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Post by Warrioress on Mar 1, 2019 17:24:47 GMT -6
Flareheart felt her muzzle twitch with slight annoyance as she forced herself to get up earlier than she was used to, she was a bit surprised that Floodstar assigned her another apprentice, considering it had been nearly 15 moons since her last apprentice had already been promoted. She wouldn't lie and say that she had expected for her tension between her and her brother to go unnoticed, she had actually expected for the tension to put a block on her training any other warriors for the foreseable future, not that she was really complaining. Shaking her head slightly, she slipped out of the warriors den, noting that the sun had just fully risen from the sky.
She streched her forepaws before making her way over to the apprentices den, her nose twitching once more as her mind brought forward the fact that her new apprentice was the kit she had been playing with a couple of moons ago and wondered if Floodstar had seen that little interaction. Poking her head into the den, she searched the bundles of fur and her gaze caught onto the black fur of Haypaw after a few moments. "Haypaw" she called out, keeping her voice from a shout but not being too careful about not waking other cats, more than likely their mentors would be by for them in a little bit.
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Post by niftyshark on Mar 1, 2019 17:42:22 GMT -6
Haypaw still struggled to believe that his apprenticeship was finally here. He spent nights upon nights dreaming about it, and during some moments he still wondered if he was dreaming. But he knew he wasn't when he heard Flareheart's voice calling out to him, rousing him from sleep. He still wasn't used to waking up right when the sun did, but he was wide awake immediately this time. He moved around the sleeping cats carefully, giving Beanpaw one long look before he exited. Flareheart was right there waiting for him, and he greeted her with his tail held high. He was happy when he learned that she was his mentor, because any interaction they had was always fun for him. "I'm ready to go!" he announced with anticipation, oblivious to his grumbling stomach and the fur that was tussled with sleep--that, or he feigned ignorance. The last few days were overwhelming already, but he didn't mind. If anything, he found he was looking forward to his routine changing drastically.
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Post by Warrioress on Mar 1, 2019 20:17:02 GMT -6
Flareheart had stepped back from the entrance when she spotted movement and raised an eyebrow at Haypaw's chipper reply, her ear twitched as she could hear the grumbling of his stomach. "we'll be running nearly the whole territory today, so we'd better eat, cause we won't get getting another chance" she mewed as she beckoned him to follow her to the fresh-kill pile. It was small, but she knew that no matter how much they tried, they wouldn't get anything done without some nourishment. "What do you like?" she asked, intending to share the prey to minimize the take from the pile.
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Post by niftyshark on Mar 2, 2019 11:26:04 GMT -6
Haypaw managed to sneak out twice while he was a kit, and that prior knowledge came in handy during their first few days of training--they never went far from camp. If he was going to finally see the rest of the territory, how would his standing knowledge hold up? He was eager to find out and learn even more about what he didn't yet know. He trailed after Flareheart, getting in a long stretch before he stood before the fresh-kill pile with her. It couldn't even really be called a pile, with only one bird and two frogs on it. "Well, I don't mind feathers or rubbery skin," he said with some amusement. "Considering that's all there is... maybe a frog? I know some cats don't like them, so maybe we can save the bird for them." He pawed one of them closer, noting it was firm after sitting in the cold air for a while.
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Post by Warrioress on Mar 7, 2019 14:04:35 GMT -6
Flareheart stayed quiet as Haypaw debated about what to eat "sounds like a good option" she agreed, her nose twitching as she gestured for Haypaw to take the first bite. More than likely one bite was all either of them would get.
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Post by niftyshark on Mar 7, 2019 16:58:40 GMT -6
Haypaw pulled the frog from the pile and moved it a short distance away. He angled it so he could bite in easier, then took a step back as he chewed his mouthful. It was almost half of the frog without counting the limbs, and he was a little discouraged to see it. He knew prey was scarce, but being hungry was hard. And new training on top of it? It was a difficult adjustment, but he was willing to tough it out. All his clanmates had to, he knew it was just their way of life. He copied Flareheart's motion as his own indication that she could have some now, smiling widely despite their troublesome conditions.
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Post by Warrioress on Mar 7, 2019 17:17:24 GMT -6
Moving forward once Haypaw had taken his bite, she took her own bite, leaving the limbs and a little bit for Haypaw. She knew that everyone was hungry but kits usually had it better since the clan ensured they got food, so moving from that to an apprenticeship where you only ate once a day if that was a big change. She gestured for him to eat the rest as she set about cleaning her whiskers and paws real quick, ignoring the feeling in her stomach. "We'll get moving once you're done" she mewed with a smile of her own at the young tom.
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Post by niftyshark on Mar 7, 2019 17:35:01 GMT -6
He nodded and quickly finished off the rest of the frog. He pushed a few of the remaining bones away, then quickly tried to neaten some of his appearance. Haypaw wasn't sure why he was conscious of it now, but his fur seemed determined to stay as messy as it was, so he eventually left it. He approached his mentor when he was fully ready, shifting his weight from paw to paw. He was slightly concerned that she didn't eat enough, but he wasn't ready to disobey her just yet. Maybe he could find her something while they were out there--that would be allowed, wouldn't it? "Are we actually going to travel the entire territory?" he asked curiously.
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Post by Warrioress on Mar 7, 2019 17:50:18 GMT -6
"Not the entire territory, but most of it. I'll be showing you the borders and a couple of great places to hunt" Flareheart explained as she motioned for him to follow her as she started out of camp, intending to head for the Aspenclan border first. She had forgotten how it had been to have an apprentice and was intending on making the most of the experience. Her gaze flicked around the camp once as they approached the camp entrance and she sneered as she spotted Shrikewind by the warriors den. Letting loose a snort of derision, she slipped out of camp with flick of her tail tip.
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Post by niftyshark on Mar 7, 2019 17:57:10 GMT -6
Haypaw nodded to himself. That seemed useful, and he felt lucky to be learning those lessons early on. He felt it would only help him through the later stages of his training. He fell in behind Flareheart, and from there he was able to see the brief way her features changed when they passed the warriors' den. The only cat he could see there was Shrikewind, and that led him to furrowing his brows in confusion. He knew she was sister to their clan's deputy, but what was that reaction for? The black tom had no way to decipher it, and he doubted that expression was for him to see, so he didn't question it. He pressed through the camp entrance, watching as their territory yawned out in front of them. "Which way are we heading towards?" His head turned as they walked past tall willow trees, and he inspected each one.
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Post by Warrioress on Mar 7, 2019 18:06:19 GMT -6
"We're heading towards Aspenclan first, they live in the denser forests, with tall trees and more undergrowth. They also have less water in their territory" she explained, her nose twitching once more as she knew that tensions between their clans were still high so had planned to go there first this early so that it would diminish the possibility of them running across one of their patrols. She made sure to move at a relatively fast pace but one that she believed Haypaw could keep up with.
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Post by niftyshark on Mar 7, 2019 18:15:58 GMT -6
"AspenClan, huh?" Haypaw said quietly. He didn't know much about the other clans--Dark didn't usually mention them, probably because she wasn't originally a clan cat. He had to get his information by listening in to others, and he formed many of his current opinions that way. Currently, his impression of AspenClan wasn't too high. He'd never been as far as the borders yet though, so he was keen to see what they looked like.
Haypaw kept pace with Flareheart easily, and it didn't really surprise him. He was well-aware by now how long his and Beanpaw's limbs were compared to their clanmates. Dark didn't seem to carry the trait, so he couldn't imagine where it came from. He perked his ears and held his mouth open as they traveled to their destination. He enjoyed the new sights, and he enjoyed the movement because it suppressed the shivers from the cold. After a while, a bitter smell was tangible on the air. His nose twisted in disgust. "That's AspenClan, isn't it?"
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Post by Warrioress on Mar 7, 2019 18:24:12 GMT -6
"Yes it is" Flareheart agreed, slightly surprised at how well Haypaw was keeping up with her. She didn't know who his father was but she knew that Dark didn't have the long legs that Haypaw seemed to have. Brushing the thought aside, she slowed down as they approached the border, her ears flicking as studied the trees with some disgust. "not the best smell in the world" she said with a brief snort.
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Post by niftyshark on Mar 7, 2019 18:38:00 GMT -6
Haypaw slowed when the scent grew stronger. He scanned the surrounding area, trying to determine where exactly the border was. The trees were less willow and more aspen and oak trees now. The ground was firm, not at all soft like what he was used to. He realized in that moment that the border was harder to determine than he was expecting. He moved closer to a pointed rock and nearly flinched back at the strong scent coming off of it. "Border marker," he gasped. "I see." He scanned around the rock, taking a step back with pursed lips. "How do you remember where the markers are? Aren't there so many?" And what if the border was accidentally crossed while marking one? There was so much to consider that he grew more excited than he already was.
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Post by Warrioress on Mar 7, 2019 18:43:45 GMT -6
Watching as Haypaw took a sniff at the border and waited for his exploration to be done, she listened to his questions. "it takes a while, but once you find one, you just continue to the next large object next to the marker and basically just assume that is also one" she mewed as she moved to a tree that was directly to the left of the rock and took a sniff, snorting at the smell of Aspenclan mixed with Willowclan. "Though as you move, you make sure to keep back as you go, just in case the border veers, that way you'll scent the border marker before accidentally crossing" she explained as she backed away from the tree.
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Post by niftyshark on Mar 7, 2019 18:54:19 GMT -6
That was understandable, but with two other additional borders... he had a lot to memorize. Haypaw tried marking the rock, and he was satisfied when it smelled far stronger of WillowClan than AspenClan. He took a few steps back as Flareheart suggested, then he turned to her. "I wonder why it feels colder here. Maybe it's the trees?" He fluffed up his fur against it, wanting to get moving again, but he didn't want to rush his mentor's lessons. He also remembered he had to keep his eye open for prey, though he wasn't sure how he'd manage at catching it yet.
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Post by Warrioress on Mar 7, 2019 19:08:01 GMT -6
Flareheart tilted her head "Possibly, they block out the sun so it could be colder because of that" she agreed as she started down the border, the dawn patrol would be coming to redo the border markers so she wasn't too worried about them at the current time. "The next border will be Ravenclan, they live in an open moor, they have some clusters of trees but it is an open place more than not" She explained, making sure to keep away from the border they were following so there wasn't any issue of a possible crossing.
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Post by niftyshark on Mar 9, 2019 10:28:49 GMT -6
RavenClan... sometimes he dreamed about wide open spaces and the freedom he would have. To run without stopping, without anything getting in the way, it was something he yearned for. WillowClan territory had some, but there was always the marshlands that eventually got in the way. There was some snow now, but he doubted there would be much in the way of running space when it all melted. Haypaw followed Flareheart closely and listened even closer. “I’m ready to see it,” he announced. It was a fair distance away, and even he wondered about their ability to explore most of it on half a frog. Maybe there would be something to catch by the other border.
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Post by Warrioress on Mar 12, 2019 16:12:53 GMT -6
Flareheart could only give a small smile at Haypaw's response, moving her pace up a bit to a light jog, the foliage was less dense so she didn't worry so much about tripping and Haypaw had already proven that he could keep up with a faster pace. The sun was about halfway to sunhigh by the time they reached the Ravenclan border. "What do you smell?" Flareheart asked, wondering what Haypaw would pick up.
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Post by niftyshark on Mar 15, 2019 16:33:33 GMT -6
The sheer openness of the land in front of him gave him pause. The marsh ended quite a ways back, and the ground was firm under his paws. The long grass tickled his sides, and he felt the itch to run, to jump the stream that served as the border. The sense of longing that he felt confused him, and it was a moment before Flareheart's question registered. "What do I smell?" he repeated, more so to get it through his own head then to have her clarify. Haypaw opened his mouth. Heather, wet soil, RavenClan scent markers, and the faint marsh were most immediate. He thought he scented vole too, but he was too distracted by what was in front of him to pay it much attention. "The marsh and the moors are the most obvious. RavenClan too, though with the stream in the way it isn't as pungent as AspenClan's was."
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