(Cat Above is Cindermist)

"Petalpaw. Hey, Petalpaw!"

Petalpaw slowly blinked open her eyes. She tirnes to see who called her and saw Mintpaw standing at the mouth of the apprentice den, a chilly leaf-bare breeze gently ruffling his fur.

"What it is, Minpaw?" Petalpaw asked, giving her body a long stretch.

"You, me, and Marshpaw are going hunting with our mentors."

Petalpaw's tail dropped. "Why does Marshpaw have to come?"

Mintpaw shrugged. "Ashwhisper's orders. He said something about Marshpaw seeing how good apprentices behave. Guess that means us."

Petalpaw let out a short sigh. "Lucky us."

She bounded our of the apprentice den with Mintpaw behind her. Ravenfeather, Appleshade, and Duststripe were gathered at the gorse tunnel. Marshpaw sat with them, his head down, a brooding look in his eyes. As theh approached, Appleshade waved his tail and the group followed him through the gorse tunnel.

Petalpaw padded beside Mintpaw while their mentors brought up the rear, while Marshpaw was up front with his mentor. The traveled through the trees until they came to Snakerocks.

"We're hunting here?" Mintpaw asked with perked ears.

"Yes. We want to asses how you three hunt in a dangerous area." Duststripe explained. "And while the adders may not be out as much because of the leaf-bare doesn't mean they aren't still a threat."

"We're assessing you're hunting as well as your ability to be aware if your surroundings." Ravenfeather added.

"There is no limit to amount of prey you must catch." Appleshade instructed. He then turned to Marshpaw with a stern yet teaching glare. "And no prey is better than the other. Any prey you three bring back is of equal importance to the clan. Especially in this time."

Appleshade pointed to Marshpaw then to Petalpaw with his tail. "So Marshpaw, if you catch a squirrel and Petalpaw catches a shrew, doe sthat mean you are btter than her or that your catch was better than hers?"

Marshpaw met his mentor's blue eyes gaze. He looked over at Petalpaw for a moment with a small frown before looking back. "No, Appleshade."

Mintpaw leaned closed to Petalpaw. "It just means he probably got lucky." He let out a quiet huff of laughter until Duststripe silenced him with a gentle flick of his tail.

"Alright you three," Appleshade swished his tail. "You may start. Your mentors will follow you as you hunt."

Anxious to prove her hunting, Petalpaw descended past the rocks. She looked behind her to see Marshpaw and Mintpaw going in opposite direction. She stopped to taste the air. She couldn't spot Ravenfeather anywhere and his scent was hidden among the various scents of the forest. She kept her ears pricked, on alert for adders and in case her mentor planned on surprising her.

She crawled with an impressive silence, looking for any prey to catch. After a few moments she finally spotted a mouse that was, to her surprise, a decent size. With unsheathed claws, she crept slowly closer. She looked to her left and right, peering for an addeds that may be slithering close by. She saw or heard no signs of movement, and guessed most if the adders were adding from the cold.

Once she knew she had it, she darted forward and trapped the shrew underneath her paws and killed it with a swift bite to the neck. She gave a quick prayer to StarClan for her catch then burried it and continued her hunt.

*

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After catching two small voles and a  shrew, Petalpaw decided to head back to where the patrol had first gathered. Applshade and Marshpaw were already there, waiting. Petalpaw laid her catched down and noticed the prey laying at her brother's paws; two mice, a shrew, a a scrawny squirrel.

"Looks like you did well, Petalpaw." Appleshade commented.

"She did." Petalpaw looked over her shoulder and saw Ravenfeather behind her. "She hunted well and was always aware of her surroundings."

Petalpaw smiled at her mentors praise. She turned her head as a nearby bush rustled and Mintpaw stepped out followed by Duststripe. Dangling in Minpaw's mouth was the was the long, diamond- patterned body of an adder.

"You caught an adder?!" Petalpaw asked in astonishment.

Minpaw nodded, a proud and excited gleam in his eyes. Dustriped waved his tail over his apprentice's other catches. "He did very well." He turned to Appleshade. "How did Marshpaw do?"

"He also did very well." The dark cream tom replied. "I'm quite proud of him."

"Then let's head back." Dustripe mewed, helping Mintpaw gather his cathes. "We have hungry clanmates to feed."

The patrol vatgered their cacthes and made their way back to camp, a light smowfall beginning to set it. Petalpaw slipped through the gorse tunnels with Mintpaw and Marshpaw behind her. They padded to the fresh kill pile and deposited their cathces.

"Mintpaw, take your adder to the elders." Dustripe instructed. "Once they're feed, you can eat."

Mintpaw nodded and and grabbed his adder and and couple of mice then bounded across the clearing. Appleshade niudged Marshpaw's squirrel towards him.

"Why don't you take you squirrel to the nursery and give it to Cindermist and her kits?"

"And Petalpaw, you can bring something to Acornfall." Ravenfeather added. "You two can also eat when you're done."

The two apprentices nodded and gathered prey then headed to the nursery. The sounds of rambunctious kits greeted their ears. Cindermist and Acornfall were laying in their nest, watching as their kits wrestled and played.

"Oh hello, Petalpaw. Hello, Marshpaw." Acornfall greeted them.

"Hi." Petalpaw mewed through the fur of the moise she carried. She laied it at Acornfall's paws. "Just bringing prey by. We just caught them."

"Thank you." Arcornfall smiled and called her kits over to eat.

Petalpaw looked out of the corner of her eyes as Marshaw laid his squirrel at Cindermist's paws.

"I caught it not to long ago so it's still fresh." He mewed. "Applshade said you and your kits should have it."

The dark gray queen smiled. "Thank you, Marshpaw."

Bramblekit, one of Cindermist's kits, leapt at the squirrel, wrestling with it as if he were a warrior in battle.

Marshpaw let our a small huff of laughter. "Hey, I caught that for you to eat not to play with."

"A good warrior always practices." Bramblekit replied.

Cindermist reached put and pulled her aon away from the squirrel. "A good warrior also doesn't play with his food." She motioned to her other three kits. "Tell Marshpaw thank you and come eat."

"Thanks, Marshpaw!" All four kits said in unison.

"You're welcome." Marshpaw dipped his head politely then turned and slipped out of the den.

Petalpaw did the same and slipped out after her brother. She was about to follow him to the fresh kill pile when the gorse tunnel rustled and Whitepath emerged with fresh scratches on his shoulders.

"Gorsestar," he called. "The rogues are back."