look around, listen close ✧ springpaw

[Orangestar]

𝐵𝑈𝑇 𝑇𝑂 𝐴 𝑊𝑂𝑀𝐴𝑁, 𝐵𝑌 𝑇𝐻𝐸 𝐸𝑁𝐷 ✧ 𝐘𝐎𝐔'𝐋𝐋 𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀

• 
  
  — orangeblossom | tags
  — she/her ; deputy of skyclan. mentoring springpaw.
  — scarred white-and-ginger she-cat with brown eyes.
  — "speech" ; thoughts
  — chibi by waluigipinball
  — penned by mercibun. @ me in any official tabbytales discord for plots.
  
  

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The snow crunches underpaw as Orangeblossom leaves camp. Though the day stretches out before her, there's a slight difference in the air as @Springpaw joins her for the first time. As far as she's aware the small she-cat has yet to venture out, Roseblaze opting not to allow her kits to undertake a supervised expedition in the snow unlike Orangeblossom had with her own litter; so the deputy takes things slow, allowing her new apprentice to experience all the sights and scents for the first time.

"Today will be a big day." She explains after the hubbub of SkyClan camp has faded behind them, looking down towards Springpaw. She stops atop a felled log, pressed firmly to the ground by moons' worth of cats walking atop it, and gestures for Springpaw to join her. "We'll visit Tallpine and the Sandy Hollow, where you'll do most of your hunting and fighting training respectively."

A small silence stretches between them, and Orangeblossom makes a thoughtful noise.

"What do you want out of your training, Springpaw? Do you want to be the best hunter in the Clan? The best fighter? A bit of everything, or something else?" It's a big question to ask a four-moon-old, she knows this much, but she's heard it answered before. She's curious to see what answer Springpaw would provide her with, and a little expectant: it would tell her what skills to start with. Apprentices often had an easier time starting with what they wanted to do; or, at least, she could use it as a reward.

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[Springshine]

// retro to Roseblaze and Cricketchase's disappearance

Her first day. So much potential was held in her paws and it would all stem from this moment. Her first steps outside of the camp. She pauses at the entrance, her blue eyes shining in the dim early morning light as she looks out into the sheer vastness that was the pines. It's hard to imagine this has an end, that SkyClan is not just an infinite stretch of forest that she could loose herself in. "Wow..." she finds herself whispering under her breath. She's grateful that her mentor takes things slow, both to allow her to keep up on her stubby kitten legs and so that she could admire the world around her. Distantly, she wonders if Pumpkinpaw was doing much of the dame, what it thought of the world outside of the camp. Not for the first time in their lives, she finds herself wishing for a way that she could ask.

When Orangeblossom finally speaks, Springpaw gives her her full attention, eyes wide as the orange and white deputy explains that today is a big day. She nods her head, maybe a bit too hard in agreement. This was perhaps the biggest day in her life! It is difficult to scramble atop the felled log, her legs are just a little too short, her jumping ability not as great. She digs her claws in and, after a moment of furious kicking, manages to haul herself up next to her mentor, though it isn't without a great deal of huffing and puffing. In time, she supposes, it'll get easier. For now, she turns her gaze once more to the forest beyond, listening to her mentors words and watching the shadows dance as sunlight filters through the trees.

Tall Pine. The Sandy Ravine. These are places she had heard about in her mother and father's stories and she digs her claws into the soft bark, already excited at the idea of finally being able to see them for herself. "Wow cool!" she says, her voice breathy. She notices the long silence that stretches between them too but she isn't certain if she is meant to break it so she says nothing, content to soak in the sights and sounds of the forest.

Finally, Orangeblossom speaks and its a question, directed at her. What did she want out of training? It's a question she had not really prepared for. What did she want? If she's honest, she has no idea. She didn't really enjoy wrestling with the other kits, so fighting was probably not her thing.. Maybe hunting? She has no clue! "Uh... Maybe a little bit of everything?" she tries, her voice uncertain and her paws kneading the bark underneath them.

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