Dawnstripe headed up the slope. “I’ll show you.”
Outlook Rock stuck out from the moor-top like a snipe’s beak. Below it, the land dropped away, the valley so steep and long that Tallpaw couldn’t tell whether the white shapes in the meadow below were sheep or dandelions. He padded gingerly over the stone, feeling the wind tug at his pelt as he peered over the edge. The whole world rolled out before him, fading against the clouds on the distant horizon. Dizzy, Tallpaw shrank back. What if a gust of wind lifted him off? The granite beneath his paws was too smooth to grip.
“Look ahead, not down,” Dawnstripe warned from behind him.
Tallpaw fixed his gaze on the horizon. Highstones gleamed palely in the sunshine. Beyond them, mountains nudged at the sky. Movement flickered at the corner of his vision and he found himself twitching, his gaze flitting from a wind-ruffled tree to a distant monster flashing along a Thunderpath. A buzzard swooped in the distance, snatching his attention up to the sky.
“They’re coming!” Shrewpaw’s call made him turn.
Cloudrunner, Aspenfall, and Larksplash were leading their apprentices up the slope. Dawnstripe beckoned Tallpaw with a flick of her tail and he hurried to her side as Stagpaw, Ryepaw, and Doepaw leaped onto Outlook Rock. The three apprentices looked somber and focused as they lined up along the rock and sat down.
“What are they doing?” Tallpaw whispered to Dawnstripe.
“They’re being tested on their observation skills,” Dawnstripe hissed back. “Keep quiet so you don’t disturb them.”
Cloudrunner stood behind Stagpaw. “What do you see?” he asked his apprentice.
“Red monster; lapwing diving for insects; a Twoleg walking across the Thunderpath.” Stagpaw leaned forward and squinted. “Dog running along a hedgerow.”
“Which way?” Cloudrunner prompted.
“Toward the scent line.”
“How long before it reaches it?”
“Long enough for a runner to fetch a patrol from camp.”
“Good.” Cloudrunner looked over his shoulder at Aspenfall. “Doepaw’s turn.”
“Twoleg climbing a fence; rogue crossing the Thunderpath.”
Tallpaw watched her steadily scan the landscape. His attention had been caught by one movement after another, and his neck ached from jerking his head around. Doepaw seemed to be directing her gaze at each place in turn, picking objects out with fixed concentration before shifting her head.
Ryepaw was even better. “The Twolegplace loner is sunning himself on his green-patch. There’s a heron fishing the stream beside Long Wall.”
Dawnstripe leaned down to Tallpaw. “Ryepaw has the best eyesight in WindClan,” she whispered.
Tallpaw glanced up as a buzzard swooped high overhead. Ryepaw’s gaze remained trained on the land stretching below her. “How come they don’t get distracted?” he asked.
“Training,” Dawnstripe breathed.
Larksplash padded from the rock. “Nice work,” she told Ryepaw. “Let’s test your hunting skills.”
Tallpaw felt Dawnstripe press against him. “This is where you help out.”
Tallpaw gulped. “How?”
Cloudrunner paced around the older apprentices as they assembled on the grass, their eyes wide with anticipation. “We need to test your tracking skills.” His gaze flashed toward Tallpaw. “You’ll be the rabbit, Tallpaw. Stagpaw, Ryepaw, and Doepaw will hunt you.”
“They’ll catch Tallpaw easily,” Shrewpaw snorted. “I should be the rabbit.”
Hareflight narrowed his eyes. “You’re good at open-running, Shrewpaw. But in the heather, I think Tallpaw will have the advantage.”
Shrewpaw bristled. “Why?”
“He’s smaller,” Hareflight explained. “And more nimble.”
Tallpaw’s heart was speeding. His denmates were going to hunt him? He leaned closer to Dawnstripe. “What will they do when they catch me?” he asked in a nervous whisper.
Dawnstripe purred. “Don’t worry. They’re being tested on how they pursue you,” she whispered. “They need to work together to track you down. Aspenfall and Cloudrunner will be watching to see how they manage to stay out of sight while still giving one another tail signals.”
“So I just need to keep running.” Tallpaw’s pelt tingled. He knew how to run!
Cloudrunner flicked his tail. “Head for that boulder,” he told Tallpaw.
Tallpaw narrowed his eyes. Beyond a vast stretch of heather and gorse he could just make out a tall stone standing against the sky.
“Try to reach it without being caught.” Cloudrunner crossed the grass and whispered into Tallpaw’s ear. “Switch course a couple of times. Include a double-back. Make it as hard as you can for them to run you down.”
Tallpaw nodded, dazed. At the last sunrise, he had been a kit, living with his mother in the nursery. This was his first ever taste of warrior training, and he was already being lined up as prey for bigger, stronger, faster cats.
It’s my second day. How am I going to outwit three trained apprentices?
Chapter 8
Tallpaw felt Dawnstripe’s tail sweep his spine. “You’ll do fine,” she murmured. “Just keep moving, and think like a fox.”
“A fox?” Tallpaw had no idea how a fox thought. He’d never even seen one.
“Be smart.” Dawnstripe nosed him away.
Tallpaw slid into the nearest bank of heather. Quiet as he could, he darted between two stems, hoping he’d find a rabbit trail that would lead closer to the rock. The gap opened for a few tail-lengths but ended in a thick gorse stump. Tallpaw’s heart quickened. The apprentices would find him straight away. Shrewpaw would laugh at him for the rest of the day—for the rest of their lives, probably. Tallpaw turned and pushed through the thick heather branches, wincing as he forced his way past. He struggled onward until finally he burst out into a gap between the bushes.
A sharp tang touched his nose. Tiny dirt-berries! He’d found a rabbit track. The trail led among the stems. Tallpaw raced along it. Instinctively he kept low, crouching down so that his spine didn’t set the heather quivering and give his position away.
Am I going the right way? Where’s the rock?
He couldn’t see it through the heather, but if he stretched up his head to get his bearings, the others would spot him. He tasted the air, hoping for a clue. Peat and heather. And the familiar scent of Stagpaw. Was the young tom close?
Tallpaw pushed on harder, twisting his ears back for sounds of pursuit. Paw steps thrummed behind him. Switch course. Cloudrunner’s instruction echoed in his ears as the path forked ahead. Tallpaw swerved, taking the trail that sloped upward. He could feel the ground trembling. More paw steps pounded behind. The apprentices were on his tail.
The path sloped steeply, growing rocky, which forced Tallpaw to slow down so he didn’t trap his paw and break his leg. He told himself that his pursuers would have to slow down too. After a frantic scramble over the stones, the trail emerged from the heather onto a grassy hillside. Tallpaw flattened his ears and ran faster. Remembering his practice earlier, he lengthened his stride. The grass blurred beneath him. Snatching a breath, he glanced over his shoulder.
Stagpaw exploded from the heather. Ryepaw and Doepaw fanned out behind. Tallpaw saw Stagpaw’s tail flick one way, then the other. They were planning to surround him! He swerved sideways, his paws skidding on the grass as he switched direction. Cutting across the apprentices’ path, he blocked their attempt to trap him from on both sides.
“Come on, Stagpaw! Think!” Aspenfall called from higher up the slope.
Wind streamed through Tallpaw’s whiskers. Exhilaration pulsed in his belly. He was running fast as a bird. But the apprentices were gaining on him.