WAY HOME || aspenpaw

[WEASELCLAW]

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮​

The second the sun slivers golden over the horizon, Weaselclaw rises from the nest he shares with Sootstar. He has to admit that her thick, plush pelt and the moss is just enough to keep him from shivering like an abandoned kit at night, and waking up to her sweet scent in his nostrils makes each day just that much more pleasant.

As it is, Weaselclaw is in high spirits. He pads to where Aspenpaw sleeps, her first night under the stars instead of tucked away in the nursery with her mother. A white paw gently prods her flank. "Aspenpaw. Rise." His expression remains neutral, for now, but there's a shimmer of anticipation in his pale blue eyes. New beginnings. Moonshadow's daughter, Hyacinthbreath's daughter -- though this is a badly-kept secret -- is ready to start her warrior training.

Weaselclaw had never known two she-cats he respected more, other than Sootstar herself. He does not say it, but he has high hopes for Aspenpaw -- hopes she will be militant, loyal, and fierce, like her parents.

"I thought we'd start with a territory tour, and then, if we're lucky, some rabbit hunting on our way back." He smirks, though it's barely perceptible. "Grab something to eat and give yourself a wash. I'll be waiting."

@ASPENPAW

- ,,​

 

[ASPENPAW_]

( ♬ ) It's the first night that Aspenpaw has spent away from the nursery, away from the rest of her family, and while initially it was an exciting prospect to have her own nest, the novelty had worn out almost immediately after she had retired for the night. She had tossed and turned for quite some time, missing the comforting bulk of Moonshadow, though at some point late into the night she had finally drifted off. It's all too soon that she's being prodded awake, and at first Aspenpaw is loathe to awaken, wanting nothing more than to sleep into the day, but the sound of Weaselclaw's voice finally stirs her enough to sleepily pull herself up. As he lays out their plans for the day, Aspenpaw can feel herself perking up a bit. Her first night might have been a tad rough, but surely her first outing will more than make up for it!

Suppressing a yawn, she nods in response, trying to appear more awake and attentive than she actually feels. She's not sure if she's more excited about seeing Windclan's full glory for the first time or the prospect of going on a hunt during her first outing - either way, she can tell that it's going to be an eventful day, and probably tiring, too. Aspenpaw's glad that Weaselclaw gives her time to prepare; though she feels as though she can hardly eat in anticipation, the time it takes to finish a small thrush and give her fur a once over is enough for her to fully wake up, and by the time Aspenpaw's ready she can feel nervous and excited energy thrumming through her paws. "I'm ready to go," she tells her mentor, whiskers quivering in anticipation. ​

( WE'RE ALL JUST SEARCHING FOR SOMETHING ☾ )

 

[WEASELCLAW]

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮​

Weaselclaw gives Aspenpaw a curt nod as she approaches him, ready for her first outing as an apprentice. "Alright. Let's go, then."

He leaders the small silver lynx point through the gorse tunnel and into the open glory of the moor. With the sun's pale morning light flooding the hills and dips, the tawny grass is lit with golden fire. Weaselclaw tastes the air, notes the chill with some dismay. It's only getting colder from here, and the wind ruffling through his thin, short pelt is a testament to that.

He walks quickly, only casting the occasional glance behind him to ensure Aspenpaw is still following. "We'll be walking without stopping today, except for very short rests," he explains. "It will be tough at first, but you will be a moor runner. Endurance is the most important thing for us." He flicks his white tail-tip at her. "Chasing rabbits isn't an easy task. It takes a lot of endurance to keep up and even more to actually catch one."

He comes to the crest of a hill, just south of their camp. He gestures with his broad striped head. "That's the Abandoned Badger Set," he explains. "Thankfully, there aren't any badgers left inside of it, but it's good for patrols to keep an eye on it. Badgers are nasty creatures. Could kill a cat easily." He glances down at his apprentice. "Taste the air, Aspenpaw. What do you scent?" There's rabbit on the wind, but for an inexperienced hunter, it can be hard to tell what direction it's coming from. He pinpoints it further south, away from the set.

- ,,​

 

[ASPENPAW_]

( ♬ ) Following dutifully after her mentor, Aspenpaw slips all the way through the gorse tunnel for the first time in her life, paws stepping over new ground. As she finally reaches the end, looking out over the vast moors ahead of her, it's enough to take the apprentice's breath away in one big inhale. It's so...so vast, is all she think, looking out upon the dimly lit landscape - as if it might go on forever. As the wind shifts the grass and ruffles her fur, it reminds Aspenpaw to start breathing again, and to keep up with Weaselclaw, who had hardly batted an eye at the sight that has left her in such awe. One day she'll be like that, she thinks, though it's almost impossible to imagine the idea that she might step out of camp one day and not be impressed over the land they live off of.

Aspenpaw scrambles to keep pace - she doesn't want to it to seem like she's started slacking the moment they left camp! She'll still appreciate the view as they go, just at a quicker speed. As Weaselclaw begins to outline their day, she finds herself nodding along attentively. Admittedly, she's a bit daunted at the idea of walking all day, especially having to keep up with her mentor as well, but it'll be a good challenge, she decides. The first real challenge of her apprenticeship, she realizes, which puts a little more vigor in her step. It still feels so new and exciting, that Aspenpaw can say she's Aspenpaw, and she's more than willing to begin to prove she's worthy of the name today

Following along as Weaselclaw points out landmarks, she tries to keep a mental map of exactly where they are and where they've been, though it's a bit hard to focus when she's still filled with wonder by every new sight. As he gestures towards the Abandoned Badger Set, she tries extra hard to remember where it is and what it looks like. Despite the moors being filled with new beauty at every turn, Aspenpaw doesn't feel eager to explore this place anytime soon; a shiver passes through her as Weaselclaw so casually throws out how dangerous badgers are. As he asks her to scent around, her eyes widen slightly - are there really badgers still here after all? Still, she obediently raises her muzzle up, breathing in deeply. There are so many new smells out here, it's hard to tell one from the other. Aspenpaw closes her eyes, scrunching her face slightly as she tries to pick out something in particular, until it hits her -

"Rabbit!" she cries out. "I...think I can smell rabbit...somewhere..." she trails off, trying to figure out where it was coming from. It all smells vaguely like rabbit out here, though she supposes that might just be what Windclan smells like. The other scents still seem muddled - other cats, maybe, and quite a few things she doesn't yet recognize.​

( WE'RE ALL JUST SEARCHING FOR SOMETHING ☾ )

 

[WEASELCLAW]

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮​

So far, Aspenpaw is quiet and attentive, her eyes bright with determination. Weaselclaw notes that she does her best to keep up, and a burst of pride flares in his belly -- brief, but hot.

The tabby nods at Aspenpaw's exclamation of rabbit! "Yes, good. Soon enough, you'll be able to pinpoint exactly where it's coming from and how old the trail is." He narrows his eyes and tastes the air again, to be sure. "Keep an eye out, and taste the air as we walk. You'll start getting the hang of things if you pay attention. For now, we'll keep walking."

He flicks his tail tip against the silver lynx point's shoulder, and the two begin to pad toward Aspenpaw's first border. The ThunderClan border. Weaselclaw glances at her again and says, "Become accustomed to this scent. ThunderClan has made an enemy of ShadowClan, and therefore, they are our enemies as well. Kittypet-lovers." He snorts. "Not as bad as SkyClan, but thankfully, we don't share a border with those fools. At your first Gathering, you'll see what I mean."

He lets her get a good whiff of the forest-dwellers' border before nudging her onward. "We'll go to the gorge next, so you can get a taste of RiverClan's scent, but be careful," he warns. "It's steep. No cat will survive a fall."

- ,,​

 

[ASPENPAW_]

( ♬ ) At Weaselclaw's praise, however short it is, Aspenpaw feels pride well up in her chest. With more practice, she's sure she'll be able to recognize all the other scents mingling together, too. And it's only her first time out of camp! If she was feeling a bit tired before, it's replaced by an excited buzz as she listens carefully to his instruction. Right now, it seems like a daunting task to be able to know where prey is and how long ago it was there just by the scent, but if Weaselclaw can do it, then surely she'll be able to learn how to as well. A look of determination crosses her features as they begin to move on, and it looks almost comically out of place as the apprentice keeps her muzzle up in the air, trying to map out everything she can smell. Now that she's certain of at least the scent of rabbit in the area, Aspenpaw tries to pick out any key identifiers that might tell her more information about it, though she's not having quite as much luck as she did in initially picking the scent out.

With a new bounce in her step, she trails along after Weaselclaw, only pausing her search in order to take in Thunderclan's scent. It's unlike anything she's ever smelled before - woody and thick, with a strange underlying tang she suspects might be from all the trees. While it's not necessarily bad, it's also not something she'd want to smell all the time; Aspenpaw would much rather stick with the open, fresh air on the moors, thank you very much. She listens closely to his words, trying to keep all the politics straight. Shadowclan are their allies, she knows, and since Shadowclan doesn't like Thunderclan that means that Windclan doesn't like them, either. Aspenpaw doesn't really know much about kittypets, but from what she's heard they seem strange - even if they came to their senses and decided to leave their twolegs, she doesn't understand why they stay with the twolegs in the first place. It seems silly, the idea that any cat would want to be around those strange creatures.

They're moving again, this time in the direction of Riverclan. Weaselclaw hadn't mentioned anything about Riverclan, aside from the fact that the border was dangerous, and she can't really say she knows much about the water-loving cats. "Do we dislike Riverclan, too?" she questions with a tilt of her head, making sure to keep pace. Surely if they were full of former kittypets too Weaselclaw would have mentioned it, though Aspenpaw supposes that might not be the only reason to make enemies out of a clan. The idea that three out of the four other clans might not like Windclan is somewhat disturbing; after all, what if the other clans teamed up against them? She has no idea whether or not that's something that might reasonably happen, but she finds herself hoping to Starclan it doesn't. Three against two doesn't sound like good odds, even if some of the other clans are riddled with kittypets.
( WE'RE ALL JUST SEARCHING FOR SOMETHING ☾ )​

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