Reverse Apprenticeship, or Mountain Asks a Teenager to Teach Her How to Hunt

Mountainheart idly swayed from side to side on the spot, unsure of what to do. She had to do something, right? She didn't think SkyClan would let her stay here for free. She never did much hunting in RiverClan, but with no sister to play with and so many injured cats she probably had to go hunt. For her own sake and for SkyClan's. She nodded to herself, mind made up, and bounded out of camp. Which way was the river again? Ah, right! Past the reeds, straight on and...

About 10 paces in, she looked around only to find that there were no reeds. There was also no sign of the river. It took her another 2 paces to realise why and finally slow to a halt. Were SkyClan and RiverClan really this different? She'd never hunted outside RiverClan, and assumed that all 'outside' looked the same. Why was there more than one way to the river? That was dumb. Did SkyClan have a river at all? She sure hoped so, or else she'd have to learn to hunt birds. She liked eating them, but hunting them didn't sound like something she would be good at.

Oh right! She was lost. She'd forgotten. 12 paces was a pretty big distance considering she'd galloped them, not to mention she'd never been here before. Uh. She turned around slowly, as if she'd ruin her orientation if she moved too quick, and carefully padded in the direction she thought she came from. Thankfully, there was a convenient path of trampled plant life leading the way, and she soon found herself back in camp. Mission accomplished! What would she do now? Nap maybe. She hadn't had a nap in a while...

Wait, no! She had to go hunting! Naps after. She was here to find someone to hunt with? Yeah, that sounded right. Friendly grin on her muzzle and bobbed tail wagging like a dog's, she approached the nearest cat. His pelt was very pretty. SkyClan was just full of pretty cats, she thought. "Hello! My name is Mountainheart. What's your name? Do you want to go hunting with me? I can't really hunt, I can only fish. But I don't think you guys fish, do you? There's no fish in your fresh-kill pile. Can you catch birds?" She blinked at him, grin wide.

Pawing at the squirrel he'd been trying to eat, Newtpaw sighed and lowered his head. He'd hardly been out of camp since the war, not that he really cared; for once he didn't feel like being dragged all around the territory. All he wanted was to stay curled up in his nest, but even that made his heart sting: Maplepaw should have been there with him and Bearpaw. He wished Spottedfrog was there, too, but with her being a warrior... Another sigh, and he closed his eyes.

He'd been so lost in his thoughts he didn't notice the approach of another cat until he heard a voice, to which he grumbled and didn't look up. It wasn't his place to be snappy with warriors, but he didn't particularly care. But whoever had come to get him was rambling on a lot, and about halfway through he realized he didn't recognize the voice.

Cracking open an eye, he lazily lifted his head and almost immediately balked at the sight of her. And I thought I was getting big... Looking her over, he wrinkled his nose and snorted, "No, we don't fish." Where did this cat come from? She'd been at the war, hadn't she? Fighting on RiverClan's side? Maybe he'd been spending too much time hiding since then, if she'd come home with SkyClan. Heaving himself up and to his paws with a great groan of effort, Newtpaw narrowed his eyes at her before going on. "'m Newtpaw, and guess I can teach ya. I'm not doin' anythin' better." Already, he was regretting his choice to agree, but something in the back of his mind told him it would be a good idea. A nice chance to stretch his muscles. He surveyed the camp, wondering exactly how many cats were patrolling and how many left behind. What if the same thing happened again? No, it wouldn't. Giving Mountainheart another quick look-over, he jerked his head towards the camp entrance. "Lead the way or somethin'. You're the warrior."

Mountainheart grinned on, ignoring Newtpaw's tone as he confirmed her fear. No fishing? Like, ever? How did they cool off? Surely they could at least swim, right? She opened her mouth to ask, but just then Newtpaw got up and agreed to teach her. Teach her... Oh, right! Catching birds! She somehow managed to grin even wider and hopped a little on the spot.

"Let's go! I wonder how many birds I'll catch! Do you have a favourite kind of bird? I don't. They all taste the same to me. Ohh, but hawks are cool! I got to fly with one once." She blinked at Newtpaw, waiting for him to leave camp.

"Oh! Lead... The way? Right! Um, this way!" Sje bounced out of camp the same way she'd left earlier, though this time didn't run. She stopped under the guise of waiting for Newtpaw to catch up, though in reality she was trying to remember how SkyClan was laid out. She'd flown over it before, so she had to remember it, right?

"Newtpaw? I actually... Kinda... Don't know the way?" She gave him a sheepish smile.