Falling snowflakes (p)

[Dapplecloud]

(For Spruceclaw )

The snow was beginning to pile up, and the snow still kept falling, whether by snowfall or by the wind shaking the fallen snow from the barren trees. As I bent down to drop the scrawny prey from a hunt onto the fresh-kill pile, I a lump of snow hit me between the shoulder blades. Great CloudClan, I hoped newleaf came soon. Walking away, shaking the snow from my fur, I caught a familiar scent of a Clanmate. Turning toward the approaching cat, I recognized a friend. "Oh, hello."

[Spruceclaw]

"Oh , hi dapplecloud. long time no see." spruceclaw meweed happy to see his old mentor. "Its great to see you again." He mewed as he dipped his head in greeting. he had been padding through camp and the last thing he expected was to see an old friend.

[Dapplecloud]

"It's good to see you too, Spruceclaw." I said, inwardly embarrassed, because I had almost called him by his apprentice name. "So, how have you been?" I asked, sitting down and covering my paws with my plumy tail. The cold was beginning to make the old scars on my foreleg sting, but any warrior who had scars would be experiencing the same thing.

[might not be on tomorrow, I've been procrastinating way too much on my AP homework]

[Spruceclaw]

"Its great to see you too." he mewed dipping his head. he had missed his mentor's company. "I've been great. I've been on top of the world lately." he mewed a giddy grin on his face. he knew his old mentor had seen this grin before. The last time this grin had appeared on his face was the morning of his assesment. he looked at his paws for a moment thinking of how foolish he must look. "The last time i saw you was at my warrior ceremony when i got my apprentice." he mewed " how have you been recently?" he asked curiosly looking at his mentor.

[Dapplecloud]

I purred at the apprentice-like grin he gave when he said he was feeling great. It was good to see that expression. "I've been fairly well. Prey's scarce, but then again, every Clan is getting rather thin." I said, shrugging. "I don't have any apprentices to train like you do, so it's fairly normal life for me." I added.

[Spruceclaw]

"Yeah that reminds me. thank you." He mewed sincerely looking at her. "If you hadn't have taught me what you did i wouldn't be able to train my apprentice. i find my quoting your exact words more and more." he mewed dipping his head gratefully. "Dapple? I have a question?" He mewed looking at his mentor. "Did life become boring for you once you became a warrior. i mean when i was an apprentice i was busy with task and i had a drive to become a warrior. now i find myself running out of things to do. i still have my apprentice and mate who are keeping me busy. i just wondered if it was the same for you." he said looking at her expectantly. Ever since he had become her apprentice he had cherished her advice. he felt he tell her everything and shed have an answer to his problems.

[Dapplecloud]

I nodded, pleased to hear he was training his apprentice with my tactics. However, at his question, I pondered for several seconds, letting my tail flick back behind me. Was life boring as a warrior? Getting your warrior name was the most exciting moment of your life, but once you were a warrior, it could get monotonous. But there were still new warriors to train, and new kits in the Clan. There were still battles and blessings from CloudClan. "Well, that's certainly a difficult question. Yes, life can get rather repetitive once you're a warrior, but there's always something new out there such as new kits or apprentices. The duties of a warrior are mainly consisted of hunting and fighting, but there are many other things that can make life as a warrior much more interesting."

[Spruceclaw]

"Ok, i guess i need to give it a little longer. wait? You mentioned battles. Have you ever fought in any battles?" he asked looking at his mentor. He didn't see his mentor as a cat who had seen much battle. He still trusted her advice and didn't think she was a wimp or anything. just when he saw her he didn't see a battle scarred cat who see their fallen comrades in their dreams. he was suddenly shocked. his generation had never seen battle what would they do if they had to fight. what would he do if it came to killing a cat for the clan? He was horrified.

[Dapplecloud]

I nodded. I remembered the most recent ones bitterly, with the death of a fellow Clanmate and the kidnapping of kits... "Yes, we've battled with FireClan and DeathClan several times. Of course, things are pretty quiet now, since it's leaf-bare." The other Clans wouldn't exactly have the strength to take each other on in the heart of leaf-bare, when many cats got sick and prey was scarce. "A Clanmate, Doestrike, and I also got in a tangle with some rogues called the Ravens." I decided not to mention that they had killed Bluepaw, an apprentice, but I still couldn't keep a slight wavering note out of my voice. "But when we fight other Clans, we almost never kill."

[Spruceclaw]

"Oh..." he mewed noting the wavering tone in his mentors voice. "Dapple? Have you ever had a mate or a crush or anything like that?" he mewed his mind flickering to his pregnant mate and the complication with him having kits in another clan. He looked at his former mentor and then looked at his paws . he realized it must be a foolish question.

[Dapplecloud]

Shaking the thoughts of the battles out of my head, I pricked my ears up at his next question. "Have you ever had a mate or a crush or anything like that?" I shook my head in response. "No. I've never had a crush, but it's good to see the other warriors finding love." I said. To tell the truth, I had never truly felt a sense of love toward any cat in the Clan. I saw my Clanmates primarily as friends, if not family.

[Spruceclaw]

"Oh okay... hey would you like to go for a. hunt?" he asked. "Itll be just like old times." he mewed playfully like a kit.

[Dapplecloud]

I nodded. "Sure, why not?" It would be just like old times, when he was an apprentice. I still had the energy left for one last hunt, anyway.

[lazy post]

[Spruceclaw]

"Thanks dapple." he mewed leading the way from camp. he padded next to his old mentor as he scented the area. He picked up the stale scent of a vole. "Hey you know what we haven't done in a while? Hunt bird." he mewed remembering their training sessions whenn he had acted as a distraction and she had caught the bird. that was the one creature he had hunted in a group.

[Dapplecloud]

I too, reminisced of how I had taught him to group hunt by using a bird as an example. At this time of year, they would be easier to find than the small mammals. I raised my head and sniffed at the bitterly cold air. Miraculously, I caught the scent of a blackbird. Making a movement with my tail for him to follow me, I tracked the scent to a densly clustered area of branches and trees, without their leaves. However, while the scent was sharp, it wasn't anywhere on the ground. Raising my eyes, I saw it on the branch of a stunted tree in front of me. I cursed under my breath: I hated climbing trees, but it would be the only way to hunt it.