Ivypool's Heart || Warriors ✔

Chapter 3

The next morning, Ivypool is up early, along with her apprentice, Snowpaw, and the both of them join the hunting patrol.

The air is crisp with prey scent today, and ThunderClan couldn't be anymore thankful for a prey rich forest this Greenleaf. It's almost as if StarClan are blessing them with plentiful prey, after a harsh Leafbare that had wracked through the Clan, resulting in many cats becoming ill with Greencough and taking the lives of a few members of the Clan.

But, Greenleaf is here now, meaning that not many cats will get sick - unless, you count either Graystripe or Bumblestripe getting stomachaches from eating too much prey, but, what do you expect? Definitely like father like son with those two.

Stopping in her tracks, Ivypool caches the scent of mouse on the wind. In fact, not a mouse, but mice.

Crouching down, she slowly stalks along the grass, turning round bushes, till she spots them. Mice. One was sitting on a tree stump washing itself, while two others where on the other side of the small area sniffing around in the dirt for food.

Slowly, Ivypool stalks one of the mice, thankful for the fact that the wind was blowing towards her and not the mouse, so it had no idea she was coming till the last heartbeat. But by then, it was too late anyway, Ivypool had already bit into the neck of the mouse, killing it instantly.

Looking up, the mouse still hanging limp in her jaws, she looks around her, hissing in frustration that the other two mice have vanished. It's not much of a bother though, she can always find more. After all, there's plenty of prey out today, so maybe she could find a squirrel, or maybe even a rabbit.

Quickly, she find a safe spot to bury her prey in the ground so she can come back and collect it once she's finished, before she goes off in search of more prey.

*********

Padding back into camp, her jaw full of prey for the fresh kill pile, Ivypool feels a surge of pride run through her. She had caught a lot more prey than any of the other cats in the hunting patrol - only by a few, but still.

But that's not the only reason she feels a surge of pride run through her. Her apprentice Snowpaw has also caught a very good number of prey. She couldn't be anymore proud of her young apprentice than she is right now, and she knows that he'll make a excellent warrior for the Clan one day.

Dropping her prey on the pile, she takes a vole for herself, before instructing Snowpaw to take a rabbit over to the elder Purdy, who lay outside the elders den, head resting on his paws as he dozes in shade. Ever since Mousefur had died during the battle between the Clan cats and the Dark Forest, Purdy has been ThunderClan's only elder for moons now.

In a way, the apprentices are probably glad of the fact that there's only one elder to look after, giving them a lot more time to listen to Purdy's rambling tales of when he used to be a youngin' just like them. But being the only elder left in ThunderClan currently, must get rather lonesome for the old tom. Though Purdy does get plenty of company from the apprentices and the Clan's kits.

Shaking out her fur, Ivypool walks over to the other side of the clearing where Dovewing sits with Bumblestripe, Blosomfall, and even Briarlight - who doesn't let her disability stop her from being a part of the Clan. Even though Briarlight can no longer be a warrior, she still serves the Clan as well as she possibly can by helping out with the kits, and helping out Jayfeather and Leafpool in the medicine den.

Laying down next to Blosomfall, Ivypool felt her fur prickle slightly with a feeling that she couldn't even begin to describe. Somehow, Blosomfall just makes her heart skip a beat for some extremely odd reason. She has no idea why she'd get this strange feeling when she's around Blosomfall, she just, does.

The tortoiseshell and white she-cat just makes her heart flutter.

In fact, Ivypool remembers Dovewing telling her about this feeling she gets when she's around Bumblestripe, like he makes her heart skip a beat at times.

What did Dovewing call it again? Love?

Ivypool tenses slightly. Could it be possible that she likes Blossomfall, much more than just a friend?