Leafpaw padded across the clearing, her feet silent on the warm earth. It was early Greenleaf, and prey was plentiful, as she was finding out on her first hunting assessment. Her nose twitched as she caught the scent of a mouse, searching for a seed or a berry to eat. She slipped fluidly into a hunting crouch, perfectly balanced and creeping closer. She padded carefully forwards on light feet, then pounced, snatching the mouse up and killing it in under a heartbeat. Her fur pricked uneasily,the mouse in her jaws as she had the unpleasant sensation of knowing that she was being watched. Twitching her whiskers as she bent to bury her catch, she laughed at her own paranoia. If anyone was watching her, she thought, It would be Ghostpelt, her mentor.

As she bent to drop her catch, a different smell wafted into the air, a peppery scent, one she remembered, but not one she recognised. Flicking her ears again, she dropped the mouse, and started to bury it, but caught the smell again. What was it? she asked herself, until she heard the rustle of bushes behind her. Ghostpelt wouldn't be that careless. No cat would. She turned slowly around, realising what the scent was a heartbeat too late, as her sharp eyes caught the bright red bushy tail, and she managed to let out a frantic mewl of "FOX!" before she felt a searing pain along her flank and as she glanced down to see her own blood, everything went blank.