Chapter Two
Stormflower woke up, sensing that it was near sunset. What kind of mentor would she be if she slept in all day like a kittypet? Stormflower padded over to Poppyfire, who was Clan deputy. "So, have you decided who's going on the hunting patrol, Poppyfire?"
"Yeah; you can go if you want, along with Tawnyrose, Silverfeather, and Yewstripe." Tawnyrose was Stormflower's best friend in SpringClan; they were almost sisters, in fact.
As for Silverfeather, Stormflower didn't like her much. Silverfeather was so rude and thought highly of herself. The she-cat even had her eye on Falconclaw, Stormflower's brother! Yewstripe was Silverfeather's "friend", though she wasn't treated like it. Yewstripe always did what Silverfeather did and always liked what Silverfeather did. It was such a shame, though, for a clanmate to treat another like a slave.
Stormflower met up with the other three cats near Tallpine at the camp's center. "Ah, you've finally decided to get off your lazy hauches and support your Clan," Silverfeather cooly commented.
"Oh, and I see you've gotten much nicer today," replied Stormflower. Silverfeather snorted in disagreement.
"Let's get going!" , chirped Tawnyrose.
"Who said you were leader?" , snapped Silverfeather. All was quiet, until Stormflower spoke up for her friend.
"Silverfeather, you are so rude and short-minded sometimes. All you think about is yourself, mostly, and maybe you care some about Yewstripe. Why are you so mean, you fat, bloated kittypet!"
The foursome was silent, but Stormflower could've sworn she heard a slight hiss come from you-know-who. The hunting patrol marched out of camp, heading towards Furbald Flats. The ground was still damp from last night's rain some; this bothered Stormflower. A big, fat oak marked the entrance to the Furbald Flats area.
One unique thing about the Flats was that the edge of it was higher than the middle. This resulted in a slight wall where if any below cats in Crookedtail Pass tried to peer onto the Flats, they wouldn't be able to see the cats above.
Stormflower veered away from the main group, enroute to the pond area on the Flats. Voles, mice, and squirrels would gather around the pond, which had trees that gave forth nuts, weeds, and home space around itself.
Stormflower thought , "Oh, yes! I scent a whole family of mice." The she-cat crouched down, trying to find out where all the mice lived. If she trapped them together, she'd have a better chance of catching them than if she just tried to spring for them at the same time.
An oak had a tiny burrow in it, probably not much bigger than Stormflower's head, if even. Mice felt you before scenting you, Stormflower remembered her mentor telling her. Stormflower whipped around and cornered the mice. Even though she had to creatively position her paws, she was able to kill all five mice. While three were babies, they would do.
Stormflower trotted back to the big oak, where they, the hunting patrol, were supposed to meet before going back to camp. Silverfeather returned with a vole, while Yewstripe returned with a thrush. Tawnyrose came promptly with a vole also.
"I bet Yewstripe caught that vole for that slimy piece of cat droppings," snorted Tawnyrose quietly. "I heard that!" , Silverfeather hissed. "Well, then you know where we stand," Tawnyrose replied.
When they were apprentices, Silverfeather and Yewstripe worked together on their final apprentice assessment. Tawnyrose caught Yewstripe giving Silverfeather one of two water voles; Tawnyrose told her mentor, Eagletalon, about it, and he held off Silverfeather's warrior ceremony as a result.
When back at camp, the hunting patrol deposited their fresh-kill on the pile and went their ways. An owl hooted, and the moon shone brightly. It was a beautiful night, but nothing would prepare them…..for the next day.