Batman and Robin [OPEN]

Duskfall waited on the outskirts of the camp for his apprentice, Robinpaw. As per norm, he arrived at their designated location early to greet the sunrise and watch over the camp fondly. The large brown tom yawned sleepily though, not immune to being tired despite moons of waking up early. He planned for them to patrol the Shadowclan border, Robinpaw was young, and currently the Riverclan border wasn't secure enough that he felt comfortable bring her along.

When he heard the pawsteps nearby, he assumed it as his apprentice, and meowed, pleasantly surprised.

"You're early, Robinpaw. I wouldn't have expected you here until at least Sunrise."

"I woke up a lot earlier and couldn't get back to sleep." Robinpaw admitted shyly, trotting to join her mentor from the apprentices' den. There had been many cats inside, but she she hadn't expected it. She'd gone from a cramped nursery to an equally cramped den filled with more apprentices. Still, she was pleased to be able to stretch her legs after many hours of restlessness and get to her training, which she considered very important. "What are we doing first?" She asked, her tail twitching in poorly-concealed excitement.

"Well I'm glad you're willing to put that extra time to good use. We'll be patrolling the Shadowclan border today, you'll be learning to recognise their scent." Duskfall explained amused at her barely contained excitement. He remembered back when he was an apprentice, going out for the first time. It brought back fond memories, seeing the calico she-cat unable to contain her excitement. But he hoped there wouldn't be too much excitement today, a nice simple patrol with a little hunting was all he was after today.

"Let's go." He got up to leave camp, flicking his tail behind for her to follow him through the bramble entrance. As they walked alongside each other deeper into the forest, he decided since they weren't hunting, a little quiet chat would do no harm. "How are you finding being an apprentice? Are you getting along with everyone else?"

She nodded in understanding and followed, beside him and yet also somewhat behind because she wasn't sure where they were going. Duskfall seemed like a kind and gentle cat, and she was pleased to have a great warrior as her mentor. She would make a name for herself, just like her mother. "Being an apprentice? Oh, it's a new experience. Being out of camp is cool! But I don't know anybody." She meowed, quietly. "I've not talked to the other apprentices, and my siblings, Olivekit and Echokit, are not strong enough to join me yet. It's actually... a little bit lonely." Robinpaw stared down at her paws as she walked, stepping on leaves as they passed by her and trying to find extra crisp ones that crunched loudly under her pawsteps.

"Hm, well there's certainly no shortage of apprentices in the den, right now. Maybe you should try talking to them, you might find they're not as intimidating as they might seem." He felt for Robinpaw, the change from kit to apprentice wasn't an easy one, and harder still alone. It was a pity Echokit and Olivekit couldn't have become apprentices along with their sister, but this was simply the way of life. "Perhaps you can befriend Batpaw. I don't think he has any littermates either."

"Anyway, by the time I'm done with you today, you won't have time to worry about things like this. We'll be patrol the whole Northern border, starting from Snakerocks." He lead her to the treacherous rocks where many apprentices and warriors had lost their lives, but it was necessary for her to learn the dangers of the forest. "What do you hear?"

The calico went silent at the question, straining her ears to hear every sound the forest would make. She even leaned forward a bit, as if getting any closer would help her hear more. Truthfully, it sounded a like a whole lot of nothing. A gentle morning breeze would stir the trees occasionally, but Robinpaw was certain that that wasn't what Duskfall was looking for. "Um... I hear a few bird calls, but they sound far away." She wondered what her mentor was getting at, but decided that he would tell her if she needed to know something.

"Get closer to the ground and listen again." The tom suggested, the sound he was hoping she'd hear was very faint, barely audible, but essential she learnt the noise of. It was a faint hiss, and an slithering noise that being aware of could potentially save her life in the future. He could list a whole number of cats that had to learn this firsthand and had to join Starclan far too young. Duskfall hoped that she'd learn today what exactly to look out for here, the real danger of snakes at Snake Rocks.

She tilted her head questioningly, then did as he suggested. She crouched with her ear fur barely rubbing against the ground, concentrating hard on the faint noises coming from it. And then, she heard it. She'd never heard anything like it before and it was strange to her. It sounded oddly like something dragging against the hard ground, and the accompanying hiss reminded her of the way bushes sounded when a cat ran through them. Robinpaw couldn't imagine what kind of creature would make such a peculiar noise, and she looked at Duskfall in her confusion. "I hear something," She murmured. "but I don't know what it is. Is there something here?" She looked about nervously.

Duskfall could tell the moment she heard the noise he was hoping her to hear. Her confusion was expected as this was the first time she left camp, but that was something he could clarify easily. What was more important was that she could tell the sound apart from the ambience of the forest. Which was no easy feat, especially when you had no real idea what was a normal sounds to be heard in the forest.

"That sliding, rustling sound is what I wanted you to notice." Duskfall spoke, making it clear that what she heard was no mystery. He flicked with his tail for her to follow, and he lead her to the source of the sound, keeping a fox length's away so the creature before them didn't feel the need to strike. "That is our perpetrator. The deadly killer of many cats. Do you know what that is?"

The apprentice stared at the scaled creature with wide eyes. Her skin crawled at the sight of it. It was really creepy--the thing didn't even have any legs, like it was one long tail with scales instead of skin. She could swear she had heard about these creatures before, maybe from the elders or from pieces of conversations the warriors had near the nursery. Then, it suddenly clicked what she was looking at. "Is that a snake?" She probably should have picked something up by the fact that the place they were at was called Snakerocks. Robinpaw had heard the stories of snakes killing warriors with a single bite and inwardly shuttered at the thought of one clamping around her neck.

"Yes." The tom spoke with distaste, looking over at the scaled creature sunning itself without care. It's pink tongue flicking out every now and then, only adding to how alien this creature was to them. So different from them, cold blooded killers. He made sure to stay in front of her, in case anything happened. "That is a snake. One of many in this area, unfortunately. You be careful around here, while in Leafbare hunting here is great, so is the risk. When it gets cold, most snakes go into hibernation, but some will come out as long as the sun is shining."

"There are more?" Robinpaw stuck to her mentor's flank like a burr caught in his pelt. She was afraid that another might materialize out of nowhere underneath her paws, and she kept scanning the ground around them in case another one really had showed up. More than anything she wanted to squeal like a little kit, but she was able to resist the urge and keep her mouth shut. Except for the grimace on her face, of course. Robinpaw would certainly be keeping her distance from this place in the future. She desperately wanted to move on to a safer, snake-free are to patrol, one where she didn't feel like such a foolish little kit.

OOC: Didn't see this -__-

"Yes, and no amount of culling will do the trick. They're very resilient creatures. But don't worry, they don't chase after cats, they prefer mice and other small prey. If you give them a wide berth, they'll give you one in return." Duskfall purred reassuringly, not wanting to scare her completely from this place, after all, he wasn't joking when he said this was the best hunting grounds in Leafbare. The many nooks and crannies, along with good positioning for sunlight meant many small animals came here to forage for food. But he understood her fear, there was something about the way these creatures moved that really did seem frightening.

"Enough of snakes, let's head for the Thunderpath." The tom nudged her away from the rocks, towards North. It was time for the next lesson on potential cat killers she'd have to be wary of, and to learn the scent of Shadowclan.

Just the thought of a snake chasing after her sent shivers down her spine. "Right, I'll remember to keep my distance when it comes to snakes." The calico padded north, following her mentor's nudging, but still kept her eyes on the ground around her. Gotta be safe, never know where danger might lie in wait! She thought to herself, wondering how long it would take for a serious snake bite to kill a cat. Her ears flicked as Duskfall mentioned a 'Thunderpath,' and she was curious as to what it was they were about to go explore.