A/N: Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry for not posting! My schedule is getting severely crammed very fast and I couldn't find the time to write a new chapter. Sorry!

Thank you for reading my fanfiction, and here we go!


Dark's voice interrupted my thoughts. "Rabbit, eh? I prefer mouse, but it'll do."

"So you come over here only to steal my prey?" I asked playfully.

"Well, it depends—how tasty is the rabbit?"

"You're terrible." I shook my head and pushed the rabbit toward him.

"Ah, but I'm not, seeing as I help you learn to walk." he said in between mouthfuls. "That reminds me… we could start training again today by that birch you practiced on yesterday. I believe Ferntail would be up to the task of helping you. After a few moons and you nail walking, we could start hunting."

I shrugged. "Perhaps. But that won't be until ages. Plus, may I point out, I wouldn't be able to catch a mouse if it came over and lay down on my paws."

Dark's eyes widened. "No, you would! You have a mouth, right? Oh, this is giving me plans for future lessons!"

"Well, the future is later. For now, we need to finish off this rabbit." I dug into the light brown rabbit with Dark, his mind swirling with ideas for the future, plans for the present in mine.

Have I mentioned Dark eats like a deformed rat? The insides of his meal land everywhere, and in the end his muzzle is stained black on his dark gray fur. It's disgusting, but I deal with it because he's my friend (and pretty much only one). Dark's pretty fast too. He scarfs down any piece of prey you give him in a split second, and asks for seconds—oh, don't think I'm saying I eat daintily, but I do compared to him.

"So, training at the tree?" he asked after we had finished our breakfast.

I nodded. "Sure. You go grab Ferntail and I'll meet you there."

I set off for the forest, slowly but surely. I could hear scuffling in the bushes, courtesy of the mice and squirrels who lived on the large, sloping, hilled forest. Even this was training for my two legs. I stopped at the birch.

I don't know what made me do it. Maybe it was my newly found confidence from yesterday's lesson, maybe the fact that my legs weren't yet sore, I don't know. It just happened, when the single word popped into my head: climb. And so I did.

I climbed as far as I could on to the silver tree's branches, all the way to the top. It wasn't a tall tree, mind, but tall enough for me to get stuck—perhaps five or six full fox-lengths.

The first thing that came to me when I reached the top was the wave of pride I felt. It absorbed me, and before I knew it I was cheering. The next thing was fear. I had stopped mid-cheer and was gazing down at the ground. I'd never been this high before. I clung to one of the branches as tight as possible.

"And she should be waiting at the trunk of the tree…" I heard Dark before I saw him, but I knew what to do.

"HEY! DARK! Up here!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.

I saw his dark figure stop. "How'd you make it up there? It's only been a day of training! That's amazing!"

I glared at him. "Ahem, last I checked, being stuck up here wasn't something to cheer about." I had realized this about a minute after I had gotten trapped in the birch.

"Sorry. Um, how far can you climb down from there? Can you reach that branch?" He pointed to a long, thick limb about five tail-lengths away.

"If not, try climbing to that one!" shouted Ferntail from beside Dark, directing her tail at another slender branch around three tail-lengths away from me.

"Maybe.." I reached a black paw out to her branch, stretching from my post on the top of the tree. Dragging myself forward with that paw, I pulled my other leg forward and was then safely on Ferntail perch.

"Now try the one I pointed out!" called Dark.

I nodded and tugged myself forward to the silvery white limb, landing on my destination precisely.

I heard Dark whisper to Ferntail, "This should be a lesson within itself!" He then turned back to me. "Try that one!"

Branch by branch I slowly made my way down, until my paws felt the soft moss that covered the land in front of the birch.

"Land at last.."

"That was a good lesson, and it took a good chunk of our day away. Do you want to continue training till sundown?" Ferntail asked, checking me for cuts and scratches, her plumy tail whisking behind her in concern.

"I'll get checked by the medicine cats, that's what they're for! And yes, I'd like to stay out here as long as possible." I answered, shaking my pelt and shoving her away.

The rest of the day was filled with the encouraging shouts of my friend and sister, until the moonrise had started and Ferntail had taken notice.

"We'd better head back. It's getting very late. Star, make sure to get yourself checked by Flamewhisker and Petalpaw, and great job climbing that tree—though it took awhile to get down."

I had settled in my warm, soft nest after being looked over by the medicine cats, and dreams soon engulfed my thoughts.


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