She was woken the next morning by Mossclaw prodding her flank. She had three problems with this.

1. It was much too early for her liking, and it was cold.

2. The thick-furred tabby, as far as she was concerned, didn't have the right or the permission to be in a cat-length's radius of her nest.

3. She was tired, and honestly, couldn't be stuffed to do anything much right now.

She let out a low growl of protest, and curled herself wordlessly into a tighter ball. Her ear twitched as she heard the tom sit down next to her nest. "Pavlova, come on. Get up, and I'll teach you how to hunt."

Pavlova hesitated. Hunting would probably be clumsy and mundane, but it was a useful skill. Regardless, she remained still and silent.

"Pavlova. Move."

"No."

The tabby sighed. "Look, I know it's a but chilly, but you have the thickest fur in the clan, and your place here isn't exactly guaranteed. You were disrespectful yesterday, and Robinstar isn't happy, but she wasn't going to accept Wrenpaw and not you. I'm not going to try and straighten you out - I want you to channel that energy and spirit into something useful. I have no idea where a kittypet got such a temper, but if you want to stay in this clan, I suggest you start to act more like you belong here. Now get up, I'll teach you how to hunt, and if you catch enough, you might even get to try some of your own prey rather than being stuck with whatever scraps the queens and elders leave on the fresh-kill pile."

Pavlova shifted, opening her eyes, sitting up, and meeting Mossclaw's green gaze evenly. She couldn't help but be a little impressed by his reasoning and perceptiveness. He'd spent a solid twenty minutes with her yesterday, and had already anticipated this, despite knowing her for such a short period of time, and had read into Robinstar's actions the previous day. Also, he knew what queens and elders were and why they got to eat first. But Pavlova wasn't going to admit that outright, and make it look as if she viewed him as superior - he wasn't. He had earned her approval, and she wasn't afraid to admit that. She flicked her tail, getting to her paws. "Okay. Let's go."

Mossclaw twitched his ear, satisfied, and led the way out of the den with a swish of his tail.

It didn't take long to reach the spot Mossclaw wanted to hunt in - he called it the Sandy Clearing. A rather primitive name in Pavlova's opinion, but she didn't comment. On the way, he had explained how the Clan operated, how it came to be, and why the queens and elders ate first (some Warrior Code rubbish) with brevity, which Pavlova appreciated - while different aspects of the Clan intrigued her, for now, she would settle with a broad, sweeping overview.

As they stepped into the clearing, Mossclaw raised his tail - from Pavlova's observations of other cats around the camp, this was a signal to stop, and wait behind the cat making the movement. She sat on the sandy ground, and licked her whiskers. "What now?"

Mossclaw padded over to the opposite end of the clearing her. "It's unlikely we'll be disturbed here - SkyClan cats, as you may have already gathered, prefer to take to the trees. Places where the trees are thinner, like here, tend to be used as places for battle training - " he paused, watching Pavlova's reaction to these words (although in her case it was very much a lack of reaction) " - but the other apprentices are on other patrols and doing other tasks this morning-"

"How do you know so much?" Pavlova interrupted. "About what goes on in the clan? It's not like you're leader or anything."

Mossclaw's whiskers twitched. "I'm a senior warrior, and Stormpelt's brother. Stormpelt is the deputy - he often consults me, Lionsong or Dustwhisker when he plans where different cats will be and what tasks they do. Dustwhisker is our other sibling."

Pavlova paused. "And...why doesn't Robinstar do that? Planning what goes on?"

The brown tabby flicked his tail. "The leader is often more concerned with larger issues, like whether or not to take in outsiders, whether the territory is threatened, by foxes, badgers and rats, whether there are other cats on or in our borders, and speaking with Blackwillow, the medicine cat, about StarClan."

"What now?"

Mossclaw examined her for a moment, then shrugged. "I'll show you tonight. It'll be much easier for you to understand when you can see the night sky."

Pavlova bristled. "What makes you think I won't be able to understand!"

"StarClan isn't something logical or rational that you observe," he said bluntly. "I appreciate your ability to understand what is tangible, but the intangible, I get the feeling, may be more of a struggle." 

He gave her a meaningful look that made her more uncomfortable than she would have liked. This perceptive tom could prove difficult to manipulate - the earlier she started, the better. She merely shrugged her shoulders. "Are we going to hunt, then?"

Mossclaw narrowed his eyes, looking as if he hadn't quite gotten out of her what he wanted, but flicked his tail dismissively. "Alright." He moved a few steps towards her, and then crouched down, his hind legs tucked underneath him, his tail sticking out behind him, completely still, ears flat against his head, weight distributed evenly across all four paws. "This is called the hunting crouch. If you want to have the smallest chance at catching anything at all, you'll learn how to do it properly, automatically. Try and mirror what I'm doing."

Pavlova nodded, and pulled in her haunches, realising that while Mossclaw made it look smooth and seamless, it felt clumsy and foreign to her. She realised now, too, how much plumper she was than Mossclaw - she wasn't fat by any means, but she certainly lacked his lean, muscled build. This will make me so much stronger...

Mossclaw padded over, examining her position. "Do you mind if I touch and nudge you to get you into the right position?"

Pavlova, reluctantly, nodded, realising that would be the quickest way to advance beyond this point.

"Great - first, you're putting more of your weight on your left side," he started, gently pushing her slightly further to the right. "It should feel as if you're balancing on a high tree branch, or a fence - even though you're on the ground, you'll be much more stable if your weight is evenly distributed. Next, your tail. Lift it up slightly - if it drags through the leaves, it'll make noise - that's it. Head down further - perfect - and tuck your front paws underneath you just a little bit more. Nice. Does that feel better?"

Pavlova had to admit that it did. She nodded, glancing at Mossclaw, who she saw give her a bit of a smile. A smile. I want him to like me, and support me, but what could he associate with...

She clicked her tongue.

Mossclaw looked at her strangely. "I, er...what?"

Okay, how to justify this...

She lowered her gaze a little, trying to make it look as if her pelt were burning with shame, yet prickling with indignance, as that would be much more consistent with her character. "I-it's a...I have a verbal tick, sometimes. The twolegs forced it on me, I don't know how to get rid of it, and I don't want to talk about it." The words sounded stiff, but genuine.

Mossclaw's eyes softened, and Pavlova tried to hide her delight. Good, it also incites sympathy! "Alright. I mean, it doesn't look as if you like us very much, but anyone could understand why you'd leave a twolegplace."

Pavlova just nodded.

A cold breeze swept through the clearing. Mossclaw shivered, and shook out his pelt. "Okay, get out of that position, give yourself a stretch. I'll find a leaf or something you can practise stalking on." Pavlova nodded, standing up, stretching her hind legs out behind her, while Mossclaw leapt a solid four catlengths into the goddamn air and snagged a giant leaf out of an oak tree while the white she-cat's mouth dropped open, stunned.

"How on- what?!"

Mossclaw landed lightly, the leaf stuck in his claws, bemused. "You've never seen a SkyClan cat jump before?"

She shook her head, slightly in awe. He looked pleased with himself. "You'll learn how, with time, though it may be more of a challenge since it's not in your bloodline. Hunting?"

She nodded mutely. I hadn't even thought that was possible...that...that defies physics...

"Good. Crouch."

Pavlova dropped down, trying to get back that feeling of balance she'd had before. Mossclaw looked impressed, so she clicked her tongue. His gaze softened, before he spoke: "Only one adjustment this time - ears flat, remember?"

"Right." She flattened her ears, and put her head down fractionally lower.

Mossclaw padded to the centre of the clearing, and left the leaf there. "Imagine it's a mouse. You're downwind, meaning it's scent is blowing towards you, and not yours towards it. You'll have to step lightly, because it can feel your pawsteps, and you'll have to be totally silent. Go."

It took a few tries. She had only taken two slow, careful strides, when Mossclaw interrupted her. The second time, Mossclaw had discreetly placed a twig in her path which she hadn't been looking out for, and it snapped underneath her. The third time was better, but she made too much noise. The sun got higher, and their shadows got shorter. She had a few successes, and when she did, she clicked her tongue. Mossclaw would associate the sound with approval, specifically of her, soon enough, and the best part was, despite the fact that he seemed to know everything else, he had no idea.

At midday, (or sunhigh, as he called it,) Mossclaw let her know she could have a break. In the afternoon, he might show her the rest of the territory.

Pavlova looked at him curiously. "Aren't I going to be hunting real prey?"

He flicked his tail. "Maybe tomorrow. You've done very well."

"But you said if I caught enough, I might get to eat something good!"

Mossclaw grinned, mischief lighting up his eyes. "I never said that was happening today. Though it did a good job of getting you out of bed this morning. They say that the best way to motivate a Kittypet is with the promise of food." Then he led the way out of the trees.

Petty, but clever. Pavlova narrowed her eyes, annoyed, but was surprised to feel a small smile tugging at her lips. She wondered if this was the closest thing she would ever feel to respect for another living creature.

Chapter by Leafyy~