Seeds of Potential (Mintpaw's training)

Dandeliondapple shook her fur vigorously to get the snow out of it, cursing the cold leafbare sun. The snow was thick on the ground now, which would make it difficult to get any real hunting done. So be it. She recalled her apprentice Mintpaw. If that young hungry mouth was to be useful to her Clan and provide enough to make up for what she took, she would have to be trained. Thus, the experienced warrior made her way to the apprentices' den and poked her head inside, pawing at Mintpaw and whispering harshly, "Wake up; today is training."

Mintpaw had been curled up with her friends; When it was too cold, Echopaw, Mumblepaw, and the rest of the gang slept in one huge pile.
Mintpaw had been planning to explore the territories more, and perhaps bugging a few of her older friends until they gave her some proper hunting lessons.
That is, until her mentor, who hadn't spoken to her since Mintpaw's ceremony, stuck her head in the apprentice's den.

"T-Training?" Mintpaw's head shot up and she sprung out of her nest, ignoring her friends' annoyed mumbles. "Y-yes! Finally!" The tiny tabby she-cat practically bounced out of the den, leaping through the snow like a rabbit. "Yes, yes, yes! Where a-are we going, Dandeliondapple? My friends h-have already shown me t-the territory, and Echopaw's t-told me all about hunt-ting and fighting, and stuff l-like that!"

Dandeliondapple quirked her brow. "Apprentices showed you the territory, as well as hunting and fighting? I suppose I should be grateful you have some foundation. Come."

She swished into the forest at large, the trees and their boughs preventing some snow from reaching the forest floor. However, slight winds caused some to plop down onto the ground. Some of it hit Dandeliondapple, but she merely shook her fur out. "Not the kind of weather I expect to see much prey in, but perhaps you can sniff them out?" she said, turning her blue eyes on Mintpaw.

The small tabby skipped after Dandeliondapple, chirping happily the entire way about this and that. "-And then S-silentpaw showed up t-too! Oh! Don't y-you just love h-how pretty the forest is w-when it's all covered with s-snow and frost? I-it makes everything l-look blue and-"
Her long stream of words was cut short when a large pile of snow, dropped from one of the trees far above, landed directly on Mintpaw's head. "Ack!" She squeaked, sticking her head out of the pile with a playful frown on her face. With a small huff she managed to pull herself out of the snow, giving herself a small shake and sending snow everywhere. Her usually short fur, grown long thanks to the cold weather, stuck out comically as she pranced after her mentor.
"But perhaps you can sniff them out?"
Mintpaw froze. "S-s-sniff them o-out?" Mintpaw squeaked nervously. "O-o-okay..."
The pale tabby apprentice obediently sniffed the air, the cold making her nose smart painfully. She winced, but her ears pricked. "O-oh! I-I think I smell... I-is it a-a... vole? O-or maybe a-a mouse? I-I-I can't tell..."

Dandeliondapple listened to the sweet nothings that the apprentice blathered about. It reminded her of her own apprentice days, when she had been just as excited to see the world and meet cats as Mintpaw was now. Her first snow had been interesting too. Now it was just cold and empty. She wondered what kinds of things would happen to Mintpaw and kill her hope too, a frown forming on her muzzle. She mentally shook herself and resolved that she would not be what did that to the young, bright feline.

"Careful, the snow might eat you," she warned cynically.

The scent, though, smelled more earthy like a vole would. "It seems more like a vole. You can tell by the slight tinge to it, which comes from what they eat and where they hide. There must be one nearby, but I don't see an indication of any burrows. We'd waste time trying to dig up all this snow looking for one."