Wakey Wakey Rowanclaw

[Ki]

Smokepaw spent about ten minutes pacing in front of the warriors' den. His sleep had been plagued and disturbed. Eventually he knew that he had to talk to a grown cat. Someone that could give him advice on this pressing issue. This issue that seemed so horrifying and tedious at the same time. And since he had no living kin that he knew of, Smokepaw had to turn to his mentor. Rowanclaw. A nice, patient mentor. One of the few cats that didn't press him to speak or go eat his fresh-kill with other apprentices. There was the occasional nudge, but Rowanclaw let him do things on his own time. That was why Smokepaw liked him. And he was the closest thing to kin that the serious apprentice had. He kept trying to decide whether to go in and wake his mentor or not. And if he did, what would he say? Finally, Smokepaw sucked it up. The apprentice forced himself to pad inside, stepping over the other sleeping bodies of warriors until he was at Rowanclaw's nest.

Smokepaw gulped and prodded his mentor with his paw. He whispered, "Rowanclaw! Rowanclaw, I need to talk to you." This was so embarassing! He felt like a kit that was afraid to sleep alone, for fear of thunder or monsters in the shadows!

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Rowanclaw wasn't dreaming. He couldn't remember the last time he had dreamed of battle or prey, but for some reason his sleep was usually completely unbroken and still. A blessing, he supposed. Dreams were for medicine cats, in any case. Blinking awake, the tabby warrior realized that someone was poking him, and it took a moment before his ears were working well enough to realize that he was being spoken to as well. Opening his eyes, Rowanclaw recognized Smokepaw, his apprentice. What was he doing in the warriors den in the middle of the night?

"Smokepaw?" he murmured, awake, but still disoriented. He could be up in an instant if needed, but unless an emergency provided him with the necessary surge of adrenaline, it took him several minutes of fresh air and exercise before he woke up completely. "What is it? Is something wrong?" Shaking his head a bit to clear it, he sat up in his nest and made an effort to focus on his apprentice, on what was going on. It was still night... the night of the gathering. Was Ravenstar back yet? But no, Smokepaw wasn't waking anyone else up, and he didn't hear any other cats in the clearing. What could his studious, disciplined apprentice possibly want?

[Ki]

This is so STUPID. Smokepaw thought, angry with himself. For once he wished he had some living kin. The apprentice never felt a need to know the mother he had lost, or his siblings that had never lived, or his unknown father. Smokepaw had his Clan to protect and serve. There was no need for him to know his kin. Yet now he wished he had some. Maybe then he wouldn't feel so guilty about waking his mentor up, or maybe not as embarassed. Smokepaw gulped as he looked at his sleepy-eyed mentor. His expression alone might alarm Rowanclaw. Smokepaw always looked slightly bored. As if life was too easy to figure out to be remotely interested. Now Smokepaw looked the closest thing to distressed that his face could muster, and a bit embarassed as well.

"Erm...no...nothing's wrong." Smokepaw glanced around nervously at the other sleeping warriors. "Everything's fine. But...I need to talk to you. Please?" Smokepaw flicked his tail towards the den entrance. He didn't want to have this conversation in here. Not where the warirors could wake up at any moment and hear what he was saying.

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Still a bit confused, but more attentive now, Rowanclaw got to his paws and nodded for his apprentice to lead the way. Following him outside, the tabby tom sat down at the edge of camp and beckoned for his apprentice to sit down beside him. He didn't know what Smokepaw wanted to talk about, but they were far enough from any of the dens now for them to talk in peace. And it was shady enough here, in the heather and grass, that they wouldn't be too obvious to any cats who were having trouble sleeping. With a calm nod of his head, he invited his apprentice to tell him what was on his mind. "What is it you wanted to speak to me about, Smokepaw?" he asked. Wondering what it could possibly be, the muscular tom settled himself in to find out. His mind was open; he wasn't the type to judge other cats. He would to whatever he could to help Smokepaw with his problem, whatever it was.

[Ki]

Smokepaw sat down next to his mentor, not speaking for a few moments. He kept his eyes upturned towards the stars twinkling above. The apprentice believed his mother was up there, somewhere. Perhaps his father too. The apprentice had heard whispers from other cats that the reason he didn't try to socialize because in some way, he was grieveing for his kin that he never even knew. A mouse-brained idea. Hopefully Rowanclaw didn't believe that. Suddenly a warm sense of comfort filled the apprentice, and he spoke. "There's...this..." Gulp. Ugh! This was why he didn't speak often...he never knew what to say without seeming like a fool! "I...there's this...she-cat...." Smokepaw winced, waiting for Rowanclaw to scold him for waking him up over something so tedious. His mentor was patient, but it was a stupid reason to be awoken. At least in Smokepaw's eyes.

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Uh-oh, Rowanclaw thought, and covered the first stirrings of unease with a few slow blinks. He was Smokepaw's mentor, and it was his duty to teach the young tom everything that he knew about how to be a warrior. But Rowanclaw had never had a mate before, and the one time that he had been in love had ended in disaster! What is he asking me? What am I supposed to tell him? The older tom didn't have any sage advice to give. He was just a cat! But, still... Maybe he would be able to help, just enough to give his apprentice a bit of encouragement. It was the least he could do, as Smokepaw's mentor.

"A she-cat, eh?" Rowanclaw mused lightly, keeping the discomfort out of his own voice. If the usually-unflappable Smokepaw was flustered talking to him about his trouble, then getting all nervy and muddled wasn't going to make him feel any better. Instead he cracked a sympathetic smile. Sometimes, he thought, she-cats were the greatest mystery in all the four territories. Rowanclaw sometimes doubted that even StarClan knew what lay inside their hearts. "Is it one she-cat in particular?" he coaxed, not seeing the point in dancing around the subject, but not wanting to make his apprentice uncomfortable. If Smokepaw wasn't ready to talk about it, he wouldn't push any further.

[Ki]

"Yes..." Smokepaw was going to leave it at that. His quiet, shy nature wanted to leave it at that. But then he thought of Maplepaw. How open she was, how social she was! He wanted to be like that. Smokepaw then took a big step forwards. The apprentice took in a deep breath and said, "Maplepaw." Smokepaw looked over his mentor with those bored, yet calculating eyes of his. From what he heard the elders saying, his mother had those exact same eyes. Silent and appraising. Something about Rowanclaw didn't seem right now. There was no nervousness in his voice, no squirming...but....Smokepaw shook it away. Not a good time to be thinking about what was bugging his mentor.

"She wants to wake up early and go tree-climbing early in the morning...what if I make a mouse-brain of myself, Rowanclaw? WindClan cats are meant to run, not climb!" An unusual look of worry flooded on to his serious, calm face. Taking another deep breath, Smokepaw sighed and scuffed his paw across the ground. "I wish my mother were here, Rowanclaw. I don't know how she-cats work! But...I don't know any she-cats that I can talk to." That would explain why he was asking his love-ignorant mentor. "I don't know what to do..."

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Rowanclaw blinked at the sheer anxiety in his apprentice's voice. Smokepaw had never been a particularly talkative cat, nor did he seem the type to get upset easily. But the young tom was... well, there was no other way to put it; he was babbling, something that Rowanclaw had never seen him do before. Waving his tail placatingly, the older tom tried to calm his apprentice down. "I don't think any tom in all the four Clans knows what goes on inside the minds of she-cats, Smokepaw," he said with slight amusement.

"But I wouldn't worry about it. Maplepaw is a good cat, and I'm sure she'll have fun with you no-matter what happens." He smiled. "I don't think you're the kind of cat to fall out of trees, Smokepaw. But I'm sure that even if you did, Maplepaw would still want to be your friend. Just do what you think you should, and what you want to. I have faith in your abilities, and I'm sure you'll both have fun whatever happens." Rowanclaw hoped that this answer would reassure his apprentice. He truly believed that Smokepaw and Maplepaw would be completely fine, but sometimes the nerves of young cats simply wouldn't be quieted.

((EDIT: Woot! 800th post!))

[Ki]

((Congrats!))

Smokepaw was silent for a few moments. He mulled over his own words and his mentor's. Rowanclaw's words weren't really all that soothing. His eyes were directed, once again, to the stars. Amazing the effect this she-cat had over him! Maplepaw had managed to make Smokepaw babble for the first time in his young life. Not only that, but she had brought about his first serious bout of anxiety. Smokepaw let out a sigh. Which of those twinkling stars was his mother?

Why did you take her? Smokepaw wondered for the first time. Not in anger, not in sorrow. Just in pure curiousity. He had a firm belief in StarClan. Everything they did was for a reason, surely! Though Smokepaw now wished he would be able to sit with Graysong and discuss his worries with her. This really was a conversation that an tom would, usually, have with his mother or father. Not his mentor. Without taking his eyes away from the stars, Smokepaw asked, "Any tips? And....you won't be mad at me for taking off with her, will you? I don't want it to interfere with our training." Smokepaw glanced at Rowanclaw. Despite the knot in his chest, he was really looking forward to this 'date.'

[spike]

((Enter Owlfeather.))

The she-cat had slunk away from the gathering once Ravenstar had let it go. She didn't want to bother standing around with no cause. But her ears caught something on their own which redirected her path. Her pawsteps slowed to a snail's pace and her tail curled at the end to listen.

Smokepaw, hm?] the she-cat thought. Poor tom. Falling for a she-cat that early in life. Maplepaw will be lucky. She's a good cat. But a smile twitched at her whiskers to see Rownclaw pause. Smokepaw had asked the wrong cat. There was no way he would know. Rownclaw didn't have a mate and she couldn't remember him ever having a crush. It was kinda cute watching him stumble on the words to use but at the same time, she did feel some pity. She had paused now, fully listening in from where she stood, half shaded by the shadows.

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

"No," Rowanclaw meowed, shaking his head, "I don't have a problem with you two going out to do something early tomorrow. Just make sure you're still up for some training in the afternoon, okay?" After all, it might have been the middle of greenleaf, but that didn't mean it was alright to slack off on training. They could do some light combat training, since recently Rowanclaw had been working on his apprentice's hunting. "Just have fun," he said, and touched his tail lightly to Smokepaw's flank. "Now I'm going back to sleep," he said as he rose to his paws. "Goodnight, Smokepaw. Sleep well."

Yawning slightly, Rowanclaw padded back towards the warrior's den, feeling a mixture of relief that the conversation was over and hope that he had been at least moderately helpful. Catching the scent of a nearby cat, he turned his head a bit and spotted Owlfeather standing nearby, half-concealed by a patch of heather. "Oh, hello Owlfeather," he said slowing his progress for a moment to speak to her. He guessed that she had been listening to Ravenstar's report on the gathering, now that the Clan had gotten back, but he was too worn out to want to hear what he had to say. "I'm going to sleep. It's much too late for any wise cat to prowl about camp, don't you think?" With a polite smile, he padded once more towards the warriors' den, his mind already dozing and his paws treading almost by themselves.

[spike]

A nod bounced her head while she followed after the tom. Owlfeather just kept silent while she comprehended what he said. She walked over and nudged his shoulder with her own to keep him walking without tripping from slumber. Then she walked ahead to a nest in the center. Before she laid down, she turned back to Rowanclaw and flicked her tail towards where Smokepaw had been curiosly.

He won't understand you, mouse-brain, she thought to herself. He'll just think you're mute. Just get some rest. It was strange to her that sleep wasn't so easy to come by.

[Ki]

It wasn't the advice he'd been looking for, but at least Rowanclaw would be alright with him going away from camp in the morning. He was glad this wouldn't interfere with their training. Becoming a strong, reliable warrior was very important to the mature apprentice. And his mentor knew that. "Good night, Rowanclaw." Smokepaw meowed, then began to pad silently back to the apprentice's den. How bad could this go? Maplepaw was sweet. He liked her. Besides, it wasn't like this was the worst problem that the Clan faced at the moment. Suddenly he saw Owlfeather slip into the warriors den after his mentor. Heat flooded into his face, and he hurried into the apprentices den as quickly as he could without waking any other apprentices. Owlfeather didn't speak much. Smokepaw wasn't exactly sure she could speak at all. But it was still embarrassing to think that she'd heard their conversation.

Just get some rest. he told himself firmly. It's very late, and you have to get up early.