"Keep low to the ground. Tail down. No, tail, down. Wolfpaw, can you keep your overly fluffy tail down for a second?! Ok, that's better."

Three days into training, and Wolfpaw still hadn't caught her first piece of prey. It was down right embaressing. 

"Good! See, not that hard, righ-- TAIL  DOWN." Silversun sighed and gently pushed Wolfpaw's tail down. Again. Wolfpaw was certain it had a mind of it's own.

"There we go. Now scent the air. Can you smell anything?" Wolfpaw cautiously raised her head and sniffed the air. Pine, leaves, Silversun... Lynxpaw.

"I smell Lynxpaw." Wolfpaw said hopefully. Silversun grinned. 

"Well, I'm afraid he doesn't count as prey. But maybe we could do some Ice hunting with him."

Though ice hunting was harder, it was often more rewarding, and a valuable skill to learn. Teaming up with Ravenspots, Lynxpaw, and his mentor, Icicleclaws, the four headed off to one of the best places for Ice Hunting-- Frozen Falls.

"Great Starclan, I can't feel my paws... no wonder this place is called Frozen Falls. I swear, this must be the coldest place in the valley. Good thing it isn't winter yet." Wolfpaw muttered to Lynxpaw, shaking her tired, wet paws with disgust. 

Lynxpaw grinned. "Actually, some years, hunting by Frozen Falls is banned because it's too cold. Like, so cold, I heard that that's how Fallensnow lost her paw."

Wolfpaw's eyes widened. "Wow. Really?! How does the cold make cat's paws fall off?! That doesn't make sense."

Lynxpaw's voice grew quiet and far away. "Well, Fallensnow doesn't like to talk about it that much, but I hear that it's.. the Ice Wolf."

Wolfpaw gasped quietly, and Silversun looked at them with amusement. "Lynxpaw... don't scare Wolfpaw with stories like that. That is a wolf legend anyways. There is no Ice Wolf. It's called Stone Cold, where it's so cold, one of your body parts just turns blue and falls off. But don't worry, it hasn't been that cold in ages."

Lynxpaw grinned at Wolfpaw, and nudged her. "You know I was kidding, right? There is no Ice Wolf."

Wolfpaw nodded, but she was still thinking about the Ice Wolf. Silversun had said that it was a wolf legend. What else did her clan know about wolves? 

"Alright! We're here. Perfect. Now, Lynxpaw, can you tell me the first thing to do when Ice Hunting?" Icicleclaws looked at Lynxpaw expectantly.

Lynxpaw sighed dramatically. "Oh, Icicleclaws... you havn't forgotten again, have you?"

Playing the part, Icicleclaws nodded forlorenly. "My poor, old soul... I can't even remember how to hunt! Ah, my back!"

Ravenspots rolled her eyes, and Wolfpaw snorted with laughter. Icicleclaws was a young, healthy cat, and it was a good thing he humored his amuseing apprentice.

Sighing dramatically, Icicleclaws moaned, "Please, oh please remind me how to Ice Hunt, Lynxpaw."

Grinning, Lynxpaw said "First, you find a place in the ice that looks thinner or weaker. Then, you press your ear up against the ice and listen."

Icicleclaws nodded with approval. Ravenspots turned to Wolfpaw. "Do you know what to do next, Wolfpaw?"

Wolfpaw shuffled her paws uncertainly. "Um, do you follow the noises? To... to the hole? Where the lemming or mice lives?"

Silversun nodded, impressed. "So you were listening yesterday! Good job. Now everyone, start listening."

Wolfpaw pressed her ear to the ice, and slowed her breathing, trying desperately to hear something, anything. 

"Guys! Psst! Over here!" Ravenspot's whispered loudly. "I think I found some lemmings. Follow me!"

Pausing to listen to the ice at random intervals, Ravenspots led them along the jagged, frozen edges of Frozen Falls, until finally, she grinned with triumph and pointed to a small hole in the ice. Quietly, they sniffed around until towards the bottom of Frozen Falls, they found the second hole.

"This is the fun part." Lynxpaw whispered to her.

Ravenspots stood at the first hole, while everyone else positioned themselves by the second hole. Then, Ravenspots took a deep breaht and roared into the hole. There was a skittery, pitter pattering sounds, and then, Lemmings flooded out of the hole.

Wolfpaw yelped. There were maybe 20 Lemmings, all running towards her. The others were already pouncing. Wolfpaw unsheathed her claws and swung blindly, then reached down and bit into a lemming. A thrill of exitement and shock ran through her at the thrill of her first kill, and Wolfpaw grinned at her clan mates proudly.

Lynxpaw smiled through a mouth full of fur and lemmings, and said "Nush jub, Wuffpuh!"

Wolfpaw grinned back at him. They talked and talked about the lemmings all the way home, and were greeted by compliments and appreciative mews from their clan mates at their large haul.

But as Wolfpaw finally settled down to bite into a warm, plump lemming, a cold breeze ruffled around her, and she couldn't help but remember the Ice Wolf.