setting an example [patrol]

Leopardpaw swiftly made her way across ShadowClan's camp, in pursuit of one singular goal - locating her denmate, Snakepaw, for a patrol. After all, the sooner she found him, the sooner they could actually go on patrol; and it didn't take her too long to find him, which meant they could probably get out of camp sooner than she'd thought. "Hey, Snakepaw," she called, trying to get his attention. "It's time for patrol!"

Snowfoot suddenly seemed to materialize behind Leopardpaw. “Last time I checked, apprentices were supposed to always bring a warrior with them on patrol.”

"Obviously!" Leopardpaw agreed, trying not to sound annoyed when she should be polite. Of course she knew that - it was the simplest rule to understand and follow. "But all I actually know is that we're supposed to be on patrol today. I don't know which warrior I should be looking for, so I decided to start here... Unless it's you, anyway. In which case, I found you, so no worries!"

Snowfoot chuckled. “I wasn’t really told anything either but we’re probably on the same patrol. I was just messing with you.”

Sootwhisker's ears perked up at the mention of a patrol and he padded over to join the group.

"I'd like to join you, if that's okay. It can never hurt to have a couple of extra paws."

Snowfoot smiled. “The more the merrier! That being said, where is Snakepaw?”

Leopardpaw's nose twitched. "That's what I'm saying, I thought he was here!" She thought she'd spotted him, but then Snowfoot had come to tease her and then Sootwhisker was there, too - not that she would ever complain about the chance to spend time with Sootwhisker, but she'd been so caught up in the moment that she'd forgotten about her original task of locating her denmate. "C'mon, Snakepaw, where'd you even go? Snakepaw!"

As cats called his name, Snakepaw lingered, hidden just out of view underneath a pile of deadened foliage. It looked like some cat had raked bedding together and forgotten to sort it. But, it was underneath where the slender black tom lay. His ear twitched first and then eventually he blinked open yellowed eyes. Leopardpaw's hindleg was there only a mouselength away.

Snakepaw lunged. Sharp teeth embedded themselves into her fur. It was satisfying, and he grinned. It was then he realized there were other cats milling about. Sootwhisker had already chastised him once, right? That had been so long ago - he could hardly remember. Spitting out the she-cat's leg, he lay on his belly and looked up at her with a rather indifferent gaze.

Leopardpaw let out a brief but shrill sound as something unexpectedly bit into her leg, followed by a hiss at how unlucky she must be to be attacked in ShadowClan's camp. She turned to swipe at whatever had attacked her, only to find that the assailant had released her - and, a moment later, that it was the very cat she'd been seeking. "What in the name of- Snakepaw? What was that for!? What did I do!?"

Vixenpaw bounded over. "I'm coming!" she yowled, showing off her white fangs. she blinked owlishly at her father and mentor. "where's Deerleap?" she squeaked. her mother was never without her best friend or mate.

"Oh, hi Leopardpaw!" she greeted her older sister.

"here," Deerleap purred as she appeared behind her daughter. she gave Leopardpaw a smile; she did adopt her, after all. she realized that every cat on the patrol was related to her some how: Sootwhisker was her mate, Snowfoot was her best friend, Vixenpaw and Leopardpaw was her daughters, and Snakepaw was her brother.

Vixenpaw jumped as her mother suddenly appeared behind her. even though she spend moons with her, no cat could ever hear Deerleap approaching.

Snowfoot giggled and playfully brushed a paw over Vixenpaw’s head. “There you are, sleepyhead!”

OOC: I really hope it’s okay to bring Vixenpaw? I invited her before the patrol closed.

"Hey, Vixenpaw," Leopardpaw waved in acknowledgement to her mother and sister with her tail, though her gaze never left Snakepaw as she waited for her fellow apprentice to offer an explanation. "Seriously, Snakepaw, what was that for?!"

(ooc: that's fine, but i think we've got more than enough cats now)

Snowfoot turned to Snakepaw. “Leopardpaw is right. You can’t go around just biting your clanmates at random. If I see you do that again, I fully intend on telling your mentor. Consider this a warning.” She rolled her eyes. Apprentices these days…