Cinders on the Water

The sun had just reached its peak, covering RiverClan's snow-spattered territory with glistening sun-high light. Despite this, the day was cold; earlier hints of leaf-bare were swept away by a sharp breeze that pierced any coat. Lightstep stood at the edge of camp, his own snowy white coat fluffed up. He was grateful that the sun was shining and it wasn't snowing, but he did wish it were a little less chilly. Regardless, a few days ago the young warrior had received his second apprentice, Cinderpaw - his aunt's son and therefore his cousin - and the young gray-and-white tom needed to be trained to hunt.

Lightstep had already taken Cinderpaw out to show him the territory within the first few days of receiving his apprentice name. The young tom would need to learn RiverClan's borders quickly so they could be sure to avoid confrontation with the enemy Clans that surrounded them, and the easiest way to do that was to see them. Today, however, they were going to the river to find a clear spot in the ice to work on fishing. The warrior waited for his apprentice in the clearing of camp.

The life of an apprentice was much more exciting than being stuck inside camp and sleeping all day as a kit. Cinderpaw did many tasks as an apprentice, he had already seen most of the territory which was an exciting experience. However what he was really looking forward to was learning how to hunt.

He always thought it would be rewarding to provide food for the clan and one of his dreams was to be a well known hunter that never fails to bring food for his family. He headed out from the apprentice den, the slightly cold air didn't really faze him since he had thick fur.

He had looked around the camp looking for Lightstep, his mentor who had gained some of Cinderpaws respect and padded towards him. "Good morning, what are the plans for today?"

Lightstep was pleased to see the familiar gray-and-white pelt of his new apprentice, Cinderpaw, approaching quickly from the direction of the apprentice's den. The young warrior lifted his tail in greeting, making a soft mew of acknowledgement before Cinderpaw spoke a curious and kind greeting. "What are the plans for today?" the young apprentice asked, and Lightstep responded cheerfuly, "Fishing!" The white tom immediately turned and began to pad out of camp, adding over his shoulder to his apprentice just behind him, "It might be a bit chilly, but if you can learn to fish while your paws are half-numb then you'll be the most skilled fisher on the river come greenleaf."

The pair of them made their way out towards the river which gave their Clan its namesake and from which RiverClan derived most of its food and natural protection. Lightstep had shown Cinderpaw the river, from the gorge to the waterfall to Sunningrocks until it disappeared into twolegplaces, on their previous outings, but every new visit would be a learning experience for the first moon or so.

The pale tom was pleased to hear the water flowing somewhat smoothly as they neared it, and once it came into view he was even happier to see that much of the bank was clear of ice. "It seems like we're in luck," Lightstep purred, "we won't have any trouble finding somewhere to fish." He jerked his head gently, beckoning his apprentice over to the water beside him. Once Cinderpaw had joined him, Lightstep instructed, "When you fish, you need to know where you are, where the light is, and where your shadow is. The movement of your shadow is one of the first things which can alarm fish, so it's important to either attempt to fish from the shadows or ensure that your paw doesn't cast one over the water while you poise to strike."

Lightstep crouched, mewing to Cinderpaw in a softer voice now, "Why don't you give it a try? If you mess up we can fix what you did wrong, and if you do it well then you'll have something to brag about to the other apprentices." The white tom nodded once at the water, scooting back a bit to let his apprentice give it a try.