Fading Echoes

Except that I’m as good a hunter as my sister. Wait till they see what I learned in my dream!

Ivypaw dug her claws into the soft, damp earth as she watched Cinderheart trot toward the lake with Mousewhisker, Hazeltail, and Spiderleg, quickening their pace as their apprentices hared off, clearly keen to make their first catch.

“Where are we hunting?” Blossompaw asked Dustpelt.

Dustpelt glanced questioningly at Thornclaw. “The abandoned Twolegplace?”

The golden brown warrior nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

Blossompaw flicked Ivypaw’s flank with her tail-tip. “Come on.” She pelted into the trees and Ivypaw raced after her, wishing she had longer legs as the older apprentice gathered speed and leaped the ruts and gullies in easy strides.

She was panting by the time she spotted the cracked stones of the abandoned Twolegplace. Blossompaw was waiting on the wall surrounding the tumbledown nest. “You can’t even keep up,” she scoffed.

“We’re supposed to be showing them we can work together,” Ivypaw snapped.

“Like I’m going to give you the chance to hold me back.” Blossompaw jumped down from the wall and headed past the plants Jayfeather had carefully nurtured. The scent of them made Ivypaw’s mouth water, but she knew the warning given to every Clan cat: Stay away from the catmint. It was the only cure for greencough, and more precious than poppy seeds.

As she disappeared around the corner of the wall, Blossompaw called over her shoulder, “Just stay out of my way!”

Ivypaw’s heart quickened with rage. How come everyone thought Dovepaw was so great and she was just a mouse-brain? I’ll show them!

She padded past the wall and ducked into the echoing Twoleg den. A jagged stone slope rose up to a hole in the roof and she scooted up it and peeked through a gap in the wall at the top. Blossompaw was tracking something in the unkempt grass below. Ivypaw couldn’t see what, but the tortoiseshell apprentice was moving intently through the tangled weeds.

Suddenly Ivypaw spotted movement at the bottom of the wall. Peering to see what it was, she pushed away a wave of dizziness, then turned and pelted down the jagged slope, the neatly cornered stones a blur beneath her paws. Treading lightly but fast, she nipped out of the nest and darted around the corner. There it was! A squirrel, rummaging in the plants at the bottom of the wall.

Remembering Hawkfrost’s instructions, she crouched down, keeping her back low so that it didn’t brush the branches arching from the rocks.

The squirrel was busy feasting on seeds it had shaken from a clump of dried-up flowers. Ivypaw slowed, preparing, letting awareness spread through her muscles, then sprang, flattening her back as she swerved around the plants. Her paws reached the squirrel with a curling swipe before it could see her and she grasped it and nipped it with a single killing bite.

Thanks, Hawkfrost!

“Impressive!” Thornclaw’s mew startled her and she swung around, the squirrel dangling from her jaws. The warrior was trotting toward her with Dustpelt on his tail.

“Where did you learn that move?” Dustpelt asked, his eyes wide. “You looked like you were hooking a fish out of water!”

Ivypaw gazed back innocently. There was no reason she had to give away her secret. “I guess it was just…instinct.”

The tall weeds beside them swished and Blossompaw came stomping out. “What’s all the noise about?” she spat. “I was stalking a rat and you scared it away!”

Dustpelt tipped his head to one side. “Weren’t you helping to catch this squirrel?”

“I thought you were working in pairs,” Thornclaw added.

Blossompaw bristled. “She was supposed to be helping me, not the other way around.”

You told me to stay out of the way! Ivypaw glared at her denmate but kept her mouth shut.

“Then why was she here while you were trawling through the undergrowth?” Dustpelt queried. “You’re supposed to be organizing a hunting pair. You should have told her where you wanted her.”

“Okay,” Blossompaw huffed. She flicked her tail at Ivypaw. “Come with me.” Turning, she pushed her way back into the jungle of weeds.

Ivypaw dropped the squirrel and flashed a rueful glance at the two warriors before following.

“What did you have to show me up for?” Blossompaw hissed as soon as they were out of earshot. “This is my assessment, remember?”

“Okay, then.” Ivypaw was still feeling pleased from her catch. “What do you want me to do?”

Blossompaw nodded toward the pine trees on the far side of the abandoned Twoleg nest. “We’ll hunt in there.”

They padded between the trunks. The crowded trees blocked the daylight, which was dull anyway. Ivypaw could taste the coming rain. Wisps of mist still lingered, but little undergrowth thrived here and it was easy to spot prey.

“There!” Blossompaw hissed.