Foreverpaw's training -

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    Nightfrost made his way across the open moorland of Windclan territory, though his attention was entirely focused on the tiny she-cat he walked with. He had only just become a warrior, in fact most of the apprentices he had trained with were still training. He had worked hard to get to where he stood today, guiding his new apprentice as he had always wanted to do.


    It may have been a simple goal, but he had always wanted an apprentice of his own. He liked the idea of watching a kit grow to be a warrior just as his mentor had watched him. Now he could. With a slight look of pride he looked down at Foreverpaw. Not only had he gotten an apprentice, but a special one to. She was the daughter of their very own medicine cat apprentice. But at that moment that didn't change to way he saw her. To him she was an eager apprentice, ready to give her training her all.


    "So Foreverpaw, what would you like to do today? Hunting? Fighting?" it was only after he asked he realized he had no clue what he was doing at the moment, sure maybe after he got to know his new apprentice a little he could figure out exactly how she needed to be taught, but at the moment he was just going off of what his mentor had taught him.

    Foreverpaw kept easy pace with Nightfrost, her slender, long legs making it easy to move. Her regal features shone in the afternoon sunlight. She wondered what apprenticeship would be like. She had been looking forward to this for moons, ever since she had the brains to process the idea.
    Now, the time was finally here. It was time to prove herself. To become a true Windclan member.
    What would she do? Would Nightfrost like her? Would she like Nightfrost?
    Well, there's a 50% chance that I'll like him, and a 50% chance that I won't. Her brain whirled with the possibilities.
    What am I doing? Foreverpaw stopped herself. She was judging this cat before she even knew him. She should just wait and see. Did Nightfrost know about her abilities? Did he know about her...powers? She was still tentative about the existence of them...maybe she shouldn't reveal them just yet. She should wait and see on that too.
    "Um..." Foreverpaw thought aloud, running through the possibilities in her mind again. "Can we...hunt?" She asked hopefully. Foreverpaw liked the idea of contributing to her clan.

    A soft smile spread across his face as she replied. He had been hoping she would choose that. There was a big difference between contributing to the clan and fighting for it. Though without food, warriors would not have enough energy to fight.


    Finally letting his thoughts vanish behind him, cleaning his mind he began to focus on the training in general, studying his apprentice for a moment. She looked like she would be a good hunter, and so he knew he didn't need to worry.


    "Ok, before we start let's go to the basics, let me see your hunters crouch" he instructed, glad he could clearly remember his first training session.

    Foreverpaw smiled. Nightfrost looked pleased.
    "Ok!" She agreed happily. The brown cat thought back to whenever she had seen other cats doing their hunting, or when she had seen the other apprentices practicing when she was a kit.
    She slumped into a crouch. Her back legs were curled up like a spring, and her front paws were tucked under her stomach. Foreverpaw had an intense look of concentration on her face, but the position was obviously a bit awkward for the little she-cat.

    Nightfrost tilted his head slightly, studying his apprentice for a long moment. Then he moved forwards, gently adjusting her front paws so that there was a small gap between them and one was place just before the other as though she were in a running position.


    After finishing he smiled slightly and nodded. "There, now just remember the and you'll do amazing" he added, looking across the open moore for a moment. "Now, you got the position down, but what about the scent? Can you find a rabbit?" he asked carefully, making sure to scent the air himself first.

    The brown cat's amber eyes shone. She wasn't that far off of the position. She would have this down soon! Foreverpaw purred, then realized Nightfrost was talking to her. She toned in on his words and managed to catch the drift of what he was saying, despite not paying attention for the first half of the sentence.
    Foreverpaw flared her nostrils, sniffing the air. All she could smell was windswept heather and the faint smell of other cats. Concentrate! She thought to herself. Foreverpaw flicked her tail and shifted around a bit. Yes...she could smell something different...was that a rabbit? Yes!
    "I can smell one!" She said, her voice full of glee.

    He concentrated on watching his apprentices every movement. The first lesson was always the most important, it was how he would really get to know how Foreverpaw leanred. And so he watched her every movement, the pure look of concentration in her eyes, and the single twitch of her nose when she scented the rabbit. He knew she was determined, and she would be a good and proud apprentice. With hard work and good mentoring, she may even become a warrior at an early age like he had. Smiling half to himself as he watched his apprentice with pride.


    "Now make sure to keep your tail low, but don't let it touch the ground, and make sure to be light on your feet. Make sure to distribute your weight evenly between your legs" he explained before looking across the moore himself to scent the rabbit. "And go for it" he added with an enouraging grin.

    Foreverpaw quivered with excitement. She really liked Nightfrost's appraisal. It was common enough so that you didn't feel unappreciated, but rare enough so that you would feel special. She smiled, but kept her focus. She could see the rabbit in the distance now, a brown speck against the green moorland. She narrowed her yellow eyes into slits.
    Foreverpaw was going to go for it.
    She tightened her muscles, then, without any sort of warning, Foreverpaw rocketed forward. She appeared like a blur, streaking across the open plain and dodging the sparse bushes and heather flowers. As soon as the majestic brown cat got close enough, the rabbit's eyes dilated. It let out a tiny squeal and began to lope away from her.

    Nightfrost crosuched down as he watched his apprentice carefully. She was fast, that was good for both hunting and fighting, but right now he wanted to watch her in action. He needed to see what she was capable of. Especially now when she wanted to please her mentor most.


    He could clearly remember how much he wanted to please his mentor his first time, when he was barely even trained, and yet he had tried his hardest that very day. He knew it was the same for all apprentices, even Forverpaw.


    And so he focused on watching her.

    The rabbit picked up its pace, so Foreverpaw did as well. She pumped her legs, trying to go farther, faster...A snarl escaped from her lips as the rabbit drew farther and farther away. "Come on..." She hissed. "Just a few more tail-lengths." She could see a tiny furrow, a little hole in the ground. If that was the rabbit's burrow, she would have to be quick about capturing it. The diminutive creature dove for the shelter. Foreverpaw pounced, her claws outstretched...
    By sheer luck, she caught onto its hind leg. The chocolate-colored cat didn't waste any time. She dragged it out of its burrow and finished the rabbit off. Foreverpaw stood over her kill, pride dancing across her face. She had pulled it off. It was a messy catch, no doubt about it, but she had done it. The rabbit was hers.

    Nightfrost stood now as he saw Foreverpaw's catch. He couldn't help but be proud by the fact that she had caught something her very first time. And it proved to him just how much of a good apprentice she was. Finally he bounded towards her, studying the rabbit. It was a messy kill, but a good size no doubt. It would definatley be a good contribution to the clan.


    "Nice catch, a little messy but you'll learn as you get older, besides if you have more time next time try to avoid using your claws and simply snap his neck" he explained, trying to remember how his mentor use to explain this to him. "Besides that I think you did good, now do think your ready for a little hutning patrol? Let's see how much we can bring back" he added looking up at the sky, it was barley sunhigh, they still had plenty of time.

    Foreverpaw purred. She could tell Nightfrost was pleased. She couldn't explain it, but the she-cat got a warm, fuzzy feeling every time she got praised. Foreverpaw really wanted to make him proud of her. She gazed down at her rabbit, then scraped some dirt over it. She didn't want to be hampered by the catch until they were ready to bring it back.
    She turned to Nightfrost, a smile on her majestic features. "Thanks!" She replied happily. "I think I'm ready for real patrol now. Where should we start?" It was kind of a pointless question. Basically everything on Windclan territory was moorland, and there would be rabbits everywhere they looked.

    { Sorry I thought I replied already ??? }


    Nightfrost smiled at his apprentices enthusiasm. It was the reason he knew she would be not only a great apprentice, but one day a good and willing warrior. Thoughtfully he looked across the moore. He wasn't going to take her hunting to close to any of the main borders just yet, but the very center of the moore was just filled with rabbit holes. He knew it would e an easy, simple and hopefully enjoyable hunt.


    Turning to Foreverpaw he smiled and flicked his tail for her to follow him before he started forwards. "We'll have good luck in the center of the moore, there are many rabbit holes there, but you have to be careful not to fall" he reminded knowing he had once or twice had a catch ruined by not paying attention to the rabbit holes.

    Foreverpaw beamed as she padded after her mentor. She made sure to keep one eye on the ground, just in case. These rabbitholes were treacherous. She scented the air as well, ready if there was any trace of rabbit. Her brown fur gleamed in the sunlight, and her yellow eyes, like spotlights, shone in anticipation. She already liked Nightfrost. He seemed like a great mentor and didn't act all high and mighty. But Foreverpaw still didn't know that much about him yet.
    "What's the best part about being a warrior?" She asked intently.
    She had asked this of other cats before, with varying results. She wanted to see how her new mentor would react.

    He seemed to think about her question for sometime, as if debating how to word his answer when finally he decided on something to tell her. "The pride" he said at last, looking back towards her. "You get to live everyday protecting and caring for the one thing you love, and you get to know that no matter what your big part of something great, and each day your doing good to protect your clan with your life. You live each day proud of everything you do" he added with a half smile as he thought about this. It was the first time he actually had to answer that question, and it somewhat surprised the tom.

    Foreverpaw pondered over this. He sounded sincere, like this meant a lot to him. Being able to protect your clan...that sounded wonderful. "I can't wait until I can do that!" She purred, looking up at Nightfrost with gleaming yellow eyes. "I want to actually have a purpose, not just living for the sake of living. I want to help cats and have meaning." Foreverpaw admitted, swishing her long, chocolate-colored tail.

    "You sound so much like me when I begun my training" the tom muttered with a slight chuckle. It hadn't been long ago that he himself was an apprentice, wondering what it was like to be a real warrior. Now he knew, and he was glad to give his apprentice an idea of what it may be like.


    In only moments he could not only smell the faint scent of rabbit, but a fresher scent blowing towards them across the moores. He knew now they had reached the rabbit holes.

    Foreverpaw smiled. "That's good, because you sound like what I want to be when I become a warrior!" She replied. She continued her walk, but the scent of rabbit got stronger. They were probably going to be there soon!

    The tom smiled at that comment, a little proud that his apprentice wanted to be like him. "Now crouch like I showed you, do you smell them?" he asked carefully, turning his tone from casual to more of a calm proffesional tone. He scented the air, and he himself could point out a rabbit or two, of course though they were not to be seen, this was perfect, it would teach Foreverpaw to hunt what he liked to call 'invisible' prey.

    Foreverpaw slipped into the hunting crouch. She rearranged her paws until she was sure they were in the right position, then sniffed the air. Her eyes lit up. Rabbits were definitely nearby. She glided forward, almost slithering across the grassy earth. She could smell one now, much stronger than the rest. It was nearby. She flicked her tail, trying to pinpoint it. It was behind some shrubbery, so Foreverpaw couldn't see it at all. She had a somewhat accurate idea of where it was, though. She pounced, and the rabbit took off. She streaked across the moor in hot pursuit. Stretching out her claws, Foreverpaw reached for the rabbit when-WHAM! She went paws-first into a rabbit hole, left with just a shred of white fur snagged in her claws.