Little Bird {Snowpaw} Show me your wings

[~Deersong~]

A soulmate who wasn't meant to be​

---

The sun was shining, and the camp was beginning to stir as the dawn broke in rosy-golden hues that bathed their home in soft warm light. This was one of Deersongs' favorite times of day, slipping from the warriors' den and making her way towards the apprentice den, Deer would take a deep breath of the now crisp leaf-fall air and allow the refreshing coolness to send energy through her lungs and veins.

Sticking her head into the apprentice den she would call out to Snowpaw in her usual coo before moving to sit by the fresh-kill pile to await her ward. Looking around camp, she noted how lucky she was despite the hardships that plagued her home. Their leader was strong, their deputy resilient, the medicine cat dutiful, and there were no better cats she would choose to live and fight with.

Once Snowpaw was before her, she would purr a greeting to him and then meow gently, "First things first, breakfast. Do you have a favorite prey?"

//
@Snowpaw
​

 

[Snowpath]

He struggled to wake up often, it was not so much an inability to do so as a lack of desire to. He liked his new nest in the apprentice den, he liked curling up into his own tail and not being kicked or jostled in his sleep by his siblings. The sense of independence kept him firmly rooted into the warm bracken well into the start of the day unless roused, and roused he was. Deersong had a very unique way of speaking, he had been unsure how to process it at first but now he associated it with bird song that was often light and delicate but the occasion pitch would startled him from such assumptions. She was kind, he liked her a lot and hoped they would get along because his true anxiety about finally being an apprentice was failing miserably. With an understanding mentor he was less critical of himself and she would be a little more lenient, he hoped, when it came to his misgivings.
Snowpaw raised his head up and offered a bleary smile, body arching up as he rose stiffly and stretched in the same motion; a yawn curling his pink tongue into a loop with maw opened wide. It took a moment to shuffled about, orient himself enough to step over any other sleeping apprentices and not kick the bedding, but once out in the sun he felt himself come alive. His paws swiftly took him over to the fawn-colored molly, golden eyes bright and energetic despite being fast asleep moments before.
Breakfast! Oh good, he was worried they wouldn't eat before leaving and he already felt his stomach grumbling, "I like mice! Honestly...anything but birds." He admitted as much almost sheepishly.

​

 

[~Deersong~]

𝐵𝓊𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌, 𝐼 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓈 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓇𝑒​

---

Her eyes would twinkle with amusement and patience as Snowpaw spoke sheepishly and she nodded before turning to look at the fresh-kill pile, "Never skip breakfast in the morning if you can help it, Snowpaw." She would coo gently yet firmly, "It's not good for you, and skipping it can even make you lose the energy that you need for the rest of the day, ya dig?" She would hook a mouse with one of her claws and place it before him to eat before picking a bird (funnily enough those were her favorite) for herself.

Crouching down she would take swift yet purposeful bites of the prey as she waved her tail for him to eat as well. Once they were both done, she would bury the bones in a way that Snowpaw could copy before turning to leave camp, "Today we are going to check the border with Thunderclan. We don't share borders with many of the other clans, but I will try to get you smell samples of each so you can get used to them. It's important to memorize each clan's scent, so you can notice it if it's ever somewhere it shouldn't be."

Slipping from the camp entrance, Deersong would wait for him to catch up before making her way towards the Northwest portion of the territory. "We are also going to be covering what to do if you meet a patrol. Manners are very important, especially when it comes to representing your clan." Her tone was warm as if she were telling a story instead of teaching a lesson, but she hoped that it made the trek to the border a bit less boring. Once they were close enough, Deersong's ear would twitch and she would smile in her whimsical way as she stopped and waved her tail for her apprentice to do the same.

"Stop and take a listen, Snowpaw. What do you hear? What do you smell?" They were close to the border now, where the river flowed strongly just beyond the foliage they were currently behind. Her teal gaze was patient as she waited for his answer.
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[Snowpath]

"I dig!" He responded, not quite sure if he was using the phrase correctly but more than happy to add it to his vernicular. Deersong used a lot of words he wasn't familiar with, that he didn't often hear from the other SkyClanners but he liked the sound of them and he liked trying them out. He was hardly the sort to skip a good meal anyways, so her advice was unecessary but he wouldn't say as much, it was good to be reminded that it was alright regardless. He remembered running around so much as a kit that he just forgot to eat at times and now as an apprentice it would be especially bothersome if he went out without something on his stomach. He hastily, but carefully, picked at his mouse until he was left to idly chew on a single long bone clean of any meat while he listened; ThunderClan's border was their one neighbor really but he would need to know the other clan scents somehow. He wondered how Deersong would go about that when she rose to stand he he hurried to follow, mouth full of brittle ivory shards that he hesitantly added into the earth next to her own buried pile before skipping along at her heels.
Deersong's longer legs made him have to take two steps for each of her one, but Snowpaw was too excited to be out to care much about the extra jogging he had to do; golden eyes darting around almost whimsically before forcing himself to focus on what was being said before he missed anything important.
He liked to think he had decent enough manners, but maybe he didn't. The dappled gray apprentice wasn't sure if his normal politeness was enough for a border meeting but they'd have to see wouldn't they? Did he have to be nice back if they were rude though? Not that he expected ThunderClan to be rude. ThunderClan were friends.
The young tom nearly walked directly into the back of one of his mentor's slender legs when she stopped to ask him something and he tilted his head to the side curiously before tilting it back once and closing his eyes. Sometimes closing his eyes helped him focus, there was so much new stuff around him that narrowing down anything important would be hard; but he did get a whiff of something.
"...are....we close to ThunderClan? There's a weird...pine-y smell. I hear uh...birds. They're real quiet, probably cause we're here now. And uh...water? I think?"
He wasn't quite sure and offered a sheepish smile.
​

 

[~Deersong~]

𝐵𝓊𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌, 𝐼 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓈 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓇𝑒​

---

A rumble of approval would come from her throat as Snowpaw guessed correctly and using her paw she would push aside the foliage to reveal the river before them. "Very good, Snow. Thunderclan is clan we mainly border, but this spot here is the small part where we share the river with Riverclan." She would gesture for him to step forward and then lead him closer to the bank of the river.

Her ears would flicker lightly as she looked out over the surface of the water as she spoke, "Sometimes the wind will carry Riverclans' scent over to our side, and with the river between us, we don't usually see many trespassers from there. Do you know anything about Riverclan?" Her paw would reach out and lightly touch the water and smiled wistfully as the coolness moved over her paw. Lifting it up, she would watch the water droplets fall from her fur, and then she playfully flicked some at her apprentice before chuckling. ​