“Yeah, I haven’t gotten to use it much myself. It’s a bit far from camp,” he said with a small frown. “The best hunting spot is by multi-falls though. It’s a little out of the way now, but I should probably take you there on the way back...” Looking around the meadow for a bit, his tail eventually pointed off towards a more overgrown edge of the field. “If you go through there you’ll end up at the abandoned garden I think?” He tried to remember if that’s how Beetleflight took him there, but he was pretty creeped out about the place.

"Okay!" Softpaw said as he turned around and trotted out of the meadow. Another peek at the sky told him that he needed to reroute their course. The blackness of the night was starting to take on a pale blue color which would bring sunrise soon after. Not wanting to be caught out during the light hours, he chose to bring them straight West instead of further South. The trees became denser the more they went, blocking out most of the view above, but Softpaw could hear a faint splashing sound ahead and used it as his guide.

“It’s okay,” Softpaw answered thoughtfully. “I’m not Beetleflight’s first apprentice, so he’s really good a training me. So far we’ve only worked on territory familiarization and some hunting basics. But it’s tricky.” He paused for a moment as he remembered his paws fumbling to hold onto his prey long enough to deliver a killing bite—only to have them slip away in the end. There’d only been a couple of attempts that gone well. “We’re still working on a good technique.”

His head swiveled her way, revealing his saucer-wide eyes. "Really?" He had a hard time picturing Raveneye ever struggling to hunt. She seemed very precise with her movements--more graceful than a lot of his clanmates anyway. And it wasn't like she was a mouse-brained cat either. Quite the opposite. But then, she had her scars too. Perhaps, Softpaw really could become just as useful to the clan as every other.

His body felt as warm as it did when they were in the hot springs, and he smiled gratefully at her. "Okay, I won't forget." He realized that there might come a time where even Beetleflight would struggle to find an alternative way for him to hunt or fight, and if not, he could always safely practice with Raveneye. Any excuse to be around his new friend would be well worth it.

Continuing onward, the splashing sounds grew more noticeable and the two came across the river again. Only this time, the river split into multiple, small waterfalls or rapids that shimmered under the setting moon. The pattern of miniature waterfalls seemed to stretch for a while up and down the river before returning to normal. "This is multi-falls," Softpaw explained. "This is where most cats come to hunt." Even though the river itself wouldn't offer much for prey, the lush vegetation around the multi-falls produced enough wildlife for plentiful hunting.

"Yeah," he yawned, walking over to the riverbank to peer down as well. He noticed the shimmering scales of fish beneath the water as well and tilted his head in wonder. Softpaw knew NightClan cats were taught how to fish, but he had yet to start those lessons. In fact, he didn't even think he'd eaten a fish before. Looking both ways, he began padding upstream, "We should be able to cross a little before the falls."

"I hope so! I feel like I'm gonna flop over any second now," Softpaw sighed dramatically. They didn't have to walk far at all to get to a calmer part of the river with stones scattered in the water. It would be easier to fall in here, but his pelt wouldn't get muddy like last time. Leading the way, the apprentice hopped from one stone to another, only slipping slightly on the last one. Once he was safely on the other side, he turned to watch Raveneye cross as well.

"You make everything look so easy!" Softpaw pouted, but his words came out in a purr. Feeling wild for no real reason other than maybe exhaustion, he crouched low and wiggled his haunches. "But I bet I could beat you back to camp!" Forgetting that this was Raveneye's first time exploring the territory, the apprentice turned and took off in a full-sprint, his silver fur shining under the light of dawn.

Darting through the woods, Softpaw leaped over rocks and pushed his way through bushes, trying to move in as straight a line as possible to keep ahead. His heart was pounding in his chest and ringing in his ears, but he could hear Raveneye's footsteps behind him. Laughing, he glanced over his shoulder, "Not running like that you wo-" Forepaw snagging on an exposed root, the bengal flipped forward into a surprised summersault, landing sprawled out on his stomach. A strange grunt escaped him as the air was knocked out of him from the fall.