Chapter 2
Greenpaw opened her eyes to feel a shaft of light coming in through a crack in the roof. It burned. She got up and stretched a delicious stretch. Thornpaw had already gotten up before her.
Good, doing chores I hope. She thought with a hiss.
Greenpaw padded out of the den to the fresh-kill pile. It seemed a little early. One or two cats where up too. Thornpaw was there too. Carrying a moss ball in his mouth. She was glad she didn't have to do that today. The fresh-kill pile was well stocked and overflowing with mice. Greenpaw padded over. There was a fat mouse that was screaming her name.
She reached out with one paw to rake it closer. "Oh hi Greenpaw. I told the hunting patrol to go out early today. They caught allot of mice." Greenpaw jumped when she heard a voice behind her.
"Um, yeah." She turned around to find Giantstar. Because of his stripes and how large he was, people say he was a descendent of Tigerstar, the most vile, outright mean cat, that ever walked in the Clans. But Tigerstar was tabby. The just think Tiger, and stripes, which equals Tigerstar.
"Were you going to get that mouse?" Greenpaw asked looking intently at the one she picked out.
"Yes, but I heard you didn't eat much yesterday so you can have it."
The striped tabby assured her.
"Er, um, thank you, Giantstar."
Greenpaw mewed with relief.
"My pleasure. Now, eat that up and go find Cracklefoot."
"Why? Oh... Training..." Greenpaw mewed starting to dig into her mouse.
"Yep, I heard you were getting rusty at hunting, so Leafmoon told your mentor to get into that more." Giantstar insisted.
"Well ok, I'm done my meal. Nice talking to you Giantstar!"
Greenpaw padded away waving her tail in goodbye.
Cracklefoot was waiting at the thorn tunnel.
"Hi Greenpaw, follow me."
They ran through the tunnel, probably to get to the training hollow.
"Ok, we are going to start with the basic hunters' crouch as you already know." Cracklefoot crouched down and put his weight only on his haunches. "Now, you be the mouse, and I will pounce on you. Claws sheathed, remember." he moved back a little bit.
Greenpaw relaxed her muscles and looked at what her mentor was doing. Cracklefoot inched closer, then slid his paws out in front of him. Then pounced. His force knocked Greenpaw backwards and made her head spin.
"Oh, sorry. I need to be more carful next time." Cracklefoot apologized. "Now I be the mouse, or prey, and you be the hunter. do what I did, claws sheathed, and give me as much force as you can."
"Sure." Greenpaw bunched up her muscles and put all her weight on her haunches like he did. Then she pounced.
But just as Greenpaw was almost Cracklefoot's shoulders when he started running. Then padded back.
"Close but you can do better. I ran because prey could have heard you, your pawstepps must be lighter." The bracken-coloured tom told her. "Ok I will try." Harder...
By the time Greenpaw was finished training, the sun was slipping below the horizon. And she felt as though her paws would fall off. Runningfur was on guard when Cracklefoot and Greenpaw padded in to camp. ThunderClan was relatively quiet. Her brother, Thornpaw padded out of the spider's den with a ball of moss in his jaws. Reluctantly, Greenpaw stalked over to help him. "Can I feed Bumbletail and Minnowstream for you?" She asked politely. "Er... Sure, well, um, go on then." Thornpaw sounded astonished that his sister would help him with chores. "Ok." without another word, Greenpaw padded toward the fresh-kill pile. She picked a vole for Bumbletail, and a shrew for Minnowstream. Then she padded to the elders' den.
Bumbletail was delighted to see the food, and went on and on about a story where her and Giantstar chased a vole through the whole territory without stopping. Finely, the elder was done chatting, so Greenpaw was able to slip away with her shrew for the queen. "Hello Minnowstream," Greenpaw padded into the kit-smelling den. "Oh hi, I am starved. Prey has been pretty scarce. Didn't I hear on of the streams around the lake dried up?" Minnowstream mewed. Greenpaw nodded then pushed the shrew closer to the queen. The golden brown she cat's kits bounced out behind their mother. Downykit yowled, "I am Downystar! No one can stop me!" Then Fuzzykit pounced on her brother and let out a squeak. Then Fuzzykit jumped on her sister, Pebblekit, who also let out a squeak.
Greenpaw let out a mrrow of laughter.
"You know, Greenpaw, you will be a mother someday. Maybe the best mother in ThunderClan! but me? I sometimes don't know what to do with these little kits..." Minnowstream 's eyes where shining, She was Leafmoon's sister, and always loved Thornpaw and Greenpaw. A sudden yowled from the clearing made Greenpaw jump to her feet. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, meet at the highledge!" Giantstar began.
All the cats streamed into the clearing. Greenpaw padded out of the queens' den with Minnowstream and the three kits.
Giantstar looked down at all of his Clan's cats. Then he began again. Greenpaw jumped over to sit by her brother. He still had moss traces on his claws. Giantstar's voice clear and strong as he announced what happened on the patrols that day, same-old-same-old stuff. Then he said something that caught Greenpaw's ear. "The gathering is tonight, and Leafmoon, Cracklefoot, Jumpingecho, Thornpaw, and Greenpaw are coming."
