Thanks to all who reviewed! I hope you still like the story. However, I know there are a lot of little spelling errors but my spellcheck has oddly disabled itself. I don't know why. I do check it after I write it but I miss a lot of stuff.

-Pan

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Prey

"I'm hungry!" Hawkpaw wailed, plopping belly-down onto the parched, sandy ground in front of the apprentice's den. The fresh-kill pile was empty. A few feathers of a sparrow was all that was left.

It had been three days since the mysterious disappearance of the older cats. Nobody else had disappeared, but nobody had shown up, either. It was still just the apprentices.

Blackpaw and Greypaw strutted around camp, looking all high and mighty. They considered themselves the new leaders, although everyone else openly showed their distaste. They wern't doing anything to help bring the apprentice's together, Smokepaw thought.

Hunger was another thing. Nobody had been hunting. Hunting wasn't fun. Before the warriors had disappeared, the apprentices had been sent out to hunt by their mentors or on patrols. It wasn't something you just chose to do. Smokepaw knew, however, that they would have to start hunting soon.

Lilypaw, inside the medicine cat's den, came padding out. "We really ought to start organizing," she said, wiping her paws, which smelled like dock leaves, on the ground. "The older cats haven't come back, and we don't know how long until they will. So we need to start taking control. Hunting, and stuff. Somebody needs to be leader."

"Blackstar's leader," Graypaw told her quickly. Lilypaw gave him a disdainful look.

"He needs to shape up, then," she snapped.

Greypaw just gave her a look but didn't say anything. Nobody snapped at Lilypaw.

"I'll hunt," Smokepaw said, standing up quickly. "Anybody want to come with me?"

"I will," Lilypaw said with a decisive look on her face. "I'm still curious why the birds haven't been chirping."

"I'm staying here, man," Hawkpaw said, eyes closed. He rolled onto his back, paws in the air and didn't move. Stainpaw and Flamepaw watched him carefully.

"Anyone else?" Smokepaw asked, looking carefully around camp.

"You gotta bring something back for the leader," Greypaw said, indicating Blackpaw, "Cause he's hungry and he doesn't want to hunt."

"He's not our leader," Lilypaw said as she padded out of camp, "He has to hunt for himself, just like Streamstar used to."

Smokepaw followed her, nervous and twitchy at being in her presence. However, she rolled her eyes and hissed as soon as they were out of earshot of the other cats.

"We really need some order!" She hissed, "Everyone's scared and confused, but we still need to organize! Blackpaw and Greypaw! Those thugs! I can't stand them! Being in charge doesn't mean making everyone work for you, in means helping others, commanding others to get things done!"

"Well, nobody else really wants to be in charge," Smokepaw said, "I mean, do you?"

"No, but I wouldn't mind helping to get everyone organized. Now, let's hunt."

Smokepaw sniffed the air, hoping to catch a vole or mouse. His belly rumbled in anticipation. Nothing hit his scent glands.

"Odd," Lilypaw mumbled, "Let's try over here." She padded down to a dry streambed, choked with fallen red and amber leaves.

Smokepaw opened his mouth and scented the air. Mouse! Hidden in a patch of bracken.

"There!" He hissed. Lilypaw's head snapped sideways as Smokepaw slid into a crouch. He began to slink foreward, slowly, slowly, and then pounced.

His paws slammed down on something hard and muscular. Something much bigger than a mouse. As he went down to kill it, hard teeth sunk into his nose. He screamed, crunching down on its neck, and then jumped away, fearful and in pain. His nose dripped blood.

"What is that?" He hissed.

Lilypaw cautiously approached it. Smokepaw inched closer and saw that it was a mouse about three times the size of a normal one. From its little feet protruded long, curved claws. The mouth was open, revealing huge, pointy fangs.

"Holy StarClan," Lilypaw breathed. She gently picked it up by the scruff and dragged it closer.

"What is it?" Smokepaw asked. His nose really hurt. He wiped his tail across it and it came away bloody.

"It's a mouse," Lilypaw said, "It smells like mouse and has a mouse's body type. However, it's about the size of a large rat, and those claws and teeth..." she blinked, and then added, "And look at the eyes. They're at the front of the head, not the side. That means its a predator."

"A predatory mouse," Smokepaw said, and then gave a shaky laugh. "So we have to hunt huge mice that bite back?"

"Um...there might still be some normal mice," Lilypaw said. She looked up at him and saw for the first time, his bloody nose. "Did it bite you?" She asked, coming closer.

"Uh...yeah," Smokepaw said nervously. Lilypaw carefully observed the cut, running her tail over it and swiping some of the blood clean. He felt an ellicit thrill at her touch.

"We'll need to put some cobwebs on that," she said, "There's a posibility that it could have posionous fangs, but I don't smell any poison...I think your okay." She pulled away, giving a slight smile.

"Uh, yeah, thanks, Lilypaw." He tried not to make his voice crack when he said her name but failed.

At that moment, however, Smokepaw spotted movement in the trees. A bird! But the birds hadn't been chirping. He looked closer, and Lilypaw did too. The bird was a blue tit, some of the feathers shining bright and unmistakably blue. Only, it was big. Big as a hawk. It's head swiveled toward them, black eyes shiny and bright. It's beak was long and curved, sharp on the end. Long talons protruded from the usually tiny, blunt toes.

"Go!" Lilypaw ordered, "Go back to camp. It might hurt us, it might think of us as prey, go!"

Smokepaw did. He stopped only to scoop up the mouse/rat thing and then pounded toward the hollow, making sure Lilypaw was behind him.

He stumbled into camp, Lilypaw barreling into him. "Sorry."

"It's like all our prey has turned predatory!" She hissed, eyes wide and anxious, "Let me see that," she added, indicating the mouse. Smokepaw passed it over.

"This has fangs and claws," she muttered, "That bluetit had a curved bill and talons. Not normal."

"How are we going to hunt then?" Smokepaw asked, hunger and worry clawing at his stomach. A leaf-fall leaf spiraled down in front of them. On another day Smokepaw would have stopped to bat it. Not today.

"We might be able to eat this," Lilypaw said, giving the horrible mouse a sniff. "It smells normal." She took a daring, tiny nibble. "And it tastes normal. Here."

She passed it over to Smokepaw. He felt his heart pound at the idea of sharing fresh-kill. But he took an obediant bite. It tasted exactly like an ordinary mouse.

Hawkpaw, Greypaw, and Blackpaw had padded over.

"What is that?" Greypaw hissed, looking repulsed.

Smokepaw looked up at him. "Dinner," he said, and took another bite.

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There's chapter three! I'm not sure cats no what dinner is, but it sounded good as a last line so I put it in. What do you think? Tell me in a review! Criticism is welcome!

-Pan