[Phoenix]

WE'RE ALL OK UNTIL THE DAY WE'RE NOT

He would be lying if he claimed that his heart felt lighter – far lighter than it had been in recent moons – at the prospect of a sparring session with a few other apprentices. There was a spring in his step, a new light in his eyes that had long been absent. He felt perhaps not good – not yet – but better than he had in a while. Green eyes glanced around him as he paced beside his mentor in companionable silence, noting the puddles on the path from the recent rain. While he had never been particularly fond of getting his paws unnecessarily wet, he had an entirely different reason for avoiding the remnants of a rainfall; when he looked in a puddle, he saw Windstrike staring back at him, and that hurt more than he could ever hope to capture in words. Until his father died, Gustpaw had never thought anything of his uncanny resemblance to his father. Now it was a curse that he did not want to bear.

Flicking his ears, he sharply cut himself off before he began wandering too far down that dangerous path. The sun was out, and the birds were singing; altogether, it was a far too pleasant day for such morbid thoughts, and his parents would not want him to linger on such ideas anyway. Determinedly staring straight ahead, he swallowed down the emotion that began to bubble up from the darkest recesses of his mind as it seemed to do whenever he considered his family. He imagined shoving its poisonous tendrils back to the corner it from which it crawled, locking them away where they could not hurt him. Not now.

“You said others might be joining us?” He asked abruptly, casting a glance toward Darkcloud. He knew the answer, of course, but he needed a distraction. A conversation with his mentor was far more preferable to a conversation with himself.

Gustpaw | LightningClan | Apprentice | Audience of One - Rise Against
Fawn

THE SURFACE SHINES WHILE THE INSIDE ROTS

[Fawn]

Darkcloud

72 Moons. Senior Warrior. Tom. LightningClan.

---

Though Gustpaw shunned the fact that he was Windstrike's doppelganger, Darkcloud considered it a fortunate occurrence. For those cats (the majority) who did not share dreams with StarClan, who could not walk into those starry heavens while still remaining alive in the physical world, a resemblance to one's parents or siblings might provide a comfort.

After all, apart from a name, what did a cat leave beyond? Those that had family were privileged, they could have a legacy remaining, both with distinct physical features, as well as personality quirks and anecdotes worth sharing. Windstrike lived on through his kits, and Darkcloud would live on through his own; it went without saying, to the senior warrior, that Nightstep, Brightpool and Kindleflare would live out full lives despite his eventual passing.

Gustpaw's question caused a slow rotation of the black and white tom's ears, though his pace remained unbroken. "Yes. Keep your senses open, during our practice." Keen yellow eyes slithered to the edges of their sockets to watch the kitten's form; he had given the other mentors specific instructions where, if they intended to join them for the afternoon, Gustpaw's opponent was not to walk in and announce their presence, but stalk or pounce upon Gustpaw from the shadows.

It was time to fine tune Gustpaw's reaction times, or at the very least, his ability to sense what's going on around him in the face of a heated situation. The element of surprise was a marvelous, deadly thing. Darkcloud had limbered up before he'd even collected Gustpaw that morning, and he was a well-oiled machine when he turned to face the apprentice, a neat coiling of his tail around his paws. "Which way is the wind blowing?"

This was the first of a pawful of questions Darkcloud always asked at the beginning of every training session. It didn't matter if they were hunting or preparing to fight. LightningClan was the eastern-most territories of all the five Clans, and it was also the driest. Fire was a little fonder of them than anycat would have liked; it was important to tell which way the wind was blowing, and Darkcloud's next question had everything to do with the direction of the river.

In the event that the fields did catch blaze, Gustpaw was to head for the Crystal Creek, check with any cats who had followed protocol and done the same, before he would be allowed to head back towards camp and start helping with the evacuation (if necessary).

All of Darkcloud's kits knew this by heart, and he extended this same safety lesson to all of his apprentices, particularly one to whom he shared blood.

Tags: Insidious, BlooRey DVD (just a suggested thread, no one's required to post in this!)
Word Count: 443 Words

[Phoenix]

WE'RE ALL OK UNTIL THE DAY WE'RE NOT

Green-yellow eyes narrowed slightly at the peculiar answer to his question, his quick mind slightly suspicious at the advice that followed what could have remained a simple affirmative. Darkcloud was a tom worthy of admiration, if only for the high regard in which he was held by the entirety of the clan, and though Gustpaw’s dismal performance at the Apprentice Games might suggest otherwise, the senior warrior was a very good mentor. He had the experience that came with many, many moons of fighting and hunting to back up his claims, and the striped tom had learned early on that alongside experience also came a collection of tips and tricks that he could never foresee. Though they were not the closest mentor-apprentice pair, he knew Darkcloud well enough to have his suspicions of when he might fall victim to another one.

“I will.” Something was going to happen. He wouldn’t be told to keep his senses keen without good reason.

But Darkcloud continued as they normally did at the start of every training session, and he found himself alternating between inadvertently relaxing and snapping back to attention when he remembered that he was supposed to remain alert. They had struck him as odd and pointless when he first became an apprentice – after all, who cared which direction the wind moved when he could be learning how to fight instead? – but time and numerous explanations had shown him the value of such knowledge. Mostly. “This way,” He answered after a moment, gesturing with his tail across his body. “Barely though. It’s not a very strong wind. Who am I going to be practicing with?”

Blazepaw? Mudpaw? The prospect of sparring against either one of his siblings brought a faint smile to his face. He never turned down the chance to show Blazepaw that Gustpaw was better at everything – for some reason, his brother seemed to have deluded himself into believing that the inverse was true – and Mudpaw had shown him up in the hunting competition. It was about time Gustpaw got him back for it. In a loving way, of course.

Gustpaw | LightningClan | Apprentice | Audience of One - Rise Against

THE SURFACE SHINES WHILE THE INSIDE ROTS

[BlooRey DVD]

[smear:000000]Nightstep[/smear:6f6f6f]

~~~~~~~~~

Gustpaw was right about something. The wind was blowing in the exact direction he'd pointed out. The apprentice had also pointed out that the wind was not a very strong wind. But you didn't necessarily need a strong wind to have your scent blown somewhere. Or to have it masked. The softest breeze that dragged Gustpaw's scent was more than enough for the dark figure in the surrounding undergrowth. The blades of grass towered in this area, more than enough to disguise the crouching hunter. Jaws were parted just a fraction, drawing in the two scents before him.

Sharp yellow eyes watched as Darkcloud's apprentice turned away from where the hunter lay motionless, apparently indicating the direction the wind was coming from. Being downwind from the pair, he could just make out the words being exchanged. His breathing was quiet, coming in long, low draws of air. He was an adder, ready to strike at any given moment, muscles prepared to uncoil and send him hurtling through the air. Exhilaration pricked at the ends of his fur, so much so that he had to remind himself that this was not a real opponent. He would not be launched into an actual brawl.

His dark tail was still where it hung, just above the ground. One of his ears pivoted to assess his surroundings. He could hear a mouse some way off to his left, but right now was not the time to be hunting. His father had spoken to him earlier that day about Gustpaw's training. He would have brought his own apprentice, but the younger tom was off on patrol. Even without an apprentice, the dark shape figured he might be of some use. It was all about finding the right moment... One paw in front of the other, he crept forward just a little more...

Like the hammer of a gun, he sprung forward, unleashing the energy that had been pent up when he'd crouched. Forepaws stretched as he arched through the air, lithe black and white shape moving and adjusting with ease. The only sound he made at all was the slightest rustle in the grass when he'd leapt. Even his landing was light, one of his forepaws trapping Gustpaw's tail beneath it. His training took hold from there, and the tuxedo tom twisted out of the way of any unintentional retaliation Gustpaw might give after his tail being... Slightly stepped on.

When all motion stopped, the younger of the tuxedo toms' tail flicked behind him as he padded forward to stand near his father's shoulder. Bowing his head in respect to the older tom, he let his eyes travel from mentor to apprentice. "Pardon my intrusion, father, Gustpaw." With another glance at his father, he began again. "I hope you do not mind me... Cutting in, but the strength of the wind is seldom relevant. Any breeze at all carries with it scent if you are trained enough to pick it up. Training to be a warrior is not all about who you shall be fighting next, Gustpaw."

And with that he fell silent, letting his father take the stage once more.

Hope you don't mind Nightstep joining the party

[Fawn]

Darkcloud

72 Moons. Senior Warrior. Tom. LightningClan.

---

Darkcloud found the silver tabby tom's answer satisfactory, giving a single nod for acceptance. At the question that immediately followed Gustpaw's response, however, the tall black and white tom chanced a rare smile, inwardly chuckling. "You'll see." He wouldn't ruin the surprise, and he thoroughly enjoyed keeping Gustpaw on his toes - it was important that Gustpaw learn vigilance and how to sense things around him even when having what was considered to be a polite conversation. Gradually he would teach him 'environment awareness' during a fight, but that was an advanced concept, in fact, even some warriors tended to grow rather lax on this. It was those warriors who ended up heavily injured during times of war, or worse, and he would not allow Gustpaw to slip up; rather, the young cat would be given every opportunity to better himself and store as much knowledge as he could - just so long as it was in the appropriate order.

"In case of a fire, where is the rendezvous location?" This question was more important than the previous, because it was safer for a cat to at least remember where the safezone was than to remember how to only detect changes in the wind. Their territory did not come without its risks, and it was crucial that Gustpaw acknowledge this, and take the necessary precautions when the time came. Darkcloud trusted Nightstep to be imparting this selfsame advice upon Blazepaw, just as Redstar would with Mudpaw. The appearance of his son prompted eyes as pale as the underbelly of a snake to resettle upon Nightstep, watching the fluidity of the young warrior's agile movements and rapid-fire reflexes. He expected no less from the son that had excelled so frequently in combat.

He shared a silent question with Nightstep when their eyes met. Where is your apprentice? Darkcloud, though he maintained a level of optimism concerning family members, did not think Blazepaw possessed the skills to sneak up on Gustpaw in the same manner that his mentor had, so either the rebellious young feline was otherwise engaged with something else, or Blazepaw was just about to surprise him. Darkcloud suspected the former, watching for Gustpaw's recovery behavior before he finally spoke up, "You are right, Nightstep. The strength of the wind is seldom relevant, unless in the case of fire. We were discussing territory safety, a heartbeat before your arrival." It was no secret that the stronger the wind during a blaze, the faster the fire would spread across their usually dry, flammable moorlands.

[Fate Admin]

Blazepaw had been sent on a boring patrol along the TreeClan border with his mother’s littermate Sunblaze and their kin Shadewhisker. Border patrols had the potential to be exciting, should a skirmish break out, but were otherwise nothing more than obligatory strolls around the territory doing absolutely NOTHING. He really hated them most of the time, and this was one of them. He may not be the greatest hunter at the end of the day but at least you were DOING something when you were hunting instead of just walking around.

It was made a little better by Sunblaze being there. He and his uncle got along rather well, with similar personalities. Shadewhisker had been tasked with leading the patrol and told to keep them both in line, to which Blazepaw had fluffed up his fur indignantly and Sunblaze had only flicked his ears in annoyance and informed his cousin that he was a warrior and could look after himself. So he had at least had Sunblaze to talk to on the patrol as Shadewhisker led them along the scentline.

He would have rather patrolled the StoneClan border. He didn’t find StoneClan’s scent to be quite as foreign and… well… stinky. The only thing TreeClan’s scent made him think of was rotting leaves; incredibly pungent, overwhelming, and gross. StoneClan at least was comparable to LightningClan’s own scent. He could also smell the clear open sky and crisp wind on the pelts of their other neighbors, though there was also a cold dustiness that came from their stony territory and almost made him feel the need to sneeze. At least it wasn’t overwhelming like TreeClan. He could still smell the forest dwelling Clan even as they headed back to camp, their scent lingering unpleasantly in his nostrils.

Upon return to camp, he had looked for his mentor, wanting to DO SOMETHING now that the stupid patrol was over, and had been informed that Nightstep had headed to the Trampled Clearing and he was supposed to meet him there. He hadn’t waited to hear the rest of the instructions, like the part about sneaking up on his brother and NOT charging straight in, which is exactly what he did. He raced out of camp and toward the clearing at full speed, finally barreling in and skidding to a halt, throwing up dust and dirt in front of him. Gustpaw and his mentor Darkcloud were there as well, which he would have known had he stayed to listen to the rest of Nightstep’s message. He blinked in surprise at them instead, “Hey Gustpaw!” His tail flicked excitedly behind him as he turned to look at Nightstep, “We’re training together today?” He had been WAITING for a chance to train with his brother.