Hey! sorry for the wait! I was working on my other story which is more important in my opinion.

Chapter 10

Echopaw slipped through the widely spaced trees, her jaws open to pick up any scent of prey. The sun was just starting the rise in a clear blue sky and a playful breeze ruffled her whiskers. She had been in SkyClan for about a moon and Hailstorm was giving her an assessment, her first assessment.

Stormpaw had gotten along with the Clan so well that she had been made a warrior a few days ago, much to the pleasure of Falconcry and her new friend, Creamcloud. She was now Stormsong, respected by the Clan as a skilled hunter and fierce fighter.

Echopaw grumbled under her breath, Stormsong had practically ignored her since they joined the Clan, she had been too busy with either Falconcry or her mentor, Foxflame. She would often think there was no more Storm, she had been replaced with Stormsong.

At least I get along with Rainpaw, she thought. The slim silver she-cat had quickly become her best friend, they just loved training together, though Rainpaw liked to compete a little too much during training.

Echopaw had come to dread training alone with Hailstorm. The white flecked tom acted just fine when they were with other cats, but when they were alone he'd spit at her whenever she made one tiny mistake.

She knew it would be best to tell some cat, about his behavior, but somehow she didn't feel that any cat would believe her, so she kept Hailstorm's meanness to herself. Echopaw wondered how long until she became a warrior, Rainpaw said about four moons, but she didn't believe it would take that long.

She shook away her thoughts and concentrated on hunting, which was her task. She looked up at the ash trees that surrounded her, their green leaves rustling loudly in the light breeze. Part of her assessment was to catch a bird in the trees.

She shivered, that would be the hardest part. She preferred to stalk her prey, hiding until the last moment when she pounced. Stormsong had adjusted to the trees, but Echopaw still felt insecure with her paws off the ground.

Sniffing the air, she caught the scent of squirrel from up ahead. Keeping herself down-wind, she slipped through the tall grass that was still wet with dew which soaked her pelt. Stalking silently, she spotted the brown squirrel a few tail-lengths away from her.

Stalking closer, she used the tall grass as cover until she was a tail-length away. Tensing her muscles, she saw the squirrel lift its head up, its tiny nose quivering. It turned to run away, but it was too late. She leaped before it had gone more then one hop and lifted her head proudly, the squirrel dead in her jaws.

Dropping the squirrel in a small flowery bush, she looked up into the trees. I have to do it, she thought with a twinge in her belly. Shakily, she climbed an old ash tree, digging her claws into its soft bark as she scrambled up to the first branch.

Swaying on the branch that bounced a little under her weight, she dug her claws into it tightly to regain balance. With her tail lashing, she narrowed her eyes and let herself sway with the branch, straightening as she felt herself moving naturally with it.

Sighing, she scooted along the branch to the end of the branch. She spotted a robin in the neighboring tree, she'd have to leap across. Luckily for her though, the branches almost intercrossed so she wouldn't have to jump far.

Sliding her paws on the white bark, she prepared herself with a few running steps before leaping. Her paws hit the wood, but they slipped and she ended up hanging by her front claws. She heard a smirking chuckle and knew Hailstorm was watching her struggle.

Pure anger gave her the strength to haul herself back on the branch. She panted and was trembling a little from the near fall. Shaking her fear away, she looked for the robin. It had been startled by her struggle and was on the other side of the tree now.

Sliding around the tree, she used the leaves for cover, but was careful she didn't touch them to alert the bird. When she was a branch away from the bird, she leaped. It took off with a startled caw, but she snagged its wing and quickly finished it off.

Carefully, she made her way back down the tree, sighing with relief when her paws touched the firm ground. Padding back to the flower bush, she grabbed the squirrel and tilted her head back to carry the two large pieces of prey.

"Not bad," a gruff mew startled her from behind. Turning awkwardly, she glimpsed Hailstorm's sharp blue eyes. "Come on, back to camp," her mentor ordered.

Echopaw nodded, unable to respond with her jaws full of prey. Slipping into camp behind her silver mentor, she dropped her prey on the fresh-kill pile and then looked around the camp.

Nightpaw was dozing outside of the apprentices den, somehow, his sleeping figure captivated her for a moment.

Brightwillow, who was a dappled tortoiseshell and white queen with golden eyes, was grooming her kits outside of the nursery.

Dappledrose, a long-furred white she-cat with brown dappled spots and dark green eyes, and Mistcloud, a pale silver and white she-cat with dark blue eyes, were sharing tongues by the warriors den.

While Paleheart, a pale tawny she-cat with green eyes, and Wolfheart, a glossy silver and black tom with green eyes, scrounged around the fresh-kill pile.

Cinderstar was talking with Stonefoot outside of her den with Hailstorm. Probably reporting on my assessment, would he lie to make me look bad? She didn't think so, Hailstorm was a proud cat, he would never risk his place in the Clan by lying to his leader.

Echopaw padded over to Nightpaw, the long-furred black tom looked up as she neared him, but didn't say anything as she sat down beside him. "Its so quiet today," Echopaw murmured, the sun shined bright and warm overhead but the breeze was cool enough to keep it from being hot.

"Yeah, I wonder where every cat is," Nightpaw mewed, sitting up and gazing around the camp.

"There were a lot of patrols today, maybe that's where they all are," Echopaw suggested quietly. She always felt a little weird around Nightpaw, there was always a tingle in her paws and her heart beat fast. She wasn't sure why.

"Well, with Brightwillow's kits becoming apprentice's today, maybe Cinderstar wanted there to be enough for a feast so she sent out a lot of hunting patrols," Nightpaw mewed, glancing at her sideways through his ice-blue eyes.

Echopaw turned her head to look at him, "Brightwillow's kits are being apprenticed?" she asked, surprised.

"Yeah, Stonefoot told me about it this morning. That reminds me, how did your assessment go?" Nightpaw asked. His curiosity warmed her.

"I think it went well, I caught a squirrel and then caught a robin in the ash tree grove near the RiverClan border," she answered proudly.

"You were able to catch a robin in the trees? Did you fall?" Nightpaw's eyes widened in fake shock.

Echopaw rolled her eyes at his teasing. When they had been training together once she had fallen out of a tree, three times. "No, I didn't fall," she snorted, raising her chin proudly.

Nightpaw narrowed his eyes, "you almost fell though, didn't you."

Echopaw dropped her head, "yes," she muttered, trying to ignore his cackle of laughter. She turned her head away from him, trying not to let him see her embarrassment.

"Oh, come on, I didn't mean it like that. Look, any non-Clan born cat would find it hard, you're doing very well," Nightpaw purred, laying his fluffy tail across his shoulders. She sighed, enjoying his pelt next to her for a few moments until he pulled away.

She stood up as Hailstorm marched over to her, "come on, lets do some battle training before the ceremony," he growled with a jerk of his head. Echopaw glanced at Nightpaw who just nodded at her before greeting his own mentor that had joined them.

She followed Hailstorm obediently out of camp, following him as he led her in a direct route to the soft, grassy hollow where they did most battle training. She padded into the hollow, the grass soft and a little springy under-paw.

"Okay, Echo, lets try a few special SkyClan moves," Hailstorm mewed, he always used her rogue name when they were alone. "I'll use your Clan name when you've earned it," his growled words echoed in her head.

She shrugged it off as Hailstorm demonstrated a move. He climbed onto a tree and balanced on a thin branch. "Ready?" he called.

"Ready!" she answered, knowing that meant he was telling her to watch carefully. Hailstorm slid down the tree, his paws skidding on the rough bark of the oak tree. When he was half-way down the trunk, he sprung off the trunk and landed almost directly in front of her, covering nearly half the clearing in his long leap.

"That's called the 'trunk spring' its usually used to escape from your enemies if you're surrounded," Hailstorm explained. Echopaw nodded, memorizing Hailstorm's moves in the demonstration. "You can try it anytime," Hailstorm growled.

Echopaw jumped and padded nervously over to the tree. Climbing up carefully, she swung herself onto the branch Hailstorm had been on. Narrowing her eyes, she crouched behind a bunch of leaves and thought for a second about what she would have to do.

Letting her paws slip along the bark on the side of the tree, she let herself slide down to about where Hailstorm had been. Then she pushed off with her legs, concentrating all of her power and energy on that one movement.

She felt herself sail through the air, the wind rushing through her fur and the wide blue sky overhead. Then she saw the ground, rushing up to meet her. Bracing herself, she hit the ground heavily with her front paws.

She stumbled, but stayed upright and turned to look at Hailstorm who was watching her, his blue eyes looked slightly surprised. "Not bad, but you lost balance when you landed," he growled, stalking over to her.

She dipped her head, it was enough to know she had surprised him. "Next, we can try the 'Branch Swing," Hailstorm mewed. He padded back to the tree and scrambled up it, stopping on one of the lower, thicker branches.

He tensed for a moment and then grabbed the branch with his front claws and swung down the rest of his body. His back claws sliced through the air rhythmically, then he pulled himself and stood, looking down at her expectantly.

She stared at him, her mouth agape. That's basically what I did this morning and I almost fell off! How can I do that?! But she was determined not to let her mentor insult her about being scared, so she squared her shoulders and then climbed up next to Hailstorm.

Inching along the branch, she dug her claws tightly into the branch and then swung down. Her muscles strained to keep herself from swinging back and forth and she panted as she churned her back paws, claws unsheathed.

"Good, now climb back on," Hailstorm ordered from above her. Clenching her teeth, she tried to drag herself back up, but she couldn't and she gave up, hanging on the branch limply, her claws slipping slowly.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Hailstorm asked irritably. She didn't answer and he growled. "Just get back on the branch!' Hailstorm snapped.

"I CAN'T," she yelled up at him in frustration. He just snorted and padded to where her paws were. Is he going to push me off? She thought in horror. But then she felt surprise tingle through her as Hailstorm grabbed her by the scruff and gently lifted her back onto the branch.

"T-thanks," she stuttered, staring at her mentor. Hailstorm just shrugged, turning his face away from her so she couldn't read his emotion.

"We'll practice on that move, as your not SkyClan, these moves will be harder for you to learn," Hailstorm's voice went back to its normal mocking tone.

She nodded, watching him closely. "Anyway, we can try the 'reverse back swing' instead," Hailstorm mewed. She watched as his back claws dug into the bark and he leaned down, his front claws swiping the air in perfect rhythm.

She tried to copy him, but it was hard enough just to stay on the branch. Straining her muscles, she leaned down while struggling to keep her back paws from slipping forward. After a few tries, she was able to do it well enough for Hailstorm.

Sitting back on the branch she panted, her head bent down while she tried to catch her breath. "Hey! You didn't fall out of the tree!" a voice yowled from behind her. Startled, she tried to whirl around but her paws slipped and she fell off backwards.

Letting out a cry she landed with a heavy thump on her side a few fox-lengths below the branch. She let out a soft cry as pain lanced through her body. "Hey? Are you okay?" Nightpaw's black face appeared above her.

Getting back the breath that had been knocked out of her, she rocked to her paws, swaying slightly as light danced at the edges of her vision. "Y-yeah," she mewed shakily, shivering despite the warm sun.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Nightpaw purred laughingly, picking up some prey he must have dropped.

She scowled at him, "you didn't scare me, I was just trying to get down fast," she snorted.

"And hedgehogs fly," Nightpaw mumbled around his prey. She grumbled under her breath as Hailstorm joined her.

"We'll work on your tree skills more tomorrow," he mewed with a disapproving glance. Echopaw glowered at him, but dropped her gaze as she saw Stonefoot standing at the top of the hollow, obviously waiting for his apprentice.

"Come one, we're going to be late for the ceremony," Stonefoot mewed as they joined him. Then he led them at a run back to camp. Echopaw concentrated on running quickly and smoothly through the forest, her body weaving between the trees and dodging scattered rocks, one day I'll show every cat what I'm made of…just not in trees!

...

So, Echopaw is having a little trouble with trees... and she'll have new den-mates next chapter! yay! but, I want you guys to tell me if I should describe all the cats, it takes extra time and their descriptions are in the allegiances, but what do you guys want? is it just easier if I tell you guys in the story or not?