Jaypaw stalked slowly forward, his eyes locked on the starling. He bunched his muscles, launching himself forward and landing squarely on the bird. Just as it began to let out an alarm call, he dispatched it with a neat blow to the neck.

"Nice catch." Jaypaw looked around to see his mentor gazing down at him proudly.

"Thanks, Iceleap." He purred, his tail sticking up in the air.

"I'll help carry that back to camp once we're done hunting." The silver tom meowed before covering the bird with dirt.

Jaypaw beamed and returned to hunting. Before long, he detected a mouse scuffling around in the undergrowth. He pounced, and landed a whiskers length away. The mouse squeaked in alarm and sped off just before Jaypaw could catch it. "Mouse-dung!" He spat, smoothing his ruffled fur.

"You don't seem to be good at hunting." Jaypaw looked around at the voice and saw Tigerstar staring down at him.

"H-hey!" Jaypaw stammered defensively, puffing out his chest. "I caught a starling! That's better than a mouse—way better than a mouse." Tigerstar shrugged his massive shoulders. Jaypaw began to walk away.

"It's the catch that counts, not the prey itself. And... If you only catch starlings... How will you pass your assessment?" Jaypaw froze.

"How do you know I won't?" The gray tabby tom demanded, spinning around and thrusting his muzzle into Tigerstar's face, his fur rising along his spine.

"I just know, Jaypaw." The way Tigerstar said Jaypaw's name sent a chill along the apprentice's spine.

"Jaypaw!" Iceleap was calling him! "Jaypaw, let's get back to camp!" As Jaypaw began walking away, he heard Tigerstar's whisper.

"I'll be watching you, Jaypaw..."