Foxpaw carefully padded through the undergrowth, watching where she placed her paws so she wouldn't make a sound. She would've been thankful for her tortoiseshell pelt concealing her, if it weren't for her white muzzle and paws.

Still, as she approached her target, he had no idea she was there. The familiar scent of him washed over her; a scent she'd known since birth along with her mother's. His black pelt came into sight, and  Foxpaw could tell he was leaning over to pick herbs. He was so focused, he didn't notice she was there until it was too late.

She pounced, landing neatly on top of him and let out a joking battle cry. Shadowpaw, her brother and BoulderClan's medicine cat apprentice, tumbled over with Foxpaw in tow.

Shadowpaw quickly got up, shaking out his pelt before glaring at her. "Will you ever stop doing that?"

Foxpaw shook her head, "Not until you stop being so distracted, it's too easy."

"Honestly, you're acting like a kit, isn't your warrior ceremony tomorrow?" Shadowpaw grunted, sniffing at his herbs as to check if they were alright.

"That's right!" Foxpaw let out a purr, resisting the temptation to leap in excitement. "Heatherkit, Honeykit, and Hollowkit all already want me to be their mentor." She puffed out her chest in pride.

Shadowpaw gave her a quizzical look. "Don't they only give mature cats apprentices?"

"I am mature!" Foxpaw whined.

Shadowpaw rolled his eyes. "If you say so."

"Whatever." Foxpaw mumbled. She already had promised herself that she would prove to Oakstar that she was a great warrior by the time the kits could be apprenticed. That gave her about four moons.

"I'm going back to camp." She announced. Swishing her tail, Foxpaw turned away from her littermate who was now already focused on his herbs once again, and padded away.

BoulderClan was named as such for the many large rocks sticking out of the ground that were scattered throughout the forest of sparingly placed trees. Some you could just step right over, but bigger ones had to be jumped, climbed, or walked around. There were many clear areas, and not nearly as many trees as HeatherClan, StreamClan, or IvyClan had.

As Foxpaw was nearing the camp entrance, a sweet, mouthwatering scent entered her nose. She immediately recognized it- mouse.

The young tortoiseshell turned around, and started slowly creeping towards the scent. It wasn't long before she spotted it sniffing along the edge of a rock. Once Foxpaw had gotten close enough, she pounced, landing right on top of the rodent. It squeaked, and tried to escape, but the paw the she-cat had placed on its tail made that impossible. Instead of immediately killing it, Foxpaw bit down harshly on its back leg, drawing blood and making the mouse cry out in pain. Before she could do any more to it, a cat calling her made her freeze.

"Foxpaw! Is that you?" The voice she recognized as Stonepaw- an apprentice her age- could be heard.

Foxpaw quickly bent over and delivered the killing bite, before picking up her mouse and sprinting toward her friend.

Soon his grey pelt came into view, and Her amber eyes met his green ones. Stonepaw's eyes drifted from her face to the mouse hanging from her mouth. "I see it's not as tattered up as usual," he commented.

Foxpaw placed her mouse on the ground so she could speak. "You interrupted my fun." She grumbled.

"You know no one ever wants to eat the prey you bring back." Stonepaw pointed out.

"They should just be thankful it's not them." Foxpaw retorted with a swish of her tail.

Stonepaw slowly shook his head, gazing at the she-cat with a certain fondness to his eyes. "You sure are something else, Foxpaw."

Ignoring him, Foxpaw picked back up her mouse. "Let's go back to camp." She muttered through the mouse's fur, but Stonepaw must've understood as he began walking beside her.

Foxpaw just couldn't wait until the next day. She would finally become a warrior, and after her moons of tough training with the infamous Berrytail as her mentor, it was about time. Since Stonepaw was apprenticed around the same time as her, and they finished their training together, he would be becoming a warrior as well.

As they entered the camp, Foxpaw immediately headed over to the prey pile in the middle. It was filled with mostly mice, voles, shrews, and the occasional bird. Due to their lack of many trees, BoulderClan cats rarely caught squirrels, though the boulders offered crevices for many smaller creatures to live, so they were still well off.

The camp was a shallow dip in the ground, with a larger sized boulder coming up at the side opposite the bramble entrance. Dens made of branches, brambles and leaves lined the edges, and the rest of the camp was empty space. It wasn't much, but it was home. 

"I can't wait until tomorrow." Stonepaw spoke up, and Foxpaw turned to see excitement sparkling in his green eyes,  which was most likely reflected in her amber ones.

"Me too! We'll finally be warriors!" Foxpaw purred. "But that's only the first step for me. Next I'll become deputy, then leader!" Constantly burning inside of her was the longing to lead. To her, there was no question. Foxpaw would be a leader.

"I'm sure you'll make a great leader, if you stop torturing innocent mice." Stonepaw replied with a joking tone.

Before Foxpaw could say any more, she was pummelled by three sets of small paws.

"Foxpaw! Play with us!" Heatherkit mewled. Her fluffy grey and white pelt looked as if she was just pulled through a thorn bush backwards. Foxpaw didn't question it though, Heatherkit was always getting herself into some form of trouble.

"Yeah Foxpaw! Give me a badger ride! Please?" Honeykit- the cream coloured one- begged.

"Foxpaw, can you show me how to hunt?" A quiet voice asked. It was the third kit, Hollowkit. Her pelt was grey, and she gazed up at the almost-warrior with pleading green eyes. She was much smaller than her littermates.

The three of them were Stonepaw's younger siblings, the excitable kits always looking for someone to play with. When they weren't bugging the elders or their mother, the apprentices became their victims.

Foxpaw sighed in defeat and kneeled down. "Okay, I'll give all three of you a badger ride, then show you how to do a proper hunter's crouch."

"Yay!" Heatherkit mewed, quickly clambering onto Foxpaw's back. "Me first me first!"

"Hey! I asked first!" Honeykit complained.

"I'll give you a badger ride," Stonepaw offered.

Honeykit immediately stopped sulking and bounded over to him. "Yeah! Yeah!" He kneeled down, and the little cream kit climbed up.

"What about me?" Hollowkit asked shyly.

"Come on, I can carry both of you." Foxpaw offered. She sometimes pitied the runt of the litter, her sisters could get rough on her, and she hardly got noticed. But a bit of hardship will only make her a better warrior.

Hollowkit's eyes lit up, and she climbed onto Foxpaw's back next to her sister.

Foxpaw and Stonepaw both stood up, and started their badger rides. Foxpaw's mind was stuck on the next day though, on the thought of finally earning her warrior name, and she couldn't stop hoping for time to move faster.