practice makes perfect [closed]

The early morning sky was brisk and surprisingly clear, with hardly a breeze stirring the land or single cloud marring the rosy colored dawn. Vast swathes of frozen snow still weighed down upon the Leafbare brittle heather, but the limited warmth of the day promised a slight chance of finally melting away the final traces of snow and ice that still clung to the weathered moorland. Slipping away from the frosty and barren gorse where Dewtuft was currently residing due to his injuries, Brindlewhisker kept her chin tucked close to her chest as she padded towards the camp's entrance, struggling to adjust to the early morning chill as she walked. Halting in a small pool of weak light, the Deputy shuffled her paws in an attempt to keep them warm as she waited for Rookpaw to appear.

Rookpaw yawned and stretched obnoxiously in her den, spreading her paws in the faces of the other apprentices. She got a few upset grumbles in return, but paid them no mind. Today was another day as an apprentice, another day to prove herself. The blades of grass and heather marking the entrance to the den trembled as she passed through them. Her eyes blinked blearily with sleep until they fell upon her mentor. At that juncture, they lit up like a forest fire. They probably could have melted over. Excited, she bounded over.

"Brindlewhisker! Brindlewhisker! Brindlewhisker!" she mewed like an overenthusiastic kit.

"Well good morning to you too, Rookpaw." Brindlewhisker rumbled in amusement, eyeing the eager she-cat before her with attentive eyes. Lifting a forepaw to shake away the troublesome clusters of icy snow that clung to the wispy fur between her toes, the Deputy gazed at Rookpaw's eager expression for a brief heartbeat, her ear twitching as she did so. The weak sunlight of the day rippled around the two WindClanners as a soft cloud was gently dragged across the sky, casting deep shadows across the snow-laden camp as it blew by. "I hope you slept well last night because we have a big day ahead of us." Brindlewhisker finally mewed, rising to her paws shortly after speaking, her gaze still trained on the younger she-cat who stood before her.

Rookpaw beamed up to her. She wanted to be just like her someday. Big, bold, brave... and maybe even deputy, too! It did not occur to her yet what it meant having that kind of weight on her shoulders, but how hard could it possibly be? Brindlewhisker was certainly handling it just fine, so she could too, duh! But for now she was just an apprentice and she had to learn all she could if she ever wanted to be that great. The sun drizzled over her, making her look sinister with the shadows over her dark pelt. She looked more like a ShadowClan cat with the blackness, which she shivered at the thought of. She was ready to go, though, tingling all over.

"I could hardly, just thinking about this!"

Brindlewhisker's nose twitched briefly in amusement at Rookpaw's exuberant behavior, the feeling of being caught in the over-excited apprentice's shadow making her feel quite elderly. Had she ever been this eager to train with Emberfall all those moons ago? It was quite hard to recall. "The good news is that I don't think this particular session will be overly exhausting." She mewed, feeling a slight shiver work its way down her spine as a soft breeze crept through the camp, hardly strong enough to stir the partially frozen grasses that dotted the camp. "However I'm sure you're raring to go at the moment, so I suppose we should get going!"