Teaching Means Learning (closed for Zako)

Smokeface poked his head in the apprentices' den, smiling as he found Fracturedpaw's black and brown body resting amongst the youngsters. "Fracturedpaw, today we'll be taking a stroll throuh the territory and learning basic hunting!" the young warrior announced and moved out of the den quietly.

His mentor's words were slurs at first, but when he began to put together the puzzle of why and older cat was grabbing his attention it hit him. He young tom perked up, a sudden eager sparkle glinted in his gaze. Fracturedpaw's actions though, were calm. He slipped out of the den and shook out his pelt as he exited. The tom looked up at Smokeface, who he already knew had just been made a warrior, he must just as excited as me, he thought.

"So, what are we going to see first?" He questioned the older tom with a small tilt of his head, anxious to finally see what he called home.

Smokeface smiled as his apprentice came out, and he tilted his head at the question. "We should see the Gorge, but don't do to close!" the tomcat ordered his apprentice as he led him away from camp. "And then we'll stop by the river and I'll teach you to catch fish. Sounds nice?" the tom smiled as he turned to look at his apprentice.

Fracturedpaw nodded, "more than nice!" He replied, eager to see what lay around him. The apprentice padded forward behind his mentor, taking in the scenery around him and breathing in the fresh air. It appeared that the area would be rather lush come green leaf and new leaf, but with the coming of leaf fall many of the leaves were turning beautiful shades of orange and red.

Smokeface purred at his apprentice's excitement as they neared the roaring sound of the Gorge. Guided by instict, he raised his tail, letting it rest as a limit line on Fracturedpaw's chest. He knew how many cats have died here, and he knew how horrible it could be. "This is the Gorge. Stay away from the edges, and don't trust even the sturdiest rock to keep you over the torents." the warrior spoke and took a few more steps, until he was three fox-lenghts away from the brisk and sharp rocks that marked the deadly fall. "Where I am standing is the nearest place you should go to he edge." Smokeface put in and strided back to Fracturedpaw. This should do good, hopefully. The tomcat was certainly not looking forward to messing up as a mentor.

Fracturedpaw strained his neck to see past his mentor, trying to get a glimpse of the rushing torrents. No luck. He relaxed his muscles, and noted when Smokeface was standing. Don't go any further than that, the apprentice thought to himself.

After letting Fracturedpaw take in the view and remember his words, Smokeface led him away with a flick of his tail towards the ThunderClan border and the river between the two territories. The water was now flowing gently and the warrior enjoyed its calming aura. "This is the river that makes the border with ThunderClan. And also, here you will learn how to fish." the tomcat presented and trotted up to the peeble-covered bank.

Fracturedpaw cautiously followed him to the river bank, remembering the torrent that stormed through their camp. He made it to the edge, quickly taking in the scents and surroundings. One scent in particular caught his attention, it didn't smell like anything he knew, and it wafted over from the other side of the river. He shook it off though, focusing back on Smokeface, who was about to teach him how to fish. Learning something new concerned him much more than an unknown scent, he kept his bright, fascinated eyes on his mentor.

Smokeface watched as Fracturedpaw settled down besides him, as he purred as he made eye contact with the nervous cat. "Well now, to fish, we wait for one of those silverly sihlouttes in the water to come near our paws, and then we plunhed our heads in the water and catch them. Pretty simple." the tomcat instructed, then swiftly plunged his head in the water and pulled a fish out of it, his head fur dripping. The warrior quickly dispatched the prey and flicked his tail to signal the apprentice to try that himself.

The tom watched with wide eyes, Just like that? He thought, nervousness seeping through his pelt again. He would never learn if he didn't try though. He crept a little closer to the edge of the river and peered into the watery depths, his bright eyes strained for any movement whatsoever, perhaps even if it wasn't a fish.

Suddenly, there it was, a silver flash had darted quickly to the side. The young apprentice wasted no time and ducked his head under the current. he felt the slippery thing with his whiskers as it tried to escape. His eyes were squeezed shut. Fracturedpaw felt his teeth rake up against its smooth scales, and he had it in a quick bite. Yet, the tome underestimated the fish's strength as he reeled his head backwards to pull it from the river. The slick beast wriggled free from his jaws right as his dark stripped head broke the surface, it flopped awkwardly on the shallow bank before finding its way back into the safety of the currents.

The apprentice watched, dumbfounded. He turned to face his mentor, what wold he say? I missed it! I let it get away, oh no what if he's going to be mad? Fracturedpaw's head spun with thoughts. "Whoops." Was all the apprentice managed to say, with a embarrassed grin covering his muzzle.

Smokeface smiled as the fish slippdped back in the water. "Don't worry, they tend to get away annoyingly easy.' the warrior purred and flicked his tail with an encouraging smile on his muzzle. He was proud of his apprentice, that was for sure. "How about we return now? I am sure you'll get to practice that with Fallowpaw, Creampaw and Porcupinepaw." the warrior suggested. He wasnsure his apprentice was eager to do more, so maybe he would let him stick with a patrol soon.

The apprentice thought for a moment, he wanted to try and catch that fish again, but if he could catch it again, he would want to do it around the others to impress them. Fracturedpaw looked up at his mentor, starting to nod, "alright, let's go back then, will we do anything later today?" He quickly added the last part, eager to know what to expect.