BFF BONDING TIME~

Soulpaw padded through the forest of ThunderClan. The rain had eased to sprinkling but the wet undergrowth was still soaking her dappled pelt. She'd hunt but, being newly apprenticed she probably would fail. She felt alone, even though she liked be left alone, the presence of other cats made her feel a little better. She'd probablyl have more friends if she wasn't so shy. She hardly even talked to her own Clanmates for StarClan's sake! The closest she had to a friend right now was Twilightpaw, and he was mean. Though, she always seemed to get in his way, so she talked to him the most. She shuddered as she remembered how he looked in the nursery that night, like a vengeful warrior from the Dark Forest. She shook her head and muttered, "I'll put that behind me." Though she knew that she needed a real friend or she'd be lonely forever.

A silver-grey apprentice moved swiftly and silently through the trees, swerving gracefully to avoid them. She couldn't stand all those cats gathered around her, watching her receive her new name. She figured that they didn't even know who she was, as she kept to herself, ate by herself, and slept far away from the others.

When she was sure she was far away from the others, she slowed her pace, coming to a complete stop under the shadow of a tall oak. Good. She felt a lot less claustrophobic here. Here she could breathe easier.

Melodypaw never has to deal with this. Why can't I be more like her?

Soulpaw walked through some ferns, letting them brush against her already wet-pelt. She saw a cat sitting under the tall oak in front of her and she jumped. Though when she saw it was Joypaw, her fur laid flat. She always saw Joypaw hanging away from everyone else, just like Soulpaw. She meowed nervously, "Congratulatoins Joypaw." It felt weird saying that, maybe because she had been apprenticed, too.

Joypaw whipped around, startled, then relaxed as she saw Soulki- no, Soulpaw. She hadn't scented her coming; the wind was blowing behind her. "You too." The she-cat mewed quietly. Her hazel eyes flashed as she struggled to make herself more sociable. "So, we're finally apprentices, huh?" She finally mewed, pasting an awkward, crooked grin on her face. She'd literally forgotten how to smile. How wonderful.

Soulpaw nodded and replied, "Yeah, I guess so." Now that she thought about it, she didn't feel much different. Joypaw had a weird grin on her face, like she didn't know how to smile. Maybe she needed a friend, too. Soulpaw asked tentatially, "Mind if I sit with you?"

The silver she-cat nodded her head, relaxing her mouth so that her smile looked a bit more like a smile. "Go ahead." A moment of silence passed. "Do you want to go hunting with me?" Joypaw blurted out suddenly.

OOC: That was the longest sentence she's ever spoken. XD

Soulpaw blinked at her denmate. Go hunting? "Um," she replied, shuffling her paws, "Do we even know how to hunt?" They were just made apprentices and neither of their mentors were here to show them what to do. They could always just try, but that might scare away all the prey.

Joypaw shrugged. She hadn't really thought about it, but she'd watched warriors and older apprentices hunt before. It didn't look too hard. "Probably. What do the older warriors do?"

Soulpaw thought for a moment. She looked back at when she watched the other kits trying to learn hunting. "I think," she began and dropped into a somewhat-okay hunting crouch, "we have to begin like this."

Joypaw watched the other she-cat, then thought of the warriors. She crouched down, keeping her tail low and her paws slightly apart. "Er..." She closed her eyes and pictured one of the others. She blinked them open again. "I think that's good enough. Then they... er..." She cut off and crept forwards silently, but very slowly, until she reached the base of a tree. "And then we pounce?" She guessed.

Soulpaw copied Joypaw and crept along the forest floor. She nodded and replied, "Yeah, I would think so." She focused her eyes on a branch and started to practice stalking. It was slow but pretty quiet. About two tail-lengths away she pounced dead on the stick, breaking it in two. She looked over at Joypaw and asked, "Something like that, right?"

She nodded, impressed. Wow! And you haven't done it before?

After practicing a few more times, Joypaw glanced up at Soulpaw. "Should we try it now?" She mewed. staring out at the forest beyond. It looked so... big, and so ominous. Yet, she felt drawn to it, like it was welcoming her.

"Yeah I#guess," Souhpaw said as she looked around at the forest. How would they find the prey though? "But," she voiced, "where do we start looking?" She padded a few steps forward and continued, "How do we start looking?"

Joypaw shrugged and padded forwards into the shaded forest. She looked up at the canopy of trees. "Well..." she mewed cautiously. "When we're looking for a specific scent, how do we do that? Say, if we're looking for a cat instead of prey."

Soulpaw followed Joypaw and started sniffing the air. Everything smelled wet and muddy. She blinked and answered, "Well prey smells mouth watering, our Clanmates all have a similar scent even with differences, and maybe a stranger cat would have the basic scent of a cat but totally different in a way." She was totally guessing based on common sense, it sounded good though.

Joypaw nodded again. "So we're looking for an... enticing scent?" She remembered what each one smelled like from the fresh-kill pile, and tried tasting the air for the scents. A soft burst of wind brought the scent of a vole somewhere in front of them, towards the right. "Over there, I think." She mewed quietly and padded off quickly, motioning with her tail for Soulpaw to follow.

Soulpaw followed on quick but silent paws. She didn't want to scare away the first live prey they've seen. She kept sniffing the air and the scent was getting stronger. Though at one point it reached a peak and started to desend. She froze in her tracks and looked back to the scent peak. Did they pass it? She whispered, "Joypaw, I think it's behind us."

Joypaw frowned. She swore it was ahead of them. "Why don't we split up and see? And if we can't find anything for a while..." She looked around, an idea popping into her mind. She unsheathed her claws and raked them at the base of the tree beside her. "Then we'll meet back here." She finished. "Unless you have a better idea?" She added.

Soulpaw thought about what Joypaw had said. "Sounds good," she waved her tail and started padding back to the scent peak. Getting close to it she crouched down and looked around. There wasn't anything to be seen. She felt disappointed and her ears drooped. Wait, ears! She perked them and listened intently for any prey sounds. She heard some scratching noise to her left so she peered in the general direction. As she watched some grass rustle and a vole crept it's way out. She started lightly stalking it and before long she was in pouching range. She pounced for it, but the vole sensed her and darted to the right. She landed and sprinted after it. It was making a break for a very small burrow. She took her chance and leaped, paws outstreched. She aimed to block the hole, but instead her right paw landed on the vole's back. It instantly cracked and left the dead prey under her paw. She sat up and beamed at her first catch. She plucked it up and trotted back to the clawed tree. When she made it, Joypaw wasn't there, but Soulpaw decided to wait. She set her prey down before sitting down next to it.

OOC: Let's have them both find prey, it'll be more friendly that way.

Joypaw watched the other apprentice leave, then headed off in the opposite direction. She noticed and stored each landmark in her mind so she could find her way back even if she couldn't scent it. She sniffed the air... yes! There it was, the delicious aroma of mouse! Dropping into her hunter's crouch, she crept towards it, and located the rodent nibbling on a seed near a bush. Easy prey! She bunched her muscles and lunged for it, her hind paws making the tiniest rustling noise. It was enough. The mouse squeaked in horror and surprise, but it was cut off quickly before it could run. Gotcha! She thought triumphantly. Then, the scent of fresh-kill wafted across her scent glands. Trying to follow the scent with her fresh-kill dangling in her mouth, she smiled when she caught sight of Soulpaw sitting next to a vole. "Good catch!" She mewed, dropping her vole at her front paws and settling down next to the dappled apprentice.

Soulpaw nodded her head in thanks and complimented, "You too!" She lifted her muzzle to the canopy and sky. "I always wondered," she admitted, "what it would be like as an apprentice." She chuckled to herself and continued, "I may have just became one, but I know for sure it's better than staying cooped up in camp all day!"

Joypaw smiled a little. "That's true." She liked the forest and all its trees, shade, prey, and puddles. Out here was a lot freer than in the camp, but although she knew that there was more to the world than just the camp, being able to spend part of her life outside meant that there were more places for danger to strike.

"Do you want to eat right now, or carry them back to camp?" Joypaw asked.

Soulpaw blinked and looked down at Joypaw. "Don't get me wrong," she started, "but isn't there a rule about apprentices and eating?" She looked back and remembered about some apprentice getting in trouble about it or something. It would be a bad idea to get in trouble on the first day, right?

Joypaw shrugged. "But we're not on a hunting patrol... so shouldn't it be fine?" She looked down at her mouse, then back up. "Well... how 'bout we take them back to camp and see?" She finally mewed, picking up her catch in her jaws. "Race you back to the tree?" She said through a mouth full of fur.

Soulpaw grabbed her vole and jumped up to her paws. She joked, "Which one?" But before Joypaw could reply, the dappled she-cat shot off back towards camp. Her paws thudded on the ground, almost like they were in tune with her heartbeat. If only I was like this around everyone! The thought made her stop in her tracks. She would never be this open around anyone, ever! She looked back and wondered. Does this mean Joypaw's my friend?