It was already long past noon, as Gelidpaw took some time to himself, laying comfortably in shade provided by greenery and watching the clanlife go on in front of him. It felt peaceful- almost effortless to see himself as a part of this world. And yet. Gelidpaw couldn't help but let thoughts wander, the nagging memory from earlier today coming back. Brindlepaw's question, the inquiring gaze. Words that weren't exactly an accusation, but didn't provide much comfort either. He felt it in her gaze, in her voice- she still saw him as something of an outsider. And she wasn't alone.

Gelidpaw wondered how much it will take to convince others that he belonged here. At least some of them. He wasn't a fool after all- some will never see him as something other than a useless kittypet.

His mussing was interrupted by a sudden appearance of a familiar muzzle- Redpaw padded towards him, smile as enthusiastic as usual "There you are Gelidpaw. Bluefur is calling for you- we are going for a hunting patrol" the ginger tom mewed, giving black tomcat a confident grin "I may even give you a few

pointers if you get over there fast enough."

"My, what a fantastic encouragement that is" Gelidpaw replied dryly but got up and headed for the camp's entrance.

Bluefur was sitting there as was to be expected- calm and collected as usual she gave a short nod towards Gelidpaw.

"You're here. Good, that means we can be on our way." She looked to Redpaw "You are welcome to join us- even though we'll be probably starting with the basics there is never too much practice. That is if your own mentor didn't have anything in mind for you for this evening."

Redpaw shook his head "No Bluefur, I would be happy to accompany you and Gelidpaw."

"Very well then" Bluefur meowed and gestured for them to follow her as she passed through the entrance.

The forest continued to impress Gelidpaw every time he walked through it- the towering trees, the lush greenery that seemed constantly brimming with lively chippering of woodland creatures. It all felt as it was always calling for him to go and discover it. And now, with this new life he may have finally gotten the chance to do just that.

The three cats quickly reached the sandy hollow. There they settled down for a moment as Bluefur looked a Gelidpaw again "I saw you took interest in hunting methods long before you were actually allowed to become one" she stated openly and not giving Gelidpaw time to respond continued "Although that was quite ambitious of you to attempt honing those skills on your own, you may need to refrain from such activities now. If there is no mentor around to correct you, there surely will be some missteps that will only get harder to unlearn. Do you understand?"

Gelidpaw nodded, a little sheepishly "…Yes"

"Good. For a start let's talk about stalking. While deceptively easy, there are actually few things to watch out for and take into account while stalking a pray- the most important one being, obviously, what kind of pray we are stalking." She took a pause and looked at the ginger tom "Redpaw, what is the difference between a rabbit and a mouse?"

Gelidpaw couldn't help a small scoff at a question, which earned a pointed look from his mentor. But it did seem rather obvious didn't it? Hare was big and round, mouse small with a long tail… though judging from Redpaw's focused gaze and the pause he took before replying the answer may have not been as obvious as Gelidpaw thought.

"Rabbits rely on their sense of hearing and smell- but the mice can feel a cat coming through the ground long before it can smell or see one."

"Very well." Bluefur nodded in approval before looking back at Gelidpaw "So, what would that mean when one is to stalk a mouse?"

Well, there it was. Gelidpaw internally berated himself for taking the answer for granted before, now he had to figure it out or else he will just end up looking like an ignorant mouse brain. After a longer moment he finally had an answer, delivered with only slightly unsure mew.

"…That you need to step very lightly… and watch where you're going…?"

"Exactly" hearing that Gelidpaw released a breath he was holing " Right weight distribution is invaluable- you must put it all in your haunches to tread as lightly as a wind, making no impact on the forest floor. Redpaw, will you please demonstrate?"

Redpaw nodded eagerly and quickly crouched down to a stalking pose, making his way through the sandy floor as quietly as possible.

"Very good Redpaw" gray she cat meowed, though added shortly "Yet still you have some space to improve. You are leaning a little too much to you right side, and remember to keep your tail from grazing the ground or it may cause some rustle."

Gelidpaw watched the calico tomcat trying to commit all the technique and all Bluefur's advice to memory. As to be expected soon enough her attention was back on him.

"Now Gelidpaw, please show me what you're capable of."

Black tom nodded and crouched down before moving forward. He tried remembering all the pointers from earlier, carefully treading through the sands. He felt some strain in the spots covered with scars, but all around he was happy to discover his body responded to it all with relative ease. It was instinctive and just felt right.

"Well, you could pick up a bit more speed." Bluefur's voice had him snap back to reality and sit up almost instantly "But that will come with time and proper training. Your balance seem to be quite on point." She stated and Gelipaw felt a sense of accomplishment as he immediately perked up and walked over to sit beside Redpaw again, who gave him a warm smile, that soon turned into playful grin "Knew you would be a natural. Then again, you don't have all that much weight to worry about, eh?"

Gelidpaw rolled his eyes smirking and snapped back in a hushed voice " That's why you crouch is more impressive. I was expecting half of the forest was going to hear you tumbling through the hollow." That remark ennead him a snort and a light shove.

"Well, I would be happy to see how both of you put the theory into practice." Bluefur called their attention back to her, and Gelidpaw could see a small smile on her muzzle " You both might find something over the Owltree. I would like both of you to catch a wild pray." She meowed and with a nod send them on their way.

The two went through the forest, focused on their tasks. Still, Redpaw eagerly filled the time with explaining to Gelidpaw all the other hunting tricks he has learned thus far

"And with birds you need to be really careful for it not to notice you and be ready to leap at just the rift moment since it will fly up as soon as it notices you getting too close…" he shared in a hushed voice. Gelidpaw did not say much but was happy to listen as the chatter was both interesting and very enthusiastically delivered. However soon he felt his nose was hit with a new scent.

Redpaw felt it too as he immediately stopped mid-sentence and dropped to a crouch "A rabbit" he murmured "They don't usually show up that far into the forest."

At that Gelidpaw crouched down too and began carefully following the trail, scanning his surroundings. And then he noticed it- a faint movement in between the greenery, a shape that resembled two large ears sticking out from behind the bramble. He headed towards it, carefully and quietly, keep his tail up as to not disturb the leaves on the ground. Soon enough he was able to see rabbit's head clearly, as it was grazing on the grass. But then it froze suddenly before standing upright on its hind legs and sniffing the air. And in seconds it sprung forward, and Gelidpaw could hear yowl from behind him "Run after it!"

And so he did- Gelidpaw sprinted after the rabbit, giving it his all. Running through the greenery, closely following in rabbit's footsteps the black apprentice felt strange rush suddenly hit him. He felt weightless, as if he was flying. The scar's didn't ache and muscles all moved smoothly in a rhythm. As if that was all he was ever meant to do- chase. And it felt exhilarating.

The rabbit was now right in front of him- the scent was so strong Gelidpaw could almost taste it. And, as if by some unnatural trick, rabbit jumped and disappeared in the small opening between great oak's roots. Briefly Gelidpaw could hear Redpaw's disappointed grunt behind him but he did not stop running- he dashed with every last bit of strength he could muster and dove forward into the tunnel.

For a moment he could not see anything in underground darkness- but he also didn't need to as he felt the claws catch at something soft, and on instinct extending his neck to quickly deliver a swift bite. He heard a squeal and felt the creature rustling beneath his claws and fangs a little before going limp, as the smell of blood hit his nose. Gelidpaw stayed there for a moment, not moving as if afraid it will wake the rabbit up, letting the rush were off. Then came Redpaw's voice, filled with bewilderment.

" Gelidpaw! For Starclan's sake, are you okay? Are you stuck?! What even was that?!"

Well, he sure hoped he wasn't stuck. That would be rather unfortunate… and embarrassing. Gelidpaw began to rustle his way out of the tunnel while still strongly holding onto the rabbit- that proved somewhat difficult as the rabbit seemed to be only slightly smaller than him. After a while though Gelidpaw managed to regain his freedom and turned around to look up at Redpaw, the rabit hanging from his mouth.

"You- you actually caught it" Redpaw seemed equally amazed and impressed by this fact and that let the small black tom to actually feel the pride and accomplishment wash over him. He did it. He actually caught it, all by himself. He beamed at Redpaw, his fur all messed up and plastered with dust, blood dripping from his mouth. A true picture of accomplishment.

Redpaw laughed brightly at the sight "Well, that will probably be one of the best first hunt stories for the whole clan!" he meowed smiling widely "No rabbits are safe from us now that we can have you squeeze into their dens!" he added jokingly.

And in that moment, right after the hunt with last of sunlight for the day shining through the leaves and Redpaw smiling so brightly at him Gelidpaw felt like he never belonged more.