Slacking [Emberkit]

The sun's rays cast long shadows over the camp as evening slowly gave way to night, and Mistypaw dropped a trio of mice onto the fresh-kill pile before settling outside of the apprentice den. He had little to do for the moment, but it was far too early to even think of going back to his nest. His mentor was off... somewhere, and Mistypaw hadn't asked. The elders were being tended to, and the young tom let his gaze wander over the camp thoughtfully.

In boredom, was more accurate, really.

A few cats milled around the camp, idle chatter not enough to hold the tom's attention for long. There was a kit outside of the nursery, and blue eyes hesitated briefly over the smaller form. Kits were something mostly foreign to him and he rarely spent time near the nursery. Kits, well... They were kits. He remembered being so excited when Ebonysong and Brighteye- Brightpaw, then- had approached him outside of the nursery, when he was a kit. Maybe the kit was as bored as he had been, at that age?

The lanky tom decided against approaching, gaze turning once more to the rest of the camp. What he'd told Flintstar had been true enough; words were hard, and approaching someone unfamiliar was... difficult... at best. If he was approached, so be it, but Mistypaw didn't feel like making the first move.

With every night Emberkit spent in ShadowClan’s care, a little more of the unease bunched up inside him gave way to something lighter but twice as daunting: boredom. His old mossball couldn’t even be called a “ball” anymore. He hadn’t tried to patch it up this time; there wasn’t any point when he had no denmates to play with. But he wasn’t ready to let it go. Flopping down just beyond the nursery’s mouth as the sun began to set, he idly batted at the clump of moss. It didn’t so much roll as slide from one forepaw to the other.

When he looked up, he realized someone—a dark, dusty-looking cat who hadn’t been there a few minutes before—was watching him. Emberkit went still to the end of his tail. As the dusty cat’s eyes wandered elsewhere, Emberkit’s settled on him. He was older, definitely intimidating…but Emberkit had to start meeting ShadowClan sometime, especially with his own apprenticeship creeping closer. Besides, between being brave and social or safe but lonely, there was no contest.

Abandoning the moss, he padded toward the dusty cat with an odd, weaving stride, as if approaching a particularly skittish insect. It took a moment of staring for him to find the words—but once he did, they all came spilling out at once. “I thought you were looking at me. What’re you doing? Are you doing anything? Were you out training? I know you’re one of the apprentices, even though you look more like a warrior—” Emberkit sucked in a breath. One of the first things he’d been taught was that names mattered, whether they belonged to you or someone else. Heating to the tips of his ears with sudden embarrassment, he attempted to correct his course. “S-sorry. What’s your name? I’m Emberkit.”

The sound of a voice had Mistypaw's head turning, a hint of surprise on his expression as he realized the kit had approached him after all. Before he could speak however, the kit was asking questions, and Mistypaw's whiskers twitched in amusement. Mistypaw got the distinct impression that the kit had been bored, possibly as bored as Mistypaw was feeling.

The kit's name was Emberkit? Hadn't Ebonysong mentioned finding a kit? Maybe this one was hers. Mistypaw generally didn't spend much time around the nursery as his training kept him busy.

"I'm Mistypaw, still an apprentice-" Not for much longer, he hoped, "-I got back from hunting not long ago." He nodded in the direction of the fresh-kill pile. What was he supposed to say to an eager kit? Mistypaw wasn't the best at conversations, he'd gotten lucky to find a few friends who were just as comfortable with silence and skipping small-talk as he was.

Staring at the fresh-kill pile and talking wasn't likely to keep the kit entertained... Maybe he should've gone out hunting-- hunting, hmm... That gave him an idea. It would keep them both busy while there was little else to do, at least.

"You aren't an apprentice yet, but... I could teach you the hunter's crouch, if you'd like?" Blue eyes turned back to the small calico and white kit. Maybe attempting to teach the kit something would feel less awkward than just sitting and talking, at least.

Having never approached one of the Clan’s apprentices before, Emberkit had been hoping for a response more than expecting one. They were an intimidating bunch, if only because they knew more about being warriors than he did. And so, when this apprentice turned toward him, looking more amused than annoyed at his rambling introduction, he was so surprised that his mouth promptly snapped shut. Better yet, the apprentice humored him with an actual answer. Mistypaw! His pelt did have a foggy sort of look to it, especially around his tail—and all apprentices were ‘paws, of course.

At the mention of hunting, another wave of questions threatened to pour itself out of Emberkit’s mouth. He kept it clamped shut, staying silent through sheer force of will as Mistypaw’s attention turned to the fresh-kill pile. After about a season, Mistypaw looked toward him again. ”You aren’t an apprentice yet, but… I could teach you the hunter’s crouch, if you’d like?” Emberkit’s eyes went wide. This was even better than he’d hoped! “Yes!” he chirped. Then, slightly shamefaced as before: “I mean…yes, please, I’d like that. I’m gonna be an apprentice soon”—Ebonysong had told him six moons was the magic number, and he’d get a new name and a new nest once he reached it; by his best guess, he was maybe halfway there—“and I want to be ready.” He’d started bouncing on his paws midsentence; now that he was quiet, he focused on standing as still as possible. That was what hunters did, wasn’t it? ”Okay—" Emberkit exhaled sharply. "What's first?”

The kit was more eager and excited than Mistypaw had thought, and he couldn't help but smile slightly. He had thought that interacting with kits would be far more awkward than this.

"It'll feel a bit odd because you're not used to it, but you want to keep your tail, shoulders and head in a line, and keep your tail still, like this." He said. Mistypaw dropped into the crouch with ease to demonstrate.

"The main trick is to keep your balance and be careful of where you step. You don't want to accidentally rustle the grass or leap for prey when you're unbalanced." Mistypaw added, turning his dark blue gaze to Emberkit.

For how still Emberkit went, staring at Mistypaw with eyes narrowed in single-minded focus, one would be forgiven for thinking Mistypaw had descended from Silverpelt itself to give him hunting tips. He could throw himself at the old mossball however he wanted, and it would end up trapped under his clumsy paws almost every time. Real hunting was different. He’d seen how fast lizards could skitter.

Before he could ask what keeping everything “in a line” meant, Mistypaw slid into what, to him, looked like a flawless crouch. It seemed easy enough… Bit by bit, Emberkit tried to imitate him, bending down and sliding his forepaws closer together. At last, he lifted his tail off the ground; his legs lifted the rest of him. “There’s so much to do,” he mumbled, huddling down again. “Is it this hard every time?” After a few more seconds of shuffling, he managed to coax the rest of himself into a fairly convincing crouch (for his first proper attempt, at least). He still felt off-kilter, but, then, Mistypaw had said he would. Looking up at the apprentice, Emberkit asked, “So what’s next?” A minute ago, he would’ve assumed the pounce itself was next, but after all the work that had gone into crouching, he figured he’d rather be certain.

"You're doing well. It'll get easier with practice." Mistypaw mewed encouragingly at Emberkit. He was enthusiastic, and the way the kit was paying attention to him almost made Mistypaw feel like he had his own apprentice. An odd feeling, to be sure, but it was far better than the awkwardness he felt earlier.

"See if you can take a few steps and keep your balance. There's a leaf over there, think you can pounce on it?" He indicated the stray leaf that had fallen into the hollow with a nod before glancing back at Emberkit.