Home Sweet Marsh [Closed]

A huff escaped Badgermask as she led Larkpaw out into the territory, tail lashing. In the wake of her father's death, doing training was the last thing that the warrior wanted but the nagging insistence in her own head to finally at least wrap it all up had pushed her to agree to finally teach Larkpaw the territory. In some sense, one would think the snow would blanket the threat of the marsh but in some sense, it made it even worse. She had seen it for herself - the deep marsh was covered but the snow could only support so much weight... How easily it would be for a cat to step onto it unaware and sink into the marsh below if it wasn't frozen...

"Keep close," she ordered over her shoulder as she gave her apprentice a small glare. "Until you know this place like the back of your paw, you never want to go far from a warrior lest you stumble into the deeper parts of the marsh. And even then, the snow can easily lead you to fail to recognize where you've stumbled..."

A soft hiss, barely hearable, escaped Badgermask as Larkpaw started to bombard her with questions. She had been willing to tolerate it at the lake but now? After losing her father? The warrior had never been all that sociable but the rage that bubbled within her at her own failure shortened her fuse to a whisker. She bared her fangs, claws sinking into the snow beneath her but she forced herself to take in a shaky inhale - restraining herself from snapping at her apprentice. She wanted to - oh how she wanted to snarl at Larkpaw that she was far out of the mood to answer pointless questions but she had a job...A job that demanded she didn't swipe at her apprentice.

If she could restrain herself, it would be over sooner - and she wouldn't be expected to do this again. "...No," she responded sharply once she was certain she had a better control of her tongue - forcing herself to keep marching forward. "Not after what it cost to leave the lake." Her gaze swept the area around them, using what odd landmarks she could recall to figure out their location within the marsh. "And maybe, its up to Leopardstar. But if we focus on why we are actually out here," she noted, a touch of venom entering her word as she spared a sharp glare over her shoulder. "We're drawing close to the deeper aspects of the marsh. You do not want to stupidly stumble into this area as the deep areas can drown a full grown cat. However, once the snow is gone, somebody will teach you and the others where hidden stones which can be used to cross it but even then it has its risks so caution is always needed."

A soft huff escaped Badgermask as her apprentice fell silent, the sour-mood she-cat taking joy in the fact that she could actually focus on her duty without Larkpaw's non-stop questions. "Of course, the snow does more than just mar teaching the aspects of the deeper marshes, but also how to actually hunt on our territory," she noted with a twitch of her whiskers. The snow dampened the sound of their footfalls if they were careful with how they stepped which was a skill to learn, but it taught nothing on how one would cross the marsh itself without a sound. Wading through muck and crossing snow were distinct skills - both important to the stealth of a ShadowClan cat but only one could be learned at a given time.

"We can cover some aspects of hunting in our territory - how to stick to the shadows that fall upon the marsh, where prey tends to run the most - the Pine Grove is notable a drier area even once the snow melts so at least hunting there is roughly the same every season," she explained - giving a glance over her shoulder. She halted slightly at the sight of Larkpaw's crestfallen expression, something stirring within her despite her best efforts as she quickly looked away. "...Well?" she finally meowed, trying to put on an unbothered air as she flickered her tail towards her apprentice. "We're here to learn about the territory - any questions about the topic are still welcomed."