Warrior Cat Clans 2 (WCC2 aka Classic) is a roleplay site inspired by the Warrior series by Erin Hunter. Whether you are a fan of the books or new to the Warrior cats world, WCC2 offers a diverse environment with over a decade’s worth of lore for you - and your characters - to explore. Join us today and become a part of our ongoing story!
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"...it's good practice for when we have a litter of our own to look after in the future."
The words rang in Carnagepanic's mind, over and over, a vicious cycle he could not break. His paws started to quiver, his breath grow fainter, and he had to make a conscious effort to keep himself rooted to place. He had already run away from his apprentice once, he couldn't do it again. But he couldn't stop thinking about it. Training an apprentice was a lot of pressure, the leader's daughter even more; but a practice daughter? What if he failed? What if she turned out horribly? If he was a bad mentor? Was he going to be a bad father too?
The calico tom swallowed hard and counted his breaths. In, out. In, out. One, two.
"Right," he mumbled to himself, and before his courage abandoned him, he walked out of the warrior's den and looked around the camp.
"Vividpaw, are you around here?"
It was early morning, after the prayer; she wouldn't have left without him, right? (What if she had left without him?!)
"I'm right here!" Vividpaw said from behind Carnagpanic, sure to give him a fright since he was literally one foot out of the Warrior's den. Should he turned around, he'd see his tiny white-furred apprentice looking up at him next to the den's entrance, a hopeful expression on her face, "I figured you'd want to train after prayers, but before I could catch your attention you'd already gone back inside the Warrior's den. So I waited outside for when you are ready. I assume you're ready now, right? What are we going to do today?"
The warrior yipped as he spun around, tripping over his own black paws and staggering, his short ginger patched fur standing on end as he stared at the apprentice like a demon crawled from the earth. Like any demon, she scared him at first, but then he warmed up to her, remembering she was maybe not so scary after all. He was friends with Southpaw, he could be friends with Vividpaw, right?
"Uhhhhhhh," he managed intelligently, stalling as he waited for his mind to fight through the static and find actual words to use. "Yes. I just had to--- I needed to--- uh, anyway, let's go. We're training today."
Well yeah, of course you're training, that's your job, he reprimanded himself as he turned to the camp exit.
"Oh I--- mmrwwhaha -- I didn't mean too---!" Vividpaw couldn't hold in her laughter after Carnagepanic's moment of, well, panic. He looked so silly like that, especially when the root of her terror was lil ol' Vividpaw, who still passed as a small kit despite her age. She laughed for quite a while but eventually settled down, wiping tears out of the corner of her eyes before hopping to her mentor's side.
"I'll try to be less sneaky. Mama always tells me my pawsteps are lighter than a bird's and that it'll get me in trouble someday especially if I ever run into a Mountain," She chirped, eyes shining bright as always, "She's so silly! Anyways, what are we doing today?"
His calico fur fluffed up, and her mentor looked vaguely uncomfortable. Carnagepanic was used to being laughed at, that unpleasantness had plagued his life in other clans, but it hurt more when it came from someone he was supposed to be training. He was already screwing this up, wasn't he? He walked ahead faster, trying to hide his face.
"It'll help you hunt," he suggested, his mouth was dry. What if Littlestar was right, and she got crushed by the massive warrior? It would be all his fault for not training her right. Being quiet could be good, but she was too tiny, she wouldn't survive being stepped on. He swallowed apprehensively and dropped back to walk beside her, scanning the horizon protectively for a sign of the former initiate.
"Um... we're going to be looking at the borders," he began slowly, distracted by his search, "and then we'll do the other stuff once we're there."
"Oh, a border patrol?" Vividpaw still had a pep in her step, but she wasn't too jazzed at the prospects. Could you blame her? She'd been the leader's kit and had already seen most of the territory by now. What she hadn't had a chance to do was hunt or spar. But she remained optimistic, at the very least she'd be able to gleam some of her mentor's perspective which was maybe valuable, plus there was the mysterious 'other stuff' he had promised, "Which border are we going to?"
Carnagepanic was glad she didn't protest, even if she didn't sound very enthusiastic. He couldn't blame her for that. Patrols weren't very fun for most cats, but help liked them; they were relaxing most of the time. You had a chance to bond with your clanmates... not that he ever managed that part.
"The rogue border," he decided, choosing one that was close but they were less likely to run into anyone near. "We'll have some time alone. If that's alright. For training."
"The rogue border?" Vividpaw couldn't help but sound a teeny tiny bit whiny at that prospect. If they'd gone to any other border she could have maybe run into a neighboring patrol and do some socializing, but the rogue border was literally a desert, the only new friend she'd make there was maybe a tumbleweed, "OH, I mean, the rogue border! Sounds like fun! Are you going to the one by the boneyard by the one by the volcano?"
He felt a surge of pity for her. This was going to be a boring patrol and he felt sorry, but he wanted to start off easy. Even if she could take the stress of confronting an enemy warrior, his heart couldn't. "No, we're going closer to DayClan territory," he replied mildly, picturing the most barren stretch of land he could.
He would have to make this up to her somehow.... but not now. "Are you excited?"
Vividpaw did a mental map of what she knew of SunClan territory and quickly narrowed down what was around the border he was leading her to. She stopped mid-step for a moment when she realized what it meant then perked right back up.
"Oh, yes, I'm very excited! I've never been there before because of, you know," She said eagerly, trotting ahead of Carnagepanic now with an added spring to her step, "I hope we get to see it!"
She was so... cheerful. Despite his guilt, Carnagepanic found himself warming to her charm. He liked cats were so good-natured and optimistic, and they were rarer here than they had been in SpringClan.
"We'll keep things very safe, I don't want to worry your mother," he told her, "but I'll try and make things fun too. Training isn't so bad. It's just really scary at first. Really scary." For him and for her. "Do you... have you had any training yet?"
"Training's scary?" Vividpaw asked, cocking her head. She wasn't the fearful type. In fact, one might call her fearless, always jumping into things headfirst without any hesitation. It had mostly worked out for her this long and, with the Sun God's blessing, it may just last a lifetime. Sometimes a positive attitude was just about as powerful as an elemental, "I've play-practiced but never had a real session. What makes it scary? I thought training was fun?"
"O-Oh, not scary! I didn't mean scary! There's nothing dangerous here, you'll be safe, it isn't scary. It just makes some cats, uh, nervous. That's all. Just a little bit. But not you, you're strong, not that there's anything wrong with being nervous, um," he seemed aware he should stop talking now, shooting frantic glances down at her and then away, but his tongue had a mind of its own and would not stop, "sometimes being nervous is perfectly okay as long as you get past it because otherwise, it's like, bad, but overcoming your fear, I mean nerves, gives you courage. Not that normal cats can't have courage-"
"I'm not nervous or scared or anything like that. I've got you with me, after all! You're a Warrior which means you can handle just about anything probably. I mean, asking you to take down a dog or a fox is a tall order, but at the very least I can count on you to get us out of the situation in one piece, Sun God willing," Vividpaw had begun rambling, which was a sign that perhaps some of her mentor's nerves were starting to rub off on her whether she knew it or not, "Anyway, how much longer until we get there? I can't wait to see this border!"
"Right, right, right," Carnagepanic fretted, sounding less confident. He could help them escape a fox, right? He had done it before; foxes were common as daisies back in SpringClan and he had to duck his fair share when he was hustling away from them in pursuit of his fleeing clan. It was harder here though, they were more exposed, and he had another little cat to look after. Would he have to sacrifice himself to save her? He didn't want to die. He couldn't let her die, but how could he leave Valleyrose alone? Would she ever look him in the eye again if she knew he let his apprentice die?
"A while," he mewed meekly, slowing down. "Um... it'll be faster if we jog." Did he want to get there faster? What if there was a fox?
"I guess we can jog, but it's no fun without a little challenge..." The white-furred apprentice mewed, her eyes narrowing and ears flicking back in the tell-tale sign that she was about to do something mischievous, "... Last once there's got to eat a rotten egg!"
And with that Vividpaw was off, a tiny blip against the desert in seconds, she was surprisingly fast.
