[Deleted]

WANNA HOLD ON AND FEEL I BELONG

And how can they say I
never change?
They're the ones that
stay the same.

The sun had barely risen above the treetops, was filtering through the leaf-bare branches and casting glowing patches of sunlight on the dirt floor of Rainclan's camp, when Patchpaw was awake. Roaming nervously around the camp and waiting for the rest of the clan cats to awake from their slumber. There were a few others awake with her, the usual early risers- but they were of little importance to her. She was looking for one tom in particular.

"Yellowsnow..." she grumbled as she stationed herself outside the warrior's den and waited for her mentor to surface from it's depths. "Come oooon-"

Glancing over her shoulder, she squinted into the dim lighting within the covered den and thought she spotted the tabby coat of her sleeping mentor among the other sleeping warriors, but couldn't be sure; she hadn't thought about it before, but he was pretty good at blending into a pile. Every so often, one of the warriors within the den would stir and rise, exiting the sleeping quarters to stretch their legs and greet the rising sun before getting on with their morning duties.

Patchpaw wished she had morning duties.

"Wake uuuup-" her tone lowered, resembling that of a harsh whisper as she glared at the coat she was sure belonged to Yellowsnow, "Get up, get up- the sun's practically on it's way down-"

Another clan cat stopped to watch her as she glowered into the den, the feeling of someone's eyes on her made her straighten almost instantly and give a curt nod of recognition to the curious clan mate before they seemed to lose interest and wander back to whatever they were doing. She knew that what she was doing might look weird to some, but it was necessary. If she didn't initiate a scenario with her mentor then they were never going to get anything done, right?

Rolling her eyes slightly she recalled their last training session that ended with her head stuck in a vole tunnel; of course, Yellowsnow had explained to her that if she had been listening to him, none of that would have happened- but it was his own fault, he just wasn't speaking loud enough.

"A-hem..." Patchpaw cleared her throat and twitched her tail impatiently before cautiously turning again to relocate that tabby-white doormouse.

CODED BY ELECTRIC OF SHINE

[Deleted]

The frigid early morning air made the act of leaving his warm nest laborious for the senior warrior. With a heavy sigh, the tabby rose to a sitting position and was drowsily grooming his coat when the voice of his apprentice drifted in to the warrior's den. Flicking his ears, he rose to his paws and stretched, stepping around the sleeping bodies of his clanmates as he made his way towards the entrance. At least she's eager, he mused as he stepped out in to the camp. "Good morning," he said, his voice raspy and tired. He cast his light green eyes about before shaking himself, fur ruffled against the chilled air.

Patchpaw wasn't his first apprentice, and while each of his students had offered unique challenges, Patchpaw was honestly a bit of a conundrum to him. She just wouldn't focus! The tortoiseshell had a fairly good attitude most of the time, though, so he rarely got exasperated. They would get there... even if it took a bit longer than usual. "I'd like to try some more battle training, but the fresh-kill pile is looking a bit pitiful, so we're going to need to work extra hard on hunting today."

He headed out of camp, nodding to a stony Mallowleaf, who stood guard at the entrance. She didn't acknowledge him beyond a sideways glance that she clearly thought would go unnoticed. He shrugged. It didn't bother him. Pausing for a moment, he decided to head towards the wooded cove. Patchpaw was a fine fisher, but needed practice in the forest. If the prey proved too sparse here, they'd go to the river and eek out some fish there.

Flanked by his young companion, the tom broke in to an easy trot, his swinging gait carrying them to their destination at a decent pace. The pair traveled in silence, sidestepping ice and debris, until they reached the treeline. There, Yellowsnow slowed and turned to his apprentice, speaking in a low voice. "You need to be patient. Don't rush anything. Be careful, balanced... and, for StarClan's sake, focus." Letting out a good-natured laugh, he flicked her ears with his tail. "Go ahead. I'll be watching."

Character; Yellowsnow
Word count; 363
Notes; Heh. Yellowsnow. Heh heh heh.

[Deleted]

wanna hold on and feel I belong

How can they say I
never change?
They're the ones that
stay the same.

Patchpaw felt her ears perk up and her tail curl slightly when the tom finally stirred from his slumber and stalked towards her, he looked tired, but calm- no aggravation from him in the slightest. Good, he wasn't mad that she had woken him up then. When he spoke, his voice cracked from it's disuse while he slept.

"Good Morning,"

"Morning," she responded shortly, watching as he slowly allowed his eyes to pass over the spacious camp before he gave himself a quick shake and settled into a seated position. The way he shook himself reminded her of how cold she had been sitting out and waiting for him, in hindsight, she realized that that hadn't been the best of ideas, but as long as she got a result she didn't see the need to fix it in anyway.

"I'd like to try some more battle training-"

Her ears perked up and her tail practically shot into the air from her excitement.

"-but the fresh-kill pile is looking a bit pitiful, so we're going to need to work extra hard on hunting today."

Patchpaw felt the excited energy drain from her body. Hunting? Again? Why was that such a big deal for him. There were plenty of other cats that could go out and forage for them- why did she have to be the one to waste her precious apprentice time to do it?

"Yeah, yeah-" she muttered this under her breath as Yellowsnow rose from his position and strolled slowly out of camp. For a moment she thought she caught him giving a nearby she-cat the eye- Marshleaf, was it?- but it happened so non-chalantly and so quickly that she just figured it was her imagination and dropped it from her mind. As soon as they exited the camp, Patchpaw felt her senses go on full alert; the world within the camp had always felt so droll and familiar to her, having spent a good majority of her kit years confined within it's walls, so whenever she got the chance to be free- to run around the open territory with her mentor- she took the opportunity to absorb as much of it as she could.

Of course, that often left her distracted from the tasks at hand, but could anyone really blame her? No, no, they couldn't- or at least they shouldn't. Ears swiveling and whiskers shaking, she inhaled sharply and closed her eyes taking in the scent of familiar Rainclan cats and the frost tinted scent of leaf-bare.

"Yellowsnow, I-" upon opening her eyes and exhaling, she found that she had been left behind. Yellowsnow had picked up his pace and was trotting off without her. Scrambling to find purchase on the pine covered ground, she raced after him, catching up without much effort on her part and trotting alongside him as they avoided the path that lead down to the river and followed the one that took them further into the forest, "The forest? Why're we going in there- remember what happened-"

The pair slowed as they reached the treeline and Patchpaw lowered her body as well as her voice, "Remember what happened last time?"

Yellowsnow seemed to ignore her harsh whispering as he faced her, "You need to be patient."

"I am patient-"

"Don't rush anything. Be careful, balanced..."

"I know that-"

"And, for StarClan's sake, focus."

His laugh caught her attention and she looked up from her pointed glare into the trees, only to receive a decent flick over the ears with a familiar tail, "Go ahead. I'll be watching."

Patchpaw made a playful noise in her chest before swatting at Yellowsnow's tail absently, her mind already wandering to a more kit like state of mind before she realized that he had just released her from instruction.

"Oh, right- ok..." keeping her body low to the ground, she snaked along, feeling her belly rub against the earth and allowing the overgrown grass to tickle her ears, but she didn't giggle this time- not like before. Yellowsnow wanted her to focus, "Focus, Patchpaw, focus."

She chanted this to herself quietly before lifting her head and doing a complete 180 of her surroundings. Silence filled her ears and she took a deep breath, allowing herself to listen for any signs of movement in the underbrush or in the trees nearby as she closed her eyes. For a moment, she heard nothing; the sound of the slight rustling of the overhead branches distracting her ears and making her kneed the earth beneath her paws in aggravation. Why was it so difficult for her to focus on just one thing at a time?

Sh-shhhkkk-

Wait, that wasn't a tree.

Shhkkk-shhk...squeak-

That was prey.

Opening her eyes, she cast a narrowed look around her surroundings and dropped her body back to the ground. A good distance away, she could see a small something rummaging through the undergrowth, perfect. With a slow crawl, she advanced on the prey, careful not to give away her position by stepping on anything that'd make too much noise. When she was only a decent pounce away from it, she recognized the creature as a small wood mouse.

Distracted, she began to imagine how great it'd feel to press her claws into it's small frame and carry it off towards her mentor when she felt the wind ruffle her fur. She froze, careful not to move or even breath as the mouse lifted it's head upwards and began scenting the air. Not wanting to lose the opportunity, she dove forward, kicking back grass and mulch as she pounced. Unfortunately for her, the mouse had already caught wind of her scent and had bolted, leaving her to land with her nose in the ground where it once was sitting; her pride, as well as her snout, hurting with the miscalculated landing.

CODED BY ELECTRIC OF SHINE