Marigoldpaw scrambled up the slope, taking occasional glances down at her brother. Hawthornpaw had fallen far behind, compared to Marigoldpaw, and super far down compared to Ivyclaw and Squirrelwhisker. Their mentors were nearly at the top of the ridge they were scaling.

"You suck at climbing," Marigoldpaw jeered jokingly, making sure to stretch her words and inflect them as much as possible so her brother would know she was just playing.

"Well you," Hawthornpaw started, interrupting himself to pull himself up a ledge that jutted out particularly far, "suck at hunting!"

Marigoldpaw gasped in mock shock. "That is so not true!" she mewed, hopping from a rock to another. "You're just better at it than me. Oh, watch your paws, that's a loose bit. Yes, there! Now jump! Good job." She flicked her tail, pleased, and looked down at Hawthornpaw from her perch. When he was close enough, she started up again.

"Enough dawdling," Ivyclaw called down from the top of the ridge. "Come on! We're wasting daylight!"

"I'm going slower so Hawthornpaw doesn't feel so bad," Marigoldpaw mewed innocently, looking up where her mentor was. She jumped suddenly, yelping, as claws hit her tail. "Hey! No fair!"

Hawthornpaw stared up at her, amused, just below her. He'd caught up while she was teasing. "What was that about going slower?" he mewed, giving himself a push and overtaking her for the lead- so to speak, anyway.

They launched into a race, but it really was one-sided; only a few moments later and Marigoldpaw was once again a few tail-lengths ahead of him, and then, finally, at the top. The route had been long, going sideways as much as upwards, but she'd made it. She stood next to Squirrelwhisker and watched as Hawthornpaw scrambled up the last bit.

He almost slipped once at the top, a tumble that would have ended horribly, but she caught him by the scruff of his neck, and with Ivyclaw's help, hauled him up. "Geez," Hawthornpaw muttered. He had his claws out and stuck to the stone. "That was, um, fun."

"It was great!" Marigoldpaw mewed, bumping him very gently with her haunches. He bumped her back, and she said, "What's next?"

"Hunting in groups," Squirrelwhisker mewed. Marigoldpaw and Hawthornpaw's eyes got really wide, and Squirrelwhisker purred. "That's right." They reached down, plucking a mouse from the ground. They'd carried it all the way up here, and now it was time to show why.

"Get behind that rock," Ivyclaw instructed as Squirrelwhisker set the mouse on a large open area of the ridge they were on. They joined the others a moment later, and then it was time to wait.

Marigoldpaw kept her eyes trained on the sky, scanning intently for any large silhouettes. "There," she whispered. Squirrelwhisker shushed her and she pressed herself down further, tensing her muscles for a leap.

The hawk took the bait. Marigoldpaw saw it pull into a dive, heading straight for the mouse Squirrelwhisker had set on the ground. "On my mark," her mentor whispered. "As soon as I say go. Get ready.."

The hawk got closer.

"Almost.."

Marigoldpaw could see it clearly, its dappled feathers and curved yellow beak. It didn't see them. It hit the mouse just as Squirrelwhisker meowed, "Now!" and the four cats jumped out of their hiding spot, leaping on the hawk. It screeched, flapping wildly to get away, but Ivyclaw gave a massive leap on top of it and pinned it, legs spread to hold its wings down.

The hawk flailed, snapping that deadly beak. Hawthornpaw raked claws over its eyes, distracting it long enough for Squirrelwhisker to get under its beak and bite its throat. The hawk when limp.

Marigoldpaw hadn't quite helped in any big way, but she didn't care. They'd did it! They'd taken down a hawk! She and Hawthornpaw looked at each other, the same glee in each other's eyes.

"Good job, both of you," Ivyclaw mewed, stepping off the hawk after Squirrelwhisker made sure it was dead. "Usually for a group hunt you need a minimum of two- More, for bigger birds."

"We're the only Clan that hunts like this, right?" Hawthornpaw mewed, ecstatic.

"Yep," Squirrelwhisker mewed. "I think, anyway. Brushclan and Caveclan use something similar for geese and the like, but we're the only ones who take down hunter-birds."

"That's because we're the best," Marigoldpaw mewed smugly, and Hawthornpaw voiced an agreement.

Squirrelwhisker purred in affection, flicking their tail over Marigoldpaw. "Yes we are. Now, let's head back. I'm sure the elders will like this hawk, and it's too big to cart around anyway."

"Alright," Hawthornpaw and Marigoldpaw mewed together, and then it turned out that there was a much easier way down than they'd been lead to believe. "Oh, seriously," Hawthornpaw mewed upon seeing the slope-and-ledge combination the other side of the ridge had.

"Practice," Ivyclaw mewed, and flicked his ear with her tail. She went down first, with Squirrelwhisker, carrying the hawk, close behind her. Marigoldpaw rolled her eyes at her brother and started down, going slower this time to keep an eye on Hawthornpaw. Down was always trickier than up.

But Hawthornpaw had no incidents worth worrying about, and they made it back to the camp easily. Squirrelwhisker left it up to Marigoldpaw and her brother to deliver the hawk to the elders.

"Hello!" Marigoldpaw called into the elder's den. The den was near the top of the cliff that functioned as Cliffclan's camp. There was only a short slope to get to the top of the clearing, making it perfect for the older cats.

"Who's that? Marigoldpaw and Hawthornpaw?" Hailnose blinked through the light, then stood up and yawned. "And what's that?"

"We had our first group hunt!" Hawthornpaw mewed, pleased. He and Marigoldpaw pulled the hawk into the den, setting it front of the elders. Sorrelflower and Herontail murmured sleepy congratulations; Marigoldpaw suspected the greenleaf warmth was making them lazy.

"It's for you," she put in. "Do you need anything else before we go?"

"Our bedding needs to be cleaned out, actually," Hailnose mewed apologetically.

"Okay! I think we had the rest of mid-day free, so we'll go get bedding for you. It'll be nice, right Hawthornpaw?" Marigoldpaw asked.

"Sure. Save those feathers," he mewed to the elders. "We'll be back soon."

They climbed back to the clifftop and informed their mentors about their new job, and the two sent them on their way, with a warrior escort.

Marigoldpaw liked cleaning out dens, actually. Not the part that was stinky, but she liked collecting the moss and grasses for the nests and putting them together. It felt nice to help out, even if it was technically a job she was required to do. She knew Hawthornpaw only tolerated it, though.

"Cheer up, grumpy," she mewed to him as they clawed up pawfuls of miss growing by the White River. Rushwhisker yawned loudly as he tore up grass from further back. Marigoldpaw flicked an ear at him and nudged her brother.

"I'll cheer up," he meowed theatrically, "when this ordeal is over." He flopped over on his side dramatically, staring up at her with a faux-horrified look.

"Oh, whatever," Marigoldpaw snorted, flicking a pawful of moss at him. He let it land with a long, loud sigh, gazing up at the sky with a sorrowful expression.

"The sooner you stop messing around, the sooner we can eat," Marigoldpaw reminded him, and he sat up immediately.

"True," he mewed grudgingly. He shook the moss from his pelt and swept it into a pile.

It took three trips to the river to collect enough moss and grass for the nests. By that time, the elders had finished the hawk, and the feathers were dutifully saved. Hawthornpaw and Marigoldpaw scraped the old bedding out of the den and then brought the new stuff in, fixing three nests for the elders and tucking the feathers in to make them even more comfortable.

"Can't wait to get to my nest," Hawthornpaw mewed, plumping up Herontail's nest.

"Don't forget to eat," Sorrelflower mewed, settling down into the nest Marigoldpaw had just constructed for him.

"Oh, Hawthornpaw? He would never," Marigoldpaw teased. "A bird would forget to fly before he missed a meal."

"It's true," Hawthornpaw mewed, back to his dramatics. "I am but a glutton." He dipped his head in an exaggerated bow to the elders. "Do you think Starclan could ever forgive me?" he asked piteously.

Hailnose answered him gravely. She was a much better actor than Hawthornpaw; where he fought snickers, she was completely serious. "I don't know, Hawthornpaw," she mewed. "Are you truly sorry?"

He dropped down onto his belly, wailing, "Oh, I want to be! But alas!"

"Second portions," Marigoldpaw put in somberly.

"And thirds," Hawthornpaw agreed. "It's a wonder I can even walk."

"Then I'm afraid it's hopeless," Hailnose mewed. She sounded so truly devastated that Marigoldpaw had to look at her to catch the twinkle in her eye. "Starclan shall never accept you now."

Hawthornpaw made a dramatic sound of heartbreak, rolling over onto his side. "Oh!" he yowled. "I knew those extra mice would come back to bite me!"

"And before even the hawk." Marigoldpaw shook her head in disappointment. "My poor brother… Cursed to roam alone.."

"What's going on here?" a voice at the den entrance mewed. Marigoldpaw turned to see Lightpaw and Darkpaw. "Did Hailnose eat a bad mouse?"

"We're just playing," Hawthornpaw mewed, standing up.

"Oh, alright. We could hear you from up top and Russetfoot sent us to see what was up. Hey, you cleaned the den? Awesome. Now we don't have to. Thanks!" Darkpaw mewed. She did seem genuinely pleased.

"Yeah, no problem," Marigoldpaw mewed, and watched them go.

Hawthornpaw rolled his eyes at Marigoldpaw, and she wrinkled her nose back. He turned to Hailnose. "Thanks for the fun, but I actually am hungry now-"

"Go on, then," Sorrelflower mewed. He sounded amused. "Thanks for the entertainment. You're welcome back here anytime."

"I will come as soon as I need to attone more," Hawthornpaw mewed seriously, and swept by Marigoldpaw. She followed him, waving goodbye to the elders with her tail, feeling familiar affection for her brother fuzzing warmly in her chest.