First day of training (Deku)

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Her sightless blye eyes blinked open. Her tail flicked as the new apprentice shifted in her new nest. It wasn't as comfortable or soft as those in the nursery but that was okay. These were the nests that warriors had, comforts go to the elders and the queens. Heatherpaw's mouth opened wide and her ears pinned back to her head as she yawned. Her grey ears swiveled forward again as she stood up. The blind apprentice's back arched as she stretched. There were few birds in the air as she could only hear about one or two of their voices filling the air with songs. Heatherpaw slipped out of the den without waking anyone up since her nest was by the entrance do to her sightless eyes. She padded through the clearing, hearing a few cats moving around. The grey and white tabby sat down, not being able to wait to start training.

(Deku)

[Deku]

Sunstar yawned a little as she padded out of her den. It was late in Leaf Bare, but it was still freezing outside. Her short fur did her no good in this snow. She shook off the white flakes in an attempt to warm up a bit.

She wouldn't be out here if she didn't have a reason. No, her reason today was her new apprentice. Heatherpaw was the blind kit that had been made an apprentice at the last ceremony, but despite her disability she still wanted to be a warrior. That was why Sunstar had taken it upon herself to train the young she-cat. She would turn the blind tabby into the best warrior LeafClan had seen.

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She could feel the snow slowly collecting on her pelt and gave herself a quick shake. Heatherpaw could tell that it was a light snow fall because she didn't feel big clumps of cold balls on her fur. The tabby sighed softly as she wondered when the sun was going to begin peaking into the sky.

The sound of paws growing louder to the apprentice and the scent of the leader of the clan caused the she-cat to sit up right. She held her head high, facing the direction of the sounds that belonged to Sunstar. Goodmorning Sunstar.

[Deku]

"Good Morning Sunstar."

The golden tabby couldn't help showing surprise as the blind she-cat spoke good morning in her direction. However, it was quickly replaced with a grin she knew the apprentice wouldn't see. 'Good. She can tell exactly where everyone is with scent.' She thought as she stopped in front of the apprentice. "Good morning Heatherpaw. Are you ready for training today?"

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Her sightless blue eyes lit up when her new mentor mentioned training. Heatherpaw was so excited she could just barely contain it. Yes. And I would like you to know that I will be the best apprentice you've ever seen. I won't let you down! She spoke with pride about herself. The tabby knew that she could do it even if others doubted her.

[Deku]

"Believe me when I say this. I will make you the best warrior in this clan. The other apprentices will be jealous." Why she was so determined all of a sudden she didn't know. Maybe because it was the way the young she-cat believed in herself. "Come on then. I'm going to take you around the territory." She mewed, turning to face the general direction of the forest. Heatherpaw might not be able to actually see the territory, but her heightened senses would do the job for her.

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A big and bright smiled formed on Heatherpaw's face. She was very pleased to hear that Sunstar was determined to make her the best warrior ever. It was nice to hear that others believed that she wouldn't be a burden to the clan but helping it. The grey and white cat followed closely behind the leader, making sure to be able to sense where her tail was. Who are on our borders? She asked eagerly.

[Deku]

OOC: Darn you. Making me go to the FAQ for answers.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her apprentice smile. That was a good sign right? Some of her other apprentices wouldn't smile to save their lives! As they entered the territory, she glanced around. Where should they go first? She finally settled on just the borders and the landmarks would come later.

"Who are on our borders?"

She was half pleased and half astonished. Heatherpaw was getting right to the point. That could be a good quality in a young she-cat. "Well, as you leave camp their are two borders by clans. MidnightClan is to the left, and SunsetClan is to the right." She took a left turn, heading towards MidnightClan.

[Deleted]

OOC: Haha, sorry!

Her grey ears flicked as she noticed a bit of surprise and gladness in her mentor's voice. This is how Heatherpaw created her own world in her head, this is how she learned new things: asking questions and she was about to do it again. Is there any special landmarks by them that could help me identify where the border is. Despite the other clan's scent.

[Deku]

OOC: It's fine. ^.^' Honestly, as leader of LeafClan I should know these things.

At this rate, Heatherpaw was going to know more than all her denmates just by the time they got back to camp. Then again, this she-cat couldn't see the territory like her denmates. She needed a different way to see the world around her. Maybe asking questions to paint a picture was her way.

"Well Heatherpaw think of it this way. Your sense of smell is probably the most prominent of your five senses. Well, as you get nearer the other borders you won't just be smelling the other clan. You will smell the territory they live in as well." She mewed slowly, trying hard to state it simply enough where her apprentice could understand. "We live in a forest with birch trees. MidnightClan lives in a forest with oak trees. Two different types of trees are going to smell differently as we get closer to the different trees." She paused a moment. How to describe SunsetClan now...

"SunsetClan lives closer to the ocean. The ocean is a like a really big lake with no end to it. It's a lot of water, but it smells strange. I don't really know how to describe it, but I'll take you that way and you can see for yourself." They began to near the MidnightClan border just as she finished explaining. "Alright Heatherpaw, based on what I explained earlier why don't you try and tell me what border we are near?" The golden leader didn't expect her to get it right on the first time. The two scents of the different trees were hard even for her to pick out. Then again, Heatherpaw had something she didn't. She seemed like a quick learner.

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As the two cats padded their way through the territory, Heatherpaw focused on what she said. It was a lot of information to take in but the young she-cat was like a sponge, soaking up as much knowledge as possible. Being blind already put her at a disadvantage with the other apprentices. She didn't want that to put her further behind because she could learn as fast. If Heatherpaw wanted to be treated normal, then she most definitely did not want to be an apprentice for an extended time.

She made lists in her head, trying to keep track of what each boarder would smell like. The main difference it seemed to be that the SunsetClan boarder smells like water but with a funny twist. So, when Sunstar asked her what boarder we were near, she tasted the air. It smelled about the same as theirs, so it wasn't SunsetClan. MidnightClan. I don't smell water so, it has to be them. Right?

[Deku]

OOC: Sorry for the late reply. Finishing homework due tomorrow.

She looked ahead silently, stopping on the edge of the territory. Heatherpaw was quiet, probably thinking about her answer. Sunstar nodded as she answered, forgetting the she-cat couldn't see her. "Yes. That's some good logic Heatherpaw." She praised, grinning as she flicked her tail. Based on the way she seemed to remember the information Sunstar had spoken showed she really was determined to be the best.

"We'll circle around now, hitting some of the landmarks on the way to the border with SunsetClan. I'll do my best to describe them in a way you can see it." She added, before turning once more and setting off at a casual pace along the border. They would probably pass the Dead woods first, so that was where she was heading.

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OOC: That's alright!

The apprentice waited for her mentor to correct her. Pride and happiness beamed off of her when Sunstar told her she was right and that she had good logic. Thank you! Heatherpaw smiled brightly. The young cat meant it when she said she was going to be the best warrior. There was nothing more important to her to be as helpful as possible to her clan.

Heatherpaw turned and followed Sunstar, excited to be learning about the territory. As they continued to walk, a question burned in the back of her head. Sunstar? Do you have that name because you are like the sun? I'm sorry if I'm asking too many questions.

[Deku]

"Your welcome Heatherpaw." She mewed in response to her thanks. To be honest, the leader wasn't much of a mentoring type. She just didn't get along with her apprentices too often. Nightfox was the first exception, and now it seemed Heatherpaw would be one too.

She tilted her head slightly, knowing the she-cat couldn't see her reaction. That was a pretty random question, however she knew the answer without much thought.

"It's alright Heatherpaw. Asking questions is good." She replied, pausing a moment before beginning the story. "So, let me start when I was deputy alright? My warrior name was actually Goldenflame back then. When I went to receive my nine lives, I was asked to change it because StormClan has a leader named Goldenstar already." She stopped a moment, wondering if she should go into detail about Silverstar's cruel reign. "As for the reason I chose Sunstar as my new name, yes. Let me explain further though. Many moons before you were born there was a leader of LeafClan named Silverstar. I was a young warrior at the time of her leadership. Anyways, when she had just become leader she gave away lots of our territory to the other clans in an attempt to prevent wars and fights. Soon we didn't have enough food to feed LeafClan and Silverstar realized her mistake. She became a cruel and murderous killer while trying to get our territory back. However, at this point she didn't just want our territory, she wanted all of the clans' territory. She wanted to rule the forest. There was a big war with every clan teaming up against LeafClan. We were so weak from our lack of food we could barely fight, but Silverstar kept us going. When she died we were all relieved. Frostnose became Froststar, the new leader and it seemed things would go back to normal. After a few moons, Froststar hadn't chosen a deputy yet. I was shocked as Fernstar, one of the previous leaders of LeafClan came and chose me as deputy. Only a moon later, Froststar disappeared and we don't know why. That is why I chose the name Sunstar. I wanted to be the sun that guided our clan out of the darkness that Silverstar had thrown upon us."

OOC: O.o sorry for the word wall.

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Heatherpaw listened to the leader explain her name. She had heard of the name Silverstar before but no one would go into much detail about who she was. As she listened to the story, the young cat understood why. The leader was cruel and mean. It seemed as if her ignorance lead to the downfall of LeafClan. The elders had said that not many cats liked LeafClan and that was probably because of their psychotic leader, Silverstar. Oh, wow. So that's why many cats don't like us? Because they are afraid that we will try to take over the forest again? That's not right though. I mean, it's not our fault that we had a power drunken leader that wanted everything for herself. By law, you are supposed to follow your leader through thick and thin, their word is law. I just don't think it's right to blame us for her mistakes and problems. She spoke softly but with a bit of fire behind it. It angered the little cat a little that the other clans were assuming things about her clan and judging them based on past actions of their leader. Heatherpaw spoke up again. Well, with what you described I think Sunstar was the perfect name to choose.