Dying Starlight

Chapter 1

Pricklepaw's eyes narrowed as she took a tentative step forward. The squirrel sniffed about at the ground, beady eyes blissfully unaware of the apprentice's presence. The white she-cat flattened her ears and took another step forward, coming within striking distance with the little animal. Sliding out her claws and drawing in a silent breath, Pricklepaw lunged forward, teeth bared. The squirrel had no time to react as she clamped her jaws down on its neck and bit down as hard as she could, killing the creature quickly.

"Great job, Pricklepaw." purred Daisystorm as the tortoiseshell-and-white warrior emerged from her observation spot to join her apprentice. "You're getting better and better with each assessment you take."

Pricklepaw set the squirrel on the ground and stood tall, pride making her fur prickle. "Thank you," she mewed with a respectful dip of her head to her mentor. "I don't think it even saw me coming."

"Which is a good thing," commented the warrior with a flick of her ears. "You stayed silent and calm throughout the entire exercise. Keep it up and you'll be one of the main cats picked for hunting patrols." Daisystorm looked down at the successful catch, her hazel eyes warm. "Feel free to eat that while it's still warm and juicy. We'll continue hunting and bring back extra for the fresh-kill pile." She winked at Pricklepaw. "You've earned a good meal today. Great work."

The apprentice nodded in acceptance as she took in her mentor's praise before watching her trot back through the ferns and vanish on the other side, her white-tipped tail flicking as she went. Better and better. She thought, purring to herself as she looked down at the squirrel lying at her paws. Her belly growled at the thought of a fresh meal, and the scent of the fresh-kill was tantalyzing. Despite her hunger, Pricklepaw scooped up the squirrel and carried it back to where she'd previously buried a starling and dug up the bird. It's against the warrior code to eat before the elders and queens are fed. She unearthed her previous kill and shuffled the feathered creature onto her back while the squirrel hung from her jaws.

While she retraced her steps back to the ThunderClan camp through the undergrowth and winding trees, Pricklepaw let her mind wander. Among the birdsong and life in the forest around her, Pricklepaw felt at ease. The seasons of despair and grief were over now. Gone were the days of rationing out berries and roots to eat when prey was so scarce and only went to the queens and kits. The disasters that fell on the Clans were over with now, and now they could rebuild what was destroyed.

Pricklepaw didn't remember much about her family before becoming an apprentice. She knew bits and pieces about where she came from, but nothing beyond that. Every now and then she'd have a nightmare about the night she was fished from the flooded river after her shelter had been washed out due to rain, but she'd blocked out anything else that had happened previously. Perhaps that was for the best. She didn't want to know anything other than her life in ThunderClan, and she wasn't interested in learning anything other than her life now.

The walk back to ThunderClan's camp didn't take long at all, especially when Pricklepaw's mind was occupied with thoughts of her next test. Her next step in becoming a ThunderClan warrior. There were no cats guarding the entrance, which wasn't a surprise. Now that the Clan was stretched extremely thin with working cats, it wasn't worth spending two cats' energy with keeping watch all day and all night for nothing to happen. Their time was better spent hunting and patrolling the territory, as well as training Pricklepaw.

Being the only apprentice in ThunderClan was lonely at times, but Pricklepaw didn't mind much. Keeping her paws busy was crucial, and chores was the next best thing apart from hunting and exploring the forest. Since there were no elders or queens, the daily chores were limited and different day-to-day. Cleaning out the nursery every few days and taking the kits around the camp everyday was entertaining and kept her head on a swivel. The kits were never left alone, even for a heartbeat. They were always accompanied by a warrior or with Dewcloud, the Clan medicine cat.