[p]ut some ice on it

[Foxtwist]

ooc; Icepaw here's your first training thread

As dawn brightened into early morning, Foxtwist woke and headed out of her den. She was in a very good mood, due to the up in her duties for her beloved little Clan. She had recently become a temporary queen, but that in no way lessened her warrior duties. She was completely okay with that.

Her newest apprentice, Icepaw, was due for his first lesson. During their first meeting, the young tom was very nervous and quiet. The ginger she-cat hoped to see a different side of him today. She sat by the prey pile, grabbing a mouse to share with the new apprentice.

"Icepaw! Time to go out!" she called brightly.

[Icepaw]

Icepaw almost shrieked when he woke up in an unfamiliar den. OH DEAR CLOUDCLAN I'VE BEEN KIDNAPPED! he wanted to wail. He knew this would happen one day! He was sure some horrible clan, probably FireClan, or worse, DeathClan, had stolen all of the RockClan apprentices during the middle of the night and was now holding them hostage. It's not like it would've been hard, there were hardly any apprentices in the first place! The pale tom whimpered, trying to burry himself under the moss of the den when a vaguely familiar voice came from nearby. He blinked. Foxtwist? Has RockClan sent a rescue patrol already? he blinked more rapidly and then realized what was really going on. He blushed a firey red under his pelt, knowing now that he was just in RockClan's apprentice den. Icepaw smooth out his pelt and walked outside the den on shaky legs, hoping his mentor hadn't caught any of his freak out. They happened quite often, but Icepaw preferred that cats didn't see that side of him as a first impression. 

"G-G-Good morning," he mewed bashfully, trying his best not to stutter but finding himself unable to. He hadn't been to self conscious about his stutter when he was very young, but now that he was older it had begun to get on his nerves. Icepaw's eyes widened when he fully realized what Foxtwist had said. "O-Out? As i-i-in out of c-c-camp?" he didn't know how well he liked that plan. He had only worked up the courage to leave the nursery a few days before his apprentice ceremony, and now he had to leave camp? 

[Foxtwist]

Foxtwist lifted a kitty eyebrow, and narrowed her eyes, along with a head tilt. Icepaw was nervous, again. She shook her head, realizing the look she was giving him. Was she really that intimidating?

"Unless you plan to become a full time queen that stays in the nursery all day, you'll have to go out sometime. Today's the day!" she mewed, trying to sound as positive as possible. Foxtwist tried to be very considerate, but it was only a matter of time before this scaredy-cat attitude got old. With a laugh, she tossed the mouse in his direction.

"Eat up, you have a big day."

[Icepaw]

"O-O-Oh," he looked down at his paws, then over at Foxtwist with a more hopeful expression, "o-o-okay!" he was still very scared though. There were so many dangers in camp, never mind outside of it! They could run into a rouge, or a loner, or a fox, or a badger, or a mountain lion, or a snake, or a even more poisonous snake, or an enemy patrol planning to take over RockClan, or a two-leg, or a dog, or a band of angry rats, or they could get carried away by one of the many kinds of a birds that flew above RockClan's territory. Eagles, Falcons, Hawks, Ravens, Kestrels, Buzzards, Kites, Owls, Condors, Vultures.... He was sure that even a large robin would be able to carry him away, he wasn't all that big.

He smiled a shaky thanks to Foxtwist as she tossed him the prey. He had a bad habit of forgetting to eat meals, and most likely wouldn't have remember if she hadn't given him the mouse. He ate it quickly, not realizing how hungry he was until he took his first bite.

[Foxtwist]

Of all the apprentices I could've received, and I got the shaky scaredy-cat, Foxtwist thought, not voicing these thoughts aloud. She observed the tom's shaking, and sighed softly. She would work on building his confidence, and she knew that calling him a wuss would only make him ever more nervous. Her kits were braver than this apprentice, and that was confusing to her.

"Eat fast, we have lots to do today. We're going on a tour of the territory," she said, as brightly as she could manage.

[Icepaw]

Icepaw nodded, gulping down the last of his prey merely moments after his mentor had finished speaking. He washed a snowy-white paw over his mouth, closing his eyes so he didn't have to see the blood. He knew he'd have to get used it, but he was already unnerved and knew that the sight of blood would only make him even more jumpy than he already was. "I-I-I'm r-ready to g-go when you are," the tabby pointed mewed softly, shuffling his paws. The fur along his spine was pricked. He didn't think he was ready to head out into the territory, but he also didn't think he had much of a choice. Despite his many fears, Icepaw did want to be a warrior. He knew he'd never be very useful in battle, but he wanted to find some way he could be helpful to his clan. They might just kick me out otherwise...

[Foxtwist]

// sorry for the late reply, I've been on vacation without much time for internet. /

"Good," she said sharply, standing up. Foxtwist wanted to help Icepaw, so it was good that he was cooperating. She flicked her tail in the direction of the camp entrance, and headed out. She decided that she would start small, and work up to the more exciting parts of the RockClan territory. That way, hopefully, Icepaw would enjoy the day and not feel terrified. Foxtwist thought that the grazing fields would be a good place to start.

"First, we're going to go by the grazing fields. It's a pretty calm place," she said, adding the second part for reassurance. She picked up the pace, trotting in that direction.

[Icepaw]

Icepaw offered a small half-smile, trying to hide his fear. He knew that it was a fruitless attempt, the young tom always looked scared. He was skinny, with large, pale eyes that bulged out of his head even when he was calm. The tried to keep the fur along his spine flat as he exited the camp entrance, sticking close to Foxtwist's side. It's not too bad out here... he thought, flicking his gaze around, every once in awhile looking towards the sky to make sure that there were no birds circling over head. He knew that his pale pelt didn't blend in with RockClan's mountain terrain, and that any predator would be able to spot him from miles. Grazing fields... that sounds nice... fields were generally pretty safe. There were birds to worry about there too, and less rocks to take cover in one tried to attack. Foxes as well, fields were a good place for foxes to roam. Don't cows graze in fields, Icepaw wondered if there would be cows. He hoped to CloudClan that there wouldn't be, large black-and-white spotted beats with strange howls sounded terrifying. The tabby pointed tom took a few deep breaths, trying to clear his mind, push away his fear, and focus on learning the territory.

[Foxtwist]

As the pair grew closer to the grazing fields, Foxtwist heard the funny calls of the sheep that lived there. She laughed softly, she always thought they sounded so silly. Foxtwist remembered the vacant two-leg barn that was close to the field, and all the times she and her friends had sneaked off into the barn. For some reason, she had the feeling that Icepaw wouldn't be up for any adventures in the barn.

They approached the field, and Foxtwist glanced at Icepaw. He looked scared, but then again, he always did. She was worried that the fluffy sheep would scare him.

"Those are sheep. Don't worry, they're pretty peaceful. And besides, they're plant eaters," the ginger said reassuringly.

[Icepaw]

Icepaw fluffed up when he heard a strange noise. Falcon! he thought worriedly, looking up but spotting nothing. He pressed closer to Foxtwist, looking around for the source of the noise. He looked at the warrior when she explained the noises came from sheep. Sheep... sheep? the young tom he was sure he had heard of sheep before. He tried to learn about everything, that way he would know whether or not it could pose any threat. Icepaw tried to think of what he had learned about sheep. "A-Are those t-t-the o-ones that l-look l-l-like clouds?" he asked. He had relaxed a bit, being less scared, but his stuttered stayed; he had never been able to talk without it.