'Sweetness' Catches No Prey - Closed

Laurelsong was pleased to have been given another apprentice; even more pleased though, for that apprentice to be the adopted kit of her best friend.  She could still remember the days when she and Nectarleap were kits, it was quite crazy to imagine how much they had grown since then.  Unlike her friend though, Laurelsong had never really been one to desire settling down with a mate and a cute little family; the thought of being stuck in the cramped nursery disgusted her, and she didn't need any other responsibilities getting in the way of her being a worthy warrior of WindClan.  Ducking into the apprentice's den, she called out for the she-cat; "Sweetpaw, time for training!"; before backing out and sitting down to wait.

Sweetpaw had woken up early that morning to go for a quick run. She was always so full of energy and as excited as she was she knew that her added energy would not help her clumsiness. Just as she came back through the camp entrance she saw Laurelsong ducking out of the apprentice den. 'She's probably looking for you, you oaf.'

Spurred forward by her thoughts Sweetpaw quickly padded up behind her mentor. "Hi Laurelsong!" Though she was excited she tried to keep her voice down as to not wake anyone else still sleeping.

Fully expecting for her charge to emerge from the apprentice's den at any moment, a sudden lowered voice coming from the direction of the camp entrance made her swivel her ears, jumping a bit in surprise and alarm.  The fur along her spine prickled for a moment before her eyes focused on who had spoken, and she quickly relaxed, though her neck fur was still a bit ruffled.  Getting to her paws, she padded until she was standing only a couple mouse-lengths from her apprentice, and caught the scent coming from her pelt.  Grass, soil, prey-scent...  "Were you out in the territory Sweetpaw?"  Her voice was low, but much more curious than accusatory, green eyes glinting faintly in the pale morning light.

Sweetpaw bowed her head and looked down at her paws nervously at her mentor's question. "Um.... Yeah... It's just, I'm kinda clumsy... well... really clumsy. And I was really excited about our training so I went for a run outside of camp to get rid of some of my excess enrgy because I thought maybe it would help me stay focused..." Sweetpaw's words rushed out of her maw as she tried to explain herself, assuming that she was in trouble for leaving camp alone.

As she listened to Sweetpaw's rambling explanation, the neutral grimace on her maw slowly unraveled into a genuine smile, a rarity for any cat to see besides Necterleap and her family.  Well now...finally an apprentice with some initiative!  Raising to tail to stop the flow of words coming from the she-cat's mouth, she purred; "Don't worry, you're not in trouble.  If that's what you need to do in order to concentrate on training, then go right ahead; I won't stop you."  Laurelsong liked to go on early morning runs as well; it was such an amazing feeling to run forever without anything standing in your way, and she remembered clearly how much of a struggle it was to get permission to do stuff like that when she was an apprentice.  She had a feeling she should probably care a bit more that young cats under her care were freely roaming the territory, but she didn't want to be some grumpy, old-fashioned mentor.  The way to get stronger is through progress, no matter what shape it takes!  "So, are you ready to head out?  Or, well, back out."

Sweetpaw fell silent when Laurelsong rose her tail and sighed in relief as her mentor informed her that she wasn't in trouble. In fact, it almost sounded like Laurelsong... approved? But that couldn't be. There was no way Sweetpaw was lucky enough to get a mentor who understood. 'Right?' As she asked herself this, the grey she-cat smiled a bit, hoping she was indeed right.

When her mentor asked her if she was ready Sweetpaw nodded and smiled even brighter, giggling just a bit. "Ready! Where are we gonna go for hunting training?"

Turning to lead the way out of the camp entrance, Laurelsong glanced back over her shoulder for a moment to reply; "Hmm...how about The Lone-"  She stopped herself, remembering with a rush of fury that they no longer owned that part of their rightful land.  "The..the high moor.  It looks like the sun is going to be out a bit today, that should bring some rabbits out of their burrows."  With a flick of her sleek tail tip, Laurelsong crouched down and sprung forward into a swift dash, feeling the breeze whip satisfyingly against her pelt as she lead the way up the hills towards the highest part of the moorland.  Skidding to a halt at the top of a rise, she glanced back to make sure Sweetpaw was close behind, and waited until she was by her side to meow; "Tell me what you can scent."

Sweetpaw nodded at her mentor's response, following just a step behind her. When her mentor broke into a sprint Sweetpaw was a bit surprised but quickly recovered and took off after her. For most of the journey across the territory she was just a tail-length behind her mentor but after a mishap with very rude stick that was most definitly not imaginary se ended up lagging behind.

Once she caught up, Sweetpaw looked around at the view in awe. 'I've never been this far from camp before. This spot is amazing...' With her mentor's direction, Sweetpaw focused on the task at hand and tasted the air. Being a Windclan cat it was easy to recognize the scent of Rabbit in the air but it was very faint, telling her that the creature was far away. As she scented the air again she also picked up another scent that was familiar but also not. "Well I can smell rabbits and hares... And then another scent... Almost like a mouse but not..." Sweetpaw looked at Laurelsong to see how she did, hoping she hadn't missed anything.