AN: Hey everybody, surprise, surprise, we have another chapter! I was on a roll and this is a pretty big chapter!

Hope ya like it

I kept low to the ground as I noticed a shift in the grass only a tail-length to my left, moving slowly so not to be as easily detected. I opened my jaws and let the scents of the forest waft me as I identified my target; a squirrel. It was odd to find squirrel in this area of the forest, I remembered, but when they came along, they could feed three apprentices easily. My eyes stayed on it as it raised itself to its hind legs and glanced around, never even seeing me from my hiding spot between two bushes. I crouched lower as I edged myself forwards ever so slowly.

The squirrel was plump; it was slow and clumsy because of the extra weight. Just get a little closer, and then get it. I told myself as I edged the tinniest bit closer. Now it was only a pawstep away from me. I brought my hackles up, unsheathed my claws that had been itching to leap since I'd spotted my target and leapt. The squirrel squeaked in shocked as I bit into its tiny neck and held fast to make sure it was dead. I waited as the throb of life slowly left its body.

"That was awesome, Mistpaw!" I blinked in surprise and looked over my shoulder to see Wolfpaw racing towards me at full speed. He skidded to a halt before me and stared at the squirrel hanging limply from my jaws. "That thing is huge! That would feed the entire apprentices' den easy," Wolfpaw exclaimed as he bounced around me like a kit.

Behind him, Ravenfeather, his eyes bright with pride, Dustypelt, Lilyfur and Blossompaw approached with their eyes staring at the squirrel I held. "Nice job, I didn't catch anything on my first hunt," Blossompaw squeaked. Lilyfur glanced at Ravenfeather as he continued to beam at me. Slowly, he approached and touched his muzzle to the fur that rested between my ears. "Good work, Mistpaw, you have made your Clan proud." His breath stirred the fur on my head enough to make me shiver with pride.

I set my squirrel down and touched noses with him quickly. "Thank you, Ravenfeather, and you, Lilyfur, for teaching me how to hunt for the Clan." Lilyfur bowed her head in thanks before looking to Dustypelt.

"Should we give Wolfpaw a chance to hunt now, Dustypelt, or do you believe your apprentice has already been outshined?" she joked as she nudged the tom with her paw. He glared at her before calling for Wolfpaw to begin hunting. Reluctantly, Wolfpaw padded away from me and began to look for a target of his own.

Ravenfeather carefully sat on his haunches beside me as he watched the dark gray apprentice try to scent out a target. "I am proud to be your mentor, Mistpaw," he mewed quietly. I looked up at him before turning my attention back to Wolfpaw who had crouched suddenly and angled himself towards an area of grass shaded by trees. "I have only had two apprentices before you, but you are the first one to catch prey so quickly." Ravenfeather touched my squirrel with his nose before looking to the slowly darkening sky. "I am honored that Featherstar allowed me the privilege to take on his kit as my apprentice."

I watched him and smiled to myself. I was lucky to have such a great mentor. Thank you, StarClan for giving us this prey and for giving me this mentor who has trained me so well. I sent my prayer towards the still unseen Silverpelt, but I was sure StarClan would receive my message whether Silverpelt was shining overhead or not.

"Mouse-dung!"

I looked quickly to my left to see Wolfpaw angrily trying to climb up a pine tree. Confused about what had happened, I glanced to Blossompaw. She shrugged then shook her head. He had missed his prey. "Nice try, Wolfpaw," Dustypelt muttered as he padded over to stand beside his fuming apprentice. Wolfpaw glared at him before turning his glare to his paws. "Mind telling me what you think you did wrong?" His mentor nudged him with a paw, trying to encourage him to answer.

Slowly, Wolfpaw looked up from his paws and immediately looked to me for help. I grimaced inwardly; he couldn't depend on his clanmates to tell him what he had done wrong. "Think about it," I mouthed, flicking my tail. He blinked and closed his eyes in thought. When he opened them, he cringed. "My tail was too close to the ground so it made noise that alerted the prey that I was coming, right?"

Dustypelt nodded approvingly. "Very good, I hope you learn from that mistake. We can try again some more tomorrow; it's getting close to Sundown." Lilyfur looked up to the sky and nodded.

Carrying my squirrel back was tough, considering how big it was, but it was all worth it when Mintleaf and my littermates got a look at it. "You caught that?!" my brother yowled in shock. Mintleaf purred happily and licked the fur between my ears in approval. Splotchpaw and Berrypaw raced over to see my catch and gaped at me. "We've never caught anything that big before, nice job, Mistpaw," Splotchpaw mused.

My pelt grew warm at the praise and I bowed my head. Praise came from all around me and eventually arguments broke out about who should eat it. "Enough!" Featherstar scoffed, climbing atop High Oak to address his arguing Clan. All fighting ceased instantly and all head turned to the large white tom. He watched us quietly before speaking, "I believe that Mistpaw should decide who it goes to, seeing as how it was her catch."

All eyes turned to me again, this time in wonder. My pelt heated again, this time in embarrassment. If this was another test, I wasn't sure I was ready for it. Mintleaf nudged me with her muzzle and I stood quickly. One glance and I knew the Clan was curious about my choice. I slowly looked at the cats before noticing Fallowkit and Stonekit crying at Morningdawn for milk. Firewhisker had said they were weak and that Morningdawn's milk wasn't coming easily. Another glance around told me that the elders weren't fairing any better. I met Frailwhisker's now blind eyes and gazed into them as the decision came to me.

"I believe the prey should go to Morningdawn and the elders," I meowed as calmly as I could muster. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Morningdawn raise her head in surprise and Nightfeather and Sandpelt look up from their sunbathing. No cat, I supposed, had expected that. But when I looked around at my clanmates, I saw approval spark in many eyes and quiet mutters of how there was other prey circulating around me.

Featherstar watched me as I picked up the fresh-kill and padded over to the queen I had named as the elders approached. Carefully, I set the squirrel before the stunned queen and watched her. The elders joined us and sniffed the prey curiously. Morningdawn just stared at in, her gaze never leaving it. "If you aren't going to eat this gift Mistpaw has given us, Morningdawn, by all means, we elders will eat it," Frailwhisker grunted from where she stood between her elderly denmates.

The pale tortoiseshell queen looked up in surprise before looking to me, seeking my approval. I purred and nodded, stepping back to allow the queen to take a bite. Morningdawn smiled at me and bent her head to take a bite. The elders took that as an invitation to begin eating as well. I watched them and continued to smile as Frailwhisker took a step back to sit beside me.

"That was a kind thing you did for us," she purred softly. I glanced at her and pressed my side into her frail one. Her side reverberated with a purr as we watched the other elders step away to let the queen have the rest. "Morningdawn doesn't need to grieve anymore for her kits, she still has two and they must live," I glanced up at Frailwhisker, "as should you."

The frail elder huffed, but grinned and rested her limp tail against my shoulder. "You will do many things for this Clan even after I have left, as will your denmates. I am just glad I could be here for most of them," she muttered under her breath. I stared at her before turning my gaze to the rest of the Clan as they began to settle down for the night. Firewhisker and Hollypetal carried clumps of moss towards the elders' den and Featherstar sat beside Mintleaf, sharing tongues as they usually did.

Frailwhisker stood slowly and turned away from the nursery, beginning her trek back to the tree den she slept inside of. I soon followed suite, heading towards the apprentices' den where Wolfpaw and Blossompaw waited for me alongside my littermates. "You made the right decision," Blossompaw said as I approached. I smiled and bowed my head in thanks. "I hope I did, Morningdawn needs to feed her kits and the elders need as much care as we can give them before they walk with StarClan."

My denmates nodded approvingly, although Wolfpaw looked a bit dishearten at not getting a bite of the squirrel, before filing into the den. We yawned our goodnights and curled up into our nests. I settled myself onto my freshly made nest and pressed my muzzle into my side as I curled around myself to get warm. Snores filled the den and the sounds of the night wafted in through the bramble barrier like a lullaby that slowly lulled me to sleep. My eyes drifted shut and darkness surrounded me.

Again, I love how this one turned out. Morningdawn is going through a sort of post-birth depression because of the loss of two of her kits. It's kinda sad, but it does happen every once in a while. With Mistpaw's help, she may perk up after this.

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Ouka-noir