Visiting [OPEN]

OOC: Complete open topic. Join in if you want at any time :)

Swiftheart walked towards the nursery, she was going to check up on her younger siblings, Dimkit and Lichenkit and any of the other kits who she had not gotten a chance to meet yet. She was in a usual good mood with high spirits which was very typical for the talkative extravert, who loved to meet new faces and loved even more to talk talk talk.

She hummed happily as she walked along with pep in her step.  In some ways... In alot of ways perhaps, she still had the energy and innocence perhaps of a kitten herself. She also was cuirious to scout around the nursery for other reasons... that being wondering if her sister (Basilbloom) would ever want an apprentice to become medicine cat apprentice.  Basilbloom had not really asked for one but Swiftheart thought maybe it would be good for Basil.  Not that Swiftheart really had any say at all in the matter. When Basilbloom was gone she missed her so much and was so glad she had returned safely, but having a second medicine cat even in training might not be such a bad idea.  She carried some fresh kill over in case any of the kits or queens were hungry.  Maybe the kits would want to play too she hoped. Or maybe they were curious about different things, in either case she looked forward to seeing them as it was always fun to take a break from the usual warrior duties and spend time around the newest members of their clan.

Seeing Icekit nearby she gave a wide grin in greeting "Hello there!" she meowed happily. "Im Swiftheart" she introduced... Icekit may have already known that but she was unsure really,  she only knew of Icekit in passing and had not gotten to meet them alot in person but she wanted to for sure!

Icekit was spending her time observing her denmates roll around on the ground as they play-wrestled and pretended to be warriors. Icekit occasionally joined them, but for the most part, she didn't enjoy it. If she was goin to have to fight, then let it be hunting prey when she was an apprentice. Otherwise, it felt like quite the unsightly activity to her.

When Swiftheart approached and gave her a greeting, Icekit was immediately up on her feet and turned towards the warrior. She gave  respectful blink in return and mewed, "Hello; it is great to meet you, Swiftheart. They call me Icekit." She noted the kill in Swiftheart's mouth and gestured with her tail over to a wider open area of the nursery. "The queens will be grateful for your gift. Thank you for bringing it over for us."

Icekit stuck to Swiftheart as they moved further into the nursery. This was another warrior she had yet to meet, but was grateful to finally say hello. "Did you go out hunting today? How have the hunting grounds been?" She tried to slow herself down, so as to not let her questions overwhelm Swiftheart, but she allowed her one final pressing question on her mind. "The queens say newleaf is around the corner. Are you excited?"

Swiftheart put the prey down where Icekit had pointed and nodded at the kits eagerness. "You are so very welcome!" she purred happy to have caught something to help out the clan.
Oh this would be so fun! she thought to herself... she loved talking and conversing with others and many cats of shadowclan knew this of her, the thing was that alot of them were not big talkers, hmm okay maybe Loudnose (her older brother) was a big talker even more than her... which was quite alot indeed.

She blinked at the rapid fire questions grinning, so far... Icekit reminded her alot of her as a kit actually, full of curiosities, questions and eagerness.

She grinned friendly "Yes I got to go out hunting today" she answered.

"Well... the hunting grounds have been ... difficult to say in the the least. This leaf bare has been particularly bare and hard to catch much in... and predators oh so many of them... Just earlier I was attacked by a giant owl that swooped down and tried to carry me off" she talked explaining it all to the kit in a great story fashion.

"hmm to put it shortly, the hunting grounds have been errm well less than favorable to say in the least." she said, but she was not down when she said it. Swiftheart was a very positive cat, emotional at times and would often go off her gut than her head but was (usually) a very happy cat with high spirits, even in this harsh season, she remained usually upbeat about things.

She purred nodding about the newleaf idea from the queens. "I really really hope it is coming soon! It will certainly make prey a bit easier to catch" she replied

"And although I like blending in with all the snow... it is getting a little old of being cold all the time when out and about" she added on in extra talking explanation.

"I am very happy that Basilbloom and Duskflight returned before the winter got any worse... perhaps in the new leaf we will be able to plant those seeds from the flower she returned with" she meowed. She watched carefully for Icekits response to this trying to get an early gauge of if Icekit would even be remotely interested in this type of thing, again, not that she could really do aton with that information besides maybe nudging her sister to meet with Icekit... she also had no idea if Basilbloom even wanted an apprentice... but such was swiftheart's nature, act without a plan and figure it out as you go.

She quickly moved on as well though her nature was also to ask lots of questions and to talk pretty nonstop when it was her turn.

"Hmm and how is kitten life going so far?" she asked... when she was a kitten she remembered being so bored with it and longing to become an apprentice and to get out and train alongside her father (Mistyfalcon)... who was in some ways quite the opposite of her in the regard that he was quite , guarded and rarely spoke.. he also did not enjoy meeting new cats and he even did not like going to gatherings which was one of Swifthearts favorite things to do evaa! hmm wow her mind certainly liked to rabbit trail on random ideas.... Pulling her thoughts back to the present she continued.

"I do hope the nursery has been warm enough?? If not I can see if we can fill any gaps in better" she offered. "and are you eager to become an apprentice?" she asked tilting her head, she was fairly sure she knew the answer to this already, she grinned.

"hmm maybe you even have someone you wish for as a mentor?" she giggled while glancing around the nursery.

Icekit listened obediently to Swiftheart's explanation, nodding along as she spoke about owls--Icekit wondered what type of creature that was, as she hadn't heard of it before now--and sneaking in the snow. It all seemed like it would be more trouble than it was worth, if not for food being such a necessity. At least it meant getting out of the camp. That provided some worth for all of the trouble.

"It's boring being a kit," Icekit meowed woefully. "I can't wait to be an apprentice. It seems so much more exciting."

She'd been having dreams for the past moon about becoming an apprentice. Racing through the snow, all the way to Fourtrees. Catching some voles on the way to gobble down so she never felt hungry. Meeting every single cat from every clan before a Gathering was done. Sometimes she even dreamt of standing on top of the Jaggedrock and giving announcements, leading ceremonies. It was all so exciting...though it didn't really show on Icekit's neutral face.

Forestkit arrived before Icekit could finish answering Swiftheart's questions, but she didn't allow him to slink away. She quickly got to her feet and moved towards him to guide him back and sit with them both. "Forestkit; it's good to see you. I hope you've been well since we last spoke. You haven't interrupted anything."

She looked to Swiftheart and then gave another quick glance at Forestkit. So they were not yet acquainted. Forestkit was still looking for someone to potentially be his mentor, and this warrior was certainly chatty and kind enough to coax Forestkit out of his nervous shell. Icekit was certain of it.

"Swiftheart, meet my denmate Forestkit," meowed Icekit as she emphasized his introduction. And then, pushing the hint a bit to Forestkit, she added, "I'm hopeful that Cicadashriek will be chosen as my mentor. Forestkit is still getting to know the warriors, though. I hope you two can grow more acquainted."

Swiftheart nodded listening to Icekit's words, she grinned at the mention of being bored and wanting to get out more, she had felt the same way! and knew what that was like, she begged Mistyfalcon so many times to take her out early as a kitten. He never budged on that one though. "Cicadashriek is a great warrior! He will be an excellent mentor for you" she meowed happily

Swiftheart gave Forestkit a big smile as they were introduced, she did not think he was awkward at all. "You have not interrupted anything, we are happy that you can join us!" she meowed super friendly. She nodded patiently listening to what he had to say. "That is a good idea" she encouraged him to meet others in the clan.

"You've been doing great," Icekit assured Forestkit. "And Swiftheart is a great warrior to meet. Look: she's just brought back some fresh kill for the nursery." She gestured with her nose towards the kill. While some of it has already been taken away by grateful queens, there was still a bit left.

Icekit added to Forestkit, "And when you and I are apprentices, we'll be the ones bringing back food for the clan."

That seemed to put an idea in her head and her attention turned back to Swiftheart. "What would you say are the best areas to hunt in?" Seeing as they'll be apprentices soon, it was best that they had advice before they even got their mentors. The more they knew beforehand, the more effective apprentices they'll be.

Swiftheart purred at both the kits enthusiasm, and nodded "of course!" she replied sitting between them.

She thought for a moment before explaining the following about Icekits quesion of the different hunting grounds and territories that Shadowclan held... "hmm well the best overall for hunting would have to be the Pine Grove, its our prime hunting ground and where alot of our main food source comes from... but you have to be careful of predators there... And then of course there is the deep marshes but they can be dangerous if you lose your footing there and get caught up, its easy to get into trouble with drowning there so be extra careful when you two go out there.  However the deep marshes are a good place to look for herbs... but if you want any more detail on that you would have to ask my sister Basilbloom the medicine cat as i'm no expert in that field.  Hmm and then of course there is the carrionplace, it is full of rats to eat and such ... not exactly the best place honestly but in desperate times such as this season it is still a valuable territory to hold.

she thought for a moment then realized all of the places she described sounded a bit harsh... hmm she hadn't meant it to come across that way however.... "Not to worry though! You will have your mentors with you so I am sure you will be plenty safe! she added on reassuring them

"Which is why you should always be with your mentor when out and about" she said... she remembered all the times she had not followed that rule and wondered out by herself... probably best to leave that bit out. but she did grin slightly to herself at the memory.

She turned to Forestkit ...advice to be prepared as apprentices?... hmm

"wellll" she drew the word out trying to think

"... I guess I would say that it is okay to not understand or pick up on everything right away, its normal to have to take some time to get the hang of things, try your best and dont get frustrated at yourselves if you dont nail every catch right off the bat these things take practice" she said,

"I missed alot of my first catches actually and still do sometimes, so I guess my advice summed up is dont be too hard on yourself, your best is all we can ask of you and I know that you will both do great" she said cheering them on.

Icekit listened closely to all of the information that Swiftheart provided them. All of those places sounded exciting, though for different reasons.

Pine Grove. Likely named for the trees. They already lived among a lot of trees and dark light, so Icekit wondered if these hunting grounds were also as dark or if it was more open and brighter. She knew that a lot of warriors liked to go hunting at night to catch prey, and so maybe she would learn to hunt in the darkness too.

The Deep Marshes...that was another story. Icekit shivered at the thought of even accidentally stepping into a puddle, let alone falling into a pond at the marshes. Her heavy coat surely would be the death of her in that situation; she was certainly no RiverClan cat. Maybe keeping away from the marshes was best for now.

Carrionplace was hard to say. It sounded interesting, full of birds and rats, but Icekit was also already aware of the concept of crowfood. She guessed that the Carrionplace was full of that, even if the main source of prey for the hunters was rats instead of bird leftovers. Icekit figured she could reserve her judgment until she saw the area for herself.

A happy purr bubbled up from inside of her before she could catch it. All of it was just so fun and exciting. She wanted to be out running around and pouncing on prey now. But she had to wait until she was officially an apprentice. Swiftheart was right, though; they were both going to do great as apprentices.

"Thank you for all of that," Icekit meowed politely. "I look forward to being able to hunt or patrol alongside you when we're old enough." She glanced at Forestkit again, trying to silently assess his thoughts on Swiftheart and mentoring before Swiftheart had to get going.