The Apprentice's Quest (5 page)

How am I supposed to know?
Alderpaw asked himself.
I've never smelled it before!
Then he remembered something else.

“You told us RiverClan is way over on the other side of the lake. So this one must be WindClan.”

“Excellent!” Cherryfall purred. “Let's go and see the border.”

She led the way to the bank of another stream, this time running at the bottom of a deep cleft covered in lush vegetation. “Over there is WindClan territory,” she mewed with a wave of her tail.

Beyond the stream the trees quickly gave way to a steep hill covered in short, tough grass, the slope rearing up like the arched back of a cat.

“WindClan cats live
there
?” Sparkpaw asked.

Molewhisker nodded. “Yes, on the moor.”

“It looks bleak,” Alderpaw murmured with a shiver. “They must have their camp somewhere in these woods, right?”

“Wrong,” his mentor responded. “They camp in a hollow on the moor, surrounded by gorse bushes. It wouldn't do for ThunderClan, but they seem to like it.”

“I'd hate to be out there without any trees,” Sparkpaw mewed. “I think—”

She broke off as a rabbit appeared, dashing over the brow of the hill. A moment later a thin, leggy tabby crested the rise, racing along in pursuit, her belly fur brushing the moorland grass and her tail streaming out behind her. Both creatures disappeared into a hollow, but a thin shriek, abruptly cut off, told the ThunderClan cats that the tabby had caught her prey.

“They're pretty fast,” Molewhisker commented.

“I could just eat a rabbit,” Sparkpaw sighed, licking her lips as if a piece of succulent prey were lying in front of her.

“Then we'll get back to camp,” Cherryfall meowed. “It's not far from here.”

“But I thought we were going to practice hunting!” Sparkpaw protested.

Alderpaw twitched his tail, hoping the mentors would say no. He felt nervous enough about remembering all the new things they'd learned without adding a hunting lesson to the mix. But Cherryfall and Molewhisker glanced at each other. “Okay,” Molewhisker agreed after a moment. “But even if you catch something, you can't eat it. Everything goes back to the fresh-kill pile. The Clan must be fed first.”

Alderpaw's heart sank. His belly was already rumbling.
But he tried to hide his disappointment.

Sparkpaw shrugged. “Fine. But we can still try, right?”

Heading away from the stream, the cats reached the edge of a clearing where a huge oak tree stood, its roots writhing up above the surface of the ground. Thick clumps of fern grew around it.

“This is a good place for prey,” Molewhisker mewed, halting. “See what you can pick up.”

Alderpaw closed his eyes, feeling a little overwhelmed by all the different scents flooding over him, and the different sounds he could hear in the undergrowth and the branches above his head.
This is a lot harder than picking out the WindClan scent. That was so strong it was hard to miss.

Finally Alderpaw managed to home in on a scent he recognized: a shrew. He could hear a tiny scratching noise in the undergrowth, coming from the right direction. Opening his eyes, he spotted movement in the grass stems.

But am I sure . . . ?
he asked himself, hesitating to point it out.

Before he decided whether to speak, Sparkpaw pointed with her tail. “There's a shrew over there.”

“I can scent it too,” Alderpaw agreed, hoping his mentor would believe he had spotted it for himself.

“Okay, you can try catching it,” Cherryfall meowed, her gaze flicking from Alderpaw to Sparkpaw. “You've seen the hunter's crouch, haven't you—like this?” She demonstrated, pressing herself close to the ground with her muscles bunched, ready to move forward.

Alderpaw and Sparkpaw did their best to copy her.

“Good,” Cherryfall went on. “Now, remember to keep low, and set your paws down really lightly. Careful you don't tread on a twig.”

“And watch your tail,” Molewhisker added. “If you let it wave around, your prey will know where you are.”

“Sparkpaw, you try first,” Cherryfall mewed.

Barely hesitating, Sparkpaw began to creep forward, her eyes gleaming with excitement. She kept her paws tucked in close to her body and her tail wrapped along her side. Suddenly she leaped forward, disappearing into the thickest part of the undergrowth.

A heartbeat later Sparkpaw reappeared, the limp body of a shrew dangling from her jaws. She paced back toward the others, her head raised proudly and her tail straight up in the air.

“Wow!” Cherryfall exclaimed as Sparkpaw dropped the shrew at her paws. “I've never heard of an apprentice catching something on her very first try.”

“Neither have I,” Molewhisker agreed. “Good job, Sparkpaw.”

“Great catch,” Alderpaw meowed.

“Oh, it was easy,” Sparkpaw boasted. “I just did what you told me.”

Molewhisker turned to his apprentice. “Let's see if Alderpaw can do as well.”

Alderpaw felt himself stiffen with anxiety.
I sort of wish she'd missed that catch. Then I wouldn't have to worry about missing mine.
But he forced himself to push the envious thoughts aside.

“We'll move on,” Cherryfall decided. “We've probably
scared all the prey away around here.”

Alderpaw felt his paws growing heavier with every paw step as he followed the mentors.
I just
know
I'm going to mess up.
His belly was churning by the time they halted beside a small pool, with bushes and long grass growing around its edge.

“We should find something here,” Molewhisker meowed. “Okay, both of you, show me the hunter's crouch.”

Alderpaw squatted beside his sister, his pelt prickling with anxiety as both mentors padded around them, observing them closely.

“Good, Sparkpaw,” Cherryfall mewed. “But keep your tail a bit closer.”

“And Alderpaw, tuck your paws in a bit more,” Molewhisker added.

“Yes, you can't have your hindpaws sticking out if you want a good pounce,” Sparkpaw put in.

I know that,
Alderpaw thought, giving her a glare.

“And you have to be really, really quick,” Sparkpaw went on. “Your prey won't wait around for you. And your claws—”

“Sparkpaw, knock it off.” Molewhisker's tone was irritable. “You're not the mentor here. You're a brand-new apprentice, just like Alderpaw.”

Sparkpaw flattened her ears, then nodded reluctantly, while Alderpaw gave his mentor a grateful look. Molewhisker responded by brushing his tail over Alderpaw's shoulders.

“Remember what we told you about keeping low,” Cherryfall continued. “And watch where you're putting your paws.
The snap of a twig, the wave of a fern frond, and your prey's gone.”

Alderpaw nodded, trying to take in all the information. Then the moment he had dreaded finally arrived.

“Now, Alderpaw,” Molewhisker meowed. “See if you can find some prey.”

Alderpaw narrowed his eyes and concentrated, tasting the air. The scents here weren't quite so complicated, and he soon pinpointed a vole underneath a bush close to the water.

“There's a vole under there,” he murmured to Molewhisker, angling his ears toward the bush.

Molewhisker gave him an approving nod. “Good. Go after it, then.”

Alderpaw adjusted his crouch and began to creep forward, then hesitated.
Is the vole really under that bush, or in the clump of long grass just beside it? Should I go straight for it, or loop around the grass so it can't see me coming?

“What's the matter?” Molewhisker hissed impatiently. “Go!”

Alderpaw was frozen with indecision.
I
have
to get this right, but I don't know how!

While he was still hesitating, unable to move, the vole suddenly scampered out of the depths of the bush, plopped into the water, and vanished.

“Mouse-brain!” Sparkpaw exclaimed.

I probably deserve that,
Alderpaw admitted to himself. He hung his head in shame as Molewhisker padded up to him. “A good hunter doesn't hesitate,” his mentor meowed. “You need
to trust your instincts.” Then he relaxed a little and touched Alderpaw on the shoulder with his tail. “Never mind. There'll be other prey.”

His mentor's kindness only made Alderpaw feel more ashamed.
I've let Molewhisker down.

Sparkpaw suddenly darted off into the bushes, and Alderpaw looked up, startled. She emerged a moment later, swinging the body of a plump mouse by its tail.

“Sparkpaw, that's amazing!” Cherryfall's eyes were sparkling with delight. “You're going to be a great hunter.”

“Yeah, good catch,” Molewhisker muttered, his tail-tip twitching in annoyance.

I've let him down again,
Alderpaw thought wretchedly.
I wanted so much to make him proud of me!

Cherryfall picked up Sparkpaw's shrew and led the way as the cats headed back toward camp. Alderpaw trudged along with his head down, feeling more miserable and disgraced with every paw step.
I can't believe this is happening!

“Don't worry,” Molewhisker meowed briskly, padding along beside him. “You'll learn. You just have to go for it, not hesitate like you did back there.”

“I know,” Alderpaw murmured.
But that's easy enough to say.

He didn't want to look at Cherryfall and Sparkpaw bouncing along ahead of them, carrying Sparkpaw's prey. And just when he thought he couldn't possibly feel more depressed, Ivypool, Birchfall, and Sorrelstripe emerged from the undergrowth. They were also heading for the camp, and also carrying prey.

“You've had good hunting,” Cherryfall remarked, nodding toward the couple of squirrels and the rabbit the patrol were carrying.

“So have you, by the look of it,” Ivypool responded.

“Oh, these are Sparkpaw's,” Cherryfall meowed. “And it's her first day out of camp. Not bad, huh?”

“Wow, that's amazing!” Sorrelstripe exclaimed. “Good job, Sparkpaw.”

“You've got a good apprentice there,” Birchfall added.

“It's because Cherryfall is such a good mentor,” Sparkpaw mewed.

No cat took any notice of Alderpaw, which suited him just fine. His tail drooped lower and lower with disappointment in himself, and he wished he could sink into the forest floor and disappear.

As they entered the camp, Alderpaw spotted Bramblestar standing on the Highledge outside his den, talking to Graystripe. As soon as he saw the returning cats, he broke off his conversation, ran lightly down the tumbled rocks and bounded across the clearing to meet them.

“How did your first day out of camp go?” he asked.

Cherryfall and Molewhisker exchanged a glance; Alderpaw could see they were amused by Bramblestar's eagerness to find out how his kits had done.

“I caught a shrew
and
a mouse!” Sparkpaw announced, puffing out her chest with pride.

“Excellent!” Bramblestar exclaimed, giving his daughter a lick around her ears. “And how about you, Alderpaw?”

Alderpaw was silent, looking down at his paws.

The awkward silence stretched out for a few heartbeats. It was Sparkpaw who spoke first. “Oh, he really listened to his mentor, and he learned all about ThunderClan's territory.”

But there's nothing special about that,
Alderpaw thought miserably.

“I'm sure Alderpaw will get the hang of hunting,” Molewhisker meowed. “He's trying hard.”

Alderpaw felt even worse to think that was the best his littermate and his mentor could find to say about him.
I just want Bramblestar to be proud of me!
With a desperate struggle he managed to raise his head and look at his father, bracing himself to meet disappointment in his gaze.

But Bramblestar's eyes revealed nothing. He hesitated for a moment, then gave a little nod. “Cherryfall and Molewhisker, you and Sparkpaw take the prey to the fresh-kill pile,” he directed. “I'm sure you're hungry. Alderpaw, I want a word with you alone.”

Sparkpaw shot Alderpaw a sympathetic glance as she and the other cats left. Alderpaw stood once more with his head lowered. “Are you angry with me?” he asked Bramblestar in a low voice. “I tried. I really did.” He kept his gaze fixed on the ground; he couldn't bring himself to look up at his father again.

Bramblestar bent and touched Alderpaw's head gently with his nose. “I'm sure you tried hard,” he told Alderpaw. “This is only the first day you've been out of camp. And I'm proud to
hear that you're paying attention to your mentor and doing your best to learn.”

Alderpaw still couldn't manage to meet his father's gaze.
He's just being nice. And I don't want to look up and see pity in his eyes.

Bramblestar was silent for a few heartbeats. “Did I ever tell you much about my own apprentice days?” he meowed at last.

“I know Firestar was your mentor,” Alderpaw mumbled, still looking down at his paws. “He must have thought you were pretty great, to mentor you when he was Clan leader.”

Bramblestar sighed. “I think Firestar just wanted to keep a close eye on me. It took him a long time to trust me, because Tigerstar was my father.” His voice had grown tight, as if he didn't want to think about the evil cat who had fathered him, the cat who had tried to murder his own Clan leader and make himself ruler of the whole forest. “Anyway,” he went on after a moment, sounding more relaxed, “the first time I went hunting with Firestar, I really wanted to impress him. I ran so hard after a squirrel that I slipped on some wet leaves, went nose over paws, and crashed into a tree. Great StarClan, it hurt! And what hurt even more was that I was pretty sure Firestar had to stop himself from laughing.”

“Really?” At last Alderpaw was able to look up without feeling ashamed or embarrassed. “Did that really happen?”