A Curious Kit [C]

Icekit had been slowly working her way through the nursery and had spoken with most of the kits there. Now it was time to move a bit further and speak with an apprentice. She would be an apprentice soon, and so it was better that she was already known by the other apprentices than to have to make a new impression to all of them at once after her ceremony.

It was difficult trying to decide which apprentice she should approach first. Shypaw was so skittish that Icekit wasn't even sure it was worth the time to speak with her. Snowpaw was a bit more well known, but Icekit wasn't sure if she was the best to speak to first. Sootpaw had left for his moonstone journey, about to become a warrior, so Icekit had missed her chance to even try and speak with him.

Deerpaw, however, was a viable option.

She seemed pretty friendly; maybe a bit too friendly for Icekit's liking. It was often hard for the young kit to be around excitable cats. It was why she hadn't spent much time in the nursery if she could help it. But Deerpaw being so open made for an easier conversation to approach, so Icekit figured that she would be the best option to inquire about apprenticeships and ask further about the clan as a whole.

Finally, she approached the young apprentice. She stood as tall as her small body could muster, but Deerpaw was still older and larger than her. Icekit raised her chin to look more easily up at Deerpaw.

"Hello," Icekit meowed. "We have not formally met. I'm Icekit. You're Deerpaw, right?"

Remember your manners, Icekit, she thought to herself. She had listened to their leader during meetings at the Jaggedrock while she was kept in the nursery by the queens; she had watched the way warriors spoke with one another. She had to speak like them to make a good impression, and while the words felt clunky and foreign on her young tongue, she would do her best to reflect what she'd picked up on.

Deerpaw was heading out of camp when a small voice called from beside her. Looking down, she recognised the brown pelt of icekit. “Hey! Yeah, I’m Deerpaw. Nice meeting you, Icekit!”she greeted with a warm smile. At the back of her head she wondered if she would have the honour of mentoring this observant and intelligent kit. But that was far in the future.

“Could I help you?” She enquired, tipping her head to the side.

"If you weren't busy, I wanted to speak with you," Icekit explained. "I'm curious about the responsibilities of an apprentice. The queens occasionally speak of it, but it can sound like bedtime stories when they talk about it. I wanted to hear from a real apprentice who knows what they're doing--like you."

Though, Icekit didn't know how well Deerpaw actually knew the responsibilities that came with being a warrior. She had experience with being an apprentice, sure, but Icekit had never seen her in action. Maybe she was terrible at it.

No, no. Cease that foolish thinking. Icekit was the young one here, with lots to learn. Deerpaw was leagues ahead of her by simply the virtue of age, let alone everything else she had been taught by the warriors of their clan. Icekit needed to respect that; she would respect that.

Deerpaw resisted the urge to laugh. This kit was so polite and posh, speaking as if she was a kittypet. Deerpaw pondered the question for a while. “Well, I hope your apprenticeship won’t be as stressful as mine. There was huge invasion and all apprentices were out hunting and did not fight. While all the warriors were recovering, feeding and protecting the clan fell on the shoulders of all the apprentices. I suppose being an apprentice is about learning to adjust yourself and become a better warrior and cat.” She said at last. The apprentice hoped that she had phased the explanation simple enough for Icekit to understand.

Icekit's ear twitched as she listened to Deerpaw's explanation. So that's why the camp was quiet and a bit messed up. Icekit had assumed for a while that it was the norm, but of course it couldn't be. She looked back towards some of the warriors who were speaking together across the camp. Maybe that's why some of them weren't as keen on getting out anymore.

Looking back to Deerpaw, Icekit meowed, "Thank you. That makes sense." She tilted her head curiously. "But while it might be stressful, it seems like an honor to be so responsible for the clan. You get to play a larger role."

Deerpaw smiled. "Yes, I do get to play a larger role but my health was affected greatly because of the stress. I'm recovering well now but I've also learnt to manage my duties better. when you become an apprentice, you will also learn such skills," she said, looking into Icekit's amber eyes. they reminded her of her own. this kit was rather special: she was polite and well-mannered, more so than even some of the warriors. and rather observant and smart too. Shadowclan was lucky to have such a kit as it's future.

but it'll be difficult for Icekit to even grow into an apprentice, let alone a warrior. there was sickness and the cold, and not to mention the lack of prey and huge amount of predator.

Icekit nodded. Stress...well, she supposed she hasn't had to deal with much stress, as a kit. She spent her days boredly walking around the camp and trying to avoid getting pounced on by her denmates. So she didn't understand all of Deerpaw's points now, but maybe she would after receiving her apprentice name.

"I'm glad you're feeling better," Icekit mewed. "I hope that when I'm older, I can be as good of an apprentice as you are."

Granted, Icekit didn't actually know how good of an apprentice Deerpaw was from firsthand experience. But she figured that if Deerpaw was responsible enough to work for the camp when warriors were out of commission, and she had worked so hard as to make herself sick, that Deerpaw was indeed a good apprentice.

Deerpaw felt her heart sing as Icekit promised to be as good an apprentice as... her? that was a first. "I'm sure you will be, maybe even a better one!" she purred, though she wondered about the possibility of her words. would she become a better warrior, because she was clan-born?

"I'm not sure about that. I have a lot to learn before I can catch up to being as good as you," Icekit pointed out. Maybe Deerpaw was just being modest. But Icekit was still just a kit, and Deerpaw would surely be graduated to warrior long before she was. Deerpaw would forever be her elder, which meant she had a lot to do before they would be on equal ground.

"My apprentice ceremony is approaching," Icekit continued, leaving that thought behind. "So soon I will be joining you in hunts and patrols. Do you have any advice?"

Deerpaw blinked at Icekit's response. what she said did some some truth in it. she hummed thoughtfully before deciding to leave the thought behind and answer Icekit's next question.

"Well, in leafbare, cats aren't the only cats going hungry. be careful to watch out for predators that seem to evaporate out of thin air! the first time I tried hunting, I got this scar-" Deerpaw showed a thin but long scar on her shoulder "- from a racoon. Swiftheart, my mentor, helped me kill it in the end. also, when escaping dogs, you should climb trees. not many cats in shadowclan cat climb, but I self-taught myself. you can always come to me for advice! any other questions?" she finished, a little proud of herself. maybe she wasn't as bad as she made herself believe.

Raccoons. Dogs. Icekit hadn't seen either of those creatures yet. She had occasionally smelled some kind of foreign creature on warriors and apprentices when they returned from a hunt gone wrong. But she had no idea what those could possibly look like.

Icekit tilted her head as she tried to think. Her eyes then lit up and she meowed excitedly, "Have you ever been to a Gathering? What are they like? Have you met cats from other Clans?"

She often wondered what cats from the other clans were like. She had heard stories of what the other clans were like from the elders, or from things she had heard warriors discussing with one another. But they were often told in vague terms, or discussed by smell, or only about the leaders. Who Icekit was sure were important. But they were also unchanging. Other cats, however, could be useful.

"yes, I've been to a gathering before! It's really interesting, meeting all the other clan cats and learning their culture! I met this young warrior of skyclan called Rabbitchaser, and she was polite and nice!" she said, glad to have the topic off her for once. "Enough about me, what about you? what do you want to be when you grow up?"

Icekit eagerly listened to Deerpaw's explanation, but she was caught off-guard when the subject was changed. Her nose twitched and she tilted her head in thought. What did she want to be...? She had no idea. At the moment, she would be grateful to just be an apprentice. But beyond that? What did she really hope for beyond that?

Icekit considered for another minute before she meowed, "I want to be a good warrior. Someone that helps the clan, in whatever way that's needed...I suppose it would be fun to be deputy or leader, but I have to be a worthy warrior for that. So for now, being the best warrior for the camp is probably what I want to be."

"That's a good ambition!" Deerpaw assured Icekit. she smiled as her name was called by her mentor. "Goodbye for now, but I really have to go! See you around!" she said as she scrambled to her paws and ran off.