[BlooRey DVD]

Jaws parted, drawing in the scent of the surrounding air. Contrary to the past few days, it lacked the dry bitterness to it that this Greenleaf had been known for. He paused, waving his tail thoughtfully. The air felt less oppressive, and even held a hint of coolness to it that told him today might not be as bad as the last few days. StoneClan had certainly not been spared when it came to the sun's harsh rays recently. Apprentices and warriors alike had been tasked with fetching water for Clanmates that could not make the journey, and the camp appeared deserted at sunhigh as everyone sought refuge from the incessant heat. Deciding that a day such as this should not go to waste, the StoneClan leader paused briefly to nuzzle his mate as she pulled up beside him. Offering her a tender smile, he parted ways, bounding down the rocky slope that led to the centre of StoneClan's camp. He considered stopping by the elder's den to visit his recently retired friend, Fallenleaf, but movement from the den entrance caught his eye first. A familiar black and white she-cat exited, followed shortly thereafter by the limping cream and white elder. He smiled softly to himself. It was good to see the former mentor and apprentice pair interacting once more. They were both good for one another, and helped each other. Even if they couldn't see it, he certainly could. With a dismissive flick of his tail, Hawkstar reoriented himself toward his day's primary objective. It was still somewhat early in the day, but many StoneClanners, aware of the limited nature of these precious cooler hours, were already milling about. His broad frame ducked through the entrance of the apprentices' den, just enough to allow him to peer inside. Truth be told, he'd expected to see his daughter Heronpaw's frame lying in her nest. But the place was empty, the older apprentice evidently having gone out to perform some task. Pushing the thought to the back of his mind, he pinpointed the muted calico pelt he'd initially come here searching for. Meowing into the dimly lit den, he waited until she stirred and met his gaze before giving her a set of instructions. "Hazelpaw, grab a quick bite to eat and then meet me at the camp entrance." When he received some form of acknowledgement to his request, the large sandy brown tom backed out of the apprentice den. Following his own advice, Hawkstar padded over to the fresh-kill pile, selecting a mouse for himself before taking a seat a few tail lengths away to eat it. He made quick work of it without necessarily meaning to, and though he wasn't exactly full, it was enough to tide him over until after the planned training session. Tongue passing over his lips to destroy any remaining evidence of the meal he'd just consumed, Hawkstar disposed of the carcass and rose once more, making his way over to the entrance to await his apprentice's arrival. As he waited, Wolfclaw returned with some other members of the Dawn Patrol. He listened to the gray deputy's account, and was, for once, glad to hear that nothing terribly eventful had occurred. The night of the Gathering was still burned into the back of his mind, the irritable twitch of his tail evidence enough of his feelings toward LightningClan in that moment. But he had made a decision, and if any StoneClanner were to challenge him concerning it now, he would defend it. He had made the right call. Dipping his head in appreciation to Wolfclaw, Hawkstar dismissed the tom, pale amber eyes flashing toward the apprentice den for any sign of Hazelpaw's appearance.

Phoenix
Fawn For the Skunkspots mention (head cannon; she and Fallenleaf totes go out for walks in the morning)
Amber For the Wolfclaw mention (#StoneClanForever)

[Phoenix]

i'm through accepting limits 'cause someone says they're so

Every apprentice eagerly awaited the day she would become an apprentice and begin training to become a warrior, but Hazelpaw felt like no one, barring her sister had ever been as excited as she. Imagine her exhilaration, then, on that particular morning when she had found out not only that that day would be her ceremony (a moon late, but she could handle that in light of an even more pressing discovery) but that she would have Hawkstar as her mentor. Hawkstar! The clan leader! Never in her wildest dreams would she have guessed that she would end up under the tutelage of such an impressive cat, and though Maplepaw may have actually started training earlier with Skunkspots, she would not be spending her days with the leader of StoneClan. (It was okay that her sister went out before her, because Hawkstar, as leader of StoneClan, had other duties to attend to, too, especially now with LightningClan acting up.) Even as the days passed and she still had yet to do more than walk a short distance out of camp, Hazelpaw didn’t think the smile had ever completely faded from her lips.

And then she had woken up today to a summons from the leader himself, and her heart felt like it had jumped into her throat. Finally! Shaking any moss and dust from her multi-colored pelt, the she climbed to her paws, a wide grin already planted firmly on her face. Today was going to be a good day – she could feel it! The weather seemed to have cooled off overnight, giving them a welcome break from the unrelenting heat, and the coolness felt like a breath of fresh air. (Though she had been told she would appreciate her long fur come leaf-bare, but so far it had done nothing but keep her far too warm for comfort). Moments later, heads undoubtedly turned to see the small calico she-cat racing out of the apprentice’s den, and miraculously not trip over her own paws just in time to nearly stumble into the fresh-kill pile. Managing to maintain her balance, Hazelpaw saved herself from a face full of dirt and picked out a piece of prey – a little bird – as per her mentor’s instructions. It was gone in a flash, swallowed in large gulps, and pushing the leftover feathers and bones aside, the apprentice turned her head to find Hawkstar.

True to his word, he stood over by the camp entrance, conversing with Wolfclaw and a small number of warriors. Though the two toms were hardly about to threaten her, approaching the clan leader and the deputy together was just a little intimidating for a young cat who had yet to lose her hero-worship of those in high ranking positions. Well, perhaps that wasn’t entirely fair. She was very comfortable around Dawnblossom and thought she knew the medicine cat pretty well, but that was different. The other she-cat wasn’t in charge of StoneClan; she just made Hazelpaw and Maplepaw sit still for extended periods of time (which was incredibly boring) and occasionally gave them disgusting herbs to eat. As the apprentice made her way over to the clan entrance, she felt a little bad and corrected her thoughts because she liked Dawnblossom and felt a little bad about thinking so poorly of her, even if the other cat couldn’t know what she was thinking. She was a great medicine cat, but by now, Hazelpaw’s automatic hero-worship of her had faded away, replaced instead by a somewhat closer relationship.

Ahead of her, Hawkstar dismissed his deputy, and she quickened her pace, skidding to a halt before him. ”I’m here~!” She announced unnecessarily, turning bright green eyes on the large brown tom. ”What are we doing today, Hawkstar?”

i'm defying gravity and you can't pull me down

hazelpaw | stoneclan | apprentice | BlooRey DVD

defying gravity | background image

[BlooRey DVD]

Of course, the first thing that alerted Hawkstar of Hazelpaw's approach was the sound of her pawsteps. There were very few in the Clan right now with so much enthusiasm wrapped up in the trotting sound of a cat's approach. As he shifted to glance in her direction, the little she-cat's cheery voice greeted his ears, and he couldn't help be smile. Pulling his large frame to his paws, the StoneClan leader greeted his newest apprentice with a wave of his tail. He could practically feel the excitement bubbling off of her as she came to a screeching halt before him. With a chuckle and a fond shake of his head, he greeted her. "Good morning, Hazelpaw. You certainly seem excited about something!" He offered her a grin, before waving his tail to indicate she should follow him. Ducking through the StoneClan camp entrance, he paused to make sure she was following before continuing his path. His pace wasn't particularly fast, though it had nothing to do with concern for her condition. Dawnblossom had, of course, filled him in one the current status of the two littermates. Honestly, Hawkstar had felt terrible holding the pair back one moon. He knew what an important day an apprentice ceremony was for young cats like Hazelpaw and Maplepaw. Yet... He had wanted to hear a little more from Dawnblossom on the pair before making his decision. And to do that, he'd had to give her time. Hawkstar had ended up giving both of them their apprentice ceremony a moon or so later. Had Fallenleaf still been a warrior, he would have assigned one of the sisters to the cream and white she-cat. Fallenleaf had a glimpse into their world; she knew what it was like to be... Limited was not the right word, but was the best he could do right then. Fallenleaf knew what it was like to be limited by a part of your physical being. But Falllenleaf had accommodated, and she'd continued to fight on as a warrior. It would take some time, but he felt in his heart that Hazelpaw and Maplepaw would make it to warriorhood too, and become proud warriors of StoneClan. There would be trials along the way, but he hoped that, with his patience and understanding as her guide, Hazelpaw would make it. Glancing toward his apprentice, his jaws parted with a small warning. "Careful that you don't move too quickly too suddenly, Hazelpaw. Give your body a little time to digest the food you ate." Now, he supposed he should finally answer her earlier question. It was hard to tell with them still being so close to camp, but Hawkstar was leading the young she-cat towards the Sandy Plateau. "Well, Hazelpaw. I thought that we could take advantage of a cooler day such as this to work a little on battle training. What do you think?" His amber eyes flicked to hers as the broad shouldered StoneClan leader awaited an answer from his smaller framed StoneClan apprentice.

Phoenix

[Phoenix]

i'm through accepting limits 'cause someone says they're so

Excited seemed like such an inadequate word to describe the rush of enthusiasm that had her kneading the ground and almost trembling, unable to keep still. She was eager, impatient, exultant, and so, so ready to begin her training, and now that it was right at the tips of her claws, she was going to grab onto it and never let go. Nothing would slow her down now, not even her heart or everyone else’s concerns. She could do this, and Maplepaw could do this. Together, they would become StoneClan’s best warriors, and today, she had made one giant step closer to that goal.

With a grin at Hawkstar’s antics, she kept right on his heels as he led her out of camp, unable to stop the shiver that traveled down her spine as they ducked through the entrance. For the first time, she was stepping beyond the boundaries of her world and into a larger one. There was a whole territory to explore, neighboring clans to meet, and the imposing mountains that sat on the horizon. The sky seemed so much larger out here. She craned her neck around as they walked a well-worn path to some undisclosed location, but she was too caught up by everything around her to ask. Every clan’s territory was different, she’d been told by the elders, and theirs was a barren scrubland dotted with weathered boulders. Their clan was aptly named, Hazelpaw was realizing as she looked around, seeing little variation in the rocks and sand. A curiously shaped stone caught her attention, and she paused to more closely examine it – it looked like… a mouse? Odd. But she liked it.

I hope I don’t get lost. The thought struck her suddenly, and she glanced around for her mentor now, green eyes finding him not far ahead. With a jolt, she sped up to an easy trot and reached his side just as he turned to warn her about moving too quickly. Her stomach made a noise, seeming to agree with his words, and she glanced down. Oh. Perhaps that hadn’t been the best idea. A rueful grin spread across her lips as she looked back up at Hawkstar, offering a sheepish, “Oops.” Next time, she would remember that. There was a comfortable pause, and she glanced around again. As she fell into step with him, it occurred to her just how much larger his paws were than hers. Disliking the implication of fragility, Hazelpaw protested the idea that she had dainty feet, but any cat with eyes could see that she was not the largest apprentice in the den. Hawkstar was one of the larger cats in the clan, so it made sense that he had the feet to match. But they were so big, and—

His voice derailed her train of thought, and she looked up at him as he spoke, ears flicking. ”Yes!” Battle training! She’d been looking forward to this most of all. Unsurprisingly, her only experience fighting were the tumbles she took with the other kits in the nursery, but she didn’t think she’d been that bad. Determination made up for everything she lacked in size and natural ability, and in any event, those play fights were always a lot of fun. ”Maplepaw’ll be so jealous when I tell her. Oh, I can’t wait!” Hawkstar was probably the best fighter in the clan; after all, he was leader, and she didn’t think StarClan would let a poor warrior to lead StoneClan. Not only would she be training for battle, but she’d be learning from the best! This day was getting better and better.

i'm defying gravity and you can't pull me down

hazelpaw | stoneclan | apprentice | BlooRey DVD Fawn (mouse!rock mention)

defying gravity | background image

[BlooRey DVD]

Hawkstar

may your dreams be larger than mountains

Hazelpaw's excitement bubbled around her in a contagious storm. Her babbling voice brought a smile to the StoneClan leader's voice, and he couldn't help the chuckle that erupted in the form of a purr. His apprentice's enthusiasm reminded him of a younger Heronpaw; his daughter had been full of similar determined excitement when she'd first started her training as a StoneClan apprentice. He could only hope that Hazelpaw maintained that determination throughout her life. The road ahead would be littered with obstacles ready to challenge the little she-cat and her sister; she would need to work hard to push through.

But he had faith in the pair of them. He believed them to be strong of mind, even if they were not as physically strong as some of the other apprentices sharing their den. They could do this. Hawkstar's mrrowr of laughter died only because the light brown tom decided to speak to his apprentice once more. Still, the chuckle could be heard in the lightness of his voice as he addressed Hazelpaw. "Perhaps, once both you and Maplepaw have had some time to practice your battle skills, we can organize a little sparring match between the two of you, hm?"

She would quickly learn that training required her to face many different cats in mock-combat, so she might learn to handle all sorts of body types, while using her own body type to the best of her advantage. Still, he would eventually like to see the two sisters fight one another, to learn from each other as well as to learn how the other fights. That way, they could aid one another in battle, become a fearsome fighting team. Eventually, the pawsteps of the mentor-apprentice team brought them into the Sandy Plateau. With a wave of his tail, he indicated the flat expanse for her to take in.

"Welcome, Hazelpaw, to the Sandy Plateau. This is where StoneClan warriors bring their apprentices to teach them the ways of the battle field. It's terrain is flat, as I'm sure you've noticed, making it the perfect place to begin. However, most instances of combat will not take place on terrain as ideal as this. Keep that in mind, and in future training sessions, I might have you practice elsewhere." Casting her a sideways grin, he flicked his ear. "For now, we'll start with the basics." He moved around her, so that the two were face to face, albeit separated by a few tail-lengths.

"Pretend as though I, or some other opponent, were charging toward you. How would you brace yourself? Show me your instinctive ready stance."

leader of stoneclan

and may you have the courage
to scale their summits

background image | harley king | Phoenix | table by phoenix