A shady, muddy forest [closed]

Sitting near the entrance of the camp, Mudfoot watched the sun set and waited for the camp to start waking up. Per usual, he rose before the sun set and found it peaceful to sit in the silence of the sleeping camp. He didn't know if anyone would want to join him on a patrol, but he might as well stick around to find out instead of going out on his own. Besides, he was in no hurry to leave.

Shadepaw sleepily slipped from the warm cocoon that was the apprentice's den and out into the snow-riddled clearing, his jaws parted widely as he yawned. Observing the frost covered camp with sleep fuzzy eyes, he spotted Mudfoot lingering beside the entrance to the camp. Ignoring the chill that clawed at his bones, Shadepaw quickly trotted over to the warrior, tail curled. "Are you going out of patrol? Cause I need a run to warm me up before my paws freeze and fall off." He questioned the older tom as he approached, fluffing out his fur in response to his own words. Tasting the air, Shadepaw could only detect the sharp scent of frost that nearly overpowered the scent of the camp.

Looking to Shadepaw, Mudfoot was glad that the apprentice had shown up. Although the younger tom wasn't his kit, he was always glad to spend time with the apprentice. "I was just about to leave," the thicker furred tom replied with a smile, getting up and giving his hind legs a stretch. Sitting in the cold for so long always made his legs stiff for some reason even though he wasn't that old. "Let's head out then." Now that Shadepaw was here, he didn't really want anyone else to join them and decided that they better leave before the camp started to wake up.

Turning and padding out of the camp, Mudfoot looked to Shadepaw. "So, how has your training been going?" he asked, curious as to how Wildfang was doing with training the apprentice.

Shadepaw nodded in agreement as he set off beside Mudfoot, enjoying the brisk chill that Leaf-Bare had brought down upon the forest, finding amusement in the way his paws crunched in the heavy snow. Looking over at Mudfoot, he listened attentively as the older tom began to speak to him- training with Wildfang had definitely instilled the belief that interrupting a senior warrior would likely result in picking through elder's bedding for moons. "It's been going very well- Wildfang's taught me more than I ever expected." Shadepaw mewed honestly, eyes warming into a molten honey as he affectionately mentioned his mentor.

Looking over at over at the ruddy tom, he was overcome with a warm feeling of gratitude towards the older tom- ever since the moment he came onto this Earth, he had been raised by his mother, and his mother alone. So to see that Mudfoot was interested by his training progress gave him insight into what having a father figure could be like. "At this rate, my final assessment should be here any day. Although if I do pass, I don't know if I'll be ready to sit my entire village out in the snow." Shadepaw purred, swerving to avoid a small, snowy puddle in his path.

Glad to see that everything was going alright with Shadepaw's training so far, Mudfoot gave a simple nod, keeping a steady ace next to the apprentice. "That's good to hear, you'll be a warrior in no time!" The tom exclaimed happily, thankful to StarClan that the clan was growing. Heading to Highpine, he looked behind him, enjoying the sight of his paw prints left in the snow. It was such a weird concept and although Leafbare was usually annoying, it was enjoyable all the same.

Finally reaching the tree, Mudfoot looked around and slightly opened his mouth, scenting the air for anything out of the ordinary. "What do you smell?" he questioned the apprentice, wondering how well his scent was developing.

OOC: Apologies for taking longer than usual to reply, been studying for finals and the tiredness is too much C':