Bloodflower

Chapter 41

"So, what do you think?" Rosethorn stood beside Acornpaw just outside the camp. She knew the forest wasn't as impressive as it was when she became an apprentice herself, since it was leaf-bare, but Acornpaw still looked fascinated.

"It's a lot colder out here than it is back in the camp," the ginger apprentice murmured. "I can still smell cats, but there's a whole bunch of other stuff too, now. Oak sap...some weird plants I don't recognize..." The ginger she-cat's nose twitched with confusion. "I can barely smell any prey at all. Where is it?"

"It's leaf-bare now, so most of the prey is hiding from the cold in their dens," Rosethorn explained. "It makes it a little harder to hunt, but we manage."

"You'll manage even better with four extra hunters!" Acornpaw puffed out her chest.

Rosethorn purred. "Wait 'till you actually know how to hunt first!"

"When will we start training?"

"Tomorrow, I should think," Rosethorn answered. Remembering something Pineclaw had said to her, she added, "Learning the territory comes first. We have a lot of ground to cover, after all."

"Okay," Acornpaw mewed eagerly. "Exploring, it is! Can we get going yet? My paws are freezing to the ground! Is it normally this chilly?" She turned in an impatient circle.

Overhearing her, Cherryfur meowed, "It's actually much colder than it's been the past few days. Perhaps we'll be seeing some snow soon."

"Snow?" Rosethorn echoed. "What's that?"

Cherryfur blinked. "Ah. I forgot you haven't seen it before. When it's snowing, a ton of tiny white flakes start to fall from the sky. They cover the whole ground until everything is white."

"You're joking!" Nightshade gasped. "That must be a lot of flakes, if it covers the whole ground."

"You and Shadowpool will stand out like pines among oaks if that ever happens," Rosethorn purred.

"So would you!" Shadowpool retorted good-humoredly. "In fact, I think most of us would stand out easily. It'll be even harder to hunt, then."

"Right," Cherryfur agreed. "I hope it doesn't snow, but at least you'll get to see what it looks like if it does."

"Please can we explore now?" Acornpaw groaned. "I can't stay in one place for much longer in this cold!"

"She's right," Rosethorn agreed with a shiver. "We should get moving. Where to first?"

"Let's head for the training clearing," Cherryfur decided. "That way you'll all know how to get there."

"Will we do any training while we're there?" Crowpaw asked.

"Not today. We'll spend the day touring the territory, and tomorrow we'll start training."

"Just like you said," Acornpaw commented to Rosethorn.

The morning dew hadn't evaporated as it normally did; instead the little droplets had created frost on just about every plant the group brushed past. Rosethorn groaned inwardly at the unpleasant feeling of melting frost soaking her pelt.

"Okay, this is the training clearing." Cherryfur stepped aside to let the four apprentices look around. "Unless you're learning something special like tree climbing, most of your lessons will be here. You'll usually do some kind of training every day, but what exactly you're doing depends on your mentor, or what Adderstar wants you to be learning."

"Cool!" Acornpaw stared up at the bare oak branches above. Half to herself, she muttered, "I wanna climb a tree..."

"It'll be a while before that," Rosethorn reminded her. "This is only your first day."