ƬΉΣ FӨЯGӨƬƬΣП FIVΣ ЯP

[Wolfstar]

Hawk followed, spotting a black paw before it disappeared. At least Oddkit had listened, for once. "Is there anything you would like to know? Or learn, if you can handle my training that is," he offered.

"Of course, since I have nothing else to do," Soul said, watching her climb up and come back down with the leaf. "Burdock is a tall-stemmed, dark leaved, and sharp smelling thistle. You'll have to dig up the roots and wash them. Goldenrod is easy, since it's a bright yellow. Stinging nettle are spiny green seeds. Borage leaves can be found by its small blue or pink, star-shaped flowers and hairy leaves." He blinked and looked down. "I spent too much time with Sagemask, or just in the medicine den in general."

[Shadow Sharpfang]

(you didn't reply with Storm .~.)

Mintpaw puffed out a breath. "I've been working extra hard in my training, you know! This is my day off! I don't wanna learn anything!" Then she tapped her paw on the ground, ears twitching. "Well, I mean, unless you know something super cool that you could teach me...?" She gave him a pointed look, hopeful.

"Okay, okay, got it. Let's go with the thistly-thistle first. Those are spiky, aren't they? I think I know where some spiky flowers grow." Burningsky held the leaf lightly in her teeth so as not to damage it and started walking, looking for the grove of Burdock she claimed to have seen once.

[Wolfstar]

(I'm sorry, thought I did, really. I'll do it now)

"Hmm," Hawk thought for a moment, thinking about what he could teach. "Well, you're a Willowclan apprentice. So about trying to confuse me and use your speed against me? Cedarclan is known for their strong build and slyness, so try to win against me." Hawk took a few steps back and looked at Mintpaw with a smirk. "You get to fight a cat who lived for years, consider that an honor. In Cedarclan, they loved challenges."

Soul followed behind, staying quiet unless he needed to speak. Although, the word ravine kept going in and out of his thoughts, which he didn't like.

"I'm slightly envious of Cedarclan, since their pelts are thick and thorn just go right through them without making a scratch. Although, that doesn't work with me I guess, since I like to swim," Storm responded.

[Shadow Sharpfang]

"Hmm..." Mintpaw wasn't too sure, but she had to admit that Willowclan cats were much more agile than Cedarclan cats in a lot of cases. Of course, Hawk was also bigger and had more experience than she, but the bet was tempting. Being the boastful apprentice she was, she couldn't refuse. "Alright! I'll take you on!"

Burningsky approached the thistles. "hey, I knew they were here. These are the right ones, right?" Without waiting for a reply, she lowered her head and started digging up a few of the flowers so she could collect the roots.

"Oh, I see. Yes, I understand that. It is a wonderful quality to have in battle. They must get hot during the warm season with such thick fur though." He shook his head, deciding that that would be quite unpleasant. Looking up at the sky, he said, "Do you think cats are the only animals that band together in clans? Are there bird clans? Mouse clans? What about badger clans? Those would be...a problem," he concluded with a small shiver.

[Wolfstar]

Hawk nodded, widening his stance. "My claws will be sheathed, but I won't go easy on you, got that?" The tom hadn't killed anyone in awhile, and they usually didn't really make a challenge. So hopefully, he would get a rush out of this.

Soul nodded, "that is burdock, but expect dirt when you get the root." He looked away, looking the way the ravine laid. "I have to go down and visit soon.." he muttered.

"Well, dogs have packs, so there has to be other animals that do the same," Storm nodded. "We had to go through a territory of a small pack, about four or six if you can even call it a pack. It was terrifying, but we made it through without a fight."

[Shadow Sharpfang]

Mintpaw nodded. "Okay, gotcha! Who gets the first move?" She jumped back a few steps and lowered her stance, paws tingling.

"Hm, visit where?" Burningsky asked before sticking her face into the dirt so that she could get a closer view of the roots. She didn't want to damage them with her claws while she dug.

"Dog packs. That does sound terrifying. I hope we won't have to fight either." He flattened his ears, bothered by the thought. "I only trust in the abilities of two of the five of us, though I'm sure all five of you are beyond capable to help should a fight indeed arise."

[Wolfstar]

Hawk pounced without another word, landing in front of Mintpaw and waving a paw, hoping to knock her off her paws. "Talking distracts you! Show me what you have willow-rat!" he snarled.

"N-nowhere," he stuttered, looking back at Burningsky. Soul had forgotten for a small moment that he wasn't alone.

"Which two do you trust?" Storm asked, tilting his head. "I would like to hear your opinion, on the clan cats that will be with you. We've talking about you five awhile ago, too,"

[Shadow Sharpfang]

Mintpaw, who was prickling with anticipation, was startled by the movement and jumped back, dodging it. "Oh! I see that!" she squeaked as she moved, trying to run around behind Hawk and pounce on his back.

Burningsky removed her head from the dirt for a moment to stare suspiciously at Soul, then she returned to her digging. She collected the roots and dropped them onto her leaf. "What next, yellow flowers? I've seen plenty of those around." She walked off in another direction.

Hollowpaw's response took thought. "Dawnscar and Icepetal. Dawnscar has seen his fair share of fights and although he's rough, he knows what he's doing. Icepetal seems calm and respectable, I think she can keep things under control. Burningsky is obviously a delinquent and doesn't strike me as useful from any standpoints, and Mintpaw is your average apprentice with too much spunk and not enough brains or brawn." He was very frank about his opinions.

[Wolfstar]

Hawk leaped forward and spun around, his glare on Mintpaw. "So far, you're doing better than the traitors I've killed. Now let's see you actually land something!" He spat and he stayed where he was.

"Goldenrod, yeah.." he followed Burningsky again, making sure to not say any thoughts out loud.

"Hawk said the same thing about Dawnscar, Cedarclan cat till the end I guess," He chuckled at his comment. "I do agree with you, Icepetal keeps calm like a gentle flowing stream. Burningsky isn't bright either, but she may prove herself, who knows? And I believe Mintpaw will come around, mostly because we've talked about both of your training." Storm looked down at the stream and struck out, managing to catch a fish as it landed beside him.

[Shadow Sharpfang]

"Okay!" she agreed and she recalled everything she had learned the past few days. She learned a feinting technique recently and decided to test it. She feinted to the left and then dashed to the right, attempting to smack Hawk on the cheek with her paw.

Burningsky caught scent of the Goldenrod and followed her nose to a small clearing where some of it was growing. "Found it!" She started gnawing at the stems of the flowers.

Hollowpaw nodded, listening to each word closely. "It's nice to know you agree. I myself am not strong on the battlefield but I've been told I'm useful for my intelligence. I can only hope I'll prove myself worthy, too." He watched as the fish dropped onto the ground next to Storm. He'd never attempted fishing. It seemed difficult. Looking into the stream, he wondered how the fish breathed.

[Wolfstar]

Hawk took the hit, but he shoved himself towards the apprentice, his paws outstretched as he aimed at her side.

Soul nodded, somewhat happy to know a few herbs. "What's left to get? Borage and nettle?" he asked, watching her gnaw at the stems.

Storm laid down with the fish between his paws. "Since the two of you will be doing some training while we're on the journey, who would you chose as your mentor?" He asked, taking a bite of the fish. "Sun is from Oakclan, so she knows a few things from back when she was still a warrior. Dew likes to reinsure, but does know a few moves, but since she used to be from Willowclan, it'll be about speed. Hawk trains hard, so expect to be tired from his training, and he also does practice battles, so expect to fight him with claws sheathed and full strength. I'm not sure how I'd train, neither with Soul, even though he's been wanting an apprentice."

[Shadow Sharpfang]

Mintpaw used her momentum to spin out of the way, but she tumbled into a bush as she did so, and got herself caught in the thorns. "Hey, time out! I'm stuck!"

"Mhm," Burningsky mumbled through the stems as she placed them into her leaf. "I dunno where I might get those. Any ideas?" She picked up the leaf again.

Hollowpaw thought. "Well, let's consider my strengths and weaknesses. I'm smart, but I can't move very quickly, because I get tangled up in my own paws. Knowing that, Dew is out of the question. My size could be a benefit though. I don't have much muscle to go with it, however. I don't think Hawk would be an ideal choice in any case. With all of that said, who do you think could work around what I can't do and improve upon what I might be able to do?" He didn't seem very optimistic, but someone as blunt and logical as he was bound to be a pessimist.

[Wolfstar]

"There is never a timeout in battle!" Hawk spat as he walked over, pulling her out by her tail. "You're either considered dead, or defeated as they deal more blows to you. We're done Mintpaw," he walked over to a lavender bush, lashing his tail out. "Also, you may have lasted longer, but you went down quickly. You'll need someone to help you with that, either your own mentor, or one of us while we're on the journey."

Soul thought for a moment. "I'm not sure, about the nettle, or the borage. The territory has changed since I last...lived here," he replied.

"I'm not exactly sure, possibly Sun? Again, she was an Oakclan warrior, but she's smart and tactical as well. Otherwise, I suggest seeing us in action before choosing," Storm responded, finishing his meal.

[Shadow Sharpfang]

Mintpaw's tail drooped and her ears were lowered. "Sorry," she mumbled, feeling ashamed. She had trained so hard, so being put down like this felt like being crushed by a boulder, especially to an overexcited apprentice like herself. "I guess I have to work harder!"

Burningsky scowled at him. "Useless. Do you at least know what it smells like? When all else fails, follow your nose, right?"

"Hm, Sun seems reasonable, but perhaps I will wait until I get to see you all in action. That seems wise." A small bug had squirmed into the fur between his pads and he picked it out with his teeth. "I'm looking forward to it."

[Wolfstar]

Hawk nodded, "You will, otherwise the journey won't go well for you. Speaking of training, who do you want to train you while we're on the journey? We don't want to stop your apprentice training, since we don't know how long we'll be away from the clans."

Soul pinned his ears back and narrowed his eyes. "This is your task, not mine!" he snapped. "I don't need to judge for what I'm not even in charge for. I helped you get two of the items at least! At least I remember names!" He stood up, his tail lashing. "Ashclan deserves better than-than you! Now that I'm actually talking to you, I'm wondering why, out of all cats, they had to chose you!" Without another word, he walked off.

Storm smiled, "Good to know that, in all honestly. Is there any questions that you have? I might be able to answer them."

[Shadow Sharpfang]

Mintpaw looked around. "I get to pick a mentor? Hm... I'd probably pick you, but uh, you're kind of scary." She laughed nervously. "Who else is there again?"

Burningsky hadn't been expecting the sudden outburst from Soul and she appeared hurt, but after a moment of focus it was gone. "Hey! I'm not trained to do this, I can't help it!" She yelled after him, and she didn't care if he heard her or not. "Yeah, they probably do deserve better, but that's too bad! Don't ask me why they chose me, either, 'cause I haven't the faintest clue! Maybe they thought it'd be funny! Well, it's not!" She sighed, and remembered how much she disliked yelling. "Great StarClan. Why me, indeed." She picked up her leaf and trudged along, scouring the land until she found what she needed.

"Yes. I have one or two." He looked down at the river again. "Do you know how fish live under the water, with no air?" Then he blinked. "I'm sorry, you meant about the journey, didn't you? Well, let's see. What will the trip be like, what kinds of areas will we be passing through?"

[Wolfstar]

"Sun, Dew, Storm, and Soul. Hollowpaw will be allowed to chose as well," Hawk responded, laying down and examining claws. "Just because I'm scary, doesn't mean I'm a good mentor. I trained an apprentice that actually became a leader, she trained well and leaded well. It was nice."

Soul went to the tunnels, walking in and following a path he remembered well. As he climbed down, words appeared and disappeared, making him his and shake his head. When he saw light up ahead, he continued going till he was at the bottom of the ravine. He looked around before going to a small patch of flowers, laying next to it. "Hey Briarthorn, it's been awhile."

"Twoleg territory, farms, mountains, that's what I remember at least," Storm said. "I'm not sure if anything changed, we'll have to see when it begins."

[Shadow Sharpfang]

"Hmm, well, can I think about it, or should I chose now?" she asked, recalling each of the cats and wondering who would be best.

Burningsky came across a patch of what looked like borage and collected some of it. Then she continued on the search for nettle.

Hollowpaw nodded, trying to picture the scenery in his head. "Twolegs. I've never understood how they lived. They're so different from all the other animals. And the mountains, what are they like? I've heard that they're beautiful, but dangerous places. Is that true?"

[Wolfstar]

"You may think about it for as long as you want, until it's time to train that is," Hawk sheathed his claws and looked up at Mintpaw. "You'll be training with Hollowpaw as well."

Soul stayed by the patch, talking about what was happening recently and what going to happen. The only thing that seemed to relax him at the moment.

"They are dangerous, yes, but they view an excellent view of the land below. Everything seems small when you're up high," Storm said, trying to remember his time on the mountains. "The dangers would have to be falling rocks and large birds, which where easy to avoid. Most of the time anyway."

[Shadow Sharpfang]

"Aw, I don't wanna train with him, he seems boring!" Mintpaw muttered, her tongue poking out of her mouth. "But okay. I'll think on it!" Her jade eyes were bright, enthusiastic.

Burningsky came across the stinging nettle in an unfortunate way - being stung by it. She stepped on a leaf and felt a sharp prickling in her pad. She winced and lifted her paw, spotting the plant and the spiky hairs on its leaves. "I see why they call it stinging nettle now," she commented, and gathered it in her leaf. Finally finished, she gratefully began the walk back to camp.

"Hm, sounds lovely, aside from the birds and the rocks," Hollowpaw surmised with a nod. He bent over and lapped a few mouthfuls of water from the river, then sat up again. "Well, I think that's about everything. Perhaps I should be returning to camp. I've been out since dawn, someone must be looking for me by now. Unless there was anything else you wanted to mention?"