Willow||Ash [Into the Woods]

[Whiskers]

Her first trip outside Pineclan camp. Her first steps on the cool earth of her territory. Willowpaw wiggled her toes into the dirt and she squealed happily, for once not minding that she was getting her perfect, smooth gray paws messy. This was her first first, so Willowpaw was not caught up in how she looked. No, it was all about how she felt, and she felt excited and completely in love.

In love with Pineclan. With this world! She skipped ahead of Ashstorm a few fox-lengths, laughing happily as she bounded in circles round trees and peaked under a bush. What a big world it was, and look how beautiful it was! To think that that very same morning Willowpaw had not known of these trees, or these scents. She felt so lucky now and so superior to any other kit in the world-- to any other cat in the world! Because Pineclan took her breath away, and there was no way any other of the clans had such a gorgeous place.

"Everything is so big!" squeaked Willowpaw, her head arched back, her large green eyes searching for the blue sky, though she only caught the bits of it through the trees. "In comparison, I'm an ant! Or a bee! I wonder how the ants feel, if I feel like this!" She breathed and then sat down with a plop.

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[Cloud of Diamonds]

Ashstorm was rather enjoying her little trip. Or long trip.Whatever, it was nice. Willowpaw seemed happy, too. She reminded her of herself when she'd been young.

"They probably feel minuscule, compared to us. We're huge monsters to them!"

She couldn't help purring. And they were small, too. Still, one of their pawsteps must be like several tail-lengths for an ant. The warrior watched her apprentice frolic like a playful fawn. She smiled. Still, they had to get going and the little cat should save her energy.

"Alright, Willowpaw. You should save that impressive energy of yours for learning to hunt."

The tabby set off briskly, but not too briskly, keeping the smaller she-cat's strides in mind. She sniffed the air. There wasn't quite enough cover to practice here, but in a little while there would be, and then she could start to show her green-eyed companion the basics: the different ways of stalking prey, how to jump, when to pounce, etc. She should learn them quickly and with a little luck and practice, she'd be an excellent hunter one day.

Better than any other apprentice. Willowpaw would make her proud. She wondered, off-task, what the gray cat's name would be. Willowfoot? Willowfur? Willowtail, maybe.

Right now, she should be called Willowfun. Ashstorm chuckled at her own little joke as she padded along.

[Whiskers]

Willowpaw nodded at Ashstorm's suggestion. The last thing she wanted was to run out of energy before she even picked up a scent. So she stopped running around and she trotted back to Ashstorm's side, though her head kept turning, her eyes kept glowing. She would probably be this excited all day, at least, until she got used to the world around her.

She arrived at Ashstorm's side and sat down, her back straight and her ears perked. She wanted to prove that she could be attentive, determined and calm. She could be the ideal pupil, and she wanted to be. She may not know Ashstorm that well, but she could see bits of the cat she wanted to become in the warrior. And if she was ever going to reach her full potential-- no, skyrocket past that potential-- then she needed to really concentrate right?

"Okay," she said. "I'm ready, I'm ready. So what do I do first? Do I practice my stalk? I've already been doing that, in the nursery and my pa says it looks pretty good. Oh wait, I should probably find a piece of prey first, right? Unless you don't want me actually hunt anything today...though I really, really want to."

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[Cloud of Diamonds]

Her apprentice was so amusing. Ashstorm was liking her already. Eager, charming, and willing. Good. She'd go far under the right tutelage. Which of course the PineClanner would give.

"Well, the stalk is part of it, yes. But you also need to learn tracking, the different kinds of stalks used for different kinds of prey, where each kind of prey is likely to be found, how to best pounce on them. Having a certain measure of skill in climbing is essential, as well as being able to move through bushes and brambles and watching out for obstacles. Swimming is a plus if you can stand water enough. I'll certainly let you try to hunt today, but as I said, don't be surprised if you don't catch anything."

She felt a bit bad, dumping all the aspects of the skill on the apprentice at once and somewhat snuffing her dreams. But if she were a true apprentice, Willowpaw would not be daunted and would work at the challenges with gusto. Hmmm...so what to teach her first? Tracking would probably be a good idea. Have to find the prey before you can do anything with it.

"I'll teach you the basics of tracking right now. Start by seeing if you can find any traces of prey. This is tricky, but if you look carefully you might find a few."

[Whiskers]

Willowpaw listened well. She did not twitch, she hardly even remembered to blink. She needed these lessons, and she acknowledged that. She knew she had no idea what to do, so she wasn't going to prance around and waste time. Every great warrior started off in her position. Even Gingerstar. The thought of the leader filled Willowpaw with several conflicting emotions. She wanted to hiss and spit, she wanted to cry, but she also felt herself fill with admiration. Yes, the leader of Pineclan was rude and terrible and...and...well, terrible summed it up, but she was leader. She was powerful and she froze toms with her sharp gaze.

One day, Willowpaw would be able to do the same. And no matter how many things Ashstorm listed, she would not be fazed. Who cares if she needed to learn how to stalk and track? Who cares that each stalk was different for each animal? Who cared? She would learn them all and she would learn them quickly.

She would be a natural.

"Okay Ashstorm!" Willowpaw said and she did not move from her position. She lifted her muzzle and breathed in the air around her. Automatically, she was hit by several smells-- punched in the gut, was more like it! She blinked, surprised. How was she ever going to pick out prey from pine tree?!

Don't give up. Just keep...sniffing, Willowpaw thought to herself. A tinge of squirrel reached her and her eyes sparkled. She smelled it! But where was it? Left, right, straight, back? Which tree? Maybe on the ground?

"I smell squirrel..." she informed her mentor as her eyes drifted across the forest, looking for the rest of her answer. "I...think it's toward my left. I don't know where though. There's so much to smell!"

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[Cloud of Diamonds]

Willowpaw had passed the first test. In a manner of speaking. She had shown enthusiasm and willingness to perform. The gray tabby felt like she'd been given the perfect apprentice. And they looked so much alike, too! Almost like sisters, with their matching gray pelts, small size, and green eyes. Ashstorm had never had any sisters, and wondered what it was like. But anyway. Back to training.

She nodded. "There is, and I will teach you what each smell is. I'm sure you can distinguish between whether a scent is prey or plant, but there are probably a few you can't put a name to. More on that later. But yes, there is squirrel scent. Probably a day old or so, though. We might've even eaten it for a meal." The warrior joked.

"See, the usual way to distinguish whether scent is old or fresh is by its strength. However, you can also determine its age by how much it stands out. The more it stands out, the fresher it is. Tracks of prey can also give you a clue as to when an animal was last in a place. There are none here, but they do show up if you look for them. Squirrels' front tracks look like two cats' paw tracks in front with two small dots at the bottom, and their back paws are long feet with a point at the end in back."

[Whiskers]

Willowpaw's head reeled as Ashstorm began to talk. Her mentor talked a lot, that was for sure and Willowpaw was baffled with what she had to say. The art of tracking, stalking, pouncing-- hunting, basically-- had just gotten complicated. Willowpaw had just assumed it was picking out your prey and just going for it. Nope. There were many different elements, all of them working of each other, to create a process that only the most skilled cats could master.

Learning all this made Willowpaw have a burst of respect for all warriors in the clan. Ashstorm, her mentor. Otterfur, her father. Shrikewhisker, her uncle, named for his tracking abilities specifically! Jaynose, Aspenheart, Loonstep, and Gingerstar. Even her mother had to perfect this ability. Now, it was her turn.

This is much harder then medicine, I bet, Willowpaw mused. "I mean, i could be a medicine cat. Memorize some herbs and poof, wa-la. Sure, I'd have to keep my cool in a high-stress situation but I'm cool. I'd be fine at being a medicine cat apprentice, if it wasn't so boring. Yes...this is harder. This is better. Oh, how comforting that thought was!

"Oh wow. So the scent I found is old right? Would the tracks from that squirrel still be there or would they be gone by now, washed away by...whatever?" inquired Willowpaw. "And how would a cat keep to a scent if the wind kept shifting? Like, if I was hunting down a rabbit, how would I keep track of it? How do you do that?"

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[Cloud of Diamonds]

Ashstorm kept on being impressed. This cat asked smart questions. She would bet her whiskers that if she'd had Elmpaw, he wouldn't be nearly so intelligent. Ashstorm had had a relatively low opinion of toms since Barktail had attacked her. She shuddered at the memory. No wonder Gingerstar was a feminist.

Anyway. How to answer her...

"It's not real old, but it's not worth following. Scent is only worth following if it's half a day old at most, and even then, you have to be a good tracker. The tracks are almost certainly gone, but I'm not a master tracker, so I don't know for sure. However, tracks usually only stick around a little while, though. Weather, other animals, and time erase them quickly. Scent is easier to follow.

And about the wind thing...hmmm." The gray tabby twitched an ear as she considered how best to answer. "Well, the wind does blow away some scent, it's true, but you can always follow by tracks and other signs, like dung or nibbled plants."

She remembered when Miles had taught her to track...it had taken her a while to learn. She was an all right tracker, but nothing special. Hunting was more her style, and she was so-so at fighting. She actually liked it, but the petite she-cat tired quickly and found learning moves difficult.

Perhaps Willowpaw would be better at it.

[Whiskers]

Willowpaw decided, then and there, that she tracking would be her thing.

It was just perfect. It was a complicated skill, one involving different factors, like the age of the scent, the type of scent, and the wind. But the more complicated it was, the better. The harder it was, the more impressive, in Willowpaw's eyes. She could only hope that she would have a little natural talent when it came to tracking, so it would not be too hard. Yes-- tracking would be hers, her special talent that cats would come to admire. And if she could not master tracking-- no. That was not an option. She had already thought it, already seized it. She would be the next great tracker in her clan, following the footsteps of her uncle.

"Okay...okay, I sorta get it," Willowpaw nodded, her expression gathered and serene. "Can we track something then? Or attempt to? How can one...start learning, like... what are the basics?"

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[Cloud of Diamonds]

"That all depends on whether we find anything or not. Chances are there's nothing near us right now, if there is, it knows we're here. Or, more specifically, whether we find any traces. There are no identifiable ones here, so...we should move forward, toward the river."

She gestured with her head, looking roughly in the direction of the broad band of water and nodded. "It's a good place for prey, not just voles, but fish. But be careful there." She began to pad off, but then remembered the apprentice's other question. Looking back at the young she-cat, her paws soaked up a few dewdrops while she pondered an answer.

"Ah, basics. Well...there are things I've mentioned, such as scent, droppings, wind, and tracks. That's most of it, but there's also being able to find the prey; such as being able to stalk, creep, climb, and possibly even swim. It's difficult, tracking, but well worth learning even if you don't master it completely; few cats do. Still, I have faith in you." The PineClanner gazed fondly at her apprentice. She did indeed have faith in Willowpaw; she liked her a lot. They would show Elmpaw and Loonstep who was the best, and make Gingerstar proud. She'd show Barktail, too. And Jaynose, the one tom she fully trusted as her friend, would be alongside her mentoring Juncopaw. Her whiskers twitched in satisfaction.

If she'd had a younger sister, Ashstorm would have wanted her to be like Willowpaw.