Lost for Names [Warpaw]

[[Ashpaw]]

Birdsong coming from different directions could be heard in the whole forest. An occasional scuttle is made by a nearby mouse, munching on a seed it found. Rabbits can be seen running in and out of their little warren. The whole territory of ThunderClan is once again full of prey. Greenleaf may scorch many cats under their fur, but it certainly gives the forest a whole new life again. Everything is in its place, just what a certain apprentice wants. A good sign for a good new day of hunting is a good way to cheer Ashpaw up.

Doing tasks of a regular apprentice like fetching moss or training with his mentor may not be Ashpaw’s favorite things, but solo hunting is definitely one of the brown apprentice’s preferred assignments. He could enjoy the beauty of nature by himself, listening at the wonderful chirps the birds made and smelling the crisp wooden smell from the different types of trees he passed by. Nobody can also disrupt him from his hunt and he can freely do whatever he wants. No mentor to teach him what to do and no other warrior to watch over him. What more could Ashpaw wish for?

As the apprentice continued his walk in the forest, an easy prey crossed his path. It was a large plump mouse, nibbling on a seed and all fat from Greenleaf’s bounty to the forest. Although it smelled of dirt and mud, the scent of its warm blood still made its way to Ashpaw’s nostrils. The mere thought of chomping down at the juicy and succulent flesh of a fresh-kill made Ashpaw’s mouth water. With the apprentice’s heart pumping faster and adrenalines rushing, Ashpaw finally decided to stalk the mouse and hopefully bring it back to the camp as his meal.

Ashpaw lowered his head and flattened his ears. He opened his mouth as he tried to get more of the soon-to-be fresh-kill’s scent. He got into the hunter’s crouch as he began to slowly creep to his prey. Ashpaw made gentle pawsteps at a moderate pace as he made it sure not to scare away the fat mouse. He was only a few tail-lengths away from it and he could finally reach it. He only needs another step and he can finally make a pounce. He was so close to it when suddenly, something unexpected and unfortunate happened.

“Crack!”

Ashpaw had accidentally stepped on a twig. With fear-scent from the mouse quickly filling Ashpaw’s nostrils, the apprentice knew that the mouse had already known about its hunter’s presence. The mouse quickly struggled in its weight and rushed into the undergrowth. Unfortunately for the prey, Greenleaf had dried up most of the grass and Ashpaw could still see it running towards the Abandoned Twoleg Place. Perhaps, the prey thought of it as a place where cats don’t go near to, but Ashpaw’s determination to catch the mouse made him chase it.

“Wait,” Ashpaw quietly ordered the mouse. Although he knew mice wouldn’t follow his word, he had definitely wished for the mouse to do so.

[Warpaw]

Another day had arrived, bringing with it cool relief under the lush forest of ThunderClan. Even the elders ceased their complaints and took long naps in camp, enjoying such fair weather. But no matter how wonderful today might be, ThunderClan held duty up in such high esteem that instead of fixing his schedule to his own personal preference, Warpaw was sent off on apprentice chores. Although Warpaw never thrust himself fully into the daily life of his Clanmates, one might sense the annoyance bristling the fur along his broad shoulders. First it was fetching new materials for bedding of the elders' nests, of which they had done nothing but criticized him on. Then it was off to the warriors' den, patching a few spaces in the back where cool night breezes snuck in. Finally, it was time to "do his part" and catch more prey to stock the already overflowing fresh-kill pile. Warpaw was beginning to suspect ThunderClan of finding any little thing to do just because today wasn't that demanding as it usually was. Warpaw snorted angrily as he slipped out of camp, speculating mentally that his Clanmates were nothing but workaholics. He had planned to bother someone into taking him out on a training session to teach him some helpful battle moves, but now he was stuck doing what, at the time, seemed like an unnecessary task. Like they didn't have enough prey already. Setting aside these thoughts and letting them turn into fuel for his hunting, he supposed something good could come out of it. By now he had a rough idea of how a basic stalk worked, and there was no better time to practice and improve it. At the keyword 'improve' Warpaw found himself far more willing to go hunting.

Lifting his head, he drew in a deep breath through his black nose, searching for any significant prey scent. A collision of many different smells crashed onto him, making him wince. The prey was so plentiful he wasn't sure what to do quite yet, before gathering his wits and deciding to follow the scent trail of a squirrel. It was fairly faint as he stalked through the dense undergrowth, but gradually grew stronger as he neared his target. Crouching among the overlapping ferns, his yellow eyes focused on a reddish brown body sitting on the ground a few fox-lengths away. His pupils widened, body tense with attention. Tail tip twitching in anticipation, he edged forward carefully. The squirrel was unaware of him, at least, as it snatched up a fallen seed every now and then, nibbling on it while twitching in a hyper state of mind. Every few seconds or so it would stop and look around itself, apparently on its guard for predators. Warpaw was pleased to find it didn't seem to know that the hunting animal it looked out for was so close. Shoulders balancing themselves as he shifted his weight onto his toes, Warpaw leaned forward, ready to strike. He'd been so concentrated, however, that the sudden snap of a twig cutting the silence spooked him into lunging forward. The squirrel, both frightened by the noise and the sudden appearance of Warpaw, scurried away. Not wasting time in pursuing it, he bounded after the alarmed creature. Now, he wasn't particularly built for extra speed outside of the agility being a cat allowed. Perhaps on the open moorlands of WindClan he might have been able to overtake it in a few more bounds, but to his dismay the squirrel escaped up an oak tree. Warpaw stopped at its base, squinting upward into the branches swaying gently in the breeze. The squirrel chattered joyfully up in the trees, probably rejoicing the outsmarting of its enemy. With a snarl, Warpaw turned his head in the general direction the snap of the twig had come from. Whoever or whatever disturbed his hunting would pay.

Striding powerfully through the undergrowth, in a definitely violent mood, Warpaw picked up the familiar scent of a distinct ThunderClan clanmate: Ashpaw. He hadn't given the other apprentice much acknowledgement, even after being made an apprentice himself. All he knew was that the tom was older than him, and didn't involve himself too greatly in Clan affairs either. As he drew closer under the cover of the plants, he noticed Ashpaw was staring out after a mouse that was running toward the abandoned twoleg nest. A devious idea formed in his mind and he kept from confronting Ashpaw so soon. Why not, instead, play a little game with him in the nest? Its run-down appearance was particularly spooky, perfect for scaring the living daylights out of him. Swallowing back a snicker, Warpaw snuck off and around, hoping to enter the abandoned twoleg nest out of sight from Ashpaw. The place was crumbling and rotting, showing it had been here for a long time. All the other apprentices spoke of how creepy it was, sometimes whispering of how the place was haunted. Unless Ashpaw was stupid as well as anti-social, then he would have heard these rumors as well. Warpaw found an opening he could reach from the wall into the nest, jumping across the gap and disappearing inside. Now just to hide somewhere and wait until Ashpaw came walking in. This was going to be fun.

[[Ashpaw]]

“Hey, stupid mouse, why can’t you allow me to catch you easily?!”

Ashpaw’s mew rang all over the place. Birds from the nearby oak trees had started flying away and a squirrel that was nibbling on its seed began to climb the nearest tree. All of the signs of the possible victims of the apprentice’s unsuccessful hunt were gone like a stone sinking quickly in the middle of the dark deep lake. Ashpaw had definitely scared all the prey in the area because of a particular mouse. Finding another good piece of prey may seem to be a more obvious and easier choice rather than chasing it, but Ashpaw wanted to catch the plump mouse for it will save him more time to snooze off in their den after his ordeal.

The mouse really ran straight to the Abandoned Twoleg Nest, just as Ashpaw planned. The old structure may seem decrepit at first, but the nest is also a closed space, making no chances of escape once the prey had been cornered. There may be holes in the fallen walls of the Abandoned Twoleg Nest, but it just wasn’t enough for an overweight mouse to fit in those tiny gaps. There were also a few holes in the floor for the mouse to escape in, but perhaps was as deep as the stone hollow back in the camp where mice don’t stand a chance to climb up.

Finally, the mouse had reached the walls of the Abandoned Twoleg Nest. Ashpaw was blocking the only way in and out of the building. A warm breeze of the wind blew through the gaps of the wall, breaking the tension between Ashpaw and his prey. The brown tabby smiled and looked at the scared mouse with eyes full of greed. Soon, he will be able to bring back the largest prey to ThunderClan. Perhaps, his mentor would be so proud of his catch and he will be allowed to hunt alone more frequently. Ashpaw couldn’t wait any longer. He would definitely need to catch it as quick as possible.

With shoulders bunched and claws flexed, Ashpaw pounced on the helpess piece of fur. Fear-scent came out as the apprentice sank his teeth on the mouse and made a quick kill. Without a heartbeat later, the mouse’s pulse stopped and it was alive no more. Ashpaw was so satisfied with his kill that he hadn’t notice the floor underneath him creaking because of its old age and weak materials. As if he would mind. He was light enough to walk around the Abandoned Twoleg Nest easily. If he had the weight of two cats, the part of the floor where he was standing would break away and pull him down the hollow in the ground.