A New Lesson From A New Mentor

[EclipseFur]

Eclipsefur padded quietly through the crowds of cats.Her tail lashing around,her eyes filling with excitement after receiving her first apprentice at last.The young she-cat padded from cat to cat,and paused at some point to see if she had found her apprentice before she nodded to the cats and padded off."I promised to pass on the skills my mentor had taught me to this apprentice....and Ill keep that promise". EclipseFur thought as she leaped onto a rock and sat there,her eyes flicking from different directions for the little she-cat. Lashing her tail the young warrior rapped it around her perfectly well shaped paws her ears flicking forward as she yelled for the apprentice. "SpiderPaw!"

[Wargrace]

Spiderpaw

Assigned a mentor at last! Of course, it hadn't been very long; she had been made an apprentice, even assigned a mentor -- perhaps.. days before the earthquake? The warrior had been among the victims, unfortunately. She hadn't been trained more than those little introductory lessons all apprentices experience -- but, well, that was normal for a six moon old, atleast. The 'quake had not caused her to fall drastically behind. Not even half a moon behind! And now, she was assigned a mentor. It was something the optimistic little she-cat celebrated. She was lucky; her new mentor was also a clanmate. That meant, if the clans split apart again before she was made a warrior, she wouldn't have to change to a whole new mentor. Now, the apprentice's only hope was that she had a nice mentor.

Spiderpaw had to wonder how she would match up to her mentor -- Eclipsefur. She knew the name, but not the warrior. What was her personality like? What about size? Abilities? Maybe her mentor was a lithe huntress.. or a powerful fighter? Oh, so much debate! Spiderpaw was a smaller cat, lithe and dainty. With an abundance of energy, confidence, and spirit. The type to play all day; creating games and harmlessly teasing or flirting. She was a hard-worker, though, when work was given. There was a time for play, and a time for work. She knew this. Oh! Her name had been called. From the crowd of cats the multi-colored she-cat went, prancing airily forward until she spotted the dark she-cat, tail wavering like a flag behind her in some sort of greeting. "Evenin', Eclipsefur! It's nice to meet you!" Bright-eyes, swishing tail; ready for.. work or play. Whichever. Presumably.. work. It didn't seem likely her mentor would care for romping about like kits. She was a teacher, not a fellow apprentice. Hopefully someday a friend, too, though; even if not a friend she could clown around with.

[EclipseFur]

EclipseFur began to purr as she saw the little she-cat bounce towards her from the crowd of cats,lashing her tail she made a graceful leap and landed neatly in front of the apprentice her eye glittering with joy."Are you ready to go and learn a new lesson?"she mewed her tail lashing around.

She didn't know much of this young she-cat nor did she know her well. It was obvious that this apprentice wasn't made into an apprentice a long time ago.EclipseFur smiled trying to look nice instead of mean yet she didn't want to go to soft on the apprentice so she wouldn't be so timid or fidgety. She wanted to try her best and hope that some day the little she-cat could grow up to be a strong and well respected warrior.But the only way to do that was to teach her wisely. "Now...what your going to learn today is moss picking..."she purred lashing her tail she pointed to the back of her,towards what was left of a forest.The rest looked crumbled up,many fallen trees and broken up or lifted up dirt,it looked dead and dull.EclipseFur lashed her tail."After finding moss we can try and find water.....we will need to gather as many piles of moss we can get so we can bring water to the elders and queens first....then the sick and the wounded".The she-cat smiled and stood up,she was tall with graceful muscular legs especially her hind legs,any cat could take a hint on how high she can jump.Once more she leaped towards the rock and leaped to the other side there she toke a few paw steps before she paused and waited for SpiderPaw to catch up,her eyes glittering with excitement to be teaching her ever first apprentice.

[Wargrace]

"Of course~!" Chiming out a prompt response, the little she-cat perked at her mentor, observing the older she-cat thoughtfully. She seemed friendly enough; not too strict, but perhaps not excessively easy-going, either? A good combination. Perhaps there was a chance that they could mentor and apprentice, but friends, too? She'd rather keep a good relation with her mentor, from apprenticeship to warriorship and onward. It'd be nice, wouldn't it? Someone to talk to if support was needed and such? Hopefully!

They'd be collecting moss? Wasn't that, from what she had heard, a punishment? Though, the multi-colored apprentice did suppose in times like this it was a vital task. Getting moss to carry water to those who couldn't go out and find it themselves. Yes, it was an important task indeed! While it might not've been a real 'lesson', as.. well.. how hard could it be to gather moss to soak in clean, safe drinking water..? But it was a mission she would take seriously, and do to her fullest ability. This in mind, Spiderpaw nodded again, eagerly, long, fluffy tail swishing behind her. Off was Eclipsefur, so off was Spiderpaw, moving swiftly to follow the warrior. Which way were they heading? To the remaining forest, it looked like. What little there was to go to, atleast. "Moss usually grows under trees, right?" Bright stare focused on her mentor, the apprentice decided to ask this. "And on rocks?" Hopefully she was right -- least she make a fool of herself so soon.

Spiderpaw was a rather proud cat, afterall. Energetic and proud. She didn't care to disappoint her mentor; no, she'd strive to achieve as much as she could. How was Camopaw doing with his mentor? Hopefully well. She hadn't seen him after the announcement. A glance to Eclipsefur, waiting for a reply. Or instruction, or anything else. Quiet.

[EclipseFur]

EclipseFur ran past some rocks and some vegetation, the young warrior finally went into a halt as she padded towards a large fallen tree. "Yes it grows under trees....and On top of rocks...but it can also grow on top of the tree it self.."she mewed pointing at the large fallen tree. "Now...picking moss might not seem like a real lesson..."she mewed unsheathing her claws,they were long and sharp like a thorn,she then carefully began to claw the moss from the log. "But not only can it be good for bedding....and bringing water for those who are too old...or too busy with kits,it can also teach you how to give a nice deep scratch on an enemies muzzle or flank" she meowed picking up the moss and settling it down on her side.

EclipseFur rapped her tail neatly around her paws,her blue eyes fixed on her apprentice. "You try.....but remember...the first thing you must learn for all your lessons....is patience." She meowed, before licking one paw and swiping it over her ears. "One more thing before you begin.....it might look simple and very easy...but it can be really hard."She mewed her eyes flicking towards the moss."Moss it very fragile and can rip easy...so you must be careful when removing it from the log." The she-cat's voice was stern and serious now, she wanted to make sure her apprentice was listening, and she wanted to make sure she did a good job at explaining the lesson as a real mentor would.

"Maybe this won't be as bad as I thought...." EclipseFur murmured,hopefully she will get along with her apprentice but not only be friends...she wanted to teach her as well. Not only have fun and play but actually teach her some other lessons soon. She really wanted to make her clan and this apprentice feel proud....

[Wargrace]

Bolting after her mentor, the little she-cat kept pace, ears pricked, taking in the surroundings as they went. Sort of making a mental-map back to the makeshift camp.. least that be part of the lesson. Probably not.. but one could never be too careful when trying to impress their new mentor! Spiderpaw wasn't a showoff.. but making a good first impression was very important, wasn't it? She thought so, yes. As they came to a stop she paused and sat, tails curling over her paws. Still and statue-like. Because.. it was time for a lesson! On moss-collection, but a lesson nonetheless! She could feel the excitement in her pawpads, urging her to move about. But no. She'd behave her best.

Listening. Aside from playing, it was what Spiderpaw did best! Well, not really. But it was up there on the list. She liked to play; but she knew when to be quiet and focus, too. No one liked when someone was all play, no paying attention or working, afterall. Undoubtedly, her mentor wouldn't be too amused, either -- and she wanted to make the warrior proud. Watching quietly, Spiderpaw gave a couple small nods to show she was listening throughout the instructions; bright blue eyes blinking. It didn't look too difficult.. but the moss looked delicate. What if she tore it or something..? Would it still be useful, or a waste of time and effort, because they'd need to find more moss to make up for the damaged moss? Hopefully it was still useful in some way if torn, least she not do so smoothly her first try.

Another nod, this one a bit more attentive than the rest -- a sort of final 'gotcha!' in response to all that had been said. Up on her paws swiftly, the little cat moved forward, pausing only a moment to look at where Eclipsefur had removed some moss; examining it a second or two. Alright, she could do this! Hopefully. Up onto her hind legs, she rested a paw lightly on a bare spot, and moved the other forepaw, claws unsheathing. Quick or slow? She decided on a medium pace; sinking her claws into the moss and trying not to snag any of them on the bark beneath, and slid her paw down, trying to shovel off some moss. Then, a pause, collecting what she had gotten off, and presenting it to Eclipsefur for inspection. Was it good? Had she damaged it? A look to her new mentor, quiet -- waiting praise or critism on how she had done.