bright & early [c]

Graybird had been completely serious about waking her apprentice up as early as possible to start training. The sun was barely halfway above the horizon as she silently made her way around the sleeping forms of her fellow warriors and left the den in order to go wake up Stonepaw. There was just enough sunlight to make it possible to see, and that was exactly what the she-cat wanted. When she reached the apprentice den, she made sure to stay as quiet as possible to prevent disturbing any of the other cats inside, and she gave her apprentice a gentle shake with her forepaw in order to signal that it was time to begin.

“It’s time, Stonepaw. Let’s go.” Graybird whispered before backing out of the den and heading over to the camp exit.
She figured that beginning with battle training would be ideal considering the current situation that the Clans were under. If the tension that lingered in the air decided to turn into the heat of a fight, the last thing the she-cat wanted was for her apprentice to be completely helpless. Not to mention the fact that the common threat of predators still lurked around the territory. She hoped that Stonepaw had gotten enough sleep so that she wouldn’t be too groggy to properly process any of the moves she was about to learn.

Stonepaw slowly raised her head to see who had nudged her, when she saw that it was her mentor she quickly arose to her paws. She gave her pelt a quick groom and swiftly followed after Graybird. Stonepaw still felt drowsy, as a kit she would often sleep in there wasn't much to do after all.

Stonepaw was curious to know what type of training they would be doing, other than greeting each other Stonepaw did not know much about Graybird, however for a quick judgement she did seem like a rather gracious cat. She was thankful to have her as a mentor and was sure that she would learn many amazing things.

Graybird nodded with satisfaction once Stonepaw padded swiftly out of the apprentice den to meet her.
"Good morning. Follow me, we have a lot to learn today." The warrior spoke lowly in an attempt to not arouse any of the cats sleeping in dens near them before she whirled around and headed out of camp with her apprentice not far behind.
"I hope you start getting used to waking up this early because that's going to become a normal thing from now on. We're starting with some basic battle training today and then we'll do some hunting tomorrow."
She made sure to lead Stonepaw to a clearing that was big enough for both of them to properly move around without any trees getting in the way.

"We'll be keeping our claws sheathed during training because hurting each other is unnecessary. Just remember to use your claws when it's time to fight an actual enemy." Graybird slowly turned back to face Stonepaw as she addressed her. Getting to know her new apprentice was important to the she-cat, and she still had no idea whether or not Stonepaw would be eager to fight or afraid to try. The best decision would probably be to ease her into it slowly.

“Before we get into the practice fights, you need to practice your aim. If you leap at a cat to pin them down and you miss then they’ll have the upper hand. When you were a kit, you probably tried pouncing on things like leaves and rocks. I want you to try springing at me. See if you can bring me to the ground. I won’t move, don’t worry.”