[Taxx]

Watch me, I'll make a name for myself

The stars shone brightly through the trees as Crowflame padded from the camp, pausing next to the entrance to wait for Breezepaw to join her. A day had passed since the ceremony; Crowflame had spent the first night showing her apprentice where to find moss for nests and had helped her clear the nursery and elders' den. Where the other apprentices had gone off with their mentors to learn to hunt, or fight, or just to explore the territory, Crowflame had decided it would be best to show Breezepaw how she could help without doing anything she was uncomfortable with. To show her that even without knowing an ounce of what it took to hunt or fight, she could be useful.

She'd also encouraged Breezepaw to make the other apprentices do some of the work- not to shoulder all the cleaning duties of an apprentice while they went out to train. If their mentors would let them get out of it, anyway. It wouldn't be fair for them to let their apprentices shove their share of cleaning onto Breezepaw, and she hoped they wouldn't let Roachpaw, Hollowpaw and Bramblepaw avoid the less ideal chores.

The temperature had dropped; the humid heat of greenleaf was gone and the wind that swept through the trees had a nip in it. Fluffing up her fur, Crowflame turned to her apprentice and gave a gentle smile. "Ready to tour the territory? We'll steer clear of the Branch Trail; i doubt there would be any TreeClan cats there at this time but you never know. Come on, stay close! Walking will help warm you up. Do you have any questions about any of it?"

Crowflame

NightClan Warrior

I won't be just another face in the crowd

Ginger || Notes

[Ginger]

Her first day being an apprentice had been an interesting one. She had spent her time helping out with the Elders' Den and the nursery. It had felt so weird to graduate from the nursery to the Apprentice's Den. Already, the nursery had felt foreign and strange. Was it really that easy to grow up and forget what was once so familiar? 

Had she been more eager than she expected to become an apprentice and stray away from her soft kithood? Maybe. Or maybe she was simply mirroring what her nest mates had been expressing so that they would not find any reasons to call out her weakness. Even Breezepaw barely knew her reasoning for such things.

Today was a new day full of learning and excitement (and of course, a little bit of fear). Unlike her littermates, Breezepaw had not gone out of the camp while she was under six moons -- the thought of breaking the rules and doing something that impulsive was not something she could be comfortable with.

As tortoiseshell paws stepped outside of the camp into Nightclan's territory, Breezepaw realized that she felt no regret about staying in the Nursery as a kit. If she had gone outside of camp before it was her time, it would not have felt as good as it did in this moment. 

Her attention was quickly caught by Crowflame, who offered a gentle smile and some suggestions on how to keep warm. At the mention of it, Breezepaw realized that she was rather chilly, and a single shiver ran throughout her body in one motion. 

Jumping to her paws, Breezepaw moved along after Crowflame, who was moving somewhat fast. Already, the gentle she-cat found herself panting ever so slightly, but she refused to acknowledge it.

As the two she-cats walked around Nightclan's territory, Breezepaw began to catch some unfamiliar scents. She scrunched her nose in confusion. "What's that smell?"

Breezepaw

6 moons she-cat nightclan

"Having a soft heart in a cruel world is courage, not weakness."

Taxx 319 words

[Taxx]

Watch me, I'll make a name for myself

Keeping a steady pace just under a trot, Crowflame led her new apprentice into the forest, an ear turned back to keep tabs on Breezepaw. She was panting, which was to be expected of a soft, newly appointed apprentice, and momentarily Crowflame debated slowing her pace. She didn't want to tire the younger out too quickly.

Her question was a chance to pause, to take a short break; Crowflame whirled on Breezepaw, her usual cheerful demeanor gone in a heartbeat. "Breathe deep, Breezepaw, and remember that scent. That's Demon." Quickly she reached out to calm her, knowing that the news might scare the young apprentice, and continued. "It's stale, and he's nowhere near us right now, but listen closely. If you ever smell it and it seems very fresh, you go up the nearest tree and you wait there. I don't care how long it takes: do not come down until a warrior tells you to. If he hasn't seen you, be as quiet as you can. If he has, then you make as much noise as possible and hope a patrol hears you."

Padding closer to where the scent had pooled- the lynx must have sat here a moment, possibly in ambush of something- she beckoned Breezepaw over. It was feline, clearly, so alien enough to make the warrior's fur prickle. "There's nothing to fear from scent," she assured the apprentice. "Learn it. It might save your life one day."

Crowflame

NightClan Warrior

I won't be just another face in the crowd

Ginger || Notes

[Ginger]

As Crowflame suddenly turned to speak to Breezepaw, the tortoiseshell apprentice jumped in surprise and sharply inhaled. That momentary surprise slowly turned to fear as her mentor identified the awful smell as Demon. 

Breezepaw had only ever heard a few stories of the cat-killer, but they were enough to give her sleepless nights and great fear. And now, here she was, with only one other cat, in the middle of where this monster had once been.

"It's stale," Crowflame mentioned.

Breezepaw crinkled her nose, trying desperately to understand what a stale scent was. How embarrassing. Bramblepaw and Hollowpaw could probably easily recognize how old a scent was; in fact, they could probably do it before they had even become apprentices! 

Not only was Breezepaw uncomfortable by the eerie smell of Demon, a monster who had taken down strong warriors, but she was now also ashamed of her own lack of ability to recognize the age of the scent. 

But then she remembered that one night in camp when Crowflame had come up to her and shown her kindness. Breezepaw was gifted with an understanding mentor. Maybe she wouldn't get in too much trouble for asking.

"Crowflame, how do I know it's stale? It just smells scary." Conjuring up an image of herself running up a tree upon smelling this caused Breezepaw's fur to bristle ever so slightly. What if she one day came across Demon on her own? What if there was no one there to help her? What if she had to fight him alone? Even if she could land a few blows, would she be able to? 

Endless scenarios and questions whizzed through Breezepaw's mind as a slight panic began to set in. What if Demon was really there and was just tricking them into thinking his scent was stale? What if this was the last scent Breezepaw would ever smell?

Breezepaw

6 moons she-cat nightclan

"Having a soft heart in a cruel world is courage, not weakness."

Taxx 313 words

[Taxx]

Watch me, I'll make a name for myself

Breezepaw's eyes had widened, her fear instantly evident, but Crowflame hoped her attempt at consoling her would work. Fear was good, really- some might think it cowardly to run away, but fear- that immediate surge of fight or run kept a cat alive. Overcoming that was a challenge in its own way, and though she was afraid Breezepaw held her ground. Crowflame flashed her a look of pride and reached out a paw to pat the leaf litter over the spot.

"Smell," she instructed, dropping her nose to the ground and inhaling. Breezepaw might not pick up the subtle scent of squirrel over the stronger stench of Demon, but it was there. "A squirrel ran past over the track. If squirrels are out, then it's safe; they're the flightiest creatures I know and they'd never cross a track that was fresh. I'd say Demon came by- perhaps early this morning- and sat here. Waiting for prey." Cat or something else, she didn't know, but she did know that no warriors had died today. "It's safe now. But remember what I told you; a patrol can stand up to Demon, but no single cat will ever be strong enough."

Rising back to her paws, Crowflame gently touched her nose to one of Breezepaw's ears and then turned. "Come on. Let's keep going, and I'll help you learn more scents. Like this one," she added, guiding her apprentice to another spot where an acorn lay abandoned, the outer shell nibbled on. "This was done by a mouse. Something spooked it, though, and it dropped the acorn to run for cover. Can you find where it went to?"

Crowflame

NightClan Warrior

I won't be just another face in the crowd

Ginger || Notes

[Ginger]

Breezepaw's eyes softened at Crowflame's reassurance that Demon's scent was fresh. As she been down and inhaled one more time, Breezepaw did indeed smell the light scent of a squirrel. The idea that the squirrel was just very brave certainly crossed the young she-cat's mind, but she brushed it aside. Crowflame clearly knew what she was talking about. She was a warrior for goodness sakes.

The tortoiseshell apprentice hopped along behind her white-furred mentor until the older she-cat came to a halt. 

A mouse?

Breezepaw stuck her nose to the ground and found that the scent of the mouse was rather easy to follow. The young she-cat followed the scent as it got stronger and stronger.

Until...another scent mixed in? A scaly scent. Accompanied by the sound of something gliding along leaves. What could that be?

At last, Breezepaw came upon the mouse. Well, what was left of it. Its hind legs and tail were sticking out of a dark snake's mouth. The snake was...killing the mouse. She didn't want to see that. It was too much death.

She tried to silently back away, but the snake caught wind of her and snapped its head towards her. In its eyes she saw nothing. It cared not that it had just taken a life. And if she didn't leave soon, it might just attack her too.

Picking up her pace, Breezepaw made her way back to Crowflame, her eyes welling. "I found the mouse...It was dead. It was murdered." She hung her head. "How can there be so much good in this world...but also so much bad?" 

Breezepaw

9 moons she-cat nightclan

"Having a soft heart in a cruel world is courage, not weakness."

Taxx 270 words