private interconnected // icebreath

[cottonsprig]

Cottonpaw's only survived apprenticehood for a few days, and though she still finds bitter spots about her mentor, Icebreath has consistently proven to be active, at least. Whilst the above ground tour had been a success (she thinks, in the least, though she's certain her brother views her chatterbox nature as otherwise,) Cottonpaw finds more excitement in what's meant to occur the day after. The blue pointed feline promised to take her down to the tunnels, after all! She can only imagine how the other apprentices are fairing this early in their training - maybe Icebreath is meant to fast-track her, just like they were fast-tracked themself. Maybe she'll be first to get her warrior name!

She sits up in her nest, watching the moon for most of the night, thinking of the silly idea. Her excitement to move on with her training has hardly let her sleep more than an hour or two. Cottonpaw truly considered escaping into the moorlands and exploring more just to pass the time, however given that she's only seen the territory once... maybe that wouldn't be smart. She waits for daybreak - the first streaks of sunlight across the darkened sky - before picking through the pile of apprentices to rush over to the pile of warriors. She finds Icebreath curled close to Firefang, and does her best to not wake the darker furred warrior (in truth she does NOT want the loudmouth joining them in the tunnels.)

"Icebreath!" Cottonpaw stage whispers, tail lashing behind her and likely waking a different warrior. "You said you'd take me tunneling today. I'm ready to go...!" her excitement is uninhibited even by her lack of sleep, blue eyes trained on the other.

@icebreath ​

 

[icebreath]

TAGS — She sleeps uneasily, having struggled to settle down in the first place out of anxiety, maybe even a smidge of dread, about the underground tour to come. It's a bad feeling, one that has her almost guilty; Cottonpaw's doubtlessly excited about tunneling and Icebreath wants to be able to match that. She wants so desperately to be a good mentor, one that her charge can be proud of and look back on fondly once she graduates. What's frustrating is that, if the timing had been better, maybe Icebreath would have been happy and enthusiastic about all this. It's such an honor to train one of Sootstar's children, after all — something she's fantasized about in her youth (as if she isn't still a child now). Well, she is happy, in a sense. The trust their leader has placed in them despite how new they are to being a warrior is equally flattering and terrifying. They really want to purely enjoy it, to revel in Sootstar's favor like they had when they weren't so weighed down with newfound responsibility. Is Firefang feeling the same? Probably not; she isn't a coward.

The tour of WindClan's above-ground territory had gone pretty well, at least. But they'd had Firefang for reassurance and an extra pair of eyes; in the tunnels Icebreath will be the lone supervisor, solely responsible for Cottonpaw's safety in such a dangerous environment. The reminder comes crashing back to them as they blink their eyes open with a start, seeing the little gray molly standing over them with so much innocent excitement. "Mm," she mumbles sleepily, but her heart quickly starts pounding and the accompanying nerves are enough to fully rouse her after a few moments. "You're so ready." Stars, it's early. But Icebreath has to admire her enthusiasm, especially when she recalls how nervous she was about tunneling as a kit before getting the hang of it. The lynx point hastily rises to her paws and stretches, using the action to stall a moment so she can take a deep breath to try and calm herself. Then she looks down at the little apprentice with a faux smile, hoping it's not obvious how nervous she is. Then again, she kind of always looks nervous. "Okay, let's go."

As they lead Cottonpaw to a tunnel along the outskirts of camp, they try to focus on the positives. They like their apprentice; she's spirited and it's awesome to see someone so enthusiastic about such important work from this young of an age (enthusiastic enough to sneak into the tunnels prematurely, which could mean dangerous impulsivity to come...). It's an honor to train her (and it'd be terrible if they mess it up...). They like kittens a lot, even if they don't always necessarily know how to go about dealing with them (what if they can't deal with her...). Fighting back the lurking doubts, Icebreath stops walking, drops her smile, and looks at Cottonpaw again with a serious expression. "Alright, a couple things before we go in. You have to stick close to me, okay? No running ahead or lagging behind. The tunnels are really dangerous if you aren't careful." They pause for a moment, realizing they don't want to scare her too bad. "But if you listen to me and do everything I say, everything will be fine. Also, you need to get used to leaving a scent trail everywhere you go so you don't get lost; I want you to mark every few steps. Any questions?"
​

 

[cottonsprig]

With the other stirring awake, Cottonpaw is only just able to contain her excitement. Perhaps Icebreath would say otherwise - they would be right to! - as the young kitten's paws tap excitedly against the bare ground. She nearly forgets to mind the other sleeping warriors as her mentor takes their time to right themselves, tail still whipping up a storm. She pays no mind to the fatigue or anxiety that weighs the pointed feline down. Maybe she would do well to learn mannerisms and social cues from the elder tunneller... but that's a lesson not meant for today. Today is for the tunnels!

I can't wait until Bluepaw hears about this...! She's heard her sister's underground training is held off until she masters it all above ground. It makes sense, but she can't imagine being that patient whatsoever. Maybe that's why their mother chose her...

Icebreath's voice pulls her from her moments-long trance and she springs to her paws again, trotting closely behind the other. She thought she knew of all the tunnel entrances around camp (especially after her incidents nearly a moon prior,) however Icebreath leads her to a relatively new one. Or, maybe, she has seen this one in use and just never recognized it. Ah - it doesn't matter. Her mentor lays down some rules (and while Cottonpaw understands enough why rules must be set in place, it grinds her gears that they're taking up her precious learning time,) and the floor is left open for questions.

"Yeah!" Cottonpaw is quick to pipe up, however as she speaks she sidles closer to Icebreath. She settles again with her shoulders posed just behind the others, signifying she at least understood the stay close part. "What are we gonna do if somethin' bad is down there, like... a badger! Or foxes!!" With the experience of a kitten, Cottonpaw feels herself ready enough to flail uselessly at any predator. Anxiety has yet to touch the young apprentice, however a spot of hesitation can be seen as she continues, "We'll... uh, we'll be able to smell'em first, right? 'Cuz they stink." Or so she heard.​