Echopaw shivered in her nest, slowly lifting her head and blinking away sleep. She lifted her head slowly and let out a heavy yawn. As she mind unclogged from sleep she took a look around the apprentice den. It was mostly empty except her, Hollypaw and Mousepaw. Riverpaw was always up at dawn, and earlier that moon, Mudthorn, Cloverstrike, Rainsong and Windheart had all been named warriors.

The apprentice den was getting smaller and more spacious, but Echopaw knew that if they didn't expand the warrior's den soon, any new warriors would be remaining in the apprentice den. Her warrior ceremony wouldn't be for several more moons, she figured so she didn't have to worry about that just yet.

Echopaw rose to her paws and stretched out her limbs. She peered out the den entrance and realized that small flakes of snow were slowly falling from the sky. It's really leaf-bare now. Echopaw thought with a flick of her tail. She stepped into the frigid air outside and suppressed another shiver. It had snowed a couple times before now, but she could see the snow starting to form a layer on the ground.

It's here to stay this time. Echopaw thought. She brushed off the thoughts of snow and began scanning camp for her mentor. She finally spotted him staying warm with Berryleaf besides the warrior's den. Echopaw braved the cold and approached her mentor. Ripplestep looked up and greeted his apprentice with a nod. "Good morning, Echopaw." He dipped his head. "Ready to start training?"

"I am." Echopaw gave a small nod.

"I'll see you later." Ripplestep purred sweetly, touching his muzzle to Berryleaf's cheek. He rose to his paws and the two of them ventured out into camp.

"What are we doing today?" Echopaw questioned, looking around AshClan territory which was starting to turn white.

"Now that the snow is actually here," Ripplestep began. "I'm going to test your leaf-bare hunting skills."

"Okay." Echopaw mewed boldly. She had practiced several times in preparation for leaf-bare, but now the snow was here and she would have to hone in on her skills in order to feed her Clan. "Where should I start?"

"Let's start heading towards the SunClan border, and you can catch whatever you can find along the way." Ripplestep suggested and the two of them began padding away from the camp.

Echopaw lifted her muzzle into the air and breathed in. It was hard to scent anything over the frost. The cold air just bit at her nose, it was even difficult to catch the scent of the pine trees around them. She focused harder and after a short time walking, she finally caught the scent of squirrel.

She started tracking and broke away from Ripplestep. He followed silently behind her, letting her hunt. Echopaw tracks for a few foxlengths until she spotted the creature. It's dark ginger fur was like a splash of blood against the snow. She was grateful that she didn't have a black pelt like Ripplestep.

She dropped into the hunters crouch and began stalking her prey. She kept her breaths silent, and walked with precision. As she prepared to make her leap, one final step landed on a brittle twig, snapping it in two. The squirrel's head snapped up and it was now aware of the danger it was in.

Echopaw made an attempt to race after the squirrel as it raced away, but the squirrel was too fast. It sprinted up tree and vanished into the pine needles. Echopaw let out a hiss of frustration.

"That's unfortunate." Ripplestep spoke up, padding up behind her. Echopaw flattened her ears. I swear I miss more prey than any other apprentice. Riverpaw wouldn't have missed that catch. She thought bitterly. "Don't beat yourself up over it." Ripplestep rested his tail on her shoulders. "It's your first time hunting in snow, even I didn't see that twig." Echopaw cast a grateful glance up at her mentor, but she was still annoyed with herself for missing her catch. "Let's keep going."

Echopaw continued tracking prey through the forest, she picked out the scent of another squirrel and began tracking. I won't let this one go. Echopaw promised herself and dropped into a crouch. She spotted the small animal at the base of pine tree, sniffing around the frosted ground. I'll have to be quick.

Echopaw scanned the ground for any stray twigs and spotted two of them on her path. She made a mental note so she could avoid them. She crept forward silently, ready to make her attack. Making sure to not make any mistakes, Echopaw pounced. She fell slightly short of her prey, but made a quick recovery and sank her claws into the squirrel's back as it ran up the tree, pulling it back down to the ground. She killed it with a quick bite.

"Good work." Ripplestep purred. "That was a good recovery."
"I still messed up though." Echopaw thought, flicking her tail annoyance. "It almost got away."

"That's okay, Echopaw." Ripplestep assured her. "Sometimes we make mistakes, what matters is that you were able to recover and catch the squirrel. During leaf-bare, any prey is good prey."

"I suppose." Echopaw didn't feel convinced, but regardless they continued. They grew closer to the SunClan border and Echopaw wasn't finding anymore prey. A new scent caught her nose, but it wasn't prey, it was AshClan. A few moments later, the morning patrol stepped into view. It was lead by Goldenstar with Riverpaw at her side, it also featured Jayclaw, Owlstorm, Dustclaw, Graypaw and Heatherstorm.

"Greetings you two." Goldenstar greeted, Echopaw noticed just how close Riverpaw was to the leader. She acts like she's deputy. Echopaw thought with annoyance. "Hunting, I presume?"

Ripplestep nodded. "She's practicing her snow hunting."

"How's that going?" Jayclaw questioned, resting his eyes sternly on Echopaw who tensed under her father's intense gaze.

"Pretty well so far. She managed to track down two squirrels and caught one of them." Echopaw winced slightly. Did he have to mention that I missed one?

"Only one of them?" Jayclaw narrowed his eyes. "Prey is incredibly important during these times, we can't afford to be missing prey." Echopaw dropped her head in shame.

"It was an honest mistake, really." Ripplestep stood up for Echopaw, but Jayclaw was clearly unconvinced.

"She needs more practice. She doesn't put in as much effort as her sister and it shows."

Jayclaw's words were like claws, tearing into her heart. Her pelt burned with fierce embarrassment as her father insulted her in front of the entire patrol. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Riverpaw looking smug. Echopaw flattened her ears, she didn't dare speak. "Well--" Ripplestep mewed awkwardly. "We should continue, no time to waste."

Ripplestep hurried Echopaw forward and she drug her paws through the snow, feeling her father glare ripping into her. Once the patrol was out of earshot, Ripplestop slumped his shoulders. "Sorry, Echopaw. I probably shouldn't have brought that up."

"It's fine." Echopaw muttered, nudging a pile of needles. "I know I'll never be as good as Riverpaw, our father knows it too."

Ripplestep sat down beside Echopaw. "I honestly couldn't believe he said such things about, fathers are supposed to encourage their daughters, not drag them down. I would never compare Hollypaw to Spiderpaw." He shook his head. "Echopaw, you shouldn't want to be like Riverpaw. She may be skilled but she's skilled and lacks respect and patience. I know what its like to train under Goldenstar, she worked me half to death, and yeah I have the skills of a good warrior, but it's not a good way to train."

Echopaw just stared at her paws. "Jayclaw thinks it's the proper way to train, he's always so proud of Riverpaw, and even Moonpaw. He's never been proud of me. Maybe I don't want to be leader, or a great medicine cat. I just want to be a good warrior, is that so bad?" She looked up hopefully at Ripplestep.

"Of course not, Echopaw." Ripplestep nudged him. "Chances are, most of us won't ever become leaders in our lifetimes. The best we can do is serve our Clan, we feed them, fight for them and provide for our friends and family. That's what good warriors do, and if that's all you want to be that's okay. I want to be a good mentor to you, I want to not only train you the skills to provide for your Clan, but the attitude to be compassionate and respectful towards your Clanmates."

"You're a great mentor, Ripplestep." Echopaw purred. She was glad she had such a kind mentor, he was patient and taught her well.

"If you'd like, we can have a few more training sessions so you can hone in on your skills a little more. We won't train like Riverpaw and Goldenstar, but we can always work on some specific skills."

"I'd like that." Echopaw rose to her paws.

"I'll see what I can do." Ripplestep promised. "Now let's continue hunting." Echopaw happily agreed. She was so lucky to have Ripplestep as a mentor, part of her wished that Echopaw had been his daughter instead of Jayclaw's. He's much better to me than Jayclaw ever has been, and I won't listen to him anymore.