Hey, guys! It's been a loooong time. When was my last update, again? 27/5/2013? I've decided to revamp my old profile and bring my account back to life. I'm carrying on this story for fun, and for some extra writing practice, to help me improve. When I went off fanfiction I hardly wrote at all, I was mainly trying to secure a good idea for an original novel. So while I'm working on that, I'm back to practicing and developing my writing style. I wrote more and improved more when I used to go on here, so, yep. I'm back.

Chapter 3

Heronpaw's sides heaved as she fought for breath. Her paws hurt and were freezing cold against the hard newleaf earth. Yet still she ran, pelting through the forest as fast as an arrow, streaking past trees and clawing her way through bramble thickets that snagged sharp claws in her pelt. Panic bubbled inside her. The image of Pinekit swam in front of her vision, and she skidded to a sharp halt in front of a tree that had suddenly materialised in front of her, a whisker-length away from cannoning into it.

Sucking in a huge gulp of air, she allowed a few heartbeats to let herself recover from the shock that made her whiskers quiver, staring disoriented at the rough bark in front of her nose, before leaping up and running again.

After more blind running, she became vaguely aware of the landscape around her changing. The thick undergrowth turned to flat ground with layers of prickly needles underpaw, and the trees looked different. A sharp smell stung her kitten-pink nose. But the thing that brought her to a halt was the sudden, huge panel of wood that loomed in front of her.

Stop! Heronpaw's paws skidded as she fought to get to a halt. But momentum threw her forward and one of her flanks slammed into the wood, knocking the breath out of her.

She crouched there, in an unfamiliar place, staring without seeing, every breath she took searing pain in her sides. The apprentice was vaguely aware that she was trembling from ears to tail. She didn't want to fight Jumppaw. She hadn't wanted to fight Pinekit. And now he's dead! A voice yowled inside her, fighting to break free. He's dead and it's all your fault! Heronkit crouched lower to the ground, her ears flat to her head and her eyes squeezed shut against the torment raging inside her. She wondered if she was going to burst, if she didn't let anything out soon. She wanted to yowl to StarClan, to let them know how unfair everything was.

I'm not going back! She was going to jump over this fence, and run away. As she came to this reckless decision, Heronpaw stood and backed away a few paces, her head tipped back, regarding the strange Twoleg-made fence that separated their world from hers. She knew she was at the edge of ThunderClan territory, in a place she had heard was called Tallpines. The fence was so high, she could barely see the top of it. It was too tall to jump over; Heronpaw was still as little and stumpy as a kit, even if she was an apprentice now. But the wood looked soft, and she guessed she could hang onto it with her claws and drag herself to the top.

Heronpaw wondered whether she could do it. Would she have the courage to run away? If she went back, they'd make her kill someone again, she was sure of it. I'm three moons old! I'm not ready for any of this! Maybe she could just get to the top, and peek over at the world beyond. Just for a look. See whether the Twolegplace really was as bad as they said it was.

As she crouched down, wriggling her hindquarters, preparing to make the first leap, a voice called, "Heronpaw!"

Whipping around, she saw Foxdrift bursting from the trees. He looked shocked but relieved to find her unharmed.

Then his amber eyes widened as Heronpaw hissed at him, swiping the air with one small forepaw. "Get away from me!" she spat. "I know what you're trying to do! Well, I won't do it! I'm not killing any more of my Clanmates! I don't care what you think!" For good measure, she backed a few steps away from the young warrior.

Foxdrift looked at her, and sighed. He slowly sat down, curling his tail over his paws. Heronpaw regarded him warily. "Heronpaw," her mentor meowed calmly. "It's okay. I'm not going to make you fight any more. Just, don't run off. Anything could happen to you out here. You're just a kit."

"I'm an apprentice," she muttered, but Foxdrift didn't reply. Slowly, she dropped her hackles and padded closer.

"All right, no battle training today," Foxdrift meowed. "Why don't I teach you a hunting technique, instead?"

Heronpaw blinked nervously. "Will we have to go back to the sandy hollow?"

"No. We'll do it right here," Foxdrift replied, sweeping a space clean of pine needles with his tail. "Watch what I do and copy me." Light as a feather, he jumped to his paws and assumed a crouching position. Heronkit, feeling more relaxed, watched how his head sank low between his shoulders and his tail was poised above the ground, and how he gathered his hind paws under him. She hastily crouched next to him, trying to mimic his position.

"Not bad," Foxdrift meowed. "Let's see if you can keep it like that when you stalk." Obediently, she prowled across the forest floor slowly, pretending she was creeping up on a mouse.

"Good. But don't forget to keep your tail still, and watch where you're placing your paws," Foxdrift suggested.

For the rest of the day Foxdrift had Heronpaw practice, until the sun began to dip in the sky and they returned to camp, Foxdrift catching a few mice and voles along the way. Heronpaw was feeling slightly more cheerful as they neared the camp entrance, promising her mentor she'd practice the hunting crouch for tomorrow.

Inside the thorn tunnel, they found their way blocked by Vinestrike. The deputy's eyes flashed at the sight of them. "Foxdrift, Heronpaw, what have you two been doing today?" she meowed in a dangerously soft voice.

Foxdrift dropped his fresh-kill, meowing, "Hunting techniques." His voice was even, but Heronpaw saw a defensive look on his face.

"Really? Already?" Vinestrike hissed. "I thought Tanglestar has made it clear that battle practice comes before hunting. Can Heronpaw fight? If, say, ShadowClan were to attack tomorrow, would she be able to prove herself useful to her Clan? No."

"Heronpaw didn't want to fight today, not after what happened yesterday," Foxdrift replied.

Vinestrike looked at Heronpaw, who felt like shrinking under her mother's fierce stare. "Well, Heronpaw will just have to learn to accept that in ThunderClan, fighting is more important than hunting."

"It was just for today," Foxdrift meowed. "We're going to carry on with the training regime tomorrow."

"Good," Vinestrike meowed. She narrowed her eyes at Foxdrift. "You were a good apprentice, Foxdrift. You showed promise. Pass on your qualities to Heronpaw."

Foxdrift's lip curled in amusement. "Isn't that what I was told at the apprentice ceremony? Didn't I promise to do that? You don't have to remind me, Vinestrike."

"Good," she replied in a silky, velvety voice. Foxdrift picked up his prey and the two cats slipped past the deputy and into the camp.

"Heronpaw," Foxdrift meowed, after depositing his catch, "I've let you off for today, but you know fighting is a necessary thing to learn. It's how I was taught, too, and it's what Tanglestar wants us to do. You'll be behind Jumppaw in training now, so you'll have to put extra effort in to catch up."

"I will, Foxdrift," Heronpaw meowed, feeling disappointed but knowing she had no other choice.

"Now, get something to eat and then practice what I taught you today," Foxdrift meowed. He flashed her a sly, sharp-toothed grin. "Tomorrow you can imagine your enemies are your prey."

Dun dun duuun

Yeah, just a quick chappie to conclude the events that happened in Chapter 2. Foxdrift seems like the ordinary nice, caring mentor, but just look at his sly, sharp-toothed grin. I think there's more to him than that. Don't judge him on first impressions :P Also, his name is Foxdrift, so don't expect him to be a cute little Fireheart-type mentor...

Also, we see Heronpaw's bravado completely disappear when she's faced with fighting. Poor kitten :( She hasn't grasped the concept that to be an apprentice of Tanglestar's ThunderClan, you need to have tough six-inches of metal skin. She has just had to fight to the death to be initiated as an apprentice at three moons, anyway. What other twisted rules has Tanglestar set down? Hmm...