RedpeltRedpeltRedpelt!

[Kitty]

Mousepaw was a tough apprentice.

Yes, the silvery she-cat loved her, make no mistake, but sometimes the apprentice could be so...mousebrained. She had no idea how many times she'd told her not to leave camp without her mentor's permission. Mousepaw had gotten off the hook so far, but next time...no, the brown tabby would not get so lucky. Next time she snuck out of camp, there would be consequences, and Smallnose had already warned her apprentice of it.

She needed someone to tell about Mousepaw's disobedience. But who? Who could she trust not to tell on the little she-cat?

That was it...Redpelt! Her poor friend, the tom she'd trained alongside of, the tom who'd been forced into an earlier retirement over five moons ago from a dog attack even though he was younger than Smallnose was herself. They'd been good friends throughout their lives.

Smallnose leapt to her paws and hurried off to the elders den, where she could only hope none of the other elders were present. The small she-cat peeped her head into the darkened den and let out a meow. "Redpelt?" she mewed. "Redpelt, Redpelt, Redpelt? You awake in there?" Her eyes sought out the familiar ginger pelt and stumpy tail of her friend.

[hedgie]

"Of course I'm awake. Do you really think I'd spend the day sleeping, Smallnose?"

The reply, spoken in a smooth voice, slightly dark in tone, came from a well-groomed heap of fur in the back of the den. A stumpy half-tail flicked in irritation as the ginger tom lifted his head from his paler paws. Redpelt's eyes sparked in the shadows of the den as he stretched, standing up so that his back hit the top of the den. Limping over, he clumsily bumped his nose against Smallnose's shoulder.

He was a nice cat when he wanted to be, and how could he be mean to a cat like Smallnose, who had never done a bad thing to him? He sent a small smile in her direction, looking a bit lopsided due to the injury that had sent him away from his desired duties a s a warrior.

"Did you need me for something? Or did you just stop by to talk?" He mewed, easily himself down into a sitting position. Large ears flickered subconciuosly as he focused his large green eyes on her.

"Is it Mousepaw?' He guessed. "Just a hunch."

[Kitty]

Smallnose had to laugh. "True, Redpelt, so very true. You're always itching to be doing something, my friend." She bumped her head against the ginger's shoulder affectionately.

"Is there something wrong with me coming for a visit?" she asked, a bit downfallen because not only had she nott come for only a visit but because Redpelt knew her well enough to know that. SHe sighed. "But you're right. I am here because of Mousepaw." She glanced down at her paws, then sat on the dusty ground, wrapping her silver tail around her paws.

"Its just...she;s so disobedient. I've told her over and over again not to leave camp without telling a warrior where she's off to, but does she listen? No, less than a quarter moon later I'm up half the night waiting for her to return," the small she-cat explained. "I don't know what to do about her. I told her that if it happens again, there will be punishment...but I don't know if that will be enough. I really do like her, Redpelt, and I don't want to punish her. What should I do?"

Hopefully her should-be-warrior friend would know what to do. Perhaps spending so much time around the elders had made him wiser than Smallnose was. Maybe he would give her some useful advice.

[hedgie]

Redpelt watched her, eyes softening as she listed off her problems. she seemed upset at his first comment, and he sighed. "Smallnose, my friend, you know I'm just kidding. I don't mean to sound rough. We're friends, and I'm just poking fun at you. I always do." He smiled quickly, tail wrapping around his own red-furred paws. He resisted the urge to yawn and roll his shoulders in a stretch. That might make him look tired, and he was anything but that right now. The Windclan elder was wide awake, his attention focused on the she-cat in front of him.

"Knew it.' He chirped, letting her continue on. "She's going through a rebellious stage, that's all. Most apprentices go through it."He shrugged, thinking over a response. "Here's what you do, Smallnose," He leaned forward a bit, putting more of his weight onto one of his front paws, his eyes sparking with some sort of plan.

"Let her make her own mistakes. If Mousepaw screws up, she's sure to learn from it. Let her explore and push her boundaries. She's smart enough to not get into any serious trouble, so you'll promise me you won't worry about her getting injured. Mousepaw needs to find herself out. Like I said, let her make her own mistakes right now, learn her own lessons. She'll come running to you for help soon enough. Whatever mistake she makes, she'll know that listening to you was the best way to go in the first place."

He sat back up, flicking his ears once more. "That's my suggestion. It made sense, right? Or was I rambling on?"

[Kitty]

((She's smart enough not to get into any serious trouble, huh?
Little ds they know....>D))

The small silver she-cat listened intently to Redpelt through his suggestion. And actually it was a pretty good one. It made sense. Perfect sense. Mousepaw would come to her when she needed it, and until then she would have to be patient. Of course, she'd already promised that next time Mousepaw snuck out of camp she would be punished, but that could be worried about later.

It made enough sense for Smallnose to bowl the young elder over, purring. She was careful, of course - wouldn't want to mess up his previously injured leg any more than it already was, would she? - attacking the uninjured side and being extra careful as she perched on him.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, Redpelt!" she half purred, half meowed. "It made perfect sense. You weren't rambling or anything this time!" she teased, tickling the ginger tom's nose with her tail tip. "I'm so glad I came to you instead of some other warrior!"

[hedgie]

Redpelt had just been sitting there, talking to Smallnose, when he suddenly found himself pinned to the ground, like a mouse. It was the last thing he'd expected his friend to do, and the look of surprise upon his face was more than just comical. The red-furred tom wiggled underneath her paws, but it was hopeless. Smallnose had him stuck. He was purring, and truly having a good time. It had been a while since he'd had enough fun to get that rumbling purr started.

"Glad I could be of service to yo-Hey! You make it sound as if I ramble all the time, Smallnose!" He replied, nose wrinkling as her tail flicked across it. Any cat who saw them probably would've thought they were being too immature for cats their age, but who said they weren't aloud to have fun now and then? "Other warriors don't think the same way I do." He mewed, half laughing. "They don't have the time to think like that. Not that I like having so much time, but...still..." He couldn't shrug, seeing as the silver-furred she-cat was sitting on him.

[Kitty]

Smallnose simply grinned at his accusation, refusing to remove herself from her position on the tom, despite how much he moved and writhed. Actually, she almost did lose her balance - she was this close, but she managed to remain perched on him.

"Who says you don't, Redpelt?" she teased. "My old friend, I don't think its possible for any other cat to think the same way you do. No one has as much time as you, you lazy old tom," she joked. "C'mon, we're gonna go hunting tomorrow. You and me, okay? We're going to get you out of camp and doing something, because you've got so much time on your paws." Reluctantly she climbed off of the red-furred tom. Being pressed against the ground by a cat - even though she was a pretty small one - probably wasn't too comfortable, especially since the ground here in the elders den was more packed down than the ground at the place that WindClan warriors and their apprentices usually trained.

[hedgie]

Somehow, despite how much he moved around, Smallnose stayed on him. Pinned, he finally gave up, loosening his body to make this new accommodation slightly more comfortable. Though it was stil a bit awkward, but that could be dismissed.

"You did not just call me old." He mewed, lifting his head up to mock-glare at Smallnose. "I am far from old, and you know it. Seriously? It's not my fault I'm lazy and have so much time. I have nothing else to do but think and scare away little kits who come my way." He paused. "I don't scare them on purpose." He laughed, perking up as she mentioned hunting. "Oh, do we have to wait until tomorrow, Smallnose? You know I'll be up all night thinking about getting out of this boring old den." She stepped off and he rolled back onto his stomach, still grinning.

"I guess i can wait. It'll be hard."

[Kitty]

"Fine, then, lazy bones," Smallnose teased, prodding her old friend in the ribs. "You can wait until tomorrow. It isn't that long, you know. Its nearly sundown already, after all!" She laughed. "You haven't been out training and teaching an apprentice to hunt all day!" As if to prove her point, a long yawn escaped the small silver she-cat's mouth of its own accord. "I think after I leave here I'm gonna crash," she added. "I'm beat. Even thought Mousepaw's seemed so distracted recently, and I had to send her off on her own to hunt and hunt by myself because she was distracting me with her distractiveness - if that even makes sense - I'm still beat." She chuckled. "Being a mentor is hard work, Redpelt. If I've learned nothing else from my time as a warrior, that's it."