Aspenpaw lifted her head sleepily. It was dawn. She saw Stormfern hovering above her, paw in mid-air. She smelled fresh starling.
"Branchleg and his patrol found a whole nest of starlings today," he told her. The starling looked plump and freshly caught; Stormfern pawed the tempting starling closer. "Eat."
He glanced at her, evidently concerned, then turned and padded away. Aspenpaw looked at the starling. It did look delicious and she was hungry.
But had the apprentices fed the elders, kits, and queens? She couldn't eat if they haven't been served.
But Oakleaf came to her side and licked her ruffled pelt. "You need to eat. It will keep your strength up," he ordered. Aspenpaw hesitated, then gobbled up the starling in a few ravenous bites.
"Thanks," she mumbled and stood up, yawning and padded sleepily over to Goldenpaw who was sharing tongues with Brownpaw.
"Wait!" Aspenpaw halted and turned around. "You need to rest." Oakleaf flicked his tail towards the den she made out of grass. Aspenpaw sighed and went back to her makeshift nest.
But she didn't sit down. "But I want to go hunting," she complained and looked at the pitiful pile of fresh-kill. "I know, but I was going to train you at sunhigh." Seeing Aspenpaw's disgruntled expression, he added, "I'll take you hunting after."
Then he whisked away to check on Greypattern.
No fair that he says he has more energy! Aspenpaw groomed her ruffled pelt and lie down in her nest, gratefully allowing herself to sleep. No dreams disturbed her.
Aspenpaw awoke by the sounds of pounding paw-steps. Cats were murmuring excitedly and Aspenpaw noticed with relief that the stream disappeared. Now they could return to their camp!
Aspenpaw jumped up, her training forgotten and caught up with Goldenpaw, who was with the other apprentices.
"Finally!" He muttered to her and she nodded, anxiously padding after her clanmates.
The elder's den and the camp entrance was destroyed, but everything was almost the same, though the wind carried most of Stormfern's and Tulipblossom's herbs away.
Aspenpaw darted to Greypattern, hoping to be picked to bring them brambles and leaves to weave back the den and entrance.
But Greypattern told her that Oakleaf already let her go training. Aspenpaw brightened when she remembered she would already be helping the Clan: by getting them fresh-kill!
She bounced to Oakleaf and the excitement brightened when he told her that he was cancelling the training. Though she would miss out on training with Goldenpaw, she was happy to hunt for her Clan and get them fresh-kill when they needed it most.
Oakleaf took her out right away with Shadedwing and Applefur. Aspenpaw felt her whiskers brush the thick trees and she crouched, sniffing the air.
Mouse! She pinpointed it where it was hiding under a leaf, nibbling on a seed. She crawled silently as a beetle in a battle, then pounced.
But she stepped on a twig. Alarmed, the mouse glanced up and scattered. "Bad luck!" Applefur meowed sympathetically.
Aspenpaw hissed and they kept walking. They stopped at the Shimmering Lake. It was overflown.
Aspenpaw sniffed around the roots of an old, thick tree. She smelled fresh scent of squirrel and saw it looking for food under bracken.
She was within fox-lengths of it. She crouched and slithered down the hill, checking the wind, and jumping.
The squirrel squealed but this time Aspenpaw caught it. She dispatched it with a single blow on the neck. She glanced up proudly.
"Nice catch!" Applefur and Oakleaf praised at the same time. Shadedwing dipped his head distractedly.
A large vole dangled from his jaws when he reappeared from under a bush.
"Come on!" Oakleaf told them. "There's bound to be more water voles near the lake." He dashed off towards the water.
Applefur and Shadedwing followed more slowly, but Aspenpaw darted forward to him. Almost instantly, she spotted a water vole pecking on a pebble at the edge of the lake.
"Risky," Oakleaf meowed. But, he glanced at Aspenpaw and flicked his tail. Her eyes brightened; she dashed to the creature and jumped on it before it spread its wings.
Then, she killed it with a swift bite to crush the spine. Proudly, she glanced to see that Applefur and Shadedwing joined and Oakleaf was gazing at her with pride clearly in the deep green depths of his eyes.
"Nice catch," Shadedwing told her; Applefur purred with delight and Oakleaf flicked his ears. But then Aspenpaw's gaze slid past them and she tensed, her fur bristling.
She backed up, within a mouse-length of the water. There was a fox creeping up behind Applefur. Applefur stiffened and slowly turned back. "F-f-fox!" Aspenpaw yowled.
Her paws slipped on the slippery pebbles and she landed in the water. Oakleaf shrieked while Shadedwing gasped. "Applefur, Oakleaf, go deal with the fox. I've gotten Aspenpaw."
Aspenpaw shut her eyes tight under the menacing waves. The water brought her down, underneath an overhanging rock.
She desperately flailed her paws; her front paw hit the rock hard and she tasted the tang of blood. Her gasp drowned in the water; the overhanging rock fell and drifted, knocking the breath out of Aspenpaw.
The last thing she saw was a young black tom swimming ungraciously towards her . . .
