sneezing for success! [P]

[Luna16]

Rabbitfur blinked the sleep from his eyes. He wasn’t used to rising early like this anymore, but duty calls. He looked at his mate Gorseflower sleeping beside him in their nest, and a warm smile came to his maw. He touched his muzzle lovingly to her head as she slept, taking in a quick whiff of her scent. Taking a moment to smooth out his long white fur, he rose to his paws and carefully slipped out of the warrior’s den. It was barely dawn, and the air was crisp and the wind biting. But he was well insulated against the cold with his long, thick fur.

Rabbitfur made his way to the apprentice’s den, lowering his head so he could call into it. “Sneezepaw! Time to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed!” He called into the den, taking a step back in case his enthusiastic apprentice came barrelling out.

[ @Fits - Sneezepaw]

[Fits]

Sneezepaw
| they/them | WindClan | Apprentice |

Today. Was. The day. Sneezepaw's first training session. The whole being an apprentice thing still felt like a dream, but Sneezy was going to dive headfirst into all of it! All the hard work, all the responsibilities... They were way beyond ready.

They were certainly not asleep when Rabbitfur summoned them. They were far too excited, not to mention surrounded on all sides by constant reminders of their ascension. So their head had been racing all night as they tossed and turned in their brand new nest (probably making some of their new denmates not too pleased with them) for most of the night. They sprung to their paws immediately at Rabbitfur's call. They wondered briefly if they'd slept at all that night. Surely they had, right? Or else they'd be crazy tired that morning, and they felt just fine. Okay, maybe a little tired, but if that was all it took to stop them, they'd never be worthy of a warrior's name!

"I'm ready!" Their speech was a bit slurred with a mixture of eagerness and grogginess as they came tumbling out of the den, a perfect picture of "bright-eyed and bushy-tailed" as they grinned up at their mentor.

( @Luna16 - Rabbitfur )

[Luna16]

Rabbitfur purred a loud and rumbling purr as Sneezepaw shot out of the den, glad he had moved aside to avoid them. He was right to think that Sneezepaw could’ve crashed into him it seems. Their grogginess didn’t go unnoticed by Rabbitfur, and he figured his planned activities would brighten the apprentice’s spirits well enough. “Right then! Off we go!” He meowed excitedly, dashing off for the camp entrance. For such a bulking figure, Rabbitfur was surprisingly quick on his paws. He was a WindClan cat after all! He glanced over his shoulder to ensure Sneezepaw was keeping up okay, adjusting his pace for them as needed.

He slowed to a stop as they reached the Thunderglade, stopping to let Sneezepaw take in the sight and smells of the rolling hills before them, but holding his tail out to stop them from bolting out on their own. “This is the Thunderglade. Our border with ThunderClan.” He explained. Rabbitfur swept his tail to indicate the line of trees in the distance. “That treeline there is the border. Easy enough right?” He mewed with a friendly wink. Taking a few pawsteps forward and indicating for Sneezepaw to follow him, Rabbitfur blinked his dark orange/red eyes at his apprentice. “This area is rich in prey during newleaf and greenleaf. But now in leaf-fall, prey is getting scarce everywhere.” He continued. “Smell anything?” He asked Sneezepaw, stopping again as they neared the border itself.

[ @Fits - Sneezepaw]

[Fits]

Sneezepaw
| they/them | WindClan | Apprentice |

Sneezepaw followed after Rabbitfur with huge strides. They knew they weren't supposed to run off on their own or anything, but they were so excited, they were practically going in circles around their mentor before long. Their head was turning every which way, trying to take in all the sight and sounds like they'd never get to leave camp again.

They weren't exactly disappointed with what they saw, per se, but it wasn't exactly as thrilling as they'd been expecting. Then again, what exactly had they been expecting? If they ever had a clear picture, they must have forgotten it somewhere along the way.

Then, Rabbitfur suddenly came to a stop, and Sneezepaw nearly fell over themself to do the same, having to decelerate from such a pace. This was the Thunderglade! One of the borders! Sometimes, they forgot that these places were real and not just locations in stories. And they were seeing it with their very own eyes!

Rabbitfur was asking them what they could smell. So, this was it! Their very first trial as an apprentice! They had to get it right. Sneezy closed their eyes, took an enormous breath, and paused for a long time. Okay, well, maybe it couldn't have been much longer than a few heartbeats, but it felt like a long time to Sneezepaw.

"I smellll... I think some prey, like a squirrel and bird or something." The scent was stale, but it somehow had a new kind of freshness that food from the fresh-kill pile just couldn't replicate. And... cats! They smell kind of weird, though. I'll betcha it's ThunderClan!" It reminded them of something they'd smelt during the Gathering. Like. normal cats (read: WindClan cats), but... earthier? Again, though, the scent was stale, so there likely weren't any other cats nearby at the moment.

( @Luna16 - Rabbitfur )

[Luna16]

Rabbitfur chuckled quietly when Sneezepaw stumbled to a stop, he figured they'd struggle. He nodded as Sneezepaw listed of the scents of their environment. "Very good! ThunderClanners live and sleep beneath the trees, so their scent kinda carries some of the undergrowth and tree-scent on them." He nodded to himself with satisfaction. "This is a good place for hunting, as you can tell." He added, flicking his tail for Sneezepaw to follow. On to the next then, yea?" He grinned a toothy smile before taking off. This time, he set the pace a little faster since Sneezepaw seemed like he was a little bored with the previous pace. This might help them get some energy out.

But not too much! Rabbitfur still wanted to throw in a proper hunting session. He slowed to a jog and then a trot as they approached the Smallpines. The young pine trees leading to the clearing that lined the river on their side his clear sign they were approaching the border. He stopped and turned to wait for Sneezepaw before waving his tail to show them the sights behind him. "This is Smallpines, our border with RiverClan." He nodded to the river. "That's the border line. On our side you see we have this small pine trees," he flicked his tail at the trees, "and then the clearing by the river. Use the pine trees as an indication that you're approaching the border and you'll never forget to slow down!" He instructed.

He looked at the river and then back to Sneezepaw with a teasing grin. "I will not be teaching you to fish, so no worries if you don't wanna get your paws wet." He teased lightly. "This are can be good hunting too though. The pines provide a little variety of prey." He explained, letting Sneezepaw take in the area. "Let's grab a drink here." He meowed, approaching the river and bending his head to take a drink from it. The white warrior then proceeded to mark the border. "This is how we mark the border." He explained, demonstrating a few other tactics of doing so. "We don't wanna mark the border too heavily. So find an area that's stale or weak and put your scent there." He explained, nodding as an indication for them to try.

[ @Fits - Sneezepaw]

[Fits]

Sneezepaw
| they/them | WindClan | Apprentice |

Sneezepaw followed along with Rabbitfur, eager to keep moving. They had to see the whole of WindClan territory right away, of course! So they were glad that their mentor was quick on his paws. Or else Sneezepaw might, like, explode or something.

Rabbitfur came to a sudden stop again, and Sneezepaw very nearly toppled over--again. They quickly regained their balance, though they only managed to catch about half of what their mentor said. Okay, watch out for the trees, got it. Huh, running headfirst through the border into enemy territory did kinda sound like something they'd do... Not that it mattered, of course! Sneezepaw could take whatever those lesser Clans had to throw at them, no problem... Of course, though, they'd make sure not to do that. Just 'cause they wouldn't get into trouble that way. Obviously.

They followed Rabbitfur to the river and bent down to get some water, but they were still so eager that they weren't sure they managed to drink anything at all. No matter, they weren't thirsty anyway.

Rabbitfur was then explaining how to mark the border, and he wanted Sneezepaw to try, too. Which was great! 'Cause they were getting to do all the stuff warriors did (even some of the more undesirable duties). But before they went, they had a question.

"Why don't you wanna mark the borders too strong?" Sneezepaw said. "'Cause I'd bet if we did that, the other Clans would know we mean business! Yeah, and they wouldn't try to mess with us that much." At "business", they swung a paw at the air, sending an imaginary RiverClanner flying!

( @Luna16 - Rabbitfur )

[Luna16]

Rabbitfur chuckled again at his apprentice's eagerness. He had to admit, he liked Sneezepaw's spirit. But they were still very naïve as to the politics involved in sharing borders with other clans. "It might seem like that at first," he meowed, flicking his tail-tip against their ear as he spoke, "but it can also cause unnecessary tension. Especially since RiverClan has only recently returned to their territory." He explained. Turning his gaze to the border before looking back at Sneezepaw. "Just because we can fight, doesn't mean we should. A good warrior knows when it's time to draw out their claws." He wondered if he was making any sense to them. He knew younger apprentices could be rather hot-blooded, usually from a well-intentioned desire to do well by their clan. But it was always better to avoid a fight when possible, and over-marking a border could easily cause a misunderstanding that could lead to avoidable deaths.

"Remember this, Sneezepaw, while it's important for a warrior to fight for their clan, border disputes mean somecat may not return home to their family and clan. We shouldn't pick fights that aren't necessary." He hoped that would make sense. And with that, he flicked his floofy tail to signal Sneezepaw to try to the border marking. "Now, let's see you mark those borders!" He bellowed encouragingly. "If you do well here, we can throw in a proper hunting lesson before heading back." He mewed with a wink, hoping that would like a metaphorical fire under Sneezepaw's tail.

[ @Fits - Sneezepaw]

[Fits]

Sneezepaw
| they/them | WindClan | Apprentice |

Sneezepaw chewed on Rabbitfur's words for a moment Just because you can fight doesn't mean you should. "It's not fighting. It's just telling 'em who's boss is all," they said, still too in their own head to realize they were talking. But that wasn't completely true, they relented internally. Just look at all the games they'd played as a kit; whenever anyone established themself as the leader of their pretend Clans, everyone's pelts got prickled, and soon everyone was fighting.

It would be even worse with RiverClan, too. They had no trouble starting wars all on their own. But... it's not like it would matter, right? WindClan could beat them easy, or even get all the Clans to drive them out of the forest again. And RiverClan was real bad, so would it really be so awful if they got beat up a bit? It didn't have to be such a big deal.

"But whatever, I guess," they added, a bit mumbly, as they went to mark the border as Rabbitfur had asked. Besides, they wouldn't want to get in trouble for talking back or anything. If that happened, they wouldn't get to go hunting. HUNTING! They were running along the border now, trying to find a stale patch of markings to remark as soon as possible. They got to go hunting after this! They marked the border before rushing back to Rabbitfur.

"Okay, done! We can move on now," they chirped, looking up eagerly at Rabbitfur.

( @Luna16 - Rabbitfur )