They're More "Guidelines" [o]

[Willow]

She shouldn't be here. She really shouldn't be here. The gorge was forbidden to all apprentices. Especially not-really apprentices who were alone. Great Starclan, the trouble I'll be in if I'm caught, Snowpaw thought apprehensively. Her mentor had died just across this gorge. Her amber eyes scanned the foreboding territory that was the moor. Frost coated the short grasses. Where were the trees? Even RiverClan's territory had plenty of trees. WindClan's had none.

"Why would anyone want to live there?" she asked herself out loud before tearing her gaze away and looking at the ground on her side of the river. It was moist from the recent rains, but hardening as the air grew colder. Snowpaw ruffled her thick pelt up against the cold and began padding down the edge of the gorge. There was a little fear in her, but mostly just a sense of rebellious adventure. She hasn't been this far from camp since Fernpelt had taken her on a tour of the territory and that seemed ages ago.

Snowpaw let her paws lead her, she wasn't even sure where she was headed. Her knowledge of Clan territory was too limited and vague. Oh well, she was still in RiverClan territory, the scent markers told her that much. She stayed beside the gorge, looking into the rapids below every once in a while. She swallowed hard as she examined the sharp rocks that lined the sides and bottom of the river. Not a soft landing whatsoever.

A scent caught her attention. Damnit! she cursed herself. It was cat scent and it was approaching fast. She couldn't tell which Clan it was from. Snowpaw stared around frantically for somewhere to hide. There was no where. She'd just have to take punishment. So what? Not like she was even an apprentice yet. What could they take away? Wandering outside camp? That wasn't allowed anyway.

words: 311
tags: any cat, any Clan
notes: It'd be kinda interesting if a cat from another Clan replied to this but it doesn't really matter ^^

[tenacious]

Pelt ruffled up against the cold, Rookstar padded along slowly, a water vole hanging from his jaws, still thinking about his conversation with Moonwing. Time would only tell if it was really worth staking a claim on the moor and, perhaps, starting another dangerous battle over this; no cat could predict if the next one would not be fatal. A shiver rolled down the RiverClan leader’s spine- he could certainly never forgive himself for fighting a battle that wasn’t truly needed if it resulted in the death of a cat. Death of a Clanmate. For a moment, his memory flicked to the cat that had been lost here. He paused in his walk and set the water vole down, parting his jaws to draw air in over his scent glands. A moment later Rookstar found himself tensing his muscles; for a moment, fear gripped his heart.

“Snowpaw…” he whispered, the wind snatching away the single word before he started off in the direction of the white apprentice’s scent, worry clouding his blue gaze, though the fear had ebbed away. Surely she wouldn’t be as foolish to get close to the edge? Close enough to fall? Soon, the apprentice came into view, and Rookstar let out a sigh of relief. Though anger did not flare in his eyes, it was clear he wasn’t happy with Snowpaw. Apprentices weren’t allowed near the gorge for a reason! “Snowpaw! What are you doing out here?” he demanded, pausing only a tail-length from the young cat.

[Willow]

Oh no, oh no, oh NO!

Of all the cats that could have seen her here it just had to be him. Had to be. StarClan hated her. They toyed with her and made her life one unlucky event after another. Snowpaw stopped in her tracks, dread filling her face. Slowly she turned to face her leader, Rookstar.

For a moment, she held his blue gaze before tearing her amber eyes away and focusing instead on the ground. He was not pleased but did not seen furious as she had imagined. There was disappointment on his face too which caused the apprentices eyes to lower even further in shame.

He asked what she was doing here and the shame vanished. Her gaze darted back to his, burning with its usual passionate light. "I want to be an actual apprentice. Like my brother, y'know? It really sucks being stuck in camp all day like a mewling kit." She spat the last word as if it were vile against her tongue. She'd been a kit for long enough it was her turn to be an apprentice.

"It's been a moon since Fernpelt died," she began again, the fire still in her voice. She was challenging her leader, something she would usually never dream of doing. But the situation quite simply outraged her. "Couldn't I have a new mentor by now?" Smoldering amber eyes held his before she actually answered his question. "I just wanted to get out. I let my paws do the thinking."

Snowpaw knew she was in major trouble but she didn't care. Being out her in the first place was bad enough, mouthing off at Rookstar would only worsen the situation. But she wanted him to know exactly how she felt.

words: 287
tags: Rookstar
notes:

[tenacious]

A frown placed across Rookstar’s muzzle as she began to speak. The RiverClan leader sat back on his haunches as Snowpaw went on, speaking of Fernpelt’s death. He recognized the challenge. It did not necessarily anger the elderly tom, though he found it nettlesome. He could not blame Snowpaw for the challenge; really, Rookstar more so blamed himself. The death of any warrior was devastating, but no apprentice deserved to be neglected. When she finished speaking, a silence stretched between the two as Rookstar looked past Snowpaw, lost in thought, but never once did anger play on his face or in his eyes. Finally, the RiverClan leader looked at the white she-cat, “I’m sorry, Snowpaw, for neglecting you. There is no excuse, but there is no excuse for what you’ve done either. You are not allowed here for you safety. Do you think death would be worth allowing your paws to think for once? They do not have a brain, Snowpaw. You do. Use it,” he advised and did not allow her a chance to reply to this before continuing on, “As soon as possible, I will appoint you a new mentor.”

The grey and black tom sunk into thought for a moment, there weren’t many cats to choose from. Hawkfang, Jaywind, Frozenclaw, and himself. Stormcloud being eliminated simply because he was the kit’s father; he did not know if the tom would be bias, but he did not want to risk it. Nor did he want to strain the delicate relationship between father and daughter. He knew, from viewing others, that it was as fragile as a wilting flower’s petals. But would Jaywind to be wise to appoint? He trusted the she-cat, she was his deputy, but he did not wish to give her an apprentice yet. So that only left Hawkfang, Fozenclaw, and himself.

Frozenclaw is barely out of apprenticeship himself. Rookstar thought, eyes sparkling for a moment. He had made his choice. The RiverClan leader faced Snowpaw, “I already have a cat in mind,” he mewed, a light purr edging in.

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[Willow]

Idiotic mousbrain! Snowpaw silently scolded herself. No matter what she thought and felt she shouldn't have talked to Rookstar like that. The white apprentice flattened her ears as she waited to receive her punishment.

But it never came. Rookstar sounded worried and disappointing in her wanderings, but he expressed sympathy to her situation. Snowpaw turned her brown eyes upward to look at her leader in vague surprise. Her surprise grew as he mentioned he had a cat in mind for her mentor. Maybe her ceremony would be soon and she could start hunting and fighting for the Clan again. She couldn't wait to use her warrior skills again. She hardly remembered anything from her training with Fernpelt. Snowpaw hoped she wouldn't disappoint her new mentor because of this but put that worry behind her. She was too excited for worrying.

"Really?!" she meowed excitedly. "Who is it, Rookstar?" she inquired, hoping such a question did not come across as rude. The small she-cat's eyes shined with excitement as she waited for the much anticipated response.

[tenacious]

Danger was on the horizon, thanks to Willowstar’s decision that her Clan would also fight for full control of the moorland. Rookstar knew that, until the battle, he would be busy. Every cat would have to practice their battle skills and, while the organization of such would be up to his deputy, the RiverClan leader would not just sit back like a furry lump and do nothing. Such would be why Rookstar had a bit of doubt about taking Snowpaw on as his apprentice, but she would need a firm mentor, who could give reasons to things she couldn’t do. He may be getting older, but the tom had enough left in him to mentor one more apprentice. He knew that he’d be able to keep her in line…somewhat. The tom’s whiskers twitched and he grinned slightly, “I will take over as your mentor,” he mewed, “Now, we should be getting back to camp soon. I have things to tell the others and it’d be best to announce that you are my apprentice. But I would like to see what you remember from your training,” Rookstar figured the apprentice would be keen to use the skills she had acquired when Fernpelt was alive.

He doubted she had used them in quite a long time, after all.

[Willow]

Rookstar had her full attention now, something difficult for a cat to obtain. Snowpaw was sitting tall with her copper eyes trained on her leader. There was something slightly troubled about the tom's expression, but it soon disappeared as he gave her a small grin and spoke words Snowpaw had never expected to hear.

“I will take over as your mentor."

She stared, her body rigid with excitement. Rookstar... her mentor? She had expected one of the young warriors to have to deal with her rambunctious behavior, not her majestic leader. Leaders didn't take on cats like her usually, they took those personality-less, quiet little cats who do everything they're told. Great StarClan, this is amazing.Snowpaw let out the breath she had been holding in a puff of cold air. "T-thank you, Rookstar. I... never expected... she trailed off, what was she supposed to say? Thankfully he was talking again, saving her from having to come up with anything better. She nodded quickly to his comment that they should get back to camp but returned to staring as Rookstar told her he wanted to see what she had learned from Fernpelt.

"Well... we mainly working on hunting... she showed me a few fighting tactics, but not much. Don't think she liked fighting really, y'know. Snowpaw glanced around the broad open territory. "Should I try to catch something here or should we go to the river? Or do you want me to show you some fighting moves?" She was excited and embarrassed at the same time which caused her mouth to almost never stop. With a click she forced her jaws closed and looked up at the tom expectantly.

[tenacious]

Rookstar’s whiskers twitched as Snowpaw stammered and then lapsed into silence when he continued on. He nodded to himself as Snowpaw explained what she had learned; Fernpelt hadn’t struck him as a cat eager to fight. At her question, the leader’s gaze swept over the land before them; attempting any battle techniques here would be foolish. The ground was hard and they were too close to the gorge. Quite discretely, the tom tasted the air; there was some prey around here.

So, hunting would be best. Espiecally if Snowpaw had worked on it before, often, seeing as it’d be best, in his opinion, to start off with something she could do confidently. “Try catching a piece of prey here- just be careful about the edge of the gorge. We can practice your hunting later on,” he added with nod, smiling down at the white apprentice.

[Willow]

Snowpaw bristled with excitement as her leader, her new mentor instructed her to hunt for something near the gorge. She was absolutely dying to impress Rookstar but she was afraid her excitement would get the best of her. Snowpaw took a deep breath, trying to calm her raging emotions before nodding quickly and taking off towards a promising looking clump of bushes.

She closed her eyes tight, thinking back to what Fernpelt had taught her. Scent the air, she told herself silently and raised her little pink nose into the cold air. She about leaped for joy as she scented something there, an unknown prey scent. She didn't know what animal it was, but that didn't matter.

The little apprentice dropped into her best hunting crouch, slightly unbalanced, but decent. She crept forward, following the scent until she saw a little brown creature. A shrew. It was foraging around for food in the leafless bushes. Snowpaw continued her creeping until she thought she was close enough to pounce. She leaped for the little animal but she had calculated incorrectly. Snowpaw came crashing down just behind the shrew. It of course took off faster than she could react with a squeak of terror.

Snowpaw sat back on her haunches with a huff of anger and embarrassment. She had definitely not made a good impression with that poor attempt. Slowly, she turned to look at Rookstar, eyes downcast shamefully.

[tenacious]

They would have to work on Snowpaw’s hunting crouch; the tom could tell it was slightly unbalanced. He scented the air, trying to catch the scent of what she was staking. He narrowed his eyes slightly as the scent came to him; shrew. A nice prey to try. The little white apprentice leapt for the shrew; she landed just behind the animal and it took off with a squeak of terror that would send any other prey into its burrows for a few moments.

Snowpaw looked at him, eyes downcast, and Rookstar purred lightly, “Don’t expect perfection every time, Snowpaw. Now, tell me, what do you think you did wrong?” He found that a hard thing for most warriors was admitting their mistakes; no cat could learn if they could not accept their mistakes. And they could not accept them if they could not recognize them. And so he slowly padded back over to Snowpaw. The grey tom sat before her, wrapping his tail around his paws, waiting patiently for an answer. He was not really disappointed with her performance; catching the shrew would’ve certainly been desirable, but it was obvious she had tried. That was the most Rookstar could ask for at the moment.

[Willow]

Her mentor and leader purred encouraging, lifting her downcast spirits. Snowpaw turned her gaze upward again to look at the large tom as he spoke. “Don’t expect perfection every time, Snowpaw. Now, tell me, what do you think you did wrong?”

She shuffled her paws on the dry ground. It was obvious what she had done wrong, yet still hard to admit. It was always difficult to admit that you had done something wrong, no matter how obvious. "Well..." she started and looked back at the bush where she had tried for the little piece of prey. "My timing was off, I jumped too soon. I got impatient."

Her pale brown eyes scanned her leader's face, searching for disapproval. But she found none, he looked as calm and collected as ever. Snowpaw inwardly insulted herself for being so jumpy and afraid of Rookstar. Just because he was RiverClan leader didn't mean he expected her to be perfect on the first day of her training with him.

[tenacious]

“My timing was off, I jumped too soon. I got impatient.”

Rookstar nodded, pleased that she had recognized a fault and voiced it. “Then now we both know something to fix,” he murmured, eyes glowing for a moment. He had always found it easier to learn, when he was younger, if he knew what was being fixed. Otherwise Rookstar’s mind would wander and he couldn’t possibly focus on his mentor. He scented the air once more. The squeak of terror had, indeed, scent prey into their burrows, but he could scent some emerging; cautiously, he imagined with a light twitch of his whiskers.

“Show me your hunting crouch once more, Snowpaw,” Rookstar added. He figured it would be best to start there and work his way up, rather then fixing her timing without fixing her crouch. A sloppy crouch would hold her back longer then necessary if not addressed right away. At least, he thought, it is only slightly unbalanced. Far better then a cat who couldn’t figure out how to get themselves into a decent hunting crouch again.

[Willow]

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[atrb=background,http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r230/Mica556/tablemiddle.png] Snowpaw focused her brown eyes completely on her mentor as he murmured that they knew what to fix now. She nodded a little and lowered her gaze again. How does one fix timing? It all seemed too hard. How did you know exactly when to jump without over or under- shooting your target? Snowpaw let out an irritated huff of air that turned into a white cloud in front of her eyes. The little apprentice fluffed up her white fur against the cold to no avail. Her nose felt like it was about to fall off, there was no way she could smell anything with it now. Oh why did she have to go exploring? Her excitement at having Rookstar as mentor was fading fast and being replaced by irritation at the cold and the snow. She barely heard her leader speak when he told her to show him her hunter crouch again. Snowpaw blinked up at him, not registering for a moment. Then she shook herself and dropped down, chest against the cold ground. She was still lopsided but couldn’t feel it. She was simply too cold. Her long tail stuck out straight behind her as she raised her copper eyes to look at Rookstar, waiting for more instructions. ___________________________________ words xx 210 – Short!! =D audience xx Rookstar music xx Trucker Hat – Bowling for Soup comments xx Fail post x3

[tenacious]

Rookstar realized that the young cat's coat would not do much to protect her against the cold; the frosty air would soon bite through his more violently as well. One of the many reasons that Leaf-bare was Rookstar's least favorite season. It gave mentors very limited time to take their apprentices out, in a time where the Clan needed these young cats to learn how to hunt and fight so they would not fall under the power of the cold season. Snowpaw let out a huff of air and Rookstar watched as it turned into a cloud like smoke.

The apprentice did not seem to register his words for a few heartbeats and, when she did drop into her hunters crocuh, it was lopsided again. "You're still slightly lopsided," Rookstar murmured before flicking his tail and looking towards camp, "But I assume you are now cold, Snowpaw. Come, let's get back to camp so you can warm up." the tom added before stretching and waiting for his apprentice.