||Spice's Destiny||

<Chapter 1>

☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎☁︎︎
The snow crunched underneath Alder'Paw's paws, his ears pricked for any sounds of danger or any prey. "So, Alder'Paw, are you sure you'll find any prey out in this leaf-bare?" Asked his mentor, Feather'Heart. Alder'Paw didn't respond, he really didn't know what he was thinking when he had told his mentor that he wanted to hunt. But instead of telling her that he wasn't sure, he responded with: "I'm sure." Feather'Heart casted a doubtful glance around the snowy clearing before at Alder'Paw. "If you say so." She sounded doubtful. He fluffed out his reddish ginger pelt against the cold wind, hoping to at least keep himself warm during the hunt. "I highly doubt that we can find anything in all of this snow, besides," a new voice spoke from some dried up weeds, Alder'Paw stiffened before relaxing when he realized it was only Wild'Ripple and his apprentice Kestrel'Paw.

Feather'Heart flicked her tail lightly, "we should be focusing on keeping the clan safe and warm!" Wild'Ripple finished, shaking his pelt as if ants were crawling through it. "But wouldn't that mean hunting for the clan too?" Kestrel'Paw asked, tipping her head slightly. Alder'Paw shifted uncomfortably, he wasn't even sure what to do. He knew they should be hunting, not arguing about what to do, but that was only his opinion. "Yes Kestrel'Paw. That would mean hunting for our clan," Feather'Heart mewed, before moving her gaze towards Wild'Ripple, "and keeping our clan safe and warm." She added. Alder'Paw opened his jaws to try and remind them about the hunt, until he spotted movement within some snow covered bushes.

He glanced at the other three cats, they hadn't noticed it yet. So, he quietly crouched down to the ground. He quietly crept towards where the sound was, he was careful enough to not accidentally make any sound. Once he was for sure he was close enough, he gathered his hunches. Ready to leap. 'Now all I have to do is—' he was cut off by a loud rabbit screech from the other side, the other three had heard it as well. "What in Star'Clan?!" Kestrel'Paw squeaked, but they all relaxed a bit when a tortoiseshell she-cat appeared from the bushes, holding a rabbit in her jaws. "You scared us out of our fur Spotted'Pelt!" Exclaimed Kestrel'Paw. Alder'Paw noticed how thin and small the rabbit was, he let out a long sigh. 'Why can't hunting in leaf-bare be more easier?' He thought grimly, "I'm sorry, were you hunting this rabbit?" A voice broke through his thoughts.

He noticed Spotted'Pelt was looking at him, and had put down the rabbit. "Oh, um. . ." He suddenly felt awkwardly about responding to a senior warrior, he shook his head, silently scolding to himself. "No, I wasn't." He assured her, flicking his tail dismissively. She stared at him for a long moment before moving her attention away from him, towards Wild'Ripple and Feather'Heart. "You know, you two would make a pretty great team." Spotted'Pelt mewed lightly, her eyes flashed with amusement. Alder'Paw glanced at his mentor's face, expecting to see anger but instead, Feather'Heart gave her chest fur a few embarrassment licks. While Wild'Ripple shifted in embarrassment. This made Alder'Paw quietly hiss in disgust.

Kestrel'Paw blinked a few times, seeming like she didn't understood what had just happened. "Anyway, we better get back to camp." Spotted'Pelt's mew was now stern, he wondered if something had happened at camp while they were gone. The senior began to lead the cats towards camp. "But why now? Shouldn't we be hunting?" Asked Kestrel'Paw, earning a sharp glance from Wild'Ripple. "Well, we certainly can't hunt in our river!" Wild'Ripple hissed, Alder'Paw's ears perked. Was river the frozen? He glanced towards the direction where the river was, suddenly wondering. What did the river look like when it's frozen? Is it even frozen? He glanced back towards his clanmates. He fell next to Feather'Heart, "What does the river even look like when it's frozen?" He asked quietly,

Feather'Heart blinked in surprise before looking thoughtful, "I'll admit, I never seen it myself." She answered, this made him surprise. "So how will we ever know?" He frowned, he wanted to check it out for himself, but he was only a warrior apprentice. Following orders. "We can check it out on the border patrol if you'd like." Feather'Heart offered, his twitched. Would he really see it if he went on a border patrol? He was sure of it! He glanced at the others before back at his mentor, "Yeah." He nodded before continuing on.