Cinders to Flames

Chapter 3

Cinderpaw woke up the next morning, blinking sleep from her eyes. She left Blackpaw to sleep and walked out of the apprentice's den into the morning sunlight. She stretched, yawning, and then trotted over to the fresh-kill pile. She eyed a juicy looking thrush, but before she could grab it, Heronpaw snatched it away from her.

"Hey, I was going to eat that!" Cinderpaw complained. Heronpaw shrugged.

"I guess you were just too slow," he meowed, giving her injured leg a glance.

"I guess you are just too quick to judge." She meowed stiffly, grabbing a mouse, and walking away. She finished her mouse, and spotted Mudsplash walking toward her.

"Are you ready for some hunting?" he asked. Cinderpaw got to her paws and nodded eagerly. She followed him down the rocky path and into the forest.

"Can we do battle practice today?" Cinderpaw asked Mudsplash. He paused mid-step to think for a moment.

"How about this, I teach you how to hunt, and if you catch something on your first try, I will teach you some battle moves." He suggested.

"Okay, fine, '' Cinderpaw agreed. Mudsplash found a clearing and motioned for her to watch with his tail.

"This is the hunting crouch," he meowed, crouching. He had his paws tucked neatly in front of his chest, his tail, and head low; ears pricked for any sounds of life. Cinderpaw crouched beside him, trying to copy him. Mudsplash stood up and watched her carefully.

"Okay, good, now creep forward and then spring. Aim for that red leaf," he instructed.

Cinderpaw crept forward toward the leaf, and then stopped a tails length behind it. She tensed her hindlegs and sprung. She landed directly on top of the leaf but let out a hiss of pain as her injured leg touched the floor.

"Hmmm... Remember to make sure your tail doesn't brush the ground, or it will alert your prey. Also make sure to step as quietly as you can. Try again."

"Let's try on real prey now" Mudsplash decided.

"But if I do catch something there won't even be time to learn any battle moves." Cinderpaw pointed out, looking up at the darkening sky and the faint outline of the moon.

"Then we will learn battle moves first thing tomorrow." He meowed. Cinderpaw shrugged and pricked her ears and scented the air for prey. She heard the slightest rustle from the underbrush behind her. She crept toward the sound, keeping her tail just above the ground and carefully placing her paws on the forest floor. Then she spotted a red squirrel, just at the base of a huge maple tree, nibbling on a pinecone. She narrowed her eyes, carefully estimating the distance between her and the squirrel. She crouched, head low, hindlegs tensed, and leapt toward the squirrel, claws outstretched. She landed squarely on top of the squirrel, but it slithered out of her grasp just in time and skittered up the tree, red leaves raining down on her. I'm not giving up that easily! She thought with determination. She sprung on to the lowest branch, ignoring Mudsplash's warning shouts. She gripped the bark, springing onto the branch above her. Soon she was nearly at the top of the tree and spotted a fluffy ginger tail out of the corner of her eye. She crouched low, stepping lightly on the thin branch. The squirrel started to nibble on another pinecone, unaware that it was being hunted.

Cinderpaw leapt toward the squirrel, determination filling every bone in her body. She landed perfectly on top of her prey, and she bit the back of the squirrel's neck and broke the spine with a satisfying crunch. When she jumped down from the tree, the fat squirrel hanging from her jaws, Mudsplash glared at her. Cinderpaw dropped the squirrel at his paws.