~ explorations [bronzebreeze]

[~ .steelpaw.]

Steelpaw blinked his eyes open in excitement. Finally! His first full day of training was finally here. He couldn't wait to go explore StoneClan territory, finally see new things. He gave his pelt a few quick licks, not really doing much to improve his appearence, then peeked out of the den he was trapped in. Well, not trapped, but it had felt like it all night. The young tom had been wide awake almost all night, only falling asleep right before dawn. It had been too exciting, being made an apprentice. Too excited to stand much longer, he burst out of the den and into camp.

Steelpaw looked around camp, trying to find his mentor, Bronzebreeze. The warrior had to be around here somewhere. He was glad he'd gotten the fun-loving warrior instead of, say, Falconstar or some other serious cat that was like 'train, train, train' all the time. He'd heard cats talking about how his new mentor went exploring all the time and was honestly excited to have him.

The gray tom's belly rumbled and he realized with a start that he would need to eat before they went training or else he'd be dead from hunger by sunhigh. Well, not dead, persay, but he'd be really hungry. He padded over quickly, grabbing the piece of prey that was on top of the pile, a mouse. He quickly ate, paws itching to be out of camp.

Once finished with his meal, Steelpaw stood and looked around for his mentor. He finally spotted him on the other side of camp. "Bronzebreeze!" he called as he scampered over. "Can we go training now? Please! I want to go see all of the territory and catch a bird and mark the borders and see PineClan and RoseClan territory and climb the twoleg stuff and..." The young cat was almost running in place he was so excited to train. His fluffy fur, still mixed with bits of kit fur, was sticking up all over the place, adding to the effect.

notes; hope it's okay i went ahead and posted this, wanted to get him out there

[BRONZEBREEZE✖]

"Woah, little tom cat!" Bronzebreeze couldn't help but grin as Steelpaw careened toward him with all the energy of a mouse after its escaped an owl. At first he didn't know what to think when it came to having an apprentice. He worried the apprentice would slow him down.The Leader should have just cut off his legs if he wanted to torture him that much. Fortunately this didn't seem to be the case with Steelpaw.

Bronzebreeze wasn't exactly around camp enough for the local gossip. He would much rather be out there being the cause for gossip rather than listening to the he said, she said around camp. Thankfully it seemed he had little to actually be worried about. The scamp of a tom was quite the escape artist. Always managing to find a hole in the defenses to sneak out and explore the local rubble piles or climb on the hollow monsters on the greenway. Steelpaw was, at the core, an adventurer just like Bronzebreeze. Falconstar was a wise leader to pair them together.

Still, Bronzebreeze barely knew how to properly train a young thing like Steelpaw. He tried to remember his lessons but realized he barely listened to them. He mostly mimicked what cats did around him. He pantomimed the actions of a Warrior when he wasn't out trying to discover the next big thing. Sure he could teach Steelpaw better than that. At least there would be no cat better to show Steelpaw the territory than himself. By the time Steelpaw became warrior, he would be one of the finest trackers. Second only to Bronzebreeze himself, of course.

"I'm going to take you along the greenways today. We'll catch a glimpse of the other territory and the lands beyond, but I'll save the territory lines for another day," He offered, gesturing toward the arch of brambles and wire that created the only true entrance and exit in and out of camp. Obviously Steelpaw knew of a few other ways but Bronzebreeze figured he'd make it official by stepping out the proper way. He also made a mental note of commending Steelpaw for his sneaky ways. While a kit should never leave camp, holes in the defenses large enough for kits to sneak through meant snakes, rats and other nasties could sneak in too. Steelpaw was practically a hero in his own right. Other cats might not see that and tell the tom off, but Bronzebreeze was a matter entirely different.

Outside of camp, the lanky brown tabby surveyed the area. Going left would take them toward the Pine Forests and PineClan while going right, the buildings got smaller and would open out to the clearing that separated StoneClan from RoseClan. Which way did he want to take his apprentice. Both were interesting ways, to be certain. He took his time in deciding, tail flicking in decisively as his brow furrowed with thought. Bronzebreeze really wanted to impress, not just Falconstar or Ironcall but his apprentice. Yet he was finding himself stumped on the simpleslest choice.

"What do you think, Steelpaw? Which direction is your gut pulling you in?" Bronzebreeze chimed in, giving up on making the choice himself. Why not let Steelpaw direct them today. He would see how well the apprentice already knew the area and how directionally adept or challenged he was. With his justifications in place, he looked down at the silver fluffball with a grin. "Well?"

[~ .steelpaw.]

After the apprentice had skidded to a stop, his fur fluffed up even more than it already was. "Hey! I'm not little! I might be young, but I'm not little!" his eyes were blazing with indignation Steelpaw was far from little. He was the biggest in his litter and larger than some of the older apprentices already, at six moons old. He would have continued with his rant, however he saw the grin on the warrior's face. "I'm not little," he muttered one final time. His fur was slowly laying back down to its usual fluff and the light in his eyes dimmed slightly. 

Steelpaw knew very little about Bronzebreeze, since he was rarely in camp. He had however heard that he knew the territory better than any cat and was the best tracker in the clan because of it. He hadn't really known what Bronzebreeze would act like, though. So far, thankfully, he seemed easy going and cool. In other words, a cat that Steelpaw would get along with. He didn't know what he would have done if he had gotten some stiff lipped, old, grouchy cat that hardly did anything. 

His eyes lit up once again, but with joy this time. "The greenway? Awesome!" He saw his mentor looking over at the main entrance and he was slightly confused. "Why are we going out that way?" His tail flicked towards one of his favorite way out. The tunnel twisted and turned out of camp and came out on the opposite side of camp than the main one. "It's more fun to go that way,"

His tail twitched excitedly as they padded, rather reluctantly, out of camp and into the territory. Steelpaw followed his mentor, the whole time on sensory overload. He had been this far as a kit, but he had been forced to put up with his sisters and worried that they would be discovered back then. He was so lost in his thoughts and looking at everything, he didn't notice Bronzebreeze stop and almost rammed into him. "Woah!" he exclaimed as he stopped suddenly. "You could have warned me."

His mentor stayed still for a few moments, clearly thinking about something. When he asked Steelpaw which way they should take, left or right, Steelpaw stood still for what was likely the first time so far. "Umm, let's go to the right. PineClan territory is that way, isn't it?" He was just remembering what he had heard from around camp and what little he had seen on his trips out of camp. "Will we see the Hollow Monsters? I heard they're fun to play on." The young tom was just as bubbly as ever, always having something to say.

[Tinpaw]

OOC: Sloth gave me permission to post here… hope you don’t mind Tinpaw sneaking in, Quartz

Tinpaw was disgruntled. She had been moping around the camp since she had become an apprentice, but no one seemed to notice or care about her plight. Her siblings were all excited to have received their apprentice names and mentors, but not Tinpaw. The young she-cat had anxiously anticipated becoming an apprentice practically since she was born, only to find out that there weren’t enough eligible mentors to go around. Why did Falconstar have to pick me to be mentor-less? She thought dejectedly as she emerged from the apprentice’s den. It should have been Marblepaw to go without a mentor, not her. How was she supposed to become the best warrior in the clan if she had no one to teach her?

Stubbornly, she thought she might as well show herself around the territory when she spotted her brother exiting the camp with his mentor, Bronzebreeze. An idea struck her… maybe she didn’t have to teach herself everything, after all. She had no doubt she would be able to fight and hunt well enough without any training, but she figured some tips from a real warrior would be advantageous. With this in mind, she crept out of the camp after Steelpaw and his mentor. Her grand plan was to follow behind the pair and spy on Bronzebreeze’s teachings. After all, there was no sense in waiting for a warrior to mentor her when there were already free lessons being given out under her nose.

Tinpaw had always liked the idea of being an apprentice because it meant that she wouldn’t have to sneak out in order to explore outside of camp, but it seemed that her sneaking days were far from over. She smiled at the thought of spying on her brother, which she was sure she was perfectly capable of doing without being caught. Unfortunately, the beginning of the lesson was rather boring. She had half-expected the adult male to share some super-secret warrior stuff to Steelpaw, but all he did was ask the apprentice what direction he wanted to go. Tinpaw hid behind a tree, listening to the two as they discussed the StoneClan territory. Unbeknownst to her, the wind had changed directions and was blowing her scent straight toward her brother and Bronzebreeze as she hid from them.

[BRONZEBREEZE✖]

Pulling Steelpaw's tail seemed to be easier than even he had expected. Simply calling him small put him in a tizzy. That fact alone had him fighting a grin. It would be fun to play with the young tom's head. Besides a little humility wouldn't hurt the kit. Not that Bronzebreeze had much himself.

It wasn't long after he stopped short and caused Steelpaw to ram into him that he noticed they were being followed. Aside from being a great tracker, an explorer had to be diligent about their surroundings. Unskilled paw steps and shotty hiding behind saplings not much larger than a fat rat snake couldn't protect them from Bronzebreeze's senses. He fought more than a grin this time but also the desire to call out the young, mentorless apprentice. Perhaps Steelpaw would pick up their sibling.

"An enemy isn't going to give you forewarning, Steelpaw. You have to notice what is happening around you. If you don't, my backside could have easily been a hungry snake, eager to gobble you up." The thought of his hindquarters being a snake had his own mind going far places, however. Never beyond being a little bit of a hypocrite he missed Steelpaw's first question.

"Yes of course we'll see the Hollow Monsters! And if we're lucky, we'll see many other things too." Bronzebreeze looked back toward Steelpaw and allowed his flood barrier to break and the tsunami of a grin to pass through. Yet no sooner than he spoke those words did the wind change direction carrying the scent of Tinpaw on the air, proving Bronzebreeze's suspicions that they were being followed. His smile vanished and the cat straightened himself sniffing the air. He gave the look of a cat who was treading on dangerous territory and wanted to be perceived at this. Though this was secretly play, Bronzebreeze wanted Steelpaw to take play just as seriously now as he did work because either way, the tom would be learning.

"I think we have a spy near by.... what do you think?" He murmured to Steelpaw under his breath, keeping his words hushed enough so that Tinpaw couldn't hear them, even if she strained as hard as she could.

[~ .steelpaw.]

They gray apprentice pouted slightly as he saw Bronzebreeze fighting back a grin; at least he'd thought he'd seen his mentor trying not to grin. "And you don't have to laugh at me," he added under his breath. His tail flicked back and forth, something that his siblings knew that he did when he was embarssed or irritated. It had happened often when he was caught leading Snowpaw and Tinpaw out of camp as older kits, much to his disappointment.

When Bronzebreeze chastised him, Steelpaw's ears flattened slightly. He really, really didn't want to disappoint or let down his mentor. He just wanted to be the best warrior he could, yet have fun at the same time. However, when his mentor talked about his backside turning into a snake, Steelpaw had to laugh. "A snake? 'Cause that's so going to happen." The image that had popped into the youngster's brain was amusing to him, one of Bronzebreeze's front end attacted to a snake's. And, even funnier was the fact that he was only guessing what a snake looked like from what he'd heard around camp.

"What about PineClan? The way we're going is towards them, right?" Steelpaw asked again, not sure if Bronzebreeze had not heard him ask the first time or just didn't want to answer. When his mentor grinned, Steelpaw smiled. As he did so, the wind changed directions, hardly strong enough for Steelpaw to feel on his fur. The scent of Tinpaw came with the breeze, Steelpaw's whiskers twitching. He noticed the older cat acting more tense, more alert and knew that he wasn't the only one who had scented Tinpaw. He followed his mentor's example, wanting to make up for the mistake he had made earlier.

His ears could hardly catch Bronzebreeze's hushed words, but he was just able to make them out. "Tinpaw, my sister," he whispered back, copying the warrior. He grew even more excited. This was fun!

[Tinpaw]

Tinpaw got a sort of rush off of sneaking around, especially since it was Steelpaw who she was spying on. Usually her only brother was the one who led her and Snowpaw on adventures, but now she was the one causing mischief against him. It was oddly satisfying for the young cat. Playing with her brother and sister was fun and all, but it felt even more thrilling to be doing secret spy missions on her own.

Tinpaw listened carefully as Bronzebreeze scolded Steelpaw for not paying attention. She thought it was a little unfair, since the warrior had stopped too suddenly for her brother to react. Still though, she supposed Steelpaw should have been more careful. She certainly wouldn’t have run into Bronzebreeze, if she had been in Steelpaw’s position. Again Tinpaw reflected on the unfairness of it all; of all her siblings, why was she the one who had to go without a mentor? Clearly she was better than all three of them. Maybe Falconstar had figured that she was so good already that she could stand to go without a mentor for a couple weeks. It was like a handicap for her brother and sisters. Tinpaw felt stupid for not thinking of this before, and felt much better about her situation now that she had.

Distracted by her own thoughts, Tinpaw hardly noticed what Bronzebreeze and Steelpaw were discussing until they leaned in close to each other to have a whispered conversation. She strained her ears, but couldn’t make out what either of them was saying. Whatever it was, Steelpaw was practically quivering with excitement. Maybe they spotted me… But no, she thought she had good cover behind her tree and didn’t think even Bronzebreeze would be able to find her. Just to be safe though, she resolved not to move to a new hiding spot until the mentor and apprentice pair was out of sight.