Making friends [closed patrol]

Sitting by the fresh-kill pile, Mudfoot let out a sigh, watching his breath disappear into the frosty night air. The tom had been training his apprentices non stop and although most cats would be sleeping after working so hard, he waited for yet another patrol. The tom wrapped his tail around his paws and let out a yawn. The silence was a bit odd but nice all the same so he wasn't going to complain.

Why did things have to be so cold? Smokepaw shivered underneath his coat, his fur fluffing out in an attempt to block out the cold. This was his first Leaf-bare and while he had heard stories of it, he had never expected anything like this. He padded out of the apprentice den with a shake of his head, wanting to do something to help warm him up - some type of activity. His eyes flashed around the camp when he saw Mudfoot sitting near the fresh-kill pile. He started to move over to the older brown tom but felt his heart sink when he spotted the fresh-kill pile. It seemed to empty compared to when he was just a kit as prey grew harder and harder to find. "Hello Mudfoot," he said as he came to a stop, trying to not show how disheartening small pile of prey was to him. Perhaps if the warrior felt up to it, they could go on a patrol together. Hopefully somebody else would join them, a patrol was no fun with only two cats.

She'd never been so hungry before. They never let kits starve in the nursery, but now that she was an official apprentice, the young she-cat had to wait - just like everyone else in the clan. Her tummy was past rumbling and settled, but that didn't make things much better. Ravenpaw wasn't about to let the others to see her weakness, though. She'd waited moons, moons to be able to start her training, and she couldn't sit and complain about it like a kit still... She was going to be a warrior after all!

And so, she walked into the center of the clearing, her head and tail held high in greeting. "Greetings Mudfoot... and Smokepaw." She offered them a small smile. "You two look sleepy."

Glad to see that Smokepaw was awake, Mudfoot gave smile and nod to the apprentice. "Hello Smokepaw," the tom was about to ask if he'd care to join him on a patrol but before he could say anything, Ravenpaw arrived. "Sleepy? I've never been more awake," he chuckled, ironically ending with a yawn. Well, they'd better get going before he decided to go back to his wonderfully warm and cozy nest. "How about we get going. Grab something to hold you over and let's head out," the tom meowed standing up and making his way towards the camp entrance.

"Oh, hello Ravenpaw!" Smokepaw purred as he turned to face his denmate as she came strolling up, flickering his tail in greeting at the mostly black she-cat.  He frowned slightly when Ravenpaw mentioned that they looked sleepy, playfully sticking a tongue at her. "How can I be sleepy when its this cold out?" he meowed but he also couldn't deny that he was rather tired - going hunting was just what he needed to wake up. His eyes flashed back to Mudfoot spoke up again, making it clear that he was expecting the two of them to join him on a patrol. His eyes glimmered as he nodded happily as the warrior pushed past him to wait at the entrance. His eyes lingered toward the prey pile for a second, wondering if he should grab something but quickly decided that he wasn't hungry enough to excuse eating at this moment and ran after Mudfoot without waiting to see if Ravenpaw was going to grab a piece of prey for herself.

Ravenpaw let out a low mrroow of laughter, her green eyes brightening up in excitement and relief once they were given the all clear to have a piece from the fresh kill pile. "Thank you, Mudfoot!" She called, spinning excitedly on her paws and turning right for the pile. While she could eat, she still picked out the smallest frog there was. She was a small cat after all!

It hadn't taken Ravenpaw long to settle down and sink her teeth into the measly meal. It was frozen stiff, a bit stringy from sitting out, but in her own hunger it managed to still taste delishious. It was only then she'd notice that Smokepaw had left her behind, choosing to wait along with the elder tom. "Hey..." She muttered under her breath. Her pelt grew warm as shame washed over her. If she'd known he was going to go without eating, she would have done the same. Now she felt bad...

But she couldn't waste the frog now. And so, Raven paw scarfed it down as fast as she could, quickly cleaning up after herself and making a run up to finally meet with them. "I'm here, I'm here!"

Padding out of camp, a shiver was sent down his spine from the frost covered ground. Having more fur than others was definitely a plus with all this cold weather but even so, his paws still got just as cold. Glad that Ravenpaw was able to eat quick enough and catch up to them, Mudfoot purred softly. It was always a joy to have such peppy apprentices, especially when nothing much was going on. "Glad you could make it," the tom chuckled, flicking his tail back and forth.

After a few moments of silence, Mudfoot decided that it was enough quiet and looked down to the apprentices. "So, where shall we head first?"

Smokepaw had failed to notice the distress he had put on Ravenpaw when he decided not to eat before the patrol, happily waiting with Mudfoot until his denmate had come scampering up with them. He simply smiled with a purr at her, flickering his tail as Mudfoot spoke up. Where to go? He blinked, frowning slightly as he thought about it. "I would say the Carrionplace but I don't know if it is wise to risk bringing back crowfood with this cold of weather. What do you think Ravenpaw?" Besides the Carrionplace, he couldn't think of any places that would be a good hunting source for prey with the freezing snowy weather.

Stubbornly, still upset about being left behind, the she-cat turned her nose away. "I think you're a mouse-brain," Ravenpaw mewled simply, taking one quick glance back at her denmate before staring back on ahead. "Shouldn't we check high-pine before we go looking for a bunch of dead, stinky prey in the twolegs' dirt?" Nevermind Smokepaw was being far more open-minded than she was, she couldn't help but be bitter.

Surprised by Ravenpaw's somewhat crude reply towards Smokepaw's comment, Mudfoot stopped his tracks and turned his head to the apprentice. "Smokepaw is not mousebrained," he started, scowling at the younger cat, disappointed that she's say something like that to a fellow apprentice. "The Carrionplace is actually a great idea. I hate to prove you wrong, but High-Pine is fairly peaceful around this time of year and being on decent terms with SkyClan, I don't think they will be an issue. Though it may seem "unimportant," rogues are constantly sneaking into the territory for this so called crowfood and with leafbare around the corner, you wouldn't want to let your clan starve because of some lowlife rogues, would you?" Easily angered by ignorance, Mudfoot looked Ravenpaw in the eye when he asked his question, making sure he meant business.

"Calling someone a mousebrain only shows that you are the true mousebrain, so from now on, I would advise you to think before you speak." Letting out a sigh, he looked from Ravenpaw to Smokepaw. "Apologize to Smokepaw," he meowed sternly, looking back to the young she-cat. It wasn't necessarily the fact that she used the term "mousebrain", but the way she said it showed him that she was sincere with every word. In all honesty, he hated scolding apprentices or anyone for that matter, but letting them get away with an attitude like this led to problems in the future and he and the clan didn't have the time for sass when there were bigger threats looming over them.

Smokepaw blinked when Ravenpaw called him a mouse-brain and more or less insulted his suggestion, frowning softly for a quick second before he shook it off. He didn't care and wouldn't have acted on it if it wasn't for Mudfoot quickly snapping at Ravenpaw for such a crude remark. His eyes widen, his mouth falling open to response but nothing came as the warrior scolded her but when he ordered her to apologize, he finally found the words to speak. "I don't mind being called a mouse-brain at all, Mudfoot! Ravenpaw doesn't need to apologize if she doesn't want to," he said softly, really not wanting to have Ravenpaw get in trouble. He was confused on why she was acting so mean - they had been good friends when they were kits. Had he done something wrong? Part of him was afraid that this would only make her dislike him more and he didn't want that as he glanced between the two cats.

The black-cat froze in her tracks, caught stuck in StarClan's spotlight as the warrior seemed to find it fitting that he tear her pelt out for all to see. "What? But, I -" Ravenpaw had tried her best to fit a few words in, but Mudfoot wouldn't stop talking. "This isn't fair!" A spark of anger flared in her chest. What was he mouse-brained too? She'd meant they go hunt at Highpine first. Wouldn't the smart thing to do would be to check high-pine for prey first, where nothing was poisoned?

Ooooh, Ravenpaw. You should think before you speak.

He could shove his tail in his mouth.

Still, this was one of her first patrols as an apprentice and she couldn't bare to make herself look worse or be locked up back in camp again. The she-cat darted her eyes away again from the two of them. Of course, Smokepaw had to be such a goodie-two-paws about it. She didn't need him standing up for her.

She was burning so warmly from her own embarrassment that she could hardly feel leaf-bares cold bite. "Sorry, Smokepaw." The words were spat under her breath and she had to wrinkle her nose, but whatever. It was best to just get it over with. There was her apology.

She didn't mind being called a Mousebrain? Surprised, Mudfoot didn't know what to say. Who didn't mind being called a mousebrain? Letting out a sigh, the russet colored tom let out a sigh. Upon hearing the reluctance in Ravenpaw's tone, Mudfoot knew there was no changing their minds for now and could already tell that the black apprentice was going to be a tricky one to deal with. Picking up the pace, the tom tried to ignore guilt he had from scolding Ravenpaw and focus on getting there. Before long the little patrol had reached the Carrionplace and Mudfoot stopped by the tall chain wall that separated them from the worst of the smell.

"Okay!" he exclaimed with a smile, turning back to the others and trying to bring back a more happy mood. "Ready to get some hunting in?"

Smokepaw's ears flickered back at Ravenpaw's apologize - telling that she didn't truly mean it and was simply doing so to get Mudfoot off her back. He hoped his mouth, trying to think of anything to say to Ravenpaw in hope of savaging the situation but no words came to mind as he blinked sadly before turning his attention to the warrior. He smiled softly at the warriors' attempt to cheer up the situation and followed suit, trying to mask how upset he truly was that Ravenpaw didn't seem to like him anymore. "Hunting sounds great," he managed with a soft smile, although it was clear that the excitement he had moments before was gone.

It was too late, her mood had turned sour. She'd spent the entire walk to Carrionplace mulling over how she didn't deserved to be yelled at or how stupid sensitive they were or how she was turning out to be a really bad apprentice so far. By the time they'd reached the strange silver twoleg vines, she was as bitter as the stench around them. So much for making friends.

Despite her own harsh attitude, there was that bit of excitement creeping up from under her toes. She'd never actually hunted before. "What prey?" Ravenpaw muttered. "All I can smell is rotten dirt here."