SILVER DAYS || territory trek

[WEASELCLAW]

He had been second only to their mother to see Owlpaw and Shrikepaw enter the world. WindClan's first kits, son and daughter of their illustrious leader, and shining examples of strength and tenacity. He had felt immense pride when Sootstar had declared him Owlpaw's mentor. He's sure if she'd felt herself capable of training both kits adequately and continuing to lead the Clan, she would have, but he can hardly blame her for that. Sootstar, like any mother, wants only the best for her children.

Weaselclaw is determined to be that for Owlpaw. He's taken her out only once so far, to the ThunderClan border, and being so young, he reasons she likely hasn't seen the rest of the territory. The tabby finds her blue and white splotched pelt and noses her awake.

"Owlpaw, up. We're going to see all of WindClan's territory. I might show you the other Clan borders as well, so you can become familiar with their scents." He nods to himself. She should know a RiverClan cat from a ShadowClan cat from a ThunderClan cat. He'd almost cost WindClan very dearly by not knowing.

He turns to the rest of the Clan, flicking his ears. "Anyone is welcome to join us. We can hunt before we return." He hasn't taught Owlpaw any hunting moves yet, but he imagines watching others is a good start.

// @OWLKIT but open to anyone :)
​

PENNED BY MARQUETTE​

 

[OWLPAW]

She was dreaming of StarClan. A starry forest and starry pelts, brushing up against hers. They thought she was special, and whispered in her ear the great accomplishments that awaited her in the future. Owlpaw, they chanted in silky sweet voices full of pride. Owlpaw…

A cold nose pressed into her side, jolting her from slumber and sweet dreams. Owlpaw groaned. StarClan hadn’t been chanting her name. It had only been her mentor waking her for training. She wanted to curl up and sleep again so that she could return to her beautiful vision, but the starry sky had been replaced by bright clouds and the greenleaf sun beating down on the camp. “I was just having the best dream, Weaselclaw,” she said as she rolled over and onto her paws. She arched her back and stretched out her long body. Owlpaw was tall for her age, with long legs built for chasing rabbits on the moors. With any luck, she would make a fine hunter someday.

And they would certainly do her well on their walk across WindClan’s territory and to the borders of each Clan. Owlpaw would be exhausted by the time they returned, especially if a hunt was involved. She waited with Weaselclaw to see if anyone would join them on their adventure for the day, hoping her mother might tag along. Or perhaps Honeytwist who might collect herbs. Maybe Owlpaw could tell her about her dream and she could interpret it for her.

Speaking of her dream… she should tell Weaselclaw. He should know that the stars thought she was special so he could take her training with great care. It would pass the time while they waited for joiners anyways. “In my dream, I was walking with StarClan,” she boasted. “They were telling me I was special and have a great destiny to fulfill… but I woke up before they could tell me what it was.” Owlpaw was convinced they would visit her again tonight to tell her the rest of her destiny. She would be upset to find out that it had all simply been a dream fabricated by the mind to express her deepest desires and not actually a vision from StarClan.​

 

[Dandelionwish]

A cheerful little drawl of a call would ring out from the other side of camp at the lead warrior's offer, "Mind if I tag along too, Weaselclaw? I reckon my mentor got sent on patrol cause I ain't seen'em this mornin'!" It would be just his luck the day he had the most energy available to go practice that Grackledive had been taken from him for border checks, maybe they'd bump into him along the tour for Owlpaw though or maybe he was here in camp and Dandelionpaw had just missed him. Either way, he was too restless to just sit there still for much longer

The sepia point ambled over with quick strides, long legs carrying him briskly to the duo where he dipped his head politely to each before properly sizing the other apprentice up with a glance. He hadn't met her proper yet had he? Just in passing, "Nice to meetcha, Owlpaw-I'm Dandelionpaw! Seen ya 'round camp but don't think we ever said howdy!"
Hearing Owlpaw's comments he could not help but smile in amusement, definetely didn't let that whole 'leader is your mother' thing go to her head did she; what a humble little princess. Or maybe it had nothing to do with blood, maybe she did just honestly think that, good for her he supposed. Confidence was important but he had the strangest feeling just looking at her that it was leaning perhaps a touch too far into arrogance. Well, that was a Weaselclaw problem to work with wasn't it? So he just shook his head as he trotted over, wheat stem between his teeth and mismatched gold and green eyes gazing out across the tall grass.


​

 

[hyacinthbreath]

Coldpaw and her trained at night, it was her own preference- the sun was down, and your eyes had to adjust more. She thought it definitely helped with the difficulty to get used to it over time. She's seated atop her favorite sunbathing rock, paws hanging off of the side as she relaxes and splays herself out. She listens to Dandelionpaw's loud voice, chipper and happy- and finds herself grimacing.

I'm thankful I wasn't given such an extroverted apprentice.. Such high energy is a lot to handle.

She thinks to herself as she lifts her head to watch Weaselclaw. She doesn't move to follow him, merely examining how he talks to the apprentices before her attention is snatched once again by the lazy warmth of her sunwarmed stone.​

 

[WEASELCLAW]

A smirk of amusement creases the white of his muzzle as Owlpaw shifts and stirs. With a yawn, the little she-cat tells him that she was having a dream about StarClan, that they were telling her how special she was and how she was destined for great things. The tabby flicks his tail against her side. "Listening to your mother talk about herself too much," he says in a low, conspiratorial voice. It's goodnatured and warm, despite the biting implication. "You should start dreaming about hunting and battle practice soon enough. Come on, let's go before it gets too hot."

He's interrupted before they can exit the gorse tunnel by the exuberant Dandelionpaw, asking if he could accompany them. Weaselclaw glances about the clearing, giving one ear a faux-irritable flick. "He's slacking already, huh," he grumbled, but he wouldn't deny the young cat if he wanted to come learn and help out. "Sure, I guess you can come too. Might be good for Owlpaw to see an older apprentice in action, too."

He notices Hyacinthbreath lounging, sleepy and only mildly interested. He knows she prefers to train her apprentice during the night, but he says, "You sure you don't want to get off your lazy tail and join the waking world?" He doesn't wait for a response, only giving her a knowing look before passing through the gorse tunnel.

To the young cats who trial behind him, he explains, "We're going to the Sunwarmed Pool first, then walking along the gorge so you two can see the RiverClan border. It's very dangerous over there, so please keep close to me. I don't want to have to explain anything to Sootstar, so don't make me have to." He gives both young cats a critical glance as they begin their trek across the moor.

// next post can be assumed they've made it to the pool / the gorge!
​

PENNED BY MARQUETTE​

 

[OWLPAW]

Another apprentice joined them, an older tom by the name of Dandelionpaw. As he pointed out, the two had seen one another but not officially met. Owlpaw kept to herself and her family for the most part - Weaselclaw included in that small circle despite the lack of blood relation. She couldn't help but flatten her ears against her skull as his chipper, piercing voice cursed her ear drums. Stars, he was loud! She hoped she did not have to train with him very often. Given the age difference and therefore the gap between their training, she imagined she wouldn't have to deal with him until she was a warrior.

If I become a warrior, Owlpaw reminded herself. She hoped StarClan was about to tell her that they wanted her to be Honeytwist's apprentice. She looked longingly towards the medicine den, almost as if she was hoping the she-cat would emerge any moment proclaiming she had received a vision from the stars above. But alas, it did not come. Weaselclaw was giving instructions and leading the way out of camp. Owlpaw offered a curt nod towards Dandelionpaw - albeit a bit late considering she had gotten distracted by her wishful thinking. "Pleasure to meet you, Dandelionpaw," she said politely, though it was anything but a pleasure to meet someone so obnoxious. However, her mother had raised her to have manners, so she would not express her true feelings unless he really irked her.

Their trek across the moors was mostly made in silence after Weaselclaw explained the dangers that lurked there. One step too close to the gorge could send them tumbling to their deaths and that alone had Owlpaw sticking close to her mentor even before they reached the gorge. She loved StarClan but she did not desire to join their ranks quite yet. She'd hardly lived a life. "At least this gorge spares us from hostile RiverClanners," Owlpaw said. "I suppose they could reach us if they really wanted to... but they'd have to put some effort into crossing onto our territory with this gorge in the way."​

 

[Coldsnap]

THE HIGHER I GET, THE LOWER I SINK
I CAN'T DROWN MY DEMONS, THEY KNOW HOW TO SWIM

---

As was usual for the dark grey tabby, Coldpaws expression was mostly unreadable as he watched Weaselclaw call for his own apprentice only to end up surrounded by a hoard of them.

He had already seen the borders, not just because Hyacinth enjoyed being efficient, but because Coldpaw hadn't been one to slouch and laze about before he was formally apprenticed to someone. Often the young tomcat would accompany cats out to check the borders or to try his hand at hunting, something that had probably proven to be both a blessing and a curse to Hyacinth. One one hand, he'd already been exposed to a lot of the things that apprentices would need time to work through, and had been given time on his own to work things out through trial and error until he got it right. Unfortunately, this meant that he also had a tendency to clash with Hyacinth at times, thinking he knew better. It could lead to the occasional argument born from stubbornness, but it never became anything more than that. At the end of the day Hyacinth was a capable warrior with a rank that reflected her capability and dedication, and even if they didn't always see eye to eye, there was still a lot they agreed on and a lot he respected about her.

Cold just wasn't always great at showing it, was all.

He liked to think she was smart enough to see it though, to recognize the subtle wins that came whenever he didn't talk back or in those fleeting moments where the two actually seemed to function as a proper team.

Coldpaw said nothing as Weaselclaw turned to ask Hyacinth is she was certain she wouldn't tag along. Personally, Cold didn't care either way if he was dragged along or not. The borders were nothing new, and he'd probably seen most of the territory by now, but it wasn't like he was going to sit around camp doing nothing all day anyways. Sure, his training mainly took place after the sun set, but he still liked to keep productive during the days as well- it just meant he slept in a little later than he usually did.
​

---

windclan apprentice - male - 8 months - a large, dark grey tabby with yellow eyes

 

[WEASELCLAW]

Weaselclaw wouldn't have minded if Coldpaw had wanted to tag along; in truth, the more stoic apprentice would be an interesting contrast to young Owlpaw and over-excited Dandelionpaw, and he seemed capable. But the tabby had asked Hyacinthbreath, and she'd barely acknowledged his question, so he'd simply kept at it.

The young white and blue she-cat keeps close to his flank, eyeing the steep cliff curiously. She remarks that at least it was a safe border from RiverClan. "Those fish-eaters don't know how to fight, anyway," he says, smirking. "I beat their leader easily. They get lazy; all their hunting is just scooping fish out of the water." He snorts dismissively. "Nothing in the world is worth braving that gorge for. Jaypaw and I almost saw a cat die going over the edge." He shudders. He appreciates the natural border, but what a brutal death it could end up being for some careless cats...

The tabby flicks blue eyes behind him, to where Dandelionpaw dawdles. "I want you to scent the air, Owlpaw. Tell me what you find." Now that they've seen the steep cliff, Weaselclaw would like to practice tracking and maybe even hunting if Owlpaw is up for it. He's sure Grackledive has taught Dandelionpaw some, but the other tom had been a loner before and surely had some hunting techniques, even if they weren't fine-tuned for rabbits yet.
​

PENNED BY MARQUETTE​

 

[Dandelionwish]

"Not slackin' just otherwise preoccupied I reckon!" He was quick to defend his mentor though he did so with his usual friendliness, he was fond of the tom and not inclined to let him look bad in front of anyone; they'd gotten plenty of training in already and he was eager to show it off to the lead warrior and his fellow apprentice.
He had the slightly inkling that Owlpaw didn't think too highly of him but smiled nonetheless to the pleasantries. His pointed ears pricked upward as he listened in to the discussion of the gorge and he felt his fur rise in the thrill of being so near the great chasm that could swallow a cat whole without effort. One day he wondered if he'd have the strength and stride to go leaping across it like a loose deer, but he was hardly so daring as to risk it as he was now. His green and gold eyes darted over to Hyacinthbreath and then Coldpaw in turn, wondering if the silver she-cat would come along with her apprentice as well and turn it into a proper

"Ye beat up the RiverClan leader?" Dandelionpaw vaguely recalled his Pa mentioning something about an altercation with RiverClan caused by a skirmish and wondered if this was that instance, "Bet they're awful scrawny if'n they only eat fish-don't figure there's much meat on those." He'd had a fish once, it was pretty slim pickings if he recalled and he didn't like the scent of it so much the taste was muddled but food was food. He kept pace just behind Owlpaw, slowing his stride so she could walk in front of him, otherwise he'd overtake her easily with these long legs of his. The updraft of wind from the gorge had him shaking his pelt out in delight as he turned to watch Weaselclaw give his apprentice a brief assignment. Dandelionpaw did so as well himself, mouth open and turning to examine the area with a quick sweeping glance before looking back to the others with as patient a posture as an energetic cat like himself could hold.


​