Slitherpaw's training

[jayfeatherfan]

Slitherpaw scratched her claws along the tree stump. She had to keep them sharpened, if she didn’t she felt terribly helpless. She was ready to be a warrior, she knew it! But she had to train harder than anyone ever had, as most cats still thought she was too weak, all because of some old injuries.
She jumped and flattened herself to the ground as she heard the rustle of leaves somewhere near her. She sat up and twitched her whiskers as a squirrel emerged from the bushes, and scattered up a nearby tree. That’s another thing holding me back, she thought, I'm too edgy. But as of late, she didn’t have a mentor to teach her things like this.
Satisfied that her claws where sharp enough, she stalked off toward the Rainbow Brook. When she got there, she lapped up a few drops, and glared at her reflection in the water. She darted her paw into the water, and pulled a fish out. She had to have SOMETHING to show for being out of camp all day; really all she had done was sharpen her claws and climb trees. She picked up her fish, and started off toward a more prey dense part of the territory to hunt, hoping she wasn’t caught slacking off by Wolfclaw or Crowstar.

[Deleted]

The tom had felt the need to patrol alone today, although he really should've taken his apprentice with him. She wasn't in camp, though, likely sent out hunting by his deputy or a senior warrior. She was such a jumpy, cowardly she-cat. A little alone time might help her fear, but she also needed a good scolding. So Crowstar had decided to track her.

He had caught her scent not very far from camp, and began to follow it quickly around the territory. Every sharp turn and pawsteps made him realize she had been heading for the Rainbow Brook, where hunting was always good.

"Good choice," he muttered to himself, flicking an ear and beginning to creep under some low-lying trunks and bushes. As he creeped along on his belly, he heard a splash in the brook and his head rose to peer through leaves. There he saw the fish in the she-cats mouth as she doubled back into the forest, away from the banks of the brook. She was quite the fisher to be able to sit still and catch it in the first pawswipe. Good, she had some skills under those cowardly paws of hers.

He lifted himself from the ground and began to circle around the edge of the clearing, hoping to cut the she-cat off. It wasn't long before he was sitting on his haunches, watching the apprentice emerge from the undergrowth in front of him.

"You should keep that fish buried before you continue hunting. How do you ever expect to scent a single whiff of prey with that slime in your mouth?" he mewed gruffly, eyeing the she-cats face with a small frown. Crowstar had a way of making most cats uncomfortable, but in a mean sort of way he enjoyed putting fear into an apprentice's heart every once in a while. Made them more obedient.

[jayfeatherfan]

She could have sworn she heard something following her as she turned from the brook. But, determined to be a little more “steady”, (as Wolfclaw put it) she continued on, trying to keep her paws firmly on the ground. Some lot of good you’ll do in an invasion, she thought, if you cant keep your head on straight!
But then, to think logically, there wasn’t much chance of invasion until the clans were a bit bigger.
She sheathed and unsheathed her claws anxiously and stopped to sniff the air. She KNEW someone, or something, was following her! She flicked her ears and briskly bent down to pick her fish back up, looking for somewhere to bury it, follower or no follower. She was only a few steps further, however, when she heard an irritated and familiar growl from she bushes. She flattened her ears as she emerged from the undergrowth, to see Crowstar watching her through narrowed eyes.
"You should keep that fish buried before you continue hunting. How do you ever except to scent a single whiff of prey with that slime in your mouth?" he mewed gruffly.
“I was just about to.” She meowed, trying to make her voice big. He always got frustrated when she spoke shyly. But, thought she’d never admit it, she really looked up to Crowstar. He was the one cat who didn’t see an injured little kit when he saw her. “ I was just looking for a better place to find prey first.”

[Deleted]

Crowstar let his eyes sweep over the apprentice's posture as she spoke, whiskers twitching in slight amusement. There was a tone to her voice that tried to mimick confidence, but it was incomplete, insincere. He found her act of sudden bravery kit-like and remembered that he was dealing with an apprentice who should've been close to becoming a warrior by now - or so he assumed, seeing as he hadn't grown up in a Clan to learn their ways by heart. MarshClan had only been around for 4 moons, and this apprentice here had very little time to learn the skills of a warrior. They all had much to learn if they were going to be a Clan full of deadly warriors.

"I understand that, but what do you think the prey in this area is going to do as soon as they get a whiff of that fish's blood? They'll scatter. No prey for the Clan," he explained suredly, as if speaking from some sort of experience. He always had been a good speaker, so sure of himself. Alongside with his claws that was how he made his way to become the leader of one of the new Clans.

"And if there are predators in the area," he began his lecture again, "Then they'll come straight into your path, and since you're off hunting alone, you'd be killed. You're no match yet for a hungry fox."

He scratched in the dirt with an extended claw, a silent order to begin the prey's burial.

"Come now, -paw. Soon as you're done you can show me how your hunting crouches are coming along."

[jayfeatherfan]

“Come now, -paw. Soon as you're done you can show me how your hunting crouches are coming along." Crowstar ordered.
Slitherpaw silently buried the prey as directed, hating how obviously amused Crowstar was. Hating how RIGHT he was. Slitherpaw hadn’t grown up in a clan, but she knew well enough that she should already be a warrior. She dug a shallow hole in the ground with her freshly sharpened claws, scowling at her wasted day. Why was she so scatterbrained? If her brain got any fuller, it might explode! But, what was it full OF? Fluff and starlight, that’s what. There was no complicated back-story; she didn’t have any family to speak of anyway, as far as she knew. She shook her head vigorously, trying to rid it of useless thoughts. Useless and selfish. Then again, she had always been on her own, she wasn’t very good at thinking of others.
But she wanted to be a member of the clan, and in the name of starclan, she would do it. One day, she would be able to repeat the warrior code from memory. She turned to face Crowstar.
“So, how about that training you where talking about?” She meowed, for the first time a hint of genuine enthusiasm, unpunctured by fear, creeping into her tone.

[Deleted]

As the apprentice began to bury her catch, the emotions running across her face was hard for him to read. She seemed to have taken the advice a little poutingly. He shifted on his paws and wondered to himself what this she-cat would be like once she let go of her kit-like personality and acted like a true warrior. At least Slitherpaw wasn't usually a verbal whiner, just a jumpy mess. He could tolerate that as long as she showed signs of improvement. If not, well, he figured he'd someday suggest the life of a medicine cat or a kitty-pet to be in her better favor. For now, they'd train together. After all, she was only a moon late with her training, since it was 4 moons ago that she became a part of the Clan.

He lifted his muzzle and parted his jaws, letting the air around him hit the roof of his mouth. He caught a few scents, like a rodent nearby and what smelled like water vole closer back towards Rainbow Brook.

"Just show me your hunting crouch for catching mice," he ordered, turning his attention back towards the young apprentice. He had sensed the eagerness in her voice and decided she certainly had hope left in her.

"I know you're a quirkly little thing, but as you've learned before, mice can sense your most delicate movements," he spoke quietly, starting to lower his body to the ground like he was preparing his own crouch. "You can't afford to jump at the crackle of a twig."

He waited for her to show him her best, staring with his intimidating golden eyes.

[jayfeatherfan]

She nodded slowly, thinking hard, trying to focus on what she was doing for once, rather than what was around her. She was faced with a perfect chance to impress her mentor, and all she had to do was catch a mouse. She easily pin-pointed the mouse and began creeping towards it. She could feel her ears and whiskers quavering, so she stopped moving forward and held them still. When she was sure she could move on quietly again, she crept a little closer. She held herself determinedly still as she got within pouncing-range of the mouse. Barely daring to breath, she jumped forward and grasped it in her claws, triumphantly biting down on its neck. She turned around, and started to head back toward Crowstar. She flicked her ears at a fly buzzing around her head, not wanting anything to ruin this. Maybe Crowstar had scared some sense into her after all!
She dropped the mouse and whipped around as she heard something behind her. It was something large and clumsy, not a cat for sure. Her eyes widened in terror as the familiar scent hit the roof of her mouth. Twolegs; And not just twolegs, their dogs to!
She bolted up the nearest tree, the mouse long forgotten. She crouched there, breathing hard, for what may have been moons or moments, before the twolegs obviously got bored and left with their yapping dogs. She crept back down the tree, drooping her head at the thought of what Crowstar would say to her. “A real warrior wouldn’t have run away with their tail between their legs!” he would say.
Well, if she had a chance at becoming a warrior before, it was surely gone now. “Come on Crowstar, give me another chance!” she said to herself, hurrying off toward Crowstar with her mouse once more. “I can do better!”

[Deleted]

So far so good. Slitherpaw's hunting crouch was a tad lopsided, perhaps a little too hard on the paws, but better than what he had expected. She was able to control herself and her senses and made a perfect execution. She had caught the mouse.

He felt a glow of pride well up in his chest. MarshClan didn't need apprentices flowing with warrior blood to make a skilled memberbase. Perhaps this jumpy she-cat would be proof of that. He'd be showing off his trained apprentice to the other Clans to show how great his Clan was coming along.

He was about to sing words of praise in his own gruff when he a scent hit his nostrils. Immediate apprehension caused his back to arch and his body to lift on all four paws.

"Two-legs?!" he hissed, his eyes narrowing in anger. What were they doing here so far in MarshClan territory?

He watched in irritation as his apprentice, without waiting for any direction from him, left him alone and bolted up the nearest tree. He scoffed under his breath and slinked close to the tree, but refused to climb it just yet. He hid under the thickest patch of thorn he could find and waited out the intrustion, ready to bolt if needed, but wanting to observe. They needed to find out the intentions of these creatures. What if they were here to steal prey? Claim territory? Hunt them?

But it wasn't long before the up-walkers turned tail and took their canines with them. Relief and confusion flooded his mind. Two-legs were such unusual creatures, but dangerous. But at least they were clumsy and gave minutes of advanced warning before appearing. It was more their dogs that Crowstar was most fearful of.

The coast seemed clear. Crowstar took a few smal, tentative steps from his cover and scanned the area with his eyes and ears. After the brief hesitation, he emerged, only to be bombarded by his cowardly apprentice.

"Quiet!" he hissed angrily, flattening his ears. He gave her a look of pure exasperation. "Are you a mouse-brain?! There could be others close by!"

He turned his back to her and slapped her muzzle with his tail. "Follow me. We'll head deeper into the territory."

Without another word, he took off on his paws in a light sprint, careful not to crash unecessarily through thick underbrush so as to make less noise.

He was disappointed in his apprentice for being a fearful kitten and for being selfish enough to leave a comrade behind. She was careless and needed to be taught many, many lessons. But she was safe, and had reacted in the safest way, perhaps in this instance; climbing a tree. Dogs couldn't reach a cat in a tree, but two-legs possibly could, if they knew you were there. He had seen it before as a loner, a two-leg kit clumsily climbing a low-branched tree. But she had climbed high enough.

When he felt they had traveled far enough and were safe, he stopped in his tracks and whirled around, waiting for his apprentice to catch up.

"I'm going to let your behavior slide, since you acted in the safest - but stupidest - way. First of all, you left me behind without saying a word. Coward! What if I was another apprentice, or a medicine cat with a mouthful of herbs who couldn't scent anything? They'd have been mauled by that dog!" Crowstar critiscized mercilessly, lashing his tail with controlled anger. He tried to take a deep breath to stay reasonable.

"At least you were smart enough to grab your mouse. Listen carefully, however. There are some times when taking your prey is ideal, and others when it isn't. If it had been a bear or a fox, it's better to leave the prey behind and run for it. It'll distract them. This time, though, the dog was with its two-leg so it didn't quite matter. Dogs can't climb trees either and pose less of a threat."

He shook the grit from his pelt and looked sternly at this young cat. It occured to him then that he had little idea about this she-cats history. Had she been a loner before MarshClan or a kitty-pet? Must've been a loner, judging by her fear of the two-leg.

[jayfeatherfan]

“I’m so sorry Crowstar!” She said, deeply distressed. “I wasn’t thinking straight!” But then, she was never thinking straight, was she? Perhaps everyone was right about her; maybe she wasn’t just scatterbrained, maybe she was a coward after all.
Unable to look at her mentors disappointed face anymore, she turned around and scraped the ground in frustration. “Your right, I’m to useless to catch a dumb mouse without messing it up!” she said, more frustrated than despairing. “But I promise that I can do better!” She said whipping back around and staring unblinkingly into Crowstars eyes. “I want to do some fighting practice.”
Hoping she sounded confident, she stood up, waiting on Crowstar to lead her to a more suitable training environment. She had been practicing fighting on her own, and she was ready to put herself to the test. If she could be a warrior, she would be able to go to other clans territories on missions, right? And besides that, if she messed this up, she could always go back to being a loner, and wander as she pleased. Either way she got what she wanted, what did she have left to lose anyway?

[Deleted]

"You should be," was Crowstar's last response to her desperate pleas of forgiveness. He was finding her whining to be annoying and he wished for a brief moment that he was tolerable of such young cats. Patience would be such a nice way to claim peace of mind, wouldn't it?

As the she-cat continued on with her blabbering, he scanned the area around them a bit more. There were no more signs of the two-legs or the dog, and so he was finally ready to let himself relax again. It was then that he turned his attention back to Slitherpaw's request. Battle training?

"Warriors and apprentices don't wallow in self-pity, so straighten yourself up and start acting like you're a proud member of MarshClan!" was his first order, mimicking his own words by lifting his chin and puffing out his chest.

"Okay, Slitherpaw, there are lots of trees here, which makes for difficult battling and calls for sharp reflexes. Come at me with all you've learned so far! We'll see if you're soon to be a warrior or not," he said, standing on all fours with his tail straight in the air. His head lowered and his golden eyes glared intimidatingly across at the young apprentice, watching for the tiniest movement. The fur along his spine lifted to make him look like an enemy warrior instead of an ally.

He'd give this apprentice the kind of battle training she was looking for.

[Deleted]

{Your post was full of power playing...}

[Deleted]

{No...you didn't do anything to make it better. Do you know what powerplaying is? You're still controlling my character. I had plans to make Crowstar train her by using the trees as his cover and have the training last more than one post.}

[jayfeatherfan]

Slitherpaw resisted cringing at his sharp words. She took in a deep breath, trying to look as confident as her mentor. She would show him that she could be a warrior! A proud member of Marchclan indeed. She flicked her ear at his scrutinizing gaze, trying not to flinch under it.
She waited in the tense silence, waiting on him to move, and just knowing something was going to startle her and mess everything up. No, Crowstar was right. Warriors don’t wallow in self pity. Warriors have to be confident. She tried to gave at him evenly, but found herself blinking, finding his gaze unnerving.
“All right, I think I can do that.” She said, crouching to the ground, preparing to attack him.

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