a new beginning?

[occultation]

( @FrostyGalaxy )

The last meeting had awarded Slatestripe a new apprentice, and he certainly wasn't going to screw it up. With Mintpool gone (that one he hadn't even started to process yet) and Dusklion angry at him, he was definitely clinging to this opportunity like it was his lifeline.

The small warrior wanted to waste no time in getting started with this apprentice's training. He believed Wrenpaw wasn't at the very beginning of training, but he wasn't sure. Wouldn't hurt to ask. Poking his head into the apprentices' den, he called, "Wrenpaw! I'd like to get started with some training."

[Neptune.]

Wrenpaw
~<>~
4/100
8 moons || she/her || RiverClan Apprentice || Silver Tongue
medium furred silver smoke she-cat; blue eyes

With a large yawn and stretch, Wrenpaw gets up, eager to do some training, but trying to keep that excitement in check - it would do nobody any good if her anticipation was practically bursting out of her. Blinking her sleep away, the grey molly pushes her way out of the den to meet with her mentor, beginning to groom the ruffled fur on her shoulders as she asks "What are we doing today?" Inwardly, though, she's rolling her eyes and complaining that it's about time.

[ @Cherry~ - Slatestripe ]

[occultation]

( @Neptune. )

Wrenpaw seemed relatively even-tempered so far; hopefully it would stay that way. Slatestripe had been lucky with both Dusklion and Mintpool; neither of them had proven to be problematic apprentices. "Do you know how to swim?" Perhaps a stupid question, but he had no idea if RiverClan taught its kits how to swim like they used to. Hopefully Wrenpaw wouldn't think him an idiot for asking.

[Neptune.]

Wrenpaw
~<>~
10/100
8 moons || she/her || RiverClan Apprentice || Silver Tongue
medium furred silver smoke she-cat; blue eyes

Marginally, her eyes narrow. Swimming? Seriously? Why couldn't they do something actually important? There were plenty of Drypaw's in the other clans and even within RiverClan itself, surely their training could've started with something more worthwhile?? Still she didn't say that out loud, the only indication she gave she was displeased was a tiny huff and the slight fattening of her ears.

"I swim just fine." A lie. She'd never swam before. She'd splashed in puddles and, maybe when she was like, really, really small her momma had shown her how to swim in one of the streams that flowed through camp, but Wrenpaw wasn't exactly sure if that counted as 'swimming' or not. She decided to be optimistic and say it did count.

[ @Cherry~ - Slatestripe ]

[occultation]

( @Neptune. )

Slatestripe almost detected a bit of disdain in her reaction, but it was marginal so he didn't say anything about it. He nodded at Wrenpaw's response, pleased to hear that RiverClan hadn't entirely given up on its roots in his absence. After the hell that they'd been through with their high ranks, it was nice to hear that some things had remained constant.

"Okay, in that case we can start with some water hunting," he decided. "RiverClan cats do fish from land, but in water as well. We can also catch other prey from the water, although for now we'll stick to just fish." Was it unorthodox to teach an apprentice how to fish first from water rather than land? Perhaps, but he'd never really done anything by the book.

With that, the small warrior headed out in the direction of the river, beckoning Wrenpaw to follow. It would be quite cold at this time of the year, but that was the fun part!

[Neptune.]

Wrenpaw
~<>~
28/100
9 moons || she/her || RiverClan Apprentice || Silver Tongue
medium furred silver smoke she-cat; blue eyes

So his real motive for knowing if she could swim was for water fishing? Hm... maybe she shouldn't have fibbed that small bit about knowing how to swim, but she was far too proud to admit that lie now - she'd much rather drown than swallow her pride and come clean. Whatever, she couldn't be dreadful at swimming at any rate, and her instincts must count for something even if they didn't lend her to the side of being very good. They'd keep her alive and afloat. Probably. Isn't that all that matters.

Whatever, it doesn't really matter. Not a moment after he sets off, Wrenpaw puffs up her fur against the slight chill in the air and follows after her mentor, keeping close behind him and noting the slight wetness of the ground under paw, the trees they pass and the different landmarks that would guide her back to camp. There's a tree with a strange knot on its trunk that seems to be looking at here here... a large rock overgrown with moss there... and, finally, the river lies ahead of them.

[ @occultation ]

[occultation]

( @Neptune. )

Slatestripe had missed RiverClan's river more than almost anything else. He had so many memories surrounding this river, from his time training Mintpool and Dusklion to his various adventures with his brother. A knot slowly started forming in his throat at the thought of all of them. Mintpool and Rainglow weren't in RiverClan anymore, seemingly having vanished. Dusklion refused to speak to him. Everything he'd once had, he had lost.

Not the time! he scolded himself, shaking his head. He'd put himself in this situation; it wasn't fair of him to take away from Wrenpaw's training by dwelling on it. There was time for that later.

Looking over his shoulder, he cast his amber gaze down onto Wrenpaw. "The river is cold at this time of the season-cycle, but I've always found that exciting. That being said, don't be dumb and stay in there if you start to feel numb. Cold water can kill faster than cold air." He would know. Memories of his first leaf-bare as an apprentice, when he'd stupidly tried to see how long he could last in the river without freezing to death, made him shiver even now.

"This is a choppier part of the river. Fish tend to congregate more around these parts of the river, for whatever reason." Maybe he could figure out why at some point...

"Regardless, it's these parts of the river you want to fish at. Go ahead and hop in; don't forget to focus on your swimming in addition to what I'm going to teach you about fishing, since if you slack off on the swimming end you could get swept downriver."

[Neptune.]

Wrenpaw
~<>~
39/100
9 moons || she/her || RiverClan Apprentice || Silver Tongue
medium furred silver smoke she-cat; blue eyes

Cold water... ugh, Wren's not looking forward to this. On top of that, just looking at the way the water is moving faster here almost gives the usually confident molly cold feet. But she shakes her head firmly to rid herself of the small bit of anxiety. Now was not the time to panic. She knows how to swim in calm water especially, her instincts will keep her afloat, too. With a deep breath, Wrenpaw nods to her mentor and dives in.

The first thing she notices in the cold hitting her like a blow to the side. Second, she notices that the stronger current here is trying to carry her along. 'Ok, Wren, you can do this, you know how to swim in shallow, calm water, how much harder could this be?' She asks herself. The truth is, it's much more difficult. As she surfaces, Wren can't help but take a quick gasp of breath, her paws churning under her as she tries to fight the slightly strong current. It's not overwhelming, at least, and RiverClan's diet of plenty of fish has made her coat glossy and slightly water resistant over her moons, so her fur doesn't become heavy with the weight quite as quickly as other clans might.

Trying hard to split her focus, Wrenpaw keeps half her attention on the churning of her paws, and tries to focus the other half on her mentor. If anything, so far this is more of a brain workout then a body workout.

[ @occultation ]

[occultation]

( @Neptune. )

It seemed like Wrenpaw was struggling in the water, which wasn't great. It was common for newer swimmers to have a hard time adjusting to a faster current. Getting the basics down was easy; transforming them into advanced skills was a lot harder.

But, this was a great way for them to kill two birds with one stone. They'd get some advanced swimming covered, along with some in-water hunting. "Remember the basics and don't panic!" he called. "Pull with your front, push with your back. Use your tail to stabilize yourself and turn." Once he saw that she had a handle on the swimming, he'd move on to something more complex.

[Neptune.]

Wrenpaw
~<>~
47/100
9 moons || she/her || RiverClan Apprentice || Silver Tongue
medium furred silver smoke she-cat; blue eyes

Deep breath, deep breath, remember the basics. 'Think, Wrenpaw, think[/i]!'[/i] She scolds herself, still struggling for the briefest moment. Pull with your front. Push with your back. Use your tail to stabilize yourself. Ok. Ok, this is fine. This is working. It's not that bad, see?

It takes a moment, but eventually her struggling lessons and she gets a handle on what she's doing, splitting her mind into two halves, one focused intently on swimming, repeating the instructions in her head like a mantra, and the other focused on Slatestripe, chancing a very brief glance in his direction.

"O-okay," she asks, trying not to swallow water, "now- now what?"

[ @occultation ]