[Fawn]

Appleshade

"Flamepaw~!" Appleshade's soft, melodious mew filled the apprentices' den, adding to the sound of the other mentors summoning their pupils to begin today's lessons. "Good morning, my dear." She purred, greeting the gingery tom with a soft touch to their noses, tail a merry banner waving behind her. "Lionstar's got a little challenge for you, Pantherpaw and Aspenpaw. He wants to see how your training is coming along, so he's tasked you all with bringing back three pieces of prey each."

It was common for the Clan's leader to try to 'spice up' the daily lives of apprentices; she was old enough to remember the earliest days of Lionstar's deputyship (how's that for nostalgia?), when he had arranged their overabundance of apprentices into a competition. The hunting competition had done quite, quite well.

As fondly as a mother would her own kit, Appleshade groomed her apprentice's ears, speaking soothing words in between this gesture of reassurance. "You will do splendidly, Flamepaw. Whether you catch one piece of freshkill or a dozen, I know how hard you've been working and how talented to you are."

Reciting the instructions as they'd been given to her, Appleshade took a step back, gesturing for the camp entrance. "You'll start at the Sparkling Brook, and you have until sun high. Should anything go oddly or you find yourself needing help, simply yowl and I'll come find you. The mentors will be close by, to observe your progress. Good luck, my dear. I'm very proud of you." Oh my stars, when did he grow up so quickly?

It felt like yesterday she'd been meeting him for the first time, coaxing him out of his shell and forming a fast friendship with the kitten who had spent the first six moons of his life in RainClan, of all places. Now, he smelled and walked and acted like a TreeClan cat. Meadowleaf would be proud to see what her two kits had become. Warriorhood wasn't far behind at all.

70 Moons | Senior Warrior | TreeClan

[smear:d67db2]A little party never killed nobody[/smear:ffffff]

@calico williams Hellion | fergie | background image | table by phoenix

[Deleted]

Flamepaw felt a moment's anxiety which was very quickly replaced by a feeling of excitement. A competition? Between him, Pantherpaw and Aspenpaw?

Briefly, he wondered why Appleshade and the other mentors had only chosen the older apprentices for this. Surely it would have been much more of a competition if it had been every apprentice?

It would definitely provide more fresh-kill for the Clan. 

"You will start at the Sparkling Brook. You have until sun-high."

Flamepaw mentally charted the route he would take. It should, hopefully, if calculated correctly, take him past several places where prey should be lurking. 

No, he wasn't convinced he would win. Pantherpaw had always had the edge over him where most things pertaining to their training was involved. But, StarClan willing, Flamepaw would try his absolute hardest to bring back as much as he could. It wasn't just about him, after all. Appleshade would be watching, and he was determined to keep her proud of him. He wanted to be the best warrior he could possibly be. Under her tutelage, he was well on his way to this level. 

"We can start now?"

Excitement bit down, and he didn't even wait for her to give a reply, just trotted out of camp. He knew he needed to pace himself for this. He'd be most likely reaching the limits of his endurance and stamina before the sun-high deadline, and didn't want to burn himself out too early.

He hadn't been out long when the rustling of the leaves on the forest floor alerted him to his first potential catch. Standing still, keeping his weight even, he used the sensitive nerves in his ears to alert him to the location of the sound. A mouse was just over a tail-length away, nibbling on a seed. It was so intent on its meal, it had no idea Flamepaw was even there. Perfect.

Judging the distance correctly, Flamepaw leapt, landing on top of the mouse with ease and dispatching it with a very quick killing bite. The half eaten seed fell to the ground as the mouse's mouth fell open in its death pose.

Carrying the mouse slightly away to a shaded spot, Flamepaw buried it, saving it for later and scraping leaves and grass over it for ease of remembering where it was. 

He hoped Appleshade had seen, and was happy with how he was progressing.

400 / Fawn

[Fawn]

Appleshade

Appleshade had been on pins and needles, practically holding her breath in time with Flamepaw's actions as he successfully stalked and captured a mouse. The first of the three pieces of prey he would need. The silver-sorrel she-cat purred with delight, feathery tail-tip quivering with suppressed excitement.

She couldn't get carried away. It would be a nightmare to interrupt young Flamepaw's hunting assessment because his silly mentor couldn't keep quiet or still. She couldn't help feeling this way, though; Appleshade had not been the most confident of her abilities as a mentor, yet here they were. Her second apprentice already getting a warrior's assessment.

It was more than just flattering her own ego, though. Appleshade had witnessed firsthand how hard Flamepaw worked to fit in, and keep pace with the other apprentices. She admired his determination; he was not a natural prodigy like Owlstrike had been. Flamepaw had to work hard, and he did.

Well done, Flamepaw! I'm so proud of you! Keep at it, you've still got time. Appleshade looked to the treetops, charting the sun's position in the sky. There was still a while to go yet. While Flamepaw scraped detritus over the piece of prey, Appleshade kept low and quiet, prepared to follow (from a reasonable distance) him to his next hunting spot.

70 Moons | Senior Warrior | TreeClan

[smear:d67db2]A little party never killed nobody[/smear:ffffff]

@calico | fergie | background image | table by phoenix

[Deleted]

Flamepaw, finally satisfied that no other cat (or fox) would find his prey except for him and those he told - or Appleshade, who had no doubt seen him burying it - cast his senses further afield, hunting for any glaringly obvious signs of more prey. Movement under the underbrush of the forest floor immediately gave away the location of another source of fresh kill.

Thank you, StarClan, for blessing us with the bounty of Greenleaf.

Standing still for a moment, his chest barely rising and falling as he tried to pinpoint the exact location of his quarry, Flamepaw concentrated fiercely.

Vole!

It was scurrying between trees, apparently uninterested in its surroundings.

Works for me.

Immediately, he fell into the same crouch he had practiced so many times with Appleshade gently guiding him in the right direction. Slowly, paw by paw, keeping his tail still, he crept up on the still unsuspecting vole.

It didn’t even have time to squeal.

A snap of a twig sounded behind him and his still warm prey, his senses on high alert immediately found the location of the noise.

Smelled like rabbit.

Smelled like a LightningClan rabbit - the pungent scent of the open land dwelling cats was all over it.

He didn’t even think twice of leaping onto the rabbit and ripping it apart.

Admittedly, there was nothing more satisfying to Flamepaw in that moment than the rapidly cooling rabbit wreathing him in LightningClan scent.

Picking up both the rabbit and vole, heading back to collect his original mouse, he placed them all at his paws before yowling to the sky “Appleshade! I’m finished!”

OOC: no idea if this meets minimum word count, iPhone doesn’t allow me to check. I’ll edit if I need to.

Fawn (Harestrike mention and Appleshade obviously)

[Fawn]

Appleshade

Oooh! Well done, Flamepaw! I don't think I taught him how to do that. Appleshade glowed with pride, having witnessed his dramatic takedown of a rabbit that had strayed over their border.

"He has great instincts. You've done a good job, Appleshade."

The silvery-sorrel warrioress nearly jolted out of her fur, ears spreading flat in a bit of mortification as she recognized the cat who had sneaked up on her. "Lionstar! Oh, stars. You saw that?" 'That' being her apprentice, that is. Not her... complete forgetfulness of her own surroundings.

The Clan's leader chuckled, gesturing to the approaching 'paw. "His part of the assessment is finished. He's the first one with all three pieces. I'm going to check on Aspenpaw and Pantherpaw." Their eyes met, and this time there was none of that residual awkwardness that came from being related through scandal. They were cousins, not siblings, and much of the relationship strain had vanished under the cleansing relief of the truth.

Vanished enough that Lionstar could tease. "Try not to spoil him too much, Appleshade. He'll get cocky."

A soft laugh burst from Appleshade's maw like a startled butterfly.
"Cocky? You don't know him very well at all, if you think that'll happen. Flamepaw's been nothing but an absolute dream. I feel very lucky to have trained him."

She was lucky. Her littermates had each had apprentices with stronger, more aggressive personalities than her Owlstrike and her Flamepaw, and she was grateful she did not have to struggle so much to train Flamepaw into a fine young warrior. He was certainly pulling his own weight. Much of her job consisted of boosting his confidence and giving him every opportunity to show the world what he'd learned.

With a fluttering tail that waved high as a victory banner, Appleshade skipped through the forest to meet Flamepaw, gushing praise when they were only a foxlength apart. "You've really impressed Lionstar! I'm going to have to tell the other warriors to move over a little. You'll be adding your nest in soon." The senior warrioress beamed, and though she'd much rather chatter on than have her mouth full with prey, she grasped the vole and mouse in her teeth so he could bring back the rabbit himself.

Their days together were numbered, and with this realization came a bittersweet feeling on the Greenleaf breeze.

70 Moons | Senior Warrior | TreeClan

[smear:d67db2]A little party never killed nobody[/smear:ffffff]

@calico | fergie | background image | table by phoenix