The first lesson

[gingersnapsdacat]

Bunnyblossom quietly padded towards the carrion hill, smiling in excitement. Today was her first ever day as a mentor for Mudpaw, and she was determined to be the very best! He would learn battle moves, and hunting, and the warrior code, and...oh it would just be great! She shifted from paw to paw, waiting for him to arrive. 
Scritch..Scritch..
Bunnyblossom turned, staring in the direction of the noise. It seemed to be coming from within the Carrion pile. 
Scrit..Scritchscrit..
Bunnyblossom padded closer, bending to look beneath a leaning board. It was dark, but she could faintly make out a glowing pair of eyes, and a indefinite black blob. The blob stared at her, letting out a squeak. 
It's a kit!
Bunnyblossom yanked at the board until it came loose, casting light upon the hidden creature, which was revealed to be a huge black rat. The rodent screeched, squinting as its hole was flooded with bright light. Bunnyblossom just smiled, believing that she had helped the poor creature. 
"There, you are free now."
The rat seemed to disagree, as it lunged forward, chomping down on her paw. 

Rai

[Rai]

 Mudpaw | M | MothClan

Now that he had permission to leave the camp he felt as if it had lost its charm. Before it had an allure to it that drew him to the edges of the rocky terrain, but now it was just...there. He wondered if this is what growing up felt like. Losing all that magic and mystery from before. Regardless, he was still excited, it was his first time out of camp with his new mentor and he was quick to make his way to Carrion Hill. He expected a cheerful greeting from his mentor, a hello, maybe an introduction, instead he arrived to the sound of a cat in peril and he quickened his pace before stopping dead in his tracks at the scene.

Was this part of the training? His mismatched eyes watched his mentor, paw being nibbled on by a rather large rat, as she shook to try and dislodge it and to his credit he sprang into action immediately; filthy paws striking the ground as he charged forward to save her, only to snap his teeth at the air as her paw moved to pull the rat away and his momentum sent him tumbling nose first into the pile of crowfood and debris she'd rescued the rat from moments before.

He hope she was too distracted being eaten alive to see that...

[gingersnapsdacat]

Bunnyblossom yowled in pain as the rat held onto her foot. She waved and thrashed, but the creature just held on tighter, its jaws surprisingly strong. All thoughts of where her apprentice had been, and of the supposed trapped kit were gone, replaced by the desperate need to rid herself of the angry rodent. So preoccupied with trying to shake the giant rat, Bunnyblossom had failed to see that her new apprentice was just tail-length's away, trying to pounce upon her attacker. But as Mudpaw was sent tumbling into the debris, the rat screeched, spooked by the sudden noise. Bunnyblossom used this momentary advantage to fling the rat across the clearing, where it quickly rose and skittered away beneath another garbage pile. 
That was...interesting... she thought, turning to look at where her apprentice had appeared. Small droplets of blood still fell from her pad, landing in the dust below like rain on dry ground. A deep bite mark stretched across the top of her forepaw, staining the silver fur. She limped over towards Mudpaw, checking to see that her apprentice was okay.
"I think you arrived just in time," she said, beginning to lick her sore paw, "The noise you made spooked the rat."

[Rai]

 Mudpaw | M | MothClan

Mudpaw lifted his head slowly from the ground, tail up and ears flat, a loose bit of dirty fabric over his nose that he hastily sneezed off-shaking his pelt out in alarm. But it seemed the disaster was over, his eyes darted to the disappearing tail of the rat as it scurried back into some hole beneath a loose concrete brick and a rotted log, his lips curling in a hiss towards its direction before he turned his attention back to Bunnyblossom and the light praise warmed his pelt.
"I'm glad! Is your paw okay? Do we need to go see Cedarleap?" He'd never been into the medicine cat's den yet and while it would be interesting he didn't want their first day of training to be boring waiting around. But his mentor's paw WAS the priority. 
"That was a big rat! Were you trying to eat it? My mama said rats carry sick in them so it's probably not a good idea to put them in your mouth." His tone was matter-of-fact, as if the older feline wouldn't be aware of this and he was more than happy to help educate. His mother was rarely wrong, except that one time she told him he couldn't play outside cause it might rain and it didn't...or that other time she said the warriors would nip his tail off if he wandered into their den and they didn't...or that other time she said if he starred at the sun too long his eyes would melt and they didn't but he did see spots for the rest of the day and it was really uncomfortable..
"The sun is too big for my eyes."

[gingersnapsdacat]

Bunnyblossom continued to lick at her forepaw, cleansing it of blood and dirt. The rat had bitten her pretty hard, but it seemed to be nothing but a flesh wound. 
"I'm glad! Is your paw okay? Do we need to go see Cedarleap?"
The she-cat could not help but chuckle. She had asked her mentor the exact same thing so many moons ago, when her mentor, Rowanfrost, arrived to find her trying to pet a rat. As could be expected, that attempt at friendship did not go over very well. Come to think of it, that had been her very first training session as an apprentice. 
"No, I will be fine," she purred, giving her paw one final lick. "I just need to learn to keep my paws away from grumpy rats."
However, Bunnyblossom did have a bit of a problem. Now that her apprentice was here, she had to think of what they were going to do. Her first lesson with Rowanfrost had mostly consisted of her mentor telling her that she needed to keep her mouth shut or risk her throat being cut in her sleep. That was not exactly what Bunnyblossom had in mind for Mudpaw. Luckily for her though, her apprentice seemed to have plenty of questions of his own. 
"That was a big rat! Were you trying to eat it? My mama said rats carry sick in them so it's probably not a good idea to put them in your mouth."
The silver she-cat paused, trying to think of how she could avoid telling her apprentice that she had been tricked by a rodent. 
"Your mother sounds very smart. Rats can be very dangerous. Many of them can carry disease, or eat bad food that would make us sick. Plus, as you saw, they can be pretty mean, so most cats avoid them when they can."
She looked at the tom, hoping that he was soaking in all of the information she was spouting. 
"So, do you have any questions for me? It would be great to see what you are really interested in knowing."

[Rai]

Mudpaw watched her shake her paw with growing concern, he hoped nothing bad happened to his mentor from this. Last Leaf-bare he head a warrior had their paw bitten by a rat and it swelled up to the size of a big rock from something called an infection. Bunnyblossom seemed okay, but he didn't know much about that infection stuff to determine if it happened quickly or took time. 
If she said so he'd leave it alone, she knew more than he did after all. As she explained the rats and their disease carrying hides he smiled because his mother was a smart cat and had told him as much already, he was glad to know it wasn't all just stories to keep him in the den.
'Rats can be scary.' He made a mental note to not disturb those creatures and certainly not try to eat them; they wanted to eat you more anyways so steering clear was best.
"I'll stick to mice, I think. Smaller and not as mean. Also a lot more tasty." He had never TRIED rat but he did not want to, it sounded like it'd be pretty gross. But, ah-! Now to the part he was most excited for, actual training. Or learning. Or anything really, he wasn't picky, but he did have to be tactful in his response. He wanted to make a good impression and he also wanted to do this all correctly, so it felt as if her question was a kind of test.
What was it most apprentices did on their first outings? If he thought hard about it he could remember the older cats discussing territories and boundaries and he'd never been so far from camp before!
"I want to learn to hunt first but I probably need to know the good hunting spots? And where I'm not allowed to go." He heard IvyClan was a fierce bunch when it came to MothClan trespassers. 

[gingersnapsdacat]

Bunnyblossom nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly with her apprentice. She too had never attempted to eat a rat, being too busy nearly getting eaten by rats. But she could only imagine that if they were that nasty acting on the outside, they could not taste very good on the inside. 
"I want to learn to hunt first but I probably need to know the good hunting spots? And where I'm not allowed to go."
Bunnyblossom nodded, secretly pleased by what her apprentice had chosen. No matter how fine she said her paw felt, she doubted that it was wise to attempt to spar with still-fresh injuries. 
"Well, the fields have always been full of mice and rabbits, and the woods next to it are a good place for hunting squirrels. Although..." 
Bunnyblossom paused for a moment, considering her next words very carefully.
"The fields are part of our border with IvyClan...and things have not exactly been that friendly lately since we started claiming more territory. As long as you stay on your side of the border, things should be okay though."

[Rai]

Mudpaw bounced aimlessly from paw to paw, his tail up and ears alert to his surroundings. Even if he wasn't exactly the most astute of cats he was always keenly aware of everything happening around him if only because he was rather nosy. The point tom listened intently, trying to remain focused despite his gradually lapsing attention span but the news regarding IvyClan claimed his attention.
"Why aren't we friendly? We're not hurting anyone, they can share more territory!" MothClan had a much smaller area to hunt and exist in than the other clans and he felt it unfair to be honest, his mother was always complaining about the border when she got back from patrolling and his apathy lead him to side with her concerns regardless of his own understanding of them.
"If they wanna pick a fight they better do it before I'm a warrior or they're gonna regret it!" Mudpaw flattened himself to the ground, hindquarters up and paws splayed as if preparing to pounce.

[gingersnapsdacat]

Bunnyblossom purred, amused by the joyful energy radiating from her apprentice. She could recall her own boundless energy as an apprentice, and just how much it annoyed her mentor. But luckily for Mudpaw, the silver she-cat had energy to match his, and would happily bounce at his side. At least, she would bounce once her paw was healed. 
"Why aren't we friendly? We're not hurting anyone, they can share more territory!"
The warrior nodded, glad that her apprentice saw things the same way that she did. 
"I suppose they just don't want to lose any of their territory," the she-cat guessed, "so they get mad at us for taking what we need."