"Not bad on your swimming, Falconpaw," Otterstripe complimented. "But you need to work on your back legs better."
"Alright," Falconpaw replied as he started to kick his back legs even harder.
"Now you got it," Otterstripe meowed. "Let's stop for now and work on your fishing."
Falconpaw swam out of the river and asked, "Do you blame me for Blueberry's death?"
"No, of course not," he answered. "Blueberry was a mousebrain anyway; it was bound to happen to him. I'm still surprised he became a warrior."
"How can you say that? He was your apprentice. Who cares if he was a mousebrain? You shouldn't say stuff about him like that!"
"Alright, I'm sorry. Anyway, as said earlier, I don't blame you for his death. What's done is done and besides he's in a better place now."
If you were there, you would blame me for it, in fact you would probably want me to be exiled.
"Say, how about I go ahead and teach you how to hunt," Otterstripe suggested. "After all you're going to need it for when leafbare comes."
"Alright," Falconpaw quietly replied.
Otterstripe walked off and Falconpaw behind.
"First I am going to show you how to do a hunter's crouch," Otterstripe began as he got into the hunter's crouch. "Now let me see you do the same thing. "
"Like this?" Falconpaw asked as he got into the position, although he was off balanced.
"You're a bit wind sided," Otterstripe purred in amusement. "Try it again, Falconpaw."
"Sorry," he quietly replied as he tried to do the hunter's crouch again. This time he got it right.
"You got it right, now do you know the difference between rabbits and mice?"
Falconpaw just rolled his eyes and answered bluntly, "Rabbits can hear you and mice can feel you."
Otterstripe tensed up a bit and meowed, "You see that squirrel over there?" He pointed his tail towards a squirrel nibbling on an acorn.
Falconpaw nodded.
"I'm going to show you how to catch prey by catching that squirrel."
Otterstripe got into the hunter's crouch and began slowly creeping up to the oblivious squirrel, once he was at a good distance he ran towards the squirrel and pounced on it, and then he killed it with one bite to the neck.
Otterstripe brought the squirrel over to Falconpaw and dropped it in front of his paws. "That's how you catch your prey."
"You didn't have to brag, he retorted bluntly while rolling his eyes.
"Well any way let's head on so you can catch your own prey," the ginger tom meowed as he headed on.
Falconpaw followed behind.
"Do you sense anything nearby," Otterstripe asked.
"There's a bird not too far from here," Falconpaw replied as he started sniffing the air. The young apprentice to where the bird was that was just grooming its wings. "It's a magpie."
"Now let's see if you can catch it."
Falconpaw got into the hunter's crouch and began to creep towards the oblivious magpie that was too busy grooming its wings to notice. Once he got to the right distance from the small bird, Falconpaw ran towards the magpie, but when he was about to pounce on it, the small bird started to fly off.
You are not getting away from me.
Falconpaw leaped towards the magpie and slashed its wing, causing it to fall. The injured bird tried to get away from Falconpaw, but the young tom pounced on the magpie and killed it with one swift bite to the neck.
"That was a bit sloppy," Otterstripe commented as he walked over to Falconpaw. "But at least you caught it none the less."
"Thank you," Falconpaw meowed.
"It's no big deal," The ginger tom replied as he licked his paw. "Any way let's head on back to camp."
Falconpaw nodded as the two toms headed on back to the camp.
"Welcome back," Mudstrike greeted as Otterstripe and Falconpaw enter the camp. "I see you caught some prey, that's good that you're teaching Falconpaw how to hunt now and not just how to fish, after all he's going to need it, the same with Mudpaw, especially since leaf-bare is just around the corner."
"I already know that," Otterstripe retorted. "You didn't have to tell me, but thank you any way."
Mudstrike just shook his head and walked off.
"It would be nice of you if you would show more respect to Mudstrike," Starlingflight spoke up. "After all he is the deputy."
"I know I know," Otterstripe sighed. "Speaking of respect, I think you need to show me some more respect."
"Sure if you were the one that was about six moons older and more mature," she retorted.
"I was just joking," the ginger tom retorted. "Learn to take it easy, Starlingflight."
"I honestly don't know how anybody can deal with you, Otterstripe," the tortoise shell she-cat sighed. "The scariest thing about it is that I can deal with you."
"That's because you actually care about me," Otterstripe purred with amusement.
"Only in your dreams," Starlingflight answered bluntly, as she walked off.
"We should go get some sleep," Otterstripe yawned. "It's getting late and I'm exacted."
"I am getting pretty tired," Falconpaw yawned as he headed on over to the apprentice's den.
"Falconpaw! Falconpaw, get up!" A voice called.
The young gray tabby tom slowly opened his eyes to see the cat in front of him. "Mudpaw, am I still dreaming?"
"Seems like it," the brown and white tom answered. "Looks like I'm dreaming too and we never share the same dream."
"I don't trust this place," Falconpaw mewed as he looked around. The forest was dark and gloomy and had an eerie sense to it.
"I agree," Mudpaw replied. "This place is giving me the creeps. I hope we wake up soon."
Falconpaw nodded in agreement.
"Welcome to the Dark Forest," A voice greeted.
Falconpaw turned his head to the direction to where the voice was coming from; there stood a slender pure white she-cat with a black tail tip and icy green eyes with a menacing look in them. Her eyes caused Falconpaw to tease up, the she-cat's icy gaze looked as if she could see right through any cat; there was no way anyone could lie to her, no matter how good the lie was.
"Relax you are only dreaming," the she-cat meowed. Even her voice was menacing but it was soothing at the same time.
"Who are you?" Mudpaw asked.
"My name is Icegaze," She answered. "I brought the two of you here so I could train you both. Especially you, Falconpaw."
"How do you know my name?" Falconpaw asked shocked.
"Just like Starclan," Icegaze began. "We Dark Forest cats know plenty of things and I've been watching you since the moment you were kitted."
"Thistlethorn is here too," Falconpaw meowed.
"How can you tell?" Mudpaw questioned.
"I don't know," he answered. "I just got this strange feeling that he's here and is nearby."
"I'm not surprise," A voice spoke up. It was a muscular ragged dark gray tabby tom; he had icy blue eyes and long twisted claws. On the right cheek, he had three scars. "That's right, Falconpaw I am Thistlethorn and I am apart of you just like you are a part of me."