piece of peace [c]

Dovepaw hadn't been training for very long. He felt as if he'd hardly been out on the territory, hardly hunted, hardly fought. It was frustrating, because he wanted to learn as quickly as possible--but he knew that the Clan had almost twice as many kits and apprentices combined as they had warriors. Training took valuable time. Time that could be spent helping the Clan in other ways. His own mentor even had another apprentice to take care of. So, despite how busy he'd planned on being, today the apprentice found himself with very little to do. He'd already taken care of Flickerfoot's nest, he'd already checked in with his siblings. However, as he glanced towards the exit of camp, he saw something strange. A lone apprentice leaving. Weren't all apprentices supposed to have an escort? Who had that been? Maybe they'd just forgotten. Either way, almost unconsciously, he began to follow.

The territory was beautiful. It was almost a little bit too warm. The greenleaf sun soaking into his pelt would have been uncomfortable if not for the cool puddles of water that he could step in as he walked. The apprentice he was following didn't get too far until he caught up. It wasn't any of his siblings. It was one of the others--who was it again? Bubblepaw, maybe? "Hey," Dovepaw said as he approached. "Are you out here alone? Apprentices aren't supposed to leave camp without a warrior, right?" There was no condemnation in his voice, only genuine confusion. He supposed that he was so used to keeping his littermates out of trouble, that it automatically made it so much easier for him to nag others about their wellbeing as well.

Dovepaw blinked as the she-cat responded. She didn't really seem that worried about the lack of warriors, but she also didn't seem frightened at being caught. Maybe Bubblepaw hadn't been intending to sneak out? Maybe she was just... wandering. Though he couldn't understand any good reason as to why. He grimaced a little bit at the acknowledgement that he'd also gone running after her without informing a warrior or anything. Not his finest moment, surely. "Ah, I... I guess I am. But we're not that far out, or anything, so I thought... hmm." Darn. That really hadn't been his intention at all. Was he going to get trouble? Stars, Pidge would never let him live it down if she found out. Hopefully he wouldn't have to tell her about it. Would Egretswoop be upset with him?

However, Bubblepaw proposed a different option. Leaning in, eyes sparkling, she promised not to tell anyone if he didn't. As if this was some kind of illicit activity. As if they were doing anything wrong. I mean--they were, weren't they? They were out without a warrior. He could technically just turn tail and run right now and claim ignorance, go find Owlcall, and get some supervision. But... he could also keep going. It was just a short walk in the territory. So it wouldn't be a problem. ...Right? It was only when Bubblepaw looked meaningfully over her shoulder that Dovepaw realized he'd just been standing there, rooted to the ground. He should go back to camp. Instead, he found himself walking forward, following her a bit hesitantly. It felt like he was doing something wrong. His heart was pounding. But also, it felt... exciting. "Uh... so, where are we going?"

Dovepaw couldn't stop the small frown of confusion. Just going somewhere... with no purpose? How odd. He'd always been busy with something--whether looking after his many siblings or the various new apprentice duties around camp--so he couldn't say that he'd ever wanted to do anything other than rest or eat or sit in camp during his limited free time. But just wandering around the territory? It was pretty, yes, but it didn't make any sense to him. Still, he was already technically breaking the rules just by being out here, so he couldn't really badger her for more answers. Maybe he should just turn around. Instead, Dovepaw continued following Bubblepaw, picking up the pace slightly when he noticed her slowing her steps. "I haven't gotten very much practice with either of those. I'm... fine just walking, I guess." Something else she'd said didn't sit right with him. "But--get lost? How do you find your way back? What if there was a predator, or a rogue, or something?"

Dovepaw continued walking behind his companion, ears swiveling every time he heard a distant splash of a puddle or crunch of a twig. Anxiety followed him everywhere, it seemed. But at least Bubblepaw's words were somewhat distracting. Keeping track of where she had been... he supposed that made sense. He doubted that Perchstar ever got lost. But still. She hadn't been an apprentice for that much longer than he had; how could she know so much more about the territory than him? Still, her next words were interesting at least. She chose not to think about problems so that she wouldn't worry. You could just... choose what you thought about? Choose not to worry? Was that even possible? For a moment, he tried it. Attempted to look up at a particularly tall birch tree, noticing the dark stripes on the bark, and focusing on nothing other than the colors. And it worked. For those moments, he technically wasn't worrying. But then he shook himself out of it. No, that wasn't possible. He had to worry. If he didn't, then who would look after his siblings? He couldn't afford to not be alert when he was out in the territory. Especially since they didn't have any warriors with him. If he noticed a predator before it got to them, he could tell Bubblepaw to run to safety.

With that settled, he returned his focus to Bubblepaw--and stopped short so that he wouldn't slam into her. She really needed to walk at a consistent pace. Or, I should be paying more attention. Instead of worrying, it seemed that he had been a worry. He was out here ruining her fun excursion. But he couldn't let her go alone! And... and besides, it was all right. He wasn't that worried. "No, no, it's fine," Dovepaw said, a little sheepishly. "Sorry. Wasn't trying to make you uncomfortable. I'll keep going, if that's all right with you. I don't want to leave you alone. And, uh... it's kind of nice, out here. The weather's good. So I guess maybe it could be fun."

To distract from his apparent incompetence, he glanced to the side, next to the base of the tree he'd been admiring. There were a couple of flowers. Low-hanging, with big petals, colored a ruddy mixture of red and orange and gold. Dovepaw had no clue what they were called. However, he darted over and grabbed one of the blooms in his mouth, before presenting it to Bubblepaw. "Here. Do you want this?" Wait, why was he offering a she-cat a flower? He was awful at split-second decisions. Trying to dismiss the heat rising under his pelt as the effect of the warm sun, he shook his head. "I mean, uh, I don't know what this is called. And you said walks were about seeing things that are new, right?"

Dovepaw felt a bashful warmth continuing to burn under his pelt as his spontaneous gift was accepted. Well, at least Bubblepaw wouldn't be upset with him. The problem remained that he was technically breaking the rules ever-so-slightly... but if he just followed her pawsteps, then maybe everything would be all right. They began to walk again, and he did just that, taking in deep breaths of the smallest breeze that passed as if it would cool off his fur. "Sweet" was a new descriptor. He wasn't sure how to feel about it. But at least it carried a positive connotation, right? Maybe she just called all of her friends sweet. Probably. "I... like shells," he admitted awkwardly, still not quite able to walk next to her, instead choosing to trail more slowly behind. Maybe it was tacky to accept the offer of a gift. But wouldn't it be more rude to refuse? "Plus it's warm today. A dip in the river probably wouldn't be so bad." And if she showed him where to find shells... well, his siblings tended to like pretty and shiny things. Crowpaw had a fascination with rocks, Pigeonpaw liked anything that sparkled, and Ravenpaw wanted anything that someone else wanted. Maybe he could get them something.

Sunlight filtered down through the willow trees they passed. It made Dovepaw's cream and brown pelt look dappled with gold as he followed, pale blue eyes taking in his surroundings. He hadn't been out on the territory too terribly many times, so there were some things that were a little bit new to him. The peeling bark of a beech tree. The way the wind sang as it rustled through branches. The cool water that splashed onto his paws when he strayed into a puddle he hadn't seen. RiverClan was... really pretty, honestly. Not that he'd ever really thought differently. And of course the prettiest part was the heart of the territory. The river itself. They were coming up on it now, he and Bubblepaw, and its sound got louder and louder in their ears. The noise would have been overwhelming, but for some reason it just wasn't. It was a forceful noise, a clear rushing sound that was uncomplicated as it was powerful, But it was also... reassuring. He didn't know why. It wasn't like the river was actually in his blood. For some reason, though, it felt kind of like home.

His companion seemed to think similarly. There was a pep in Bubblepaw's step as they made their way over to the river. He followed just behind, settling down on the banks, letting the slightly chilly water lap over his paws. It felt... nice. If he'd grown up wherever he was from, would he ever have gone swimming? Would he have hated the water, like most other cats did? Hated fish? It was a strange idea. The idea passed though as Bubblepaw came back up to him, eyes sparkling and smile wide, bearing the shell she'd mentioned. Dovepaw looked at it, considering it. A gift... for him. Its shape was beautiful, delicate, and the brown color was a smooth shade that matched his dark paws almost exactly. "...Thanks," he managed, almost unable to take his eyes off of it. A gift... for him. Now he almost understood why Ravenpaw and Crowpaw were always bickering about who got the shiniest rocks. Smiling softly, Dovepaw raised his gaze to look at Bubblepaw. "I like it. A lot. Let me just put it somewhere for now, before we go back, so I can--" He began to step forward to take the gift. However, as he did so, his paw stumbled on a half-buried river stone he hadn't been paying enough attention to see. With that--he went tumbling headfirst into the river.

Thankfully this part of the river was not too shallow, so he didn't hurt himself. But one moment he was stepping forward with a smile after receiving a gift, and the next moment, he was sitting befuddled in the water's strong current, fur dripping wet, water running down his ears. Dovepaw blinked once. Twice. Eventually what had happened caught up to him. Thankfully the shell was still safe on the riverbank. Once he'd checked that, embarrassment finally began to seep into his pelt alongside the cooling temperature of the water. Stars, could he get any more awkward? What a disaster this whole day had been.