they're complaining, overeducated .. barleypaw

[KILLDEERCRY ;]

WE'RE GETTING LOST! — The cooing mourning dove so far is the only other sound in the hollow now. With the seasons change the sun began to rise sooner, and so Killdeercry felt it was only suitable to get a head start at today's training before the other mentors brought their apprentices here. Her head swayed with her steps while her tail swished wide strides over the sand, subtly looking for any other vibrations to determine if anything else was around.

It appeared they were entirely alone for now. Good! She wanted more time independently with Barleypaw, get to know her little apprentice some more. Her first one at that- she was so excited! When Crowflower and Hawkshiver had gotten their little kiddo's she feared Howlingstar had viewed her as inadequate, but of course she wasn't! Barleypaw was going to be her grandest gift back to ThunderClan, she would be sure of it.

"Alright kid! It's just us out here for now, how are you feeling this morning?" Killdeercry purred as she pivoted to face the little tabby. "We'll start off with some warm-ups and exercises first and then get into the real good stuff. What are you looking forward to most about today?"— tags

-- @barleypaw. ​

 

[barleysight.]

The brown and white tabby was not keen on becoming an apprentice when it was first suggested at a meaning, saying blah blah blah boring things, blah blah, Barleypaw.
During the first trek with her mentor, she was unenthused, dragging her feet, complaining of how sore her paw pads were.... but overnight, it clicked. Something had happened, and ever since Barley paw was excited. Her questions overtime becoming more, her eyes becoming analytical, and her playing becoming almost non-existent if it meant that she would be too tired for her hard work put into the clan. She felt useful. She was focused.

And more than anything it was a distraction.

Her aqua eyes were bright, and her chest was puffed out in pride. "I'm feeling quite well, and yourself?" She returned the question.

"Of all things, I'm excited to annoy you with my millions of questions," she joked, a giggle coming from her chest and a white paw placing over her maw. "No, but for real, I'm excited to learn about anything and everything you put in front of me!" she purred back, her paws itching to do whatever they had set for the day.

​

 

[KILLDEERCRY ;]

WE'RE GETTING LOST! — Seeing the improvement Barleypaw had placed in her trainings had been quite a relief to Killdeercry. Barleypaw was her first ever apprentice, and she felt there was a lot of pressure on ensuring her first apprentice was successful. Killdeercry had never received official warrior training like she was going to, her family was apart of the pine group and simply learned with the flow of their peers. Especially with how frequent the fighting occurred, it was more heavy on the exposure than preparation.

She smiled at her apprentices excitement.

"I am feeling absolutely wonderful. I'm going to show you how to see the forest completely different than you have before." Her enthusiasm poured through her voice. "It's going to be a bit of a game. I want you to lead me around the hollow and tell me what's passed through, how you know, and provide the proof. Don't worry if you get stuck, I'll give you clues to help you out." Killdeercry twitched her tail over the sand again, prompting her apprentice to begin. — tags​

 

[barleysight.]

Barley had to think just a moment. "Like tracking...?" she would ask, confirming that this is what her mentor would have wanted.

Her eyes narrowed, more inquisitively than anything. She.. struggled in tracking, and seeing those small fine details that prey left behind, but cats, their prints she was used to. She supposed she could use scents too. But would that be cheating?

"May I use... any sense; nose, and eyes or is this restricted to eyesight, clues of what may have passed through?"

she asked, already scanning the environment. Nothing seemed different! Cat pawprints from who knows how long ago littered the ground, some dirt looking like it had been rustled in tussled in.

this was gonna be harder than she had to let on though. Though she knew she was smart, she didn't want to feel like she was dumb in certain subjects. she had her mentor to impress!

​

 

[KILLDEERCRY ;]

WE'RE GETTING LOST! — The ruddy she-cat would nod to Barleypaw's guess. "A bit like that, yeah. We won't be following the trails though. Just point out what's been at the hollow specifically. If something's fresh enough we can track it when we're done." If you're up to it. The suggestion implied. Dumping tasks and information all at once was an easy way to overwhelm, which Killdeercry wanted to avoid. Keeping to Barleypaw's set limitations seemed more beneficial.

"Use everything at your disposal! Eyes, nose, ears. My best piece of advice, keeping your mouth open when looking for scents can help you find what your nose couldn't. Killdeercry glanced around with Barleypaw, nodding as if addressing her surroundings. "Lets start by going to the west side of the hollow, and then continue from there." She gestured to the direction that led to the Owl Tree, already making her way over.— tags​

 

[barleysight.]

The brown apprentice would nod, understanding fully now what her mentor would want. It seemed difficult, but she trusted her mentors intuition as well as her own.

They moved to the south side of the hollow as instructed, and the apprentice would close her eyes, listening first. The light breeze was causing the branches to sway and creak above her. the leaves would rustle, but otherwise she couldn't hear a bunch around them. That one seemed the hardest though, so instead, she opened her jaws just a bit.

A small slight inhale. It did seem to make her smell better, as suggested. She had to ignore the familiar smell of clanmates, old and fresh. Someone must have beat them here this morning and left. Unless, it was a patrol. Yes, several scents were fresh, not just one or two. "A patrol passed here a little before we got here." she commented.

She would bring her ruddy pink nose to the ground a bit more, doing a few circles with her eyes now open to avoid tripping a falling. A scent of mouse, but it didn't seem too fresh. But it wasn't faint either. "A mouse..." she said softly. "Maybe last night?" She wasn't quite sure.