𝙷𝚊𝚕𝚏𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚎𝚜 𝚜𝚒𝚗

𝙸𝙸𝙸

A/N: Buckle up this one's a long one!

   Tonight. Tonight is the night I become an apprentice. I walked out of the den to notice it was sundown. Come on, just hurry up and call the meeting. 

   "All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the high rock for a clan meeting" YES. I padded towards the high rock where no one was really at. 

   "I call this meeting for a kit to finally become an apprentice. Sootkit, step forward. You have reached 6 moons from the day you become an apprentice, you will be known as Sootpaw, and your mentor will be Pineneedles" I heard a few snarky remarks about my mentor. 

   "Of course, he chose him as her mentor, he is just as sane as her" I had heard Pigonear say. I looked over to Duskclaw to see her having a look of disgust on her face as she whispered to her mate, Briarheart. 

   I saw a large tom, he had dark tawny fur and was missing several patches of fur. He smiled down at me, "Don't worry, you'll do great" he said. I nodded to him. "I can help you get moss for your nest," he added. 

   "You are all dismissed," Blackstar said. 

   "Let's go, I will show you where to get moss'' He led me outside the camp, where it was nearly dark as we climbed out of the tunnel. He started to pick up the pace as we got closer to a large oak. 

   He had shown me how to peel the moss off the trunk. Once we had enough, he led me back to camp. We had entered the apprentice den and he helped me set up my nest. 

   I thanked him quickly but before he left, he mumbled something. "Just like your mother..." 

   "Huh?" I turned to face him, "What did you say?" 

   "You're just like your mother, Sunstripe, she may have been ruthless, but she was a good apprentice, and an amazing warrior. I remember doing this with her since the medicine cat at the time didn't have any moss" I looked at him, "Was she your favorite?" 

   "Yes, she obeyed, she was very hard on herself, but she wanted to be the best. She was driven by anger. Especially after Blackstar had exiled her mother. Her mother was framed as what she believed-" He then stopped. "I need to stop, I shouldn't be telling you this. Goodnight Sootpaw" He turned around and left quickly. 

   I flopped down into my nest and curled up. I feel he isn't telling me something.

-

   "Sootpaw, wake up it's time to train" I heard Pineneedle say. I opened my eyes slowly and got up. "I need to show you the territory, teach you basic hunting, and fighting tactics," He said. 

   We hurried out of the camp once I had gotten up. He had shown me where everything was from the best hiding places, the tunnels, good hunting places, and the twoleg place. 

   "Now, show me your best hunter's crouch," he ordered. I crouched down, he gave me a surprised look. "Good job, move forward slowly" He studied me slowly, "When you move forward keep your weight on your back paws, and when you move your back paws keep your weight on your forepaws" He instructed. "Good! Just more practice and you'll be a fantastic hunter"

-

    After practicing my hunter's crouch for a while, he decided to move on to hunting. He had caught a mouse but somehow kept it alive. "Ok, when you're hunting, or even fighting you don't need to do a lot to kill a mouse, shrew, rabbit. Any of those. When you're taking down something bigger like a fox or a dog you need to use your weight to attack it, use your claws, and teeth. Don't be afraid to be brutal or rough. All is fair in battle" he reminded. "Now anyway, when you have your enemy on the ground, aim for the artery's. It's quick and easy. Want the enemy to suffer, go for the eyes, stomach, face, ears, anywhere" He showed me the quickest way to end a cat's life. "Aim for this part of the throat" he showed me on the mouse. The mouse let out a small squeak but was then muffled by the sounds of gurgling and blood splattering out of its mouth. "Now you want to try?" he asked.