Darkpaw/Private

[Snowfall]

Snowfall was waiting patiently at the entrance to camp, clutching her dagger.
She'd told her apprentice to grab his weapon of choice abd join her in the morning.

She, herself, was just barely a new warrior. Her vigil hadn't even been a moon ago.

The silvery haired young woman placed her hands on her hips, blowing a strand of hair out of her face.
5 more minutes and he'd be late ...

[Darkpaw]

.Darkpaw ran through the forest, gripping his bow. He felt terrible for being nearly late. Maybe he could make it. Darkpaw leept over the a branch. His arms flew out at his sides, feeling like a bird. It seemed like forever before he actually landed with .a crunch as his feet touched the ground. Darkpaw sped up, his small leg muscles pumped in his legs. The boy continued on with his short journey, still panting. Darkpaw was pale and wasn't the tallest, considering that he just became a apprentice. He had grayish blue hair and the ends of his longish hair were gray. It was an unusual hair color, but when you start playing with all the dyes you can find, that uappens .

[Snowfall]

Snowfall saw the young kid leaping over impediments to reach her.
How courageous.

She smiled and kept her arms locked, her blue eyes watching the boy start to get closer.
" I am guessing you are Darkpaw ? " she questioned, " As you may know I am Snowfall. " she said, her usual greeting to her apprentices. Asking if he was the apprentice was quite rhetorical, considering no other kid in the clan had hair color like his own.
" Sha'll we get started ? "

[Darkpaw]

"Yes Ma'am. And what are we going to do?" Darkpaw asked politly, smiling slightly. He put his hand around to his back to check if he had his sack of arrows. Pulling out his bow, Darkpaw shivered. He wished that he had brought his deer skin with him. It was rather chilly out here. Never mind that. Darkpaw would be running around alot. It would warm him up.

Darkpaw looked around, sighing.

[Snowfall]

" Hm. A young man with manners. I like you already. " she said softly, offering a smile.
" Now, I myself am not too much older than you. So don't be coming to me negative thinking you'll have a boring ol' hag as your mentor. " she chuckled, gripping her knife and pulling it out.
" Today we will go over the basics. You know, warrior code and such. There are 15 in all, but there are only 12 you should know off the top of your head. One, Defend your Clan, even with your life. You may have friendships with cats from other Clans, but your loyalty must remain to your Clan, as one day you may meet them in battle.
Two, Do not hunt or trespass on another Clan's territory.
Three, Elders, queens, and kits must be fed before apprentices and warriors. Unless they have permission, apprentices may not eat until they have hunted to feed the elders. If any warrior or apprentice is sick or injured, they may eat while the elders, queens, and kits are eating.
Four, Prey is killed only to be eaten. Give thanks to Starclan for its life.
Five, A kit must be at least six moons old to become an apprentice.
Six, Newly appointed warriors will keep a silent vigil for one night after receiving their warrior name.
Seven, A Gathering of all four Clans is held at the full moon during a truce that lasts for the night. There shall be no fighting among Clans at this time.
Eight, Our boundaries must be checked and marked daily. Challenge all trespassing cats.
Nine, No warrior can neglect a kit in pain or danger, even if the kit is from a different Clan.
Ten, The word of the Clan leader is the warrior code.
Eleven, An honorable warrior does not need to kill other cats to win his/her battles, unless they are outside the warrior code or if it is necessary for self-defense.
Aaand, Twelve. A warrior rejects the soft life. "

She cleared her throat and straightened up.
" You'll be expected to recite them before your final Assessment. Now. It is your choice between Hunting, Battle Skills, or Borders. "

[Darkpaw]

Darkpaw blinked, trying to let all the codes sink in into his brain. He nearly bent over from the weight of all of the information. He gasped and ran his hand through his hair, feeling the plush strands that fell over his eyes.

"I choose hunting. Without learning hunting first, I will have no formation when fighting. Hunting is what I would like to learn first, Snowfall," Darkpaw explained, coughing as he looked around yet again, shrugging his shoulders to stretch them out. Hopefully, he would learn from a female that had a dagger and not a bow.

[Snowfall]

Snowfall nodded, stepping behind the boy.
" I can only assume you do not know how to hold your weapon correctly ? " she asked, staring down at him.

" Hunting.. Good decision. " she complimented.
" Are you familiar with the scent of prey ? " she asked, eyeing him cautiously.

[Darkpaw]

Darkpaw shook his head. He took his bow in one hand and pulled out an arrow. Placing it next to the string of the bow, Darkpaw gripped his bow, awkwardly pulling the string back. It hardly moved. Grunting with effort, his finger began to ache as he finally bended the string, although it only bended a squirrel-length back. He placed an arrow into his bow and pulled back, weakly letting it go. The bow jumped back when he let the arrow fly. It smacked him in the face, causing pain to shoot through his body. Darkpaw through the bow down and grabbed his face, kneeling onto one knee.

"Damn it! Uuugh, Sttarclaaaan," Darkpaw moaned, gritting his teeth. He looked up, his blue eyes sparking with anger as he saw his arrow stuck in the dirt. He got up and kicked a rock, making a loud UGH sound when he hurt his toe. He grabbed his toe and turned to Snowfall, blushing from embarassment.

"Uh, no, Ma'am."

[Snowfall]

" Darkpaw, sit before you break something. " she demanded, kneeling down and patting the grass.
" I'll teach you how to use a bow, alright ? " she said, petting his hair with a light laugh.
" We may need to boost your strength before anything. " she sighed, taking his wrist in her hand. " And by the way you let go, i'm guessing it hurt your fingers. Do you need to go back to camp and rest ? " she asked, staring at him with a motherly concern.
Besides the fact she had no children, it was still her job to be gentle and caring, especially for the kiddos of the clan.

[Darkpaw]

"No, I don't need to go back home. I'm fine. I can do this. I'm not a child anymore," he sighed and looked at Snowfall, reconizing her bright blue eyes. They were beautiful. Blinking, Darkpaw grabbed his bow up and slung it onto his backside, mumbling curses to himself. He finally sat down beside Snowfall, putting his head into his hands shamefully.

"How do you know how to use a bow? Nevermind that, as long as you can teach me how, that's good enough for me," Darkpaw shrugged and patted his hair, attempting to fix the tangles.

[Snowfall]

" A good warrior knows how to use all weapons. Say, you are invaded at night in your camp. Someone is running towards you and there is a knife beside you, not your bow. It'd be a great deal if you knew how to use the knife properly and know the fatal attacks. If not, you're pretty much screwed. Anybody can use a dagger, a knife. But not everybody can use it well. "
She ruffled his hair with a smirk, teasingly as she saw he'd been trying to fix it.
" Make sense ? "

[Darkpaw]

"Yes, I understand," Darkpaw nodded and felt Snowfall's delicate hand ruffle his hair once again. He sighed with a growl and brought his hand up to grab Snowfall's. He searched for it, and he looked up at Snowfall, being caught in her gaze. Darkpaw stood there for a mere moment before bashfully looking away. Gosh, she was pretty. Ew, she was his mentor and probably ancient! No, her hand felt like silk, so she must be pretty young.

"Can you stop messing with my hair now?" He asked politly, giving a short sigh.

[Snowfall]

" You understand ? Okay. "
Her face was blank as his hand grabbed hers, staring down at him as he returned the same stare.
" You're quick. That's good. " she chuckled, a small smile forming on her lips.
" Okay, okay, just let go of my hand. " she snickered, trying to pull her hand back.

[Darkpaw]

Darkpaw sighed and let go of his fat sexy mentor's hand. He let his arm falll and he squirmed with anticipation.

"Can we start training now? I don't want to sound impatient, I'm just eager to learn," Darkpaw said, blinking up at Snowfall. He brushed his blueish gray hair to the side, his fingers twitching to get started.

[Snowfall]

She let out a sigh of relief as she was able to pull her hand back.
" It's alright to be eager. Honestly, I was eager aswell. To be a warrior.. was my dream. Then, I became a queen-- Nevermind. I'm rambling. Sorry. " She cleared her throat and typed the Enter key for a new paragraph.

" Okay, Show me your best attempt of the Hunter's Crouch. " she started, placing her hands on her hips.