First Time for Both Of Us (Closed - Training for Sootpaw)

The sun had begun to rise in the clear blue sky as Nightstorm emerged from the warrior's den, his pelt untidy after a good night's rest.  After a long stretch - extending his spine and each lanky leg in turn - the warrior gave his pelt a thorough washing until it gleamed with shiny perfection.  He knew most mentors woke their apprentices at the crack of dawn each day, but he honestly didn't see much sense in that.  Waking young cats so early would only lead to them being tired, distracted, and most likely grumpy.  It made much more sense in the height of green-leaf, since the prey went to ground early to avoid the heat, but he figured, might as well make use of the perfect weather while they could.  Once he had finished, the jet-black tom stood up and padded over to the apprentice's den, peeking his head inside.  It was dark, but he could make out where Sootpaw had made his nest, near the back.  Making sure not to step on any tails, he traversed his way to the young tom's nest and nudged his shoulder gently.  "Wake up Sootpaw, it's time to leave."  Once the tom had begun to rouse, the warrior ducked out of the cramped den and stood outside, waiting with a calm smile.

Stirring heavily with great weariness, it took Sootpaw quite some convincing to get himself to wake up and get on his paws. He had been having his fair share of sleepless nights ever since Rippedstar's death, but the jet black cat tried not to let his exhaustion interfere with his activities. Sootpaw didn't know why, but even though he had quickly gotten over the former leader's death, the incident still seemed to haunt him at night. 

The tom slowly rose onto his sturdy limbs, giving himself a good wash and cleaning himself of any dirt or grime that had made its way onto Sootpaw at night. He extended each of his four legs, tail, neck and back before trodding out of the apprentices' den, the previous routine having been done surprisingly quickly. 

The tall cat strode over to Nightstorm, dipping his head politely in acknowledgment. Sootpaw's vivid blue gaze looked into the older tom's green eyes with focus, waiting for his mentor to speak to him.

Nightstorm returned his apprentice's polite nod, his smile persisting as he meowed; "Good morning Sootpaw."  The former Tribe cat felt honored to have been chosen to mentor one of the late Rippedstar's sons, but he had deep sympathy for the young tom.  He himself had lost his father at a similar age, and the effects of his early passing had rippled throughout his family for moons to come.  He could only hope that Sootpaw's family would avoid the sad fate his own had fallen to.

"If you're hungry, feel free to eat."  He flicked his sleek tail at the near-empty prey pile.  "If not, then lets head out.  We have quite a bit of ground to cover today."  He lifted a forepaw to groom his whiskers as Sootpaw decided, his green eyes glowing with a peaceful enthusiasm.

"Good morning, Nightstorm." Sootpaw repeated, hoping his voice didn't sound too depressed or tired. He didn't want anyone's sympathy for him to get in the way of normal tasks, and he certainly wasn't ready for anyone to think that his father's death had weakened him. 

Following the motion of his mentor's tail, the younger tom blinked before returning his focus back to him. "Thank you, but I'm not hungry. What's left of that prey pile could be used to feed a kit or an elder, or someone more important than me." The apprentice spoke nobly, but his thoughts were true. Once again, the remembrance of Rippedstar's death had decreased his appetite. At least he was still eating, Sootpaw thought.

As Sootpaw continued to stare at Nightstorm, he didn't expect the simplest of things to comfort him, but it did. The green-eyed tom's warm, calm gaze seemed to relax him greatly. Shaking away the thought before anything got too awkward, he continued, "We can head out." 

Though the memory of Nightstorm's gentle eyes had easily been pushed to the back of his mind, Sootpaw still thought of how such a small thing affected him so easily.

Maybe everything was going to be okay.

Though he wasn't expecting such a noble answer to come from such a young cat, in a way he wasn't surprised.  Closing his eyes for a heartbeat, he dipped his head in acceptance.  "That is a selfless choice Sootpaw.  The young, nursing and old should always be put first, but as long as they are fed you are free to eat as well.  All members of SkyClan are important."  His voice was quiet but held a tingle of pride.  What a warrior this youngster could make.

Turning, Nightstorm began to lead the way out the camp entrance, and into the forest beyond.  Making sure that Sootpaw was keeping up okay, he thought as he walked, wondering where to take him first.  "Hmm..."  Coming to a halt, he considered something, before speaking up.  "Let's head for the ShadowClan border first."  With a single twitch of his ears, he set off at a steady gallop, fast enough to cover ground but not so fast that the shorter-legged tom would be left behind.

Dipping his head in agreement, Sootpaw hadn't been so observant as he normally would, so he didn't detect the tinge of pride that stuck ever so lightly with Nightstorm's words. However, the statement still gave him a tiny bit of satisfaction.

Sootpaw paced behind Nightstorm with great anticipation to see the forest that covered SkyClan's territory. Once he did, he was struck with great awe. The dawning light that filtered through the forest's canopy was beautiful, and the scent of pine filled his nose. Despite all this natural beauty, something felt... off. Like there was somewhere better. The thought seemed ridiculous, and Sootpaw pushed it away. What could be better than this? Perhaps it was just his weariness that set his mind off. As a kit, Sootpaw had admired the forest from what he could see. How could that change?

Sprinting after Nightstorm, the wind that rushed past him seemed to fill him with a twinge of glee.
If only these trees weren't here..., Sootpaw ached, before completely demoting the words. Stop it, Sootpaw! You're thinking like a WindClan cat. With that conclusion, Sootpaw cleared his mind. He didn't need to think about anything unrelated like that. Just his training, the forest, Nightstorm, and nothing else.        

Nightstorm was enjoying the evenly-paced jog through the territory, his nose filled with the fresh earthy scents of growing things and healthy prey, his paws thudding pleasantly against the leaf-strewn forest floor.  He liked running alright, but as he gazed up at the towering oaks and pines above, he craved to be in the trees, jumping from branch to branch.  He still got a great thrill from traversing the highest branches of the territory....probably because it reminded him of the mountains.  He had grown up weaving his careful way across rocky cliffsides and ledges in search of thin mountain mice, watching the sky above all the same for the foreboding shadow that signaled the nearby presence of an eagle.  In the trees, it was the same exhilaration, the same rush of adrenaline that he craved.  Glancing back at Sootpaw, he greatly looked forward to teaching this young tom the same skills, and hopefully, see the same glimmer of amazement in his blue eyes.

Skidding to a halt as they neared their destination, Nightstorm signaled for Sootpaw to do the same.  His calm face now held a grim seriousness, and he spoke in a low rumbling tone.  "Take great care Sootpaw, this is a dangerous place."  Pushing through the line of dense ferns that stood before them, the tall black tom-cat emerged out onto an oily stretch of grass that led right up to... "The Thunderpath.  It marks a physical barrier between us and ShadowClan.  It's a Twoleg creation, so you must always exercise caution while near it."  Nightstorm flattened his ears as the distant roaring sound of a monster grew steadily stronger until he could see the shiny creature race by, before disappearing along the path towards ThunderClan territory.  As it zoomed off, he glanced over to judge Sootpaw's reaction.  Would he be scared?  Intrigued? Neutral?

Raking his sharp claws into the crunchy, leaf-filled forest floor, Sootpaw had trouble getting himself to a halt upon Nightstorm's command. The action of running and the wind in his fur had enchanted him, and he wished he could run forever. As the tom's claws embedded in the dirt below him, the stop was so sudden and forced that the black tom fell face-first into the grass.

Quickly retreating to his paws, Sootpaw embarrassedly sat for a few heartbeats, licking his paws hastily and running them over his face and head. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Nightstorm opening his mouth, but quickly cut him off. "I'm fine. Also, I deeply and greatly apologize. I should've been more focused. There's no excuse." The blue-eyed tom finished his washing, getting back on all fours. "Let's continue." 

As his mentor introduced him to the Thunderpath, Sootpaw was greatly intrigued, but his features didn't show it whatsoever. He hadn't heard of this place at all, not even in an elder's tale or another story. He stiffened when a monster flashed by, but other than that he was unfazed. "Apologies if this sounds... odd, but is it possible to cross safely? If so, will we have training on how to cross correctly?"


OOC: This is fun, haha. Having a character that, in the future, will be greatly skilled, but as a child, is almost completely clueless and challenged with the world around them. 

(occ: short and terrible)

A faint smile materialized upon Nightstorm's face at the young tom's oh-so-proper question, and he nodded in reply.  "Yes.  Either I will teach you if for any reason we have a need to cross, or Mintwhisker will show you when she takes you on your journey to the Moonstone at the end of your apprenticeship."  For a moment longer Nightstorm gazed out at the path, before getting to his paws and turning back towards the forest.  "Lets keep going."

Knowing an easy path to the ThunderClan border, the warrior set out at a trot towards the much darker mass of deciduous trees on the horizon, occasionally glancing back to make sure Sootpaw didn't trip again.  He hadn't been at all mad at the apprentice for his blunder, but the last thing he wanted was to see him injure himself in any way on his first day out.

Nodding in understanding, Sootpaw didn't take his brilliant blue eyes off the Thunderpath. He wondered what the monsters that rushed past even were, and if they were possible to defeat. If there were none, then tons of lives would be saved, right? The black tom knew he was far from strong and fast enough to even land his paws on one without getting crushed, but maybe he could achieve such a strength one day if he trained hard enough.

Sootpaw simultaneously got to his paws with Nightstorm, staying still until the tom walked past him, then turned around and followed behind his mentor in a straight line. He kept the same pace as the warrior, trotting behind him carefully with the same pawsteps stride by stride. The jet-black apprentice was not going to make the same mistake he did earlier and embarrass himself again.

As the duo approached ThunderClan's border markings, the scent of the rival clan invaded their noses; even though the neighboring clan was supposed to be their enemy, Nightstorm had no issues with them.  The issues of alliances and rivalries had never interested his logical brain, which insisted that this whole ordeal was absurd.  He remembered vividly the young ginger-and-white ThunderClan she-cat he had spoken to at the previous Gathering, Wisteriapool.  Her clan has done nothing to me or my clan that is to be of concern...I only hope that SkyClan will not make any rash decision.

The toppled form of the Fallen Oak came into view, and Nightstorm leaped easily onto the border landmark, his tail flicking calmly.  "This is one of the places where our border with ThunderClan is marked.  Remember their scent; as our closest neighbors, it is likely that you will interact with them quite often while on boundary patrols and such."  For a moment he gazed out into the trees, before leaping back down to the ground.  "When you're ready, we can proceed to the RiverClan border."

Upon approaching the border between SkyClan and ThunderClan, Sootpaw was unknowing of its existence until the stench of unfamiliar woods flooded his nose. The odor was not pleasant, but even so, he did not shake his head or snort his nose to rid himself of the smell. The black tom thought of it as showing weakness.

Sootpaw watched as Nightstorm leaped onto the fallen tree that marked the border between the two Clans. He wondered how the thing hadn't rotted if it had been the border for so long, and was quite clueless on any points that could explain why it hadn't. Despite his off-topic thoughts, the jet-black apprentice still nodded in acknowledgment after his mentor had finished speaking. Sootpaw replied simply, "I am ready," only a few moments after Nightstorm had asked, and took one last glance at the Fallen Oak before turning around.

Nightstorm flicked an ear, acknowledging his reply, before setting off at a trot farther along the border.  Since ThunderClan occupied the longest stretch of their boundary, it took quite a bit longer to reach their destination, but soon enough the fresh scent of clean water began to drift in the air towards them, followed by the fishy tang of RiverClan.  Coming to a halt on the riverbank, he gazed out across the water and took a deep breath, smiling.  Despite the nature of the clan that lived here, the river was always a peaceful place.  Turning to make sure Sootpaw was standing beside him, he purred.  "This, I'm sure you can tell, is the RiverClan border.  Can you taste that fishy scent?  That's their markers."  Reaching down, he plunged one of his forepaws down into the cool shallow water for a moment, before lifting it out and flicking it playfully at Sootpaw, allowing a couple droplets of water to land on the tom's face.  "Though it's calm right now in green-leaf, sometimes the river can be dangerous.  During storms, or during the new-leaf snowmelt, it can flood, and cover the territories with water.  The exact opposite of that though can also be dangerous; if during the heat of green-leaf it dried up, a lot of cats would be left without water.  It is a precious thing, don't take it for granted."  Unlike most of his clanmates, Nightstorm had never minded water.  In the mountains his tribemates had to cross icy streams and creeks all the time, so he grew to tolerate it.  In a way, the river's scent reminded him of back home...it was the only place that held the same clean breeze.