New apprentice -- Dapplepaw ~needs mentor~

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    Dapplepaw sat in camp, her ears back. Her white fur dappled with brown, orange and black dark because she was sitting in the shadows, she would have been sitting in a tree like the rest of the cats, but she was afraid of heights... She looked around for her mentor, her green-blue eyes narrowed as she gazed around.

    "Dapplepaw!" called out Nightwhisper. "Come along, we're going out to hunt." Her black pelt rippled as she strode over to her apprentice. The tiny trail of gray along her side seemed to move and swirl like the wind.

    Dapplepaw blinked, looking over, "Okay Nightwhisper!" she said, jumping up onto her paws, her tail going straight into the air imediatly. Her paws itching to go hunt. She wanted to prove that just because she was afraid of heights, that it didn't affect her hunting skills.

    Nightwhisper chuckled at her enthusiastic apprentice. She truly loved Dapplepaw as if she was her own kit.
    "Follow me, we're going to go see if you can catch some squirrels today," Nightwhisper meowed. She walked out of the camp and to a grove of trees she knew had many squirrels.

    Dapplepaw padded after her, trying to stay positive. She was scared her mentor had picked hunting for squirrels..... squirrels lived in trees.... and trees were high up... She ignored the thought, looked around, her paws spreading out, keeping her above the snow, and pressed down against it, drinking in the scents around her.

    Nightwhisper knew that Dapplepaw was afraid of heights. She was trying to gradually lessen her fear until it was gone. She knew today that the squirrels would be close to the ground. Nightwhisper climbed a few feet up a tree. "Don't go up any further than this today," she meowed to Dapplepaw. She dropped from the tree to watch her apprentice hunt.

    Dapplepaw nodded, she climbed up the tree, slinking through it like a tree snake, when she smelt a squirrel. She leaped over to its hole, having to climb a bit higher, but not by much, and killed the squirrel, she came back out a moment later, two squirrels dangling from her mouth, she climbed down the tree, padding over to mentor, still being able to stay above the snow, her fur puffed out with slight fear from climbing up fairly high, atleast, for her size.

    Nightwhisper was very proud of her apprentice. She walked over to Dapplepaw and, knowing she was frightened, licked her comfortingly on the ear. "Great job!" she meowed, voice swelling with approval.

    Dapplepaw's fur lay flat, and she gave a small smile, "Tank ou." she said through the two squirrel's fur. She flicked her ear, and the optimism flashed in her eyes again.

    "Those are some nice squirrels too. I think that's good for the moment. I'm going to hunt a little more but I want you to take those to the elders, okay?" Nightwhisper meowed, admiring the plump squirrels.

    Dapplepaw nodded, bounding off back towards camp, her tail high in the air again. Once in camp, she gave the squirrels to the elders, and just as she was about to leave, they started to tell her about the old days. She sat down, listening, nodding at parts so they knew she was listening.

    Nightwhisper climbed far up into the trees and caught three more squirrels. She dropped them to the ground, then climbed back down the tree. She walked back to camp and put them in the freshkill pile. Nightwhisper then went over to the elders' den. "Dapplepaw! Are you finished yet? If the elders don't mind, I'd like to take you back out," she called from the entrance.

    Dapplepaw looked at the Elders' with big, round, pleading eyes. They all looked at eachother, laughed, then said she could go. She bounded out of the den and stopped at her mentor, "What are we doing now?" she said, her tail-tip waving side to side.