[Closed] A nut in the dawn

She was both nervous and excited. Her very first apprentice! The tabby she-cat tried to retrieve all memories of the patrols and training that her own mentor, Fracturedhawk, had given her. She remembered clearly her first ever patrol - she could never forget that. Dawnsong made up her mind to take Nutpaw out around the territory, and perhaps do some hunting.

She waited at the camp entrance for her apprentice, still smiling. She had promised to teach Nutpaw to the best of her ability, and that she would do.

Nutpaw looked around camp, and spotted Dawnsong at the entrance. Nutpaw padded over excitedly, hardly believing she was going on a patrol already. When she arrived at her mentor's side, Nutpaw turned to face Dawnsong.
"What are we going to do today?" Nutpaw tried to sound dignified, but her words came out as an excited squeal.

Dawnsong noticed the younger cat approach, and she felt a tingle in her stomach. She hoped she would do as good a job at training an apprentice as Fracturedhawk. The tabby cat smiled and glanced down at Nutpaw. "Well, I think we should do a patrol so you can begin to familiarise yourself with the territory and we can do a spot of hunting too, how about that?" Dawnsong got to her paws and shook her pelt. "Maybe next time we can do some battle training, but for now I think you should have a chance to explore!" She turned and gestured with her head to the edge of camp, signalling that they should head off now.

Nutpaw hung on to Dawnsong's every word as her mentor explained what they would be doing. 
"Okay then. I'll be following you." Nutpaw turned towards where Dawnsong had gestured and waited for her to lead the way.

Dawnsong nodded and led the way out of camp. So far, so good. [I Nutpaw seemed to be a great listener, not misbehaving at all. Now, that was a good sign to begin with. "So, Nutpaw, what do you know about the other clans so far?" While they were walking the tabby she cat decided to test a little of her apprentices knowledge. Nutpaw probably would not know a great deal just yet, but that was what Dawnsong was here for, right?

"Well..." Nutpaw thought about what she knew about the clans other than RiverClan. "... I know there is also a WindClan, SkyClan, ThunderClan, and ShadowClan. We share a border with WindClan and at least one other clan. That's all i really know, though." Nutpaw felt pleased that she remembered that much, and she knew Dawnsong would teach her more.

"Very good! You know a pretty decent amount already, then." She smiled at the young cat as she walked. "The other clan we share a border with is Shadowclan - but the Thunderpath splits our territories." No doubt Nutpaw must have heard about the Thunderpath and Monsters, every cat knew.

Dawnsong paused at a small clearing, and she turned to face her apprentice. "Right. Now I want you to open your mouth and breathe in all the scents. What can you taste?" Opening one's jaws was the best way to find a large amount of scents and prey around, so Dawnsong wanted to see what Nutpaw could pick up.

Nutpaw felt warm with pride at her mentor's praise. As they reached the clearing, Nutpaw listened to Dawnsong's instructions. Nutpaw opened her jaws and inhaled deeply, picking up all sorts of scents. The strongest scents were of prey, and the strongest of those were mice.
"I smell prey. The strongest scent seems to be mice over here," Nutpaw replied, looking to Dawnsong for clarification.

Dawnsong nodded at her apprentice, speaking again to encourage her. "Yes, well done! Do you think you could catch one? Sneak low and stalk it until you feel that it is the right time to pounce." She was brief with her instructions, but it was the best way to learn. She'd give feedback to the younger cat after her first attempt.

Nutpaw scented the air again and looked around for a mouse. She spotted movement in a bush, and a small bit a nut. Confidently, Nutpaw slid into the best crouch that  she could and gently padded towards it. She thought about what Dawnsong had said, and waited until it felt like the right time to pounce. When she thought that it was that time, she pounced forward. She ended up colliding with the bush, and the mouse got away.

Dawnsong watched silently as Nutpaw did as she was instructed. Was this how she had looked to Fracturedhawk when he had first taught her? Wow, she must have been small. The tabby she-cat gazed at her apprentice again, watching as the mouse ran off and Nutpaw collided with a bush. With a brief smile, Dawnsong approached and gave a comforting flick of her tail. "Don't worry, that was your first try. I didn't catch anything on my first go either. Next time take in as much of your surroundings as possible so you can detect anything that may ruin or disrupt your hunt." She was about to gesture for them to move on, but she decided to give her apprentice another shot. Maybe two more. They had plenty of time, after all. "Would you like to give it another go?"

Nutpaw felt herself grow hot with embarrassment, and internally scolded herself for that kind of first impression. Her mentor's words comforted her a little, and she felt slightly more relieved.
"Yes please. I'll try again." Nutpaw set her face into a determined expression, determined to prove that she could do better. She crouched again, and scented the air for more prey. Before following it this time, she threw a hesitant glance towards Dawnsong.

Dawnsong saw the embarrassment and she had to hold back a purr of sympathy. She knew how disappointing it was to lose your first prey. "Go on, then." She smiled, stepping back to allow the apprentice some room. When Nutpaw looked back at Dawnsong, she only gave a purr and nodded her head in encouragement.

The nervous apprentice was somewhat comforted by Dawnsong's belief in her. Catching the scent of a mouse, Nutpaw followed it a few tail-lengths to the roots of a small tree. Nutpaw winced at how much more painful it would be to run into a tree instead of a bush if she messed up. 
As quickly as she could, Nutpaw pounced forward again, she could practically feel the heat pf the mouse she was so close. But then fear spiked through her, and her instincts not to run into a tree overpowered her instincts to hunt. Her moment of confusion was just enough for the mouse to get away.
"Ugh! I didn't catch it! Sorry Dawnsong," Nutpaw commented. She didn't know why she wanted to apologize for a common mistake, but she automatically did it.

Dawnsong watched with a smile as Nutpaw tried again, and the smile did not falter when the apprentice missed her chance to catch the prey. "It's okay, Nutpaw. You don't have to apologise! This is your first time out hunting, I wasn't expecting for you to be an expert hunter already. You can have another go, if you want." She offered, purring with comfort.