Sunkit awoke to the morning sun creeping through the gap of the open barn door. As he stretched awake, he realized that Pongo was gone. The scent of mouse was strong, and to his side he saw the prey, waiting for him to eat. He tucked into it immediately, hunger growling in his belly. When he was finished, he licked his lips in satisfaction, but now thirst dried his throat. He stood up and padded to the barn door, which was just wide enough for a full grown cat to slip through. Drafty air filtered from outside, and his fur blew back for a few seconds, it felt wonderful. As if it was something refreshing after days of confusion and myth. He quickly padded out of the barn, and warm sunlight greeted him. The scent of prey was rich, and so was the scent of his father. Taking a deep breath, he followed the scent trail until he reached the ginger tom. Pongo was crouched, slowly slinking forward; Sunkit realized that he was stalking a mouse. He watched as the tom pounced accurately on the prey and delivered a swift bite to its neck. As Pongo picked up his catch and raised his head, and spotted Sunkit. He dropped the mouse again.

"What are you doing here?" He asked. Sunkit sat down, curling his tail over his paws.

"Watching you hunt." He replied simply. Pongo looked at him for a moment, and blinked his green eyes slowly.

"Want to learn?" His father asked. Sunkit gasped.

"Oh yes!" He answered, jumping to his paws, tail waving in excitement. Pongo beckoned him closer with his tail, and crouched low to the ground. Sunkit copied him as he could, letting his belly fur brush the ground. Pongo nodded his approval.

"Good, but tuck in your tail a bit closer, and straighten up your hind legs." His father mewed. Sunkit obeyed and adjusted as needed. Pongo nodded again, and turned his attention back to the swaying long grass ahead of them. The tom opened his mouth slightly to let the scents sink in. "What do you smell?" He whispered softly, his gaze not shifting from the grass. Sunkit too watched the growth in front of him, nostrils flaring. He concentrated, closing his eyes and breathing in deeply. Suddenly the kit's eyes flew open.

"Shrew!" Sunkit licked his lips. "Are we going to hunt it?" He asked, lowering his voice. Saying nothing, Pongo nodded. His father signaled for him to try. Sunkit gulped, he had never done this before, and Pongo hadn't told him, or even hinted at any special hunting tips for shrews, like he had heard Ebonywhisker telling Lavenderpaw about rabbits. Then he shook his head to clear his mind. He had to focus. He breathed in deeply once more, letting all the smells sink in, making him more aware of his surroundings. Then he slowly stalked forward, keeping all his senses locked on his prey. When he reached the edges of the grass, he pounced. The shrew scuttled away into the grass, where nothing could find it. Sunkit sat back on his haunches.

"Mouse dung!" He spat, sniffing the air once more. He swiveled his ears, hearing pawsteps, and Pongo appeared behind him.

"You won't find it now." His father had his sparkling green gaze on him. "But it was a good first try, a lot better than mine was." He purred. Sunkit looked at him.

"What happened?" He asked, eager to know.

"Well now..." Pongo began, tilting his head to the sky and narrowing his eyes as if trying to remember. The motion reminded Sunkit of the elders when they were about to share a story about Thornstar, the old ThunderClan leader. "I believe I was hunting a water vole. By the stream up North. Psalm was watching me, and I was desperate to impress her." His father . chuckled slightly, his expression made with amusement. "I was sneaking up on it, when I slipped on a pebble. The water vole would have escaped-" Pongo informed. "-if Psalm hadn't leaped on it just in time." His eyes glimmered at the memory, then dimmed as he remembered that now she was lying beneath the ground, while her spirit lived with the stars. Pongo shook himself, fluffing up his golden tabby fur. "That's enough for now." He looked at the sky, then continued. "Soon it will be too hot to hunt." He mewed, padding towards the barn, flicking his tail in a gesture to get his son to follow him. Sunkit obediently padded behind him, then suddenly stopping in his tracks.

"When will I go home?" Sunkit wanted to know. Pongo stiffened, then turned.

"Are you sure you don't want to spend a few more days with me?" His father asked. The kit could see the sadness in his green eyes, and felt a wave of pity for him. His mate died in kitting, then his kits were taken from him and never knew of him. Sunkit looked away.

"I do, but I also need to go back to my Clan. Flurrykit is there, and we were supposed to become apprentices last night." He explained. His father turned back towards the barn.

"I know." He sighed heavily. "Your home is that way." Pongo mewed, flicking his tail in the direction of a copse of ash trees. "If you start now, you should get there before dark." He finished, and disappeared over the rise and he continued to the barn. Sunkit stood there for a moment, turning his head to trees, the rise, and back again. Finally he let out a sigh and padded slowly towards the forest.

* * *

It felt good to be under the trees again; the soft breeze ruffled his fur, the shade of the canopy of leaves kept him cool, and the many scents of prey in the undergrowth reminded him of home, when he occasionally stuck his head out of the camp entrance to take a good sniff, then disappeared back into the clearing before anyone noticed him. Sunkit lifted his nose and opened his mouth slightly, trying once again to smell his Clanmates. Only the scent of bird the wind carried greeted him. He looked at the sky, it was sunhigh. Sighing, he continued forward, hoping Pongo was right that he'd get there before dark. He felt a pang of sadness at the thought of his father, who he had left with hardly any goodbye. Suddenly he stopped and screwed up his nose. Something smelled. Badly. A smell that made his nose burn, strong enough to make him feel lightheaded. He shook out his fur and prowled forward again, extra cautious of his surroundings. Brambles sprouted in front of him, and though he couldn't see beyond them, he felt he was close to whatever smelled, as the scent was much stronger here. He quickly squeezed under a bush, and thorns scraped his pelt, making him gasp with pain. Then he stopped, and looked out through the tangled branches, in front of him was a long black path, it was at least three foxlengths wide, with yellow and white lines streaking across it. He tried to shut out the smell, which was almost overpowering, and creeped out of the bramble bush. He looked at his sides, the cuts from the thorns were bleeding, and though not heavily, he needed to treat them before they became infected. He saw across the path, there were bright orange flowers: Goldenrod! Along with some other green and yellow plants. He knew the goldenrod would help keep away infection, days ago he had found Berryheart treating a wound on Copperspot's shoulder, and the medicine cat identified it for him when the kit had asked what it was. Sunkit looked around him, the scene was undisturbed by movement. He stepped onto the black path. It was warmed by the sun, making it hot to touch. He pulled back quickly, then took a deep breath in. He crouched like he was about to stalk tricky prey, then pounced forward, leaping across the path in long bounds. Suddenly the ground seemed to vibrate, and a rumble reached his ears, he turned his head as the rumble grew into a roar, and something with big black paws and a shiny pelt pounded towards him. He crouched, now completely oblivious to the burning of the path seeping into his pads, as the beast bore down on him. It hit him with a loud screech and a thud, and his vision melted into darkness.