"Wake up you fur ball, it is time for training!"Flamepaw meowed nudging the new apprentice to her paws "Don't want to be late on your first day do you" Tigerpaw shook her head, she had never been up so early before, as a kit she could sleep as long as she had wanted but now as a apprentice she had to wake up early for training and for patrols.
Flamepaw padded out of the den leaving Tigerpaw to her self, she stretched, her legs aching from the cold night, leaf bare was coming. This was going to be her first leaf bare, she feared it, she had listened to many of the tales as a kit and not one of them about leaf bare was any good.
She padded out of the den spotting her mentor waiting for her beside the high rock. "Come on Tigerpaw! We are going hunting today!" meowed Shadowheart from the other side of the camp. Tigerpaw felt sudden energy rush into her, she was going in to the forest, the place she had always wanted to go but could never as a kit! She rushed over to her mentor not being able to keep her feet still as she waited for her mentor the give the orders to leave camp.
"Let's go" her mentor meowed as they started to head for the bracken tunnel. Tigerpaw rushed along feeling the breeze of the forest brush back her fur. She stopped and stuck her nose in the air taking in all the different scents that were all around her, there were many scents and she wondered how she would ever recognise them all just by scent. 'Wait' she thought to her self 'I am not here to learn different scents, I am here to become the best warrior I can, to help my clan win their fights and bring them back food so we all can survive. "Are you coming?" Shadowhearts meow came from further in the forest, "I am coming" Tigerpaw meowed rushing after his mentor, he had been so lost in day dream he had forgotten that she was out hunting.
They continued to walk through the woods, it was bigger than she had ever imagined, she had wished for nothing more than this, apart from being the best warrior there ever was! They finally spotted before a small hole in the ground, "This is a fox den" Shadowheart meowed "However it has been long unused and we have spotted no sign of the fox since our clan moved here, some prey like to stay near this hole as they can shoot for cover down it if needed, but us as warrior and apprentices are big enough to cover the hole and stop the prey from escaping."
A smell hit Tigerpaw's nose, it smelt like something from back at camp, he searched his mind for what this smell was till he tracked it to be a vole. His ears pricked up hearing something in the trunks of the tree. Shadowheart put her tail over Tigerpaws mouth sensing for her to be quiet.
Shadowheart crouched down, her paws carefully placed as she slowly padded forward towards the sound, her paws missing each and every twig so she would not startle the prey. She crept forward more towards the vole, she could see it out of the corner of her eye, it didn't look like it had seen her. Shadowheart counted down from four in her head before pouncing towards her prey catching it between her paws and finishing it off in one quick bite.
Tigerpaw stared at Shadowheart, she admired the deputy, she made hunting look so easy. Then a another smell hit Tigerpaw's nose, something again from the clan, a squirrel maybe? Shadowheart nodded towards where the scent was coming from beckoning with her tail for Tigerpaw to try and catch the prey.
Tigerpaw crouched down, slowly stalking forward trying to dodge all the twigs but his paws landing on them at times but not letting off a loud crack, but the crack was just enough for the squirrel to hear and flee, he sprinted after his prey, his paws pounding on the earth as he tried to catch up with it. The squirrel skidded to one side and climbed up a tree leaving a frustrated Tigerpaw behind.
"You make it look so easy Shadowheart!" he meowed with frustration. "It takes practise" she meowed look down at her apprentice, "you would of caught that squirrel if you had minded your footing more, even the quietest of sounds alert the prey that you are here, anyway that is enough for now, you can go back to camp and do some apprentices duties, you need to get used to clearing up the Nursery after all. You will be going on the dawn patrol tomorrow so no sleeping in again!" Tigerpaw nodded, he was excited about the dawn patrol but why did he have to do the nursery, well it could have been worse he thought, it could have been the elders, luckily for me we have no elders yet.
Tigerpaw continued towards camp, his tail hanging low, he so wanted to bring back his first piece of fresh-kill today, be able to eat and feel proud that he had filled up another clans hungry belly.
"Tigerpaw" Shadowheart shouted after him "Forget the nursery, I will get flame paw to do it I will need you to come on the patrol tonight, so get some rest and eat well before we head out for the patrol.