StarClan isn't real..

Chapter 6

"Yellowpaw, get up!"

Yellowpaw jolted awake. Her mentor, Fallenthroat, stood over her. "It's time for training," She said. "Come on; Logpaw and Aspenwing are already waiting." Yellowpaw blinked against the haze of sleep and watched as the warrior left the den. Yawning, Yellowpaw lifted her head and glanced around. Fallowpaw was still in his nest, his claws out and twitching. Finchpaw and Larchpaw were gone, and Larkpaw was giving her fur a few grooms. The handsome brown she-cat looked up as Yellowpaw sat up in her nest; Larkpaw's eyes were kind.

"Good morning," She mewed. "You got some moss on your ear." She padded over to Yellowpaw and plucked off a scrap of moss, and brushed off a strand of dirty bracken. "There you go."

"Thanks," Yellowpaw purred.

Larkpaw purred and dipped her head, then padded out of the den. Yellowpaw looked towards Fallowpaw, wondering whether to wake him up, but decided against it. If he was right and he wasn't getting a lot of sleep, she'd better leave him to it. She gave her pelt a few quick licks so she didn't look like a dead rat, then rose to her paws and stretched, her tail sticking up high into the air.

As she was about to leave the den, Fallowpaw's nest rustled. Yellowpaw turned and saw him jolt awake, panting and gasping for air. "Palemask?" He gasped. He met Yellowpaw's eyes and seemed to calm down.

"Palemask?" Yellowpaw echoed.

Fallowpaw stumbled to his paws and shook out his pelt. He looked quite muddy. "My bad," He mumbled, giving his pelt a shake. A speck of earth flew off from a clump of mud in his fur.

"You have something on you," Yellowpaw said. She padded forward and was about to try and lick off the mud, but she didn't want to get sick, she she hooked up some moss with her claws and then wiped the mud off. She groomed the remains off and then buried the dirty moss. "There you go," She said, looking Fallowpaw in the eye. He looked uneasy and uncomfortable, and Yellowpaw wondered if he was annoyed with her. "Uh, how'd you get that on you?" She asked. There wasn't really any mud in WindClan territory, due to the lack of rain.

Fallowpaw looked away. "I probably drooled in my sleep or something."

That doesn't make mud. Yellowpaw thought, but Fallowpaw had already turned away and headed out of the den. Deciding not to bother him further, Yellowpaw waited for a moment then headed out. Fallenthroat was waiting by the fresh-kill pile, her short tail impatiently tapping the ground. Yellowpaw bounded over to her. "Sorry I was long," She said.

"No worries," Fallenthroat purred. She turned to Aspenwing, a sleek, smoky tom. Beside him was Logpaw, who was staring at Yellowpaw with an unreadable expression. "Come on, you two."

Yellowpaw hung behind as the two warriors and apprentice headed out of camp. Her paws were itching uneasily. She hoped Logpaw wouldn't snap at her, or make the training harder than it needed to be. She wasn't even sure what they were doing. Hopefully not battle training... Logpaw's much bigger than me, and he's so fast. She guessed he had already learned the running technique she had been tought. Yellowpaw did want to hunt, though. She'd always wanted to catch her own prey, to bring it to Blacktooth as Logpaw had done.

I suppose I'll find out, She thought, following the patrol through the heather tunnel.

They padded into the moor and headed towards a clearing with a short tree stump. White plants with leafy stems grew beside it, and a cobweb was stretched across the stump. Yellowpaw shuddered. She didn't like spiders. But it's not like they went out of their way to attack her, so she simply sat down beside Logpaw as Aspenwing and Fallenthroat settled down in front of them.

"Today we'll be learning how to chase rabbits," Aspenwing told the apprentices. "I know you both know how to run fast, but to catch a rabbit, you need to run in a special way so they don't hear or feel you."

Yellowpaw smiled determinedly. This was exactly what she wanted to do! Hunting and running combined. She didn't want to learn to fight yet, especially if she had an opponent like Logpaw... although she did like the thought of sending the black and gray apprentice reeling with a blow to his muzzle. Yellowpaw shook off the daydreams and listened to Fallenthroat as her mentor spoke. "Rabbits are like mice," She said. "They can feel vibrations in the earth whenever your paws brush the floor. WindClan cats have a skill that they use to glide over the grass, barely touching it. But sometimes we are too focused on that, so we don't realize any noise were making. So today we'll teach you two how to be quiet while also being fast."

Tensing her muscles, Yellowpaw prepared for instructions. Logpaw yawned.

"Watch me," Fallenthroat purred.

The torbie she-cat turned and padded a mouse-length away from the clearing. She stopped in the grass, then sprang forward. As her paws hit the ground, she immediatly bounded back off. She was swift and hardly exhausted. Yellowpaw watched in awe, while Logpaw looked slightly less excited. But he was no disrespectful cat, so he was still paying attention.

Fallenthroat skidded to a halt, circling back to the clearing. "Like that," She purred, breathing in a whiff of fresh air. Yellowpaw sneezed from the dust cloud Fallenthroat had kicked up.

Logpaw rose to his paws as Aspenwing nodded at him. The gray and black apprentice shook out his fur, coating Yellowpaw's coat in dust. A growl rose in her throat, but she had no time to snap. Logpaw had already began to run. His swift build easily allowed him to glide across the moor. Yellowpaw sank her claws impatiently into the ground. Was he showing off, or was he just extra fast? Aspenwing nodded in approval, and Fallenthroat let out a purr. Envy coursed through Yellowpaw's heart, and she ripped her gaze away from her clanmates.

Logpaw skidded to a halt, purposefully showering her with dust. "Done."

"Very good!" Aspenwing purred. "Yellowpaw, now you."

If I fail, at least I have an excuse. Yellowpaw thought, lifting her head and rising to her paws. It's only my second day of training. That thought only strengthened her determination to show off in Logpaw's face.

Taking a deep breath, Yellowpaw shot off across the moor. She tried to keep her paws light, and as they were about to touch the ground, she simply kicked off again. Exhilaration coursed through her. She had hardly made a sound! This was so much fun. She kept running, the wind rushing against her pelt. Wanting to go faster, she stretched her legs and was able to leap great distances. She purred, her tail streaming out behind her. This was the best part of her life! She practically had to drag herself back to the clearing, but was distracted when a flash of white caught her attention.

A rabbit!

The big animal was gnawing on a clump of dandelions. Yellowpaw crouched down so the rabbit didn't hear her, and then slowly crept forward. She didn't want to startle it, so she tried to keep her pawsteps quiet. The rabbit was too focused on it's eating. Yellowpaw bunched her hind legs beneath her, remembering pouncing on Blacktooth's tail, and then she leapt.

The rabbit let out a squeak as she landed on top of it. Instinctively, Yellowpaw shot for it's neck and bit down as hard as she could. The rabbit let out a squeal that was abruptly caught off as it went limp.

"Wow!" The voice came from Fallenthroat. Yellowpaw turned to see her mentor racing towards her. "I've never seen an apprentice catch prey on her second day, espically not a rabbit!" She bundled over to Yellowpaw and gave her ears a bunch of prideful licks. Yellowpaw dipped her head, embarrassed and prideful. She could practically feel Logpaw's glare scorching her pelt, but she tried to ignore it.

Aspenwing approached. "Let's take this back to camp. The elders might want a treat, espically if it's freshly killed."

Yellowpaw nodded agreement, and the cats headed back to camp. The entire time, Yellowpaw could feel Logpaw's gaze scorching her pelt. She couldn't resist a smirk at him. Now you know how it feels to not win for once, She thought. Now you know how it feels when somebody else gets their way.

Chin high, she looked away and strutted back towards camp.