Early Mornings [closed]

The watery predawn light of the early morning sun hardly disturbed the deep shadows that coiled within the confines of the apprentice's den. Blinking away the slight haze that stubbornly clung to the edges of his vision, it took Elmcloud a heartbeat or two to pick out the silvery pelt of his newest apprentice. For the briefest moment, he felt a tad bit of concern and distaste. The fact that Tigerleaf had become such a commendable young cat was purely by luck, could he really attest to such a feat for a second time? Swallowing down the slight pinpricks of apprehension, the ruddy tom gently prodded Clearpaw's side with an extended toe.

"Wake up- it's time for us to head out." He knew it was quite early, especially for a cat who had just received the -paw addition to their name, but if they left any later they'd risk getting stuck out in the heat of the day.

Clearpaw thought Elmcloud had the look of a noble cat, much like Poplarstar did. His fur was a shade of russet that most closely compared to the berries of a rowan tree, but in reality was more brown. Exotic tabby markings covered his pelt, making him look like an intricately woven string of berries that looked more marvelous than anything he had seen. In fact, he looked like a leader. Handsome and tall, with bright amber eyes. No other cat could really compare. The young apprentice had been dreaming of his mentor when his actual voice somehow infiltrated his mind. Probably it was the nudge that did it.Blinking his eyes open sleepily, he was granted an amazing sight. The apprentice's den faced a different direction than the nursery, and rosy orange morning sunlit filtered through the den, reflected off the well groomed pelts of his denmates. For a few moments, that was enough of a distraction to make him forget about what the warrior had told him to do. But when he turned around, he saw the older tom's face and was reminded of what he must do. Standing up, he stretched his back and snuck one more look at the sunrise before trotting over to his mentor, a dreamy smile on his face. Soon he would be completely surrounded by nature in its purest.
"Good morning, Elmcloud. I am prepared to start my first day of training today. I hope to enjoy the wonders that I see, but I'll only do what you wish of me," Clearpaw greeted, looking up happily at Elmcloud. His face held innocence that it would almost feel wrong to tale away. Of course, despite one would think due to his positive look on life, he was actually quite educated in the horrors of the world.

Slipping back from the tight confines of the Apprentice's den proved to be a bit more tricky than Elmcloud initially remembered, but thankfully sprawled extremities were spared from the painful fate of being stepped on.

Inhaling a noseful of humid, yet surprisingly refreshing, air, the tom was grateful to be free of the stuffy den. Although he had only seen Greenleaf once before, he was easily able to recall why he specifically avoided being within the suffocating dens unless absolutely necessary. Giving himself a brisk shake to ward off any stubbornly remaining scents or dust, his gaze lifted as he caught sight of the younger tom slipping free of the shaded den in pursuit.

"That's good to hear," Elmcloud mewed, voice slightly rough with a faint note of drowsiness, "I don't intend on keeping you waiting much longer." He continued, flicking his tail in a brief gesture for Clearpaw to follow after him. Were all apprentices so well behaved, and he himself had been just an odd case? The thought was an amusing, yet troubling, one- one that stayed etched into his mind as the pair broke free from camp.

"Thank you, Elmcloud," Clearpaw replied, before following his mentor out of camp. Elmcloud was a good mentor so far, in his opinion. He deserved to be listened too. Once he left the camp however, it took a whole lot of willpower not to stop in his tracks for the entire day. Now he could see so many other types of trees, and so many shrubs and ferns unburdened by the organized dens and clearings in the camp. Everything looked so natural out here. So beautiful. He imagined that if the world was free of cats, then it would be even more so. For a moment, he wondered if it was selfish of cats to take over land and prevent it from reaching a possible state of elegance, but then decided it was a sorrowful necessity. If there were no cats, who would be there to appreciate it? They just had to be careful, that was all. Remembering that he liked his mentor, the young tom sped up his pace a bit, trying not to slow down the warrior. "What will I be learning today?"

Attention briefly waning to the diluted flashes of predawn light that bled through the lush canopy high above, Elmcloud's features flinched occasionally as he caught sight of a blinding glimmer of golden light. Continuing on at a leisurely pace that was easy for both toms to keep pace with, he didn't really pay much mind to the way that Clearpaw occasionally seemed to drift to and fro as they ventured deeper and deeper into the sparse woodlands. Now that they were out and roaming about, the forest seemed to be slowly awaking- now the shrill songs of birds filled the air and the undergrowth that unfolded around them was stirred every heartbeat or so by the living creatures that dashed by.

"We're not doing very much today," Elmcloud mewed, giving Clearpaw a side-glance, "You'll just get acquainted with the borders and as much as the territory as we can cover."

"The entire territory?" Clearpaw's green eyes nearly burst out of his head. How could he see the entire territory in one day? Could his mind handle that much new beauty in one day? Elmcloud didn't seem to think the same way he did. It was probably because he was a warrior, and had already seen everything. Thinking about it, it was rather sad. Losing the sense of beauty in your home just because you were used to it. As they walked, his ears perked at the sound of the morning cries of birds. Of course he had heard them before, camp wasn't soundproof, but now they were closer and more distinct. Already he could hear how every chirp was different, and how they mixed to create a soft and lovely symphony. Unfortunately, his untrained ears couldn't pick up more than small, promising rustles in the undergrowth the indicate mice or other land creatures. Hopefully he would soon be trained how to hear every footstep and heartbeat. Even without training, an abundance of smells filled his small nose. Flowers, trees, birds, rodents, and even the earthy scent of mud from the banks of stream. Already he could imagine the water running over small stones, reflecting the warm colors of the sunrise perfectly. That's when he saw the bush. Recognizing the hairy leaves from his frequent trips to the medicine den, he now saw that they grew on the same plant as the blue and pick star flowers. The plants had seemed magnificent enough when lying on a shelf but when growing, they were absolutely sensational. Violets met greens and dark pinks, standing out amongst soft leaves and stems, letting out fragrant smells that enticed him. Instinctively, he padding towards it, inhaling every speck of scent and flooding his eyes with its beauty. But there was no way they could make it around the territory if he stopped to look at every bush. Hardly able to draw away, he forced himself to pad back over to his mentor. "How is it possible for this one forest to contain so much miraculous life? How do so many cats take this extraordinary beauty for granted?"

"We have plenty of time to cover the entire territory," Elmcloud hastily reassured as he witnessed the expression that blossomed across Clearpaw's face, "We'll get to see everything with more than enough time to spare." Although he was slightly puzzled by the young tom's wish to stop and smell the roses at every little opportunity, no matter how insignificant the scene truly was, it didn't ruffle his fur too much. Of all the irritating traits one could be forced to overlook when training an apprentice, something such as this truly seemed much more pleasant. Ear twitching at the younger tom's words, he gave him another glance from the edges of his peripheral vision. "I don't know," He admitted with a slight hum, "Perhaps that's just what it means to be alive. To see without sight."

However, before either toms could continue the rather philosophical conversation that had budded, a looming shape was just barely evident among the scatter of various trees before them. The smooth surface of the Half-Stone glinted in the weak light of morning, the cold dew that still stubbornly clung on glinting brightly in the light. The massive crack in the stone disrupted the smooth outline of the ancient stone, casting an odd shadow across the forest floor before the two toms. "The stone before us is the Half-Stone. It attracts plenty of prey during Leaf-Fall and Leafbare, but it also attracts it fair share of predators such as foxes and badgers at times."

"Maybe even observant souls cannot see the most beautiful wonders. Tis a sad fact indeed." That was the first thing that came to mind when Clearpaw heard Elmcloud's statement. It was troubling to think that there could be worlds of splendor that even he could never be able to fully appreciate. Those thoughts drifted towards the back of his mind upon reaching the Half-Stone. Only partly listening to his mentor's explanation, he could barely care about prey and predators (thought they usually did interest him) when this magnificent work of nature was right in front of him. The shiny and smooth sides of the rock caught his eye as the last of the golden morning light reflected off of it, illuminating the immense split right at the center. Lightening was the best explanation, the powerful beam of light cracking the giant stone in half. The rough and jagged inside was just a amazing as the outside, providing small crevices and clefts, as well as casting the most wonderful shadow all around the Half-Stone. StarClan themselves probably split it, he decided. As a gift of elegance to the cats of SkyClan. "This is remarkable. Our ancestors must have blessed us with this gift moons and moons ago. The perfect place for a home, for both small creatures and large. How can our next destination surpass expectations set by this?"

Watching as Clearpaw marveled over the apparent beauty of the old stone, Elmcloud gave a soft shrug in return to the younger toms words. Personally, he had never fancied the gouged up old rock, especially after his nasty plunge from one of the neighboring trees all those moons ago. Giving himself a brisk shake, he allowed the tom a few more heartbeats to gaze up at the shattered stone before letting out a soft trill to catch his attention. "We'll be heading to the Moonlit Creek next. It's a bit of a walk from here, but without the sun it should be fairly pleasant." Elmcloud mewed, tail flicking absently as he began to stride off once more.

Clearpaw's eyes widened and his maw spread into a dreamy smile. Moonlit Creek. Just that name sounded like a lovely work of nature. Remembering his fantasies of the music of trickling water over small shiny stones, shimmering with sunlight and sparkling with tiny bodies of fish. Prey darting by its side, bright green leaves of huge trees hanging lazily above it, causing the light to filter through in the most remarkable fashion. Shallow, comforting water mixing with small shadows and bright light to form a sparkling masterpiece, with blues, greens, pinks, and oranges blending in one area. Already he could imagine how beautiful a splash would appear in the sun's light, creating a million little droplets that each create there own glowing light forms. Bright white water over a deep brown that shallows out for small waterfalls and tall rocks. That didn't sound like something worth missing. Trotting to catch up with Elmcloud, he was no longer thinking of the magnificence of the Half-Stone. "How long is the walk to this 'Moonlit Creek'? It sounds like a landmark I would never want to miss. How deep is it? How many curves and falls?"

Easily clearing a narrow, stone-studded gully that sprawled across their path, Elmcloud's ears twitched as he listened to Clearpaw fire off a list of questions once more. Feeling the smooth stones graze softly against the calloused pads of his paws, the ruddy tom paused as he waited for his younger counterpart to follow suit. "It shouldn't take but a few more moments, it's not even on the opposite end of the territory." He began, resuming the ambling stride they had previously fallen into, "The waters are a bit low right now, but there should still be a decent amount left in it. Although during the end of Greenleaf it's practically dry."

Trotting after Elmcloud, Clearpaw tried to correct his first image with the new information he had been given. So the creek wasn't too deep, so instead of light reflecting off deep water, it would filter through the shallows, illuminating the small fish and plants as well of the muddy floor. Wow, if it wasn't too far, it must run right through their territory! That would make it even more beautiful, a place not too far from a SkyClan cat at any given moment, where they could find lush prey, get a drink, and just admire the elegance of a place. A paradise in the middle of a paradise. While he felt that most cats would not agree with him, he felt safe in the forest, as if no harm could come to him there. As of then, he had never lived through any tragedy besides his father's death, which didn't even occur in the forest. No hunger, no war. It was easy for him to feel absolutely safe there. As the sound of trickling water came to his ears, he sped up slightly, but still careful not to have his paw prints stir up too much dust. "Is that it up ahead?"

"Yes." Elmcloud mewed, chin tilting at the soft sounds of running water. Brushing past low-hanging fronds that partially obscured their path, the ruddy tom began carefully picking his way down a crest. Jagged stones jutted out from the dry earth, posing a slight challenge- while they were easily capable of bearing weight, they were rather sharp against exposed paws. Neatly pulling himself down the final few tail-lengths, he turned to watch as Clearpaw followed suit. The banks of the Moonlit creek, while still muddy, hovered well above the swirling depths of the waters. "Here we are."

"Spectacular," Clearpaw breathed, following Elmcloud down to the banks of the Moonlit Creek. A sharp stone stabbed the bottom of his paw, but he simply licked the small cut and didn't make a noise. The jagged riverbank just added to the beauty of the creek. Mostly, it was similar to how he imagined it. Rippling water over a gently curving stream, shadows dancing across the shallow water. But it was also a bit different in a way that he could quite describe. In an amazing way. The moment he placed his paw on it, he realized why cats needed this. Nothing he imagined could even compare to the real thing. This was an entirely genuine creek that dazzled and sparkled in the morning sunlight, both reflecting and absorbing light in the most interesting fashion. He could actually smell the earthy scent of mud and feel it squish beneath his paws, as well as feel his eyes softly burn with the filtered light. The serenity of the waters below him was like a sensation in the air, nothing his mind could create. The ripples and swirls were songs in his ears, causing a refreshing feeling of peace to wash throughout his entire body. While it wasn't quite as lush with prey as he had imagined, the scents of mice and birds still hung faintly in the air, and the rustling of bushes and the distant chirps mixed beautifully with the sounds of the brook. Even outside his mind, this was a paradise within a paradise.

Sitting back heavily upon his haunches, Elmcloud's tail left soft furrows in the dry earth of the banks. Mindlessly watching as Clearpaw marveled over the shallow depths of the creek and the vibrant undergrowth that crowded the steep banks, desperately trying to get close to the precious waters that chattered over the smooth stones. He hadn't been that amazed whenever he had first encountered the river, but it had been much fuller due to the Leaffall rains of that season. It felt like a lifetime ago, yet it hadn't even been a full year, had it? Tail tip giving a sporadic twitch that crawled its way up his spine as well, the heavily ticked tom's face turned to gaze at Clearpaw once more. "Are you ready to visit the borders next?"