The Fourth Apprentice/Chapter 16

==Chapter description==
:Lionblaze calms his apprentice, Dovepaw, after her panic upon realizing the absence of the stream. Rippletail suggests that the stream is behind the hill, and takes the lead towards the green field. They quickly move past young Twolegs, and Lionblaze then falls into the empty streambed. Dovepaw is upset, telling her mentor that she should've sensed the small cliff and the Twolegs. He reassures her that she isn't responsible for every cat on the journey, and it is because of her that they are making the journey in the first place. Dovepaw says that she feels blinded by all of the scents mingling around the Twolegplace. 
:Nearby, the young Twolegs kick a round object into the tall grass. They assume that it is a rock initially, and Tigerheart investigates. He nudges it with his nose and discovers that it is lightweight. Lionblaze shoves it away, and the cats hide as the young Twolegs come to retrieve their object. Upon their departure, the cats make their way into the streambed once more. They travel deeper into the Twolegplace, and Sedgewhisker scents rabbits. The WindClan warriors run towards the scent with the others close behind.
:The cats spot the rabbits nibbling on some grass. Whitetail crouches, ready to pounce, but is stopped by three kittypets. The leader of the kittypets tells them that they cannot hunt the rabbits. Sedgewhisker tells him that they should protect their territory if they do not want outside hunters, but the kittypets are confused. One kittypet explains that the rabbits belong to their housefolk, and that one cat who had hunted rabbits in the past was sent to the Cutter. Toadfoot goes to hunt the rabbits once more, but the kittypet stops him again. The group agrees that hunting the rabbits isn't worth it, and leave.
:The group continues forward until the Twoleg nests are behind them. They then decide that they should split up to hunt. Dovepaw alerts Lionblaze that she scents a bird, and scampers off to kill it. Lionblaze detects a squirrel and begins to track it, but a nearby meow scares the prey off before he can do so. A white kittypet stares at him from the foot of a tree, saying that she wanted to watch him hunt. She seems perplexed at the fact that Lionblaze has to hunt for food, and explains that she doesn't have to catch anything to eat. 
:Lionblaze spots another squirrel and stalks after it. The white kittypet asks if she can watch, which scares the squirrel. She then introduces herself as Snowdrop, and the kittypets that accompanied her earlier as Seville and Jigsaw. Despite Lionblaze telling her that he is busy, she asks what all of the cats are doing. He tells her that they live in Clans by a lake, and as he begins to go into further detail, Toadfoot appears from the bracken.
:Snowdrop introduces herself to Toadfoot, but he tells her to leave them alone. The kittypet seems excited about the cats' mission, and that she herself has wondered what happened to the water. She expresses interest in accompanying the cats, but Rippletail tells her that she cannot come along. The Clan cats walk away, and Lionblaze notices Snowdrop sitting where they had left her, her head hung low in disappointment. Lionblaze, a pang of guilt within him, offers her a vole, but she declines. 
:Upon the sun setting, Whitetail finds a split in a hollow tree for the night. Rippletail offers to take the first watch for the night, which relieves Lionblaze. He falls asleep quickly, but is soon woken by Dovepaw prodding in his side. She excitedly tells him that she can hear the brown animals and that they are almost there.
==Characters==
===Major===
===Minor===
==Notes and references==
fr:La quatrième apprentie/Chapitre 16
Category:The Fourth Apprentice
Category:Chapter subpages
Category:Omen of the Stars arc