Stones (Book Two) Ocean Calls

Chapter Seventeen

"We're going to go train by the Heart Stone," Ceaderstripe mewed, prodding her apprentice awake.
Cocoapaw blinked his eyes open, "what?"
"We're going to go train," Ceaderstripe mewed.
Cocoapaw jumped up and stretched, "Ok! Let's go!"
Ceaderstripe padded out of the den, Cocoapaw right behind her.
Ceaderstripe saw Heatherfur slip out of the camp entrance with Fluffypelt by her side.
"Let's go Cocoapaw," Ceaderstripe mewed.
"I'm hungry," Cocoapaw complained.
"We can hunt on the way back from training," Ceaderstripe mewed.

When they reached the Heart Stone everyone except Hemlockheart and Shrewtail were there already there. They had probably chosen to go slower seeing as Hemlockheart has been expecting kits for almost a moon.
"Mama, how does your power work?" Cocoapaw asked Heatherfur.
"Well, I just think of what I want to say to someone, and my voice carry's into their head, like this," Heatherfur explained.
Cocoapaws eyes lit up, showing he must've gotten a sound wave.
"That explains why there has been times I thought I heard your voice when you weren't around. I asked Treepaw and Whitepaw if they heard it and they told me I was crazy," Cocoapaw mewed.
"Well that's not very nice of them," Fluffypelt commented.
"Do you think Shrewtail and Hemlockheart are almost here Fluffypelt?" Burntwhisker asked.
"Not yet, I don't feel them," Fluffypelt mewed.
"Feel them?" Cocoapaw asked, his head tilted.
Ceaderstripe nodded, "Fluffypelt can feel vibrations in the ground that tell her when someone is coming."
"That's cool!" Cocoapaw exclaimed.
"Well should we start training without them?" Heatherfur asked.
"Wait," Fluffypelt mewed, "I think I feel them coming."
"No that's just Cocoapaw playing with a leaf," Ceaderstripe mewed.
She swatted at Cocoapaw, her claws sheathed.
"Cocoapaw, come on, lets practice," Ceaderstripe mewed.
"Ok," Cocoapaw chirrped, leaving the leaves and coming to stand in front of Ceaderstripe, "what should I do?"
"Find something to climb," Ceaderstripe suggested, "but be sure not to go to far up."
Cocoapaw bounced away towards a nearby tree and began walking up it with ease.
"Walk upsidedown on a branch," Ceaderstripe suggested.
"I feel them, they're close," Fluffypelt mewed.
"Good," Burntwhisker mewed, "I want to take Shrewtail hunting to test our senses."
Ceaderstripe watched Cocoapaw intently as he walked down a branch.
"Be careful, it gets thin at the end," she warned.
"I will," Cocoapaw reassured her.
Cocoapaw walked further on the branch then turned and walked back, loosing his footing only once but regaining it quickly.
"Good job," Ceaderstripe praised, "Do you think you could hunt birds or squirrels up there?"
"Probably," Cocoapaw mewed, "can you teach me how?"
"I'm not the best at hunting in trees, but we can learn together," Ceaderstripe mewed.
Ceaderstripe bagan climbing the tree Cocoapaw was in, being cautious so she wouldn't fall.
"Hey guys," Shrewtail mewed.
"Sorry we're late," Hemlockheart glared at her mate, "he insisted we how slowly."
"Well I'll take him off your paws," Burntwhisker mewed, "I'll take him hunting to test our senses."
"Sounds good," Shrewtail licked Hemlockhearts cheek, "don't do- whatever they're doing," he pointed his tail at Ceaderstripe and Cocoapaw.
"I won't," Hemlockheart mewed.
Ceaderstripe climbed down the branch Cocoapaw was on.
"Do you smell anything?" Ceaderstripe asked.
Cocoapaw raised his nose to the air, "pigeon."
"Good," Ceaderstripe mewed, "where?"
Ceaderstripe looked around and spotted the pigeon, waiting for Cocoapaw to do the same.
"Over there," Cocoapaw flicked his tail in the birds direction, "its in a different tree. How do we get to it?"
Ceaderstripe studied the branches around it, "walk farther along this branch and jump into the next tree, from there you'll need to quietly get to the branch the pigeon is on so you can pounce."
Cocoapaw began walking confidently to the edge of the branch.
"Good," Ceaderstripe mewed.
Cocoapaw readied to jump to the next tree and Ceaderstripe braced herself, waiting to see if the pigeon will fly away.
Cocoapaw leapt to the next tree, quickly and quietly, the pigeon not suspecting anything.
Ceaderstripe watched intently as Cocoapaw approached the pigeon from behind.
Suddenly Cocoapaw pounced, just missing he pigeon but as it took flight Cocoapaw reached up and hooked it out of the sky.
"Good job!" Ceaderstripe called as Cocoapaw gave the killing bite.
"Its a nice bird!" Heatherfur called to her son.
"Thanks!" Cocoapaw mewed around the pigeon.
"Let's climb down," Ceaderstripe suggested.
"You climb, I'll walk," Cocoapaw laughed around the pigeon.
Ceaderstripe scoffed, "yeah, yeah. Come on."

The cats continued training for awhile before heading back to camp to eat before the meeting.
"Should we hunt before we go back?" Cocoapaw asked.
"That's a great idea," Ceaderstripe mewed, "let's go over there," she flicked her tail towards an old oak tree.
The two of them padded over towards the tree.
"Crouch like this," Ceaderstripe demonstrated the hunters crouch.
Cocoapaw crouched down low, his tail lying on the ground.
"Lift tour tail a bit," Ceaderstripe advised, "that way your prey won't hear you."
Cocoapaw lifted his tail slightly of the ground.

By the time they finished hunting Cocoapaw had his pigeon and a shrew while Ceaderstripe had a starling and a young squirrel.
"Let's go back to camp now," Ceaderstripe mewed then picked up her prey, just barely able to hold both.
Cocoapaw nodded and picked up his prey, struggling to hold them both but he succeeded in picking them up.

When they got back to camp Ceaderstripe set her prey down on the fresh kill pile, after Cocoapaw laid down his catch.
"That's a nice pigeon," Flathead called, "do you mind if I have it?"
"I was actually about to ask if my mother wanted it, but if you'd like it you may have it," Cocoapaw mewed.
"No, go ahead and give it to her, I understand you first catch is important," Flathead mewed.
"Thank you," Cocoapaw picked up the pigeon and trotted over to Heatherfur, laying it down beside her.
Ceaderstripe watched as the two of them began eating the pigeon together, passing a piece to Grasseyes as well.