[Fawn]

And the world's gonna know your name,

If the river got any more swollen, they'd be waking up to fish inside the camp, just swimming right past the fresh kill pile. Russethawk knew first hand how treacherous swollen rivers could be, but there was something to be grateful for, also. A full, flooded river meant an abundance of fish would return to the territory; with the last few days being especially hot, the water in RainClan's mostly wet territories had begun to dry. The storms were a welcome reprieve from the dry spell, and the fish were bound to appreciate this as well. "Tell me, Pikepaw. Which one's bigger? A minnow or a roach?" He walked with his apprentice out of RainClan's camp, the ground muddy underpaw as he guided them to the river's edge. 'Guiding' was giving him too much credit; they could see the big twisting body of water almost immediately after crossing the camp stream (which was also higher than normal). Trees in RainClan were sparsely spread out, and the ground felt spongy after so much moisture. Russethawk had apologized to the young should-be warrior earlier in the day, promising as the last of the storm clouds broke up, that he would try to speed up Pikepaw's training to the best of his abilities. Russethawk aimed to make good on that promise; it didn't matter that the Clan was split into two right now, the ruddy warrior was determined to make the first apprentice Timberstar declared a warrior, his own. It would further solidify Timberstar's right to lead them, and he knew Razorstar would approve. He just had to finish Pikepaw's training. Quizzing him on the different types of fish, Russethawk kept a ruddy ear twisted in the tabby tom's direction to catch his answer. The answer was a minnow, given that it was small enough for a kit to eat in one sitting. A roach was enough meat for three kits, and possibly their mother if it was a particularly large one. Both were on the small side, compared to a trout or a pike.

'Cause you burn with the brightest flame

Word Count: 348 Words Tags: Insidious , @dreamer , BlooRey DVD Notes: =) Tagged Minnowpaw & Stormheart in case they want to all fish together.

[Deleted]

Stormheart

Stormheart had lived many moons and through many changes of the season, and thus through all sorts of weather. It was days like this, however, that he absolutely detested. The left over electricity, the damp warmth... well if Stormheart was already fluffy, on days like these he looked like a giant walking feather. Unable to stand the amused smirks and snickers of his clanmates any longer, he had decided that it would be best to take his appretince out for some fishing practice. He had caught Russethawk on his way out with Pikepaw. It might do some good for the two young siblings, who would in most other circumstances have been warriors long before now, to have some bonding time. Also it would allow Stormheart to submerge in the water and hopefully get rid of this ridiculous fluff.

Despite his displeasure with his fur, it could have been a far worse day. Rainclan had been granted a reprieve from the harsh heat after the storm, and now the creeks and streams gurgled merrily full of water, and hopefully fish. They were almost too full, little eddies sloshing over the sides and pooling in inconvenient places. Luckily camp had not flooded, but some tiny perverse part of him hoped that Swanfather's camp had. She probably didn't desrve it, but it would show her how Starclan felt on the situation... Stormheart shook his headm trying to clear it. Normally such emotions were easy to lock away, but these were so strong they made him uncomfortable, almost as if he had to claw them to shreds before he could be rid of them. Pity that they were not a physical manifestation of his troubles.

The hefty tom huffed, his ears nearly pinned against his head. Woe to the cats that should address him over any insignificant matter today. At least most cats. Stormheart found it was easier to be patient with his apprentice than most others, he simply got into the teaching routine, answered all the useful questions, and stared down his apprentice if she asked a stupid one. Stupid ones were easy to recognize, the kind that you could rationalize yourself, or that didnt make sense.

As Russethawk chattered to his apprentice- okay maybe not chattered, but he seemed to be far too jovial on a day like this- Stormheart turned to his own apprentice.

"Minnowpaw, do you remember the rules of fishing in high waters?" he asked his apprentice carefully. He had nearly lost one of his past apprentices due to careless fishing procedure. "Good if you do, I want to see if you can do the following: catch two minnows, and one other fish, whichever you can, and then I will teach you a useful technique for fishing after a flood or in a heavily forested area."

The gray tom still listened to Russethawk's lesson, and hoped that Minnowpaw would as well, but he wanted to make sure she got some actual fishing done too. Just because there was plenty of fish in the creeks did not mean they should slack and not actually bring them back with them. Prosperity without hard work just left lots of empty stomachs and idealistic minds.

[BlooRey DVD]

[smear:d6bf74]Minnowpaw[/smear:c7f2ff] ~~~~~~~~~ The fawn coloured she-cat plodded silently near the back of the small patrol that had formed. Their goal today was apparently a fishing trip. She'd noticed Russethawk leading her brother, Pikepaw, out of the RainClan camp earlier that day; she'd been surprised when Stormheart popped into the apprentice's den not a minute later to announce they were going too. Evidently, her new mentor Stormheart had asked Russethawk if they could tag along. Minnowpaw hadn't had more than a pawful of seconds to gather herself for their departure; she just hoped her pelt wasn't sticking up in too many ridiculous directions. Her tail swung behind her, a rhythmical pendulum aiding to keep her steady pace. She likely would have drifted off into her own world had it not been for her mentor's voice breaking through the fog. A dazed gaze blinked at him for a moment, the she-cat scrambling to gather and reorganize the words the older tom spoke. "U-Uh..." She stammered for a moment, her eyes flashing down to her paws as her step faltered briefly. Calm yourself, Minnowpaw! He just asked you a question, no need to look like he just cuffed you over the ear! She scolded herself silently.  Quickly looking back up to Stormheart, Minnowpaw fought to keep her ears off of the back of her skull. "R-Rules? Of f-fishing in high waters..? Stay focused on your surroundings...? So you... Don't... Get... Swept away..." Her voice trailed off sheepishly, wondering whether she sounded as stupid as she thought she did. Trying to focus on anything but her rather... Lack lustre reply, the RainClan apprentice's ears pivoted to latch onto the words her brother's mentor began speaking. Surely it was alright for her to abandon a question if she was doing so to learn something else, right? Suddenly glad she didn't need to answer Pikepaw's question, Minnowpaw reminded herself of the tasks Stormheart had assigned for her today. Catch two minnows, which wasn't too difficult to remember considering their species name was engraved into her own name, and one other fish. That meant she just needed to succeed in landing something other than a minnow. That shouldn't be too difficult. She could probably manage that, right? Glancing back to her brother's larger form, awaiting his response to Russethawk's question, Minnowpaw pushed away any inkling of doubt that tried to weasel its way into her brain. Two minnows, one other.

@dreamer Fawn Insidious

[Insidious]

He was surprised he made it out of camp without a passing cat lecturing him about the look he was giving his mentor. It was nothing personal, but he wasn’t in the mood to do much of anything, and that was especially true of fishing. Russethawk had certain lightness, certain high-spiritedness, which counteracted Pikepaw’s brooding. He was fairly assured of how there morning would’ve went down—him staying in his nest and his mentor finding someone else to fish with—up until the moment he realized his sister was supposed to tag along. Needless to say, that had done its part to make him re-evaluate the worth of today’s lesson.

Everything in RainClan as of late had slowly but surely descended into absolute ruin, and since he had no idea how to deal with all of it on top of his father’s recent death, no less, he had taken to spending more and more time on his own; neglecting to spend even a second of his day with Minnowpaw had sadly been one of the side effects he could do nothing about. It turned out that a ridiculous fishing lesson was exactly what he needed to get back into her life. He hadn’t meant to be distant, not with her of all cats, and he knew she would understand that once he had a chance to clear the air.

The black-and-salmon apprentice had been watching Minnowpaw and Stormheart intently. It was to the point that Russethawk’s question had almost gone unheard. Realizing that he was being addressed, Pikepaw cocked his head, expression a strange blend of interest for the question and outrage for being disturbed. “Minnows are kind of tiny and pathetic –“ Pikepaw mewed brashly, offering his sister an apologetic look in case she overheard him (but it wasn’t like he meant her). “– so I’d assume that a roach has got a little more meat on its bones.” That was his best guess, anyways, and if he was wrong he wouldn’t be overly bothered. From over his shoulder, he could hear his sister stammering out a weak response to her own mentor’s question. It would’ve been polite to excuse himself from Russethawk’s flank, but feeling caught up in the moment (and slightly overprotective), he veered towards her and pressed his shoulder against hers as a means of offering comfort.

He smiled, then, ushering her towards the river with a slow dip of his head. He had a patience that was reserved for members of his family—or his sisters, rather, since members of his family would include Russethawk to some extent. It felt necessary to repeat that it was nothing personal. “Come on, let’s show Stormheart what a good fisher you are.” To be frank, he had no idea if she was anywhere near good enough to impress the stone-faced warrior, but there was no denying that her brother intended to be there for her. If that meant adding one of the fish he caught to her pile when their mentors weren’t looking then so be it.

Words: ###
Tags: Fawn , BlooRey DVD & @dreamer

[Fawn]

And the world's gonna know your name,

Pikepaw's brash, unintentionally offense answer in the presence of his sister was almost enough to make Russethawk laugh. It wasn't that he enjoyed seeing the siblings accidentally put one another down—nothing like that! He'd just thought of something funny. I bet this is what Coldgaze felt like, trying to train Razorpaw. So hard to envision the hazel-jawed tom as anything less than the cold, decisive, proud warrior Russethawk had always known him as. Russethawk smiled through the ache in his chest; sometimes, it felt as if he was losing every cat that ever mattered to him. Lilystream had grown... distant, and had chosen someone else as a mate. Bravebird was gone. Not completely, and not permanently, he reminded himself every day, but he was absent from RainClan's camp. There wasn't a day that went by that Russethawk didn't notice this. Not about to slip into a melancholic reflection (well, more of one), Russethawk shook out his pelt as though ridding himself of negative feelings. "Well done, Pikepaw. A roach is bigger than a minnow—but remember, every fish we catch is important. Minnows are perfect for feeding kits." Russethawk gazed at Stormheart, listening respectfully to the older warrior's words to Minnowpaw. Safety was something he should've covered back at camp, especially given Pikepaw's utter lack of hesitation when it came to doing anything physical. He fought as if fear was a concept for other cats, and Pikepaw's brash nature showed through in his actions as well as his words. "Be mindful of the banks. They'll be weaker from the rain." Russethawk signaled for the apprentices to follow, intending to show them out to test the bank for sturdiness. The ruddy tom went to the edge of a rush-filled bank; it didn't slope down nearly as steeply as it used to, not with the water levels so high. Russethawk placed his front paws on the bank, pressing gently at first, and then slowly leaning his weight into it. The bank didn't hold, and he felt his paws slipping. Back-stepping to safety, Russethawk went further ahead, this time selecting a section of the bank that had stones as well as reeds, and repeated the test. The bank held. Russethawk stepped away, gesturing with his tail to let one of the apprentices have his spot. "Here, this one's sturdy enough to fish on."

'Cause you burn with the brightest flame

Word Count: 400 Words Tags: Insidious , @dreamer , BlooRey DVD Notes:

[Deleted]

Stormheart

As Stormheart waddled down the bank, his fur so fluffy it impeded his movements, he fought not to growl at the other cats on the fishing patrol. 

His apprentice clearly seemed uneasy. It was not as if he were even mad at her, or as if she had done anything wrong, he did not understand why she was so uncomfortable around him. It made him more frustrated. 

When she finally replied in a stuttering voice, he sighed. Clearly he had not been proactive enough in his teaching, and chastised himself for allowing circumstances to so distract him from his duties. 

“Yes Minnowpaw, that is one of the rules, however, there are three more. Perhaps… when I taught one of my apprentices, he found it easier to remember using a letter for each rule. We called in the FISH rules.” He paused to make sure she was listening “ The first, F, is footing. After hard rains even terrain you know is normally solid can be soft and dangerous to walk on, and can lead to you falling or being carried away by the water. Second, I, is intent. This is the one you mentioned. It means that you must be aware of your surroundings and intent to any changes. Third, S, is swim, or more specifically swim with the current. It is important if you get sucked into the water, that you do not fight the current to get back to where you fell in. Allow the water to carry you, and once you are fairly in control swim in a diagonal towards the bank, but take your time. Finally the last letter is H, for head. This is the most important rule, always keep your head, keep your cool. Panic and inattention are some of the biggest killers. Panic makes it harder to focus, elevates your heart rate, and takes your breath away. Inattention leads to mistakes.” He finished, taking a deep breath. 

After he had spoken, he heard Pike paws reply to his own mentors question, and Stormheart whiskers and ears flickered in annoyance. What kind of answer was that? No actual information and in a very insolent tone, Russet hawk let his apprentice get away with a lot. When Russethawk replied, Stormhearts eyes narrowed slightly. Not even an explanation of what either fish actually looked like… the older tom shook his head. Clearly today was messing with him, he needed to give the younger tom a break, mentoring a difficult apprentice was not easy. 

Thankfully, Russethawk recovered as he led them further along the bank, demonstrating to the apprentices how to test their footing. Stormheart nodded and rumbled approvingly when he selected a solid piece of ground for fishing. As Pike paw tried to lead Minnowpaw away, Stormheart set himself up beside Russethawk. 

“So,” he said after a moment, “How is Pikepaws training coming?” Hopefully that was not too probing a question. 


Insidious@bloodrose@spottedfawn

[BlooRey DVD]

~~~~~~~~ Her ears lay flat against her skull as she held her breath, waiting for her mentor's reply. Was he going to chastise her for not listening in a previous lesson? She didn't mean to be inattentive... There was just so much on her mind these days, what with her having to switch mentors part way through her training, and the current division amongst RainClan cats. It made it hard for her to focus, and sometimes... Sometimes her mind wandered off to strange places without her meaning too. When Stormheart opened up with even the slightest agreement to her answer, she released her breath and relaxed just the slightest. As Stormheart continued, her ears gingerly pressed forward, listening to the words her mentor offered. There was interest in her off-amber eyes, and it showed in the slightest tilt of her head. Each time Stormheart finished telling her one of the letter of the acronym, she whispered it to herself under her breath. "F is for footing, dangerous after heavy rainfall..." That one wasn't too difficult to remember. "I is for intent, aware of any surrounding changes..." She'd technically answered that one earlier, so all she had to do was remember what she'd said. Shouldn't be too hard, right? "S is for swim, diagonal with the current..." She knew that one was important, because if a cat fell in the water, their instinct was always to try and fight the river. That was when trouble started and exhaustion quickly set in. "H is for head, keep your cool for the most important rule..." She nodded slowly, mulling over the new acronym in her head. "O-Okay, I'll remember that, Stormheart." Offering him a timid smile, she glanced back to the mentor-apprentice team consisting of Russethawk and Pikepaw. It was here that she noticed Pikepaw swerve toward her. Alarm flashed in her bright eyes momentarily, until his shoulder pressed against hers. Almost instantaneously, she leaned against him, happy to have something so familiar back in her life. Easily led by her brother's strength, Minnowpaw padded along side the salmon and black apprentice. Although she had heard his answer earlier, the one about minnows, and she'd felt a little embarrassed, even hurt, it was all forgotten now that he was standing so close to her. Pikepaw had drifted away from her in recent moons. Both her siblings had. It was just nice to have someone close again. As her brother spoke softly to her, she couldn't help the slight worried frown that crossed her features. Still, she nodded her head slowly. "O-Okay... Let's show him." Oh, her brother was going to be disappointed with her. She was not good at anything; she'd learnt that pretty quickly. She was just... Alright. At everything. If given the time, she'd complete her task. But she certainly did not have the speed or perfect accuracy of other RainClan cats. Russethawk's movements caught her attention then. She watched as Pikepaw's mentor demonstrated the correct way of testing the river bank for an appropriate place to hunt. When he waved his tail and called them over, Minnowpaw glanced up at Pikepaw as though waiting for some indication it was alright to move there. After a moment, she stepped forward, desperately hoping Pikepaw would appear beside her once more. As she settled herself on the bank, she glanced toward Russethawk. "Thank you..." She offered him, paired with another timid smile. Soon, her gaze fell on the river, searching for those telltale flashes of the silvery bellies of the various fish swimming amongst the tumbling waters of the river.

Fawn @dreamer

[Insidious]

He took position a small distance away from Minnowpaw: Close enough that he could keep an eye on her, and offer advice if she needed it without raising his voice, but far enough away that he could fish without disrupting hers. He watched the water closely, making sure he didn’t lean forward and cast his shadow over the surface; when he thought he spied a fish wading within reach, he struck, his claws finding ground in its body far quicker than he had expected. Unsurprisingly, he had a bit of a knack for fishing. It was something that his father had possessed a talent for (as most RainClan cats did to some degree) and even though he hadn’t always been the nicest son, he cared about what his father thought, and dedicated a chunk of his kithood to paying attention to what fishing was supposed to look like. Of course, Russethawk’s tips also played a hand in his easy success.

Smirking, a medium-sized fish safely clutched in his jaw, he fixed his sister with an expectant gaze. He could tell that she needed some encouragement, and opted to take residence at her side and overlook her progress. He couldn’t offer the same kind of insight as Russethawk or Stormheart, but their mentors were having a conversation a short distance behind them, and he didn’t feel the need to draw their attention towards them if he didn’t have to. “Look,” he said, tipping his head forward, “I see movement in the water right there.” He didn’t want to put too much pressure on her to catch it on her first try, so he leaned back a tad to give her some space to work in.

Words: 284
Tags: Fawn , BlooRey DVD & @dreamer

[Fawn]

And the world's gonna know your name,

He kept an eye on the apprentices over Stormheart's shoulder while they conversed. He fishes like his father. Russethawk knew those movements, those techniques. He'd studied them, tried to copy them when Razorstar had been his mentor. Stormheart's question about Pikepaw's training stopped the ruddy tom's descent into memory. "Well enough. I can't train him as often as I want—too much to do—" there were less mouths to feed but twice as many patrols, as RainClan watched their borders shared with their neighbors, and the boindry separating Timberstar's supporters from Swanfeather's. "But I'm finally picking up the slack. He's talented, but belligerent and moody." Nothing I can't handle, though. Russethawk glanced back, proudly noticing the medium-sized fish laying beside Pikepaw. The apprentice was obviously having some success. "Don't forget to bury that, Pikepaw. We'll be here a while!" He called over, looking back to the senior warrior soon after. "Your FISH method was great. Do you mind if I teach it to Pikepaw or my next apprentice? Seems like something every RainClan cat should memorize." It was a great teaching tool. Russethawk wasn't couldn't say with absolute certainty that it would've sunken in if Razorfang tries to teach it to him back then, but he definitely appreciated the FISH method now. Russethawk gazed skyward, mindful of the brilliant sun blazing down at them. It would make a glare on the water's surface, but so far the two siblings were managing just fine.

'Cause you burn with the brightest flame

Word Count: 250 Words Tags: @dreamer , BlooRey DVD , Insidious Notes:

[Deleted]

Stormheart

Even as he talked, he took up a position by the water, hushing his voice as he watched the water rush by. When Russethawk responded, STormheart snorted. "Ah yes, the pride of young toms. Most of them are like that, but eventually they tend to sober out. Just be careful not to let them think that they can defy you without consequences." It was a dangerous line to walk with young cats, offering the authority and guidance necessary without completely smothering them. The gray tom glanced over at his own apprentice, sighing. She was so timid, and he had tried his best to encourage her, but he had a feeling she was terrified of him.

"Minnowpaw is afraid of disappointing me I believe, although I have never been harsh with her. These days with how the clan is in trouble, it makes sense that she is nervous, and Im sure Pikepaw is struggling with it. They both lost their father as well, that is enough to make any apprenticeship hard." He said the words absently, watching the water for any sort of shadow or ripple that would denote a fish. It was quite frustrating that the waters were this dark close the  bank since the storm.

"Oh, the acronym? Of course you can. That is what teaching methods are for, because like you said every cat should know."

As he finished speaking, he caught sight of a small shadow, and casually flicked his paw in and out of the water, leaving a small wriggling Stickleback. He hissed disgustedly at himself.

[BlooRey DVD]

~~~~~~~~ At first, Minnowpaw felt alright. She was seated near her brother, gazing down at the river. She had to squint a little in order to gaze past the glare, but overall it wasn't so bad. The two mentors weren't watching her too intently, giving her some space to calm her beating heart. The peace she felt, however, lasted only until Pikepaw's claws struck the surface of the water, sending a rather impressive sized fish catapulting through the air. That was when she began to feel some pressure. Pikepaw had already caught something; what if she wasn't able to to catch anything? The thought of that embarrassment suddenly washed over her. Her muscles tensed, and her eyes became unseeing, despite the fact she was still looking at the water. Had Pikepaw not suddenly moved to sit closer to her, the poor RainClan apprentice might have remained frozen there until it was time to leave. She jerked slightly, startled out of her own mind by her brother's presence. After glancing at him quickly, she followed his gaze to the area he'd indicated in the river. Focusing herself on the task at paw, Minnowpaw squinted until she could see the same flicker as her brother. Doing what she could to steady her breath, she silently repeated the instructions Stormheart had given her in her head. Two minnows, one other fish. Two minnows... One other fish... If she continued to repeat those words, maybe she would stop thinking about the consequences of her coming up empty pawed. H is for head... Always keep your head, always keep your cool... She reminded herself. Slowly, her body tensed, the young she-cat preparing to strike out. She did her best to to envision how her father used to fish, to copy what Pikepaw had demonstrated moments ago. Her left forepaw raised slowly, the RainClan apprentice poised to make her move at any moment. She waited until she could see the flashing of the silvery scales of her prey before giving it a go. As she moved, however, she saw her shadow shift onto the river's surface. Her paw struck empty water, and her ears pinned back as she re-centered herself. "Oops... I forgot about my... My shadow..." She glanced apologetically at her brother, the heat of her embarrassment burning through her fur. H is f-for... Head.. Keep your c-cool, Minnowpaw.. She thought to herself. Turning her focus back on the water, she remained still, keeping a better eye on her shadow this time. It took a few moments for the fish, stupid as they were, to return to the spot she'd seen them previously. When that telltale flash of scales finally surfaced once more, she struck out with her left forepaw, this time latching her claws into something alive. Tossing it back as far as she could, her wide eyes watched the wriggling fish tumble through the air, before landing on the bank a few pawsteps away. Quickly bouncing over to it to avoid it escaping back into the water, Minnowpaw finished the minnow off with a quick bite. With the minnow in her jaws, she returned to her brother's side, placing the little fish next to her brother's far more impressive one. She didn't really mind. The size of the fish were proportional to the talent the two possessed: Pikepaw was an amazing and strong RainClan apprentice. She couldn't imagine living up to her father's name, but with Pikepaw? With Pikepaw it seemed entirely possible. Giving her brother a timid smile, she mewed. "Thanks for your help, Pikepaw.. I feel better when you're here." She admitted, before settling down on the bank, eyes focused on the water once more.

Fawn Insidious @dreamer