The Dynamic Nightpaw's Training Debut!

Poppyheart leaped out of his nest excitedly wearing a wide grin. Today was the first day of Nightpaw's training! How exciting! He always enjoyed training young cats. ...Even if they never made it to warriorhood, or was chosen to walk the path of a medicine cat. Well, that didn't matter too much to him, because he just had a feeling Nightpaw would be the first of his apprentices ever to finally make it to warriorhood. He was going to make absolutely sure of it! Yes, he was going to be the greatest and coolest mentor a cat has ever had!

Slipping quickly out of the den and into the apprentices', the tom searched for the sleeping form of his new apprentice, finding him snuggled up next to Flintpaw and Frostpaw -- Sparkpaw must have already gone out with Daisyflame a little earlier. He nuzzled the younger tom with an eager whisper of, "It's time to wake up, Nightpaw! Training starts today, and I'm going to show you everything I can teach you in one day! Oh, that reminds me, maybe we should have a super cool name for you, too, now that you're training under the Great Poppyheart. Come to think of it, the rest of your littermates could use the same. I'll have to think of something really cool for you all, but for now, get on up!"

It was soft. So very soft. Black ears twitched in the darkening light as he squirmed at the nuzzle with a sleepy -boop- of a soft kittish paw before tucking his head back under his warm fluffy tail. He didn’t want to wake up. Flintpaw, Frostpaw and Sparkpaw could all go and entertain themselves as far as he was concerned. His bed of moss was warm, and comfortable, and perfect.

At least, until the red furred tom started talking. Nightpaw tried to ignore the voice, he pressed his ears against his forelegs, but the muted sound of the excited warrior broke through it. Sullen and displeased, Nightpaw glared at his mentor as he forced himself to make sense of the prattle.
“How about, Nightpaw the I-will-end-you-if-I-don’t-get-more-sleep.” He hissed back. Black fluffy pelt rising a bit, dislodging his position of comfort from the nest into a lamentable state of affairs as he groaned. Cold air quickly sapped the heat from his warm moss, and now he truly had to be awake.

So be it then. Nightpaw rose to his paws and yawned audaciously. His lips curled in obvious displeasure at the ‘early’ wake up call as he padded sulkily out of the apprentice’s den.

Poppyheart most definitely heard the soft retort, but he tried not to take it to heart. After all, this was Nightpaw's very first day of training, so of course he would end up being a little groggy and grouchy. He was certain he would be able to help the apprentice shake off that sour attitude, and then the two of them would become friends ... right? I mean, not all of Asterspark's kits can hate me. ...Right?

Forcing a grin, trying to make it look more genuine than he actually felt, his great mood a bit soured by the anxious thought that perhaps Nightpaw wasn't going to like him at all, the russet-furred tom led the way out of camp with a giddy trot. Soon, his mood began to naturally rise again as they neared the marshes. He was determined to make this the best training experience Nightpaw has ever had! "So, Nightpaw, have you any prior knowledge to hunting? Your father told me he was going to teach you and your littermates the basics before you left the nursery. Though, of course, knowing him and how lazy he can be, perhaps he hadn't kept it...."

The small black tom followed Poppyheart with an exaggerated yawn as the older tom led the way through the marshlands. His paws occasionally splayed out over packs of mud and slippery stones as he mumbled sleepily under his breath. The scents of the forest were many, and difficult to decipher. Which belonged to which plant? Did he smell a trace of frog? His small jaws parted, but the scents tasted more confusing than they smelled.

Finally, he sat down squarely on a patch of mud covered grass. The bright tom, their… uncle, supposedly, seemed all the brighter every waking moment. Nightpaw’s blue eyes blinked slowly, his forelegs crouching down beneath him.
“Mhm… daddy Songs is the best.” He responded, clearly ready to doze off then and there as a frog leaped several lengths away from them. “There’s too many scents right now, why don’t we hunt when things are quiet?”

Daddy Songs? Who in StarClan's name was-- Ohhh. He must be referring to Asterspark. Well, he was still called Sans in the Clan, but he would always be Asterspark to him. Poppyheart chuckled with a grin. "Of course, Nightpaw! I want you to feel comfortable on your first day of training. Why don't we head on over to the deep marshes and sit for a while? I can tell you a bit about the territory while you study the marshes, and then we can practice your hunting! Or if you'd like, I could tell you a bit about all the shenanigans your father and I had gotten ourselves into when we were younger? Let me tell you, he and I were quite the dynamic duo."

All of a sudden, Poppyheart stopped in his tracks, and then he whipped around to face his nephew. "That's it! I know exactly what I'll call you! You shall be known as the Dynamic Nightpaw! Doesn't that just sound so strong and powerful and cool?"

Nightpaw blinked at his mentor. Then tilted his head as the red tom just kept yapping. He looked out over the marsh, his tiny maw twisted in disagreement as he shook his head over the ridiculous new name. Dynamic? What did that even mean?

“What are you talking about, Poppyheart?” He asked as he turned away from his mentor. “It sounds ridiculous, like something a kit would say. I’m not a kit anymore. I’m an apprentice, and you should start acting more like a mentor.” He turned to look back at Poppyheart, his tail twitching in displeasure.

“I don’t like the day. It’s too hot and noisy. Of course, not like you’d notice that, would you? ” He asked with a small huff as he stood, ready to pad along after his mentor like a good apprentice. He’d just have to settle for Poppyheart’s methods for now… ‘When I’m a warrior, I can really show them all the talents of Nightpaw.’