Sealpaw scraped at the ice, her muscles aching but her mind determined. A sweet scent drifted through her nostrils. She paused, closed her eyes, and sniffed.
" Keep going, Sealpaw," Lynxfoot urged. " If you're ever to get your warrior name, you'll finish this den." Sealpaw's eyes whipped open and she returned to her continuous scraping. She heard a yawn from Lynxfoot and the snow rustled as she settled down to sleep. Sealpaw looked around, and then darted to Willowmoon's den. "Ravenheart," she whispered. " Ravenheart, my claws hurt." A black she-cat gently padded out of the den.
" You're almost there," Ravenheart mewed softly. " Just give them a good lick and put some snow on." Sealpaw obeyed, but her head immediately bounced back up " I can smell it!" she said in an excited whisper. " The Twolegs are drawing out the sap!"
Ravenheart purred. " I'm sure everyone else will realize it when the season of sun is nearly here." Sealpaw purred. She was very satisfied with her unusually sensitive nose.
A yowl rang across the camp. "Sealpaw!" Sealpaw froze. "Sorry Ravenheart, I have to go. I'm coming, Lynxfoot!" she added, trotting hastily out of the medicine den.
Little stripes of blood from overworked claws melted into the walls of jagged ice.
A lithe white she-cat cushioned the ground with fluffy, newly fallen snow. Exhausted though she was, her belly made noises that echoed in the cave. She staggered through the snow with her nose the length of a hare's tail from the frost. She stopped and scooped out pawfuls of fluffy snow. The mouthwatering scent of dead hare drifted through the pit. She jerked it out and rushed off to eat in her den. She halted, and changed course. A black cat greeted her at the entrance to a stone cave, and they lay and nibbled together on the hare. Brindletooth's lips drew back in a snarl. The coyotes caught and buried the hare. The coyotes were starved, not these fat little kitties. She turned to her Clan. "Prepare for a battle," she barked " The cats are starving us!" The pack of skinny coyotes howled in agreement. Furyclaw gave a low growl. "The cats die. We claw them." Brindletooth gave a shiver of unease. " We hope this battle does not destroy life. The cats can be friends when they share prey." She desperately hoped that Furyclaw would listen to her, as he should. She was angry, but as a general rule she did not kill anything but prey.