Morning Riser [Open]

[Dogbark]

Dogbark yawned as he escaped the confines of the warrior's den. It was early morning, and by early, it was early. The sun hadn't even risen yet; so perhaps it was more night than anything. Well, he wasn't prepared to waste his moments of peace deciding on what time of day it was, that was for certain. The large brown tom often woke early before the rest of the warriors, when he was not needed to organize patrols and hunting parties. 

Taking a seat in the middle of camp, Dogbark sat and drew his whip-like tail around his paws to ward off the morning's chill. His coat was thin over his surprisingly large frame, and while it was rarely a bother, this morning was surprisingly chill. 

The tom automatically straightened his back as he detected approaching paw steps. Turning his head to watch the approaching feline, Dogbarks' head nodded a solemn greeting. "It's early, why are you awake?"

[Deleted]

A grey tabby feline was awake well before the rest of the Clan. Although Fishpaw wasn't usually such an early riser, this was his first full day as an apprentice, and he was eager to prove himself to the older cats.

Brushing out of his new den, the young creature tentatively stepped into the clearing. It looked like someone else was already up. Stifling a faint pang of disappointment that he was not indeed the first to rise, the apprentice straightened up and trotted over to Dogbark. Although he wasn't very familiar with the older tom, he did know that this was StoneClan's deputy.

"Errrr..." Fishpaw hesitated when he was questioned. It was a bit intimidating actually talking to this powerful cat. "I just wanted to, uh, get an early start," he managed to stammer in response. The small male cringed slightly, hoping that he wouldn't be reprimanded for leaving his den at this hour.

[Dogbark]

It was only an apprentice. Dogbark relaxed his shoulders and once again turned his head to look towards the camp entrance. If it hard been a warrior he'd have at least been able to put them to work early, but the young to undoubtably had training already scheduled today, and if the deputy's own rigorous demands tired him out he would be less productive later. It was one of the reasons why he had less tolerance for apprentices and kits, though it was no real fault of their own.

"An early start?" he repeated gruffly, keeping the fact that he was impressed out of his somewhat growling voice. "To what? You got training today kid?" Fishpaw, that was the tom's name, he recognized him now. He wasn't even sure if the kid had a mentor to begin with, but considering the lack of warriors, it wasn't exactly a mystery why. Dogbark himself had yet to take on an apprentice to mentor, and hadn't since the one that had been mandatory, in order for him to receive his current position. If he hadn't been so ambitious, he wouldn't have done it. Young people were too happy too often.

[Deleted]

Fishpaw took a deep breath, attempting to calm his nerves. This was no time to behave like a frightened kit... and why should he? The apprentice was merely speaking to a Clanmate. Now that he was somewhat more confident in the fact that he would not be shooed back to his den, the grey tabby sat down a few tail-lengths from Dogbark.

"No, I don't think I have training. Ebonystar is my mentor, but we haven't done anything yet. It's just nice to be awake before the rest of the Clan." Although he was somewhat disappointed that the leader hadn't yet summoned him for a lesson, he shrugged it off. The black-furred cat was probably just busy. It was an honor to be apprenticed to such an important cat, but it did have its drawbacks.

Blinking, he wrapped his tail around his paws and spoke once more. "You're Dogbark, right? My name is Fishpaw." StoneClan was fairly small, but the young tom had only just received his ceremony. He hadn't the faintest idea whether the deputy had paid attention to the felines in the nursery. Better to be safe than sorry.