Thornpaw gazed into the river near his paws, his belly ached with a faint bit of anxiety. As he watched a fish swim right past, but as he raised a paw to fish it out… his stomach dropped and he splashed the water and jumped back instead. Turning his attention to his mentor who sat beside him, the gray tortoiseshell tom turned his attention to the dark tabby beside him. As he sighed and closed his eyes.

"Let's try something different." the RiverClan deputy mewed, turning his shoulder as Thornpaw felt his heart drop. Feeling embarrassed and shameful, he slowly padded behind while staring at the ground.

"Let's cover how to hunt Mice and Rabbits, we are quickly approaching Leaf-bare when the river is frozen or too cold to swim." Willowtail's tone was condescending or cruel, rather it seemed to try and lift his apprentice's spirits, as the gray tortoiseshell tom sat down and waited for the dark brown tabby to arrive by his side.

Thornpaw turned his attention back up to his mentor, as he watched the other cat dropped into a crouch and started padding forward. "Mice can feel the vibrations in the earth from your pawsteps, it is important that you make your steps as light as possible." Willowtail explained, as he demonstrated his best pace. Thornpaw watched carefully with his full attention, as the gray tortoiseshell cat kept his tail high and carefully planned pawsteps. "Shift as much weight as you can onto your Haunches."

"When you get close enough, you must act quick." Willowtail explained, turning his head to look over his shoulder. "Both prey are quick and will dart into cover if you aren't."

The young tom nodded as his mentor hesitated, before standing up and flicking his tail. "There's no prey here now, it will be a great spot to practice your hunting skills." Willowtail continued, turning back to his apprentice. "Mimic what I just showed you, and we can work from there."

the dark brown tabby dropped into a hunting crouch, trying his best to copy what his mentor showed him. As he stalked forward carefully, keeping his pace steady and smart. Watching his Mentor for any sign of approval in the gray tortoiseshell tom's gaze, before turning back to the prey ahead of him. As he crept forward he found a surge of strength in his confidence, as he pushed back on his hindquarters and pounced.

Thornpaw leaped through the air, as he aimed for his mentor's back but the gray tortoiseshell tom just moved slightly to the side. A smile on his face as he chuckled. "Nice try, but you need to be faster than that." Willowtail chuckled as his apprentice hit his jaw against the ground. "Your crouch was good, and you gave your best into that pace. But a mouse would have whisked away to its den by now.

The young tom huffed as he stood up, feeling a weight heavy on his shoulders as he flicked his ear. But he stood back up and turned back to the RiverClan Deputy, who gestured for him to try again. As Thornpaw took a deep breath and dropped into a crouch and tried again, trying to be as gentle and thoughtful as he wanted to be. As he pushed back this time lighter, as he was much closer to the gray tortoiseshell tom before leaping through the air.

Leaping through the air, almost at the blink of an eye. This time managing to hit his target before the other tom could move aside completely. As he sat back down on the ground, Willowtail let out a hefty laugh as he gazed down. "That was a little better, you do have the timing right… but we can work on the rest." the gray tortoiseshell tom explained, as he dropped into a hunting crouch.

"Hunting rabbits are different from mice, though Voles are closer to the latter." Thornpaw explained as he flicked his tail, and shifted his weight. "Taste the air, and feel the wind. If the wind is blowing towards you, and you can smell the Rabbit… then you are in the most optimal position to hunt it. Approach it as quick as you can and pounce onto its back, making sure that you deliver a quick bite to the neck. Pretend that twig there is a rabbit." he gestured towards a large twig in the ground.

Thornpaw nodded as he dropped into a crouch, carefully planning each move as he felt the wind in his fur. It was blowing towards him luckily, as he crept toward his prey and got ready to pounce. Willowtail watched from the side lines as his apprentice demonstrated what he had learned. Quickly leaping through the grass and landing on the twig, biting into it hard enough to break the end off.

"Much better." Willowtail praised as Thornpaw turned his attention back to his mentor, the gray tortoiseshell tom blinked and nodded before turning towards the forest. "We should bring back something to the clan, let's see if you can catch anything. I will be right behind you."

Thornpaw nodded as he turned his tasted the air, dropping into a crouch just to be on the safe side. As he crept through the forest and searched for any signs of prey, Willowtail crept along behind him. Both cats staying aware for any signs of their catch, as the young apprentice paid attention he noticed a sharp scent on his glands. As he quickly looked around, he noticed Willowtail watching him expectantly.

Mouse.

Thornpaw pushed all his weight onto his shoulders, and crept forward. Trying his best to do better than he did on his practice, he knew that this one he mustn't fail on. Each paw-step was carefully planned, as the scent got stronger and stronger he pushed back on his haunches and pounced. As he managed to land on his prey and pinned it to the ground, quickly dealing a swift blow to the neck.

"Well done, well done indeed," Willowtail praised as he flicked his tail, "Take that back to camp, I will go catch us a fish as well."

Thornpaw smiled as he looked back at the RiverClan deputy, before almost sprinting back towards the island. Feeling a little more confident this time.

As soon as he arrived back at camp, he felt a surge of pride in his heart as he delivers his first prey to the pile. Many times he had seen the warriors do this, many times he had gotten to wish for the day he got to contribute in return. Now here he was delivering, and it felt good to be helping the clan back. Even if in a small way.

"Well done, you can take a prey from the pile and join your friends now." Driftstar's mew sounded from behind him, as the dark brown tabby turned to dip his head to the pale brown tabby. Just in time to see Willowtail return with a fish in his mouth, feeling a little embarrassed at how quick the warrior had managed to return after him.

Thornpaw quickly took a fish from the pile and scurried over towards where Fuzzypaw and Birchpaw were laying in the shade, both with prey of their own to enjoy themselves. As he arrived beside them both cats lifted their heads. "Gave them a real thrashing did you?" Fuzzypaw asked as he took a wide strong stance.

"Calm down, it was just a hunting practice." Thornpaw laughed as he settled beside the fluffy tortoiseshell, gently shoving his side as he laughed at the fresh collection of burrs in the dense pelt.

"I saw you bring in that mouse, did you catch a that fish too?" Birchpaw asked as she flicked her tail, when Thornpaw shook his head she laughed. "I've never been a fan of getting my paws wet either, it's too uncomfortable."

Thornpaw smiled at his denmate, before turning his attention over to where Willowtail and Driftstar were speaking. Feeling a weight as he felt like they were talking about him, as he rested his chin on his paws and heaved out a heavy sigh.

A/N: Back to writing again, hopefully I won't take as long this time.

- Wolfstar of RavenClan