CONCENTRATE//p, brindle
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Brindlepaw groggily came to, she had dreaded this day for a long time coming. Ever since she was a kit, Brindlepaw longed for a life of solitude and quietness. She never liked playing with other kits, and often thought of herself as being better than everyone else. While kits around her played and leaped throughout the nursery, Brindlepaw would bask in the sun. Deep down Brindlepaw knew her hostility was fueled by fear but didn't like thinking about it.
Brindlepaw stretched her paws and brought herself into a sitting position. She curiously eyed her mentor, a cream-colored cat with a bubbly personality. Brindlepaw took a deep breath, she should probably say something, shouldn't she? "Do you have to yowl so loud? You'll wake all of starclan" she mumbled, just loud enough for Lilypetal to hear. Brindlepaw knew she should respect her mentor, but couldn't help herself. And with that, she started to smooth her down her calico pelt.
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Well, it seemed that today was off to a great start, as Brindlepaw had awoken and immediately acted grouchy. Lilypetal got it - she was sure she had complained plenty when waking up early as an apprentice. A hint of sympathy flickered in the molly's eyes. It would probably be difficult for Brindlepaw to adjust - lots of apprentices found it hard. But she would have to. All Clan cats went through training, it was the only way they could become a warrior.
Lilypetal decided against flat out scolding her apprentice right off the bat. Brindlepaw had only just woken up after all, and almost everyone was grumpy when they first woke up! So instead, the slender molly simply grinned, answering cheerfully, "Well, I had to liven you up somehow!" she flicked her tail. "Come on, I know you must be tired, but training is gonna be good. I'll let you choose what you want to learn today, just come along!" She started to pad away from her apprentice, heading towards the camp exit, glancing over her shoulder to check whether Brindlepaw was following her.
"Listen to me..."
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Brindlepaw jumped up and began to trot after Lilypetal. Now even though Brindlepaw was a relatively slim cat, she still was very inactive. The thought of running around all day chasing prey or fighting with the fit cat ahead of her already made Brindlepaw tired. Still, she didn't want the other apprentices mocking her because she couldn't keep a good pace. Brindlepaw sprinted ahead and waited for her at the exit, trying to hide she was already out of breath.
"I think... we should... look at.. the borders.." she mewed in between pants. Brindlepaw had never really been outside of camp before, come to think of it she had never even smelled a different cat. She tried to act nonchalant, but a part of Brindlepaw did want to get outside of camp more often. As soon as Brindlepaw caught her breathe, she prepared another snarky remark about how slow Lilypetal was, but something stopped her. Maybe it was the way her mentor brushed off the first remark, or maybe Brindlepaw knew it was rude? Either way, "What do warriors even do all day" she mewed inquisitively instead.
((btw lemme know if these are too short or not descriptive enough
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//they're all good!!
Lilypetal noted that Brindlepaw was already out of breath, straight after reaching the camp exit. That soon? That's kinda worrying... we'll have to work on that. The pretty she cat decided against sharing her concerns with her apprentice for the time being - there was plenty of time for Brindlepaw to improve on her stamina later on.
A smile of approval slipped on to the slender molly's face. "Looking at the borders seems like a good idea to me! It's reeaaaaally important that you know WindClan's territory before anything else," she began to lead the way, deciding that she would bring Brindlepaw to the border with RiverClan first. The molly flicked her tail for Brindlepaw to follow her, answering her apprentice's question as she looked over her shoulder, "Us warriors?" there was a hint of amusement in the she cat's gentle mew. "Hunt, patrol borders..." she paused for a moment, a playful smirk slipping on to her face, "And sometimes, when we're really lucky, or lazy, even, we spend some time gossiping!"
"Listen to me..."
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As Brindlepaw kept a least a fox length pace behind her mentor, she thought carefully about Lilypetal's reply and was a little disappointed. She knew the warrior code by heart, and she wanted to serve her clan. But this lifestyle just seemed a tad tedious to her. Patrol, hunt sleep, repeat. Maybe a battle or two, could that really fulfill Brindlepaw? She thought about expressing her concerns but realized doing so might make Lilypetal question her loyalty.
Luckily Brindlepaw found she loved being out of the camp. All these new smells, the new textures beneath her paws, she was looking forward to telling her mother all about it. Finally, the two cats reached the border, and Brindlepaw looked on with astonishment. "Have you ever been in battle before?" She turned to her mentor, meeting her eyes. She no longer felt like being the rude cat she usually was, and for once in her life found herself truly wanting to talk to someone. Would this feeling last?
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Upon reaching the border, Lilypetal was asked another question. This one... she couldn't give a completely accurate answer to. Turning to Brindlepaw, she mewed thoughtfully, "I've been in some skirmishes here and there, fought against some rogues..." the creamy furred she cat did her best to hide her fear as she spoke. She wasn't a very good fighter, so battles, while exciting to her, were also very scary. Lilypetal was already pretty concerned about how she was going to train her apprentice to fight when she herself was a terrible fighter - she supposed she could get Brindlepaw training in a group, perhaps by throwing another mentor and apprentice into the mix. Encouraging Brindlepaw to spar against cats her own age seemed like a good idea, and would hopefully hide Lilypetal's incompetence at least for a little while. "But no big fights," the slender molly concluded. "While battle is reaaaaaally exciting, it's not anything we should be hoping for. It's fun in the moment, but at the end, cats do get hurt." The cream point pouted, somewhat comically after speaking, though there was a hard look in her eyes. She didn't want to lighten the mood, but that was a serious message she needed to get across to her apprentice as soon as possible. Battle was bad.
Flicking her tail towards the southern edge of the border with RiverClan, Lilypetal spoke, "We can walk down here a little further, but I'll tell you where to stop. There's a gorge down there, and you apprentices aren't allowed near the gorge." It was a rule that Lilypetal had always despised as an apprentice, but now that she was an adult, she completely understood why it was in place. There was no good reason why an apprentice would need to head to the gorge, plus the gorge was a dangerous place. The first time Lilypetal had approached the gorge, curious to see what it was all about, (amusingly enough, she had headed there straight after becoming a warrior, as she had been that excited about visiting the gorge) she had ended up nearly falling off the edge, having to be rescued by one of the warriors she was with, which had been super embarrassing and super scary too. Lilypetal knew how much danger the gorge posed even to an adult cat, so there was no way, despite the natural rebel that she was, was she going to break the rules and let her apprentice come close to the gorge. She started to walk slowly towards the south of the border, carefully gauging the distance between herself and the gorge that she could see in the distance, making sure that she would be ready to stop her apprentice from advancing any further when the time came.
"Listen to me..."
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Brindlepaw was a little shocked by Lilypetal's answer, it seemed like every apprentice's dream to battle! Since when had it become so awful? Still, Brindlepaw understood the seriousness in her voice, she almost sounded a little pained. Before she had too long to think about it, Brindlepaw was being beckoned forward by her mentor. Slightly alarmed by the sound of rushing water, she turned to question her mentor but Lilypetal was one step ahead. Brindlepaws' eyes widened, she heard tales of cats falling to their deaths here all too early and immediately understood what Lilypetal was saying.
Brindlepaw found herself quickening her pace, all the stories the elders told about the gorge came flooding back, and she didn't want to be alone around the waterfall of doom. "Have you ever gone down there?" She mewed weakly, her voice quivering slightly. To be honest, Brindlepaw found herself looking to form a bond with Lilypetal, and as she neared the gorge she found herself inching closer and closer to Lilypetal.
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Lilypetal was relieved that Brindlepaw seemed to be taking her warnings seriously. She noticed her apprentice inching close to her, and was glad that it seemed that not only was Brindlepaw obeying her, but seeming to form some level of trust in her as well. Plenty of dumb apprentices would have ran straight to the edge of the gorge against their mentor's wishes - I know that, because I was once that apprentice.
As Brindlepaw moved closer, the pretty she cat rested her tail upon the young molly's shoulder. Of course, she wanted to form a positive bond with her apprentice, and she hoped that Brindlepaw felt the same way. She seemed pretty well behaved so far - Lilypetal was glad that she hadn't had to yell at her yet. Of course, the creamy furred feline was still prepared to do so, but it would be nice to train with her apprentice without having to constantly scold her. Lilypetal had seen quite a few mentor and apprentice duos who seemed to do nothing besides argue - she hoped that she could have a relationship with her apprentice that was much more positive and meaningful than that. The way Lilypetal saw it, if a warrior couldn't control their apprentice, they weren't fit to be a mentor. Lilypetal was glad that at the moment, she seemed to be quite fit to be a mentor, and hoped that she wouldn't let herself down.
As Brindlepaw asked her question, Lilypetal noticed that her voice was quivering a little. She sounded scared, and as messed up as it was, Lilypetal concluded that that was probably a good thing. Fear would hopefully repel Brindlepaw from going near the gorge.
"Yeah, I have," the slender she cat answered. "A few times. One of the first times I tried to go down there though, I nearly fell in!" she shivered, her voice sounding a little dramatic, light blue eyes fixed on Brindlepaw. Perhaps it was mean to be trying to scare her apprentice, but she believed it was probably the most effective way of keeping Brindlepaw away from the gorge."
"Listen to me..."
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Even though her heart was beating faster than a scared rabbit, some part of Brindlepaw wanted to get closer and peak over. She decided against it, but that feeling didn't go away. She realized with a bit of a jump that her mentors tail was resting on her shoulder
Brindlepaw recoiled slightly at her mentor's touch, touch was not usually a thing Brindlepaw enjoyed but understood she was just trying to comfort her. She realized Lilypetal could probably smell her fear, or hear in her voice, and scolded herself for not even trying to appear braver. You're acting like a kittypet! Calm down, its just water.
Luckily she only beat her self up for a minute before Lilypetal interrupted her thoughts with a some-what shocking reply. Lilypetal, the mild mentored warrior before her had once been a rebel? This lightened the grim atmosphere almost instantly for Brindlepaw "I bet you weren't supposed to" she teased. "What else kind of trouble did you get into?" She mewed, but before her mentor could even say mouse she skipped ahead "Where are we going next?"
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"We'll go to the ThunderClan border next," Lilypetal answered. "Come on!" She started to trot in the direction of the ThunderClan border, keeping her pace slow so that Brindlepaw could easily catch her up. She liked this - she liked spending time with Brindlepaw. The young she cat seemed like a good apprentice, and Lilypetal hoped that perhaps she could become friends with Brindlepaw in the future. I mean, to me, we're already friends! But she wasn't sure whether Brindlepaw shared the same view as her - she sure hoped so!
Deciding to respond to Brindlepaw's earlier question, which the apprentice hadn't given her time to answer, Lilypetal grinned mischeviously. While she was trying her best to set a good example for her apprentice, she certainly had a very rebellious nature, which was quite difficult for her to contain and keep inside of her. "Well," the pretty she cat purred, "I may have caused a teeny bit of trouble when I was an apprentice... and by that, I mean a lot of trouble!" the slender molly's words came out of her mouth faster the more she spoke, clearly excited by what she was telling her apprentice. "One time, I got into a huuuuuge fight with my mentor, and I was super angry. He just never seemed to agree with him! So I thought to myself, 'well, I need to get him back, right?' so, guess what I did?" she let out a laugh, before continuing to talk, not even giving Brindlepaw a chance to respond. "While I was sleeping, I put ants in his fur - tons of them! All of the other apprentices looked at me like I was some sort of hero for doing that," she lashed her tail eagerly, remembering the exhilaration she had felt when performing such a risky prank. "And yeah... maybe he did find out... and maybe he did make me check the elders for fleas... but it was worth it!" She concluded, eyes shining as she finished her story. Lilypetal only realised afterwards that she may have been somewhat encouraging poor behaviour from her own apprentice, having gotten caught up in the moment. But what else could she have done? It was a good story, and the sight of her mentor's face when he had woken up with tons of ants in his fur would have been worth any punishment.
"Listen to me..."
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Brindlepaw noticed that Lilypetal was going rather slow for such a fit warrior, and realized she probably noticed how out of shape Brindlepaw was. Determined to show Lilypetal she wasn't some old fat elder, she kept a pace slightly ahead of her. Even though this pace was still slow, it was incredibly straining for Brindlepaw. Luckily that straining only lasted for a minute until she was able to regulate her breathing.
Hoping that Lilypetal didn't notice, she listened eagerly as she told tales of her youth. "Ants? how did you manage that" she purred amused by her mentor's disobedience. Then something struck her, would I ever hate Lilypetal that much? she shivered at the thought of it, She's the only cat I've ever liked, why would I start hating her now? Slightly unsettled by all these newfound emotions, Brindlepaw decided to start focusing on the task at hand.
Her sleek calico pelt shined in the mid-morning sun, and it felt good. She was tempted to stop for a moment and soak it in, but she knew there wasn't any time for that. "Has windclan ever battled with thunderclan?" she asked as soon as the question popped into her head.
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Lilypetal grinned, glad that her apprentice had been amused by her story. "Easy!" she responded, sounding rather smug. She had carried out the prank moons ago, and it was still one of her proudest moments. Even now, she still had a rebellious heart - she was just forcing herself to be on her best behaviour for the sake of her apprentice. Though... she had to admit, pranking her Clanmates with Brindlepaw's help sounded quite fun. Would that make her a bad mentor? "I spent aaaages looking for those ants, then I gathered a bunch, held them in my paw, and waited for night to fall," the molly's whiskers twitched, tail swishing with excitement similiar to that of a young kit. "And then it was time for me to strike..." Her tone was playfully ominous, her blue eyes gleaming, remembering the exhilaration she had felt, the powerful thrill which had rushed through her, after pranking her mentor.
Boy, this apprentice sure liked to ask questions - but Lilypetal would much rather a talkative apprentice than a quiet one. "I mean, they probably have..." the cream point tipped her head on the side, trying to remember, though her mind was blank. "I'm sure every Clan has fought with every other Clan at least once - it's only natural! It would be cool if all of the Clans were at peace with eachother but..." the slender she cat let out a quiet sigh. "That's not that case." While Lilypetal wasn't a complete pacifist, she generally liked to avoid violence, and she believed that if the Clans were just a little more understanding, there would be much more peace.
But unfortunately, there were at least a few idiots residing in each Clan who had to ruin the peace for everyone.
Lilypetal halted as she reached the border with ThunderClan - which was marked by a small twoleg path. She couldn't see any twolegs walking down it right now, though. "This path marks the border between WindClan and ThunderClan," the molly explained. "Twolegs walk down it sometimes, though I can't see any of them right now."
She turned to face Brindlepaw. "Have the elders or anyone else told you about twolegs?" Her question wasn't intended to undermine her apprentice's intelligence, rather she merely wanted to make sure that Brindlepaw knew what the heck she was talking about. Lilypetal doubted that Brindlepaw would be too nervous to ask if she didn't know - this kid seemed to be pretty talkative, but she decided it was probably better to just double check anyway.
"Listen to me..."
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Brindlepaw's head exploded with ideas on how she could prank her mentor. Most of them were pretty malicious, like starting a nasty rumor or pretending to be injured. But as she thought up all these horrible tricks, she realized she didn't want to be mean to Lilypetal, she hadn't done anything. Still, she was inspired by Lilypetal's story and decided on a relatively harmless prank that would make both of them laugh.
Brindlepaw listened to her mentor explain things with child-like bewilderment. The only time she spent one on one with another cat was because of a punishment. She loved this feeling, she wished she could spend all day with Lilypetal! This fuzzy feeling died down when she realized exactly what her mentor was saying. Up until this point, Birndlepaw thought the clans were always peaceful with each other. How often did they fight?
Before Brindlepaw could express her concerns she was interrupted by Lilypetal asking her about two-legs. Did she think she was an idiot? With that fuzzy feeling long gone Brindlepaw was offended by her question "Of course I know! those vile creatures who create weak flea-furred kitty pets" she spat, unable to hide the anger in her voice. It wasn't Lilypetal's fault she was so mad, but she got lashed out on anyways.
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Lilypetal hadn't expected her apprentice to suddenly lash out - she hadn't been accusing of being stupid or anything. "Relax!" the pretty molly answered, her voice sounding slightly less gentle than before as she looked down at her apprentice. "I was just checking that you knew. I'm sure that the elders have much better things to talk to you about besides dumb twolegs."
She wasn't offended by Brindlepaw's little explosion - it happened to the best of cats. Lilypetal just had to hope that the kid didn't take any further offence. Turning away from the twoleg path, the cream point mewed over her shoulder, "DarkClan border next. It's the final border we share with the other Clans."
"Listen to me..."
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Brindlepaw realized that her mentor didn't know everything, how could she? She calmed down a bit and shook her head "It's not your fault I shouldn't have gotten so mad" she mewed quietly, a little embarrassed. "Dark clan?" her ears peaked "I didn't know we shared a border with them" she couldn't hide her puzzlement.
"Can we look around?" she scampered in front of Lilypetal so that she could look her in the eyes "Can we go a take a peak?" she begged her tail flicking with excitement. "I know we're not supposed to but please I've never even a cat of another clan" her voice sickening sweet.
(sorry this one was a bit short todays been super hectic
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//it's fine, no worries! <3
Lilypetal found herself smiling at Brindlepaw's apology. It seemed that everything was fine. "Apology accepted!" the warrior purred cheerily, before giving Brindlepaw a swift nod. "Yup, DarkClan!" She affirmed.
Then came Brindlepaw's question - which Lilypetal truly didn't know how to answer. Exploring DarkClan's territory sounded like fun, but at the same time, it could be dangerous. If they were caught by a patrol, it was likely tensions would be high. Not only that, Lilypetal would be setting a terrible example to her new apprentices. Plus, if it somehow got back to Duckstar that Lilypetal had snuck into DarkClan territory along with Brindlepaw, perhaps the young she cat would be taken away from her and given to a more responsible warrior. Lilypetal didn't want that! She didn't know Brindlepaw very well, but she loved spending time with her already!
"I'm sorry, Brindlepaw, but I don't think that I can," her voice was gentle, which she soon realised might make Brindlepaw think that she was soft, and that she could easily be swayed - which could be true, but that only made it all the more important that Lilypetal was tough on her apprentice. Her voice became firmer, "You'll be able to meet cats from other Clans at the next Gathering, which isn't too far away," she continued to walk, her movements becoming a little faster, as she continued to push towards a change in the subject of the conversation. She understood Brindlepaw, she really did. She too had begged her mentor to let her cross borders when she was younger, driven by curiosity. She had been less tempted by the prospect of meeting cats from other Clans, as she found cats from other Clans strange and perhaps a little intimidating, even, but had been eager to explore new terrain. WindClan's territory was very different from the likes of ThunderClan or RiverClan, and she had always wanted to see what lay beyond their borders. So yes, she understood Brindlepaw completely. But she couldn't let her cross into DarkClan's territory - not when there was a high chance of it ending so badly. Perhaps in the future, but not now. She couldn't give in to Brindlepaw's sickeningly sweet voice. "You'll love Gatherings. The cats from other Clans are a little... odd, but they're super fun events! And it's pretty entertaining, especially when the leaders start arguing with eachother." Lilypetal hated fighting, but she didn't mind little arguments here and there. She was actually rather partial to them, finding such displays to be quite amusing.
"Listen to me..."
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Brindlepaw let out a deep, obnoxious sigh "You're no fun" she noticed Lilypetal's discomfort, and started to feel a little bad. No matter her fascination with breaking rules, she shouldn't drag her mentor into it. Brindlepaw dropped the subject "Can I go to the next gathering?". The calico apprentice thought deeply for a moment "Why are the clans weird? Like do they not groom their fur? Do they eat only rats?" the thought amused her "Are we weird to them?"
After her brain processed what Lilypetal said, her mind started moving a million miles a minute. With questions and rude jokes, Brindlepaw couldn't shut herself up "Why is arguing funny? Amusing? That's mean, I didn't take you for mean" she took a breathe "Whats next? Is there any more? are we going back? We should soon". Her ears pricked "What about hunting? I heard something move in the forest earlier" looking around her eyes finally settled on Lilypetal. She looked her mentor up and down "You kind of look like my brother" she squinted "I don't know where he is though".
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Lilypetal was surprised by her apprentice's outburst of questions, and wasn't entirely sure how to start answering them. "No fun?" she snorted. "You heard about that prank I pulled earlier - and I still pull those all of the time. I just don't think we should be going into DarkClan's territory right now." It just didn't seem right - she didn't want to risk Brindlepaw getting hurt.
"You'll probably be allowed to go to the next Gathering," Lilypetal mewed with a flick of her tail. "It's Duckstar's decision, so I can't really say, but it's only a matter of time until you get chosen!"
The she cat had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at Brindlepaw's next comment. Her? Mean? She was one of the kindest cats in WindClan! "It's not mean!" she insisted, sounding a little defensive. "It's just funny to watch drama, so that you can gossip and laugh about it later," the pretty molly shrugged. She then remembered that this was her new apprentice that she was talking to, and that she shouldn't be setting a bad example. After all, what if Brindlepaw went and shared what Lilypetal had told her with her Clanmates? Lilypetal would look like a terrible mentor, which was the last thing that she wanted. Her reputation meant a lot to her. "As long as the arguments don't get too serious, though. Arguments can lead to fights, which usually lead to cats getting hurt, aaaaand that's not good!" She hoped that that had at least somewhat justified the rest of what she had said.
"I think we should head back now. I can teach you how to hunt tomorrow." Lilypetal answered. Honestly, she was already nervous about that - though she was even more worried about teaching her apprentice battle moves. She was bad at hunting and terrible at fighting, so how on earth would she be able to teach it to Brindlepaw? Her pelt prickled with fear. What if tomorrow marked the beginning of her failing as a mentor? She couldn't let that happen!
She had been about to turn around to walk back in the direction of camp when something Brindlepaw said caught her off guard. "Your brother?" her voice softened. What had happened to him? Her light blue eyes rested on her apprentice. "When... did you last see him?" She asked.
"Listen to me..."
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Brindlepaw started trotting briskly back to camp, she had said too much, this is why I shouldn't talk I always say too much."Ok that was pretty cool" Brindlepaw admitted playfully, feeling a little bad. Brindlepaw was aware that her energy might have overwhelmed her mentor and decided it was better for her to just be quiet again. The spotted she-cat nodded respectfully in agreement, they had done a lot of work today anyways.
Why am I acting so weird today? The apprentice pondered in silence in a minute before realizing Lilypetal was saying something "Oh well, I don't really know him" she replied with a pang of sadness in her voice she failed to hide "I've only seen him once, but it doesn't matter" she tried to say cheerily, but it came off even more sad. "Whatever, let's just go back" she quickened her pace, she wanted to run away, why am I so weird today?
But she couldn't stop thinking about her brother now, and it haunted her. Every time she started thinking about him she might start talking about him and then she would definitely say too much. Turning back to look at her mentor, she wanted to change the topic “Do you have any siblings?”