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Drizzlepaw prepared herself for the inevitable talk she had to have with her leader, her mentor was gone and everyone figured she wasn’t coming back. As uneager as she was to replace her beloved mentor, it had to be done. She knew there was probably no reason to be afraid, the clan’s newest leader had never been anything but lovely to her but she was scared her patience was running thin. It might have been an imagined plight she suffered with her leader, but she could never rule out the possibility that of even the most patient leader getting sick of the permanent apprentice. She wanted so badly to be the warrior the clan needed but she just wasn’t, and she was going to keep trying until she was no longer allowed to by her Redstar. So stepping up the entrance of her den she called in softly, “Redstar, c-can we talk?”



OOC: @littleflower

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Redstar had just been out on a solo hunting expedition, and a successful one at that. The red tabby had deposited a hare and a plump brown mouse on the fresh-kill pile before at last returning to her den for a mid-morning groom.
The LightningClan had just finished cleaning the dust from in between her claws when there came a soft voice from just outside the den, "Redstar, c-can we talk?"
The red tabby she-cat quickly distinguished the voice as none other than Drizzlepaw, one of the clans older apprentices. Ears twitching, the red-yellow tabby rasped her tongue over her soft pale paw one last time before responding, "Of course, come in, Drizzlepaw."

When the apprentice had made herself comfortable, the LightningClan leader let her honey-amber gaze wash over her for a moment. It was no doubt that Drizzlepaw was here to ask Redstar about the whole mentor situation. With Swiftflight having suddenly disappeared, the apprentice had been left without a mentor. Even so, Redstar still questioned Drizzlepaw's reason for a talk, "Is there anything I can help you with? Is there anything wrong or something troubling you?"

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Drizzlepaw received her invite and gingerly made her way into her leader’s den; she spotted a nice spot to settle down right across from Redstar and made her way over hastily. Closing in she quickly lowered herself down as she listened to her the ginger leaders question, “Y-yes of course.” She realized how awkward an answer that was but figured it was just as fitting to her personality as anything, and that her mere presence was enough to make her leader feel awkward so there was no need to feel bad about some bad wording. “My mentor… Swiftflight… she’s gone and I don’t want my training to stop. I want to be a warrior still.” She looked down at her paws as she twirled her paw methodically along the floor as she spoke. “What is being done with me?” That was her first question and she would wait to ask her second one after she received her answer.

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Redstar studied Drizzlepaw for a moment, amber eyes unblinking. “My mentor… Swiftflight… she’s gone and I don’t want my training to stop. I want to be a warrior still.”
The red tabby she-cat nodded understandingly, flashing the apprentice a sympathetic smile. The situation they found themselves in now was certainly unique, a cat mysteriously disappearing wasn't something that happened everyday in LightningClan. Redstar had sent out a search party in an attempt to track down the young warrior, but not so much as a scent of Swiftflight had been found.

“What is being done with me?”
The red tabby she-cat let her honey-amber gaze wash over Drizzlepaw for a moment before responding, "Well, as it's still your wish to keep training, I'll appoint you a new mentor of course," she paused, wondering whether to continue, "How do you feel your training is, I mean, was going, at least until the incident with Swiftflight? Do you feel you'll need much more training until you become a warrior once more?" in other words, 'How much longer is your training going to take?' Of course, Redstar managed to hold back those last words. She felt sympathy for Drizzlepaw, she was so desperate to serve her clan well, she just... lacked in the skills required to be a warrior.
Redstar hadn't yet decided who was to be Drizzlepaw's new mentor; in all honesty, she hadn't given it much thought. It would require a warrior with patience of course, that was the most important... But who?

ooc - Gah, I'm so sorry for the shortness. My muse just... died. :/

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Drizzlepaw was relieved at the kindness she was being shown by Redstar, proving that the notions she had in her head were all false and she was just being ridiculous. Of course her leader cared about her just like her leader cared about all her clan mates. Then came the inevitable question about where she was in her training, she was pleased that Redstar had found a way to make such a question gentle. There was so much possibility for annoyance or a pushy attitude to come out as Redstar asked it but yet again she showed neither of those things. “I was coming along pretty well.” She said simply at first, “She was teaching me a bit different then my first mentor and that helped a lot, we spent most of our time working on balance while the first time I did my apprenticeship I was taught the techniques well and can recite the steps by heart. This time was working completely on my footing.”

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Redstar blinked warmly at the apprentice, flashing her a white-fanged smile, "That's good to hear," she replied, meeting Drizzlepaw's gaze evenly. She studied the apprentice for a moment, lost in thought, before adding, "Is there anything you feel you particularly need to work on? Anything that I should bear in mind when choosing your new mentor?"
Redstar was almost tempted to mentor Drizzlepaw herself, but she already had Gingerpaw and training two apprentices at once, unless you were Lionstar of course, would be very difficult.


For several heartbeats, the reddish tabby she-cat just let her amber gaze wander over Drizzlepaw, letting her thoughts carry her away. She was still finding the whole disappearance of Swiftflight rather odd disappearance; surely a cat doesn't just vanish into think air, just like that?
Pulling herself back to reality, Redstar gave Drizzlepaw a look, "Back to the topic of Swiftflight, she didn't happen to mention anything about leaving the clan or anything, did she? Did she seem at all... distant?"

Although Redstar was pretty confident that if Swiftflight had said anything to her apprentice before disappearing, Drizzlepaw would've already told her, but it was worth a try at least. To have a warrior, a young warrior at that, with great potential, disappear, was a great loss for the clan. Redstar was determined, in any way possible, to find and return Swiftflight to where she belonged, LightningClan.

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Drizzlepaw wasn’t sure but she thought she saw a bit of warmness in her leaders eyes, and the mere thought of it being true brightened her day a little bit. She came out of her verbal shell a bit and excitement started to find its way into her speech very subtly, she wanted to talk about herself and how good she was doing now that she thought her leader would like to listen. “I think I’m rather well rounded and I can recite any technique, I’ve been taught them and practiced them so many times. I just need someone who can work with my physical capabilities, I move strange because of my large paws and someone who understood that would be able to help me quite a lot.” She was nearly purring now pleased that she had something positive to report about herself for a change, however as Redstar brought the topic back to her mentor she quickly shut down again and whispered in an incredibly soft tone, “No… she was always receptive and talking to me… I don’t think she left the clan. She just walked out of camp and never returned…”

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It brought a smile to Redstar's face to find out that LightningClan's most senior apprentice was at last starting to achieve in her training sessions. She nodded calmly whilst the apprentice talked, listening carefully to what Drizzlepaw had to say.
“No… she was always receptive and talking to me… I don’t think she left the clan. She just walked out of camp and never returned…”
The red-yellow tabby sensed it was a sensitive subject, so gave a nod, resting her tail-tip on Drizzlepaw's flank reassuringly. Your mentor just disappearing without warning, never coming back, must be rather upsetting and, of course, unsettling. Redstar would make sure when she assigned Drizzlepaw her new mentor that they were the perfect cat for the job, or at least as perfect as they could be.

"Okay, thank you, Drizzlepaw," she smiled, blinking. For a heartbeat she paused, simply letting her honey-amber gaze linger on Drizzlepaw before at last continuing, "There's nothing else troubling you, is there? Nothing I need to know about?" she doubted there was, but whilst Drizzlepaw was here, she might as well check up on her clanmate; she hated the idea that a member of her clan could be suffering in silence.
Tail flickering from side to side, Redstar tilted her head to one side to study the apprentice, amber gaze absent.

ooc - So sorry for the long wait! I've been so busy with homework and stuff, but it's all calmed down now, thankfully.