Uh-oh.

[lord of all yellow mice]

<ooc>
I'm sorry, guys. If I shouldn't be using the roleplay example I used in my description, please tell me! Couldn't think of a better introduction for Woodkit...
</ooc>

A large, light brown kit ran unsteadily through the trees, stumbling over his large paws every few steps. His breathing came short and shallow; he was exhausted from his long journey from the camp. Well, he thought, not a long journey for a warrior by any means, but it was most certainly a difficult trek for a kit of his own ability, even if he was almost six moons old. Finally he came to a clearing, and stopped to catch his breath. Was this the training area? It was empty at the moment, but he wondered what it would be like to practice fighting skills here as an apprentice. Though his own ceremony was only a few sunrises away, he'd began to doubt he'd ever be able to hunt and fight as well as the others in the Clan. It all seemed so far away; an impossible dream. Surely the least he could do was practice now?
He selected a young maple tree to be his opponent, and began to pace slowly toward it in a low crouch. Then, when he was close enough to do so, he sprang with all his might upon a low-hanging branch, small claws unsheathed. To his delightful surprise, he reached his target successfully. "Ha!" he cried in glee. "I've got you now, you useless excuse for a warrio- uhm, tree!" He swiped at its vicious branches, but the sharp twigs fought back just as furiously. Realizing that he was losing the battle, the kit prepared to spring back in defeat, only to discover that, in the struggle, the tree's rough paws had become intertwined with his own body - he was trapped between two branches. "Oh, fox dung!" He muttered. "Let me go, you horrible beast! Let me go!" He squirmed furiously, but to no avail.
He gritted his teeth. He wasn't going to wait for some warrior to come and rescue him. What kind of apprentice would he make if he could be defeated by even a tree? And, now that he finally thought about it, how would the rest of the Clan react when they found he'd sneaked away from the camp? However soon he was going to be an apprentice, he was still a kit, and knew as well as any cat that kits weren't supposed to be outside of the camp. He realized, with a sudden twinge of horror, that his apprentice ceremony might even be delayed for his foolishness.
"Woodkit, you mouse-brain!" he muttered to himself. "What have you gotten yourself into this time?"

[heartnet]

"I was just asking myself the same thing."

Wolfheart's voice sounded as he peered around the tree trunk, raising an eyebrow as he looked at Woodkit. He padded around, sitting down in front of the young kit with a playful, lopsided grin on his face. "Do you mind telling me why you're out of camp....and why you're losing to a tree?" he asked, clearly not mad, but interested.

[lord of all yellow mice]

Woodkit's ears pricked forward a little as he glanced down at the grey warrior. As embarrassed as he was to be seen dangling from the branches of the maple tree that had so easily defeated him, he was glad that Wolfheart had been the one to find him.
"I-I'm sorry, Wolfheart," he said. "But, you see, I was preparing for my apprentice training by fighting this dark and mighty warrior here." He nodded at the tree. "And I could have won, but I got stuck!" To emphasize his situation, he kicked and flailed his paws dramatically. "You don't think you could, um, get me down, do you?"

[á£Îmaý---♫♥]

Blue eyes twinkling, Honeyfrost watched the kit and Wolfheart. She was perched on a dead tree stump, claws digging into the rotting wood. A thorn bush grew at the base, hiding her partially from view. Desertflower had reported Woodkit missing and eager to stretch her legs Honeyfrost volunteered to go out and look.
"Maple tree; one. Woodkit; zero," she meowed, leaping from the stump. She padded over to stand by the grey warriors side. "I may be wrong, not being Clan born and all, but it isn't there a rule saying that kits can't leave the camp?" she asked him with a playful mocking tone.

[heartnet]

"Don't apologize to me, Desertflower is the one so worried about you." Wolfheart said indicating the kit may be in big trouble with the queen. He glanced over as he heard a voice and laughed at the scoring Honeyfrost mentioned. "Hmm, I think you're right Honeyfrost...kit's aren't supposed to leave camp till their apprenticed." Glancing up at Woodkit, hearing him ask to get him down, he looked back to Honeyfrost, mischief twinkling in his clear blue eyes. "I don't know...maybe we should leave him up there as punishment....what do you think Honeyfrost?"

[lord of all yellow mice]

So Honeyfrost was following me too, Woodkit realized. Great StarClan, has the whole Clan been watching?
When he'd left, he hadn't even considered how Desertflower might react to his disappearance. He certainly didn't want her to be worried about him, by any means, and the more he thought about his situation, the worse he felt.
Would the warriors really leave him up in the tree? What if he ended up hanging there forever, dangling between the branches as he watched cats come and go? "No!" He blurted out. "Oh, please don't! I want down!" He thrashed again, causing the branch to bounce comically.

[á£Îmaý---♫♥]

Honeyfrost pursed her lips playfully. "Why yes Wolfheart, we should leave him up there."
She flicked her tail and walked away. As she did so, she hesitated and meowed cheerfully "But what sort of cat would I be if I let cute little kits get stuck in trees?". She turned back and stood up against the tree trunk, one forepaw in the air battering at Woodkit and the other pressed against the bark. "You're quite stuck aren't you?" she commented, frowning. How in StarClan did he get this stuck? He's going to be a troublesome apprentice...

[heartnet]

Wolfheart smiled and laughed, shaking his head. "Don't worry Woodkit, we're were just kidding. We wouldn't leave a clanmate behind, even if it's a mischievous kit." he said reassuringly, his eyes light with humor and amusement. He nodded as he studied how stuck the kit was. "He /is/ really stuck isn't he?" He circled around Woodkit, studying him and the branches. Then he stopped, crouching low. "Here, I think I found a way." he said, then leaped towards Woodkit. He managed to grab the scruff of the kits neck, strong enough to pull him away from the branches. He landed on his feet, skidding to a stop and placing Woodkit down, panting. "You are one troublesome kit." he said, shaking his head, but grinning as he caught his breath.

[lord of all yellow mice]

Shaken, but relieved to feel the earth beneath his paws once more, Woodkit sat down. "Y-yeah, I guess I am," he murmured, looking down at his paws with a bashful smile. "Thanks for letting me down."
He paused for a second. "I don't try to be, though!" He added quickly, sharply glancing up at the two warriors. Well, he realized, that wasn't completely true; he certainly had done a couple mouse-brained things before on purpose. But this time, all he'd wanted was to prepare in advance for his training! "Hawkstar's still gonna let me be an apprentice, right?"

[heartnet]

Wolfheart finally caught his breath and laughed. "No problem. It's been quiet since the battle, I needed more excitement in my life." he said, grinning. He looked thoughtful a minute, pretending to think about it. "Er...I'm not sure.." then, so not to freak the kit out, he nodded, chuckling softly. "Yes of course he will. I guess you didn't hear the story about how Hawkstar snuck away from his later to be mentor Stormheart and got caught in a foxes den. I think he'll understand." he said, winking at him before looking to Honeyfrost. "Don't you think Honeyfrost?"

[á£Îmaý---♫♥]

"I think so, I don't know Hawkstar very well though," she murmured. Honeyfrost had only been in RainClan for at least 3 moons. Because of her past and the incident with Silvercreek she hadn't had very much time to get the Clan cats to trust her. She flicked her tail across her paws as she sat down beside Woodkit. "I'm sure you will become an apprentice," she meowed, licking the kits head. "If you weren't trained you wouldn't be much use would you?"

[lord of all yellow mice]

So even the Clan leader got himself into trouble as a kit! He thought for a moment about what Honeyfrost had said. She was right - it took training to become a good warrior, and he'd need to become an apprentice if he wanted to improve. He smiled. "That's good, then," he said. "I don't really want to be useless forever." It couldn't be too unusual for a kit to make mistakes, but Woodkit couldn't help feeling hopeless, as if he never would be able to do anything right. "I guess I should go back to the camp then - and apologize."

[á£Îmaý---♫♥]

"Desertflower was worried sick and Orchidtail was getting all flustered. Tussockpaw is out here searching too," she meowed. She stood up, arching her back and stretching her legs. "Don't worry Woodkit. Every kit is troublesome. Itching to explore. What cat can say they haven't been tempted? I remember that Owlspot and I got in an awful lot of trouble when we climber Fourtrees and got stuck." She smiled at the memory.

[lord of all yellow mice]

"You climbed Fourtrees?" Woodkit meowed, amazed, and was struck by a sudden desire to run to Fourtrees himself. He'd never seen the gathering place before, and he wanted to gaze up at the magnificent oaks himself. Maybe he could even-
No. He'd gotten himself into enough trouble today, and if the Clan was out searching for him he'd already be in for a scolding when he got back. His time to go to Fourtrees would come, if he could train hard and prove himself a worthy apprentice.
"Um." His eyes flickered around the clearing. "Wolfheart, Honeyfrost, which way's the camp? I kinda... forgot." He looked at his paws.

[á£Îmaý---♫♥]

Honeyfrost laughed. "Trust me. It's not as great as it sounds. We got stuck and had to stay there all night until our parents found us." She padded forward onto a trail cut through the bush by years of pawsteps. "This way to camp. You'll soon be able to recognise all the trails and paths."

[heartnet]

Wolfheart nudged Honeyfrost. "Don't give him any ideas Honeyfrost." he said with warning, bit his eyes twinkled with laughter at the memories of his own trouble days. "Yes, we've all had days like this...well, not getting stuck in a tree, but I got in some serious trouble the day before I became an apprentice. I'll tell you sometime, but it is about time we got back to camp. Desertflower so touchy right now, we better hurry." he said, picking up the pace slightly, but not enough to lose the kit.

[lord of all yellow mice]

Woodkit nodded, and did his best to keep up with the two warriors as they headed down the trail. He took extra care not to stumble or trip as he usually did; causing any more delay would be a bad idea. Thoughts raced through his mind - he thought about the warriors' stories, and wondered what else they could have to share. Maybe I should ask the other warriors too. Realizing that even the RainClan warriors, whom he'd always considered so grown up, had once been a lot like him had cheered him up a little - stopped him from feeling quite so alone. However, as more thoughts of being an apprentice and training to hunt and fight came into his mind, there was a hopeless feeling buried in his dreams.
If I can't even beat a tree, how am I going to do when it comes to fighting real warriors?

[á£Îmaý---♫♥]

Tussockpaw came crashing through the undergrowth and lept onto Wolfheart's back. "Suprise attack!" he yowled. His light amber eyes twinkled mischievously and his little white teeth glinted in the sunlight. He batted at the older toms ears with a sheathed paw.

[lord of all yellow mice]

Woodkit giggled at Tussockpaw's sudden attack. "Yay! Go Tussockpaw!" He called, rooting the apprentice on. When I become an apprentice, I'll get to train with them! But they'll be way ahead of me... He shuffled his paws, remembering that Tussockpaw had been out searching for him too. And maybe I'll get to go look for troublesome kits! That would be funny.

[heartnet]

Wolfheart's ears twitched as he heard the moving of the undergrowth. And he was downwind, so he scented Tussockpaw before he got to him. Grinning, he collapsed as Tussockpaw landed on his back. He didn't move and he kept still, keeping his eyes closed and breathng light. Let's see if this fooled them...

[á£Îmaý---♫♥]

"Wolfheart?" Tussockpaw asked, craning his head around to look at his the tom's face. He raised a paw and prodded Wolfheart with it. "You're not playing back."

"Lesson one, Woodkit," Honeyfrost meowed," Apprentices like Tussockpaw love surprise attacks. Unfortunately he was also up so upwind so we could scent him and he sounded like a badger. Good job."
Tusockpaw frowned and glared at his cousin.

[heartnet]

Wolfheart then got to his feet quickly, shaking the apprentice off and pinning him easily. Then he grinned, looking to Woodkit. "Lesson two, don't underestimate your opponent. They may surprise you back, right Tussockpaw?" he teased, letting the apprentice up and backing up beside Honeyfrost.

[lord of all yellow mice]

<ooc> Should I keep roleplaying Woodpaw as Woodkit here? x3 </ooc>

Woodkit nodded, giggling. "I hope I can remember that," he meowed. He watched Wolfheart and Tussockpaw curiously, hoping to pick something up. All this warrior stuff is getting overwhelming already!

[heartnet]

Ooc: He's still Woodkit here, it's before the ceremony.

[á£Îmaý---♫♥]

Tussockpaw groaned in disappointment from under Wolfheart's paw. He scrabbled to his feet and shook leaves from his already scruffy pelt. "Okay, I'll work on all of that," he meowed," Can you take me for some lessons Wolfheart? I need loads of practise and I've fallen so far behind!"

"Let's get back. Tussockpaw, race ahead and tell the camp to stop searching and then fetch Desertflower's and Orchidtail's patrol okay?" Honeyfrost told the apprentice. Tussockpaw smiled and ran off. His slim, light build made him a perfect runner. He was possibly the fastest cat in the Clan. Honeyfrost looked down at Woodkit. "Lesson 3; Never challenge Tussockpaw to a race. He is fast and he cheats."

[lord of all yellow mice]

"Okay! I wanna be really fast someday, too!" Woodkit meowed longingly. He admired the apprentice greatly, but he couldn't help feeling jealousy begin to creep up through that admiration. "I'll practice running now!" He sprang forward clumsily, and immediately stumbled over a small protruding root, tumbling across the ground in a tan-brown ball. He stopped rolling and sat up dazedly, blinking and shaking his head to clear it.

[heartnet]

Wolfheart laughed, nodding to Tussockpaw. "Maybe, Hawkstar had something he wanted to tell me, but if I can I would love to Tussockpaw!" he called after the rapidly disappearing apprentice. Then he looked to Honeyfrost, nodding at what she said. "Yes, he does." he agreed, but couldn't help grinning at that. He watched as Woodkit tried to run too, but tumbled over a root. He came up beside him, nudging his flank gently with his nose. "Let's take it a little slower, we want to get you back in one piece and keep you out of the trees."

[lord of all yellow mice]

With Wolfheart's help, Woodkit stood up shakily, and looked at his paws in embarrassment. "Okay, Wolfheart. I-I guess I'm not ready for that yet..." He sighed and began to pad forward slowly, trying to place his paws carefully. "I really, really wish I could run like Tussockpaw, though," he meowed softly. Why did he seem to be so horrible at everything he tried? He couldn't fight, he couldn't run... What was he going to fail at next?

[heartnet]

Wolfheart laughed. "We all wish we could run like Tussockpaw. Don't let it get to you." he said encouragingly. He didn't want to see the kit down, he knew what it was like to think you couldn't do anything right. He appeared happy and great on the outside, but sometimes Wolfheart felt the same as well. "You'll have your own ability, don't worry."

[lord of all yellow mice]

"My own ability?" Woodkit looked up at Wolfheart and blinked, trying to think of something he might be good at. "Well, maybe if I make too many mistakes, I'll make a double one and end up doing something right by accident! And it'll become my special technique!" he paused, deep in thought again. "But if I try to make a double mistake, I might mix that up and make a triple mistake, and if I do that I'll be right back where I started and - wait, will I? Where will I be then?" He was quiet again. "You know, I think I'll just try to be myself and see what happens." He smiled at the warriors. As much as Woodkit had just confused himself, Wolfheart had raised his spirits quite a bit.