Training for Leafpaw (closed)

Entering the apprentice den, the tiny leader looked around until he spotted his new apprentice's pelt, in which he carefully tiptoed his way over to her. Prodding Leafpaw's side with a little faded grey paw, Tinystar let out a soft mew. "Leafpaw, wake up," he whispered. With that, he made his way out of the den and into the chilly, Leafbare air that engulfed the camp. Today, he'd take the she-cat to explore the territory and maybe get some hunting done afterwards, and hopefully, he wouldn't let his emotions from training a cat named Leafpaw, get in the way. Of course, the young she-cat having the same name as his deceased daughter had caused some confliction when choosing whether or not he was to be her mentor. But, while something so simple such as her name was able to derail his thoughts entirely, he knew that he had to learn to push such memories away, for the sake of his apprentice and even the clan.

"I'm awake!" Leafpaw shouted blearily, sleep still clogging her senses. After a few moments, The brown and white tabby noticed Tinystar in the gloom, gazing at her. "Hello Tinystar… Sorry for shouting... Leafpaw felt her cheeks flush hot with embarrassment. Your mentor is going to think you're nuts! The young she-cat stood up shakily, blinking remnants of sleep from her eyes. It had been a strange night, away from Tigerleaf and her siblings. But Leafpaw came to the conclusion that it was just part of growing up. Following Tinystar out of the den, the brown tabby thought of all the things they could possibly do today. I'll get to see the territory! Leafpaw jumped a little out of excitement. Ever since kithood, Leafpaw had been enthralled with the trees of Skyclan, growing high above her head, just out of reach. She even tried climbing one once before being scolded by Tigerleaf. Her paws itched to try it again, hoping maybe Tinystar would show her.

It was a strange thing, to be the leader's apprentice. Leafpaw felt she owed him much more respect than the average warrior. She sometimes thought of him intimidating. It obviously wasn't his size that called for respect, but rather his status. The leader's apprentice... Leafpaw thought to herself with a purr, trailing after the small white tom. I'll do great things for Skyclan! You'll see!

Glad she was so enthusiastic about patrolling, Tinystar stood up and gave his pelt a shake. "We'll be patrolling the RiverClan border today and hopefully get some hunting in as well," he began with a smile and turned himself so that he was facing the camp entrance. Exiting camp, the small tom set a steady pace for the two of them, one that would give him enough time to chat with her about expectations and such before the actual patrol began.

"So, what can you tell me about RiverClan and it's borders?" he asked, wondering if the she-cat had any prior knowledge on their neighboring clan.

Leafpaw padded beside Tinystar, having to slow her pace every few steps so she wouldn't overtake the snowy leader. The tree branches above her clicked together, even with their absence of leaves, the sound sparked a purr in she-cat's chest. The ground was frosty and nipped at her paws but she didn't care. Looking at the territory now was all so beautiful... It felt good to be out of camp for the first time, the wind tossing her fur every which way, an occasional drop of melted snow falling on her pelt. She loved Skyclan. This land was her home.

"Riverclan must be stinky!" Leafpaw started, thinking hard about Tinystar's question. "Tigerleaf told me they eat fish and swim in water! I've never seen a fish but I can imagine how bad they smell!" She faked a gag, a smile on her maw. "They're obviously not as smart as Skyclan though. They can't swim in water with all the ice!" It sometimes shocked her how inferior the other clans seemed to be. She was lucky to be born into the best one. It's not that Leafpaw wasn't looking forward to visiting Riverclan's border, but she wondered if she would smell like the fish-eating cats afterward. Yuck!

Nodding his head as she spoke, the small leader trudged onward, his belly brushing against the thin layer of snow, seeing as though he wasn't very far off the ground. "They most certainly are," he chuckled. "And I've always wondered how they manage to eat in the winter when the river is frozen over," he added as they neared their first destination. Arriving at a somewhat calmer part of the waterway, sure enough, the entire thing was frozen over so that only trickles of water underneath could be heard. "Well, this is the river and the gorge is farther down. Oddly enough, most of the fish scents are stale, seeing as though the ice has covered them, but it is certainly a scent you can't miss when Newleaf rolls around,"  he mewed. Walking away from the apprentice, the leader marked the border a couple of times and made his way back to her. "When patrolling any borders, always make sure to mark them so that they stay strong and cats don't cross them. Of course, it's harder to accidentally cross the river and even the Thunderpath, but you can never be to sure," Tinystar pointed out to Leafpaw.

Riverclan's territory was much different than Skyclan's. Leafpaw squinted her eyes, hoping to get a closer look at the frozen willows across the river. Lots of dried reeds and ice... And although it was beautiful, Leafpaw was impossibly biased toward her birth clan. Riverclan would simply never measure up. She turned tail to follow Tinystar again, realizing she had been distracted. "Tinystar…" The apprentice started, fluffing out her long fur. "Has Riverclan actually crossed the river to invade Skyclan territory?" There was a hint of aggression in Leafpaw's voice, masked beneath her usual cheerful manner. Not towards her mentor, but rather towards the fish-eating cats across the water. Just the thought of a cat from another clan prancing across Skyclan territory made her fur bristle. It's not right!

Leafpaw followed Tinystar's instruction and marked their side of the border. She rolled her thoughts over in her head. Thinking of the warrior code, rules, and morals. She didn't understand much, being just an apprentice, but Leafpaw knew that no one should mess with Skyclan. Clear of her thinking, the brown tabby turned and proceeded to bombard Tinystar with more questions, a new wave of inspiration hitting her. "What's the Thunderpath like? And Thunderclan? Are they anything like us? I mean obviously they're not as talented as Skyclan is but I hear they can climb trees too!" With a giggle, Leafpaw sprinted forward a little, then stopped to compose herself and wait for her mentor.

Perking his ears at her question, Tinystar stayed quiet, thinking longing and hard about what she'd asked. "I would assume that they have at one point, but not in the time that I've been leader or can remember," he mewed with a reassuring smile, though he wasn't so sure himself. With RiverClan somehow rapidly growing in numbers, no cat knew if or when they might take advantage of such strength and attack, so he knew his clan had to be on guard at all times.

While Leafpaw sure did ask a lot of questions, he knew it was only natural for an apprentice to be curious about such things and didn't find himself annoyed at all. "Well, why don't we go to the Thunderpath and I'll explain along the way," the tiny leader chuckled. Turning in the direction of their next destination, he began trotting towards it, knowing Leafpaw would easily catch up.

"The Thunderpath, as you'll see soon, is very odd. The smell wreaks of unnatural Twolegs and large creatures called Monsters run on it. They are somehow able to run extremely fast and are very dangerous, so never be in the path of one, for it could take your life in just a second," he warned sternly, wanting to make sure she knew the dangers that is held. "As far as ThunderClan," Tinystar began in a lighter tone, hoping he didn't dampen the mood too much. "I suppose you could say they are like us. They live in the forest and can climb trees, but I don't think they do it too often," he mewed as the pair walked side by side.

Leafpaw's eyes grew wide at the sight the thick forest that seemed to stretch before their very eyes. Even in the snow, dry masses of undergrowth still grew beneath the tall trees. It was much different from Skyclan territory. The trees were more compacted and it was dark. "So that's Thunderclan…" The brown and white tabby squeaked, cocking her head. Weird... It stumped her how cats could stand to live in such thick undergrowth. You'd never see the sun! She glanced over to Tinystar to see his reaction. The smaller leader must've gazed upon the border many times, but to Leafpaw, there was something beautiful about it.

"Tinystar?" The apprentice purred. "I'm glad we're in Skyclan!" Each moment spent in the territory made the statement more true. Leafpaw giggled at the flurries of snow and the song of the trees. She loved this land as much as she loved the whiskers on her maw. A soft purr found its way to the apprentice's throat and she gazed at her mentor fondly. I'm glad I'm here...

With a purr of amusement, Tinystar gently flicked Leafpaw's shoulder with his long tail. "Me too," the small leader chuckled as the two of them padded on wards, soon reaching their next destination. Wrinkling his nose in disgust as they neared the horrible smelling, he'd never get used to this place, no matter how many times he patrolled it.

"Well, here we are; the Thunderpath," he mewed and right as he finished, a monster came roaring by, and just as quick as it had arrived, it was gone. "Monsters run along it and they are very dangerous and have killed many cats, so be careful and never get too close, alright?" he added in a more serious tone, making sure she knew the true dangers of this place. Moving a few foxlengths away from the apprentice, he marked a couple spots along the border before returning back to her side.

The roaring grew louder as the two cats approached the black and beaten path. Leafpaw's nose wrinkled at the stench and her fur stood on end. The new serious tone in Tinystar's voice seemed to heighten her wariness. Tigerleaf had told her about the Thunderpath, but the young tabby had never guessed it would be like this. The rumbling in the ground had Leafpaw running back to safety, wanting to put a significant amount of distance between herself and whatever that shiny thing was. It's huge! It stunk like no other, making even the dirt-place seem mild. A little nervous, the apprentice positioned herself behind her mentor, shivering. "Whoa!" She squeaked, hoping her fear wasn't obvious. "So that's a monster! I promise I won't go near the path Tinystar!" She didn't need to be told twice. The forest, even with its beauty, suddenly seemed quite menacing as well.

Glad she seemed to understand, the small leader gave her a nod and turned in the direction of their next destination. "Next, we'll patrol the Fallen Oak and do some hunting there as well," he mewed with a smile and began to make his way away from the wretched smelling path, glad to leave there as soon as possible.

Hunting! Leafpaw thought, bounding after Tinystar. She had never once caught prey, but dreamed of the day when she would. I can't wait to be able to hunt for Skyclan! Slowing her pace to walk beside the leader, the brown and white she-cat let out a long exhale. Her head was tilted upwards, tracing the branches of the trees with her eyes as they padded into the forest. A grin resided on the apprentice's maw, pulling at her whiskers and causing a purr to rise in her chest. "What does the Fallen Oak look like Tinystar? What kind of prey do you think they have there?" Leafpaw giggled, bouncing ahead a few paces. "Colorful birds maybe! Or juicy squirrels!" Leafpaw gasped as her mind fell upon her favorite guess. "Maybe we can hunt a fox!" The she-cat ran ahead, in a fit of laughter. No, that's silly. Foxes probably taste terrible!

"Yes, there are definitely plenty of squirrels," Tinystar mewed. "In short, the Fallen Oak is basically a big fallen tree that's been on our land for quite some time," the small leader chuckled as the two of them approached the tree. "Here we are!" he piped, looking around as to make sure no predators happened to be lurking nearby.

"So, what do you know about hunting?" he asked Leafpaw, turning back to his apprentice.

"Hmm well..." Leafpaw shuffled her paws as she thought about hunting. "I know that you have to be reaaally quiet! And be quick too! You can't let the prey hear you!" The she-cat absent-mindedly let her eyes drift to the Fallen Oak, tracing all the ridges and cracks. But what if I'm not good at hunting? What if I fail SkyClan? A worry began to worm its way into Leafpaw's heart at the thought of not being able to serve her clan. "Tinystar? Is hunting hard? Do you think I'll be able to do it?" Her voice was high-pitched, a thread of worry woven deep into the undertones. Tinystar's smart. He'll know.

Listening to the apprentice, Tinystar's ears perked at her question. "Of course you'll be a good hunter," he purred in reply. Crouching down, the small leader looked back up to his apprentice. "Keep your body low, but not so low that it touches the floor, and keep your tail low as well. When you're stalking, step lightly and always make sure you know where you're going. One step on a branch, and you've alerted the entire area," Tinystar mewed, preforming the actions as he spoke. Standing up, he gave Leafpaw a nod. "Now you try."