Rays of sunshine spilled into to apprentice den, indicating the morning. Birds cheerfully tittered in the trees as the apprentices began to stir.

I blink my eyes open groggily. "Up already?" I ask, surprised they don't sleep in.

A blue-gray she-cat answered me with a click of her tongue. "Of course. We have duties to attend to. Welcome to Clan life, darlin'."

I groan. If I was going to discard my kittypet life, I was going to have to work extra hard to adjust. Slowly, I sit up and give my fur a quick lick.

The she-cat gave me a nod of approval before saying something in low tones to a dark gray tom, who was helping Maplepaw get a bamble out of her fur.

"Not bad for a kittypet," quipped the tom in a bored voice.

I look up. "Oh... Thanks? What are your names?"

The two exchange looks. The way their eyes flashed to the other's seemed similar. I wondered if they were littermates.

The blue-gray she-cat spoke up. "I'm Willowpaw. And that grumpy one who called you a kittypet is Shadowpaw. You already know Maplepaw."

I commited their names to memory. "So... What do we do? Report to our mentors or something?"

Shadowpaw jumps up and sighs. "Yeah. Let's go, kittypet. Just follow us."

I trod behind them, ducking my head slightly as warriors whisper and stare at me. Leafglow is standing and talking to Spiderfang and two other warriors.

The warriors turn when they spot us apprentices, and Leafglow speaks up. "Good. You're all here."

"Today we're hunting. Maplepaw, you, me, Shadowpaw, and Dusktalon will be one group. Sootpaw, Leafglow, Willowpaw, and Doebranch will be another. I thought it best to put one older apprentice and one younger to balance it."

I glance at Willowpaw. Yes, she and Shadowpaw were definitel kin.

"Ok!" I chriped.

Leafglow smiles slightly. "Alright then. Let's get going!"

I pad next to him out of the camp, Willowpaw and Doebranch trailing after us.

"You will be learning how to stalk your prey quietly," Leafglow said. "It's no good to be loud in the forest."

Willowpaw nodded and slinked away with her mentor, starting earlier because of her experience. Leafglow and I follow at a slower pace.

"First you need to learn the hunting crouch. Since you've sort of hunted before, show me what you know."

I nod and drop down into a crouch. I stare at my front paws, carefully setting them down but still managing to make noise. My tail dragged on the grass, sending crackles up.

"Ugh," I sit back. "Willowpaw's looked so effortless."

Leafglow studied my form. "It is still good. Willowpaw also has been training for almost six moons. Pick your tail up a bit and make sure it doesn't sway so much. Additionally, don't stare at your paws. They'll feel the way."

I try again, this time lifting my tail above the grass and stilling it, only allowing a slight movement to keep my balance. I also look up, staring straight. To my surprise, when I focused in front of me, my paws hardly made any sound.

"Very well!" Leafglow exclaimed. He squinted his eyes as I padded around him. "Tuck your paws in closer. It'll help get more power in a pounce."

I did as he said, immediatly feeling the difference.

"You're catching on really quick. Though I suppose those dream cats of yours helped."

"They don't come a lot, but whenever they do I try to learn as much as I can." I sit up. "Can I try to catch something?" I ask eagerly.

Leafglow considers the request. "Maybe another day. I promise," he adds when I pout. "But I still have to teach you to recognize the scents and stay downwind."

"Oh, I can do that. The dream cats really drilled it into me. Please can I try to catch something?"

My mentor sighs. "I guess there is no harm in trying."

I flash him a smile and open my mouth to let the scents of the forest wash over me. "Is that... vole?" I whisper.

Leafglow nodded, impressed.

I crouch low and take a moment to adjust my form, cautiously shifting downwind. I creep towards the scent and soon I can see the small brown body of the vole. I wiggle my haunches, unsheathe my claws, and after a deep breath, spring forward onto the vole.

Or, what would've been the vole. At the last second, the rodent saw me and scampered away. Luckily, it ran right into Leafglow's claws and he killed it with a quick bite.

"Aw, darn!" I say.

"Don't worry, Sootpaw. Teamwork is an essential skill of being a Clan cat, too."

I brighten. "You're right!"

My mentor smiles. "One more thing. Whenever we catch something, we say 'thank you, StarClan, for this prey.' StarClan is our ancestors."

"Thank you, StarClan, for this prey!" I crow.

A rustling sounds to the side of us. Willowpaw and Doebranch emerge.

"Nice catch, Sootpaw!" Willowpaw said, her voice muffled around the squirrel she was carrying.

"Indeed," Doebranch agreed. Two mice were hanging from her mouth.

Leafglow hands me the vole to carry back to camp. He catches a plump sparrow on our way back for his share.

Shadowpaw bounds up to us. He and his group had already returned with two rabbits and some finches. "Good catch for first day of Clan life, Sootpaw," he said in his deep voice.

"Oh, Leafglow helped," I say, embarrased. "Seems you did well, too!" I say, changing the subject.

Maplepaw walked up behind Shadowpaw and beamed. "We all did well."

"Sootpaw!" a sharp voice rang out across the clearing.

Everyone froze and turned towards the sound. I drop my kill down and look up. The emerald eyes of Hollyshade stared up at me through his inky fur.

"Meet me inside my den. Now," he snapped, voice cold.