Pale Olive Horizons

There were new kits in camp, and for that Olivestone was grateful. The more kits in WindClan now, the more warriors they'd have in the future. Now that Wildflower was now a warrior, the deputy was free to take on another apprentice, and she already had mentors in mind for the two new arrivals in camp. Both of them had similar personalities, but Palekit in particular had caught her eye. She'd seen in passing that the kit had visited Morningdove in the medicine den, and that little act brought a smile to her face as she'd gone about the day previous, patrolling and hunting.

Olivestone had never been one for getting up at the crack of dawn, though as she got older, she'd found that getting up earlier had gotten a bit harder. Nonetheless, she had a patrol to lead, and she wanted some time to actually wake up before she set out. Pushing herself to her paws, she shook out her coat and leaned down to groom Zinnia's head for a few moments before picking her way around the sleeping bodies of her Clanmates to actually get to the camp clearing. Despite how early it was, there were a couple cats milling about, mostly the couple of warriors that were scheduled to patrol with her. The sun was just barely beginning to peek over the horizon, coloring the grass on the hill a pale olive green as she picked a hare out of the fresh-kill pile, and carried it over to her favorite spot beneath the Tallrock. As she began to eat, she spotted Palekit push his way out of the nursery and into the clearing. With a smile, she caught his eye, and took another bite of her hare, hoping to get a chance to talk to the kit sometime.

Palekit was a naturally early riser. The sun brought with it the cats taking that day's dawn patrol (who he liked to watch go about their routines before heading out of the camp), the first warmth of the day, and best of all, the lack of cats roaming the clearing made it much more likely that the kit would fly under the radar. It wasn't as if he despised attention, it was just.... he always seemed to get so tongue-tied. He felt so frightened when any cat of a higher rank (aside from his own parents) spoke to him, even if the topic was as simple as the weather. He hoped that, when he became an apprentice, the guidance of a mentor and the knowledge gained through his training would help him become at least a little bit more confident. Letting the butterflies in his stomach get the best of him every single time he was addressed by another cat would surely make him the worst warrior in the clan, and the very idea of being a burden to his clanmates made Palekit's pelt run cold with dread.

The cats chosen for the dawn patrol were usually too busy (or too tired) to pay Palekit much attention, especially as he did his best to stay out of their way. However, today was different. Blinking in the bright morning light as he gazed around the clearing, Palekit froze as he made eye contact with the clan's deputy, Olivestone. Though she didn't appear to be upset in any way, the poor kit's mind began to race. Why is she staring at me? Have I done something wrong? Maybe my fur is groomed weird? Assuming that it would be very rude to avoid even saying hello, Palekit gave an awkward nod of respect and stepped a bit closer to the Tallrock to make sure Olivestone would hear his greeting. "G-Good morning, Olivestone. Unsure of what else to say, the kit managed to squeak out a question. "Er.. is the rabbit good?" He cringed internally at his choice of words, but now that they were out there, all he could do was stand there and stew in his own embarrassment as he waited for the deputy's reply.

As Palekit approached her, Olivestone gave an encouraging smile to the tom-kit before responding in kind.
"Good morning to you too!" She stifled a yawn before continuing. "Mornings aren't exactly my thing, but it's nice to be able to see the sunrise."
She flicked her tail as she glanced from the sunrise to the rabbit she was eating before nodding.
"It's pretty good. You want some?"
After her offer, she smiled again, a question in mind for Palekit. She asked every kit this same question, to get a feel for their preferences and personalities. Giving him a chance to respond to her offer and earlier conversation, she then asked,
"Do you have anyone in mind to be your mentor? No pressure to have an answer. I just like to give every kit a chance to choose who they spend their apprenticeships learning from."

Palekit silently nodded in agreement with Olivestone's words; the sunrise was definitely one of the best parts about being an early riser. He gratefully (if a bit hesitantly, as he didn't want to intrude on her morning meal unless she was really sure) accepted her offer to share the hare. "Thank you, Olivestone." He settled down by the rabbit and, after seeing the deputy's encouraging smile, he carefully took a small bite.

At her next question, Palekit's eyes widened and he gulped down the mouthful of rabbit he had just taken. It made sense that Olivestone would ask him that, but.... he honestly hadn't really thought about it, and he was afraid of disappointing her. After worrying over what to say for a few moments, Palekit decided to just tell her the truth. "I.. I'm sorry, I don't know." What the kit didn't say was that, despite wanting to become an apprentice in hopes that it would give him the confidence to better help his clan in the future, he also worried that this dream wouldn't work out and he'd only end up inconveniencing whoever his mentor may be. Avoiding eye contact with the deputy, Palekit looked around the camp as he softly continued speaking. "I guess.... I would be fine with just about a-anyone." As long as they're patient with me being so nervous about everything....