Day Is Dawning

[:c a i:]

It was early; that was for sure. The dim light and the slight chill in the warriors den made that clear, yet still a pair of blazing golden eyes snapped open as Tigerheart uncoiled himself from his nest and stepped easily out onto the earth, glancing about him. He tipped his head, considering. He'd wanted to go on a hunting trip with Patchpaw today to make sure her hunting skills were being kept up to scratch, but he had a feeling Shadowstorm wanted him on dawn patrol. Licking his sleek, gold fur with languid strokes, he thought about the best course of action. He was sure Flameclaw wouldn't mind going on dawn patrol instead of him and it would make no difference which one of them went. Yes, that would be best. If Flameclaw woke up in time, then he could go on dawn patrol whilst Tigerheart went hunting with Patchpaw and... Whoever else was around. Another warrior and their apprentice would do nicely.

As if on cue, Tigerheart saw Flameclaw's fiery pelt stir and he watched his brother's head raise, his huge jaws stretching in a giant yawn. It was usual for Tigerheart to be the first to rise out of his three brothers as he liked to be up to see the sunrise. Flameclaw too was an early riser so the pair of them were often busily going about their duties before their other brother, Sparrowfur, made an appearance. Today was no exception, thought Tigerheart with an amused glance to his left as he took in Sparrowfur's tightly curled form, still sound asleep. Padding out to the entrance of the den, Tigerheart waited for his brother to catch up.

"'Morning." Flameclaw yawned again, joining Tigerheart and blinking in the semi-darkness at his brother. He noted that Tigerheart didn't look sleepy in the slightest, as if he'd been up for a good while, whilst Flameclaw was rather fuzzy and half-asleep still. "Aren't you on dawn patrol?" He asked, stretching his long limbs luxuriously.

"No, you are." Tigerheart replied with a rakish half-smile. "I want to take Patchpaw out hunting. Think you can handle covering for me?"

Flameclaw grumbled for a few moments about Tigerheart palming off his duties to him before sighing. "Well seeing as I'm up. But you owe me, little brother. I expect a fat vole for my services." He grinned, raising a huge paw and cleaning his face briefly. "Who else did Shadowstorm want? I suppose the patrol ought to leave soon." He mused.

Rolling his eyes at Flameclaw, Tigerheart listed off the other patrollers. "Aspenfoot, Sootpelt and any apprentices of theirs." He told him. "Anyway, thanks. You might get your vole, if Patchpaw's hunting doesn't fail you." He glanced back towards the den, wondering where the other patrol members were and who he was going to go hunting with.

"Ah, so whether or not I get fed depends on your mentoring skills? I shall hold out little hope then." Was Flameclaw's cheeky retort. The big tom laughed when he caught a second eye-roll from Tigerheart, as well as the glimmer of a smile. "Never mind, eh? There's still hope. Perhaps Patchpaw's hunting skills haven't suffered too much at your paws."

"And you wonder why you don't have an apprentice, what with all your tact and encouragement." Tigerheart meowed dryly. He knew full well that his brother would make a good mentor, but with ThunderClan's dwindling numbers, it was hardly surprising that he was left without an apprentice. Still, they could pull through. ThunderClan could achieve anything.

((There, I've set it all up for Swallowfang and Tigerheart to go hunting, and for Aspenfoot and Sootpelt to get going on the patrol. ^_^))

[Kitty]

((Great. ^^ First post with Sootpelt. xD I feel as if I've neglected him.))

The sound of his name roused the small white and black tom from his light sleep. He raised his head, and yellow eyes opened. Sootpelt had to blink a few times before his eyes wouldn't slide closed on their own. What was this? Was he supposed to go hunting or on dawn patrol? The words of Tigerheart and Flameclaw all blurred together, and he couldn't remember what he'd been supposed to do this morning.

He'd only caught snippets of the conversation before he was more awake. But by then, the two brothers had already stopped talking about it. Instead, he uncurled slowly from his tight ball. Sootpelt slept only a couple nests away from Tigerheart, and Aspenfoot slept on the other side of him.

After a quick but thorough grooming, he turned to his brother. The two of them didn't look much alike - actually, they didn't look alike at all. After taking a couple heartbeats to decide on how to wake him, he chose the easiest route. He prodded Aspenfoot in the side, not hard, but not exactly gently, either. "Wakey, wakey, Aspenfoot."

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Grunting quietly in complaint, Swallowfang was roused from sleep by the softly speaking voices of her den mates. Unable to tell who the voices were coming from, she swiveled her ears toward the sound and picked out Flameclaw and Tigerheart. She wasn't surprised; the two were often awake before any of the other warriors. How they were able to do so was beyond her. The she-cat didn't rush herself in waking up especially after her long day.

Lifting her head out of her nest, she glanced out of the den. If the sun wasn't up already, it soon would be. Regretfully, she knew she hadn't had much of a chance to work with Softpaw yesterday. Deciding she would get her apprentice out of his den at some point this morning and take him out, she started to stretch. Black fur rippled over her muscles as she pondered whether or not she was supposed to be on a patrol.

Watching absent-mindedly as Sootpelt tried to wake Aspenfoot, she remembered last night. Perhaps she hadn't needed to be so rude to him but he had caught her in a bad mood. Today at least she wasn't exhausted and cranky. Oh well.

[hedgie]

Aspenfoot rolled over onto his side and swatted Sootpelt's paw away. His eyes opened and a sigh of frustration escaped his jaws. He had been having the most wonderful dream, and he hadn't wanted it to end.

"I'm up, calm down and stop prodding me!" He mewed, and rose. "Patrol, I'm assuming?" He sighed, shaking a few scraps of moss out of his marbled pelt. He looked his brother up and down. Sootpelt looked even more tired than he did...maybe his brother's dreams hadn't been as pleasant.

The tabby tom padded out of the den, flicking Sootpelt's nose with the tip of his tail. "C'mon sleepy head. We've got work to do."

He walked over to Tigerheart and Flameclaw. "I didn't hear you...who else is on the patrol?"

[Kitty]

"Well, I wasn't the one that slept in when we've got work to do," Sootpelt huffed, dramatically rolling his eyes as he followed Aspenfoot outside. His brother did seem more awake than the small cat him did, though. How did he manage to wake up so fast? He shook his head. This was something he would probably never know. Of course, his sleep had been a little restless last night...but why, he couldn't remember.

"I assume I should fetch Cinderpaw, hm," Sootpelt murmured as he exited the warrior den. His felt like he'd been neglecting his apprentice a little bit lately, although why, he couldn't imagine. After all, they'd gone out hunting and battle training yesterday... Oh well. It wouldn't kill the young cat to get up early for a patrol.

He flicked his tail and trotted over to the apprentice den. Upon reaching it, he called inside, in a clear but quiet voice, "Cinderpaw! Dawn patrol!"

[:c a i:]

"Ah, Aspenfoot. Sootpelt." Flameclaw meowed idly, inspecting the two warriors. "You took your time. Never mind. We've got dawn patrol, or so my brother says." He waved his tail at Tigerheart who was sitting, vaguely keeping one ear on the conversation and running through his plans for the day at the same time. He was slightly sleep-ruffled at the moment; his dark golden pelt a little less sleek than it usually was. Flameclaw stood up, stretching himself to his great, towering size and glancing at Aspenfoot.

"It's just us three and any of your apprentices." He replied, nodding at Sootpelt as he spoke. As far as he knew, Aspenfoot had no apprentice, so when Sootpelt was ready with Cinderpaw, they could head out. Even as they spoke, the morning was brightening and Flameclaw knew the sun was awakening with them, meaning it was about time they got moving. "Hurry up, Sootpelt!" He called, his voice simultaneously authoritative and laid-back. This morning, Flameclaw was feeling quite relaxed, despite the thorny issues raised at last night's Gathering. The best thing to do, he thought, would be to get on with things and make sure all was well in ThunderClan.

"Well since I'm busy doing your work, Tigerheart, what are you planning on doing now?" He asked as he waited for Cinderpaw and Sootpelt. "If I hear you've been lazing about, I'll put dirt in your nest."

"Huh!" Tigerheart said in mock indignance. "As if I'd ever be lazing. I'm not Sparrowfur." He grinned, gesturing with his tail into the den where their other brother was still sleeping. He had finished grooming now, and his pelt was shining with its usual gleam. "I told you. I'm taking Patchpaw out hunting, as soon as I find someone else to go with. I want to leave early though, so I'll ask whoever else is awake." At this, he turned and looked around the den, eyes scanning for movement.

"Swallowfang." He called in a low voice. Hopefully she wasn't awake because of him and Flameclaw. If she was, she was likely to yell at him and Tigerheart did not want that. "Fancy coming hunting with me? And Patchpaw. Softpaw too, if you like." He added.

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

After watching Sootpelt and Aspenfoot leave the den, Swallowfang paused to shake out her short black fur. Most of the hairs settled easily into place, although it wasn't groomed and glossy as she usually liked it to look. Shrugging off concern over her dusty-looking fur, she decided she would wash it once she returned to camp.

Hearing her name called by Tigerheart's voice drew her attention to the entrance of the den. Well, that was convenient. She was mildly interested in how Patchpaw's training was coming along and the young apprentice might be a able to learn a bit from Softpaw. She might as well go.

"Fine." She said casually, emerging from the warriors' den and glancing at Tigerheart. "I'll go wake them up." She set off trotting across the clearing of camp and soon reached the apprentices' den. Sootpelt was already there, calling for Cinderpaw. Peering inside to see if the two of them were in, she thought she could see Softpaw's gray fur and the spotted pelt of Patchpaw. "Softpaw, Patchpaw. Wake up." Swallowfang called into the den.

((Bah, I don't feel like making a bunch of new threads. Spore and Yoko can just post here~))

[Kitty]

Sootpelt wasn't too fond of the fact that Flameclaw was rushing him. It wasn't his fault his apprentice wasn't responding. He paced in front of the den, calling Cinderpaw's name a couple more times.

Now what was keeping Cinderpaw? Usually he was quickto respond to wake up calls. Grumbling inwardly, he pushed into the apprentice den after Swallowfang and glanced around for the gray apprentice. He quickly located him, padded over, and prodded him in the ribs as he'd done Aspenfoot. "Dawn patrol!" he meowed in Cinderpaw's ear. Wouldn't want to keep Flameclaw waiting.

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Softpaw awoke to the sound of Swallowfang's brisk voice calling him and Patchpaw from the apprentices' den. The soft grey tom opened his round amber eyes and blinked in the early-morning light, gazing around the den as he woke up fully. Sootpelt was calling into the den as well, trying to wake up Cinderpaw. Getting to his paws, the older apprentice arched his back in an intense stretch as he clawed the bracken in front of him. Giving his pelt a brisk shake, he glanced at Swallowfang and nodded politely to her. "I'll make sure Patchpaw gets up," he said quietly before turning away and padding carefully around sleeping apprentices in order to reach another resting cat. He would keep his word and make sure that Patchpaw got up, but first there was another apprentice who needed a bit of prodding.

"Sootpelt is calling for you, cousin," Softpaw murmured in Cinderpaw's ear, resting a gentle paw on his flank. The younger apprentice was technically Softpaw's uncle, but considering that he was actually two moons younger than his 'nephew', the apprentice felt a bit odd calling him that. "Wake up, Cinderpaw. I believe that you're supposed to be going on dawn patrol." Lingering for a few moments, he moved off to pick his way back through the apprentices' den in order to reach Patchpaw's nest. If Cinderpaw wasn't awake by the time he was done rousing the young she-cat, then he would be back to make sure he didn't sleep through the morning. "Wake up, Patchpaw," Softpaw murmured gently, his voice low in the smaller apprentice's ear. "Swallowfang wants us both awake for something. I think we may be going hunting."

[Yoko]

Patchpaw stirred slowly and lifted one eyelid to look at the grey apprentice. It had been a late night for her, but she felt remarkably well-rested. She uncurled and stretched her way out of ths soft moss. "Good Morning, Softpaw," she mewed in a half yawn.

"Hunting, hmm?" she mewed quietly, despite the fact that it was time for most of the apprentices to get up anyway. "Always a fine way to start the morning."

She slipped out of the apprentice den without a glance back at the Softpaw and the other apprentices. The Clan needed feeding and she had no doubt that they would require her skill to bring back a fair amount of fresh-kill.

"Good Morning, Tigerheart," she mewed brightly. "What are we doing for the day?"

As if she had not taken Softpaw's guess as fact.

[:c a i:]

"Hello, Patchpaw." Tigerheart greeted his apprentice in a low, cool voice. He regarded her with golden, appraising eyes, nodding approvingly. She'd come quickly; before any of the others' apprentices and he was glad. He looked over to see if Swallowfang was coming back with Softpaw too. He looked back at Patchpaw to answer her, but Flameclaw got in first.

"You're going hunting. At least, that's your mentor's excuse for not going on dawn patrol and making me go instead." Flameclaw's strong voice was tinged with amusement. "So I expect a vole by the end of the day. Got it? And if you don't catch one for me... I'll just blame Tigerheart's appalling mentoring skills." He grinned at his brother who shot him a glare.

"Thanks, Flameclaw. As complimentary as always." Tigerheart replied, rolling his eyes yet again. He and his brother were always trading banter like this and he couldn't think about it being any other way. It would be like looking at a Flameclaw without stripes. "But yes, Patchpaw, we're going hunting with Swallowfang and Softpaw." He gave a brief nod of confirmation at Patchpaw before he took a few steps closer and muttered so that Flameclaw couldn't hear.

"Now I'm not having Flameclaw judge my mentoring skills, so I'm expecting a good hunt from you, all right?" He liked to push his apprentice and knew that she would do well if she rose to his challenges. No point in allowing her to rest on her laurels. She was a capable cat and Tigerheart was certainly not planning on giving Flameclaw any ammo. With one of his secretive half-smiles, Tigerheart leaned back again. "Right, Swallowfang's nearly ready, so we'll be off shortly." He meowed. "Have fun patrolling." He grinned at Flameclaw. "If you ever get out, that is." He added, looking around for Sootpelt and Cinderpaw. "You seem to be missing a couple."

Flameclaw gave a grunt of disapproval at Tigerheart and looked around. "Sootpelt! If Cinderpaw doesn't turn up in about ten seconds, we're going to have to leave without him. The point in dawn patrol is that it happens before sunhigh." His strong voice was cheery, despite his words and he wasn't really annoyed. Just slightly impatient to get going. He didn't like waiting around since it meant that he could've stayed in his nest a little longer whilst they faffed about trying to find lost apprentices. Irritatingly it was Tigerheart's apprentice who turned up first, so he couldn't even tease his brother. Oh well, he thought with a mock sigh, next time.

[Yoko]

Patchpaw smiled brightly at the witty exchange between the brothers. It always amused her that two excellent warriors would go out of their way to tease each other like this. The pressure on her shoulders to have a good hunt this morning did not phase her in the least. She knew exactly what to do, and had unwavering faith in her abilities.

"One vole?" she mewed with a wrinkled nose and continued in a more arrogant tone with a smug smile. "I could catch several. But if it's one that you want, I'll have it in no time."

She turned to lick her paw as if showing how trivial a task it was to catch a single vole. Already she was growing impatient to prove herself this morning and thought irritatably that Swallowfang and Softpaw were holding up the patrol. No matter, she told herself. I can catch a vole anytime, dawn, sunhigh, or nightfall Even though she had only had a moon of training, and knew only the most basic of hunting skills, it did not quail her confidence. One might think this a dangerous flaw...

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Softpaw raised his head and gave the younger apprentice some space as she sat up and blinked awake. Patchpaw returned his greeting and slid quickly out of the den without another word. He looked back at Cinderpaw's nest and stifled a flash of irritation when he saw that his cousin was still sleeping. Patchpaw would likely be waiting outside with Tigerheart and Swallowfang, being her usual self-important self and making him look tardy whilst he attempted to rouse his kin. He had gotten up first hadn't he? Yet he was likely going to be the last one out. Sighing inwardly, the dove-grey tom moved back to Cinderpaw's nest and prodded his ribs with a paw. He would at least give it one more try before leaving the younger apprentice to his own devices and leaving on his hunting patrol. "Sootpelt is waiting for you, Cinderpaw," he sighed quietly. "I'm going hunting with Swallowfang, so you should probably get up now before Sootpelt has to come in here himself. He won't be pleased if he has to call you twice."

Giving his younger relative's ear a flick, Softpaw padded quickly out of the den before his own mentor could become impatient with him. He may be considerate enough to wake the other apprentices, but the courtesy didn't extend far enough to hold up his own patrol. Stretching at the den entrance, he caught his tail and gave it a few long licks to neaten it quickly before they left. He didn't have time to clean his whole pelt - waking the other apprentices took up the time he might have used for his own waking rituals - but there was always time later to do a more thorough job. Finishing with his plumy tail, he strolled over to his mentor and nodded politely to her and Tigerheart. "I'm sorry if I kept you waiting," he offered mildly. "I was hoping to rouse Cinderpaw before Sootpelt was forced go in himself and drag him out by his tail, but eventually I was forced to admit defeat. Shall we go?"

[froststream]

Cinderpaw jerked awake, amber eyes flashing. When he saw the cats nearby, and heard the words "Dawn Patrol" he immediately stumbled to his feet, flicking off the bits of moss clinging to his fur. The air was chilly, and he felt groggy and tired. But, he looked forward to seeing his cousin as well as his mentor, so he did the best he could with a quick grooming, then ran outside to greet the other cats.

"Sorry," he panted, eyes flickering. "Really." He glanced apologetically at the cats around him, and self consciously smoothed his fur out and sat down patiently. He loved patrols. Even when they were boring, when they didn't see anything, he enjoyed getting out of the camp and into the forest, especially with a group.

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

((Now for an attempt at the lighter, less grumpy side of her personality that I seem to have forgotten about. O.o))

Swallowfang nodded approvingly at Softpaw and stepped back from the entrance of the den. Softpaw was a polite, obedient tom and always seemed to do what she asked. In a way they were a good mentor-apprentice match because they didn't butt heads or squabble like some. They got along well, she didn't mind his presence and she assumed he didn't mind her either.

Softpaw was taking a while waking the other apprentices so the black-furred warrior simply got up and padded back toward the toms. Her apprentice would be able to come over once he finished. Catching the conversation between them, Swallowfang let out a sharp laugh at Flameclaw's jibe and Tigerheart's reaction. "I don't think you'll have any trouble proving him wrong, Tigerheart. Patchpaw seems so confident that she must know she can do it."

Speaking of leaving out on patrol, all they needed was Softpaw. Glancing at the apprentices' den again as Flameclaw did, she knew the apprentices will come eventually. "He'll get out here sooner or later," She told Flameclaw briskly, and sure enough Cinderpaw and Softpaw came out nearly one right after the other.

As Softpaw came over Swallowfang became eager to leave camp. "Yes, let's get going. The Sycamore or Owl Tree will probably have prey." She offered as a suggestion for where they would go to hunt.