Heartstar's rise : Book one

Ch. 29

Heartpaw blinked his eyes open. The sun shone through his eyelids. Yawning, Heartpaw shifted in his nest. Too early. He heard some shuffling then he heard pawsteps. He turned to see Spottedpaw trudging out of the den. He frowned. Why would anyone wake up that early? With a grumble Heartpaw realised the sun had almost risen. He grumpily scrambled to his feet. Yawning widely, Heartpaw slumped out of the den. Maybe being an apprentice wasn't all that good. When he spotted Pinestar, his beige pelt glowing in the sun, some of his fur white, he felt a surge of strength. With a grin, he trotted to his mentor. Pinestar was talking to Clawpelt and Cindertail. 

              "Good morning Heartpaw," smiled Pinestar. "Woke up on time. That's good, not many apprentices do that." Skytail, looking grumpy agreed. 

              "Yep, Firpaw can't get up before sunrise," she growled angrily. Pinestar chuckled. 

              "I'll wake him up," chirped a voice. A happy, sweet voice. Heartpaw turned to see Honeypaw, her sparkling green eyes gazing at him. "He's really grumpy in the mornings, only Lionpaw or I can get him up. He wasn't like this when he was a kit." She flashed a sympathetic smile at Heartpaw then padded back to the apprentice den. 

               "Right then," Pinestar said. "Let's get going." He flicked his tail, nodded to Cindertail and exited the camp with Heartpaw on his tail. They walked in the forest, feeling the cool morning breeze and listening to the bird's song. 

               "Today, I'm going to teach you to hunt," Pinestar said. As they went deeper into the territory. The air was cold and crisp and made Heartpaw feel slightly out of his comfort zone but it helped make his senses sharp. "As you must know, it is the apprentices' duty to hunt of the elders so the sooner you learn to hunt, the sooner you'll be able to feed the elders." They stopped in a clearing. 

                 "First, tell me what you smell," Pinestar instructed. "Take your times. Smell carefully." Heartpaw took a deep breath. He smelt the fresh cool air. He smelt the trees and the leaves. He tried to figure up the mingled smells. Then, he smelt bird, it was like a sharp scent. He pricked his ears. He could hear birds chirping everywhere but he could only scent one. 

                 "I smell a bird," reported Heartpaw. 

                 "What else? Really concentrate. Your nose is stronger than you think," Pinestar urged. Heartpaw tried harder. He smelt the dead grass and the fallen leaves, he smelt mouse. And he heard mouse. 

                 "Mouse," he said. 

                 "Good," Pinestar said. "And it'll be gone soon, so, let's see what you've got. Go get it." Heartpaw crouched and slowly crawled forward. His stomach low, his whiskers twitching. He kept his tail low, for balance. He crept forward, careful where he was stepping. His movements were slow and agile. He inched forward, towards a tree. He crossed a large root protruding from the ground. His ears pricked forward. He heard the mouse. He heard its small paws, shuffling the leaves. He turned around the corner of the tree. The mouse was there. Oblivious. Heartpaw sprang forward. His jump was pumped with power. He jumped high and just as he was about to land, the mouse scuttled away. He huffed in annoyance. 

                 "Too high," said Pinestar. Heartpaw sighed and nodded. This was going to be a long day.