the Forest of Blood?" Lionpaw pointed with his tail towards a meld of large, leafless trees. Some plants in a certain area still had red flowers, probably the red dot the apprentices had seen yesterday.
"Yes, it is," answered Lightstripe from where she sat. Her ears were pricked, and her shoulders were tensed. "Keep an eye out for prey. We'll need it in this cold leaf-bare."
Gingerpaw shifted uneasily. "But we don't know how to hunt."
Ivypaw ignored all the cats with her. "Why's the lake still unfrozen even though it's so cold?"
Silentstrike bent down to lick the tortoiseshell's ear. "We don't know. It must be the gift of our warrior ancestors to allow RainClan to fish here always."
"RainClan?" Daisypaw had bounded over.
Meanwhile, Lightstripe was paying attention to Gingerpaw.
"You don't know how to hunt?" she asked, shocked. "I thought you could, since we found you in the forest. Well, I can show you. This is my best mouse hunting pose."
Lightstripe flattened her belly fur against the ground. Gingerpaw copied her.
"Pay attention to us if you want to learn how to hunt! You'll need to learn if you want to survive," the gray tabby yowled at the others.
Daisypaw blinked. "Sorry." She got down into a crouch as well. "Silentstrike was just telling me and Ivypaw about RainClan."
"RainClan?" Hazelpaw asked, crouching as well. Her brown fur intermingled with Daisypaw's white pelt.
"The Clan that lives across the river. According to Silentstrike, they like to eat fish and frogs." Daisypaw shivered. Hazelpaw could feel it.
"Who likes to eat frogs anyway?" murmured Daisypaw.
"What can you scent?" asked Lightstripe.
Blackbird snorted. "Nothing but the snow and the wind. And that stink of RainClan behind us."
Hazelpaw had almost forgotten about her mentor.
"Taste the air," Lightstripe advised all the apprentices.
Hazelpaw narrowed her eyes. "Taste?"
Grasspelt nodded. He opened his mouth. "Like this. Let the wind glide over your tongue."
All the apprentices followed. Lightstripe, Blackbird and Silentstrike did it too.
"I can scent all those things Blackbird listed," Lionpaw commented. "And something else."
Hazelpaw could identify that too. "It smells musty. But nice-smelling."
"Mouse!" Grasspelt's eyes flashed. He vanished among the trees, and reappeared soon with a small fuzzy creature dangling in his jaws.
"Blackbird," he called, pushing the mouse towards the black tom. "Would you take this to the fresh-kill pile?"
The black-furred cat nodded and took the mouse in his jaws; he sped away to the clearing soon after.
"I'm glad he's gone," muttered Daisypaw. Hazelpaw nodded agreement, while the remaining warriors exchanged relieved looks. Clearly they had planned this.
The rest of the apprentices didn't react. They probably hadn't heard Daisypaw.
Ivypaw, for one, was definitely too far away to hear. "Look at all these fish in the water," Hazelpaw heard her whisper.
"Pay attention, Ivypaw," Lionpaw told her, gently swiping a paw across the tortoiseshell's fur.
"Like I said, this is my best method for hunting mice," Lightstripe called.
She stalked stealthily through the leafless trees, looking as if she was hardly putting any weight on her gray paws. Then, she waggled her haunches and sprang onto a mound of snow, scattering the white, cold stuff everywhere.
The gray tabby shook her fur. "Brrrr, it's cold."
"Did you get that?" Grasspelt mewed to Daisypaw. Hazelpaw knew why. Lightstripe was Daisypaw's mentor, and the white cat should have been paying attention.
Apparently, she had. Daisypaw copied Grasspelt, parting her jaws. She closed her mouth and her eyes flashed.
Quickly, she got into a crouch and advanced on something. As Daisypaw had done, Hazelpaw let the wind glide over her tongue, and tasted the scent of mouse once again. At once, the brown she-cat spotted the thin creature nibbling at seeds underneath a barren tree.
Hazelpaw's sister sprang and landed on the mouse, looking triumphant as she held the mouse down with her paw. Claws emerged, and the brown creature let out a final shriek before it was cut off abruptly.
Silentstrike nosed the white she-cat. "Well done. Your first kill."
Lightstripe looked delighted to have her apprentice catch her first prey. Daisypaw's siblings crowded around, pressing against her and whispering congratulations.
"Let's see if you can find your own prey," Grasspelt suggested.
All five apprentices dashed off in five different directions. Hazelpaw could hardly breathe, and not just from her run. She was about to catch her first prey!