Author's note: This story could take place sometime after Dawn of the Clans and before The Prophecies Begin, if you really care about timeline. Also, I will hopefully finish this up soon, so just hang tightI guess.
"WE'RE GONNA BE WARRIORS! TODAY! AAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Ochrepaw screamed. Mothpaw joined in with his celebration and drew in a big breath.
"WOOP WOOOOOOP!" She yelled enthusiastically. Jaypaw snorted and let out airy laughs. Hawkfeather, Mothpaw and Jaypaw's mother, poked her head into the noisy apprentice den.
"It's early in the morning, little warriors. Some cats are trying to sleep," she chuckled.
"Okay!" Ochrepaw whispered, though still at the regular volume of talking. Hawkfeather exited the den, smiling. He turned back to the others. "I'm going to catch soooo many fish that the whole clan won't be able to eat them all!" he said, narrowing his orange-brown eyes.
"Ooooh, you're on," Jaypaw smirked. "I'm gonna to catch so many fish that the whole clan couldn't eat them all in a moon." Mothpaw threw in another challenge.
"It'll be countless moons before the clan gets halfway through my fish!" She said.
"Wouldn't it just turn to crow-food?" Ochrepaw joked. They all snickered heartily. Jackdaw, Ochrepaw's father and mentor, poked his head into the den.
"Alright, everybody. Don't scream too loud, but Silverstar and I have decided to start your assessments early. I'm getting complaints about the noise."
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" The apprentices giggled, trying their best to be quiet. Ochrepaw stood up promptly and followed his father outside his den. He heard his friends behind him.
The RiverClan camp was always a calming sight, surrounded by reeds, small trees, and the gentle, steady flow of the river. The morning sun had not yet appeared, allowing stars to glitter faintly in the brightening sky.
Yet, though the camp was so welcoming, Ochrepaw had always felt the tugging feeling to run away to where he and Jackdaw used to live; far, far, away from the clans, in a beautiful garden. His loyalties kept him in RiverClan with the best friends he could ask for.
Mothpaw, the observant one, had found him, cold, shivering, and curled up next to his half-dead father. They had been forced to jump into the river when the garden became overrun by giant dogs. It had swept them all the way to RiverClan, right into their territory.
Jaypaw, Mothpaw's sister, instantly took a liking to Ochrepaw. Mothpaw was fascinated by Jackdaw, as soon as he had enough strength to talk again.
"Ochrepaw!" Mothpaw giggled. "You're lost in thought again. Wake up!"
"We're going to be warriors!" he whispered, keeping himself on track of what lay ahead. She seemed satisfied and went behind Ochrepaw again. By that point, Jackdaw had gathered Jaypaw and Mothpaw's mentors, Pikefin and Troutsplash, and had left camp.
Pikefin stopped the group at a small clearing and cleared his throat.
"Apprentices, your goal is to catch as much prey as possible. You may catch fish and other animals, but you may not only catch fish. Remember, we are watching you. Good luck."
Ochrepaw nodded promptly and snuck off into the nearest bush. Jaypaw took a turn around a nearby tree, and Mothpaw headed toward the river.
Ochrepaw gathered every hunting instinct he had and focused. He picked up the scent trail of a mouse.
"Nearby. Moving slowly, must not know I'm here. Good. Stopping several times, eating probably. Perfect," Ochrepaw thought.
He gathered his observations and crouched, scenting the mouse a few tail-lengths ahead of him. He saw it, munching on a small seed. He got closer, closer… and pounced!
Within a split second, the mouse was dead in his paws.
"Works every time!" He thought. "Well, not every time but a lot of the time!"
Ochrepaw silently thanked StarClan for the life of the prey and buried it, then moved onward to the river. He chose a spot where his shadow would not be cast over the water and stared hard. He had never excelled at catching fish, so he was determined to get it right this time.
A swiftly moving shadow caught his eye. It was huge.
Ochrepaw let out a gasp. He snapped into focus and plunged his paw into the water, claws extended. He felt the fish, but it swam out of his grasp. He fought for it, clumsily trying to fumble it into his claws. Finally, his claws sank in, and he brought it out of the water with effort.
He killed it as quickly as possible with a swift bite to the neck, then stood back to admire his catch. It was enormous! He felt a rush of triumph as he thanked StarClan for its life and buried it.
He could smell Jackdaw behind him, and he heard a little laugh filled with pride and amazement. Ochrepaw moved on and tried to get the scent of a land animal, his specialty.
Quick as lightning, a tiny shape darted in his field of view. Ochrepaw slammed his paw down at the same speed, landing a whisker-length in front of it. He got a glimpse of it.
"Vole," he thought. "Nice and plump." He dashed off in hot pursuit, but the vole ran out of his sight before he could extend his paw again.
"Grr," he whispered aloud. Ochrepaw needed to make up his lost time, or he wouldn't be able to catch enough prey.
Suddenly the scent of a bird reached him. He located it, pecking at a worm, a few tail-lengths away. Ochrepaw crouched. It wasn't going to be easy, but he was going to pounce from the spot he was in.
He wiggled his haunches and made a few final calculations.
With one mighty push of his legs, he pounced. The bird noticed and took off, but it was too slow. He stretched out his paw, grasped the bird and slammed it to the ground, killing it.
"That was awesome!" He thought triumphantly. After the bird, he caught a squirrel and another mouse, then Jackdaw came out of the bushes to warn him that the time was up. Ochrepaw ran back to the spots in which he had caught prey and dug them up. Jackdaw helped carry his catches back to the clearing.
Jaypaw stared at his giant fish with amazement. Ochrepaw smiled, embarrassed.
"You all have done very well," Pikefin announced once everyone had come back. "You will become warriors this sunhigh."