Help this poor apprentice. . . (Open)

[coelacanth]

. . . get out of camp?

Gossamerpaw wandered the camp. She was new to being an apprentice, and had yet to be assigned a mentor. Well, maybe then she wasn't really and apprentice, but merely a kit who longed to be treated as an older. As an apprentice. the day was fairly new, but the sun shone strong on the grassy terrain of ZephyrClan territory. Today Gossamerpaw wanted to try and wander around the territory, take a look at what there was to see. But for that she needed a warrior. And so she began her search.

[coyote]

Still in the throes of a particularly vivid hunting dream, a scrawny tabby she-cat slipped from the warrior's den and blinked rapidly in the bright morning sun. Pale green eyes swept the camp, taking in the deep green pine needles with confusion. A few minutes ago she had been sprinting through meadows chasing rabbits so....why was she here? Her vision blurred, and again she found herself hot on the heels of a huge jackrabbit as she flopped down onto her side in the morning sun in the middle of ZephyrClan camp.

((Wow, sorry I haven't RPed in a long time))

[coelacanth]

As Gossamerpaw had been looking around the camp, she noticed a slightly dazed looking cat, wandering lopsidedly before finally flopping down on the ground, and even then appeared half dead. The curious apprentice approached the warrior, but not venturing too close in case the other cat suddenly lashed out. It took her a while to recognize this cat, and even then she wasn't truly sure who this one was. After all, she only recently gained her unofficial rank of apprentice. Green eyes widened greatly as she stared at the body of the other cat. Her voice was a bit twisted up, as was her gut, with worry, "A-a-are you o-okay?" She was certainly concerned for this cat, becuase it wasn't health to just do that little drunk dance across the camp as this one had just performed. And it was certainly not natural.

[coyote]

Sparrowflight skidded to a halt as the jackrabbit she was chasing abruptly stopped. It turned, very calmly, to face her, and the small warrior sank to her belly, claws unsheathed, as she prepared to pounce. "A-a-are you o-okay?"

[/i] A few stuttered words poured from the jackrabbit's mouth, and Sparrowflight stared in confusion. "You are the one about to not be okay," she growled, bunching her muscles and springing....

Sparrowflight started to consciousness just as she sprang at the young apprentice. Yowling in surprise, she twisted her small body in mid-air and changed course, missing Gossamerpaw by a few mouse-lengths. Landing lightly on small paws, Sparrowflight spun around to face the dark gray cat, her tan fur bristled so that she looked twice her size (which, admittedly, still wasn't very big). "What are you thinking, startling me like that!?" she hissed as her heart thundered loudly in her chest. "I thought you were a rabbit! I could have hurt you." She came forward and made as if to rasp her tongue along the young apprentice's forehead; Sparrowflight's sharp tongue usually only came out when she was worried about someone.[/blockquote][/size]

[coelacanth]

Gossamerpaw leaped back at the attack, startled greatly. Well, this certainly wasn't going to be an average day, do you think? Stunned for a bit, Gossamerpaw finally regained some of her mobility after being that close to being torn to shreds by a warrior, who seemed quite capable of the task. Gladly though, the attack had missed her, and that was what mattered. An apprentice, who was being seen as a hare, would be no challenge for a seasoned warrior. She just had too keep reminding herself that at least she had not died.

Yet now she was being blamed for the attack. But Gossamerpaw had done nothing! Feeling wrongly accused was not the best feeling by far. And startled, think about how Gossamerpaw must have felt! Just having another cat launch themselves at her was pretty startling itself. And it was a hiss none the less. That didn't make her feel any better. This was so unjust! She couldn't keep her tongue back, so then the small, gray apprentice said something. "But, it was not my fault, but yours. I was the one startled! You should go see the medicine cat about your hallucinations!"

[coyote]

The small warrior had set about licking her ruffled fur flat, her tail-tip twitching irritably as she tried to regain her composure. What was wrong with her! She never used to sleep-walk. Am I stressed, or something? she wondered, pausing in her licking to contemplate this. Or maybe bored?

The small apprentice spoke, and Sparrowflight snapped her eyes back on her. "You are an apprentice, aren't you?" she growled, fixing her severe glare on the gray she-cat. "You are old enough to know not to disturb a sleeping warrior. This really could have ended poorly for both of us." She was calming down now, however, and Sparrowflight couldn't help but respect the young cat for speaking her mind. She straightened up and curled her long tail around her forepaws, studying the apprentice with a new feeling. Maybe she was just bored, and that was why she was having such vivid dreams. I need to get out of the camp, she decided, ears twitching eagerly. But what about this apprentice?

"How do you feel about going on a patrol?" she asked abruptly, rising to her paws as her tail shot up. "I suppose you do not have a mentor yet, or else you would be training. I can take you out today."

[coelacanth]

This one didn't get it, did she? I guess you didn't know when you were int hat sort of trance, becuase when Gossamerpaw walked up to her, Sparrowflight's eyes were wide open. "Yes, I am an apprentice, but Sparrowflight, I didn't wake you up, your eyes were wide open." This was quite confusing itself, and was something for a medicine cat to deal with. Maybe Gossamerpaw could be a medicine cat? But that was off topic. the apprentice just hoped, for the sake of the warrior's rank, that this did not ever happen again.

Then came and offer to get out of this jail of a camp. Salvation came from the same mouth as the one that tried to bite her. The apprentice could care less about this matter though, and so she would just focus on the point that she would be able to escape and gain some freedom. So, her first patrol. Her mind could only force itself out of all boundaries to imagine the territory beyond camp. "Oh, yes. I would love to join you on a patrol!" The apprentice was practically bouncing up and down now with anticipation, and she bounded over to the entrance to the camp, eager to leave and get on with her journey.

[coyote]

((Hmm, I might add "vivid dreaming" to her bio ^.^))

Sparrowflight growled at the apprentice's words--she didn't want to have to think about any physical issues with herself right now. "Cats can sleep with their eyes open," she grumbled, giving giving Gossamerpaw a look that said, "You better not argue now."

The apprentice's change in attitude came quickly, and Sparrowflight watched in slight amusement as the younger cat sprang towards the entrance of the camp. "All right, let's go," she mewed, also eager to escape the camp and forget about her unusually vivid, open-eyed dream. She also wanted to get Gossamerpaw to forget about it--if the apprentice talked to the medicine cat about what had happened, Sparrowflight would probably have to go through all these tests and...she was not patient enough to deal with that. Sizing the young apprentice up with her eyes, Sparrowflight came to a quick decision and mewed, "Let's see how fast you are. See if you can keep up with me." And with that, she sprang out of the camp, her long, slender legs moving a bit more slowly than top speed, but still fast enough to challenge most cats. "You up for the challenge?" she called over her shoulder without glancing back.

[coelacanth]

And off they flew. Gossamerpaw did her best keeping up with the warrior. Running as hard as she could, yet her endurance dwindled and energy drained until she finally fell back. They had already gone quite a ways though, and the apprentice was not ready to give up yet. Perseverance would always reign above all else that dared challenge its position. And with sides aching, Gossamerpaw continued on, until it became too much for her little body. "Sparrowflight, please, can we stop not?" She squeak with what little breath that had not escaped her lungs already.

[coyote]

It can be admitted that Sparrowflight sometimes lost herself when she ran. She just enjoyed it so much! Her ears flicked back as Gossamerpaw's breathless words reached her ear, and the scrawny brown warrior turned around and rejoined her. "I am sorry," she mewed, giving the apprentice a quick lick on the forehead. "Whenever I do that, feel free to hiss at me. I get carried away." Glancing back toward camp, she realized how far they had gone and her eyes widened in genuine surprise. "It may not seem like it, but you run very, very well. No doubt you will be a wonderful rabbit-hunter before too long. We've gone a long way, so why don't you rest a bit and I can show you some hunting crouches?" At that, the she-cat nodded toward a large patch of shade cast by a hawthorn bush and lay down, grooming the fur on her face that had been ruffled by the wind as she waited for Gossamerpaw to join her and regain her breath.

((Are we going to say that they're already mentor-apprentice?))

[coelacanth]

((Sure, why not (: ))

Gossamerpaw was relieved when her plea was heard, and mercy was brought to her. The lick landed on her forehead and she felt the warm, sticky saliva upon her skull. Well, running certainly was enjoyable, feeling the wind in your face and the way the air flew past your fur, the scenery blurring all around you. So the apprentice decided to sympathize with the warrior, give her another chance. Besides, Gossamer would live. It wasn't like she could be driven too far. . . right? Death wasn't a pleasant thought, so she forced her mind away from it.

Hunting crouches. That would be interesting. Her first time away from camp, and she was already being offered comments and a chance at hunting. She might be a mighty fine apprentice, then. Still, she was less focused on the generous comments, and paying much more attention to the fact that she could take her shot at making a hunting crouch. She had practiced all the time as a kit! But of course, she had no one to critique her back then, so it was possible that it might not be quite up to par. "Sure!" She accepted the offer and then made her best crouch, a lopsided crouch, head up to high, but at least her back end was low.

[coyote]

Smiling at the apprentice's eagerness, Sparrowflight circled Gossamerpaw so she could get a look at her from every angle. She already liked her new apprentice...Gossamerpaw didn't seem afraid to voice her opinion or admit when she was getting tired, and Sparrowflight respected that in a cat. "Gossamerpaw, take a look at me," she mewed, crouching into a stance that mimicked the apprentice's crouch almost exactly; a bit lopsided, hindquarters and tail low, but head and chest high. "If I were trying to stalk prey, what would be wrong with this crouch?" She wasn't one to just tell someone what was wrong...she wanted them to know why, so that it made sense. It was okay if Gossamerpaw didn't get the answer right...Sparrowflight just wanted to keep her thinking.

[coelacanth]

Gossamerpaw took a good look at Sparrowflight. She could tell already that she was being mimicked, because she had never sen a warrior make such a sorry excuse for a crouch. Her heart sunk at the fact that she had not reached perfection. Young and naive, she had no idea that perfection was like a rainbow, and that no matter how far you went, you would never reach the place where it stopped or ended. Always somewhere in between. She looked and analyzed, picking out the errors she had made. "Well, your chest is too high, you head above your shoulders. The prey might see your ears poking out of the underbrush. You also sem to be leaning a bit too much to the right." She was good at this, and it made her feel slightly better.

[coyote]

Sparrowflight purred, nodding her head as she straightened up. "Exactly right. You do not want to give the prey any chance to see or hear you coming. It takes a little while to learn to keep yourself light, low, and balanced all at the same time, especially since you can't see yourself, but pretty soon you will learn how to feel it. Here, try again." She padded over to Gossamerpaw, pale green eyes looking over the young apprentice as she prepared to correct any other mistakes.

[coelacanth]

Gossamerpaw began basking int he praise. She felt so good, like she was a clan leader. It was just felt so wonderful, being praised by a full-fledged warrior. And now she had to try again. The apprentice lowered herself, lower than before, head and tail maybe a bit to low, if that was even possible. Still a bit lopsided, you couldn't expect to be flawless after only a bit of trial and error. Yet, she felt that it was wrong. It was too close to how she had felt the first time, and then she shifted her weight, no longer lopsided. And then she praised herself.