An apprentice's adventure

Tanglepaw eyed the entrance to the camp anxiously. She wasn't supposed to leave without a warrior, but her mentor wouldn't take her. She remembered Icepaw's words and cringed a little. No more being a kit. There were better things to do, like catching prey for her clan. She looked around cautiously, but the coast appeared to be clear. As stealthily as she could, Tanglepaw crept outside the camp undetected.
She was free! The open land stretched out before her as though it never ended. She burst into a run and bolted across the moor. She paused and heard a rabbit rustle the patch of plants up ahead of her. She dropped into an untrained hunting crouch. Though she didn't know anything about technique and had no practice other than pouncing onto her siblings in play, she had to try and catch that rabbit.
From take-off, her pounce was flawed. The rabbit scurried off before her paws hit the ground, then her body flew over her head. She tumbled over and got a face-full of dirt, but she had never been happier. She'd tried, and that was more than she would ever have done if she had stayed in camp.
There was a sound behind her. Tanglepaw whipped around.

Icepaw saw Tanglepaw slip out of camp in the corner of his eye, without her realizing it and followed with curiosity. How could she possibly be so bored she had the need to slip out of camp. He thought to himself. While running through the Moore he had to admit that it felt really good to be "free" but also had guilt that they were breaking the rules. He was debating what to say to her when he would catch up. I don't want sound like an elder but I she needs to be taught that running out of camp like this is breaking the rules. Besides it's better to hear from me than Falconstar, right? And I know her mentor is never around so maybe I can ask him if I could help teach her. Icepaw followed her and watched her try to catch the rabbit. He purred in amusement at her determination but then realized she had heard him.

Tanglepaw froze when she saw Icepaw had followed her. She looked quickly from side to side, but he appeared to be alone. Why had he come? And come without a warrior with him? "Why did you follow me?" she finally asked. She genuinely wanted to know. Why?

"To make sure you didn't get yourself killed, that's why" Icepaw said in a somewhat bitter and annoyed tone.

Tanglepaw paused. That was a good reason.. She hadn't even considered the danger of leaving camp alone and telling no one where she waas headed off to. "Oh..." She trailed off as she struggled to formulate a good response and realized the gravity of her current situation. This wasn't good; Icepaw could get her into deep trouble, if he so wished. "What now?" she asked shyly, shuffling her paws in the grass. How could she have been so naive? Of course someone was going to find her out here...

"Well, what you did was wrong and I know what it feels like to have a mentor who sometimes isn't around but that is no reason to run out of camp. What if you stumbled onto the thunderpath or fell into the gorge." He said. "I don't know if I will tell your mentor or FalconStar yet, but if you want, I can still help you practice training in camp" he said more calmly.

"Practice?" Tanglepaw's eyes lit up. To practice was all she wanted. Sure, he had said he might tell Falconstar or her mentor, but Tanglepaw chose to ignore that particular fact. Though she hoped he didn't, she understood she deserved punishment for what she had done.

Icepaw saw the young apprentice light up when he told her they could possibly train in the camp if her mentor is not around. "And ya know, I bet other mentors would be happy to train with you as well, if you tell them Scarletheart isn't around."

"Yea, maybe." Tanglepaw said. She turned back towards camp. "Maybe we should go back, you know, before some one finds us out of camp. I wouldn't want you to get punished because of something I did."