Dawnstar's Trouble {COMPLETE}

Chapter 3

Dawnpaw prepared herself to pounce, digging her claws into the earth underneath her paws. Something felt off her position, but she kept going. When Dawnpaw lept forward, she nearly slipped on the grass. Her front paws hit the ground clumsily, but she couldn't see her "prey" which was a large leaf. A feeling of accomplishment warmed over her, until she lifted her paws and noticed that she hadn't caught the leaf, she had only moved it farther away.

Dawnpaw let out a sigh and stood up, looking towards Sunstream who watched with interest. "Was I close at least?" She asked, feeling defeated.

"Yes, you were." Sunstream purred, the golden she-cat stood up and moved to Dawnpaw's side. "But you're rushing the pounce, and your crouch is uneven." Sunstream dropped into the hunter's crouch. "You need to keep your body tight and closed off, putting your strength into your jump, not your front paws. When you're getting ready to pounce, you need to keep your body as low to the ground as possible." Dawnpaw watched as Sunstream flattened herself against the ground, getting on level with the grass.

Dawnpaw copied her mentor, trying to press herself as close to the ground as possible, she could feel the ground just under her belly. When she looked at Sunstream for approval she just saw her mentor letting out a small laugh. "You want to crouch, not lay day." Sunstream stood in front of her, pushing Dawnpaw's paws closer to her chest. "Tuck your front paws in closer, and bring in your hind legs."

Dawnpaw followed her advice, bringing in her paws. This pose felt more comfortable than her last one. With a deep breath, Dawnpaw pounced once more. He paws landed a bit more stable on the ground, and on top of her leaf. She looked up at Sunstream with bright eyes, feeling accomplished, even if it was just a leaf.

"Not bad," Sunstream purred. "Tomorrow we'll try with some actual prey." She replied, her green eyes soft.

Dawnpaw's head fell, feeling disappointed. "Tomorrow? Why not today?"

Sunstream brushed her tail across Dawnpaw's flank. "Because we've been working at this for a while, now." She replied. "We'll start bright and early tomorrow, and spend the day hunting."

Dawnpaw's ears drooped, she stood up and began following her mentor back to camp. Dawnpaw had been apprentice for a little over a moon now and she still struggled with hunting. She hadn't caught a single piece of living prey yet, and she was starting to feel a little useless. Now that she actually managed to get the hunting crouch down, she wanted to try hunting real prey, she wanted to prove that she could. Even Turtlepaw was bring back prey, and she was only catching leaves.

Feeling like a disappointment, she entered camp as the sun was starting to fall. "Don't forget, Dawnpaw." Sunstream mewed. "Bright and early tomorrow." She purred and padded away to find Tigertail, Dawnpaw looked at her paws and padded over to the apprentice den. Outside, Lionpaw, Goldenpaw and much to her dismay, Fawnpaw were sitting around the entrance. Lionpaw and Goldenpaw were sharing a squirrel, but Dawnpaw didn't feel like eating if she couldn't provide prey herself.

"Hey, Dawnpaw!" Lionpaw called when she got closer, his amber eyes bright. "How was the training today?"

Dawnpaw approached the other apprentices, avoided their gazes. "It went...alright. Sunstream is a good mentor."

"Still haven't caught any prey?" Fawnpaw said, her tone as sharp as her claws, and cutting into any confidence Dawnpaw had left. She hung her head low and avoided Fawnpaw's judgmental stare.

"Don't be rude, Fawnpaw." Lionpaw spoke up, Dawnpaw looked up and saw the golden apprentice facing Fawnpaw.

"I was just pointing out a fact." Fawnpaw stuck her muzzle in the air. "She's been an apprentice for over a moon, she should be able to catch a piece of prey by now. Didn't you catch a piece of prey your first day out?" Dawnpaw flattened her ears.