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 [i]had[i] 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 )