|| The Prophecies Begin || Book 1 Of 6 || Warriors fanfic

~~Chapter 10~~

I returned with a large rabbit gripped firmly between my teeth. I dropped it in front of me and looked up at Tigerclaw, who stood waiting in the hollow.

"You're the second one back," meowed the warrior.

"Yeah, but I've got loads more prey to fetch," I mewed quickly. "I buried it back in a few places but I managed to drag most of it pretty close"

"Good," Tigerclaw growled. "Is there anything else that you did."

I was about to answer until a swish of bushes announced Graypaw's return. He was carrying a small squirrel in his mouth, which he dropped beside Firepaw's chaffinch. "Yuck!" he spat. "Squirrels are too furry. I'll be picking hairs out of my teeth all evening."

Tigerclaw paid no attention to Graypaw's grumbling. "Ravenpaw's late," he observed. "We'll give him a bit longer and then return to camp."

"But what if he's been bitten by an adder?" I protested.

"Then it's his own fault," Tigerclaw replied coldly. "There's no room for fools in ThunderClan."

We waited in silence. Graypaw, Firepaw and I exchanged glances, worried about Ravenpaw. Tigerclaw sat motionless, apparently lost in his own thoughts.

Firepaw seemed to be the first to scent Ravenpaw's arrival. He jumped to his paws as the black cat leaped into the clearing, looking unusually pleased with himself. Dangling from his mouth was the long, diamond-patterned body of an adder.

"Ravenpaw! Are you okay?" I called.

"Hey!" meowed Graypaw, rushing forward to admire Ravenpaw's catch. "Did that bite you?"

"I was too quick for it!" Ravenpaw purred loudly. Then he caught Tigerclaw's eye and fell silent.

Tigerclaw fixed all three excited apprentices with a cold stare. "Come on," he said shortly. "Let's collect the rest of your prey and get back to camp."

Firepaw, Graypaw, Ravenpaw and I entered the camp, strolling behind Tigerclaw. Our impressive day's catch hung from our mouths, although Ravenpaw kept tripping over his dead snake. As we emerged from the gorse into the camp, a group of young kits scrambled out of the nursery to watch us pass.

"Look!" I heard one of them say. "Apprentices, just back from hunting!" I recognized the little tabby Yellowfang had hissed at the day before. Sitting next to him was a fluffy gray kit, no more than two moons old. A tiny black kit and a small tortoiseshell stood beside them.

"Isn't that the kittypets, Firepaw and Moonpaw?" squeaked the gray kit.

"Yeah! Look at his orange fur!" mewed the black one.

"And her white fur! They say they're both good hunters," the tortoiseshell added. "Firepaw looks a bit like Lionheart. Do you suppose he's as good as him?"

"I can't wait to start my training," mewed the tabby. "I'm going to be the best warrior ThunderClan has ever seen!"

I purred at the kits, feeling proud at their admiring comments. I followed his three friends into the center of the clearing.

"An adder!" Graypaw mewed again, as the apprentices dropped their catch for the other cats to share.

"What should I do with it?" asked Ravenpaw, sniffing the snake's long body as it lay beside the heap.

"Can you eat adders?" asked Graypaw.

"Trust you to think of your stomach!" Firepaw joked, butting Graypaw with his head.

"Well, I wouldn't want to eat it," murmured Ravenpaw. "I mean, my mouth tastes pretty foul after carrying it back."

"Let's put it on the tree stump, then," suggested Graypaw, "so that Dustpaw and Sandpaw can see it when they get back."