shaping the future

He'd had a decent nap in between Dawnpaw's ceremony and sunhigh, and Wolfcall woke just on time, as usual. But today wasn't an ordinary day - this time, instead of going out alone, he'd be taking Dawnpaw out for her first foray into the territory. And that was exciting! With a yawn, he uncurled from his nest and stretched his legs as he trotted out of the den to track down his newest apprentice. Once he found her, he'd offer a purr and a dip of his head in greeting. "Are you ready to head out?"

The first few days of her training were odd. In actuality this whole apprentice thing was pretty odd. It was completely different than the comfortable life of a small kitten. Dawnpaw still didn't know what to think of becoming an apprentice. She wasn't sure if could make her clanmates proud, or even the deputy who chose to be her mentor for some reason.

The ginger she-cat laid silently in her new bed, located in the apprentice's den. She noticed that most of the apprentices were gone by the time she woke. It was quite a surprise, she didn't think that apprentice's would be up so early. Dawnkit sighed as she rose, stretching as she did so.

She knew that she couldn't stay in the den forever, so she headed out in search of her mentor. When she spotted him she gave him a meek nod, anxious of what will happen.

Flicking his tail in a "follow me" motion, Wolfcall headed for the entrance, pressing through the tunnel and emerging out into the forest with his apprentice on his heels. To his knowledge, Dawnpaw had never been outside the camp before, and he took that into account as he led her through the territory, keeping his walk casual to allow her to experience everything at her own pace. He fondly remembered his own first time out of camp with Foxfire, full of wonder and even more full of questions, and he wanted Dawnpaw to experience the same measure of patience and toleration that Foxfire had given him.

"We're going to do a patrol first," he told her as they walked. "To get you used to the territory. And then afterwards, we'll hunt a little, okay?"

Dawnpaw anxiously followed her mentor. Her ears perked and alert so she would be ready for whatever challenges there were ahead. As they left camp, the she-cat eased up a bit, she was pleased to see the forest for the first time even if it was freezing and there was snow everywhere. It still looked stunning.
Her ears twitched when wolfcall said something, she wasn't really paying attention to what he had been saying. She just simply nodded her head, not saying much.

"The territory might seem very big, but it's easy to get used to," Wolfcall explained as they walked. "Before long, you'll be able to know exactly where you are in the territory just by looking around, or smelling."

He let the silence hang there, comfortably, as they continued, and before long, they were nearing the ThunderClan border. Wolfcall paused, sitting back on his haunches. "Tell me what you smell here, nearby."