𝙄𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙜𝙤𝙥𝙖𝙬𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙥𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 the other as she locked eyes on an unusually plump mouse. She tried her best not to step clumsily on the jutting stones around her as she crept closer to the lake's edge, where the mouse scuttled in a thin layer of powdery snow. Flutterstorm had gone off in a different direction, allowing Indigopaw the chance to stalk her prey alone near Jagged Stones.
She crouched low, bunching her muscles. Springing into the air as fast as a lightning strike, she landed perfectly on the mouse. Just as her front claws met its flesh, her back legs slid out from underneath her. She had landed on a slippery, snow-covered stone. Her head spun as she tumbled down the slope toward the lake.
Before she had time to process what was happening, she found herself on a thin sheet of ice at the lake's edge. For once, she cursed the sun overhead for its warmth. She attempted to stand upright without slipping, wondering how to escape this mess. She unsheathed her claws to get as much grip as possible, her body aching from the fall.
Indigopaw knew that the thinnest ice lay at the edge of the lake, where the water tried to freeze over the pebbles. As she examined it for a stable spot to jump back on solid ground, she noticed the mouse curled up a few tail-lengths to her left. Her claws punctured it enough, and it must have tumbled down with her. She perked her ears when she noticed the slightest movement in the mouse's tail as if it wasn't dead but in pain. The last thing she wanted was for it to suffer.
Without thinking, Indigopaw hurriedly approached it, ignoring the slight aching from her tumble. She sniffed the mouse momentarily before performing a killing bite to the back of its neck. She picked it up in her jaws, noticing the bottom of the lake through a sheet of thin ice. A queasy feeling filled her stomach. She needed to figure out how to get off the ice and fast.
"Indigopaw! What in the name of StarClan are you doing on the ice?" Mountainpaw's outraged call made her jump.
She lost her balance, her legs buckling beneath her. The mouse escaped her jaws, sliding two tail-lengths away farther out toward the depths of the lake. She gulped when she heard a small crack nearby.
"Get off the ice!" Mountainpaw yowled from the edge of the lake.
Indigopaw knew she couldn't leave the mouse. It was too plump, and the Clan needed prey. She got to her paws shakily, placing one paw carefully in front of the other. The ice seemed as if it got thinner the closer she got to the mouse.
