AshClan's Future {COMPLETE}

Chapter 11

Echopaw shivered in her nest, slowly lifting her head and blinking away sleep. She lifted her head slowly and let out a heavy yawn. As she mind unclogged from sleep she took a look around the apprentice den. It was mostly empty except her, Hollypaw and Mousepaw. Riverpaw was always up at dawn, and earlier that moon, Mudthorn, Cloverstrike, Rainsong and Windheart had all been named warriors.

The apprentice den was getting smaller and more spacious, but Echopaw knew that if they didn't expand the warrior's den soon, any new warriors would be remaining in the apprentice den. Her warrior ceremony wouldn't be for several more moons, she figured so she didn't have to worry about that just yet.

Echopaw rose to her paws and stretched out her limbs. She peered out the den entrance and realized that small flakes of snow were slowly falling from the sky. It's really leaf-bare now. Echopaw thought with a flick of her tail. She stepped into the frigid air outside and suppressed another shiver. It had snowed a couple times before now, but she could see the snow starting to form a layer on the ground.

It's here to stay this time. Echopaw thought. She brushed off the thoughts of snow and began scanning camp for her mentor. She finally spotted him staying warm with Berryleaf besides the warrior's den. Echopaw braved the cold and approached her mentor. Ripplestep looked up and greeted his apprentice with a nod. "Good morning, Echopaw." He dipped his head. "Ready to start training?"

"I am." Echopaw gave a small nod.

"I'll see you later." Ripplestep purred sweetly, touching his muzzle to Berryleaf's cheek. He rose to his paws and the two of them ventured out into camp.

"What are we doing today?" Echopaw questioned, looking around AshClan territory which was starting to turn white.

"Now that the snow is actually here," Ripplestep began. "I'm going to test your leaf-bare hunting skills."

"Okay." Echopaw mewed boldly. She had practiced several times in preparation for leaf-bare, but now the snow was here and she would have to hone in on her skills in order to feed her Clan. "Where should I start?"

"Let's start heading towards the SunClan border, and you can catch whatever you can find along the way." Ripplestep suggested and the two of them began padding away from the camp.

Echopaw lifted her muzzle into the air and breathed in. It was hard to scent anything over the frost. The cold air just bit at her nose, it was even difficult to catch the scent of the pine trees around them. She focused harder and after a short time walking, she finally caught the scent of squirrel.

She started tracking and broke away from Ripplestep. He followed silently behind her, letting her hunt. Echopaw tracks for a few foxlengths until she spotted the creature. It's dark ginger fur was like a splash of blood against the snow. She was grateful that she didn't have a black pelt like Ripplestep.

She dropped into the hunters crouch and began stalking her prey. She kept her breaths silent, and walked with precision. As she prepared to make her leap, one final step landed on a brittle twig, snapping it in two. The squirrel's head snapped up and it was now aware of the danger it was in.

Echopaw made an attempt to race after the squirrel as it raced away, but the squirrel was too fast. It sprinted up tree and vanished into the pine needles. Echopaw let out a hiss of frustration.

"That's unfortunate." Ripplestep spoke up, padding up behind her. Echopaw flattened her ears. I swear I miss more prey than any other apprentice. Riverpaw wouldn't have missed that catch. She thought bitterly. "Don't beat yourself up over it." Ripplestep rested his tail on her shoulders. "It's your first time hunting in snow, even I didn't see that twig." Echopaw cast a grateful glance up at her mentor, but she was still annoyed with herself for missing her catch. "Let's keep going."