"There she is again," one cat said.
"Why did we take her in, anyway?" said another.
Oakpaw was outdoors enjoying the sunshine, although she still got suspicious glares from her clanmates.
"Oakpaw, it's time for training," called her mentor.
"Coming, Swiftfeather!" Oakpaw replied.
I miss having my friends around, thought Oakpaw. I hope they're doing alright.
She padded towards the camp entrance, swiftly following her mentor to the training grounds.
"Swiftfeather, I need to ask you something," she said.
"What is it, Oakpaw?" He replied.
"Why do I still get stares and glares from everyone?"
"It's because you were taken into the camp and made into an apprentice without any proof that you knew or cared about the warrior code," He said.
"What's the warrior code?" asked Oakpaw, dodging a rock that was in her way.
"It's the rules that we live by," he replied. "We will teach it to you eventually, but we need to train you first.
"What will I do during training anyway?"
"You'll learn new moves. Don't worry, our claws are meant to be sheathed during practice."
Oakpaw was relieved that she wasn't going to be harmed. Then again, the only time she was harmed was when she almost drowned in the island's surrounding water.
"We're here," said her mentor, stopping at a sandy hollow."
"This is the training grounds?" Oakpaw said. "Seems rather small."
"We will train you to fight within certain spaces," said Swiftfeather.
And so, training began. It was pretty boring for Oakpaw, as she had to watch the other apprentices battle before she came up.
"Okay, Oakpaw. The first move I'm going to teach you is the hunter's crouch," said Swiftfeather, dropping into the hunter's crouch.
"That looks easy enough," Oakpaw said. She dropped down clumsily, and accidentally fell on her belly.
"It's harder than it looks when you get overexcited," said Swiftfeather. "Try again, but focus."
Oakpaw got up and concentrated on matching Swiftfeather's crouch.
"I did it!" she shouted, tail lashing back and forth.
"Very good, but make sure your tail stays low. Otherwise, it could alert the prey around here," said Swiftfeather.
"Got it," said Oakpaw.
It was getting late, and sundown was approaching when they had finished.
"I sure am exhausted," said Oakpaw, matching Swiftfeather's pace. "Are you sure that we have to fight?"
"You have to fight to survive around here," said Swiftfeather, avoiding a tree. "Otherwise, you'll get slaughtered in battle."
"Where I'm from, I got by just fine without fighting even once," replied Oakpaw.
"This is not where you're from, now is it?" replied Swiftfeather."
"Not really,"
"Always remember: fight for your clan, no matter what it costs."
"O-Okay..."
A short time later, they arrived at the camp. The hunting patrol had just returned.
"Eww, dead animals," said Oakpaw.
"We just trained you to get those little creatures," said Swiftfeather.
"I don't think I want to be a warrior any more..." replied Oakpaw.
"You need to eat those anyway."
"I don't want to, though!"
"Then what are you going to eat?"
"I'll... I'll eat berries! Just like the last few days!"
"Some berries are poisonous, and how are you going to tell the difference?"
"Well, I..."
"And they don't grow around leafbare. You'll starve."
"I guess I don't have a choice, now do I?"
"Yep."
Oakpaw inched closer to the prey pile. She knew it was wrong to eat these things, but she had no choice. She took a whiff of the prey.
"Doesn't smell have bad, now does it?" asked Swiftfeather.
"Not really," said Oakpaw. She slowly took a mouse from the prey pile, inching closer to Swiftfeather.
"Nom."
Oakpaw was astonished by the flavor. She didn't expect mouse to taste so good!
"How does it taste?" asked Swiftfeather.
Oakpaw greedily ate it up, wanting to taste it again.
"I guess I'll survive here after all!" She squealed.
"Now get to the apprentice den," said Swiftfeather. "We don't want a tired cat trying to hunt their favorite food without any sleep, now do we?"
"Nope!" Oakpaw replied. She padded back to the apprentice's den.
"Oh, she's back," said one of the apprentices.
"Don't treat her like that! She's one of us now," said another.
"Shut up, Thrushpaw!" replied the rude apprentice.
"I could say the same for you, Juniperpaw!"
They quieted down, too tired to talk for long. Oakpaw felt a kind of loneliness wash over her. Were her friends looking for her? She fell asleep, feeling tired from the training session.
Soon, she said. Soon.