never too late for a new dawn [c]

Tigershriek had one fairly anxiety-inducing day to figure out how in the Stars above he would be training his new apprentice. He was proud that he had been chosen, of course, that meant that Leopardsun thought he was ready for it, but it was still another hurdle he would have to jump. Something else he would prove himself with, and he didn't mind having an apprentice. It might even be fun.

Poking his head into the Apprentice's Den, golden eyes spotted Dawnpaw's pelt, and he quietly tapped her with a paw. "Time for training, I'll meet you at the entrance to camp." Stepping over the other slumbering apprentices, Tigershriek wandered to the entrance, giving his pelt a quick groom before his apprentice made her way out.

Dawnpaw was deep in slumber when she felt a cat's soft paw gently tap her. She awoke, blurrily looking around, and was just deciding to go back to sleep. She had quite little sleep since she was overexcited for her training to start. She heard her mentor's words just when she was preparing to curl back into a small furry ball and drift to sleep.

"Okay!" Dawnpaw agreed, all her fatigue suddenly disappearing and replaced with giddy excitement. It was her first time really training as an apprentice! Dawnpaw got up, stretched, licked her messed up pelt in an attempt to at least look acceptable before padding out of the apprentice's den to meet Tigershriek.

"There you are," Tigershriek smiled down at his new apprentice, eager to set out. "Follow me, I've got a lot to teach you. It can be a bit hard to get at first, I'll be honest, but I promise you'll do just fine." With a flick of his tail, the tom began leading the way out of camp, and out into Shadowclan's territory. Quietly, he showed off the proper way through a part of the marshes, at least in the way of leading Dawnpaw through them, until they reached a relatively dry clearing.

"Here we are. So, do you know anything about hunting?" His question was quick as he turned to face his apprentice, excitement seemingly radiating off of him as if he were struggling to contain it. "Some kits are taught some when they meet young apprentices, and thats great, but it also could be that they teach you wrong because they're new to it too. Or maybe you practiced hunting on your own, or even a warrior sat you down and told you about it. Or maybe none of that happened and you know nothing, I sure didn't know anything when I started." Golden eyes looked down inquisitively at Dawnpaw, and Tigershriek cocked his head to the side slightly as he questioned her.

Dawnpaw followed the warrior out into Shadowclan's territory. She glanced around, curious, when Tigershriek halted at a dry clearing. Wow! The clearing seemed so big! She was so excited for her training to start that she was practically hopping around already. Being questioned by her mentor, Dawnpaw tried her best to follow all the questions.

When Tigershriek finished her questions, Dawnpaw instantly replied, "I know that hunting involves pouncing! I tried pouncing with Tawnyshadow before but I was not so good at pouncing... So what will we be doing today?" She glanced up at Tigershriek's curious expression on his face and asked a question of her own after answering her mentor's questions.

She waited for her mentor's reply, wanting to know what they would be doing. They could be learning how to hunt, maybe explore Shadowclan's territory, and also could learn fighting moves! There were so many new things she could learn from Tigershriek! The more Dawnpaw thought about it, the more excited she got. Dawnpaw unsuccessfully attempted to suppress her excitement, but her eyes bright with excitement and bushy tail swishing back and forth happily gave away her supposed 'seriousness' she had tried to portray.

"Well, let's start with hunting, and don't worry, you'll be good at pouncing before you know it." Tigershriek planted himself right in front of Dawnpaw, making sure she could see what he was doing. "Okay, so I'll demonstrate how you should stalk prey first, and then you can try." Lowering himself into the hunter's crouch, he looked back at Dawnpaw. "So this is the hunter's crouch. You need to get real low to the ground for it, and you have to move slowly. If you move too quick, you'll scare your prey, and its more likely you'll step on, or in, something you don't want to." Moving slowly forward, the tom demonstrated his movement, being careful to keep his tail up off the ground.

Once he was done, he lifted up, shaking out his pelt. "It might hurt a bit, getting that low, but if you keep at it you'll get used to it. If you want, you can try scenting some prey, and hunting it yourself. Don't worry about getting it right on the first go around, I'll just be making sure you're learning what the proper form is first."