Uploading early because I won't really have time to tomorrow lmao. School. Ugh. Good news for you guys though, the next THREE chapters are completed. So for the next three weeks you guys won't have a lapse in chapters. I'm still going strong, much to my surprise, and it definitely looks like we are going to finish Into The Wild. :D PLease, enjoy the chapter! And thank you for reading! :3

I hissed in frustration as the rabbit got away from me, tearing after it on sore paws. I hissed at my luck as the rabbit outpaced me and flew up a hill, leaving me in the dust. Yesterday I had been practicing hunting with Mousefur non-stop, and then it was a Dark Forest night. My claws ached at tearing at both moss and fur.

Of course only after doing so much was I to have a hunting assessment. Thankfully, I wasn't to suffer alone, since Firepaw, Graypaw, and Ravenpaw got to be assessed with me. I also got one of the worst hunting spots. It could be argued that Ravenpaw got a bad spot, or even Firepaw, however my space had little to no trees. There were plenty of mice at Snakerocks, and Tallpines had a lot of squirrels.

I was hoping I could swing near Fourtrees and then pass through on my way back to camp, and catch my load then. The rabbit could have been my potential third catch, and I was angry at my lack of prey.

I crouched down when I spotted a small squirrel hopping along the ground. Its tail twitched and it sat up with an acorn in hand, examining it thoroughly. Although I was still a bit far, I only had so much time to stalk it. So I shot off and took chase, and after a moment I victoriously clawed it into my chest. I tucked down and bit into it's throat with a purr and I buried it after catching my breath. If I could catch six pieces before the deadlines I'd be happy.

Halfway there.

After catching a thrush and another squirrel, I was tired and tempted to just go back. However I was determined to at least meet my goal so I pushed on. I started to collect my prey and then picked Owltree to bury them under. I was confident nothing would go after my pile and silently wondered if the clans ate owl.

However after my run in with the hawk, my contentment with attacking birds of prey was slightly low. But still, the curiosity was there.

I stiffened when I heard rustling, and the scent of mouse drifted into my nostrils. My tail went up in excitement, because I was finally catching my break! The moment I dropped into a crouch an owl grabbed onto the mouse with barely a wing beat.

I pounced before I thought and tackled the owl out of the air. Feeling greedy, I kicked the owls throat and stomped on the mouses head. It squeaked, but I was too busy to care about the thought of scaring other prey.

The owl hooted aggressively and it's feathers rose. As they did so I took in the fact that it almost looked like it had ears, and I blinked in surprise. The owl was a Short Eared Owl, which explained the fact why it had been out during the day.

I shrugged off my thoughts and jumped before the owl could take off, and I dragged it to the ground with a proud yowl. I nosed through it's neck feathers and bit down, tasting its blood on my tongue.

It fought me with tosses and flops, but I was latched on like a tick and eventually the owl gave up the fight. I let go and yowled in victory, panting at the physical exertion.

Now I was really tired.

I retrieved my pieces of prey and brought them back to the owl carcass, thinking hard on how to transport everything at once. I was honestly too lazy and tired to want to make two or three trips out.

Eventually I decided on shouldering the owl and flipping it onto my back and stuffing my mouth with the animal tails.

I was the second back, staring intently at both Firepaw and Tigerclaw. Firepaw was sitting with a chaffinch in front of him, and both cats jumped up when the caught sight of me. I spat out my catches and tipped sideways so the owl poured off of my back. I flopped on the ground tiredly.

"You caught an owl?" Tigerclaw commented dubiously, his amber eyes wider than usual.

I lifted my head proudly, "Does it look like one? I caught its prey too."

Firepaw brought his chaffinch over and sat down next to me, "That's amazing!" He complimented, his eyes shining with pride. "I've only caught the normal pieces."

I purred, "Normal or not, they'll feed someone. I'd say be proud of that!"

Tigerclaw hummed and looked around the clearing, "Well said."

Firepaw looked up at Tigerclaw and his ear flipped backwards. He opened his mouth and shut it when Graypaw stepped out of some nearby bushes. The gray tom spat out his squirrel next to Firepaw's catch, "Squirrels are too furry! I'll be picking fur out of my teeth all evening."

His complaint was met with amusement from both me and Firepaw, and Graypaw gaped at my owl, "Wow! That's a great catch alright." His tail flicked, "I think you have everyone's catches beat with that thing."

Tigerclaw ignored Graypaw and lifted his large head, "Ravenpaw is late," He observed, his tail lashing, "We'll give him a bit longer and then we may return to camp."

Firepaw looked at Tigerclaw in surprise, "But what if he's been bitten by an adder?"

"Then it's his own fault," Tigerclaw hissed, "There is no room for fools in Thunderclan."

I found myself agreeing, but I kept my mouth firmly shut. I did not want to start any sort of argument with my opinion.

Everyone waited in silence, and Graypaw and Firepaw exchanged glances. I rolled my eyes and opened my mouth to scent the air, silently noting the black apprentices approach.

I stayed where I was but Firepaw leapt to his feet, and everyone watched Ravenpaw jump into the clearing. I got up in alarm at the snake in his mouth, curling my lip at it distastefully.

After I realised that the reptile was quite dead, I settled back down and observed it from afar. After all, Ravenpaw seemed pleased for once and I wasn't going to ruin that with my dislike of reptiles.

"Are you okay?" Firepaw questioned Ravenpaw, leaning over to sniff him.

"You weren't bit were you?" Graypaw added, looking intently at the dead body dangling from Ravenpaw's mouth.

The apprentice purred and he straightened, "I was too quick for it!" I almost snorted but stopped myself. I was unsurprised that he could avoid being bitten. He was as jumpy as a rabbit with anxiety.

Tigerclaw said nothing after he met Ravenpaw's eyes, and he jerked his head, "Let's collect the rest of your prey and go back to camp. Redpaw, since you've already gathered yours you may go back to camp early."

"Understood," I nodded calmly, but on the inside I was cheering. The faster I got back to camp the faster I could drop into a damn nap. Tigerclaw snorted, as I'm sure he could tell of my excitement, but he led the trio of apprentices in my opposite direction.

I silently thanked him for taking pity on me and not dragging me around the territory with an owl on my shoulders. I took my time going back to camp and the owl weighed me down tremendously.

I took a different way down into camp, knowing that if I tried the usual way I would find myself a fine splatter of cat on one of the rocks at the bottom. It took a while again, but I held back a yawn as I finally got into camp.

I ran into Mousefur and Longtail as I got into the camp, and my mentor blinked at me in shocked content. "Looks like a great haul!" She complimented, eyeing the owl settled on my back.

Longtail agreed and they both watched me as I proudly trotted over to the fresh kill pile. I dropped all the smaller pieces and kept the owl on my back, wondering on where I should bring it to.

I decided on the elders den, and I was met with shocked meows of appreciation. Smallear purred loudly when he saw it, "It's been many moons since I've eaten an owl." He told me, starting to pluck at the bird, "The last time one was caught was by Sunstar and Tawnyspots."

I blinked at the names since I didn't recognize them and Dappletail helpfully added onto the information, "Sunstar was the leader before Bluestar, and Tawnyspots was the deputy. It took the two of them to bring one down, granted it had been much bigger than this one. Impressive for your age though."

I preened and settled down near the elders, helping them pluck feathers off the owl. The feathers were neatly organized into a pile by me, and there were a ton of them. I started plucking the feathers on the wings off while the elders started their feast.

The carcass was just about picked clean, and part of me felt annoyed at not being able to try any. I really enjoyed bird meat and was slightly eager to try some owl. The other part didn't care all that much, because I couldn't stop thinking about Firepaw's chaffinch and my own thrush.

After they ate the elders helped me bring the feathers into the clearing, and they turned down keeping anymore. One-eye flicked me over the nose with her tail, "We still have the feathers from your last few catches. If our nest's get any softer we won't get up!"

I purred and shoved the last few feathers into the pile. I spotted my brother, Graypaw, and Ravenpaw chatting near the tree stump that the apprentices usually ate at and with a blink I noticed that Ravenpaw had wrapped the adder around the stump.

I bade goodbye to the elders and made my way over, seamlessly cutting into their conversation. "The owl feathers are right there if anyone wants to soften up their nest." I purred, settling in between Firepaw and Graypaw.

Graypaw pushed a pair of chaffinches in front of me and I got to plucking, "I don't understand how you like birds so much." He commented, licking his muzzle clean of mouse, "That's so much work so get so little meat."

I hummed in slight agreement, "On the bright side the feathers are good for nest's, and I personally like the taste of bird meat. Besides," I added, nudging Graypaw playfully with a paw, "Didn't I tell you when we met that I wasn't a mouse type of she-cat?"

Graypaw snorted but purred, "Sure you did. Had you ever even tried a mouse still?"

"Yup." I meowed, popping the 'p', "It was alright I guess. Wouldn't eat another unless I had no choice."

Graypaw hissed and stretched, "I just can't understand that. Fresh mouse tastes amazing. There's nothing better!"

I huffed in amusement, noting that Firepaw and Ravenpaw dropped into their own quiet conversation, "I beg to disagree you fluffball. Maybe if you weren't so lazy to pick feathers, you'd know why you were wrong."

Graypaw only shrugged. Not saying anything to defend himself. I turned my head in the direction of pawsteps and watched Tigerclaw approach and he nodded at me. I nodded back and glanced back at Firepaw.

"Bluestar wants to see you, young Firepaw." Tigerclaw meowed smoothly. My tail twitched at his tone of voice. It seemed satisfied.

"Okay." Firepaw blinked and stood, his ear folded back curiously. He flicked his tail at us and he walked over to Bluestar, who was sitting in front of her den.

I looked at Tigerclaw and narrowed my eyes thoughtfully, "If you hadn't seen, the feathers are up for grabs right now. I'd snatch some before they're gone."

The tabby snorted and rolled his eyes. He turned and started to walk away, "Doubtful," He tossed over his shoulder. "That was a large catch."

I blinked at the hidden compliment and shrugged it off breezily, turning back to my unstarted meal. I was about to take a bite when I noticed Ravenpaw was staring at me in shock, "What?"

Ravenpaw shook his head slightly and then ducked it, "Nothing."

I ignored his odd reaction and quickly ate, and after I finished I added my small feathers to the pile of owl feathers that were still many. I snagged a mouthful of the big ones and went back to the apprentices den, waving my tail at Graypaw and Ravenpaw.

T'was time for a nap.

Before I drifted off to sleep, I heard a victorious yowl that had me on my feet. I looked to the entrance of the den and spotted Graypaw on his hind legs rearing up. I rolled my eyes and walked over, poking my head out of the den. "Can you guys be quiet? Trying to nap here."

Graypaw dropped to fours and grinned at me, "Sorry about that you lump. We'll try not to disturb your rest."

I snorted and glared at him, "I caught an owl. I deserve to sleep."

Firepaw smiled then, though it was a tad apologetic, "You're going to have to sleep later. We were chosen for the gathering."

I moaned pathetically.