Escaping Camp

Reedpaw, after moons of sitting in camp, finally got fed up with waiting. While previously dampened in spirit, he had felt a spark of his former self return. Maybe he'd never get training done. Maybe he'd be a '-paw' for ever. But he'd at least do this, for his own sake. He didn't need a mentor. He'd teach himself.

When night had fallen and Silverpelt appeared in the sky he left the den, careful not to disturb anyone. After a much needed stretch the apprentice had sneaked off. Reedpaw, keeping low with his best imitation of a hunting crouch, creeped to the front of camp. Of course, his hunting crouch was rubbish. Reedpaw didn't have any training in hunting water voles and mice. He didn't even have any training in fishing. But this would do, for now.

When he reached the Camp entrance he also encountered his first problem. RiverClan camp was on an island and the only way to reach it was through swimming. Reedpaw could swim, yes, every RiverClan cat could by apprenticeship. But how could he do this quietly? Of course another disadvantage. In apprenticeship they were supposed to teach you how to swim quietly when battling; to use the water to your advantage. But of course...

The apprentice dabbled a paw in the water. It was icy cold. Leaf-fall was just the precursor of what was to come, but even this was a bit troubling. Reedpaw gave a sigh and braved through it, slowly slipping foreleg deep. He felt some of the remnants of his cobweb bandages detach themselves and float away. He just needed to get to the pebbly plains that marked mainland RiverClan territory.

"And what exactly do you suppose you're doing?" A voice questioned lightly, an entertained tone. Froststar hadnt been able to sleep that night, as she was haunted by nightmares. It was always the same, horrible one now, and it rid her of any sleep. So when she heard the not-so-subtle footsteps leaving camp, she had decided on following. The she-cat had stayed back at first, but finally saw it time to step in. So she stood, an eyebrow raised and looking at the young tom, waiting for his answer to why he was leaving camp at night.

OOC; Maybe we could through in some training, if you want. xD Idk.

Reedpaw stiffened up, not sure to respond. Mouse dung. he cursed, slowly turning around to Froststar. "Uh, I was... Um..." Reedpaw tried to decide on a lie before stopping himself. It'd be no use. He bowed his head in shame. "I was going to try and... Train myself." he mumbled.

OOC: Sure x3 If you don't mind.

Froststar blinking in surprise for a moment, her tail flicking back and forth. She tried not to look to guilty, knowing that it was her fault Reedpaw wasn't being trained properly. She decided quickly a way to make it up. "Well, I commend you on the effort. But it's rather hard to train yourself... Perhaps you could use some help?" She asked, a playful gleam in her eye.

Reedpaw looked up, a smile plastered on his face and a hopeful glint in his eyes. "Really? Would you?" he asked, both relieved and happy. Not only was the apprentice off the hook, but he was going to get training while he was at it. For a moment he was curious why Froststar was up, but he shook the thought away. He must have woken her. StarClan, his hunting crouch was really rubbish.

OOC: I really need to use Reedpaw's color more ;n;

Use ittt.

Froststar nodded, smiling softly. It's good that he was enthusiastic about training. If not, this would be a real flea on her pelt. She thought for a moment about what he needed to learn. Although the clans were at peace (seriously, we need to work on that. >3>) battle training had been an extremely fun time for her. Although, with prey dwendling, it would be harder to teach him hunting in leaf-bare. Still, her heart won over logic this time, and she decided what to do. "Attack me." She meowed, leaving no room for an arguement. There was even a stream right by them, so that they could work on fighting in the water, and being stealthy. Yeah, Reedpaw needed help with that.

OOC: Oh, trust me. It's being worked on >;3

IC: Reedpaw blinked in surprise, but adopted his crouch again and charged head on at his leader at full speed, looking to bowl her over. It wasn't the best strategy, though. Reedpaw had always been a small cat, especially for RiverClan. And speed wasn't exactly an asset to RiverClan cats, being that their main food source didn't require chasing. But what it did require was lightning fast reflexes, which Froststar certainly had and probably would end up spelling disaster for the apprentice. Then again, Reedpaw's only experience in battling... Hadn't exactly ended well, to say the least.

OOC; Oh yay- wait... What? D8

IC; Well... Reedpaw was right. Froststar had a thing for being graceful and quick- a bit more than some in RiverClan, even. She had a sharp eye, always staying focused when it came to fighting. Maybe it made up for her smaller size and weaker muscles. So as Reedpaw charged at her (rather slow, although it wasn't fair to judge, considering he was still hurt and only an apprentice.) she side stepped him at the last minute, throwing out her front paw in front of his feet as he charged, hoping not to hurt him, but at least let him land face first on the dirt or something. That would be interesting. "Reedpaw, RiverClan is known for being smart. We aren't ThunderClan mouse brains that charge forward without thinking it over. Next time, at least come up with some strategy. Try to surprise me, even. I know you're smart. Now show me." She instructed calmly, her tone gentle but firm. She sat back down and stood still.
"Again."

Reedpaw made quite the tumble with a small yowl of surprise. He gave a small groan and shook his head as he recovered, before turning to Froststar as she spoke. A competitive glare flared up in his eyes. "Alright." he replied, getting into a crouch again and approaching ever so slowly before leaping as high as he could. Jumping wasn't a RiverClan skill either, but weight surely was. It'd require getting on her back, though. That'd be difficult.

Now that surprised her. As he snuck towards her, she eyed him closely. She followed his gaze, trying to predict his next move. Froststar didn't think he'd try to jump, because as mentioned before, it wasn't on of RiverClan's finest skills. So when he pounced, she tried to crouch down and try to avoid being slammed into, but the she-cat couldn't move fast enough and ended up exactly where the apprentice intended. She let out a huff of air as she landed on the ground. Even as she tried to catch her breath, approval was written on her face, although she was still concentrated. "Good job." She meowed.

Reedpaw scrambled off of his mentor to let her back up, beaming with pride. He did it! He turned to Froststar, the apprentice now completely off guard, looking at her expectantly. The small victory for him had made him a bit over-confident, clearly.

The she-cat licked down a tuft of fur on her shoulder before speaking, taking her time. Whenever she looked up, her icy blue eyes had a new mischievous glint. "Alright, now it's my turn. Sit still, and I'm going to attack you. Try to figure out my next move, maybe follow my eyes, or watch where I'm headed." She suggested.
She dropped into a crouch, her eyes trained on Reedpaw. Her mind was going through strategies as she tried to figure out what to do. She toke a small step forward, but a bit to the left, then to the right, and she moved forward slowly. For a moment her eyes flickered to the ground in front of the apprentice's feet. Suddenly she leap up like Reedpaw had done. Although she didn't have the advantage of strength and weigh, she had speed and surprise on her side. Instead of landing on him, she dropped just in front of him, planning on quickly tripping him on to his back.

Her movements had confused Reedpaw and when she had leaped up and he leaped back in surprise when Froststar landed in front of him, lashing a sheathed paw out but only slicing through thin air as he nearly tumbled back. He was off balance now, basically on his haunches.

Froststar moved in now, swatting his hind legs out from under him and pouncing forward. She stood above him, her front paws lightly on his shoulders. "That was a good effort. You have to remember I've been practicing this a bit longer. Do you want to try and fight now, or do you want to stop for today?" She questioned lightly as she stepped back, allowing him to stand up.

Reedpaw quickly, if ungracefully, got to his paws. He was panting slightly. With no exercise or glimpse outside of camp since the incident he was extremely out of shape. The apprentice shook his head vigorously though. Of course he still wanted to fight. He needed this. "I'll give it a shot." he replied quickly as soon as he had recovered.