Silverpaw woke up to feel a paw poking him, making him jump out of his nest with a squeak; a short laugh followed. "Come on Sleepy Head; Shadowclaw is waiting for you," a ginger tom purred with amusement. "Sorry," Silverpaw replied, licking the fur on his chest before asking what his name was. "I am Flamepaw," the tom replied, his deep blue eyes blinking with kindness as he followed Silverpaw out of the den.

"Silverpaw! Over here!" Shadowclaw called from the edge of the clearing, her pelt blending in with the shadows. Silverpaw ran over to her and soon another cat arrived, a tom with a silver pelt. Silverpaw reached them as the tom looked up, his eyes wide with kindness; Silverpaw stopped in his tracks, slightly scared. His left eye was a deep green, one that Silverpaw could have gotten lost in just looking at it. The other was a scarlet color, one that made Silverpaw shiver and releases a fear-scent because of it.

"About time you woke up; we have been waiting ever since dawn for you to wake up!" Shadowclaw chuckled to her apprentice as Silverpaw stood in front of her. "Sorry; I was so excited that I could barely sleep," Silverpaw replied, looking at the ground, embarrassed slightly; both Shadowcalw and the tom purred with amusement. "I hope that you got enough to sleep, because today I am teaching you stalking techniques and, if you work hard today, I will take you out hunting," Shadowclaw told Silverpaw, making him leap with excitement, his tail held up high. "I will work my hardest! I promise!" Silverpaw said, purring with excitement.

"Flamepaw! Today, we will be working on stalking rabbits," the silver tom said, leading his apprentice out of the den, Silverpaw, and Shadowclaw following. "Who is that?" Silverpaw whispered to Flamepaw as they walked behind the mentors, staring at the male with a slight fear in his voice. "Oh, that is Froststorm; he is the greatest warrior ever!" Flamepaw replied, admiration clear in his voice.

They soon reached the training hollow, a clearing of grass worn down by generations of cats training. "Now, Flamepaw, let's start practicing. What are the two things you need to watch when stalking rabbits?" Froststorm asked the ginger apprentice. "I need to watch my paw-steps and my position to the rabbit itself," Flamepaw replied, looking up to his mentor. "Correct; now, let's work on the rabbit- stalking crouch," Froststorm replied, dropping down into a crouch, his body low but light on the ground.

While Flamepaw practiced with Froststorm, Silverpaw went to the other side of the clearing with Shadowclaw. "What can you tell me about squirrels?" Shadowclaw asked Silverpaw when they were a reasonable distance from the other two. "They are most tasty during Greenleaf and stringy during bare-leaf," Silverpaw replied, thinking of the only thing he could; Shadowclaw purred with amusement. "That is true, young Silverpaw; they are stringy, aren't they?" Shadowclaw agreed, Silverpaw letting out a small mrrow in laughter.

"When stalking a squirrel, it is important to keep your steps light and your scent upwind if you can avoid it. Here; you go sit by that tree. When I tell you two, I want you to smell the air and tell me if you can smell me or not. I will stay close," Shadowclaw told Silverpaw, moving to be in the trees. Silverpaw did as she said, closing his eyes to make sure he could not see her.

However, when he did close his eyes, he saw. Silverpaw watched as Shadowclaw moved towards the ferns on the opposite side of the clearing, her crouch light and stealthy, clearly practiced. "Can you smell me?" Shadowclaw called; Silverpaw jumped, it sounds like she was right next to him. Silverpaw smelled the air and could not, so he told her so. "But why are you standing by ferns? If you move too much, won't the prey hear you?" Silverpaw asked, his face still towards the tree.

Shadowclaw was silent as she walked out of the trees, a look of surprise on her face. "How did you know I was standing by ferns?" she asked Silverpaw, looking down at him with wide eyes. "I-I heard you, that's all!" Silverpaw replied; he could not tell why, but he felt like he should not tell her about how he really knew how he knew. Shadowclaw looked troubled, but she nodded to her apprentice as she moved to stand in front of him.

"You can smell my scent, right? This is what prey will smell if you stand in the direction of the prey. That is why you must always stay downwind when you can, but you must always keep your paw-steps light; if prey hears you, it will give it time to run away, though not as much if it were to smell you; understand?" Shadowclaw instructed, laying down in front of Silverpaw; he did the same, looking up at Shadowclaw with wide eyes as he nodded.

As the lesson continued, Shadowclaw stopped to let Silverpaw watch Flamepaw practice the rabbit-crouch, taking careful note on how he held his body. 'So I will have to keep my weight off my paws, like a leaf in the wind,' Silverpaw thought, listening to Froststorm as he instructed Flamepaw. "Here, let's get some field practice. You have been listening well and following my words correctly, so let's go practice the hunting," Shadowclaw said, getting an excited meow out of Silverpaw as he lept to his paws, suddenly full of energy.

"Where are we going to go hunting?" Silverpaw asked as he followed Shadowclaw out of the clearing and into the woods, keeping close to Shadowclaw like a kit to its mother. "Just deeper into the territory; we will have a greater chance of finding prey farther away from the Clan, away from the smell of cats," Shadowclaw explained. Silverpaw looked all around him as the scent of his clan fell behind him, making him feel alone as everything he was familiar with was replaced with the unfamiliar.

The forest suddenly seemed like a dark place to be into Silverpaw as Shadowclaw stopped. "Silverpaw, let's see what you can do, okay? This won't be an assessment, but I want to see what you can do now if that is fine with you," Shadowclaw said, looking at the silver pelted apprentice. Silverpaw nodded with a purr, promising to do his best. "Try to stick to the ground as much as you can; if a squirrel tries to climb a tree, don't let it go higher than the first branch, okay?" Shadowclaw told Silverpaw before he left; the tom nodded before running off into the undergrowth, determined to make his mentor proud.

Chapter four: DONE! This one was fun to write; I had to think like a cat!

Anyway, if you wish to put a character in this book, just post it down in the Comments and how you want them introduced; if I want to change a few things, I will P.M you about what I want to change and see if we can come up with a compromise.

Shout out to insaneUmbreon461 for letting me use Froststorm! Thanks, bro!

Till next time,

May Starclan watch over you!