Sleep on, sweet prince [Thicketwhisker]

[briarpaw]

The time: just after dawn. The sky was only just growing lighter with the rising sun, tinting clouds pink and orange in a beautiful array of colors. Inside the apprentice's den, the warriors-in-training slept. Some of them slept silently, some of them snored, some of them fidgeted and squirmed.

There was one cat, however, who seemed rather... separated from the others. His limbs were splayed all over his nest and his tail was crooked in a way that most would think uncomfortable. Had anybody else been sleeping near him, no doubt they would have been shoved half out of their own nest. Whether or not the exile was self imposed or not didn't seem to matter to young Briarpaw, however.

He slept on and shifted in his sleep, rolling over and squirming a bit. Still sleeping and dreaming his dreams, the brown and white tom mumbled, "Ladies, ladies, you're all pretty! There's no need to fight, there's plenty of me to go around..."

thicketwhisker

[thicketwhisker]

Thicketwhicker ~ 50 ~ Senior Warrior ~ ShadowClan ~ Tom

Thicketwhisker was up with the sun, as he nearly always was. He slipped out of the den, leaving behind his mate to continue her slumber. He went on a quick pad around the camp clearing to loosen the tired muscles from their slumber as he blinked away the goop in his eyes. He was always quick to rise and didn't take much time to do so. Despite his long pelt, he didn't require much grooming and usually took only a moment to flatten the cur on his head and ears. He also wasn't one to eat first thing in the morning and he always preferred to get a good hunt in first, especially in newleaf.

One moon ago, Thicketwhisker had been assigned his third apprentice. Brairpaw was expected to be a pawful and he had proved to live up to that assumption. The warrior had been tasked with teaching the younger tom humility and sensibility and so far, he had found himself struggling. But it had only been a moon and he knew he could win over the other tabby. Thicketwhisker had given him the last two days off from training in exchange for the apprentice going on a patrol a day on his own. He'd had other warriors watch over him to see how he performed without his teacher around and now, Thicketwhisker had feedback from a second set of eyes with which to train his prodigy.

The older tom padded out of the camp to make dirt before going out a few yards from the entrance and tasting the air. He could tell today would be a good day for hunting but he wanted to test the prey first. He set out, vowing only to take a few minutes to find something and eat before returning to wake his student. It wasn't long before Thicketwhisker found a small but fat vole and it was was even shorter before the creature was killed and being eaten. And with his appetite sated, he walked back to camp.

The tom had told his apprentice to wake just after dawn but as expected the younger cat was not outside. He attempted to fit his bulk into the smaller den and locate his apprentice. "-to fight, there's plenty of me to go around..." Thicketwhisker rolled his eyes and shook his head but couldn't help the chuckle that passed his muzzle. A short flashback to his own days as a young warrior and the player he had been made him see affection for the young tom. But his humour was stifled by a shot of pain and grief when he remember the life that had been lost because of his arrogant and cocky ways. The laughter in his face died and he kicked an extended footpaw of the younger cat. "Wake up, Brairpaw and meet me outside. Today we hunt."

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[briarpaw]

Just as the dream was starting to get to the good part, Briarpaw felt something jab at his paw. It was more the shock of the whack than any actual pain that jolted him awake. "Huh? Wuzzat?" he snorted, blinking blearily. He just barely made out a blurry gray and white shape when he heard Thicketwhisker's voice. Wake up, Briarpw, and meet me outside. Today we hunt."

Briarpaw made a wordless noise of complain and buried his face into his tail, trying to capture back even a whisker of his dream. But no, it was gone now. Even if Briarpaw stayed in his nest until he was old and gray, he'd never go back to sleep. He groaned loudly and rolled out of his nest, knowing nobody would be near him to hit. He stretched out his limbs, one by one, before padding heavily out into the clearing.

Yellow eyes stayed half-lidded, and Briarpaw yawned wide enough that his jaw cracked and his teeth flashed. "Iz too early for thiz. Can we do it later? Don't wanna." he slurred. His mouth felt fuzzy, like moss had grown in it over night, and he smacked his lips together to try and chase the taste away. "I feel like I ate half my nest in my sleep. It feels all cottony and dry. Can I eat first, or at least get a drink? Couldn't you have gotten someone actually pretty to wake me up? Not that you aren't pretty yourself, Thicketwhisker. Just, you know, I'd be a lot happier to properly wake up if it was to someone a little more... feminine, if you get my meaning."

thicketwhisker