the lamb and that brown stuff that grows on trees || alpine

cold tears for the years they've taken away

[attr="class","frstscr"]Barkstep woke in a good mood, more excited than he had been in a long time. In the midst of troubling times with RiverClan, it was refreshing to go through the motions of everyday clan life.  Though he kept it well hidden, showing no sign past his gleaming eyes, he was almost more anxious to get started than the new apprentice surely was. Lambpaw was his first apprentice since his own nephew, then Deerpaw, which was unusual for a senior warrior. Obviously, the announcement had come as no small surprise, but he was decidedly up to the challenge.

For some reason, he had felt an odd sense about the kits since they were born, and he'd kept a rather close eye on them. Maybe some part of him expected that his second apprentice was long past overdue, maybe he'd never know. Whatever it was, he haf paid attention to Lambpaw and Maplepaw when convenient, and hopefully that  knowledge would come in handy.


Minutes before dawn, earlier than usual for the older tom, Barkstep was wide awake. With a simultaneous, almighty yawn and stretch, loosening his old back injury, he pushed out into the open. Although he had few plans for today, he planned to do at least a little bit of hunting and he wouldn't mind something to fill his belly before he left. A young robin  in the pile would do, though he did not enjoy feathers in his teeth at all.

"Hey, Barkstep! A voice tipped him off moments before the small tom  pushed out of the apprentice den and met his eye. The warrior offered a friendly smile as Lambpa  hurried over. "Good morning, Lambpaw. Would you like to grab a piece of prey before we leave?"

alee || That brown stuff has a name. It's Gramps.

cold tears for the years they've taken away

[attr="class","frstscr"]Lambpaw looked like he was all but shaking out of his fur with excitement. Suddenly he let out a high-pitched squeak, reminiscent of the squeal he had made during the apprentice ceremony. Barkstep tried to keep a straight face, rather unsuccessfully, because the poor apprentice didn't even seem to notice. With a walk that looked remarkably like he had swalled a wasp nest, Lambpaw approached the fresh-kill pile and hooked a mouse with one paw. Barkstep has a small sparrow of his own which he stooped to take a bite out of. Naturally by the time he had swallowed, his apprentice was finished and licking his chops.

"Okay! Woken up -check. Had breakfast -check. Now what's the plan? Are we going to find the lions and tigers the elders told me about?" Lambpaw blurted with an edge of manic excitement to his voice. Slightly annoyed, Barkstep  merely took another bite out of his own breakfast and savored it slowly. "Lesson one, patience. You will not rush me."  He held his silence, savoring each bite until he was finished before speaking again.

"As for lions and tigers, you never know. The woods can be a dangerous place, you know. That's why we ll be taking a tour of it today, an unfamiliar place could be more dangerous than another clan's camp." He stood, shook out his long fur, and led the way out of camp. "Come on, kid. We've got a lot of ground to cover. Let's start this off properly. My name is Barkstep, and if anyone tells you to call ne Gramps, claw them for me.

cold tears for the years they've taken away

[attr="class","frstscr"]Lambpaw seemed so miserable over there, practically shaking out of his fur with excitement, that Barkstep began to regret making him wait. But he had committed now and he finished his slow meal without any sign of care. He enjoyed convincing young ones they could run into a lion around every corner, (Foxdung, I'm turning into an elder) because he knew some day they would have to grow up and forget childhood fairytales.

Shooting an unamused glance at Lambpaw's slip-up,  he  watched as Lambpaw zoomed past him to squeeze out into the open. Now with an unwilling smile, Barkstep stood by as his apprentice gaped at all the sights and smells. The warrior remembered his own wonder at his first time out with a twinge of nostalgia; that childlike wonder had barely lasted a week and he wished it could have been different.

The boy had a sister, they were rarely seen more than a taillength apart, but Barkstep hadn't been willing to share this day. As much as Lambpaw had to miss his sister, Maplepaw had her own mentor and Barkstep didn't need anyone criticizing his methods on his first day. Lambpaw could catch up tonight, and maybe Barkstep would arrange a shared training session eventually.

When Lambpaw had caught his breath, he turned to his mentor with a bright look. "So what now? Oh! Do we hunt?" Barkstep paused before answering. "I can give you some pointers on the way but I'm mainly just showing you the territory. And I'm perfectly capable of leading, thank you." He stepped smoothly past the young tom, wincing as his back twinged, and set a path through the wide-set trees of SkyClan  land.

Without noting, his paws took him to a familiar place. Hidden in the side of an old tree, where a hollow remained in the trunk, was a cluster of sweet-smelling plants. Barkstep already began to feel a tiny bit giddy as the wind blew the scent of catnip towards him. Barkstep grew catnip, kept it very well cared for and it came in handy many a time when  Greencough struck. But...let's just say that wasn't its only purpose.

"Don't touch the plants, I don't need grubby careless paws messing up my hard work. This is catnip, and its extremely important when sickness hits the camp."

alee ||  #gramps