"Lemonpaw! It's time to get up!" Firelight screeched from the opening of the apprentice den. Lemonpaw lazily opened her eyes groaning. The tom padded away quickly, and Lemonpaw rose to her feet, tired and exhausted.
The day prior, Lemonpaw had given one of the elders a "too-damp" nest, so Firelight had punished her by making her collect new fresh moss for every elder and pick off their ticks for the day. She'd been working until the sun had gone down.
The apprentice den was empty, except for a few cats who had gotten the day off. Lemonpaw quickly walked out, finding Firelight sitting impatiently near the center of the camp.
"Sorry!" Lemonpaw shouted as she ran towards him. It was fib, of course. She should've guessed Firelight would wake her early, but he knew how hard she had worked.
"It's important to rise early," Firelight began.
Lemonpaw rolled her eyes, awaiting another lecture from the ginger tom. He'd been a terrible mentor to her over the past moon, always hissing at her, lecturing her from time to time. She didn't even know why Silverstar had assigned the tom.
"I was busy yesterday," Lemonpaw used as an excuse.
"Yes, busy with your punishment. Eat a mouse quick. We're running late," he grumbled.
Lemonpaw nodded, quickly grabbing a mouse from the fresh-kill pile. She sat down enxt to Raspberrypaw and Thymepaw, chewing away at her mouse.
Thymepaw signed "Good morning" but Lemonpaw groaned.
"Not having a good day?" Raspberrypaw asked.
"I'll say! You know how hard I was working last night! Firelight shouted at me this morning about getting up early. I'm tired and exhausted. I really wish he had given me the day off."
"Well, Tawnyfire let me sleep in as long as I wanted today," Raspberrypaw boasted.
"Not helping," Lemonpaw replied.
Lemonpaw watched as Thymepaw signed, "He's helping you".
"I know," Lemonpaw sighed. "But he's so stuck up. I don't know why Silverstar assigned him."
"Silverstar's a good leader. She knows what she's doing. I heard Firelight was a great warrior until this past leaf-fall. Guess his sister's and mate's death just hit him hard."
"Yeah, well, he shows it," Lemonpaw grumbled, turning to see the tom sitting impatiently by the edge of camp.
"I'll see you guys later. Bye," she called, waving to her friends as she padded off to greet the ginger tom.
"I thought a mouse could be eaten quicker," Firelight said.
Lemonpaw ignored him, padding into the woods with the tom. He walked beside her silently, gazing around the woods. The snow had almost melted now, clumps of it still hanging onto dirt.
"There will be more prey in new-leaf, right?" Lemonpaw wondered.
Firelight nodded. "Yes. Now that leaf-bare is nearly through, the prey will be coming out again. And them green-leaf will bring much prey."
Lemonpaw nodded slowly.
"What are we doing today?" she asked.
"Hunting," Firelight replied.
"But you just said—"
"I know what I said! Just because it's not completely new-leaf doesn't mean there's no prey. We're practicing hunting moves. Do you remember the one I taught you from a few sunrises ago?"
Lemonpaw frowned. The move had totally slipped her mind! It had something to do with a crouch.
"Uh..." She crouched down, unsure.
"No!" Firelight groaned. "Get down lower. Keep your tail up."
Lemonpaw did as she was instructed, but she still failed to please her mentor.
"No, for the love of StarClan! Down more, Lemonpaw!"
"I'm trying!" she shouted.
"You're scaring away all the prey with your whining. There!" he said at last, using his strong paw to push her down.
Lemonpaw growled quietly, focused on nothing but the damp ground.
"We're going to learn to pounce today," Firelight explained.
"Great!" Lemonpaw exclaimed, jumping up.
"No, stay down!" Firelight snapped. "Actually, just watch me. I smelled a squirrel nearby."
"I don't smell anything," Lemonpaw admitted, smelling the warm air.
"That's because your nose isn't that great yet. You can tell clanmates apart, but you can't tell the scent of prey yet. This way," he said, leading her through some bushes. Lemonpaw padded behind him quietly, guessing it was best if she just kept her mouth shut and continued the lesson normally.
"Here we are," Firelight called, stepping out into a clearing.
"I don't see a squirrel," Lemonpaw observed.
Firelight shushed her, crouching down in some grass. Lemonpaw sat, not sure what Firelight was stalking. She had not seen a squirrel!
Then, suddenly a strong smell hit her, and she realized a squirrel was nearby. Ahead of Firelight, she could see a small gray tail moving slowly. Suddenly, Firelight pounced. She watched as his back paws bounced off the ground, and he came up a moment later with a dead squirrel.
"Wow," Lemonpaw gasped.
"Now, you try that pounce."
"Oh, okay," Lemonpaw awkwardly replied, crouching down in the grass. She tried to remain as low as she could, remembering Firelight's lecture earlier.
"Like this?" she asked.
"Yes," Firelight confirmed.
Lemonpaw leapt, though instead of bouncing up from her back feet, she bounced from all four, leaping high into the air and landing on her paws.
"No!" Firelight groaned. It didn't matter what she did. The tom was always disappointed in her.
"Your back paws! You're not jumping up! You're leaping forward," Firelight scolded. He grabbed a rock and shoved it a dozen pawsteps in front of Lemonpaw.
"This is the prey," he explained, pointing to the gray rock. "It's your job to leap forward and try to grab it."
"Okay," she nodded, crouching again. This time, she focused solely on moving forward. She used her back paws to spring herself forward, and she landed near the rock, her paws outstretched to catch it.
"Good!"
Lemonpaw turned around, surprised. Firelight rarely ever complimented her.
"Keep trying," he ordered.
Lemonpaw nodded, continuing the same move again and again on the motionless rock, using her back paws to spring forward.
This isn't so bad, she thought. I'll be catching prey in no time.
She continued this for awhile until Firelight called for a break.
"We're heading back into the woods. We're going to try to find some real prey for you to catch," he explained.
"Oh, okay," Lemonpaw agreed. Though she could catch an immobile object fine, she wasn't sure she was ready to catch a mouse.
He led her back into the woods, and they once again became shrouded by tall trees and green foliage. Clumps of snow lay scattered around the floor, and Lemonpaw would gasp in surprise each time she stepped in one, the cold substance traveling from her paws up to the rest of her body.
"Would you stop doing that?!" Firelight begged.
"Sorry. I'm not expecting it," Lemonpaw snapped.
"Quiet. I hear a noise," Firelight shushed. Lemonpaw gazed around, her ears sharp, her eyes alert. She could hear a quiet shuffling sound, and she gasped, seeing a small mouse nibble on a seed.
"It's yours. Remember what you were taught," Firelight whispered.
Lemonpaw turned and crouched down. She then leapt too soon, and the mouse scurried away in fear.
"Mouse-dung!" she spat.
"It's your fault. You were too far away!" Firelight hissed.
"Why do you always shout at me? It's so annoying!"
"What do you mean?"
"You're so cruel and mean, always yelling at me, lecturing me!"
"I'm helping you become a better warrior!"
"No you're not!" Lemonpaw shrieked.
Firelight paused, then began to speak in a calm manner. "I didn't assign myself to mentor you. Silverstar did. If you have a problem, then I suggest you go see Silverstar yourself."
"It's because of your mate and sister, isn't it?"
"What did you say?" Firelight asked, his green eyes flashing in anger.
"That's why you always take your anger out on me!"
Firelight edged closer to her, growling. "Don't you ever mention Thrushwing or Cherryfur in front of me like that. They're not weapons to use against me. Go! You're done for today!"
"Fine!" she spat, running off towards camp. She was in a rage of fury, knowing Firelight took his anger out on her because of unfair reasons.
She knew seeing Silverstar was out of the option. A young apprentice begging for a different mentor? Impossible. She'd never heard of such foolishness.
Angry, Lemonpaw stomped into camp, deciding on spending the rest of the day in the den, sulking in anger.
"I wish I had a better mentor," she murmured, exhaustion finding her. Slowly, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.