|
|
Post by Fawn on Aug 1, 2016 18:36:40 GMT -5
 63 Moons. Tom. TreeClan.
~~~~~
The storms earlier in the season seemed so long ago. The grass had become dry and brittle, turning golden brown that would've looked pretty in the sunlight if it hadn't meant such bad news for TreeClan. Harder to sneak up on prey when the grass crunched under paw. Having sent Sootmask on a morning patrol, he chose that moment to have a few words with Badgerpaw, the apprentice he had, rather unfortunately, assigned to Grayowl's son.
Memories were hard to ignore. Labels were hard to get rid of. Sootmask did not deserve his resentment or his judgment, whether he knew it existed or not; however, Lionstar could not help getting to know the cat through Badgerpaw. Perhaps she would have some insights on Sootmask's mindset; the tom, otherwise, was about as open and welcoming as a thorn bush.
"Come with me, Badgerpaw." He signaled for the black-and-white she-cat to accompany him, and led the youngster out of camp with an easy, long stride, grateful of the cooling shade in the densest part of the forest where they had made their camp. "How is your training going?" Lionstar mewed, when they were nearing the Great Maple and he had slowed down to give her the chance to catch her breath. He smiled encouragingly.
While they were out, he would check her hunting progress, or perhaps share a bit of advice as though she were his own apprentice.
He couldn't imagine Sootmask showing too much compassion or concern for Badgerpaw's well-being or mental state. Here was Lionstar's chance to find out.
Time spent among trees is never wasted.--
Word Count: 270 Words
Tags: @marshymutt
Notes: |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2016 19:25:38 GMT -5
Badgerpaw perked her head up at the sound of Lionstar's voice, immediately rising to her paws at his command and following behind him obediently as he led her out of camp. She watched the leader's steps, observing how he moved with easy, graceful strides and attempting to match his, hoping it would help her keep up with him. It became clear after a while though that the apprentice had only succeeded in making herself look silly, attempting to take steps that were much too big for her short legs. She emitted a short huff and quickly fell back into her usual method of walking, she would have to work on that later. When they got close to the Great Maple, Lionstar slowed down, allowing Badgerpaw to catch up to him. She was grateful for this as she no longer felt the need to keep up with the larger feline and could finally catch her breath. "How is your training going?" She hadn't realized how quiet it had been until the golden tom finally spoke again. For the longest time, the only sound she could hear was that of the grass, brittle and desperate for water, crunching beneath their paws. She wasn't all too sure she liked having that silence broken, it made it harder to think. Still, she responded quickly with a small smile. "It's going rather well I think." She responded, wondering how much she should tell him. The tuxedo cat debated on telling the leader much more about her lessons, fearing that he might be disappointed with her if he thought she wasn't doing well. She wasn't exactly sure where she should be in her training, compared to other apprentices at least, but she had a feeling she should have been much farther along than she was. Fawn Phoenix (because you said something about wanting to stalk this thread) |
|
|
|
Post by Fawn on Aug 4, 2016 18:05:17 GMT -5
63 Moons. Tom. TreeClan.
~~~~~
"It's going rather well, I think."
Lionstar hid his disbelief well. "That's good to hear. What have you been learning?" Has Sootmask been upholding his duties as mentor? That was the real question in the shade of the golden warrior's words.
It could be said that Lionstar took all decisions to do with TreeClan seriously, but any cat who knew his history, had watched him interact with his Clanmates, knew how much he enjoyed mentoring. Few things filled him with as much pride as personally training the next generation of strong warriors. Or medicine cats, he reminded himself, thinking fondly of Bluejay.
Truth be told, Lionstar did not know as much about Badgerpaw as he would have liked; Greenleaf was a busy time for the Clan. They often had to clean out stale moss, check the logs for signs of termites or weevils, and hunting voraciously to make up for a miserable leafbare. Who were Badgerpaw's parents? Nightpool and... Oh. How could he forget? Russetstorm had created one hell of a scandal when he'd publically rejected his mate and left the Clan.
Lionstar had been cross over that decision for several days after; he had spoken to Nightpool, reassured her that her kits would be well-taken care of, and would thrive in TreeClan despite her mate's abandonment. Badgerpaw and Pinepaw were still part of TreeClan, still trying to be warriors. So perhaps his words had sunk in after all?
I should have mentored her myself, Lionstar realized, suppressing a wince. If Sootmask turned out to be an unsatisfactory mentor, Lionstar did not want Badgerpaw to have to suffer through a pattern of disappointment from any toms in a position of authority or responsibility for her. If Badgerpaw complained, perhaps he could find an easy way to assign her to some other cat. Sprucefur, his younger half-brother, was dependable, though his own apprentice, Nightpaw, had run away shortly after the unfortunate death of Puddlepaw.
However, there was also Lionsong and Gorsetail, two excellent warriors he felt as though he had known most of his life. In Lionsong's case, he had.
Time spent among trees is never wasted.--
Word Count: 355 Words
Tags: @marshymutt
Notes: |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2016 10:50:35 GMT -5
"That's good to hear. What have you been learning?"
There it was, the question she had been hoping he wouldn't ask, though in the back of her mind she knew he would anyways. Still, it didn't do much to help with her fears as now she would have to respond, she couldn't just ignore his question. She could only hope that the large tom didn't think any less of her for not being farther along in her lessons by now.
"Um, well he recently showed me around the territory.....and that's about it. We haven't really done much training otherwise." She responded, her ears pinning themselves against her skull as she quickly made an attempt to save herself. "B-but I know how to hunt! It took me a while to learn but I've already caught a mouse."
This whole scenario seemed absolutely laughable in the tuxedo cat's head. She'd just landed herself in hot water and in an attempt to swim to shore, ended up getting ripped to shreds by the massive pike that was her inadequacy. She was in no position to say she could hunt, even after catching her first mouse a while back. There was little doubt in the apprentice's mind that she had been doing it wrong, which would explain why she hadn't been able to catch anything BUT that one small, mouse and now she was sure that Lionstar would have her demonstrate her hunting skills.
However, there was a warm spark inside of the she-cats' heart that begged her to try anyway. Her foolish pride telling her to go ahead and let the leader of her own clan see her flawed hunting, perhaps she could impress him anyways. Perhaps she could convince him that she wasn't a failure. Maybe she could even make him proud of her.
@ spottedfawn
|
|
|
|
Post by Fawn on Aug 12, 2016 13:42:21 GMT -5
LIONSTAR leader of treeclan Blinded by the light of a new sun He had not anticipated Sootmask being a very enthusiastic mentor, but the sheer lack of training of poor Badgerpaw was enough to spark the golden tom's anger. That was not fair to Badgerpaw; he didn't care what Sootmask's excuses were bound to be, he had given the tom a chance, and so far Sootmask wasn't performing as expected.
The young kitten was eager to learn, that much was clear by her desperate rebuttal, letting him know that she had taught herself to hunt—and done well enough to catch her first mouse. Lionstar, despite his growing agitation towards Grayowl's son, felt his expression grow kind, and a soft purr rumbled out of his throat like a flurry of dragonfly wingbeats.
"Well done, Badgerpaw. I'm proud of you for taking initiative. I would like to see your hunting crouch." He would see it and perfect it, as necessary. And then, Lionstar decided with the surety of someone who could not stand to see an apprentice being neglected, they would go hunting. Properly hunting. He would teach her how to wait carefully for the mice to go after the beech nuts and for the squirrels to start preparing acorn caches for the coming season change. He would show her the difference between badger dung and fox dung, and the different animal tracks that were easiest to identify after a nice refreshing rain.
It occurred to him then, just how much Lionstar had been missing mentoring. Since Bluejay's warrior status and then rebirth as a medicine cat, Lionstar had been without an apprentice for a pawful of moons. He had though the could manage just fine, and had vowed to give the younger and untested warriors a chance to prove their mettle, but...
Mentoring was a joy he'd sorely been missing out on. Am I being a selfish foxheart for taking Sootmask's apprentice away form him? The right thing to do would be to tell Sootmask to smarten up, and then give the tom another chance. That would be the fair thing to do. But Lionstar wasn't feeling very fair. It would be easier to flex his authority by telling Sootmask he would be taking over Badgerpaw's training from now on.
And you know what? Lionstar had a dark suspicion that Sootmask just wouldn't care. Take it to the world, gonna sing it like an anthem
400 words | tagged Phoenix , @marshymutt | notes (Maybe have Sootmask show up at the end, Phoenix~?) |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 12, 2016 23:41:12 GMT -5
The tuxedo apprentice was rather surprised when all Lionstar asked her to do was show him her hunter's crouch. She had truly been expecting him to request that she go and hunt down a mouse, but she certainly wasn't about to question it. A hunter's crouch, was something she could most assuredly do. With a gentle intake of breath, she dropped into a crouch, taking her weight onto her haunches so that if she were to begin moving, her paws would have no impact on the forest floor. Briefly, she hoped that she had at least mastered this part of the hunting process. If she hadn't, she would look like quite the fool right now. The only real way she would know however, is if Lionstar decided to give her some feedback on the situation. That was after all, the only real way she could learn and grow as a cat, and even though their time together would likely be brief, it would still be more helpful to her than Sootmask was. Fawn |
|
|
|
Post by Fawn on Aug 13, 2016 14:26:30 GMT -5
LIONSTAR leader of treeclan Blinded by the light of a new sun Lionstar took a few careful steps around the apprentice, watching her footwork. With a flick of his tail, he signaled for her to stalk foreward, wanting to observe her weight distribution and overall technique. It wasn't bad—not bad at all for a cat that had taught herself how. Lionstar, using his right front paw to gently move her legs in a stance correction, stood back with a satisfactory nod. "Be careful you don't put all your weight into your hind legs, Badgerpaw. If you miss a twig with your front paws but step on it with your back feet, you'll still make noise. Try to keep your weight evenly distributed, unless its right before the pounce."
Suddenly, he couldn't imagine Sootmask going into a lengthy explanation of a proper hunting crouch. He could picture the gray tom offering very little feedback, critiquing until she was decent enough at it so as not to embarrass herself or him on the next hunting patrol.
Deciding she might better learn by example, Lionstar adopted his own hunting crouch, what felt like a hundred moons of muscle memory aiding him into a smooth transition. He crept along the forest floor like a LionClan warrior, not as stealthy as he normally would be given the dryness of the earth, but there were some things not every warrior could counter. They would just have to make do.
Straightening, the golden tom looked at Badgerpaw. "Would you like to try again?" She would do well with a different mentor. That decided it for him, his conviction solidifying. He would either train her himself, or find another cat worthy of doing so. Selfishness demanded that he take up the role of mentor yet again, but he knew for a fact that there were other cats in the Clan who were fully capable of tutoring young Badgerpaw.
Gorsetail, for one. Surprising even himself, Lionstar pictured his pale-furred half-sibling, Sprucefur, as one of the cats worthy to take on an apprentice. His thoughts flashed back to the death of Puddlepaw, and the days spent searching for Nightpaw, with no hide or whisker of the she-cat anywhere...
Lionstar didn't blame his half-brother for Nightpaw's disappearance. Besides, he could see it in the tom's eyes that Sprucefur was already doing enough blaming for the both of them. Perhaps he was the one who deserved the second chance, not Sootmask. Take it to the world, gonna sing it like an anthem
387 words | tagged @marshymutt | notes |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2016 10:06:36 GMT -5
 Badgerpaw was quite surprised when she heard him say that she would be getting a new mentor. Though she didn't question it in the slightest. Honestly, she didn't mind much that Sootmask would no longer be her mentor, maybe now she would be able to have someone who wasn't as creepy to teach her.
Lionstar soon gestured for her to join him, and the apprentice readily dropping into a hunter's crouch. She listened as the golden tom explained how the mice were searching for food and gave her advice on how to take down the prey before leading them in closer. It wasn't long before the large male gestured to the dry beech leaves, where she could spy the skinny tail of a mouse. Looking back up to the tom, she noticed him posing a question with his eyes. 'Would you like to try catching it?' to which she responded with a slight nod of her head.
She did her best to recall all that he had taught her today, remembering to keep her weight distributed evenly as she slowly stalked forward, eyes trained patiently on her prey. She waited until she got within a reasonable distance, feeling confident that she could capture it. There was a brief pause in her movements, her muscles soon rippling as she pounced on the rodent, quickly biting it's throat and ending it's life in the process.
There was no stopping the thrill that coursed through her. Her heart was pounding in her chest, mind racing from the excitement of it all. She felt very much like she had when she caught her very first mouse, except this time she felt proud of herself. It didn't feel like she had done it wrong or that her kill was too weak or scrawny to have gotten away. It felt like an actual kill that took skill and effort to make. She turned back to Lionstar, eyes wide with the giddiness of a kit. "I did it." She mewled out in a mixture of joy and surprise.
Words:341 Tags: Fawn Notes: COOL SONG LYRICS GO HERE |
|
|
|
Post by Fawn on Aug 15, 2016 13:57:22 GMT -5
LIONSTAR leader of treeclan Blinded by the light of a new sun She's a fast learner. Lionstar purred his approval, nodding in a stately fashion at the apprentice's enthusiasm. That was always a good thing to see, as far as the golden tom was concerned. "Well done, Badgerpaw. When we return to camp, if Sootmask seeks you out, send him to me. I will be giving you a new mentor." That wasn't the end of their training session, however.
Lionstar stepped forward, letting the invisible miasma of scents wash over him; once he scented past the dry heat, he could detect a multitude of things—plant life, the different kinds of trees, though he could no longer smell the sparkling brook, the water being too low—but most importantly, he could detect mouse.
"There are mice looking for beech nuts nearby," Lionstar spoke softly, gesturing with a soft flick of his tail for Badgerpaw to join him, and he eased into a hunting crouch. "Mice are sensitive to vibrations in the ground. Keep your weight even, keep your movements slow until you feel confident you can get one." That she had caught a mouse before was a good sign, and also a bit lucky considering she'd kept most of her weight in her back legs up until this point.
Lionstar guided them closer, his jaws parted ever so slightly to sift through the scents, listening for the faint rustle of leaves near the roots of a beech tree. The tree itself was easier to distinguish, what with its thick, corrugated bark and the odd prickly beech nuts that were now in season. The leaves themselves were wide, shaped a little like cats' ears, in that they started out wide and tapered into a neat tip.
Wordlessly, Lionstar gestured to where the dry beech leaves were rustling, the skinny tip of a gray mouse's tail just barely visible under the foliage. Lionstar expressed a question with his eyes. Would you like to try catching it? If her confidence failed her, he would catch it himself and let her get the next one. Take it to the world, gonna sing it like an anthem
337 words | tagged @marshymutt | notes |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2016 15:49:30 GMT -5
Badgerpaw was quite surprised when she heard him say that she would be getting a new mentor. Though she didn't question it in the slightest. Honestly, she didn't mind much that Sootmask would no longer be her mentor, maybe now she would be able to have someone who wasn't as creepy to teach her.
Lionstar soon gestured for her to join him, and the apprentice readily dropping into a hunter's crouch. She listened as the golden tom explained how the mice were searching for food and gave her advice on how to take down the prey before leading them in closer. It wasn't long before the large male gestured to the dry beech leaves, where she could spy the skinny tail of a mouse. Looking back up to the tom, she noticed him posing a question with his eyes. 'Would you like to try catching it?' to which she responded with a slight nod of her head.
She did her best to recall all that he had taught her today, remembering to keep her weight distributed evenly as she slowly stalked forward, eyes trained patiently on her prey. She waited until she got within a reasonable distance, feeling confident that she could capture it. There was a brief pause in her movements, her muscles soon rippling as she pounced on the rodent, quickly biting it's throat and ending it's life in the process.
There was no stopping the thrill that coursed through her. Her heart was pounding in her chest, mind racing from the excitement of it all. She felt very much like she had when she caught her very first mouse, except this time she felt proud of herself. It didn't feel like she had done it wrong or that her kill was too weak or scrawny to have gotten away. It felt like an actual kill that took skill and effort to make. She turned back to Lionstar, eyes wide with the giddiness of a kit. "I did it." She mewled out in a mixture of joy and surprise.
Words:341 Tags: Fawn Notes: COOL SONG LYRICS GO HERE |
|
|
|
Post by Fawn on Aug 15, 2016 21:27:57 GMT -5
LIONSTAR leader of treeclan Blinded by the light of a new sun Badgerpaw gave him the kind of expression that often-times restored his faith in the world. Her giddiness was infectious, and he felt an almost paternal pride for the black and white she-cat. "Very well done, let's bring your catch back to camp. You can give it to the queens and kits, let them know you caught it yourself." And then I'll introduce you to your new mentor.
Lionstar didn't anticipate Sprucefur refusing; besides, the warrior was ready. His half-brother deserved a chance just as well as any other cat, and he knew the pale tom wouldn't dare make the same mistakes (or commit the same intentional negligence) that Sootmask had.
She held all the promise of a good warrior. Lionstar would make certain her talents and enthusiasm were not wasted or cast aside again. With an approving nod and a fatherly smile, Lionstar signaled the young she-cat to follow him back to camp, filling her in on additional hunting techniques while they brought her prized catch to TreeClan. Take it to the world, gonna sing it like an anthem
170 words | tagged @marshymutt | notes Thread closed! Whoo~ I'll start the new one in the morning with Spruce.  |
|
