Phantom of the Clans

Chapter 7

Spiritpaw's POV

By the following morning, a thin drizzle soaked the treetops and dripped down into the camp.

Spiritpaw got up and shook his damp fur out. He stepped out of his den and noticed Firepaw helping Yellowfang. He shook his head a bit and was about to pad out of camp when Runningwind called him. He ran over to him. "What is it, Runningwind?" he asked.

"Today, you and your friends are going to be assessed. Tigerclaw will be overseeing the assessment. " he informed. "Go wait with your friends beside the tree stump for Firepaw."

Spiritpaw nodded and padded over to wait.

Graypaw looked stiff and uncomfrotable, his long fur clumped by the dampness of the air. Ravenpaw was pacing around the tree stump, lost in thought, the white tip of his tail twitching.

Firepaw finally padded over to them.

"So you're joining us today!" Graypaw called as Firepaw approached. "Some day, huh?" He shook himself roughly to get rid of the clinging wetness.

"Yes. Bluestar told me that Tigerclaw is going to assess us today. Are Sandpaw and Dustpaw coming too?"

"Whitestorm and Darkstripe took them out on warrior patrol. I suppose Tigerclaw is going to look at them later." Graypaw answered.

"Come on! We should get going," urged Ravenpaw. He had stopped pacing and now hovered beside them anxiously.

"Fine by me," mewed Graypaw. "Hopefully some exercise will warm me up a bit."

The four cats trotted through the gorse track and out of the camp. The hurried to the sandy hollow, Tigerclaw had not arrived, so they hung around in the shelter of the pine tree, their fur fluffed up against the chill.

"Are you worried about the assessment?" Firepaw asked Ravenpaw, as the young cat padded backward and forward with quick, nervous pawsteps. "There's no need to be. You're Tigerclaw's apprentice, after all. When he reports back to Bluestar, he's going to want to tell her how good you are."

Spiritpaw tuned them out and closed his eyes. His instincts were telling him that today was not going to be a good day. He looked up at the trees, whose branches hung overhead.

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By the time Tigerclaw arrived, the sky had changed. The clouds looked less like thick gray fur, and more like the soft white paws of down that queens used to line the nests of their newborns. Blue skies couldn't be far behind, but the breeze that brought the softer clouds carried a fresh chill. Spiritpaw had noticed the other cats would shiver once in awhile from the cold, but it didn't bother him any.

Tigerclaw greeted them briskly and launched straight into the exercise details. "Lionheart, Runningwind, and I have spent the last few weeks trying to teach you how to hunt decently," he meowed. "Today you'll have a chance to show me how much you have learned. Each of you will take a different route and hunt as much prey as possible. And whatever you catch will be added to the supplies in the camp."

The five apprentices looked at one another, nervous and excited.

"Ravenpaw, you will follow the trail beyond the Great Sycamore as far as the Snakerocks. That should be easy enough for your pitiful skills. You, Graypaw," Tigerclaw continued, "will take the route along the stream, as far as the Thunderpath."

"Great," mewed Graypaw. "Wet paws for me!" Tigerclaw's stare silenced.

"Spiritpaw, you'll hunt near the abandoned Twoleg nest and Firepaw you will hunt take the route through the Tallpines, past the Treecut place, to the woods beyond."