Close to you:

It was early in the morning and activity in the clan was just beginning to pick up. Yesterday hadn't been the best day for the apprentice so he promised himself a nice, refreshing walk out in the territory to clear his head. He had gotten up and was instantly about to head out when he stopped himself. He normally enjoyed time to himself, he was quite the reserved cat after all, but today seemed to be the exception. He was actually internally cringing at the fact that he'd have to be out there all by himself. It was odd but he decided to listen to his feelings.

Kerath, after a while of pondering, finally decided on asking his sister, Thrushnose, if she'd like to accompany him. He was a bit nervous to do this. He never liked to bother anyone for recreational purposes but he assured himself that it'd be only for today. Well, at least he thinks it'll only be for today. He can't predict the future so you never know when something similar may occur in distant times. He's learned to expect anything by now. Might as well just get this over. He mentally braced himself for rejection. Deep within, he knows his sister will most likely agree to join him but there is still a good chance that she'll be very busy today.

Once his green gaze spotted the familiar pelt of the she-cat, just beginning to exit the warriors' den, he quickly made his way over to her. He had to get to Thrush before anybody else did. The tom signaled to get her attention just before he reached her. "Thrushnose? Can...Do you want to go on a walk with me? I know it's early a-and that I usually go by myself but lately, I've been feeling a bit more lonely and this time, I wanted to bring someone along. I don't get to spend much time with you and thought maybe you'd like to hang out with me...Y-You don't have to of course! I just...yeeeaah..." The white and brown tabby tom shuffled his paws nervously as he trailed off. He gave her a sheepish smile as he awaited her response. It was unusual for him to talk this much but there are exceptions, like at Gatherings...or now. He wasn't going to say it out loud but he was desperate for anybody to go along.

Mentorship had wormed its way into nearly every aspect of Thrushnose’s life. She planned her days around training; when she curled up in her nest at night, her thoughts lingered on what lessons she needed to teach, and when, and how. Remembering how overwhelmed she’d been during the first days of her own apprenticeship, she’d tentatively given Darkpaw (and herself, by extension) the day off when they’d parted ways yesterday. Today, she blinked awake just as the first rays of sunlight broke through the trees. Stifling a groan, the tabby she-cat pressed her face back into her nest. Not that it did much. Once her eyes opened, they stayed open whether she was ready or not.

Gradually, the rest of her woke up. At last feeling alert enough to face the hustle and bustle of camp, she crawled out of her nest and into the brisk morning. Her younger brother’s brown-and-white face promptly greeted her. “Ker—” Thrushnose stumbled halfway through the name. “Kestrel?” Though her expression was steady, confusion shone bright in her eyes. Usually, Kestrelpaw was even quieter than her; it was sort of startling to hear him ramble. As he went on, however, her bafflement faded into a smile. A walk! It made for a perfect opportunity to unwind and catch up with her brother. Besides, though she’d been too busy for it since warriorhood, she preferred keeping her siblings where she could see them. With Rainstrike’s whereabouts a mystery…

…Well. Pushing that thought back into whatever shadows it had come from, Thrushnose bumped her head against Kestrelpaw’s shoulder. A purr rolled in her throat as she backed off. “What kind of cat would I be if I couldn’t make time for my brother?” Sure, it was pure coincidence that she was free today, but he didn’t have to know that. “Of course I’ll come with you. Besides, I want to hear how your training with Dad’s going.” Her mouth twitched upward. “Do you have somewhere in mind?”

OOC: Super sorry for the delay! I've had a tough week and it got a bit tougher a day ago. ^^; Hopefully starting tomorrow, I'll get back to posting daily!

IC: Kerath couldn't help but sag in relief. She agreed! He couldn't help the purr that rumbled through his chest. How could he have even doubted his sister? He'd have made time for any of his siblings if they asked for his presence. It's what family does! It made him feel a bit silly. Well, at least now he knows not to hesitate if he were to ask for Thrush in the future. He couldn't ask for a better sister. Honestly, StarClan truly blessed him with a great family. He loved them all dearly and would do anything for them and with them. He was quite protective of them all would feel terrible if anything were to happen to his family.

"Thanks Thrushnose. You're the best! Sorry for that ramble..." he replied, mumbling that last part out sheepishly. His expression shifted to a more lighthearted one as she bumped her head to his shoulder. He felt much more relaxed now, the soft smile on his face was evidence of that. "Alright! Well, I didn't have a place in mind b-but maybe we could just see where our paws take us? It's kinda what I do sometimes... but if you have somewhere you'd like to go then I wouldn't mind going there either!" He knew it sounded a bit weird but being it helped him unwind not planning too much ahead. Whenever he plans every detail, he becomes tense and rigid with the urge to work and succeed. It was one of the only ways he really knew how to allow himself the pleasure of relaxation. Being a hard worker was a good trait but being a workaholic... was not very healthy. He fell into the 'major workaholic' category. Now that he thinks about it, he should probably seek help for that.

The tabby tom copied his sister's previous action and bumped his head against her shoulder. "Ready to head out? I wanna hear about how mentoring is going for you. I hope well..." he meowed, eyes glistening with affection. He was excited to be hanging out with Thrushnose since he rarely got time with her.

If it hadn’t been such a relief to see a smile on his face, Thrushnose would’ve found it almost comical how suddenly Kestrelpaw relaxed, as if he were a brand-new apprentice bracing for a battle with territory at stake instead of a cat asking his sister to go on a walk with him. His next question gave her pause. So much of a warrior’s life was structured. Thrushnose liked knowing what to expect, when, and where. But then there were her lessons with Darkpaw, which, as they got to know each other and the training process, she’d tried to calculate almost down to every heartbeat for fear of overlooking something essential. No, the idea of letting their legs carry them wherever they wished sounded like just what she needed. “That’s fine by me,” she said, ducking down to stretch. “I haven’t gotten to walk in…” How long had it really been? After a moment’s thought, she settled on “…A while.”

Kestrelpaw gently bumped his head against her shoulder; she met him with another rumbling purr. “As soon as you are.” She could already feel her enthusiasm for the trip ahead welling up within her. For a place that had once looked the same to her day in, day out as she’d observed it from the safety of camp, these days the forest was as fluid as the river. Now that she knew enough to defend herself (and Kestrelpaw, if it came to that), she could loosen up enough to enjoy it, even with the spectre of Rainstrike hanging over her head.

When her brother set off, so did she, padding along right beside him. Dry leaves and branches alike crackled softly under her paws; this wasn’t a hunting patrol, so it didn’t matter. There was something freeing about that. As the two of them made their way forward, Thrushnose mulled over Kestrelpaw’s last comment. “It’s all right. Darkpaw’s a good listener, which helps”—she couldn’t imagine what a nightmare mentorship would’ve been with a less cooperative student—“but I’ve been busy. It’s like being an apprentice, in a way, but there’s so much more to think about.” Her gaze settled on him. ”So—how’s Dad as a mentor?”

OOC: When and how do you think the battle should take place? Also, do you have a preference of what predator you'd like them to encounter?

IC: The tabby tom allowed a purr to escape his chest. "Glad you got yourself a good apprentice. I can't really imagine how it'd go if she wasn't as good of a listener." he meowed, mind already turning to produce somewhat comical 'what ifs' scenarios in his head. He blinked away his imaginative visions and turned his head to glance at Thrushnose as she continued to speak. He didn't want to let himself float to far and miss whatever his sister was telling him. This was supposed to be a bonding experience for them and he didn't want to lose track of their conversation.

"Mmm. I suppose I understand. Now that I think about it, I've never really thought about what type of mentor I'll be. Honestly, I'm a bit nervous but I'm hoping to get some confidence the more I train. I really don't want to mess up, ya know?" he admitted, green eyes shifting away as he watched the peaceful scenery go by. A few silent moments passed before he continued, "Dad's a real good mentor and I'm glad I became his apprentice. He's really encouraging and very patient. I'm learning lots from him and I'm pretty excited to expand on what I've learned so far. You know how much I love to learn and work. I think almost everyone knows it at this point. It's kinda how I like to spend most of my time. It makes me feel useful and pretty happy. Almost nothing beats the good feeling that comes from being thanked or complimented after a hard day's work. At least, that's what i think." Kestrel said, tone thoughtful and soft. He refrained from recounting the encounter with the fox he and Mink had or that other time with the badger and the other apprentices... Well, maybe they should stay tightly locked away in the back recesses of his memories. They were quite traumatic but he did learn a lot of valuable lessons from both times. Good things sometimes come out of bad situations. Hopefully Thrushnose didn't catch his little flinch. He really didn't want to explain it.

The apprentice's pace slowed a tad as he shuffled closer to his sister. He allowed his gaze to wander around, letting his eyes to take in the beauty of leaf-fall. All the rich and warm tones really soothed him. The fresh air he breathed in cleared his head. His sight wandered back over to his strolling companion, head tilting as he thought hard about what to say next. He wasn't that good with conversations but he hoped that one day he'd be able to convers a lot less... awkwardly.

"Have... have you ever thought about what's beyond here? Like, what lies ahead of all the clans' territories? I've kinda thought about this a few times. I know it's really big but don't know how big. Maybe there are other clans like us? Who knows? It's just an interesting topic to ponder about."

ooc: the battle should probably take place within the next few posts; the “how” depends on what they’ll be facing
Thrush still has Tier 1 stats/moves in this topic, so anything she and Kestrel could reasonably take on at that level works for me!

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They wandered on through the forest, surrounded by leaves in bright, burning color, not quite dry enough to wither. Thrushnose’s dull green eyes, having drifted to the trees high above, returned to her brother. Another faint smile rose on her face. Reading thoughts out of words, expressions, and posture the way some of her Clanmates could had never been among Thrushnose’s talents, even when it came to the cats she knew best; she much preferred hearing for herself what they had on their minds. Between her packed schedule and Kestrelpaw’s tendency toward silence… It was nice, listening to him talk so openly.

As he spoke, she nodded along, slowing down in a (debatably successful) attempt to keep the fallen leaves from rustling so much. ”That’s what apprenticeship’s about,” Thrushnose said lightly. ”Just don’t overdo it, or—” A yawn cut her off. Shaking her head, the tabby continued once it'd passed. ”I’m glad it’s going well. And don’t worry too much about mentoring. I know how that sounds coming from me,” she said with a huff of what could have been laughter, “but it’s true. You figure it out as you go. Besides, you’ll know everything you need to since you’ll be a warrior.”

When Kestrelpaw went quiet once more. Thrushnose hummed as she thought through her response. “Sometimes.” Given the mountains of stories they’d been raised on, thanks both to their parents and the older nursery queens, it would’ve been stranger for them not to wonder about the world beyond the Clans. “I always thought there’s got to be something out there aside from us—like those mountain cats Mom and Dad stayed with. They weren’t a Clan, I think.” They had a really long name, she remembered, though she couldn’t recall what that name was. Thrushnose shrugged. “I don’t know if I want to see any of that for myself, though…unless it’s with everyone. Mom, Dad, all our siblings. Pinefrost, too,” she added after a pause. Close as they were, she tended to group him with “family” even though he didn’t technically count. “It would be better that way.”