Repetition [closed]

Although grief still tugged at Astershine's heart and mind, so did guilt. Weeks had passed since he'd been assigned as Creampaw's mentor, and between the twoleg invasion, which has split the clan into groups, and Crimsonflame's disappearance,  he hadn't been able to tofficially teach Creampaw anything. Now there was no reason for him to continue to delay training. The weather was fair, for a leaf-bare day at least; comfortable enough to complete tasks without hinderance as a result of the weather.

So, with a neutral tone, Astershine approached the apprentice. "Hey, Creampaw. Do you want to go hunting or something? I could take you out to Skyclan territory if you'd like? It's a bit of a walk, though." If he had to guess, Creampaw probably wasn't able to go out to Skyclan territory very often, but he saw it important for him to know the territory that he would regularly be hunting on when this whole thing blows over - if it all blows over.

Creampaw was sitting off on his lonesome, gaze off on the horizon. It had been an sour herb to swallow - the fact that Blackbear was...Gone and he didn't know when - if - she would return. But it was a truth he was coming to accept, even as much as it hurt to do so. He had tried to throw himself into his training as a distraction - but that had proven its own difficulty with Astershine being distracted with his own things. He had at least gotten to going over what lessons Blackbear had taught him as a kit, trying to expand and figure out further things from there but it just wasn't the same...

Which was why there was a huff of relief as his mentor's voice spoke up - relieved at the idea of some actual training. "Of course, hunting sounds great," he meowed as he pushed himself to his paws. "And sure, I don't mind the trek - SkyClan territory is fine." There was a bit of an excitement - he hadn't been to SkyClan's territory since... Well, he actually never recalled ever being there - he knew he had to been there at least once but he was so young when the earth shook - he didn't even remember that event.

"Oh, good. Are you ready to go now, then?" Creampaw hadn't seemed like he was doing anything of substance when Astershine approached, but he still thought to ask anyways. With a flick of his tail he turned to face the edge of the clearing, signaling for Creampaw to follow.

Astershine was relieved to be out of Fourtrees. Even if Creampaw hadn't wanted to train, he still probably would have visited Skyclan territory; he missed being able to walk out of camp and have the whole forest at his paws. It would have been uncomfortable being alone, though. Ever since Crimsonflame had told him to bring someone along when he left camp, he'd always done it, even into warriorhood.

The path to Skyclan territory was harder to discern with the lack of vegetation (which before illustrated a sharp contrast), but allowing some trust in his paws he was able to stay on track. Moving to the edge of the path, he allowed space for Creampaw to walk alongside him. "I'm glad I get to take you to Skyclan territory. Have you ever been there?" Astershine had simply assumed that Creampaw had never been, but he didn't actually know ifperhaps someone else had taken him all the way out here. "Also, I'm sorry I didn't get around to officially taking you training sooner, It was never my intention. But, y'know, everything happened..." He let himself trail off. Creampaw knew what he was talking about, it was the very reason they weren't staying in their actual camp right now.

Soon, the land around them grew more jagged and harsh, but familiar and comforting to the warrior. "This is it." He said, his stride remaining unbroken. "So, do you know how this kind of thing is supposed to go? I've never really trained anyone before. Is there something you'd like to learn or practice? I said we'd go hunting, but if there's something else you'd like to learn, I can teach you." He turned toward the apprentice with curious eyes.

Creampaw nodded mutely to Astershine's question, quickly following after him as his mentor led the way. He was grateful for the silence, thought his ears did perk as the tom spoke up again with a question of his own. "...I...Don't know," he answered, giving a shrug of his shoulders. "My earliest memories is Fourtrees - this will be the first time I can remember but..." he drifted off, sparing a glance around. There was an odd feeling deep within his chest as he took in the forest, watching as the land around them slowly started to grow rougher under paw. Perhaps he had been here once as a young kit but... Why did it only make the crushing ache of Blackbear's disappearance sting even more? "...Maybe when I was really little," was all that he finished with.

His gaze fell onto his mentor as Astershine also gave out an apologize, twitching his ears at that as he gave another shrug. "Its fine - Blackbear taught me things when I was a kit so it wasn't like it was putting me behind," he responded, his voice growing a tiny bit bitter at bringing up his mother. "Just...Content to do training now." As the topic turned to what they would be covering, he paused briefly to dwell on it. Was there anything he needed to learn? Blackbear had taught him how to climb, how to defend himself, the basic of hunting... The latter two were skills that he clearly needed to be refined - there was only so much she could have taught him as a kit but it wasn't like he was fond of the idea of fighting which left... "No, hunting sounds good. Anything else can wait for later - the Clan always needs more food."