☁ 𝒜𝓈 𝒞𝓁𝑜𝓊𝒹𝓈 𝒞𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝓀𝓎 ☁

Chapter 7

𝒦𝑒𝑒𝓃𝓅𝒶𝓌

~ ✵ ☁ ✵ ~

Keenpaw raced across the marshes, keeping his narrowed blue-green eyes on the bounding rabbit ahead of him. Its legs pumped in desperation as it ran for its life, but Keenpaw was on the prey's heels, his mouth-watering as its scent caught his nostrils.

He gathered all of his energy in his muscles and sprang forward, lunging at the creature with outstretched paws. His claws hooked into the rabbit's fur, but it was able to escape his grasp within an instant, leaping away, far out of his reach.

"Fox-dung," he cursed under his breath, letting out an irritated hiss. It had been about a moon after his sister left the clan and the night before had been the gathering. But of course, he was too young to go, and he hated not knowing what his sister was up to.

He let out a sigh as he heard heavy pawsteps come from behind him. His other sister Mistpaw had been lucky enough to have Heronclaw as her mentor. The russet and white she-cat's daughter was in the Clanless Clowder just like Tiny and he overheard some of the conversations they would have about the group of cats.

He and his mentor didn't have much of a bond, and Keenpaw even found himself afraid of the massive, thickset tom. He didn't seem like a bad cat, but he knew if he ever got in a fight with the massive warrior, he'd be doomed. Shiningsoul had large, pointed claws and huge teeth that could leave any cat severely injured.

"I almost had it," he growled, his ears were low in shame as he stared down at his paws, avoiding his mentor's gaze.

But the large warrior only gave him a gentle lick on his shoulder. "Hey, don't be ashamed. It happens to every cat, even skilled warriors like myself." He assured. "It takes quite a while to get the hang of hunting."

Keenpaw gathered enough courage to lift his eyes. His whiskers twitched and his heart fluttered with new hope. He wondered if Mistpaw had any luck hunting. Was the gray and white apprentice struggling as much as he was?

He shook the thought away. There was no time for him to think about such things. He had to focus on his own tasks. He had to get better at hunting.

Not long after, he stumbled upon a squirrel who was feasting on something small in its tiny paws. It was oblivious of Keenpaw's presence, and he wanted to keep it that way. He positioned himself, laying low to the ground and keeping his tail straight out behind him to make sure his prey wouldn't hear him. Then he sprang, catching the creature in his paws. It let out a fearful shriek that was cut off by Keenpaw's fatal bite.

A surge of triumph ran through him. He'd done it! He had finally made his first kill!

"Well done, Keenpaw!" His mentor purred, stepping out of his hiding place where he kept an eye on Keenpaw's hunting while he avoided interfering. "Tiny would be proud of you."

Even her name made his heart twist with longing. He hoped the moons would pass quickly until Moonstar allowed him to go to his first gathering. Then, I'll finally be able to know what Tiny's been up to!

But his excitement faded when the crunching of leaves sounded from behind the two toms. They spun around, but there was nothing in sight. Then, an odd scent caught his nose and he dropped his catch, trying to make out the smell, but it was unfamiliar to Keenpaw. His mentor's amber eyes though flashed with grave recognition.

Trying to keep quiet, Shiningsoul crept behind a large overgrown bush. Vines and broken branches stuck out in every which way, but it kept the large cat unseen by whatever danger lurked nearby. He made a gesture with his massive head for Keenpaw to follow, mimicking what Shiningsoul had done to stay silent.

He was careful to keep each pawstep inaudible. It was difficult and he held his breath with every movement he made, but eventually, he had made it to his mentor's side. Through the thick undergrowth, he could just make out ghostly yellow eyes, narrowed in fierce determination. Long gray fur followed as the large creature stepped out from the darkness of the overgrown marshes that had engulfed him.

It was large and thickset, like his mentor. But compared to this massive shadowy figure, Shiningsoul was like a mouse doomed to be trampled on. Keenpaw looked to the large cat who obviously recognized what was in front of him. As much as the apprentice wanted to ask questions, he had to stay quiet. If they were caught, they had no chance of escape.

The gray dog-like creature took its precious time to move on, sniffing warily at just about every spot he possibly could. Keenpaw's heart raced as it caught sight of the squirrel the tom had dropped. Mouse-dung! That was all he could think as the plump, fresh catch was wolfed down within a few bites. Within what seemed like moons, the strange creature had finally moved on, and the squirrel he had caught just moments before was nothing more than a bloody pile of bones and fur.

"What was that thing?" Keenpaw burst out, keeping his voice at a whisper in case of any slight chance the massive monster would hear them and race back.

"A wolf. They're spotted sometimes during spring." He informed. "As long as they don't spot you, you're safe." He nudged the apprentice along, padding back to camp. His heart dropped. He had been so excited to show off his squirrel, but now it was gone, and all of his pride and anticipation with it.