The Greatest Challenge [Closed]

Moonlight shivered a bit as she walked out from the warrior’s den and towards the apprentices den. While her short fur was great during the warmer seasons she couldn’t help but wish she had a long fluffy coat like her mate’s during Leafbare. Pushing those thoughts aside she looked inside the den where the younger cats slept, not wanting to ruin her newest apprentice’s very first training day with her pelt issues. This wasn’t the first Leafbare she had to go through, she would find a way to adapt to the cold and endure it for as long as it lasted.

“Graypaw?” Her voice was barely louder than a whisper as she stepped inside the den, careful to not trip with one of the apprentices or step on anyone’s tail…which was proving to be a bit challenging thanks to her numb paws. Dear StarClan, she hoped she would adapt to this cold and fast, she didn’t want to fall sick with greencough.

Despite the freezing chill, and despite her new nest in the apprentices' den, Graypaw slept as well as usual- almost too well. Dreams ran rampant through her mind, each one more strange and fascinating than the last, passing before her eyes before she could truly absorb their meanings. She had just begun a new one, where she chased an intricate snowflake from SkyClan territory onto frosty, windswept moors, filled with a sense of urgency, when she was suddenly startled awake by someone calling her name. The apprentice jolted with surprise and started trying to scramble out of her nest. Had she overslept again? Would she miss training? "Huh? What? I'm awake!" Paws still half-asleep, she tripped over herself as she stumbled out into the cold, snowy camp, landing face-first in the clean white drift. "Oof!" Shamefaced, the gray tabby sat up, trying to shake the snow from her fur, and ended up spraying some onto her mentor. "Oh, StarClan, I'm so sorry... Are you okay? We're training today, right?" What was the she-cat's name...? She'd forgotten.

Moonlight chuckled softly when the kit scrambled out of the apprentice’s den with a worried expression in her face, not minding a single bit about the snow that fell on her silver pelt after the younger cat shook the snow that had managed to get stuck in her pelt after she somehow managed to trip and sink her face on the soft snow “Don’t worry about it, it’s just snow after all. And yes, we are training today, so I hope you’re ready” She didn’t really paid any close attention to the apprentice’s nervousness, as she knew that the first day of training caused that quite often on apprentices like Graypaw.

“Follow me” Ignoring the cold the best she could, she walked out of the camp and towards a clearing she liked to use to train her apprentices during their first couple days, walking slower than usual because of the fluffy snow…and not because it caused her troubles, but because she knew Graypaw was smaller than her and moving through it could be quite a challenge for her.

After scrambling to her feet, Graypaw ran after her mentor atop the snow, feet barely making imprints as she caught up within a short matter of seconds. Her bright blue eyes gleamed with a kind of anxious esxcitement, eager to be an apprentice but not wanting to mess it up. Might as well start with figuring out what the she-cat's name actually was... was it Mouse-something, maybe? It had started with a "M," she was sure. "Um, what kind of training are we doing? And- what's your name? I... forgot... Sorry...." It was embarrassing to admit, but she hadn't been paying much attention during her ceremony. Because she was feeling nervous, the young apprentice ran in place, paws moving lightning-fast, almost dancing on top of the powdery white snow that the warrior was leg-deep in. She didn't even notice she was doing it, it was just instinctual. Because she was moving so fast, she forgot about the brisk, chilly air, keeping herself warm just by not sitting still.

Moonlight looked at the small apprentice as she walked on top of the snow like if she weighted absolutely nothing. It was impressive to say the least, even the younger, smaller apprentices she had in the past still sunk on it thanks to their weight, which often caused her to decide to walk in front of them to make it easier for them to move. Graypaw, however, moved on top of it like if she weighted nothing, something she hadn’t seen before in any of the SkyClan apprentices, and her small paws moved so quickly at times she would’ve sworn that they didn’t even touch the snow if it wasn’t for the very faint paw prints she was leaving behind. She made sur to make a mental note of this cat’s unusual speed, maybe she could find a way to make it an advantage during training once they found out and worked on her weakest spots.

“Well, I wanted to teach you how to hunt, but that will depend if we can find some prey around…” As she spoke she raised her head and looked at the bare tree branches above them. She was clearly bigger and bulkier than most of her clanmates for her origins which she simply couldn’t remember anymore, but even with those she had adapted quite well to the life of a SkyClan warrior and knew that most of their prey couldn’t be found at ground level, but on the branches above their heads “If not possible I can teach you how to fight instead, but I want to take your own opinion in this as well, which one do you prefer? Hunting or fighting?”.

At the question her apprentice made she couldn’t help but chuckle. She had issues to memorize new cats’ names as well from time to time, so she didn’t feel offended in the slightest “Its ok, my name is Moonlight”.

Moonlight. Moonlight, Moonlight, Moonlight. Graypaw mentally filed the name away, hoping beyond hope that she wouldn't forget it. Still dashing back and forth across the snow, leaving barely a pawprint, the gray tabby listened intently to her mentor's words, trying to focus so she didn't miss a single word. It wouldn't do to come off as incompetent in her first training session! And yet, the first question- a simple matter of opinion, no less- left her completely flustered. Her indecisive nature and her nervousness coupled to make her almost completely tongue-tied. She was supposed to choose? What if this was a test?! With a deep breath of freezing air, she forced herself to calm down and answer. "Um... I don't know. Pick whichever one you think is better," she managed to say, blue eyes slightly anxious.

Moonlight couldn’t help but chuckle a bit with how nervous the apprentice seemed to be at the prospective of making a simple choice like this. This wasn’t the first time she faced a situation like this and she was sure that if she kept walking the warrior path for some time it wasn’t going to be the last one as well. Like answering her apprentice’s words, she soon noticed a small bird flying above their heads and landing on one of the bare branches of a nearby tree, probably thinking it was safe. This bird obviously had no idea that SkyClan cats were especially skilled in climbing and catching birds on trees…dear StarClan, her own assessment was fulfilled by her doing exactly that.

With a smile on her muzzle she looked at Greypaw and then pointed at the bird on the branch. While she wasn’t exacting her apprentice first tree hunt to be successful, having an actual prey as a prize should be more than enough motivation for the younger cat to try her best to climb up the tree “Let’s start with some of the basics. As a SkyClan cat, you’ll learn to climb trees to catch the prey resting on the branches no cat from any other clan can reach. Show me if you can catch that bird” She secretly got in position close to the apprentice, thanking StarClan for the fluffy snow. At least if she fell she would have both herself and the snow ready to prevent any injury from such thing.

Graypaw was concentrating so hard on concentrating that it was hard to concentrate- kind of like when you think too hard about falling asleep, and then you can't. Her naturally distracted mind kept wanting to wonder to the vivid and confusing dream she had had last night... but she forced herself to pay attention to Moonlight's words. She respected her mentor already, as she was a kind and understanding senior warrior, with most of her Clanmates' respect, and she didn't want to let her down. The tabby apprentice grew even more anxious at the she-cat's request, but squared her shoulders and nodded instead of going back to her warm nest to continue her dream, like she wanted to. Making herself walk calmly over to the tree Moonlight had indicated, instead of running, she looked up into the branches with some apprehension. I'm a SkyClan cat. I was born to climb trees. I'm going to do amazing!... Right? Graypaw exhaled and bent her legs, preparing to leap up. Here goes nothing- StarClan help me. As she jumped into the air, reaching towards the skies, leaving the ground behind, she should have felt free, like she was flying- like she was finding her true purpose. It should have felt natural. Instead, it just felt.... wrong. Far from leaping majestically into the snowy sky and landing gracefully on a tree branch, Graypaw only got some few mouse-lengths into the air before plummeting forwards and landing on her face as her thin, lean back legs didn't propel her high or strong enough. What... what happened? Embarrassed, face burning, the gray tabby got up from the snow, blue eyes filled with shame and confusion. That wasn't how it was supposed to happen!