[Moonraven]

Originally Posted by Salt

Crocusblaze watched their apprentice with warm regard as she slipped into a hunting crouch. Though they could pick up a few minor mistakes an experienced warrior wouldn't make, this was a new apprentice. They wouldn't nitpick at this point in time when their prey was so close by. A first kill was an important step for an apprentice and they wouldn't be surprised if Elfinpaw missed- and they certainly wouldn't be disappointed. It wasn't uncommon to miss on the first try, especially for a cat who couldn't see their intended target. The huge cat's heart pounded in their tufted ears as they watched her careful approach. They were visibly excited, proud, and nervous for the young she-cat.

"Good job!" They meowed suddenly- their excitement getting the best of them and made them a bit louder than perhaps they intended. They purred softly with pride for her, kneading a bit at the peaty ground. Noticing her wound, they made their way closer on careful paws, lowering their head slightly to sniff at Elfinpaw's wounded paw. "Perhaps we should go back to camp and get that checked out to make sure it doesn't get infected," they advised. "We can keep going if you want, but mouse bites can be nasty."

For a moment though, they did want to congratulate her. And she deserved and praise she got, it wasn't mindless flattery. "You did so well Elfinpaw. First catch on your first try! I'm so proud of you," the grey cat mewed, their voice soft and honest. They weren't sure if they could articulate exactly how well she had done that day, but they'd leave it at that. They licked her forehead in a friendly manor and stepped back, looking around at the forest for a moment before glancing back to the direction camp was.

"But maybe...If you wanted to, I might be able to teach you some battle moves. I'm assuming you won't be coming to the ThunderClan raid, but it's always best to be prepared." Crocusblaze was staunchly against attacking their Clan and their camp of all places but they didn't see a way to get out of it. They'd go easy on their opponents sure but they were aware of the possibility that they wouldn't come back from this battle. Just because Icestar had ordered them to not kill any of their opponents didn't mean they wouldn't do it back in self defense.
@Moonraven

The little apprentice was astonished to hear the praise that came from her mentor's mouth. It sounded genuine and full of excitement and very unexpected. "I did a good job?" Her voice wobbled as she tried to comprehend why she was getting praised for this. Elfinpaw was a aware that she had caught the mouse, but she also got bit by the little critter and had nearly missed literally only managing to catch it by the tail. Shouldn't she be getting criticized or something? Isn't that what a normal mentor would do, tell her what she had done wrong? She didn't get it at all.
"How come I did a good job?" It might be a stupid question but it was a question none the less. She let her mentor know that she was severely confused by the praise with the way her head was slanted so far to the side it was a shock she hadn't tipped over yet. The tiny tortie pulled her paw back a little when noticed Crocusblaze had gotten a little to close to it. She knew that they wouldn't hurt her or anything like that. It was just an instinctive reaction when others got to close to her injuries no matter how small.
"I don't get it, caught it but I'm pretty sure I didn't do it ri-" The apprentice breaks off her sentence and indulges in a purring fit at the lick to the forehead. She didn't get a lot of licks to the forehead, it left a warm and fuzzy feeling that swelled into unbridled joy. Just like that her worries and concerns vanished, it was so easy to please the little cat.
"Okay, but I don't like the medicine den. There are waskerspurts in there and they get in my nose and then I sneeze and sneeze and sneeze and then boogies get everywhere." Elfinpaw sighed dreamily, she was simply very sensitive to strong scents and herbs were overwhelming for her.
"I have no clue how to fight, I'd rather not learn at all. I really don't like hurting others." The she-cat head dropped as she pushed herself to her paws, weary of her small injury.
"Why do we fight other clans? We're all just trying to live and we're all basically fighting for the same thing, to protect our clan. I don't understand why we can't all just help and talk to each other instead of pointlessly trying to hurt and kill each other." This was something that's been bothering her since she first joined the clan. If everyone helped everyone then they could all be happy. If they just asked instead of taking or all pitched in when one was falling no one would get hurt or die. She didn't want to fight anyone and it was really scary thinking about that one day she could lose her own life or those of her clanmates. They had Starclan...but it wasn't the same, was it? It might take forever to meet your loved ones again there...