Cinderpaw woke up and stretched, then looked around the den. Where am I? Oh yeah. I'm an apprentice now! She walked out of her den into the clearing. The fresh kill pile was empty, and the morning hunters were about to go off searching to fill it. She spotted Riverblossom at the base of the Great Rock talking to Cloverpatch. Cinderpaw ran over, and greeted them. "Hello, Cinderpaw. Are you ready to go hunting?" asked Riverblossom. "Of course I am! Let's go!" Cinderpaw yowled. "Hang on, now. Not yet, we have to wait for the other apprentices." Said Riverblossom. Thunderpaw was watching them from across the clearing with his mentor Icefrost. When he saw Cinderpaw spot him he quickly turned away. Wierdo. Cinderpaw thought.
Sandpaw was grudgingly cleaning out the Elder's Den while his mentor, Oakgrass, watched. "He insulted Grayspirit." Cloverpatch explained. "Said he had too many ticks and droppings. Well who can help with that? He can." Cinderpaw saw Maplepaw slink out of the den and over to Heatherfire. The older cat seemed to scold Maplepaw when she got over to her. Cinderpaw was tempted to run over to her and bite Heatherfire's tail. Hard. "Come on, Cinderpaw. Let's go." Riverblossom said, leading her apprentice through the tunnel and out into the forest.
"I'm going to teach you the basics of hunting. Now, what do you smell?" Riverblossom asked. Cinderpaw sniffed the air. "I smell you, and I smell me. Oh! And something yummy…" Riverblossom smiled "That's squirrel. Can you tell where it's coming from?" "Um. Over there I think." Said Cinderpaw, motioning with her tail. "That's right. The squirrel is in just the right spot where we can smell him, but he can smell us. Now let me show you the hunter's crouch." Riverblossom said, crouching low to the ground and padding slowly towards the squirrel. The squirrel realized too late that he was being hunted, and was swiftly killed by Riverblossom. "That was great!" said Cinderpaw excitedly.
Maplepaw was watching Heatherpaw stalk a squirrel on the ground. Oh dear. I hope the squirrel gets away safely… Maplepaw thought. However, Heatherfire pounced on the squirrel and killed it. Maplpaw gagged. I will never be able to commit murder, even of a squirrel. She thought. "Now you try." Said Heatherfire sharply. Maplepaw scented a squirrel over in the underbrush. Oh no…. thought poor Maplepaw. She gulped and turned to her mentor. "Now?" she asked "Yes! Get it before it leaves!" Maplepaw had no idea what to do. Spare the poor squirrel…or face the wrath of Heatherfire. Maplepaw heard Cinderpaw laughing close by. Without thinking, the young apprentice bolted towards her friend's voice, leaving her mentor screaming her name behind her.
Cinderpaw was practicing her Hunting Crouch when Riverblossom cleared her throught. "That's great, Cinderpaw. Now, stay here. I have to go and, um, 'Mark my Territory' if you will." Cinderpaw laughed. "That's fine. Have fun!" she called to her mentor's retreating back. Cinderpaw looked up at the trees overhead, and saw a squirrel on a branch. Wouldn't Riverblossom be proud if I caught a squirrel on my own! Cinderpaw slyly climbed up the tree trunk and crouched behind the squirrel. The branch wobbled under her weight, and the squirrel leapt across to another tree. "Fox-Dung!" Cinderpaw cursed, causing the tree branch to wobble and break.
Cinderpaw groaned and got up, glad that nobody had seen. Suddenly, claws pierced her back as a cat bowled her over. An orange striped cat clawed and bit, but Cinderpaw could tell it had had no training. Eventually, the cat collapsed on the floor panting. Cinderpaw looked at the cat as it's chest heaved. She didn't recognize it, but it did have a strange resemblance to Maplepaw. The cat was really skinny, and it's ears were curled back, unlike any cat's she had ever seen before. The cat stood up and hissed at Cinderpaw. "What are you doing hunting in my territory?"