Listen [Icepaw, open]

[phoenix]

Ashwhisker let her eyes close and her ears open to all the sounds of the river. Her multicolored coat shone in the early morning light, the sun only just having made its way over the horizon. Her ears picked up sounds of insects and birdsong from across the river in Thunderclan woods. The heard the sounds of the river lapping at the stepping stones near by, and the shore right in front of her paws. The water so close she could just barely feel it creeping up to her toes before it ebbed back, flowing in a never ending cycle.

A cycle which she had yet to see with her eyes. She knew the path up to here from camp and back like she knew her own four paws and could do so many times with her eyes closed, knowing the way near instinctively. She'd come here many a morning during her apprentice days, early in the morning before the sun itself woke up from slumber. Just to think, listen to the sounds and songs of nature around her, and start off the day on a good, peaceful emotion rather than one of laziness or irritation. She'd come out here and stay until the sun was partway up in the sky, catch some fish, bring it back to camp and them start her training.

Now she did so as a warrior much as she had done as an apprentice, except this time she need not rush for her mentor nor for training of any kind. She could be out here 'til sunset if she wished, catching fish for all the clan to feed themselves and for her to never worry of them growing thin due to food shortages. The only opponent she had in this particular battle, would be leaf-bare, but that was a season of shortage and she knew better than to stay out then. She'd made that mistake once and had gotten sick for it. And with her track record when she was a kit, she knew the medicine cats would take no chances with her. So she wouldn't either, for their peace of mind.

Today was one of those lulling, almost dull and boring spring days which never ceased to slow Ashwhisker down. Not by much. Her daily routine was much the same as what she was doing now, listening for the river. Listening to the sounds around her. Listening, for the fish. With one paw, without her eyes, she lunged. While she may not be as good of a hunter as she was a fighter, her hunting techniques were to make up for that lack. Often seeing very odd to most of her clan. No use of her eyes for the task as many others did. Her eyes, she'd explained to her brother one day, would only get in the way and make her weakness in hunting more noticeable. Without her sight, she didn't have that. She may not catch as many fish as anyone else, may not get the biggest ones in the river, but she never missed.

[sweetchaos]

Icepaw quietly crept out of her nest in the apprentice’s den, not wishing to wake any of her sleeping den mates. She stretched her lean, seal point coat body in the weak sunlight of the morning, causing her slight muscles to bulge. The young she cat yawned, trying to chase away the last of her sleepiness. “I wonder if my mentor is awake yet…” she thought to herself as she cast her blue gaze around the camp clearing. She sighed in disappointment, not seeing her appointed teacher of the warrior ways.

The Siamese colored cat swiped her tongue over paws, quickly giving her slim body a morning bath while she waited for any sign of other the clan members. Her tail twitched in irritation as still no other cats appeared. Icepaw sighed in boredom, her young mind not able to allow her body to just sit and wait. The she cat decided to go out on an adventure of her very own, her ears pricking with delight at her wonderful thought, thinking herself a genius. As the young cat stealthily padded out of the safety of the camp, she felt her pelt tingle with the excitement of going out on her own with no one to tell her what she could and could not do.

Icepaw bounded joyfully through her clan’s territory, enjoying her new found freedom and letting out an exhilarated shout. Her ears caught the sound of the river that the cats of her clan loved so much, and she made a hasty decision to head in its direction. Upon reaching the river’s location, the young she cat froze, catching the scent of another cat. She relaxed somewhat when she recognized Ashwhisker, her fellow clan mate. The other she cat was seemed to be fishing with her eyes closed, so Icepaw figured she would be safe hiding in the reeds. She didn’t want to get into trouble. Yet, she was itching with the need to ask Ashwhisker how she could fish without seeing.

[phoenix]

The tortoiseshell and white she-cat sniffed, scenting another cat near by, but giving no indication that she knew. An ear flickered in the direction she thought the cat, younger than her and of Riverclan, rested but was, without her sight, unsure. Perhaps speaking would call attention to the younger and let the warrior know where she is? Or would that be counterproductive? Ashwhisker's tail flicked to one side, swiping again in the water and pulling another fish out. They were small ones, but would do for a kit or two that would be leaving the nursery soon, or the queen, perhaps. Now, focus on the larger fish. The absence of sound...

The cat was still there. She'd wait for now, there were no fish nearby at the moment. Perhaps she'd be able to talk to the younger, even teach them what she knew if they had similar problems with hunting, or if they wished to learn for fun. It would be nice, seeing as she had no apprentice and wasn't expecting to get one anytime soon. It was the least she could do, to pass on something of what she knew.

"Hello." She called, identifying through another inhale of the cat's scent that it was Icepaw. "You can come out now, no need to hide around me. If your mentor ends up scolding you for being out if they haven't told you that you could, just tell them you were with me and that I allowed you to stay. If they have a problem with it, they can take it up with me."

To be honest, she didn't much care if Icepaw's mentor would be mad, because she didn't allow herself to get angry. Was it a bad thing? Perhaps, seeing as in doing so she might accidentally give off the air of someone who just didn't give a fish's tail about it. Did she care what other cats thought? Not anymore. It was better to just brush it off, at least when she could. When it comes to authority, elders, senior warriors, the medicine cat, deputy and leader, then she'd take whatever comments they had seriously. If Icepaw's mentor turned out to be one of these, then she just hoped to Starclan that she didn't make a stuttering fool of herself like she often had done in her apprentice and kit days. That would be a much unpleasant experience.

"Is there something that you wish to ask me?" She questioned, wishing to start a conversation with the apprentice and motioned for Icepaw to sit beside her with her tail, never once opening her eyes or leaving her half-relaxed sitting position other than that.