"Wait, wait. Now!" whispered Mistyfoot to Featherpaw. Featherpaw fell into a crouch. Placing her weight on her haunches, she inched towards the mouse. The mouse's whiskers twitched. Featherpaw extended her paw for another step. The mouse sensed her movement and began to run away but Featherpaw pinned the mouse to the ground and delivered the killing bite.
"Well done! You need to practice you crouch a bit more but it's coming along well!" praised Mistyfoot. Featherpaw let out a purr of pride.
"Let's go to the river and practice hunting fish since you seem capable of catching plenty of mice."
Featherpaw buried the mouse and scampered on ahead of Mistyfoot. "Come on! Deputies aren't slow and lazy, hurry up! I told Stormpaw that I could catch twice as much prey as he could. He just batted me with his tail and told me that he knew a challenge when he saw one. He said that he would try and catch more prey than me!"
"Slow down!" Mistyfoot laughed. "You'll be able to catch plenty of prey today. The Elders will surely be pleased with your efforts."
The two cats moved on through the trees. A warm breeze rustled the branches. Mistyfoot noticed leaves falling from the tree tops, the first touched by leaf-fall's wind. This was just another change in the season but she also sensed that another change, for good or for bad, was coming to the forest.
"Let all those cats old enought to catch their own prey join here for a clan meeting!" cried Leopardstar from the camp's center. Once the Clan's cats were gathered, Leopardstar began.
"Tomorrow is a Gathering. Nothing has happened recently to make me worried but there must still be percausion. WindClan, ThunderClan, and ShadowClan have remained quiet for the past moon. Let us hope that this is a good sign. However, we must still be warry. Blackclaw, Shadepelt, and Loudbelly will stay and guard the camp. The apprentices, Dawnpaw, Featherpaw, Stormpaw, and Runningpaw will come to the Gathering. That is all."
The cats dispersed to the dens and returned to sharing tongues. Mistyfoot was worried. Leopardstar might have been greatly affected by the Clan's battle against Tigerstar and BloodClan but she paranioa was not normal. She was about to return to the warrior's den when she heard Leopardstar call.
"Mistyfoot, may I have a word?"
She turned and padded over to the leader's den and stepped in. Leopardstar lay wearily at the back of the den. Her face was controrted with worry, a sad sign left her mouth.
"What's wrong?" asked Mistyfoot. "Leopardstar?"
"StarClan has spoken. What they said did not comfort me." Leopardstar lifted her head and looked Mistyfoot right in the eye. "They spoke to me about you. They spoke of a great danger, something that could destroy our clan and all the others. StarClan warned me that you would become a part of this and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. What you will be a part of, I do not know. What ever it is, Mistyfoot, I want you to be ready. You are on your own, I cannot help you anymore than I already am."