And so you laugh at me, paradichlorobenzene [Open as heck!]

Clearpaw prowled through the undergrowth, his ears pricked and listening for the sounds of prey; he heard a mouse scuffling nearby, and began to creep up on it. He hadn't quite gotten the hang of the hunters crouch just yet, but this was partially due to becoming very easily distracted during training sessions. Today, instead of training, he had been sent hunting with a few other cats. He didn't know where they were at the moment though, as he had been separated from them after wandering off towards the twoleg barn in pursuit of a butterfly.
He crept up on his prey, which didn't seem to have noticed him yet; as soon as the mouse came into his view, though, his muscles relaxed, rather than tensing up in preparation of a leap. I wonder what kind of lives mice have. He wondered, I wonder if they're all alone, or if they have clans, too... This mouse could be a clan leader, or something. As he wondered all that, the mouse detected him and scurried away. Clearpaw didn't pursue it, wondering what he would feel like if he was out patrolling the borders and an enormous... Well, something, about 5 times bigger than him, crept up and ended his life. He supposed he wouldn't think it very nice. So, he began heading back towards the heart of Riverclan territory, wondering where his hunting companions had gone since he left them.

Toadpaw purred at his brother "I see you have failed catching a mouse" he mewed with a laugh. His brother seemed to easy to sneak up on and surprise, he always wondered to most weirdest things.

Clearpaw jumped in surprise when he heard Toadpaw's voice. "Oh, yeah I guess so." He admitted, flicking his tail in greeting, "You're always sneaking up on me, Toadpaw!" His brother, and all the apprentices, never seemed to have as much trouble catching prey as Clearpaw did. He sometimes wondered why he couldn't seem to manage it, was something wrong with him? His mother always reassured him that this wasn't the case, and he forgot about it soon enough. But he wondered if he ought to consult Toadpaw about it. "Did you catch anything yet?" He mewed, tilting his head.

Toadpaw shook his head "No, but I'm looking for a good place for hunting" he mewed "If you need some help I can help you" he mewed kindly, he had always been nice to his littermates, not always but he knew it was the right thing to help Clearpaw.

Clearpaw nodded slowly. "Okay." He mewed, and started to follow Toadpaw. "Toadpaw," He mewed, trying to keep his voice down so as not to scare away the nearby prey, "how come I'm not as good at hunting and fighting as the other apprentices? I can't get the hang of it, and I heard some warriors talking about me the other day. I don't know what they were saying though." Clearpaw had yet to realize this, but talk about him was becoming a bit popular among some cats in the clan. He was different, and flat-out weird at times, so it was natural that gossip would start.

Toadpaw kept walking "First thing off, you don't need those skills, that makes you pretty average, and average isn't always fun you know" he began "And, look at yourself, your already someone our mother is proud of, you don't need to change. Second thing off, why should you care what their saying, and what if their saying good things about you? If not and they keep talking about you I'll show them not to mess with you" he mewed.

Cloudpaw purred appreciatively at Toadpaw's words; he supposed his brother was right. He didn't have to be good at all the same things as the other apprentices. He was sure he would find things he was good at, he just needed some time... And having Toadpaw on his side, regardless of what others said about him, was comforting. "Thanks." He mewed cheerfully. Then, he heard the sound of a bird on the ground nearby, and looked to Toadpaw, encouraging his brother to go after it. He was sure that, if he went after it himself, he would only scare it away, so it was better if Toadpaw caught it.

Toadpaw nodded "Just watch me" he murmured, crouching down. He slowly and quietly stalked it, his whiskers twitched and he moved his back leg forward, then after he did that he leaped up and pinned it down with his claws, he sunk his claws into it's back, but not trying to fully kill it. He then bit into it's neck and killed it "Now you try, you know how to scent prey" he mewed dropping it down to the ground, he waited for Clearpaw to catch something so he could store them for later.

Clearpaw nodded, trying to focus so that he could catch the scent of prey. He could hear water flowing nearby, and there was the buzzing sound of a bee not too far away, and he could scent the twoleg farm, which smelled of dogs, twolegs, and hay, and he could hear the quiet chirping of some baby birds...
He shook his head, blocking all of that out as well as he could. His eyes were fixed on the bee nearby, but he didn't let himself become entranced by it. "There's a water vole nearby." He mewed quietly; he crouched, eager to show his brother that his trust was not misplaced in Clearpaw, and began to creep up very, very carefully. There was a moment of hesitation as he crept up on the vole, and his thoughts flashed back to imagining what it must be like to have something so huge creep up and end your life. He managed to keep from letting those thoughts distract him, though-- the clan needed prey, and his mentor was sure to be stern if her returned empty-pawed. Again. So, he sprang, and managed to kill the little creature with a swift bite. "I did it!" He mewed triumphantly.

Toadpaw smirked "God job, Clearpaw" he mewed giving him a lick on his cheek.

Clearpaw purred happily, but then, his purr was cut short by the sound of baby birds, which he now realized was even closer. Curiosity lit up his pale green eyes, and he padded away, looking up at the trees. When he found the source of the noise, he quickly scurried up the tree, perching himself on a branch and peering into a bird's nest with 4 young sparrows in it. He peered at them with curiosity, and to him, it seemed as though they returned his gaze. They were so small, he thought... Much smaller than a kit. Easy prey for a predator, especially without their mother around... It was as though they were kits in a nursery with no queens, ready to be picked off by a badger at any moment. To these baby birds, though, he supposed he was the badger. But of course, he would never eat them. "I'm friendly, I promise." He purred happily, obviously pleased by his discovery.

Toadpaw followed Clearpaw until he saw him near sparrows, he hissed "Don't you know that's prey" he mewed "Aren't you going to catch it, it would help so much of the Clan" his mouth watered with the thought of eating the birds.

Clearpaw shook his head quickly. "No!" He mewed, his eyes round, "They're just like kits. How would you feel if you had kits and someone came along and plucked them out of the nursery?"

Toadpaw stared at Clearpaw "But it's for survival" he mewed, trying to convince Clearpaw to take them and kill them.

Clearpaw shook his head adamently. "No." He said firmly, "The clan will survive just fine with s--" he was cut short, though, by the squawking of a bird, and a moment later, a sparrow was flapping its wings in his and Toadpaw's faces, lashing at them with its talon's. Clearpaw lost his footing, tumbling from the branch and letting out a squeak of pain when he landed. He almost landed properly, but ended up slightly wrong. Pain shot through his front paw and he tumbled to the ground, gritting his teeth in pain.