rising winter

Rising Water[attr=class,punkihover1]

stormwing / RC / 463 word count

With a fresh coat of snow, the forests of Riverclan were blanketed in soft white splendor. It was the perfect time to train her young apprentice, and Thistletail had just the right lesson planned. So she'd instructed him to meet her beneath a clearing of bare oak trees, where the snow gathered in little wind-whisked hills.

Truth be told, the kid was loads of fun to hang around with. He made himself such an easy target for teasing and carrying on, and Stormpaw was the perfect sport at it too. The pair were well matched, and the excited she-cat would have greeted him earlier if it hadn't been for a certain tom trying to nose his way into her good graces at the freshkill pile. Bah, the bother of a tom to cut in and delay what was to be a fun day of training! She made as short a trek as she could through the thick snow, but her tardiness didn't go unnoticed... Not that she expected it to in the least.

Ever ready, Stormpaw cut quick to the dramatics as soon as the pale she-cat approached. His antics brightened her smile instantly, and she was tempted to apologize if not for all the unnecessary theatrics. Thistletail rolled her eyes and stifled a laugh. "Oh, you poor thing," she playfully worried as her paws carried her up beside him to assess his 'frozen' state. The mentor nudged his cheek affectionately with her own before pulling back to exclaim, feigning surprise, "You are cold! Her grin turned mischievous in a flash, "Good thing I know just how to warm you back up..."

Thistletail straightened her shoulders to recover some sense of adult responsibility for her young charge. "Warriors have to know how to keep warm in all sorts of weather, of course. They also need to know how to predict the slightest change in their environment- And keep light on their feet even in the deepest mud or snow." Without further explanation, she set off towards one of the larger oak trees, expecting Stormpaw to follow. 

The old oak towered high above the pair. It's branches held at varying heights, the tree was laden with snow. So much had accumulated that even the snow beneath it lay thick and cumbersome to walk through. Perfect, she thought.

"Now, you must stay inside the shadow of this tree here- No exceptions! ...I'm going to climb this thing." She crouched at the base of the tree trunk and wiggled her butt, ready for the climb. Of course, Thistletail fully expected a barrage of questions- None of which she intended to answer. With a devious grin, she knew he would figure it out soon enough.

[attr="class","itsover"]Training was one of the few times he would actually be able to spend time with Thistletail. Any other time, she was busy completing regular duties and being followed by that StarClan forsaken tom. Stormpaw wasn't sure why it bothered him so much, but he just got a weird vibe from that tom; he didn't even know his name, though he never attempted to even learn it. Although he had his own opinions about the whole thing, he kept his mouth closed; he liked his mentor and it felt like it was an unspoken rule that he not bring it up. More so in fear of making her either uncomfortable or irritated; her business was her business, after all.[break][break]

But that was neither here nor there. She was ready to train and that was all that mattered! When Thistletail had told him to meet her at one of the old oak trees, he had no idea what to expect. When he had first become an apprentice, he heard horror stories where mentors would have their apprentices swim in the freezing waters in preparation for, what they called The Worst Possible Situation. Nobody knew what that actually meant, no warriors would ever explain what the worst situation could be, just that it would happen and that everyone needed to prepare for it.[break][break]

Maybe Thistletail would tell him what that meant.[break][break]

When she pressed her cheek against his, he snapped out of his thoughts and leaned into her touch, a purr rumbling in his chest. He was just about to suggest that maybe they go for a walk or maybe - and here came a crazy thought - they give up on training for the day. Though as she continued, his hope popped.[break][break]

Stormpaw mirrored her serious expression, unsure as to why they couldn't joke around any more. Were they being watched by Falconfeather? He knew that sometimes the higher ups liked to check on the apprentices and the warriors. If the deputy was in fact watching them, then he wanted to be the best apprentice there possibly could. He had to focus on her every word.[break][break]

But as he made that promise, he realized that he hadn't been listening to her at all. He hurried to catch up with her, stumbling in the snow awkwardly as it crunched under his weight. What he understood, just as she started climbing up the tree was that she wanted him to hang out underneath the tree.[break][break]

"Wait, that's it?" He called up to her retreating figure; though she apparently did not intend to answer any of his questions. "Wait, Thistletail-!" He lost sight of her in the trees. All he could hear was the soft coo of the winter air, brushing against the snow.[break][break]

"Alright then...I guess I'll be the best apprentice ever and trust you and just sit here. In the snow. Not knowing what's going on." His voice cracked as he settled down, his ears swiveling at every sound.[break][break]

It was weird to just sit out here knowing that Thistletail was...somewhere. It was almost like she had turned into one of those skulking ShadowClan warriors; he wondered if she learned it from someone, before he stopped that thought with a snicker, his whiskers twitching. His mentor? Learning skills from someone outside of RiverClan? The amount of times she scolded him on sitting by the ThunderClan border, his ears pricked for any sign of a new friend, made his head roll.[break][break]

Maybe she was just that talent.

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