Camp Center {OPEN}

{Because Loki is a little bitch and won't make a post, I guess I'll start it off.}

Rowanstar stretched in his nest. He had gone out on dawn patrol this morning and had been taking a quick nap. He sat up and groomed his sleep ruffled fur. He mentally went through the list of tasks he had to complete today.

Rowanstar stood up and arched his back in a stretch. He padded out of his den and scanned the clearing. He decided he should go and find Larkfall. She would be having her kits any day now and he was beginning to get worried. He padded over to the nursery and poked his head in. Larkfall was still asleep with the other queens. He smiled and trotted back into the clearing. There was no use waking her up. The queen needed her rest. He padded over to the apprentices' den and sat down outside. Bramblepaw should have already been out in the clearing by now. The tom decided to wait until his apprentice came out of the den instead of waking him. He curled his tail neatly over his paws and waited.


Lynxclaw lounged in the shade of a pine tree. She had gone out on dawn patrol with Rowanstar this morning and was taking a break for a little while. She was thinking about what she was going to do next. Hunt alone? Hunt with someone else? Take Bramblepaw for some training because he didn't have a mentor at the moment? She glanced at the fresh kill pile. It was running a little low. She elected to go hunting with one of the other warriors. She decided go off and look for Brackenclaw or Leopardpelt.

Rowanstar chuckled at Brackenclaw. "I find that doing it this way provides more embarrassment. And what young cat likes to be embarrassed in front of his clanmates?" His ears pricked as he heard movement from the den. He put on a stern face and watched as Bramblepaw walked out of the den and almost into him. "You do realize that while you were napping the rest of the clan was busy hunting and patrolling? The only ones who have an excuse to be napping are those who were up early hunting or patrolling," he growled.

Lynxclaw looked over at Brackenclaw and nodded at his orders. She sat up as Leopardpelt came over. "Alright, so where do you want to hunt? I think we should head over towards the mountains. With the heat, prey will probably be near the water."

Rowanstar looked at his apprentice. "Apprentices shouldn't need their mentors to tell them when to find work. You have done nothing all day. While I was gone you could have gone hunting with another warrior or pulled ticks off the elders or gathered moss for the queens. But since you're going to act like a kit, you might as well move back to the nursery," he meowed with barely a trace of anger in his voice. He turned around and lept onto the High Rock. "DuskClan! Your attention for a moment please," Rowanstar's deep voice boomed through the pine trees. He sat and watched as his clan looked up at him. "My apprentice has decided that he isn't going to act like an apprentice, so we will treat him like a kit again." He hoped that the embarrassment was enough to get Bramblepaw to take some initiative. The tom was stubborn, but Rowanstar knew that when he took him as his apprentice.


Lynxclaw nodded and made her way to the entrance. The two warriors were just about to leave the camp when Rowanstar called out to the Clan. Lynxclaw turned around and sat down at the entrance. She smirked at Bramblepaw's punishment. The apprentice was a nuisance and she doubted that any warriors thought the punishment was unfair.

The two young toms had slipped from the camp hours prior without a word to anyone. It had been a warm, crisp morning, so Fallenpaw had wanted to swim, and Echopaw naturally saw it fit to follow after him. The two had ventured to the lake, justifying their actions as it was "only a few foxlengths away." They hadn't meant to let hours slip by, but as Fallenpaw splashed through the water, and Echopaw did his best to leap from rock to rock, following him, time had trickled by unnoticed.

It wasn't until the sun was scorching down on their backs that they realized what they had done. While Echopaw was none too concerned with it, Fallenpaw had all but panicked. It was the white tom that had decided to go hunting before they returned to the camp, and as they attempted to sneak in, both carried a mouthful of prey.

Echopaw paused when he heard the yowl of their leader, and his ears flicked back before he looked towards Fallenpaw. Hearing another apprentice reprimanded had Fallenpaw's white pelt fluffed out, and Echopaw nuzzled up against his shoulder before leading the way across the clearing to drop off the thresh and vole he had caught, Fallenpaw following close behind with two mice and a minnow he'd caught in the waters near the pond.

Rowanstar watched his apprentice flop onto the ground. He rolled his eyes. He hoped the young tom would learn to listen soon. He knew Bramblepaw would be a tough apprentice, which was why he decided to take him as his own, but he didn't realize how tough it would be. He hoped the tom would be eager to please his leader.

He leaped down from the High Rock and picked up a vole from the fresh kill pile. he settled down in the shade to eat his meal.

Lynxclaw twitched her whiskers. "Some punishment for Bramblepaw, huh?" she chuckled. She watched Rowanstar leap down from the High Rock and turned to Leopardpelt as he asked her his question. She nodded in reply and padded out of the camp.

Echopaw was contemplating getting something to eat-something made obvious by the way he was eyeing the freshkill pile-when Fallenpaw swatted him hard on the head. The tom hissed and recoiled only to see Fallenpaw bounding away, bolting across the clearing. For a brief moment, Echopaw was confused until he spotted their two mentors padding out of the clan. With a soft purr of excitement, he chased after his big brother.




Reaching their mentors first, Fallenpaw slowed himself to a trot at Leopardpelt's side, dipping his head in a polite greeting. "May we hunt with you?" the white tom asked. His pelt was still damp from swimming, and his eyes were bright with excitement, hopeful to get some training in. When Echopaw caught up, he promptly slapped his tail across his brother's, much to the smaller tom's annoyance.

[Should we create a new topic thread since they are leaving the camp?]

{Yeah}

Lynxclaw gave Leopardpelt an amused glance. He sounded nothing like this cat's mentor, but this was his first apprentice. She turned to Echopaw and flicked her tail for her apprentice to follow. She turned and followed Leopardpelt and Fallenpaw out of the camp.

Rowanstar leaped up as Bramblepaw dashed into the den. Kits! His eyes were wide with fear and excitement. He dashed out of his den and made his way to the nursery. The sound of cats fighting made him stop dead in his tracks. His fur fluffed up and he charged into the nursery. "Get away from my mate and kits!" he yowled as tackled Jay, careful to avoid landing near his mate.