Rainpaw crouched down, intently watching the unsuspecting mouse in front of her. It was only a few days before her warrior assessment, and she really needed to work on her hunting skills. According to her mentor, Stormfire, her battle skills were absolutely flawless. It was the hunting that was a problem.

Her eyes narrowed as she focused. The  poor mouse still didn't have a clue that she was there.

    So far, so good.

    Slowly, she stalked forward. Her paw steps were as light as she could possibly make them.

A twig snapped.

The mouse's head shot up in alarm. Within seconds, it was gone, leaving only a half-eaten acorn to prove it had ever been there.

Rainpaw let out an exasperated sigh and looked down. Sure enough, a small stick lay in two pieces right underneath her paw.

She heard a rustle in the bushes. "Always watch the ground!" Stormfire exclaimed, revealing himself. He didn't look very pleased.

She sat upright, staring at the spot the mouse once was. "I know." She meowed, disappointed. "Its easier said than done." Her tail dropped and she mentally cursed at herself for forgetting one of the simplest things.

"I don't know how you can be so good at battle moves but so much less at hunting." Stormfire said, curling his tail over his paws.

   Rainpaw shrugs and looks at the ground. "Fighting gives more of a thrill. Hunting is boring." She said simply.

Stormfire only nods slightly and makes a "Hm." sound.

Rainpaw looked up to the sky. The bright blue had since faded into brilliant oranges, reds, and pinks. They really should be heading back. Stormfire seemed to notice as well.

"Lets head back." He said, flicking his tail.

***

After what seemed like forever, the camp's cave came into view. From the outside, it didn't seem like much. The entrance was only a small slit in the large rock wall at the bottom of a cliff. Vines crawled up the sides and stuck in between every crack it could find. Tall grasses pushed up against the wall and made it look almost uninhabitable. The only way to tell that it was populated was the pushed down grass that lead to the small hole.

Rainpaw sighed in relief and tiredly padded into the camp. Her paws ached from being out hunting for mostly the whole day and she was most definitely ready for some food. Instantly, she was greeted with the familiar smell of fresh herbs from the medicine den.

"You are dismissed. Get some prey and settle down for the night." Stormfire said. He left her side and padded over to the nursery, most likely to talk with his mate Riverjay.

Rainpaw nodded and scoured the camp, searching for her sisters. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted the unmistakable bright orange pelt of her sister Sunpaw, followed by the light gray pelt her other sister Hopepaw.

    "Hey Rainpaw! How was training today?" A sweet voice asked.

    Rainpaw turned and was met by the gray tabby face of her mother.

    "Unsuccessful. Again." Rainpaw huffed, pulling her ears back.

    Ivyleaf only gave a small chuckle. "Don't worry. You'll get better at it. A lot better. Believe it or not, your father was even worse than you were." She purred.

    Her father, Flameclaw, had died in a battle between DuskClan and NightClan only a few days after the three were born. The only way the tabby ever knew she had a father was in the stories that Ivyleaf told them when they were kits. Sunpaw had gotten his fiery bright pelt and Rainpaw got his bright amber eyes.

    "Really?" She said, letting out a purr of amusement.

    "Oh yes! He was awful!" Her mother's eyes went distant for a moment before she snapped back to reality. "Well, I don't want to keep you waiting." She meowed. "I'm pretty sure Willowear needs help containing her kits. But trust me, hunting will start to become natural for you."

"Of course." Rainpaw remarked. "And thanks." She gave Ivyleaf a goodbye nod and started to leave.

"Oh, and Rainpaw?"

The apprentice turned back to her mother.

   "Sunpaw has been a little off today. Would you check up on her please?"

    "Sure!" Rainpaw smiled. Her mother smiled back and headed towards the nursery.

Rainpaw turned back to her sisters and happily bounded over. "Hey guys!" She purred, sitting down.

Hopepaw turned to Rainpaw and cheerfully nodded in greeting. Sunpaw, however, didn't take her eyes off the ground. Her body went stiff at the sound of Rainpaw's voice.

Ivyleaf was right, Sunpaw was being weird. The bright orange apprentice was always the bright and bubbly one of the three. Rainpaw had never seen her without a smile plastered on her face.

An awkward silence passed between them.

"Sunpaw...?"

Sunpaw suddenly stood up and cleared her throat. "I'm gonna go get some fresh kill." Her sister stood up and padded away without another word.

As soon as Sunpaw had left she turned to Hopepaw. "What's wrong with her?" She asked, concerned for her sister.

"Not a clue." Hopepaw replied, her eyes following Sunpaw. "She's been a little off all day, but she was okay until you came." Her gaze shifted over to Rainpaw.

Fine before I came? What did I do?

"I don't remember saying anything particularly mean to her, and even if I did she would just shake it off." Rainpaw said, confusion swirling in her mind.

Hopepaw shrugged again but didn't provide any more answers.

Out of curiosity, Rainpaw rose to her paws and followed her sister, determined to find out what was wrong. Hopepaw narrowed her eyes but headed into the apprentice den.

"Hey Sunpaw! Wait up!"

Sunpaw, however, had other ideas and took a sharp turn and headed quickly into the apprentices den after Hopepaw. She didn't look back.

Rainpaw stopped near the entrance of the large cave. She thought for a moment, and then decided to leave Sunpaw alone, knowing that she'd probably be fine by tomorrow. Besides, they were sisters. They told each other everything.

The sweet smell of fresh-kill reached her nose and she realized how hungry she was. As if on cue, her stomach growled loudly. Rainpaw took one last sad look into the apprentices den before turning around and padding over to the fresh-kill. She stopped and looked at her options. Her stomach growled again.

Seven mice, four squirrels, and one bird.

She picked out one of the squirrels and padded back to the cave after her sisters.

She glanced around the den and instantly noticed Sunpaw 'asleep' in her nest. None of the other apprentices were sleeping yet. Hopepaw was sharing a mouse with Hawkpaw and chatting quietly with Lightningpaw and Snowpaw.

The tabby padded over to her nest and settled down. She set the squirrel next to her and glanced over at Sunpaw. She had her back turned.

Rainpaw scoured her mind, trying to rethink every little detail of the day. What could have possibly upset her? The apprentice hadn't seen her sister for most of if not all of the day, so how could she be the cause? All of these questions just made her more frustrated. None of them had answers.

Rainpaw desperately wanted to talk to her sister, but if time was what she needed then Rainpaw would give it to her.

The squirrel didn't seem that good anymore.

Sighing, she pushed it aside, deciding to finish it in the morning. Rainpaw turned over and curled up, trying to push those thoughts out of her mind. After what seemed like an eternity, darkness consumed her and she was asleep.

***

When she woke she wasn't in the apprentices den.

Rainpaw jolted up, frantically looking around. This was definitely not her nest. This wasn't even near DuskClan territory. It was dark and dreary, and she didn't like it.

"Welcome, Rainpaw." A voice said.

She spun around to face a white she-cat who's pelt was far beyond repairable. The she-cat stared down at Rainpaw with a cold, merciless, icy glare.

"My name's Red. I brought you here."

"Where am I?" Rainpaw demanded, trying to hide the fact that she was absolutely terrified. Her paws shook beneath her as she stepped back from this new cat.

"This is a forest that me and many others call home. But trust me, it's not as bad as it looks." She said, giving a small smile. "I brought you here because I train cats... special cats that have potential better than they already are." She explained.

"Cats like you."

Rainpaw relaxed a little. She was just trying to help, right? But in a place like this...?
"What do you mean better than they already are?" She asked, somewhat interested. The apprentice had always dreamed of being a great fighting warrior, protecting her clan.

"Battle tactics. Mine are better, more efficient. You could be better than your own leader."

Better than my own leader? She thought about that. Being the best fighter in the clan surely couldn't have a bad outcome, could it?

"So what do you say? Do you want to train with me?"

  Rainpaw thought for a moment. She could be the best...she could win in every battle. This was her dream! However, this was a strange cat in a strange land. From the looks of it, Red could kill Rainpaw with a flick of her paw. But she had a strange trust in this cat, a trust that no logical cat would have.

    A trust that she feared.

"If you need time, I'll be more than happy to give it to you. Whenever you're ready." Red purred.

Rainpaw thought for a second. There was no way that she could deny that she wanted to be the best. The tabby looked up determinedly and let out two life-changing words.

"I accept."

________________________________
Hey guys! Once again, I apologize for any mistakes or if it seemed like it was rushed.

Please comment any opinions or thoughts below! I love reading them!