need someone to be my spotter, p;whitepath

[banjocat]

Southpaw

---

The morning air was a bit chilly, but Southpaw had thick fur to help keep the cold out. He didn't mind it too much since it helped to wake him up. He didn't always sleep the best. Between the other apprentices snoring and never being able to get comfortable in his nest, he was lucky if he didn't wake up more than three times in a night. The black and white apprentice sat just outside the apprentice's den, waiting eagerly for Whitepath to fetch him for training. Although he wasn't a very skilled apprentice, he always valued the time spent with his mentor. It was nice to get away from camp for a while, and he just liked Whitepath. His mentor was all of the things his own father wasn't-- encouraging, patient, and kind. And he didn't berate Southpaw when he messed up, so that was a definite plus. Southpaw flinched and snapped his eyes open as pawsteps approached, not even realizing he'd started to drift off right where he was sitting. "M-Morning, Whitepath!" he stammered, shaking his head to make the sleepiness go away. South jumped to his paws. "I'm ready to go!"

[Whitepath]

i will always be proud of you.

Dawn patrol had taken a little longer than anyone had expected with how far they had wondered into the territory. There was hope in finding herbs to help with the sickness but alas they couldn't find anything remotely helpful. If they had, none of the posessed the knowledge to tell the different between a normal plant and an important herb. Whitepath pushed through the camp entrance with a shake of his coat and gave a small huff, now he was behind schedule and that irritated him slightly. He liked to keep his routine and also he had important matters to deal with; Southpaw.

The young apprentice was rather skilled and doing very well in his training, and Whitepath couldn't be more proud. The black and white cat was going to be a great warrior when the time came, and he couldn't help but hope he was around when it came. Whitepath wasn't sure if things would last long with how the sickness was spreading around them like a wild fire. Regardless, the young cat had become like a son to Whitepath, something of a familial bond, and it was honestly what he had hoped for. He didn't want to not get along with his apprentice, how could he teach if they were always fighting?

Speaking of Southpaw, the young apprentice was seated outside the apprentices' cavern and he gave a slight grin as the poor cat looked like he was ready to fall asleep sitting up, "Good morning, Southpaw, did you get enough sleep?" There was a fatherly tone to his voice as he questioned the young cat and approached him, "I was thinking we could do some agility training, get you use to climbing the clff sides of Borealis,"

Speech

by sixsmith.

[banjocat]

Southpaw

---

Internally, Southpaw screamed. Climbing? Cliffs!? Now probably wasn't the best time to mention his moderate fear of heights, and he really didn't want to disappoint Whitepath. He masked his face well, hiding any trace of the fear he felt and simply nodded. "Slept well, ready to go!" Maybe there was a slight nervous tone to his voice, but there was always a nervous tone to Southpaw. He'd climbed trees before, and it had gone okay. He'd fallen out once, but had landed on all four paws unscathed. But trees weren't cliffs, and Southpaw wondered how far of a fall that would be. Part of him wanted to fake a cough to get out of it, but he wasn't that type of cat. Not only would that put unnecessary stress on the medicine cats and likely waste what were currently precious herbs, but it was a dirty, low trick, used by dirty, low cats. That wasn't Southpaw. So he'd suck it up and give it his all. Southpaw stood and nodded, ready to follow his mentor to their training destination.

[Whitepath]

i will always be proud of you.

The large white tomcat had trust in his apprentice. He knew the other would do well even if he might be afraid at first. He remembered the first time he had to climb up a cliff side for eagle eggs or some sort of plant. It was terrifying to be so high up but with trust and practice- even the most clumsy cat could do it. Whitepath gestured for the young cat to follow him out of the cavern that was Borealisclan and out onto the camp grounds. Teh alrge trees towered overhead and he looked up for a moment to make sure there was no predator birds out.

Whitepath walked along a path for a moment before coming out to a stagged peak, "Climbing rocks is much easier than climbing a tree, there are more footholes for one to grab onto and less strain on ones claws," The tomcat commented to the young black and white cat. The cliff side came into view with a couple of trees growing from the side of it. He slowed their pace and turned to Southpaw for a moment with a brow raised, "What can you tell me about Borealisclan history?" He wanted to combine a little bit of history into this lesson on climbing.

The large tom moved away from Southpaw and hopped onto an outcrop off the cliff face, and looked down at him, "Follow me up here while you answer,"

Speech

by sixsmith.

[banjocat]

Southpaw

---

History? He knew history! Southpaw might be a poor hunter and a weak fighter, but he excelled when it came to non-physical skills. He also reguarly enjoyed listening to stories about the history of the clan, so much so that sometimes the other apprentices joked that he may as well become an elder already. "BorealisClan was created at the same time as all four of the clans, after many moons of fighting and arguing. No one really wanted this territory because they didn't think the snow and weather would be worth it, but they didn't know that we have the hot springs here. So Goatstar led everyone here and established the camp, and the other clans didn't really bother us as much because we're remote and, again, our territory doesn't seemed desireable to outsiders. So we've been relatively peaceful until the beast came and started picking off cats from all clans. Some of the elders think that it originated from near our territory, but... I don't know if that parts true. And anyway, well, obviously Sandstar and the other leaders all sacrificed themselves to fight it off, and now we have Owlstar for our leader." His voice become more somber at mention of Sandstar, who'd been the mate of Owlstar and caused a bit of controversy in choosing him for deputy. Southpaw didn't think that was relevant to the history lesson to mention. "Did I miss anything?" he asked uncertainly, repeating his answer in his head but feeling quite certain he'd gotten it all. he wondered if Whitepath hadn't asked about this less so to know if Southpaw knew it, but more to distract him from climbing. He looked up the cliff face, and his tail tip quivered. He jumped up behind Whitepath, examining the rocky surface and making a mental note to where the trees were... for safety purposes.