At Rest [Fogkit]

The deputy split from her patrol with a wave of her tail, glad to be back in camp just before sunhigh. The day had been uneventful so far, with a squirrel and two birds dropped onto the fresh kill pile to show that it hadn't been too uneventful. It was cold outside, but thankfully dry, and Wolfblossom was content to find a spot between the warriors den and the nursery to take a little break before going out on patrol again later. Even as warriors left the clan, several new kits had been born recently, and soon enough Wolfblossom's own would start becoming warriors. With the twolegs seemingly behind them now, Skyclan continued to thrive.

The young tom hadn't meant to stumble into his deputy. It was a cold day, and he'd spent most of the morning dozing off in the nursery. It was warm there as he cuddled against his denmates. After napping a few hours away, he'd gotten up on his unsteady legs and wobbled out of the nest. He stood outside the den for a moment, trying to regain his balance. He wasn't particularly clumsy, but he had his moments. He glanced upward, noticing a crow flying over the camp. Mesmerized by its motion, he started walking forward, wanting to observe it for longer. Suddenly he felt enveloped by soft, light grey fur. He stepped backwards, finally lowering his gaze. That was when he noticed Wolfblossom. He recognized her, but they hadn't had a proper introduction yet. He felt a flash of embarrassment. That was certainly a way to make a first impression. "Oh, sorry." he mumbled, not wanting to make eye contact. He wished he could shrink away, return back to the comfort of the nursery. There weren't any unsuspecting deputies to run into inside its confines. He'd lost sight of the crow, which made him grumble slightly. He shifted his weight awkwardly, unsure of what to do.

Wolfblossom's gaze had drifted to the trees above, watching a crow fly past and another bird land in one of the high branches. Someone bumping into her made the distracted deputy glance down, pale gaze landing on a smudge of darker fur. Her clanmates seemed to quite literally bump into her rather frequently, and it amused the deputy more than it annoyed her, to be honest. "It's alright, Fogkit." She mewed. Fogkit... Her brother had shared the name, and the kit in front of her looked like a darker version of him even, tabby stripes and slightly paler underside. "Were you watching the birds?" She asked, whiskers twitching.

Wolfblossom didn't seem very mad, which was a relief to the kit. If he wanted to become an apprentice soon, he needed to be on the deputy's good side. Also six moons old, but he couldn't control that, although he wished he could. He nodded slightly, sitting down next to the larger she-cat. "I like to watch them. Or any birds I see. Or other things." He explained, wrapping his fluffy tail around his paws. He sighed quietly, feeling out of his comfort zone. Interacting with other cats, especially older ones, made him feel nervous. With kits, he tended to act more mature, and he usually felt pretty intelligent around them. But with more experienced members of his clan, he felt so much younger and unaware. It was an uncomfortable feeling. He wanted to further the conversation somehow, to fill the awkward gap between words. "How do you catch birds?" was the question he decided on. Observing the crow was still on his mind, even though it had flown out of sight. "I mean, can't they just fly away?" It was a subject he was genuinely curious about. He might as well learn something from this conversation

So Fogkit was more of a watcher, then. That was a good trait to have. "Watching is half of actually hunting them. The other half is, well, hunting them." She murmured. "Birds are tricky, but you can catch them before they fly off if you're careful. Plenty of them come to the ground to find their own food, but we can go into the branches after them, too." Wolfblossom grinned, "When you're an apprentice your mentor will teach you how to climb properly, and it takes practice, but it's not so hard once you get the hang of it. Some of us are better at it than others. A large part of it is knowing what branches can hold your weight and how far you need to leap to the next one." She added. Wolfblossom had always been a bit clumsy in the trees due to her size, but so long as she kept to the lower, sturdier branches she didn't have too much of a problem.

"I haven't, which is a miracle because I was a clumsy apprentice." Wolfblossom replied to Fogkit with a hint of amusement in her tone. Ravenclaw had despaired at her clumsy efforts, but she had improved with practice. Lots of practice. "When your mentor first teaches you to climb, taking it slow and being aware of your surroundings is important." An idea occurred to her, and the deputy turned toward the trunk of the pine whose shade she had been resting under.

"Eventually you'll learn to jump directly into branches that hang low enough, but place your claws on the bark, like this." She stretched upward, front claws resting on the bark. "Dig your claws in, and you can push yourself upward with your hind paws." She demonstrated, clawing her way halfway to the lowest hanging branch, then made her way back down with careful paws. "Getting down is the harder part. Some branches are too high to jump from and be able to land safely. That's when you have to take it slow and pay attention." Finally dropping back to the ground, she turned toward Fogkit once more.

Wolfblossom ducked her head at the thanks she received, a small smile crossing her expression. "You'll be taught more thoroughly by your mentor, of course, but it always helps to have more of an understanding going into training, doesn't it?"

"Your ceremony will be soon, you're almost old enough." She hoped Fogkit would keep that enthusiasm through his apprenticeship. She would find him someone fitting as a mentor, but for now he would be able to enjoy his time in the nursery. Hopefully not too impatiently, though Wolfblossom understood that feeling all too well.

"I'd be more surprised if you weren't." Wolfblossom laughed softly, "I don't know that I've ever seen a kit not excited and counting the days. It feels like forever once the day is close, doesn't it?" It had for her, but then Wolfblossom had not been a particularly patient kit. That had been something she had to learn. Still, she had fond memories of her kithood, of pestering her parents. When that didn't work, she remembered trying to nap to see if time would go faster (it wouldn't, to her chagrin) and when Ashstorm had finally called her name from the tallbranch, Wolfkit had been more excited than anyone.

"I suppose telling you to be patient wouldn't work... It didn't for me, either." Wolfblossom mewed, "I promise you, the ceremony will happen soon enough." When Fogkit was six moons, of course. "You'll look back and laugh at how long you thought it took to happen."

"Eavesdropping isn't polite, you know. But being observant is a valuable skill to have as a warrior." She added, "It's important to get to know your clanmates - not just listen to their conversations."

Wolfblossom... Hadn't considered that he might not know what to say in conversation. It wasn't something that often happened to her, being energetic and talkative. Some of her siblings were far less social, of course, but she had never given it much thought.

"I suppose talking comes more naturally to some of us than others... Usually talking to someone you're on patrol or hunting with is a good way to start." The next part of his response drew a smile from the deputy. "Oh, don't worry. And besides, there will be plenty of time for you to get to socialize with your clanmates. It'll get easier." Or maybe not, Skyclan seemed to breed introverts, but Fogkit was doing just fine in talking to her, right?