[Fawn]

This was a day she both anticipated and dreaded in equal measure. Goldenpaw was her first ever apprentice, despite being considered a senior warrior, and because of that she was feeling more pressure than ever - not just to make a good impression on a mind that had not yet thought to fear or dislike her, but to make a good impression on the minds that for the most part, appeared too prejudiced to give her much of a chance.
I'll show you all then, you foxhearts. The beautiful - but admittedly insidious looking - albino feline sat in the middle of LightningClan's camp, just off to the side as she groomed the last pesky clump of snow from her already pristine white pelt. To anyone who wasn't her or Whiteshade (or solid white, for that matter), it looked exceptionally hard to locate the clumps amidst all that white fur, but when you could feel it, it really wasn't as hard as the scene led you to believe.

Swiping a damp paw across her jaw, her face and both of her ears, Cherrypool's grooming sessions were short not out of negligence of her hygiene but out of the easiness of her short white coat, at least this time of year. Though in the times of flooding and rainy seasons, all sorts of mud and earthen debris just seemed to cling to her body as though she were one giant magnet for dirt, and it took so long to get it to the correct shade of white again, short of a plunge in the river.

Not her favorite way to start the grooming session, that was for sure. She much preferred just a quick bath. Appearance taken care of, the cynical feline stretched, ivory claws unsheathing, a few resounding clicks and cricks of her joints popping producing a satisfied sigh.
Let's get this over with.
Wavering between excitement at the prospect of being someone's teacher and the possibility of failure (and how much lower on the totem pole that might put her in the eyes of her Clanmates), bile seemed to rise in the back of her throat before she quickly swallowed it down, blood-red irises gleaming their hellish gleam as she let out a brusque yowl.
"Get up Goldenpaw! First day of training!"

Cherrypool had no intention of starting off with a false sense of kindness or anything that went against her cautious, jaded personality. She wasn't going to be mean, that was never her intention, but she was going to hold him at arms length for a while. That was her usual approach to everyone who didn't look at her funny. If they were worth getting closer to, then she would tread carefully, but tread nevertheless. The emotionally scarred albino had absolutely no intention of putting herself in a position in which she would get hurt.

---

Word Count: 504
Notes: This will probably be a tour of the territories with some hunting practice thrown in.

[Deleted]

Goldenpaw was stalking a mouse through the thick underbrush, he could nearly taste it as its scent seemed to surround him and drown out all other senses. However as he was about to leap he botched his jump, “Get up Goldenpaw! First day of training!” That confused him greatly, at least it did until he jerked awake and realized he had been dreaming. Groaning softly he pulled himself out of his nest and give himself a shake and a few quick licks, although it was a slow start he was wide awake and excited just a few moments later. It was his first day of training and Goldenpaw was so excited to finally start learning the trade of warrior, satisfied he was presentable he exited the apprentices den which was another exciting change in his life. “Hello Cherrypool!” He greeted his mentor with a big grin it’s size reflecting the amount of excitement he was trying to keep bottled inside.

His mentor was a pure white she-cat with blood red eyes, it wasn’t a common look at all and when he was still a small kit in the nursery she had scared him quite a bit. However long before he would be apprenticed to the albino she-cat he realized that she was not any different from any other cat, she was unique in her own way like all others. However even though his ideas about her were unbiased in regards to her coloring he still found her kind of scary, she was very reserved and seemed to be a bit short with just about everyone. His lack of knowledge about her was a bit of why he was afraid of the extraordinarily white mentor, he wasn’t sure how she would treat him.

[Fawn]

Was he smiling at her?

For a few dangerous seconds, Cherrypool's highly intelligent mind had ceased all thought processes, the albino feline seeming to freeze at this shocking gesture of kindness from one so young. It was particularly hard to get comfortable around cats who weren't warriors - queens hated her, apprentices looked at her with a mixture of fear and disgust, and kittens avoided her as though she were the walking plague.
So to have Goldenpaw greet her so warmly, Cherrypool did not have a reaction to such a surprising thing; "Hello. We're going to check the borders and then begin hunting training." The tone she spoke with was cautious, starting off quiet and growing stronger as she settled a little more into her role as mentor.

Turning around, Cherrypool half expected a friend of Goldenpaw's to have been standing there the whole time, thus the greeting having been for the friend all along, obviously not her in spite of Goldenpaw specifically saying her name. What was THAT about? Emotionally scarred enough that she knew better than to trust the first creature that dared smile at her, Cherrypool tried to shake off the unsettled feelings, focusing on the task ahead. Flicking her tail for him to follow, Cherrypool briefly considered letting him stop to eat, should he need the energy for a full territory introduction. Glancing over her white furred shoulder to Goldenpaw, Cherrypool paused, frowning, ears set sideways in a look of dark contemplation.
"Would you like to eat before we go?"

[Deleted]

Goldenpaw didn’t receive a smile back for his efforts from his new mentor, this didn’t surprise him one bit as he couldn’t remember off the top of his head one time he had ever seen her smile. He however did receive what seemed to be a sincere hello, although he wasn’t sure if you could make an un-sincere one, so that would have to suffice until she liked him a little more. He did have faith she would come to like him, what wasn’t to like? The young tom became excited as she told him about his day, “Oh I’m so excited to see the borders!” He said starting to bounce a little, “And I promise I will be the best hunter you have ever seen!” He puffed out his chest in pride and excitement, he knew he was going to blow her away today. She asked if he wanted to eat before he they left and he replied simply, “No I’m okay! I’ll eat after I’ve brought something for the fresh kill pile just like a real warrior, and not a moment before.” He smiled at her again as he jittered around unable to sit and keep still.

[Fawn]

Overwhelming enthusiasm, that one.
Though her inner critic was having a field day with this situation, the softer side of her personality that tended to hide in it's own private bunker within her being gently reminded her of what it had felt like to be an apprentice for the very first time.

“No I’m okay! I’ll eat after I’ve brought something for the fresh kill pile just like a real warrior, and not a moment before.”

Flicking a snow-white ear at her golden-tabby apprentice, Cherrypool gave a single nod of approval, finding that she could respect his ambitions - however, she was conscious of the likelihood that he would regret that statement after spending a few hours in the freezing cold moorlands, with sore, winter-numbed paws and shattered patience because everything warm and edible was already tucked away into the earth until a few more weeks, at least.
"Try to keep up, Goldenpaw, this terrain can be tricky to navigate. Riddle me this - do you know the two Clans that border us?"

As they exited the LightningClan camp, Cherrypool began to assess just how much her very first pupil actually knew of the world beyond the warmth of the nursery and the only semi-interesting camp, assuming he didn't know much but willing to be surprised. There was a part of the cynical, emotionally scarred albino that was thoroughly and truly excited to be having these sorts of thoughts - the innocent excitement that came with contemplating stuff like;
What should today's lesson plan be? I wonder if, with enough dedication I can make him a warrior a bit earlier than the norm? I can start him off with battle training tomorrow, I want him to focus on mastering hunting techniques first.

Cherrypool had not quite realized just how...how empowering, how fun it was, to be responsible for the well-being of another feline, a cat who had been intrusted to her to take care of and groom into a proper LightningClan warrior. The pressure was enormous, Cherrypool realized at that instant, and her fur nearly bristled all along her spine and to fluff up her tail, but she was quick to get a control on her apprehension.

She would have quite a few eyes watching her, ready to burn her at the stake for failure or give her begrudging respect for success.

Yeah, no pressure. SURE...

[Deleted]

Goldenpaw hadn’t exactly been a super adventurous kit when he was in the nursery, he wasn’t as anxious to get out as the cats he shared the den with. The young cat was honestly very patient while waiting to be apprenticed so when she asked what clans bordered Lighteningclan he honestly wasn’t positive his answer would be correct causing him to choke out in an uneven tone, “T-treeclan? And Stoneclan?” He shot his mentor a bit of a pleading look begging for her to give him the correct answer if he had not already provided it. He had followed her up until she had asked the question, which had caused him to stop and plant his rump to the earth walking and talking apparently not something he thought would be important today. The overall picture was one of a stumped tom especially after he shot her the quizzical look he had saved for just such an occasion.

[Fawn]

Cherrypool almost chortled in response to the stammered answer Goldenpaw had provided, her heart pinging at the choked out words she attributed to fear of messing up or, as was always the case, a fear of her. Though she did not want her apprentice to truly fear her or think her something wretched and unpleasant, Cherrypool would forever be steeling herself for that sort of thing to happen no matter what she did. However, she would give credit where credit was due.
"Someone's been paying attention. That is correct. We are heading for the StoneClan border - once there, I want you to try and differentiate the scent of your own Clan with your neighboring Clan." It was elementary, really, teaching him how to tell the difference between various scents - unless he'd done a lot of sneaking out as an apprentice, it wasn't likely that he had much experience telling his Clanmates apart from other cats that dwelt in the forest.

Though the territory was primarily gorse, shrubs and moorland, it occasionally had it's obstacles, such as the one that appeared in the form of a large snow covered rock with lichen frozen to it's circumference, one such obstacle that Cherrypool cleared with a senior warrior's ease. Pivoting so that she turned completely around, Cherrypool barely stood out amongst her frosted, white-washed surroundings, watching with vermillion orbs to see if Goldenpaw would take the risk of trying and potentially failing, or would simply walk around it and save himself the potential embarrassment.
What's it going to be, new kid? Take a risk or play it safe?

It might have seemed like such a pointless exercise to anyone watching, but this was how Cherrypool would get a good assessment of his personality. It was in part what you said (or didn't say, for that matter) that helped a she-cat of her intelligence glean a great deal about you, but it was also in your choices, that your personality, wants, needs and intentions were unconsciously put under a microscope for the albino feline.

---

Word Count: 338
Notes: ^^ I like them together. Goldenpaw's so cute.

[Deleted]

Goldenpaw swelled slightly with pride as he not only got the questions answer correct, but when he received praise to go along with it. Seeing as he wasn’t sure at all if he had the right clans he was expecting failure and a chastising, what he received was worlds better though. “Okay!” He said happily as his excitement bubbled over again causing him to have to make some sort of verbal noise for fear of exploding. He was excited about the prospect of scenting stoneclan, he had always wondered what another clan smelled like and it was finally his time to find out. However before he could get there his mentor had a test planned for him as she leaped a rock and turned to look at him. He knew because she had stopped and turned to look at him, this meant that she actually cared what he did next. He couldn’t figure out why she cared, or what the correct thing to do was but he was sure he couldn’t leap the rock so instead of trying and failing he just wouldn’t try at all. He also didn’t want to seem challenging to his mentor, so easily swallowing his pride and tucking his tail he walked around the walk in a slow rather feminine way before sitting infront of his mentor. He made eye contact, he didn’t want to disrespect her by refusing to look into her blood red eyes and he feared offending her. Goldenpaw didn’t however have a challenging look in his gaze, a much more submissive one was in its’ place and he hoped he had done satisfactory.

[Fawn]

So he's not much of a risk taker then.
Cherrypool didn't really care to decide if that was good or bad - it was simply an aspect of his personality, or would he have tried jumping over the rock if she hadn't been looking? Probably. It wasn't easy having a cat like her analyzing your every move, and Cherrypool, who had grown accustomed to the unusual behavior that surrounded her appearance, merely turned back towards the StoneClan border, the casual flick of the tip of her tail signaling that it would be in his best interests to keep up. Whatever she'd been expecting - it wasn't a tom who appeared to second guess himself. He gave off the impression of being...soft, malleable, like a piece of clay. The horrors of life, the highs and lows of Clan life had yet to make any indentations on his character and his sense of judgment - such was the case with all apprentices, but Goldenpaw in particular seemed to be a strong case in of itself.

"Do you smell that? That's the scent of StoneClan. They were here when the four Clans - then called ThunderClan, RiverClan, WindClan and ShadowClan - first moved to this forest." Finding herself unconsciously adding a history lesson to the brief territory introduction, Cherrypool's thin-furred white neck extended as she scented the mixture of LightningClan and StoneClan border markings, rubbing her cheek against a nearby branch to add her own scent to the tangle.
"Any questions so far?"

---

Word Count: 247
Notes: None!

[Deleted]

After he had spent time being looked over by his mentor before moving on the pair carried on towards the Stoneclan border. The closer they came the more he could notice a changing scent around him, it slowly intermingled with the Lightningclan scents he was used to. In all honesty he didn’t care for the scent at all, it wasn’t pleasing to him really and it lacked many things that the lighteningclan scent held for him. It didn’t smell of home or safety but rather something unknown and rather scary, he was so lost in the scent he almost missed his mentor speaking to him with a short blurb about the history of their clans. “Yes I do smell it, I really don’t like it at all.” He responded before adding “N-no I think I’m keeping up so far.” He said as unconsciously his tail tucked again slightly having loosened up to a more normal position whilst they were walking.

[Fawn]

This time Cherrypool felt as though she understood his behavior a smidgen better than she had moments ago. The sudden rush of new and scary scents he was getting would be more than enough to put the young golden-hued tom on edge, given how many enemy cat scents they were surrounded in. Nodding when he said he was keeping up, Cherrypool walked along the border, brushing against anything that protruded to leave her own fragrance upon the borderline, not that it really needed refreshing. When they drew closer to the TreeClan border - after a brief, brisk, silent stroll through the moorlands - Cherrypool slowed until she was walking beside the quiet young tom, studying him out of the corners of her cherry-red orbs.
"Want to try finding the borderline yourself?" They were about...8 foxlengths from the border, it would be a good chance for Goldenpaw to use his nose and engage in his surroundings at the same time.

Go on. Better that you learn this stuff now then go out with a patrol and not understand any of it. Though Cherrypool was momentarily more worried over her teaching methods, and whether she was giving too little information, too much information, or wasn't giving him enough opportunities to prove himself, she was actually... possibly enjoying their time together.
It was refreshing to know that he wasn't scuttling away from her in fear, with his tail tucked between his legs, wailing back to camp. Though his tail was tucked, a particular aspect of his behavior that she found somewhat puzzling.

[Deleted]

“Find the borderline?” He squeaked out, “O-okay.” He complied as he stuck his nose to the ground for a moment and started sniffing as he inched his way forward carefully. He was moving slowly because nothing scared him more than the thought of accidently wandering over the border, he had heard stories of cats that had crossed their borders and what shape they had been sent running home in and he really didn’t want that to happen to him. As he moved ever so slowly forward towards enemy territory their scent kept getting strong and stronger, and soon he was sure he had found the source. “I think it’s right here!” He said turning to Cherrypool hoping she would not chastise him to hard if he was wrong. It was all so new and scary and he wasn’t sure if he was ready for this, he almost wished he was back in the nursery safe with his mother.

[Fawn]

Cherrypool was appreciative of the obedience shown so far, as the albino feline had not developed a strategy for a rebellious apprentice who did not always want to listen to their mentor. Considering how unfavorably the Clan viewed her, she likely would have been blamed for the smallest incident, and labeled as a mean, tough master for trying to discipline a youngster getting out of line. Looking at Goldenpaw now, as he sniffed along the border, seeking to pinpoint as close to an exact location as one could get when in a myriad of scents, Cherrypool quietly wondered if his docile - almost frightened - behavior would somehow reflect negatively back to her in the eyes of any of her Clanmates.
Give him time. He's new. He'll settle into his role as apprentice - he hasn't done anything to disappoint or offend you quite yet.

So used to ill treatment or cats scuttling away in fear, Cherrypool always had to stop and take in a few deep, chilly breaths of winter air to clear her mind, letting the voice of reason (and dare she say optimism) brush the dust off it's shoulders and start making it's presence known.
"Very good, Goldenpaw," she mewed, praising him though a smile did not touch her muzzle, the she-cat padding forward to approach the smaller, lightweight tom. "TreeClan tends to smell exactly as their name suggests - like trees. Because we have so few, they always smelled particularly odd to me."

It would make sense that a Clan that was literally situated right in the most forested area of their homeland would smell so strange to a cat used to the moorlands. Lifting up a white chin, alabaster whiskers twitched, bloody orbs staring all around her as though scenting for something. "The mist is rolling in. We'll have to be quick." It was not ideal hunting conditions for a new apprentice, the moorlands shrouded in mist - they would try to hunt later in the day when it was clearer. For now, she would show him the particular landmarks that made up LightningClan territory.

[Deleted]

“Maybe I should have eaten before we left, I don’t think I can catch anything with mist covering the ground.” Goldenpaw said hanging his head slightly, he didn’t soak up the praise at all after having successfully finding border. He was always more focused on what he had done wrong than the loads of things that he had done right, so nothing would be able to brighten his mood at the moment or most other moments in his life. “But if you want to follow me around as I bumble through the brush looking for that one bit of prey that was too mousebrained to hear or scent me coming, then I guess let’s be quick.” The entire speech was bringing his mood down and he really just wanted to go back to camp and shrivel up in his nest where nobody could see him. The unease of being so close to another clans borders were causing him to doubt himself more than usual and it was making for quite a scene.

[Fawn]

“But if you want to follow me around as I bumble through the brush looking for that one bit of prey that was too mousebrained to hear or scent me coming, then I guess let’s be quick.”

Where had this sudden dip in self-esteem come from? Cherrypool was getting flashbacks of her own apprenticeship, back when she had been so thirsty to prove herself, back when the comments and criticisms and stares of others had been chipping away at her soul little by little. Though they still hurt now, she had been able to do quite a bit of damage control over the years, and there was now a thick layer of cynicism and confidence in her warrior skills to keep her soul intact.
"There's no need for that attitude, Goldenpaw. I'm only showing you the rest of the territory the moment. Though yes, there is mist, there's also bank voles, and if you remember the Crystal Creek right by the camp, then they'll be out and about trying to take as much advantage of the mist as we should be."

Fixing her reddened gaze upon the smaller pale-furred tom, Cherrypool seemed to be trying to read into his soul, trying to find the source of this sudden insecurity. At best she could surmise it was due to them being so close to the TreeClan border? It had probably overwhelmed him. Flicking alabaster tail tip for him to keep up, Cherrypool set out on a path for the Star Field and the Flooded Grasses. Though the mist was obscuring a little of their vision, it wasn't enough to fully deter them from this little tour, nor would it be enough to dampen her spirits, not when she had already set her mind on something.
"Bank voles are not hard to catch, there's a good chance you'll be able to snag one for yourself, but thinking you're going to fail is not going to do you any good."

To be quite honest, Cherrypool was a little grateful for the sudden overcast and the mist-cover. Bright sunlight hurt her sensitive, blood-red eyes, and to the white devil of LightningClan, this was perfect weather for her. Oh if only they were ambushing an enemy Clan under the cover of the mist! As they walked through the moorlands, Cherrypool briefly entertained the notion of using her appearance and her stealth and her battle prowess to send her enemies wailing back to their mothers, screaming about the Demon Hidden in the Mist.