Lilypaw padded out of the apprentices' den. She shook her fur, making bits of moss fly everywhere. She sniffed the air. 'Spring...' she thought, padding over to the fresh-kill pile. Redflower, an elder, was picking through last nights leftovers, seeing what was still fresh. "All the good stuff will be at the bottom," Redflower told Lilypaw she she began to turn over the prey, looking for a rabbit to share with her mother, Mossfur. She fond a vole at the bottom of the pile which she took in her mouth and brought to the cherry tree by the warriors den. Under the tree her mother dozed in the morning sun. "Mossfur? I brought a vole we can share." Lilypaw nudged Mossfur with her paw. "Oh, Lilypaw, thank you." She sat up and took a bite. "How's training?" "It's okay. I'm not so good at the battle moves, but I'm still learning. Emberblaze says that I'm amazing at the hunting crouch!" Mossfur started to purr. "I'm sure you'll be an amazing, loyal warrior of AspenClan." * * * "Mouse-dung!" Lilypaw had missed a mouse, and she felt a rock of shame fall to the bottom of her stomach. "That's okay, your still young, and you have so much more time before I'll give you your warriors assignment," Emberblaze comforted her. "Okay, I'll try again." Lilypaw sniffed the air. "What do you smell?" Emberblaze asked. "Rabbit!" Lilypaw started to creep slowly across the forest floor, remembering to keep as quiet as possible. 'A rabbit will hear you before it feels you,' she reminded herself. Then Lilypaw pounced. She landed right on top of the rabbit, pinning it to the ground. She gripped its neck in her teeth and killed it. Letting the blood run into her mouth, she padded over to Emberblaze with her prize. "Lilypaw! That was amazing! I think you'll make a great hunter," Emberblaze told her. Lilypaw felt the shame disappear and be replaced by pride and pure joy. "Can we go back to camp now?" Lilypaw asked her mentor. "Yes, we can go."
