older and wiser [closed]

Chilled down to his bones, the apprentice stumbled towards the elders' den, limbs frozen and stiff. A plump squirrel he'd caught was in his jaws, all warmth drained from it by the time he had reached camp. The events that had happened during the past few days were of a variety, some pleasant and others... not so pleasant. Minnowpaw had been looking forward to seeing Dustcloud again, wanting to tell her all about his training and ask how she was doing. Not only that, he hoped to see if the wise she-cat knew anything about Stoatfur, the cat devoid of emotion. He paused for a brief moment, shaking the bits of frost on his whiskers off while gathering his thoughts.

Stepping inside, he embraced the bit of warmth coming from the sight of the elder and set the squirrel in front of her, smiling. "Surprise! I couldn't find a mouse but I did catch a squirrel for you... Did you miss me?" his voice was soft but loud enough for her to hear, though a little raspy because of the cold. Hearing her voice eased worries but at the same time brought concern for the elder's well-being during this unforgiving season. At her welcome, he laid beside her, wrapping his tail tightly around himself. "How are you doing? The cold is slowly freezing me to death- I hope it's not as cold for you in here..." The tone of his mew was full of compassion as he gazed into her eyes.

Day dreaming had become a frequent habit of Dustcloud’s, as sitting alone in the elder’s den was often a lonely and dreadful experience, especially during the colder moons. When she heard the sound of a familiar voice in the entrance, her entire face lit up, and her demeanor quickly changed from sad and tired to happy and almost energized. Visitors were often few and far between, especially as kits grew into apprentices and apprentices into warriors, so she was thankful to see Minnowpaw standing there waiting for her. She beckoned him forward with a flick of her tail, nuzzling him affectionately. ”Oh, th-thank you! I always m-miss you, dear.”

Dustcloud nosed the squirrel forward towards the tom, shaking her head a bit. ”You g-go on ahead a-and eat, y-you’ve got t-to keep your st-strength up for t-training. Minkstar ensures I-I’m well f-fed, d-don’t worry about m-me. And s-scoot on in a l-little closer, it’ll k-keep the b-both of us w-warm.” She smiled as Minnowpaw took his seat next to her. ”Oh, well I c-can’t complain much. It st-stays warm enough in here. H-How has your training b-been? Tell m-me all about i-it, it’s y-your turn t-to tell the s-stories now.” She joked, genuine love for Minnowpaw in her voice.

With a small chuckle, Minnowpaw accepted the prey. Taking a bite out of it, he savored the taste. It seemed much juicier because it was the winning piece of prey, not that it was actually true. How should I start? He glanced at the item at his paws. "I actually caught this squirrel as part of a hunting competition with Starlingflare and Copperpaw... I couldn't believe it when Starlingflare told me I won- " his shy mew said in between bites. "Are you sure you don't want any of this? It's delicious..." He nudged the food towards the elder.

"I had my first training session with him just the other day but it didn't go very well... We went to... uhm- snake- Snakerocks? And he told me to kill an adder that was there, but I froze up. I got scared... I wanted to be the best apprentice I could be, but so I tried to bite its tail and instead I messed up and did a backward roll! The worst part was, I tried again and again but I couldn't hit it once. The Starclan cursed creature even bit him. And I couldn't do anything about it..." his voice was choking up.

He wanted to tell himself, Stop it Minnowpaw! Get a hold of yourself. You're a disappointment. Don't let it show... But perhaps the tom needed an outlet. Someone to spill his true feelings to.

"I... I-I got scared of messing up in front of the deputy and I- I made Stoatfur snap at me. He had to kill the snake because I couldn't." If the sadness in the apprentice's voice was not clear enough, he buried his face into the elder's fur. You're acting like a kit. Grow up! he ignored the voice in his head. Telling all this... to Dustcloud. It made him feel relieved.

”You caught th-this all on y-your own! How w-wonderful! They t-train yiu apprentice up s-so quickly these d-days. I’ll t-try a little piece, j-just to t-taste your c-catch.” Truthfully, the elder hadn’t had much of an appetite recently. She could surely stomach this, though. Taking a little nibble of the prey, she nodded excitedly to the tom and once she’d finished her bite she mewed, ”B-Best squirrel I’be e-ever tasted! In l-leafbare, too!” She listened closely to what the young apprentice was saying, nodding along as he spoke. ”You’d n-never learn if y-you never made m-mistakes, hmm? Snakerocks is a d-dangerous place, and adders a-are a difficult animal t-to take d-down. And Stoatfur’s g-got a lot going on, t-too. I’m sure he didn’t m-mean to be so h-harsh. It h-happens to the b-best of us, d-dear.” Leaning into the tom as he buried his head in her fur, she curled her tail around his body and pulled him closer. ”Y-your mistakes do n-not define you. Remember th-that, okay?” She purred, icy blue eyes warm and motherly. She missed being able to interact with ThunderClan’s youth like this.

Wise words from the elder were taken to heart, forever to be stored and treasured. The grey and white tom let himself be cradled, love for the caring elder blooming within. If the world were to stop, frozen in time, this moment was the one he'd wish to stay stuck in. Gentle breathing and warmth filling the den... peaceful times.