The three cats loped across the moors; Yarrowflight and Lynxheart slowing their pace so that Mirrorpaw could keep up. The wind whipped their fur, and for a moment, Lynxpaw caught a glimpse of Yarrowflight with her fur blown forward into her face, and had to stifle a laugh.
"What?" Yarrowflight asked, noticing her mirth, and Lynxheart merely shook her head, unable to answer while trying to keep in the peels of laughter.
Finally, they arrived at the Hollow; the larger trees and the walls of the pit protecting them from the howling winds, and Yarrowflight turned to Mirrorpaw. "Alright," she said, "you've play-hunted, right?" When Mirrorpaw nodded, she continued. "I want you to show me your best hunting crouch."
"Okay," Mirrorpaw mumbled, and awkwardly dropped down onto her hindlegs, tucking her front paws beneath her.
Yarrowflight shook her head. "Shift your weight forward some," she instructed, "you want to have your weight evenly distributed, otherwise you'll make too much noise, and your prey will hear you coming foxlengths off."
Mirrorpaw nodded, expression one of intense concentration, and adjusted her position; shifting her weight forward. "Okay," Yarrowflight said, "now, I want you to pretend that I'm a vole, and stalk me, alright? I'll stand over here." She padded her way to the other side of the Hollow, and then called to Lynxheart, "I won't be able to see her with my back turned, so I want you to instruct her, alright?"
"Alright," Lynxheart replied, and nodded to Mirrorpaw. "Whenever you're ready."
Mirrorpaw hesitated for a moment, before carefully padding forward. For a few moment, her gait was almost perfect—then, her tail, flicking from side to side, brushed a twig in front of her path, and she stepped on it with a loud crack. Lynxheart saw Yarrowflight wince.
She cleared her throat. "You've got almost everything right," she praised the apprentice, "but you need to remember your tail—it's an extension of you just as much as your legs or head. Or, at least," she added wryly, "it should be."
"It's okay," Yarrowflight assured the she-cat, "I don't expect you to get it perfect the first time."
"You actually did better than either of us did at first," Lynxheart added with a small laugh. "Try again—remember, this time, make sure you stay aware of your tail."
Mirrorpaw nodded. "Okay," she said, sounding a bit more confident, and fell back onto her haunches for a moment before dropping back into position, carefully raising her tail so that it didn't brush the ground accidentally.
After a few more tries, Yarrowflight turned around, padding over to Mirrorpaw's side. "You've really improved," she praised the apprentice, "we'll try a few more positions, and then I'll have Lynxheart take you hunting—I'd go myself but I have sunhigh patrol today."
"Alright," Mirrorpaw said, brightly, "what's next?"
Yarrowflight and Lynxheart exchanged a glance, and then laughed.
After a few more rounds of demonstration and practice, they decided to wrap up the training session. "Alright," Yarrowflight said, "I'm going to get going back to camp to join the patrol. Thanks for your help, Lynxheart," she murmured as she brushed past, rubbing her cheek against Lynxheart's.
Lynxheart's heart felt fit to burst, and she barely mumbled out, "Of course."
After a few moments passed, Mirrorpaw pipped up, "Lynxheart?"
"Huh? Yeah?" Lyxnheart replied, "is there something wrong?"
Mirrorpaw shook her head. "You just seemed kind of lost in your thoughts," she replied. Lynxheart felt her ears heat.
"Oh. Uh. Right." She shook her head and yawned widely. "Sorry about that. Let's get going before all the prey heads to bed, and you can put your new hunting moves into practice."
That made Mirrorpaw brighten. "Okay!" She bounded up the path out of the Hollow, disappearing over the crest for a moment before her head popped back up. "You coming?"
Lynxheart laughed. "Young'uns," she muttered to herself, feeling suddenly as if possessed by the spirit of an elder, and then called, "just a second!" and began to pad her way out of the Hollow.
They spent a good hour or two hunting; and over the course of it, Lynxheart watched as Mirrorpaw steadily improve in her hunting abilities. By the time the sun had begun to set, they had netted three shrews and a few birds between them, two of the three shrews courtesy of Mirrorpaw.
"Good job," Lynxheart praised the she-cat, "you've done really well. I'll make sure to tell Yarrowflight."
At the mention of her mentor, the other went slightly starry-eyed, and squeaked, "Thanks!"
Lynxheart let out an amused purr. "You'll get used to her eventually," she assured the she-cat, and lead the way to where they had buried the rest of their prey. After digging it up, they made their way slowly but surely towards camp.
When they got through the entrance, the camp was in chaos. Cats were running pell-mell, and Bird was shouting, directing two warriors to bring the body of a yellow and white she-cat into his den. Yarrowflight! Lynxheart realised, her heart dropping, fear coursing through her being. Quickly, she dropped her prey on the prey pile, and rushed to the healer's den.
"Yarrowflight!" she called, voice high with anxiety, and one of the two warriors—Meadowleap, she vaguely registered, came to her side.
"She's going to be alright," the she-cat meowed. "She just has a few head wounds—that's why she's bleeding so much."
Lynxheart let out a sigh of relief. "Thank the Ancestors," she murmured.
A moment later, the trailing ferns parted, and Owlstar entered. "What happened?" she demanded, turning to Meadowleap.
Meadowleap's whiskers twitched. "We were ambushed by two rogues," she meowed. "We managed to fight them off, but they got the better of Yarrowflight at the start, and gave Fincheye a nasty gash."
"What did they look like, do you remember?"
Meadowleap shook her head.
Fincheye, who had lain down in a nest, spoke. "I do," the golden tom said. "One was a large, dark she-cat. The other one was smaller and a grey and black tom."
Bird, who had been tending to him, froze. "Owlstar," he said, gravely, "I fear that these rogues may be connected to the rogue Lynxheart and Yarrowflight apprehended last moon."
Owlstar's gaze sharpened. "That makes sense," she said. "They must have been aiming to kill me to destabilise the clan, but mistook Yarrowflight for me."
Lynxheart shuddered. Meadowleap spoke again. "Surely not," she meowed, "there must be a better explanation...that seems like such a leap."
Bird shook his head. "No, I think that Owlstar's right. Just last night I received a dream from the Ancestors warning me that something grave was about to happen," he said, grimly, silencing any hint of doubt that had been within them.