A Glint of Worry

As Emberflight, one of the older warriors, returned from a border patrol with a few of the younger warriors and apprentices he noticed Duskpaw laying down across camp glaring into the distance. ~She's back in that corner... Come to think of it Blackfur said she's been volenteering for night patrols and watches... She can't have slept at all in the last few days... Maybe I should talk to Thrushstar...~ After a few more moments of watching the apprentice Emberflight goes to seek out Thrushstar. As Duskpaw lies down across the camp she notices Emberflight look over at her. Deciding to ignore it Duskpaw went back to staring blankly across camp, having already went hunting twice that day and not feeling like she needed to do anything else at the moment.

OOC: Yeah, NPCs are okay as long as they're kind of in the background of the topic. Like... they're there but not really being used. Typically this is only for kits who have to use NPC parents. So as long as Emberflight and Blackfur(?) kinda disappear after a post or two, it should be fine~

Thrushstar was simply lying in his den, not really knowing what to do at the moment. He thought he could go on a patrol, but everything was covered. He even thought about visiting Mistflower in the nursery, but he didn't want to bother her if she was busy. Not that it really mattered. His mind was mainly focused on the whole Thunderclan/Windclan incident in Skyclan territory. He was thankful that it hadn't come to more bloodshed, but there was no mistaking that the clans weren't right in the head. Tearing everything down and killing cats for no reason and calling it "justice" was never right. When he ran into Skyclan camp, all he saw was the same images he saw after recovering from the huge attack against Shadowclan. The only difference was the fact that Riverclan was fighting with Skyclan. Everything else was the same. It was sickening.

When Emberflight entered, Thrushstar wasn't exactly taken by surprise. "Yes, what is it?" he asked, curious about what the warrior wanted.

OOC: okay! It was kind of just an easy way to start the topic. XD And Blackfur is just the name I used. Yes he is an NPC who I won't use again =P

IC: Sighing the warrior took a few steps further into his Leader's den an sits I'm front of him. "I'm worried about Duskpaw. She doesn't speak with the other apprentices and she definatly hasn't spoken to any of the warriors. She hasn't been sleeping either. She's been going on night patrols almost everyday as well." pausing Emberflight sighed again as he continued. "I know she's your apprentice and I'm not trying to tell you how to mentor her. I just think that if she doesn't make some new connections, with Badgerfang gone... I feel that she might just slip away one day wether it be physically or mentally I don't know but... I do believe it's goning to happen soon." Looking up to Thrushstar he awaited a response, hoping his leader would understandhe was just worried.

"I see. I will talk to her and see if there is anything that I can do to help. I might just have to take her on some extra patrols. Thank you for your concern," he replied before standing up and taking a quick stretch inside the small den. After shaking the moss out of his fur, he padded into the clearing towards Duskpaw. "Greetings," he said to her, casually but carefully watching her to see how her mood was exactly. Body language was a great way to see truthful feelings that a cat had. "How have you been?"

Hearing someone approaching Duskpaw looked up startled but calmed as she saw it was Thrushstar. Reluctantly pushing herself up into a sitting position the apprentice gave her mentor a nod of respect and a forced smile. "Greetings. I've been fine. How have you been?" As she speaks she tries to sit still but her tail lashes back and forth despite her efforts, giving off a aura of anxiousness.

The leader nodded. "I've been fine as well." he paused a moment as he tried to think of what they could do. A simple hunting patrol sounded good, especially since the air grew colder with each passing day and they needed the fresh kill before leaf bare hit. "Are you ready for some more training? We're going to continue practicing your hunting. We need to gather more food. I believe the fresh kill pile is starting to get low."

Duskpaw perked up a little at the opportunity to spend more time with Thrushstar, her ears quivering slightly with excitement to train more. Her smile becoming slightly genuine she nodded. "Of course I'm ready. I can't wait. When are we leaving?"

The leader shrugged, almost giving an actual carefree look. "Right now since you are so ready," he replied before turning towards the entrance of the camp. "Just make sure you keep up!" he told her, padding out of the entrance and into the territory. When they finally got to a spot far enough away from the camp, he looked at the apprentice. "Now what do you smell?" he asked her, wondering what exactly she could pick up. The more she hunted, the easier this would get. Doing the same, the tom lifted his nose into the air and tried to find the scents of different animals, surprisingly finding one rather quickly. It was just a measly frog, but it was better than nothing.

Duskpaw followed after Thrushstar as quietly as she could, pausing to scent the air every once and a while. As she came to a stop beside her mentor she scented the air and padded a few tail-lengths away, scenting the air again Duskpaw looked back at Thrushstar, motioning a paw in the direction she had been moving. "There's a frog that way. We're downwind of it... Can frogs smell us?" As she asks this her ears perk slightly.

The Shadowclan leader shook his head. "They can't smell us, but it is good that you picked up the scent. Frogs rely more on movement that they see and feel around them but rely mostly on eyesight. As long as you can stay behind the frog with mostly silence, you should be able to capture it. The hardest part, though, is keeping it in between your paws. Frogs are very slippery creatures, and they are slipperier when they are actually alive so as soon as you have your paws on it, you need to go ahead and kill it. Wait too long and it will slide out of your grip and into safety." he told her. "Now why don't you go find that frog and try out your hunting?"

Duskpaw nodded at her mentor's instruction and started stalking forward, scenting the air again to check if she was going the right way. Remembering what Thrushstar said Duskpaw placed her paws carefully, keeping herself as silent as possible, something she had much experience with from moving around camp.

After moving at least a tree-length in the right direction Duskpaw spotted the frog in front of her and froze, crouching slowly. Seeing the frog was turned to the side she waited a moment until it hopped a bit in the other direction and she leapt. Landing directly on the frog with her forepaw's Duskpaw smiled triumphantly, waiting a moment too soon and the frog leapt from her paws. Instantly Duskpaw leapt and caught the frog midair, immediately pulling it closer to her and biting it hard on the back of the neck, dropping it when it stopped moving, dead.

At first, Thrushstar didn't really think that Duskpaw would keep the frog. Her form was near spotless, but he didn't think she was truly prepared to handle just how easily the frog could get away with how slippery it was. But, he was rather impressed with the way that she had recovered from her small mistake when the frog first leaped out of her grasp. As soon as she captured it and killed it, he nodded at her with approval. "Good job, Duskpaw! Great recovery. Frogs definitely are slippery, aren't they?"

Duskpaw practically glowed with pride as Thrushstar complimented her. Though she was sure that he didn't know it, or at least pretty sure, Duskpaw valued her mentor's praise more than anything else and she looked up to him as not only her mentor but also a father figure. Letting out a small laugh Duskpaw nodded at Thrushstar. "Yeah they are! I almost lost it there..."

"But you kept at it. Good work," he praised before returning once more to trying to find something else to catch. Surprisingly, it didn't take long for the scent of another small animal to cross their path. This time, it was a very different smell, though. It seemed like a squirrel had crossed over from Thunderclan territory. Why they ever chose to come to the wet marsh was a little confusing, but they were tasty. "Alright, what do you smell now, Duskpaw?" he asked, wondering if she even recognized the smell of a squirrel.

Scenting the air it only took her a moment before Duskpaw was facing the correct direction with a frown on her face. Scenting the air again she frowned and looked at her mentor puzzled. "A tree mouse?" she asked, doubting that was truely what it was but it smelled like a mixture of mouse and tree so it had to be somewhat right. Scenting the air again a soft breeze brought the smell of the prey straight to them and Duskpaw hissed and tensed. "I smell Thunderclan!" Not realizing that the squirrel was source of the other clan's scent Duskpaw spit out the words and looked towards her mentor.