[viv]

dawnpaw

he/they ○ thunderclan ○ apprentice

the sun goes down, and i feel the light betray me

Dawnpaw's paws prickled with anticipation, claws unsheathing over the grass. Oakfang told him to meet him here; for training, Dawnpaw assumed, and he was fairly excited for his first session.

The forest here opened into a long field with strange, sandy pits-- like a great paw had dug some dirt out and never filled it back in. Dawnpaw found them entertaining to practice pouncing in while he waited for his mentor, leaping into the sand and skidding a few mouse-steps, and then turning and leaping back out, hind-claws scrabbling and unfurling tufts of grass and dirt into the pit.

To say he pounced like a kittypet would be an understatement. He was much too unbalanced and heavy on his paws to sneak up on just about anything, even the blindest and deafest of prey. He knew his sister, Sparkpaw, likely would have been better at it.

Maybe I should have asked her for a few pointers, he thought spitefully as his paws went flailing at the edge of the sandpit again, pulling himself up on his paws to flop out of it. She was much better than him at fighting and stalking and such-- better than he'll ever be, probably.

He shook out his ginger fur to free it of sand, twisting back to groom the grains trapped too far in his coat.

He hoped he wouldn't disappoint his mentor too much.

[Archiviste]

Though his face held a scowl as he stalked through the undergrowth, it was a far cry from his true feelings. To say he was nervous would be an understatement. Thunderclan's deputy was likely more apprehensive than his own apprentice. He'd been with the clan for eight moons. Surely, it should feel like home by now. Despite his lofty title, it had failed to imbue him with any measure of confidence. He only hoped his fumbling mind wouldn't negatively affect his apprentice. Dawnpaw. The kit was just as a kit should be; carefree and full of life. Oakfang hoped he would stay that way.

Up ahead, his ears twitched. It sounded like Dawnpaw had already arrived. A part of him was relieved he hadn't lost his apprentice, while another part worried that he should have been the one waiting. He'd spent most of his life alone or with his family. But now he was expected to teach and lead. Could he really do it? Or would he just lead them astray? Such worries ate at him every sunrise.

Moving slowly, he pushed through the foliage to be greeted by Dawnpaw grooming his back. "Dawnpaw," he called out, bringing the rest of himself into the Crescent Field. Every step felt too tentative. "Are you ready for today's lesson?" But he wanted, needed, to do better.

viv

[viv]

dawnpaw

he/they ○ thunderclan ○ apprentice

the sun goes down, and i feel the light betray me

He hadn't scented Oakfang coming, but he was nonetheless excited to see the Thunderclan deputy loping towards him. In an instant, he forgot about his poor attempts at pouncing, and (for a half-second) his kittypet roots. He was an apprentice of Thunderclan, bounding out to meet his mentor halfway across the field. "Yes!"

He skid to a halt in front of Oakfang, ginger head very nearly colliding with him. He stared up with wide eyes like little suns in his skull and, for a moment, noticed the deputy's uncertainty. He doesn't want to train a twoleg's pet, nagged a little voice in his head. Prove him wrong! said another.

So, Dawnpaw fluffed himself out proudly. "I was practicing my pouncing," he mewed. Pride worked for Sparkpaw, so it must work for him, too. "What are we going to do first? I wanna see the territory, or patrol the borders, or-- oh! We could go hunting."

The apprentice padded an eagar circle around Oakfang. "What did you do first with your mentor?"

Archiviste

[Archiviste]

Dawnpaw's energy was contagious and drew smile from the grumpy tom. Though it failed to shake his nerves. In his past, he'd viewed kittypets the same as any other feline. They had all been just a threat to himself and his family. But now, he was trying to revise his opinion. And Dawnpaw wasn't a kittypet anymore. He was clan. For him, Oakfang would do anything to keep him safe.

"I can see that," he remarked, bemused at the sight of the unsettled dirt, "Any success?" At Dawnpaw's age, Oakfang didn't expect much. No kit had any need to be an amazing warrior. All they needed to do was live and grow.

He chuckled shortly at the apprentice's remarks. "It's too early for you to hunt. Not when you've yet to get a good pounce under your claws." He didn't want to dampen Dawnpaw's excitement, but they wouldn't move too quickly. "Let's start with seeing the territory." First off, Dawnpaw needed to become familiar with his new home. Though, the deputy couldn't say he was overly familiar with the territory all that much either. He'd only been here for a few moons. When he'd been a rogue, the first thing he did in a new place had been to explore and familiarize himself with. In a pinch, he needed to know the places that would give him an advantage in a fight or, in the worst case, where to run and hide.

His eyes watched Dawnpaw circle him, but he froze at the kit's question. "I ... didn't have one." He'd joined the clan as a warrior and the fact that he didn't have a mentor gave him a feeling of otherness that haunted him. It was another facet that made him doubt his place in the clan.

viv

[viv]

dawnpaw

he/they ○ thunderclan ○ apprentice

the sun goes down, and i feel the light betray me

"I think so," Dawnpaw said, looking into the ditch. "There's not really a lot to catch in there. Sometimes bugs but they're not prey." (He informed Oakfang of this just in case he'd never tried to eat a bug before.)

The apprentice gave a final shake of his over-thick fur. If he were disappointed about not going hunting, he didn't particularly show it. Training was training, and he was fairly excited for whatever Oakfang dealt to him, no matter what it was. He came to a stop, watching his mentor with huge, sun-coloured eyes. "What are we doing, then?"

Dawnpaw had, certainly, noticed the deputy balked at his question-- but he responded with not much more than a puzzled look and an "okay." Though otherness was a concept he was familiar with and had encountered himself, he didn't think much of it when it came to Oakfang. So what if he wasn't clanborn? So what if he'd never had a mentor? Oakfang was still Thunderclan. He was still his mentor-- and they had a lot to do.

Archiviste