Practice makes perfect (closed)

Giving his hind legs a stretch, Smokepelt padded through the sunlight filled camp and over to the apprentice sleeping area that still had a makeshift roof over it. Even though the harsh Leafbare weather had been coming to a somewhat slow end, one could only hope that the Newleaf season would stick around without another random wave of frost or snow. So far, StarClan had been blessing the clans in warming the land up, and the deputy hoped that things would stay this way.

Finding Goatpaw's semi-dirty white pelt near the edge of the den, he noticed that she was somewhat disconnected from the other bundles of sleeping fur and Smokepelt's heart sank. Were even the apprentices unwilling to trust her and her presence, so much that they wouldn't sleep next to her? This wasn't how things were supposed at all, and seeing the older apprentice being treated this way upon just having returned made his blood boil. Fortunately for his clan mates, he'd made a promise to his mother, and wouldn't be confronting everyone about their inexcusable actions. But if he did, they had another thing coming.

"Goatpaw, wake up," he mewed, gently nudging Goatpaw's side with a white paw. With that, the deputy exited the den and headed to the freshkill pile, making his way through the brisk morning air. Today, the two of them would patrols the borders, even though Brindlewhisker had already taken his apprentice out on her first patrol. Sitting down and wrapping his tail over his paws, the lean grey and white tom waited for Goatpaw to emerge from the den, his pelt itching with excitement.

Goatpaw jerked awake, springing up immediately. It was as if she expected a fox to be there, and she was very silent. No dreams came to her. Not even nightmares... she craved them now. It took her a while to register that Smokepelt was there, and that he wasn't aggressive. She nimbly picked her way over to the svelte tom. Even then, she looked up at him warily. Following him out of the den, she constantly glanced over her shoulder, and spoke quietly. "Ahm... yes, Smokepelt?" she asked. Her tone was outdone with politeness, and her eyes were glassy, blank and emotionless. She looked... fake. Her fur was bristling, her orbs dilated—a clear sign of vigilance and hostility. "We're going on a patrol, yes? No? Well, whatever we do, I'm up for it," chirped Goatpaw in an eager yet counterfeit way. Eager, because she didn't seem comfortable awake and outside the apprentices' den—counterfeit because she wasn't trying to impress anyone anymore. A fabricated smile was plastered on her muzzle, unfortunately.

Once he neared the camp entrance, Smokepelt slowed to a halt. When Goatpaw caught up to him so that the two of them stood side by side, the older tom took a small side step so that his taller form pressed against her in a reassuring sort of way. She looked so nervous, hopefully getting out of the camp would help her calm down and take her mind off of things.

"Yes, we are going on a patrol," the deputy mewed softly, looking down to his apprentice. With a flick of his tail, he lead them out of the camp and into the moor. The chilly yet fresh morning air sent a shiver down his spine and taking a deep breath, let it out in a content sigh. "We're going to head to the Thunderpath border and then head to the gorge," Smokepelt spoke after a few moments of silence. The pair padded next to each other so that their pelts touched and a warm, fuzzy feeling filled his chest. He'd always loved spending time with Goatpaw, and now that he was her mentor, he could do just that.

As Goatpaw padded beside Smokepelt, reaching the outskirts of camp, her heart began to flutter defiantly. Goatpaw looked up at the deputy, a motility of love entering her hearth, and warming it until it seemed as if the cold would just fade away. The she-cat was tempted to shake her head with frustration, chiding herself until she would realize that the grey-and-white tom was too good for her. This utmost sense of idolatry rendered Smokepelt's statement almost inaudible. "Oh," she said guiltily, tearing her eyes away from his smooth, amber orbs. "Yeah, that sounds good." Goatpaw gave a swift nod, hurrying after Smokepelt. "I hope we don't meet any RiverClan fleabags there," she muttered under her breath. She felt the rimy breeze whip around her, chilling her to the bone. She seemed to finally regain a sense of belonging around Smokepelt; it was surreal how her temperament could diversify so quickly with him. As she paced after him, she spoke nothing of her lonely, troglodytic experiences in the apprentices' den.

Padding through the territory, Smokepelt stuck close to Goatpaw and soon enough, the two of them reached the Thunderpath just in time to watch a monster zoom by. Hopefully he'd be able to lift the spirits a little now. "Alright apprentice, what do you know about the Thunderpath border?" the tom asked in a slightly teasing, yet lighthearted tone. Although she'd been gone for some time, he couldn't help but wonder if she still remembered anything about this place, and decided that he might as well ask. If she didn't know, it wasn't the end of the world and he would always be more than happy to help her out.

Goatpaw giggled at the lighthearted comment, tail waving somewhat happily. She wrinkled her nose at the befouled, ebony path. "Oh, it smells bad," she joked quietly, "that's what I know! Well, I know it's a border between ShadowClan..." she paused, noting how she recalled the ShadowClan cats for the fact that they lingered in the shadows. "I can't remember the other. SomethingClan, for sure! They were still in the trees... stuffy in there," she added, "but they weren't like ShadowClan." Goatpaw looked up at Smokepelt, her eyes big. Did I get it right? she wondered anxiously. I sound like a kit after its first Gathering. Goatpaw studied her paws, eyelets flickering as she spotted her claws. They had grown longer when she was a loner.

Listening to the she-cat, he was glad that she knew at least something about the neighboring clans, and considering she'd been gone for a while, he was impressed. "Good job," he mewed, nodding his head in agreement. "It's not that they smell bad, per say, but to us, their scent is definitely... odd," the deputy pointed out with a chuckle, his tail flicking back and forth with the slight breeze. "I'd say that you know enough about this place, how about we head to the gorge now?" he asked, turned so that he faced the direction of the gorge, but still kept close to Goatpaw's side. She seemed jittery and he wondered what was going on with her, but he decided to ask about it later, seeing that they needed to focus on patrolling for the time being. I just hope she's alright, Smokepelt thought to himself as the two cats started towards their next destination.

Goatpaw nodded obediently, rustling the tall grass as she moved. Her flossy white pelt even bedazzled Goatpaw; as a rogue, it had been so unkempt. "Yeah," she agreed, delimiting a purr as it washed her throat. Trotting ahead, she looked over her shoulder at Smokepelt. She gave a quixotic sigh. Goatpaw could see almost every detail on him—but what did she care? He was her mentor, not her mate! She trembled with buoyant impatience as the gorge came into sight. We can sit there for a while, maybe looking at the sun going down... she thought, then her jaws snapped with anger. Of course not! He's the deputy, I'm a traitor! A coward! Goatpaw thought doubtfully. She then slowed her pace to walk nonchalantly beside the grey-and-white tom. She glanced at him sheepishly, shaming herself for it each passing time. The terrain grew rougher, and she knew what that meant. The gorge!

After a little while of making their way to the gorge, the roar of water was soon audible and told him that they were almost there. Not too long ago, the evening sun had started to fall out of the sky, and with that came the slightly chillier night weather. A cool breeze sent a shiver down the tom's spine as they neared closer to the gorge, and slowing his pace, he started to watch out for sharp rocks that were easily hidden within the moor grass. Stepping over some rocks, the tom scanned the area, looking out for anything out of the ordinary, and luckily for them, it seemed as though a patrol had recently been here, for the WindClan scent markers were relatively fresh.

They had done their job in patrolling the border and had some time to spare before heading back to camp, so maybe they could hang out around here for a little bit. Besides, maybe the apprentice wanted more time to enjoy her new territory, and wouldn't want to just rush back to camp, the one place that she probably didn't want to be right now. Making sure to keep a good distance from the edge of the gorge, just enough that he was able to still hear the water below, Smokepelt turned to Goatpaw, and observing her confused and slightly frustrated expression, his heart felt as if it was going to explode. Although she tried to act strong, it was evident that the smaller she-cat was still on edge, and while he wasn't the best at comforting, he wanted to at least try and help.

All he'd been thinking about for the last couple moons was the white she-cat, and now that she was finally here, he thought that life would be amazing, but it turned out to just be a slump, and he wasn't going to allow it to stay that way.

Looking away from his apprentice, the he spotted a flat rock that was slightly lifted from the grassy land. Sitting on the edge of the gorge so that cats could probably look down into the raging water from it, the boulder looked like it was just big enough for two cats. Letting out a soft mew to grab Goatpaw's attention, the deputy flicked his tail towards the rock and started heading towards it. Luckily for them, it wasn't a very tall object, and it was just the perfect height for cats to simply walk up to the flat top of it. Sitting down and waiting for his apprentice to join him, Smokepelt peered down into the gorge below. It was a bit nerve racking being this close to death, but even so, the view of the slowly dimming sky was spectacular. 'Maybe this will help her relax a bit,' he prayed to himself, keeping his gaze to the sky above.

Goatpaw's heart leapt in her chest. That kind of... shock when you see someone you like, but know nothing would happen anyways. The kind when they pass you by, and you two almost touch. But this time, she couldn't interpret what would happen; she, agog, padded up to Smokepelt. She held her breath, knowing that if she besmirched her obedient behaviour now, there was no going back. She finally settled down on the level rock, seeing the roaring waters tumble below. She, too, was nervous, but with the WindClan deputy she felt safe from harm. "So..." she began awkwardly. "How has Ashstar been? Rather... rather good, I presume?" Goatpaw buzzed with solicitude. It must be stressful being the grey leader, after all! The days had ben tyrannic towards Goatpaw; disapproval swamped her at every pawstep. Now, she hoped Smokepelt could console her, and he did. She felt a wave of calm and... something else... wash over her. It took every will inside of her not to lean on Smokepelt and let all of her troubles pour out of her mouth. She looked down.

Looking down to Goatpaw when she joined him, a purr emitted from his throat and with out thinking, he involuntarily shifted his weight so that their pelts touched and prying his eyes off of the she-cat, looked back up to dark orange and yellow sky. Staying quiet and trying to calm his scrambled thoughts, he focused on her steady yet fast breaths that pressed against his side. How she had managed to live on her own without the clan for so long he would never understand, but like everything, the past was in the past, and they needed to keep their eyes to the future, or else they'd get nowhere. If only RiverClan knew how to do that, the deputy thought to himself, but quickly pushed away the thoughts. This was no time to get worked up over his thoughts and feelings of the neighboring clan.

Perking his ears when she spoke, Smokepelt turned to the apprentice when she asked about Ashstar, and admittingly, he had no clue where to even begin. So much had gone on after Goatpaw had left the clan, good and bad, well... mostly bad, but he didn't want to worry his apprentice with the troubles that WindClan had been dealing with, so he decided to sugarcoat it, for now at least. "My mother... she's doing as fine as a leader can be, I guess," the soft voiced warrior replied with a slight shrug. There was so much he wanted to fill her in on, so much he wanted to share, but even so, he kept his mouth shut, not wanting to ruin the moment with the troubles of life. "How did you manage, on your own and without a clan?" Smokepelt asked. While he was genuinely curious, he also hoped to change the subject off of his mother.

Goatpaw demurely sat, her tail flickering. Her ears perked with attention as he spoke about the fettle of his mother, but it was disappointingly vague, so she tried not to act like she itched for more. She felt him shift over, and her heart raced. She let out a benignant purr. The next question struck her fancy, but it sent memories flashing into her mind of hostile rogues and wild dogs, and it was hard—especially in her first days. "Oh," she started. "I managed by a will, pampered kittypets and vicious rogues all glared at me. Funny, considering those soft-furred kits have never fended for themselves. There were many obstacles..." she paused, becoming uncomfortable. "And I came across a lot of small groups. One of them tried to capture me, and I stayed with them for a while. They called me Alba. I broke free, fortunately, and renamed myself Goatpaw. I got attacked by a dog but a nice loner saved me. I don't know where he is now... but he never gave me his name. He said that he thought I was 'stupid' for running into a dog like that... so... not so nice?" Goatpaw laughed silently, but thinking of the ordeals she had to brook made her feel miffed. She glanced up at Smokepelt, smiling shyly. The grey-and-white deputy was so kind! Or she was just debarred constantly by the other warriors and apprentices... it didn't matter. Smokepelt made Goatpaw feel accepted.

"Ahem..." she cleared her throat. "How've you and your kits been? I mean, not the ones you adopted, but the ones with Hazefur." Goatpaw didn't sound bugged, but she was a tad. Her eyes betrayed the emotion stirring inside of her, however, and she sat straight.

Listening to the she-cat, Smokepelt felt nothing but remorse when she described her time alone. Although he'd fantasized over living on his own before, he couldn't even begin to imagine such a harsh life with out the clan. Continuing to stay quiet as she spoke, Smokepelt soon realized that he probably shouldn't have brought up such a matter and when she gave a timid laugh at the end, it was obvious that she didn't really feel so cheerful when talking about her past. Meeting her gaze, the tom's muzzle held a soft smile. The deputy was never the mushy gushy type of cat and was usually more stoic when it came to chatting with other cats, but Goatpaw made him feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside, and he wasn't going to argue with that.

"They are doing fine, though Ryecloud is still struggling to keep up with the rest of them," he mewed with an exasperated sigh and turned his head so that it faced the gorge. "But even so, I'm blessed to have a family such as them," he finished and looked back down to Goatpaw. She didn't have a family and here he was, telling her how great his kin was. How selfish of him! He was supposed to be here to support and comfort her, not make her feel more lonely.

Silently cursing to himself, Smokepelt leaned down and nuzzled the top of the dirty white she-cat's head with his muzzle, a purr emitting from his throat once more. "Goatpaw, how are you doing? Don't lie and say that you're alright, I want the truth," the tall, lean tom mewed softly into her ear as the two leaned against each other, her smaller stature pressing against him like a scared kit. Every cat had the ability to easily skirt around reality, and while it may have seemed like a simple concept, letting the truth out was one of the hardest tasks to undertake.