A Stroll through the Mud (OPEN PATROL)

Shadepaw paced restlessly beside the gap in the prickly brambles that marked the entrance to Shadowclan's camp- awaiting for others to join his hunting patrol. Flicking his tail restlessly, Shadepaw sampled the cold wind with disappointment; there was next to no prey scent in the air. "The oncoming cold must of sent everything from here to the Highstones to their dens." Shadepaw thought, whiskers drooping with disappointment as he waited for others.

Smokepaw was sitting outside of the apprentice den, relaxing in the shadows until his ears caught the sound of paws pacing back and forth. He flickered a eye open only to see one of his denmates pacing back and forth by the entrance of the camp. He frowned slightly. Was he going on a patrol? Getting out of the camp sounded like a lovely idea as he pushed himself to his paws and strolled his way over to Shadepaw with a flicker of his tail. "Hey Shadepaw," he greeted the much older apprentice. "Are you waiting to go on a patrol?"

Shadepaw stopped his pacing as the smaller tom padded up, and Shadepaw twitched his nicked ear in greeting. Settling down into a more comfortable crouch, Shadepaw's eyes remained trained on his denmate. "Yes," Shadepaw sighed in response to Smokepaw's question, "And with the time I've wasted waiting for others cats, I've could of traveled to the highstones and back!" he joked, tail twitching with impatience to get moving and away from the stuffy confinements of camp. ""If you come along, wee need at least one warrior to join our patrol before we can leave." Shadepaw mewed wistfully, his impatience building- he was ready to be a warrior now!

Seeing two apprentice's near the camp entrance, Mudfoot decided it'd be a good opportunity to go on a patrol instead of wondering what to do. "Need a warrior for this patrol?" the russet colored tom meowed with a smile, padding over to the two. Being crammed in the camp was starting to get under his pelt and stretching his legs sounded like a good idea.

Smokepaw smiled softly at Shadepaw as the apprentice joked about traveling to the Highstones and back. "But what is a trip like that be without some company?" he said with glimmering eyes but his smile half faded when Shadepaw noted that they needed a warrior. They did, didn't they? Smokepaw turned to scan the camp only to find Mudfoot strolling right up to them. His smile returned even bigger as he waved his tail happily. "Yes! It would be great if you joined us Mudfoot!"

A snort of agreement escaped Shadepaw's throat at Smokepaw's point- it would be a strenuous and lonesome journey to do by himself. Shadepaw's tail curled and his whiskers lifted in delight at Mudfoot's offer- the tabby tom eagerly leaped to his feet, quickly stretching each leg out in turn before trotting towards the camp's entrance. "C'mon- we're wasting daylight!" Shadepaw called as he dashed out of the camp entrance, his paws drumming against the muddy floor in a desperate attempt to burn all of the pulsing energy out of his body. After racing a few fox-tail lengths up ahead, and sufficiently putting enough distance between himself and the rest of the patrol, Shadepaw turned and patiently waited for Smokepaw and Mudfoot to catch up.

Chuckling at the apprentice's eagerness, Mudfoot followed after Shadepaw, a smile on his face. He always enjoyed patrolling with apprentices and always found their peppiness fun to be around. Finally reaching Shadepaw, he looked down to the two apprentices and tilted his head. "So, where should we head first?" he asked with a smile. It was always a good idea to give younger cats the chance to take charge of patrol, so he was doing just that.

Smokepaw bounded after his denmate and the warrior, his eyes glimmering at the chance to properly see the territory and hunt for his Clan. He came to a stop when Shadepaw and Mudfoot did, flickering an ear as he thought about where they should hunt. He knew a few places off the top of his head but he couldn't speak for himself on how well prey could be found there. So, he focused on Shadepaw. Maybe he would have an idea.

Shadepaw's eyes widened slightly in surprise as Mudfoot asked for opinions over where they should start- normally a warrior with such seniority over an apprentice would never ask such a question, but merely dictate where they would hunt without question. Whiskers quivering eagerly, Shadepaw paused for a few heartbeats to really think over his answer as he didn't want to blunder in front of Mudfoot and Smokepaw. "The Deep Marshes will only have rotting prey- as usual. We could try the Thunderpath, but all the monsters will likely have scared it all off, plus hunting near the border won't hunt well." Shadepaw mused, his tail swinging to and fro as he decided. "We could try the searching the outskirts of the Carrionplace- with the weather turning cold all the prey will likely be looking for something easy to fill their bellies." Shadepaw suggested eventually after he realized Smokepaw was looking at him as well, without the intent of speaking. Shadepaw felt his ears wanting to flatten under the expectant gazes of both toms, but he forced his ears to remained perked as he looked at the other two members of his patrol with slight unease.

Nodding his head in approval, Mudfoot followed the apprentice, glad to see that he knew a lot about the territory. Having strength in a clan was always great, but without brains, they were nothing. "Smokepaw, how has your training been going?" the tom meowed questionably, remembering that this was probably one of the younger cat's firsts patrols or adventures to the Carrionplace.

Smokepaw's ears perked as he grinned widely at his fellow apprentice, nodding his approveral as well at his choice. He was amazed at how much Shadepaw knew about where to find the best prey using logic of the weather and knowledge of the land and prey to make his choice. Smokepaw could only hope that he would be able to do that one day as he bounded after Mudfoot. His gaze had started to sweep the forest when the warrior spoke up, causing Smokepaw to jolt for a second as turned his head to look up at the much older warrior.

"Oh! Uh, its going good," he said with a smile although there was some linger doubt. Littlebrook had taught him how to fight but...Well, simply put he found himself unsure of fighting. He had loved play fighting as a kit but now, the idea of hurting another cat even if they were from a different Clan? It made him feel uneasy as he didn't like that feeling at all. But...Now wasn't the time to express his worries and doubts so he pushed them away. "Littlebrook has been teaching me how to hunt and I am getting pretty good! I can't wait to show off my skills!"

Shadepaw's tail curled in delight over the approving murmurs and shared glances from Mudfoot and Smokepaw, and he continued to trot towards the Carrionplace with high spirits- pleased that he had made a respectable choice. A cold northern breeze sliced through the sparse forest, which made him fluff out his thick fur. He was so intent on the other two tom's conversation that he was barely paying attention to where he was setting his paws and one wrong placed paw sent his right front paw plunging into a small puddle of cold, icy mud. Snorting in annoyance, Shadepaw stopped briefly to shake his foot free of the goop, before redirecting his attention to Smokepaw and Mudfoot.

"I'm excited to see what Littlebrook has taught you so far- your grey pelt will blend in good with how dark out it is today. And who knows, maybe once you get a little bit more meat on your bones," Shadepaw turned and prodded his denmate between the ribs affectionately, "Littlebrook might actually teach you some battle moves." Shadepaw mrrowed in amusement, whiskers twitching as he looked down at the slightly younger apprentice, before he turned around and continued to trot forwards. The foul scent of the Carrionplace was much heavier on the sharp winds now that they were drawing closer, and the stench of rot and decay almost made Shadepaw gag. "Hopefully the rats aren't that bad yet, we can't afford any trouble with them now that we lost so many warriors." Shadepaw observed warily, pelt spiking slightly at the thoughts of the greasy little menaces with their hateful eyes.

Darkpaw bounded after the patrol after shaking asleep from her eyes. The coldness was getting under her fur and she constantly wanted to sleep. "Wait for me!" She shouted, hoping it might not scare all the prey away.

OOC: Hamster, dude, we've already started. This time it's okay, but next time ask before you barge into a patrol that's already gotten started.

IC: Glad to hear that Smokepaw was getting a good amount of training from Littlebrook, the tom let out a purr of delight. "I'm glad to hear that!" the tom exclaimed. ShadowClan was growing stronger by the minute and having so many new and eager apprentices was definitely an advantage. "You two will both be great warriors before long," Mudfoot chuckled in his usually cheery sort of way. The three cats soon reached the Carrionplace and like always, it smelt as bad as ever.

Crinkling his nose from the disgusting scent, the patrol stood outside the fence that separated them from the rats and Twoleg junk. Why had they chosen to come here?

Snapping his head around Mudfoot looked to Darkpaw who'd managed to catch up to the three toms and had yelled so loudly it'd probably scared everything away. "Darkpaw, you shouldn't be here," the warrior meowed sternly, facing the apprentice. "By now you should know to not leave the camp alone, and trying to catch up to us is no excuse, for you could've found a different patrol to join," he added, disappointed in his daughter.

Smokepaw blinked, shifting nervously as Shadepaw spoke, his gaze scanning the surrounds. While happy that the older apprentice wanted to see what he could do, it was also nerve-wracking. What if he messed up or didn't catch anything? He didn't want to reflect poorly on Littlebrook and- He jumped in surprise when Shadepaw poked him in the side, quickly turning to face the apprentice. "When Littlebrook does shows me some moves, you better watch out," he hissed playfully as he batted Shadepaw's paw away. His gaze shifted to Mudfoot when the warrior spoke up, his tail straightening as he beamed brightly at the compliment. Smokepaw didn't want to let anybody down and could only hope that he could be as great as a warrior one day as Mudfoot thought he could be. Then another voice split the air, causing Smokepaw to glance over his shoulder in surprise as Darkpaw bounded up to them. His fur fluffed out as Mudfoot scolded the apprentice, glancing worriedly between the two before he cleared his voice. "We should start hunting!" he said with a small smile. "We are wasting time just standing around. I mean, at least having another paw will be useful while hunting."