A Badger's Song [c]

The night came and went, and as the sun made the sky pink and bright, Badgermask made her way out of the warriors' den, ignoring the looks of the Asylum cats that were currently on watch, and ambled over to the apprentices' den. She poked her head in, squinting to find Songpaw's form curled among the others, and called in, "Songpaw, let's get at it." Her voice was low, but a few of the other apprentices flicked an ear, or lifted a groggy head to scowl at her. Moving away from the den, the young warrior sighed quietly and sat down to wait. She knew she wouldn't be able to train Songpaw the way she wanted - to turn her into a warrior against the Asylum, like ThunderClan needed. There were too many eyes, too many ears.

But they'd slip up eventually, she was sure.

Songpaw, as per usual, was up at Dawn. Something about the songs of the morning attracted her, and now that she was an apprentice, she was more than excited to be able to experience them even more and up close.

As Badgermask called for her, Songpaw bounced up to her, enthusiasm showing plain as day. ",What are we doing first? Hunting? Fighting? Oh, oh! Maybe patrolling borders? I'll do whatever you want!"

It wasn't long before Songpaw joined her, and Badgermask met the enthusiasm with a tight smile, surveying the kit with a quick up-and-down glance. "Well, I suppose that's up to you - how would you rather start?" Badgermask said, tilting her head a bit. It was nice to know what sort of apprentice Songpaw would be right off the bat - whether she was eager to start hunting, or learning to fight.

As they talked, they walked, and Badgermask led her apprentice through the tunnel and in the direction of the stony hollow.

"Hu--" A memory flashed through her head, of Akhlut attacking Eaglepaw and she supressed a shudder. She hadn't had been able to defend her brother them-- they'd both been kits. But maybe.. "Can we learn how to fight?" Songpaw asked softly.

"Okay, fighting it is," Badgermask nodded, flicking her tail. She led Songpaw through the forest, weaving expertly through the trees and making their way towards the Stony Hollow. This was as good a place as any to learn to fight, she reasoned, and once they were there, she turned to look at her apprentice.

"What do you know already of fighting?" she asked simply.

"Um, you use your claws?" She answered, uncertain, looking at Badgermask with large eyes. Truthfully, Songpaw wasn't very interested in fighting, she didn't want to hurt others, though she knew she would in a heartbeat to protect her family.

"I think you use fangs too if you have to," Songpaw chimed in, shuffling her multi-toed paws anxiously.