♪ Take my hand and we'll make it—I swear ♪【Closed】

There is a certain fear that comes along with living out a beautiful moment, only to be woken up. One questions reality, wondering how they had arrived back in their bed so suddenly - but only for an instant, because one finds themselves trapped in a sleepy haze of real consciousness. And then it is understood: that blissful moment had only been a dream. Amberpaw fell into the category of questioning reality as he had somehow just jumped from exploring the forest with a friend from his kithood to being curled up in his new nest. Where am I? How did I get here?

Briarrose's words came tumbling down into his hears. ...time for training...camp's entrance. Then, suddenly, Amberpaw remembered that today was his first day of training! He let go of the thoughts of his sweet dream and tore open a pair of glowing amber eyes. He caught a glimpse of his mentor's tail leaving the apprentice's den. Today's the day. Excitement burst like a sunrise in his chest. Today would be Amberpaw's first day outside of camp. He could already hear the forest creatures of the early morning calling to him. Hurriedly, the tom groomed down his wayward tufts of fur before leaving the den.

He found Briarrose at the camp's entrance with two pieces of pray at her paws. Is this part of a training lesson? he thought, eyeing the plump squirrel. There was a sharp pang of hunger in his stomach, but the large amber tabby ignored it and greeted Briarrose. "Good morning," he purred politely. The tom remained on his paws, ready for whatever was next.

At Briarrose's permission, Amberpaw chose the squirrel and began consuming its tasty flesh while he carefully listened to the she-cat's words. "I only want you to do your best..." a determined look overcame the flame-colored tabby at this phrase. Oh, Amberpaw would do his best alright...and his best was nothing short of perfection. Amberpaw's life was devoted to supporting Thunderclan as much as possible, and currently that meant training with the utmost diligence.

Hunting and sparring. We are really jumping right into training, Amberpaw thought with a small smile. Briarrose will have me whipped into shape in no time! She'll see, I'm going to be the best warrior in the forest. This thought was purely humble, and sourced only from Amberpaw's commitment to defending and caring for Thunderclan. "No questions," the apprentice rumbled in that smooth, deep voice of his.

Amberpaw finished the last of his squirrel and quickly licked his jaws clean before quietly following Briarrose out of camp. The trees of the forest soon enclosed the pair, and Amberpaw's soft gaze drank in the new scenes before him - birds rustling in the leaves above, flowers blooming in patches of sunlight, moss-cloaked tree trunks looming overhead. All around, the concealed parts of the woods called to Amberpaw like an enchantment cast upon him. His heart ached in the best way possible...he felt...like he belonged there, amongst the wild things. His mother and father had explained what it was like outside of camp before, but they had never described the forest like this.

As they walked, the flame-furred tom intensely listened to the warrior's instruction; he consumed all of the information about borders, the other clans, and significant areas on Thunderclan's territory. Then, they arrived at Briarrose's hunting spot. Amberpaw sat down at her command, and followed along with her speech about prey. He nodded at the Warrior Code part - upholding this code was at the very core of Amberpaw's being. He was devoted to seeing it followed. He tried to take Briarrose's instructions about catching certain animals to memory, but felt like he had forgotten everything soon after she finished speaking. Nonetheless, he nodded along. "Promise me that you will let squirrels go if they start climbing until you become more experienced." Amberpaw was a bit suprised at Briarrose's stern look and great concern, but he hid it under his collected face. 


"I promise, Briarrose," the apprentice answered, filling his words with genuineness. He had never climbed a tree before and wasn't too keen on starting - he couldn't imagine his lumbering body leaping between delicate tree branches.