Family Bonding Time [Closed]

There was an air of excitement around Smokestripe as he paced back and forth not far from the entrance of the ShadowClan camp, his tail swishing as he waited for his daughter. He was overjoyed that he had been named Yewpaw's mentor as it meant that he could spend time with his daughter without having to worry about his other duties as it was now his job to help her become a great warrior. Not that he had any doubt. He was certain that Yewpaw - and Pinepaw - would make ShadowClan proud...But...He was worried about what the two thought of him. He wasn't their real father, not that they didn't know what. In fact, nobody knew that...Well, other then Ravenclaw of course. They saw him as their father but he had to wonder if they thought he was a good father. He certainly had never expected to have kits this early - mostly have kits that weren't even his - but he adored them all the same. Oh...His whiskers twitched as he stopped his pacing, glancing toward the apprentice den. At least this patrol would give them time to talk and perhaps bond, allow with giving Smokestripe an idea of how his daughter truly thought about him. Oh he hoped she liked him...

Anticipation. Apprehension. Her belly was twisting itself up in knots as she padded out through camp's thorn tunnel and out to where her father—her mentor—stood waiting. All her preparations... She'd stayed up half the day before just going through the motions, trying to perfect her stances and swipes and technique, but it never felt good enough. Ooh, she had to make him proud, no matter what, she couldn't mess this up...

It was just the two of them out here, but as she approached, it felt like every pair of eyes in the forest was focused right on her. Her mouth was dry, but she stood up straight, tail rigid. "Father," she mewed, at last, but it came out more as a kit-like squeak. Maybe that was too informal...? Should she have called him Smokestripe instead? Already, she thought she felt herself unwinding. "I, uh, I've been preparing, and... Um..."

Smokestripe jolted as he heard the sound of approaching pawsteps, quickly standing as straight as he could as he turned to see his daughter stepping from thorn tunnel and into the small clearing that led further into the swampy territory they called home. His whiskers twitched with uncertainty at the fact that she called him 'father.' It was...Odd, to say the least but at least it reminded him that she did truly believe that he was her father...No, wait, on second thought he wasn't sure if that made him feel any better. He certainty didn't like lying to his Clan about it but he knew it was for the greater good. It was better that Yewpaw and Pinepaw thought that they had a father then cared then to know that their true father most likely didn't even know they existed. Not that Smokestripe could say for sure - he wasn't even sure who their father was...He paused. Oh, he was getting distracted.

He raised an eyebrow as Yewpaw started to stumble over her words causing him to let out a small warm chuckle as he motioned for her to follow him with a slight swish of his head as he turned and started to led her into the territory. "That's good to hear! I'm excited to see what you can do," he purred over his shoulder as he turned to make sure she was following. Truth be told, he had been so excited but yet worried about spending time with his daughter that he had failed to decide what they were going to do. Seeing what she could do would be a good start then maybe they could do some hunting. That sounded like a good idea, right? ...Or would it be better for him to take her around the territory? It would give them plenty of time to chat...His tail twitched as a flicker of uncertainty flashed though his body. He didn't have this much doubt when he was with his other apprentices but he truly wanted to be somebody that Yewpaw could look up to. He could only hope he wouldn't disappoint her.

He had such a warm voice, and he talked to her like he'd always talked to her, but just hearing him speak almost made her jolt out of her fur. "Yes, father!" Oh, there she went again...! "I won't let you down, fa—father...!" Ugh... There wasn't any use correcting herself. Her pelt burned hot as she padded after him. No matter what he said, or how he said it, it couldn't smooth down her fur or ease her nerves. What would they be doing? Knowing would help her better prepare... It felt like there were ants in pelt. There was no way she could settle down. "What are we doing today?" Yewpaw kept her face still, as best she could, and her voice flat, but that wasn't quite good enough.

Smokestripe spared a worried glance over his shoulder at his daughter as she stumbled over her words again. Was she was nervous as he was about this? The tom allowed himself to slow down his pace to close down the space between them, his eyes shining with faint amusement but also relief as he truly realized that at least he wasn't the only one worried about how this was going to go. "No need to be so formal Yewpaw," he chucked lightly, keeping his voice soft and warm as he beamed down at his daughter. "You can just call me Smokestripe. As for what we are doing..." He drifted off as he allowed his whiskers to twitch as he thought about it. What to do, what to do... "We'll be checking the borders," he purred with a faint nod of his head, pleased at that idea. It would give them needed time to get use to each other under the apprentice and mentor dynamic and also just let them talk. Yes, checking the borders was indeed the best thing for their first session out in the territory together.

Smokestripe. Yes, Smokestripe. Was that less... formal? She wouldn't mess up again. Yewpaw nodded vigorously, keeping right on her mentor's heels as he led her through the marsh, tail upright. When he finally gave her his answer, her eyes shot open wide, old kit tales flooding back through her head of towering Thundercats, ferocious cat-eating rogues, monsters rumbling down the Thunderpath... "Of course," she piped back, strutting with renewed rigor. "I can take on any trespassers!" ShadowClan wouldn't back down from prey-stealers, like WindClan, ThunderClan, or SkyClan...

While Smokestripe found how eager Yewpaw was to defend her Clan very heartwarming...The smile that forced its way onto his face was...Well, forced. He didn't like the idea of fighting other cats - not when they already had to deal with badgers, foxes, rats and other nasty animals. "I'm sure that they won't stand a chance against you," he purred gently before allowing his faint smile to fade into a worried frown. "But don't get ahead of yourself - fighting isn't always a necessary option and can cause more trouble then its worth." Just ask WindClan... "Its always smart to talk with the other Clan before using your claws, to prevent misunderstands and trouble should it happen." As he finished, the slightest hints of the Thunderpath reached the roof of his mouth and caused him to scrunch up his nose. He couldn't stand the scent of it all, it was fowl but being surrounded by it did mean that the Clans were less likely to cross the border - after all, Monsters were surprisingly fast and to be attacked by one was more or less a death sentence.

She couldn't help but lose a little bit of that pep in her step as Smokestripe gently corrected her, letting her tail droop. They were ShadowClan warriors, if some no good rogue was sneaking across their border, what else was there to say? Yewpaw couldn't pretend that the idea of a real fight made her heart leap, but they had to send a message with claws and fangs, right? But she just glanced up at her mentor and father and nodded obediently, swallowing her protestations. He was the best warrior in the whole forest, so she wouldn't doubt him.

The first traces of the Thunderpath made her shudder. It was a sickly, sour stench that seemed to burn itself into the air... "Yuck..." Yewpaw shot a nervous glance up toward Smokestripe. "Um, monsters... Do they ever leave the Thunderpath?"

Smokestripe kept a careful eye trained on his daughter, frowning softly. He knew that she her heart was in the right place but he was terrified of ShadowClan being caught in a big misunderstanding...Or perhaps he didn't want to think of his baby girl in a fight with anybody. He wanted to keep her safe - to shield her but he knew the life of a warrior would make that hard...There was a soft sigh as he turned his attention back onto the small path they were taking through the marsh, his lips curling slightly as the dreadful scent of the Thunderpath grew stronger and stronger. His ears perked at her question but didn't spare a glance over his shoulder to look at her as he answered. "Leave the Thunderpath? No, they don't tend to leave it for whatever strange reason," he said as the sound of a Monster's faint roars reached his ears, sending a shiver down his spine. "But even if they tend to stay on the path, its wise to stay out of their sight. Just because they stick to it almost every time doesn't mean that one won't get the idea to break off from it to try to attack us."

She shuddered out a sigh of faint relief, but her mentor's warnings did little to alleviate her fears. Yewpaw had only ever seen monsters from a distance, huge hulking things with glossy pelts, those wide unblinking eyes that you could see glowing even far in the distance... And their roars. She could hear them even now, growing louder as their stench grew stronger. "I hear they swallow Twolegs. Like fresh-kill." The small apprentice gulped. "Is that true?"

There was a faint pause at Yewpaw's question, musing over the details before he blinked in faint confusion. "I...I'm not sure," he said after a few moments, continuing with his walking as he spared a glance over his shoulder at his daughter. "I've heard those tales as well but...I think Larksong said that the Monsters almost have a strange bond with Twolegs. They allow Twolegs to climb into their stomach before carrying them from place to place before letting them out without harm," he explained with a faint shake of his head, trying to recall how Larksong had put it when he had asked her about more or less the same thing. The fact that Larksong had spent a good few moons of her life as a kittypet was a fact that the tom often forgot about. They had become warriors together all the moons ago and she was a brave she-cat. Why, it was hard to even picture Larksong living the soft like as a kittypet for even the smallest amount of time. "But those Monsters were like kittypets - no doubt tamed and cared for by Twolegs. I'm sure wild Monsters wouldn't hesitate to make a meal from a Twoleg."

They bonded? Like a kittypet and their housefolk? The suggestion was almost laughable, if the idea hadn't made her want to shiver in her fur. Yewpaw nodded faintly in understanding. There was so much Smokestripe knew... Larksong too.

Smokestripe didn't really mind that Yewpaw didn't have a respond for him, he hadn't been expecting one with what he had said. He himself was a bit uncertain about what Larksong had told him but she had been a kittypet for a few moons - no doubt she knew she was talking about but...It was just a confusing matter. He finally came to a stop as the blacken path of the Thunderpath came into view, safe from monsters at the moment as he glanced at his daughter. "This is the Thunderpath," he explained with a flicker of his tail as he started to lead her down the length of it while being sure to keep himself between her and it while also keeping a safe distance away as he headed toward where Highpines laid. "Our territory is almost completely surrounded by this strange hard path, serving as our border between ThunderClan and WindClan. Its a dangerous border but it serves it purpose to keep ThunderClan more often then not on their own side. The only Clan that we share a border with that isn't this Thunderpath is SkyClan, instead we use a large tree to mark that border."