Willowpaw bounded after her mentor. Brownclaw finally stopped in a small clearing with short grasses. 
            "Warmed up?" asked Brownclaw. 
            "Yeah," nodded Willowpaw, breathing heavily. Trees in RiverClan were losing leaves and the air was getting colder and colder. Willowpaw didn't know what to expect with leaf bare. 
            "Right, we're going to do some hunting today," said Brownclaw. "You ready?" 
            "Yeah," nodded Willowpaw determinedly. Brownclaw showed Willowpaw the positions. They practised none stop until Willowpaw was able to crouch and crawl without making noise. Willowpaw crouched down, her ears pointed forward, her tail low to the ground. She edged forward, letting the grasses brush past her silently. There was a rustle. Willowpaw sprung forward and tumbled into a large brown thing. She rolled to the ground, her heart beating fast. Her claws dug into the ground and she quickly pulled herself up, ready for whatever danger was to come. 
             "Good job," praised Brownclaw. 
             "Oh," was all Willowpaw could say, sighing in relief. 
             "Shouldn't pounce if you don't know what it is though," joked Brownclaw. "I think you're ready to catch some real prey." 
             "Yeah," grinned Willowpaw excitedly. 
             "Right, then let's do it. Remember what I told you. All your senses need to be sharp. There is no time to doze off. You must be keen on your sense," Brownclaw reminded Willowpaw. Willowpaw nodded enthusiastically. Taking a deep breath, Willowpaw made her way through the tall grasses silently, listening for any sound of prey. Her ears were pointed forward, listening for anything. Suddenly, she felt a small vibration under her feet. Her nose sniffed. She smelt vole. She could have missed it. Willowpaw's heart was beating so fast she was scared the vole might hear it. Gulping, Willowpaw crouched down. She slowly edged forward. One paw at the time. She made sure she could hear or smell the vole at all time. She could feel the earth vibrate slightly as the vole scurried about, looking for food. Willowpaw stopped suddenly, the rustling seemed so near. Her ears were pricked forward, her eyes locked on where she thought the vole was. Slowly, she crawled towards the noise. Then suddenly, there was a squeak and a blur of brown. Willowpaw jumped almost in surprise but quickly caught herself. With speed, she shot her front paw forward. She felt the vole's body rub against her paw but in a flash, it was gone. Willowpaw's eyes scanned around her but there was nothing. She sighed in dismay, cursing herself. It was right there. Right in front of her! A few moments later, Brownclaw appeared. 
            "Didn't get it?" Brownclaw said, raising his eyebrows. Willowpaw shook her head. 
             "It's alright," Brownclaw said. "It was your first time." Willowpaw shrugged. It was her first time.., but she was sure other apprentices would have caught it. 
              "go try again. don't get discouraged so soon," Brownclaw said. Willowpaw nodded. 
              "ok," she said, trying to cheer herself up. Taking a deep breath, she set off again. This time, it took her longer until she finally found prey. She heard it in front of her. The soft flap of wings. Then the peck of a beak on the ground. Willowpaw inched forward, her paws gently setting into the earth each time. Willowpaw finally pushed her face through a blade of grass and spotted it. It was a crow. It pecked at the ground, unaware of Willowpaw's eyes on it. Willowpaw froze. What if she missed it? She couldn't avoid another mistake. Brownclaw would be so disappointed. She was starting to panic, her mind going crazy. Then the crow cocked its head, as if it had finally realised Willowpaw's presence. Just do it, Willowpaw cried to herself. With a small shout, Willowpaw launched herself at the bird. It flapped its wings wildly, its feet scrambling to get away. Willowpaw felt one of its claw dig into her leg. There was the crazy sqwaking of the crow, almost scaring Willowpaw. Willowpaw, panicking herself, struggled wildly to sink her teeth into the bird. Finally, she caught its wing. It struggled wildly, its beak pecking her and the other wing hitting her madly. Willowpaw put her claw on the bird's head, digging her claws into its skull. It made an awful screeching noise then went limp. Willowpaw, breathing heavily, stumbled back, almost in shock. She couldn't believe she had done it. She grimaced, seeing the bird's limp and distorted body. Brownclaw appeared at her sigh and spotted the bird. 
             "You did it!" he cried. "Good job. Are you alright?" 
              "Yeah. I just- I didn't think I would be able to do it," said Willowpaw. She turned away from the bird. 
              "you did great. I knew you could do it," assured Brownclaw. Willowpaw felt her whole body warm up. He knew she could do it. It made her feel slightly unbalanced. She wasn't used to cats saying positive things to her. She didn't say anything, not knowing how to react. 
              "Are you going to take the crow or not?" Brownclaw asked. "I think you deserve a rest. Bring it back to camp. Show your friends, family whatever, then you can eat it." Willowpaw nodded vigorously, taking the dead bird in her mouth delicately. 
              "We'll meet her in the afternoon, ok?" Brownclaw said. 
              "Sure, thanks," nodded Willowpaw. She trotted back towards camp. She wondered if Acornpaw would be in camp. But even if he was, what would she say to him? They weren't exactly on speaking terms. She huffed. As she slipped into camp, the crow clamped into her jaw, a few eyes landed on her. She felt herself swell with pride then immediately felt bad. Who was she, to think so highly of herself? how about Stormkit? Her eyes lighting up, Willowpaw rushed towards Mintspot who was sunning in the corner of the camp. As she approached Mintspot, she hesitated. What was she going to tell Mintspot? 
            "What?" Mintspot asked, looking up. Her eyes landed on the crow. "Is that for me?" Willowpaw paused but then nodded. She put the crow at her feet. 
              "Here," said Willowpaw. Mintspot took it, sniffing it judgingly.  
             "Why are you staring at me?" asked Mintspot. "What do you want?"
             "I just- I caught that crow!" Willowpaw couldn't help but say. She was so proud. She wanted to tell somebody. Somebody that would encourage her and be just as excited for her. 
               "Mmm," huffed Mintspot, rolling her eyes. "Good for you." The unspoken words rang in the air. 
                "I erm-," Willowpaw didn't know what to say, she stood nervously before her mother. 
               "What do you wan huh?" Mintspot snapped. "Go on and be happy. As if everything is fine. Go and learn things and hunt things when your brother, is probably suffering with those Twolegs." Willowpaw hung her head. She knew that it was selfish of her to be happy. Selfish for her to celebrate when her brother would not be able to do any of those things. She was used to the world revolving around Stormkit. It was normal to her. She was used to her mother being hostile and cold, she assumed it was because of the lost of Stormkit. She was used to her father . barely talking to her, because Mintspot didn't want it. She was used to the whole Clan being a bit distanced to her because she had no self confidence and was too shy to go up and talk to them. I wish you would just come home, Stormkit, begged Willowpaw. Please, come home. She didn't know what life with Stormkit would ever be like. She had never talked to Stormkit. But she was sure it would fix everything. Stormkit was the answer.