Bloodflower

Chapter 22

Rosepaw's eyes narrowed as she focused eagerly on the mouse, which was scurrying around in a bramble thicket a few tail-lengths away. This would be her first catch of prey since she had been briefly confined to the camp.

The mouse was oblivious to its stalker, and Rosepaw sprang forward. But she misjudged the leap, and landed just short of her prey. The mouse squealed in terror and vanished in a heartbeat. Mouse dung!

"Bad luck." Pineclaw slid out from the ferns he had been crouching in. "Your stalking was excellent, but you should have taken a moment to make sure you could leap far enough. You were downwind; the prey wasn't going anywhere."

Rosepaw nodded, slightly embarrassed. "Sorry about that," she mewed. "I guess I'm a bit out of shape with my hunting skills."

Pineclaw purred. "I'm surprised you feel that way, when I caught you stalking leaves in the camp more than once!" he joked.

"I was stir-crazy!" Rosepaw protested good-humoredly. "The elders kept talking about how fun it used to be to hunt, and I couldn't help myself."

"Well, be glad you're back on your regular duties," Pineclaw responded. "You have a bit of catching up to do."

"Right. Should I find some more prey and try again?"

"No, that was only a minor mistake. Right now I want to try something different. We're going to test out your tracking skills."

Rosepaw lashed her tail eagerly. "What am I going to do?"

"I'm going to wander through the forest and leave a scent trail," Pineclaw explained. "You'll wait here for as long as it takes to eat a mouse, and then start following my trail. The catch is that you have to follow me silently, as if you're tracking an enemy warrior in our territory."

"That gives me an idea," Rosepaw meowed. "Can I try to ambush you? I'd like to freshen up on my battle skills too, if that's okay."

"Well, how's your shoulder?" Pineclaw prompted. "And be honest with me."

"It really doesn't hurt," Rosepaw answered. "Even Grayleaf said it's finally healing well. I'll be okay."

"Okay, then. We'll add an ambush to the session."

"Great! Can we start now?"

"Yep. Remember, wait here."

Pineclaw whipped around and slipped through the ferns, melting into the undergrowth like a shadow. Rosepaw sat down in the center of tiny clearing, idly imagining herself eating a mouse like Pineclaw had suggested.

Her thoughts drifted to what Nightpaw had told her about the Gathering. She remembered how admiring he had sounded when he got to the part where Dawnpaw had addressed the entire Gathering by herself. Rosepaw had felt so proud of her sister, and wanted to tell her so when the Gathering patrol returned. But Dawnpaw was not nearly as cheerful as she had expected, and seemed to be avoiding her on purpose.

Did I do something to offend her again? she wondered anxiously. Or maybe it's just medicine cat stuff that she can't tell me, and it's worrying her.

She remembered the looks of quiet fury that Minnowtail and Forestfire in particular had worn when they entered the camp. Nightpaw told her that the two warriors had probably been the most aggressive towards the FireClan cats at the Gathering.

Rosepaw scoffed. I wouldn't have been surprised if Minnowtail had attacked one of them herself. It seems like the exact sort of thing she'd do!

But Forestfire...that was rather confusing to her. She seemed much more calm and controlled than Minnowtail, and had still came a mouse-length from springing at the FireClan group. Perhaps spending so much time with Minnowtail has changed the way she feels and acts.