[Abyss]

B A T E A R

Greenleaf 11 - The day is an ideal balance of warm and cool. A few short lived sun-showers occur throughout the day.

This particular event had been...unexpected, to say the least. Every normal cat was preparing to go to sleep as the sun began to set, shadows dancing across the tall grasses that covered Lightningclan’s land and the mountains darkening in the distance. The cats of the valley, minus Nightclan more than likely, was beginning to turn in for the night, including Lightningclan. Well, except for a few cats specifically.

The last week or so, a certain black Warrioress had changed up her sleep schedule a little bit. She had been requesting to be a part of the night camp-watch every day in exchange for more time to sleep during the day. She wasn’t entirely used to it, nor was it anything she was being forced to do, but it had a purpose.

In the last few moons of Batear training her young Apprentice, Thistlepaw, they had done a little bit of everything. They explored the territory all the time, they hunted, and they did some one-on-one battle training. But, as one would expect, all of this had been done during the day. There was a lesson that not all mentors, if Batear had watched enough other Warriors and their Apprentices over the moons correctly, took the time to teach their Apprentices. A lesson that, in Batear’s opinion, should be taught to every Apprentice. What was that lesson? Fighting in the dark.

What was one of the most common actions to take when it came to battles and wars? The element of surprise. Even though the thought of one of the other clans attacking Lightningclan in the night was something the she-cat didn’t want to ever see happen, it was always a possibility. Plus, this threat didn’t just apply to the other clans; it could apply to outside cats and other predators as well. The best way to catch an entire group of cats off guard was to hit them at their most vulnerable time: when they are asleep.

It was these thoughts that had prompted Batear, along with the company of Mudpelt who had agreed to help her with this lesson, to show up at the Apprentice den after everyone was already beginning to fall asleep. She had warned Thistlepaw recently that there was a lesson she wouldn’t be expecting coming up, but she never specified what that lesson would be...or during what time of day.

“Thistlepaw, wake up, ” Batear whispered, lightly nudging the resting form of her Apprentice. Wanting to be sure that the young she-cat woke, Batear gently pressed her muzzle underneath the Apprentice’s nest and lightly lifted it, hoping to just barely shift the she-cat and catch her attention. “Come, there is something we must do.”

Without another word or indication of what was happening, the dark she-cat, practically just a silhouette in the darkness of the den, turned and maneuvered her way around the other sleeping cats and their nests. She emerged from the den and turned the corner, motioning with her head for Mudpelt to go and wait at the edge of camp. Her bright green gaze looked towards the entrance of the den once more, waiting to hopefully see Thistlepaw coming out as well.

WORDS: 530 | Ginger | NOTES: -

By Cotton of Template HQ

[Ginger]

And even though it's hard, and I may struggle through it all
you may see me stumble, but you will never see me fall.

What was it that the more stoic of cats dreamt about? Was it the past day's events, scenarios they wish had gone differently, or even dreams of future times? No. Thistlepaw dreamt of nothing. Complete darkness, the inevitable oblivion that every cat feared coming to the young apprentice every single night. It was rather nice.

"Thistlepaw, wake up," thundered a loud voice in the middle of Thistlepaw's sweet oblivion. The sleeping apprentice felt a slight shift in her nest, causing her to slowly blink open her eyes. It was almost as black as her dream, the only thing convincing her that she was awake being her mentor's green eyes staring directly at her. So this was the "unexpected lesson." Thistlepaw blinked a few more times, attempting to bat away the fatigue. There was no point now, she would just have to hope that the lesson would wake her up more.

With a big yawn, Thistlepaw got up from her nest and carefully followed her mentor out of the Apprentice's Den, trying her best to avoid stepping on any tails that flicked by her feet. As the tabby she-cat emerged from the den, she saw another dark figure moving across the camp, indiscernible in the darkness. Confused, she looked up at her mentor with her yellow eyes. "What sort of lesson takes place in the middle of the night?" Thistlepaw knew for a fact that none of the other apprentices were being dragged out of their nests as if they were warriors of Nightclan. What edge was she getting over them from this?
 

Thistlepaw

9 Moons || LightningClan || She-Cat

261 words || Made By Fawn || Abyss

[Abyss]

BATEAR

I don't know where I'll be tomorrow

Lightningclan Warrioress

As Thistlepaw emerged from the den, Batear stood and went straight for the camp entrance. She heard Thistlepaw’s question as she walked and peeked back at her Apprentice, a glint in her eye. “You will see.” As she got to the entrance, she watched as Mudpelt exited the camp first. The small trio, with Mudpelt more off to the side, began their trek to what seemed to be a certain location, though it was unknown where. As they walked, the black she-cat glanced back at her Apprentice.

“Answer me this, Thistlepaw. If, just as an example, Lightningclan wanted to attack Stoneclan and have an element of surprise, what is it that we should use?” It was a very broad question, one that had many answers. Even though her Apprentice had only just woken up not too long previous, the answer likely wouldn’t come to mind right away, since Batear expected a certain answer. But she did hope that it was obvious, considering their current situation.

As they finally reached the location, Batear stopped just outside of a relatively small circle of trampled grass while the rest around it was taller than the cats. This was not the Trampled Clearing, but it resembled it in a much smaller form. “Stand in the center of that circle. The lesson will hit you sooner or later, ” Batear stated, giving Thistlepaw a very quick nudge forward towards the circle. Before Thistlepaw had even reached the inside of the circle, Batear disappeared, and there was no sign of Mudpelt either. Their scents still lingered, of course, but neither Warrior could be seen anywhere. The tall grass surrounding the circle acted as a sort of barrier, sight only going so far through before it was just darkness.

After this, nothing happened. Batear didn’t peek her head through the grasses to check on her Apprentice. Mudpelt didn’t show up. Their scents were slowly beginning to fade.

The wheel in the sky keeps on turning

320 | Ginger | Either Thistle can actually just stay and wait or she could attempt to leave after a while. Either one is fine.

[Ginger]

And even though it's hard, and I may struggle through it all
you may see me stumble, but you will never see me fall.

As she followed her lean black mentor, Thistlepaw tried her best to stay as focused as possible. The issue was that she was not accustomed to waking up in the middle of the night for training, and she was struggling a lot to get over her grogginess.

Of course it would then be difficult for her to take an educated guess at Batear's cool question.

Her tired and grumpy side taking over, Thistlepaw offered a sharp response. "They'd probably rouse them out of their warm nests and sweet dreams." Despite her answer being a somewhat spiteful one, it actually made sense. Thistlepaw thought about what she said, regret immediately growing at her rude retort -- Batear was only trying to help the young apprentice be the best she could be. "I'm sorry. That was rude...but I still think that, based off of how I feel right now, attacking at night would make it easier for us." But then she paused, realization dawning in her eyes. "But that wouldn't even give them a fighting chance...it doesn't seem fair."

Regardless of what the tabby she-cat had to say, the two cats soon came upon a small clearing not unlike the Trampled Clearing. Following her mentor's orders, Thistlepaw walked to the center and looked back, only to find that both Batear and Mudpelt had disappeared. Great.

Not wanting to disobey any orders, Thistlepaw waited patiently for the two warriors to return. However, as the time passed, their scents got weaker and weaker, eventually reaching a point to where Thistlepaw had to strain her nose and open her mouth wide to even catch the slightest whiff of the wandering warriors.

What sort of lesson is she teaching me? How to stand vigil? Annoyance flashed through the tired apprentice's eyes. All her peers were sleeping in their warm nests right now, full bellies and resting muscles. Meanwhile, Thistlepaw was out and about doing Starclan-knows-what. Yet she dared not leave the clearing, as that would be completely disobeying what Batear had instructed her to do. "Hello?" she called out, hoping that someone would respond.
 

Thistlepaw

9 Moons || LightningClan || She-Cat

347 words || Made By Fawn || Abyss

[Abyss]

BATEAR

I don't know where I'll be tomorrow

Lightningclan Warrioress

The night had grown quiet. No shuffling of the grass. No sounds of breathing. Hardly even any wind blew through. Both Batear and Mudpelt’s scents had faded almost completely. After some time, a light rain began to fall from the sky, starting as just a few drops of water and turning into a steady fall. It was around this time that Thistlepaw had finally called out. But it was that one word, that one sign of life from the Apprentice, that triggered the lesson.

There was suddenly a loud sound, the sound of grass shuffling and slamming together. The sound was very quick, coming from to one side of Thistlepaw and became louder in seconds as though something was approaching. There was a flash of dark fur and a shadowed figure that burst from the grasses, smacking right into Thistlepaw’s side and knocking her off her feet. Just like that, the figure was gone. But the sound wasn’t. As a matter of fact, it got louder. All of the grass surrounding the small clearing began to shake and thunder together, like there were many different things circling around the Apprentice. But because of the darkness, none of them could be seen. The wind began to blow harder, only adding more sound to the grass and the rain.

“Use your ears. Feel what is happening through the ground, ” suddenly came Batear’s voice through all the sound. Her voice was calm, as it always was when she spoke to Thistle. It was only quick advice that she called out to the young she-cat, but this advice was truly the key to the lesson. If one listened closely, you could tell that there weren’t a whole bunch of things running circles around Thistlepaw. You could hear a break in the noise, two breaks that would become longer and shorter at random. There were only two things circling the clearing, and it was now likely obvious what they were.

Suddenly, there was a crack from the bushes once again, one of the creatures shooting out from the grass towards the she-cat.

The wheel in the sky keeps on turning

347 | Ginger | Notes

[Ginger]

And even though it's hard, and I may struggle through it all
you may see me stumble, but you will never see me fall.

Almost immediately after she had called out, Thistlepaw felt a presence near her, only realizing what it was after she had been knocked off of her feet, falling to the ground in a very ungraceful way. Climbing back to her feet, Thistlepaw strained her ears to make sense of the noises. The smells told her that it was Mudpelt and Batear, running around her and confusing her.

At her mentor's advice, Thistlepaw dug her claws deeper into the ground to ensure that she stayed grounded. As soon as she felt stable, the apprentice dropped to the ground and put her right ear up against it. The cacophony of noise that had previously stunned her was now crystal clear. She could hear the two gaits of the cats as they ran around her, making sense of each individual one. The lighter footfalls had to belong to Batear.

She heard a large break in the steps and reacted immediately, taking her claws out of the ground and rolling to the side, just barely dodging Batear as she came soaring past her. As her mentor landed in the empty space in which the apprentice had just been, Thistlepaw narrowed her eyes. Her training was not over yet. One more figure was going to come for her.

This time, she would be even more prepared than she had been - a counter attack was on her mind. The young tabby opened her mouth to taste and feel the air with her tongue. She felt the wind slightly change every time Mudpelt circled back in front of her. Occasionally, he would change directions to mess with her, but even that couldn't fool the she-cat anymore.

She heard him slow down, and turned her head away from him so that he would not guess that she knew his location. As soon as Mudpelt's dark figure came flying towards her, Thistlepaw leaped straight up and hit his stomach with her back, knocking the wind out of the older cat. Success!

As the two warriors settled down, Thistlepaw turned to Batear, a question on the tip of her tongue. "How can I do what both of you were doing?" She had learned how to defend herself, but the young apprentice was incredibly intrigued by how she could play on the more offensive side, despite it being a little scary. Would she ever be able to confuse some poor lost soul in the middle of the night before she attacked? Or was she a more traditional daytime fighter? In time, she would find out, but it sure didn't hurt to learn the technique of both styles.
 

Thistlepaw

9 Moons || LightningClan || She-Cat

439 words || Made By Fawn || Abyss , Fawn (used Mudpelt)

[Abyss]

BATEAR

I don't know where I'll be tomorrow

Lightningclan Warrioress

Contrary to her previous prediction, Batear didn’t feel her paws collide with the body of her Apprentice. As she landed, her head turned just enough to glance behind her, seeing that Thistlepaw had rolled out of the way just in the knick of time. A smile formed on her face as she went back into the grasses, continuing to run in the circle, but not planning to leap forward again. She couldn’t just let the lesson suddenly become easier.

As she briefly passed Mudpelt, her tail brushed across his flank, giving him the signal that it was his turn. Batear didn’t focus on Mudpelt or his movements, but her eyes remained locked on her Apprentice in the clearing, waiting to see what she would do. She found herself ever so slightly confused when Thistlepaw seemed to stop moving, not seeing her mouth parted or her ears turning. Suddenly, Mudpelt burst from the grasses, but bright green eyes widened and her paws came to a stop. Batear watched as rather than tackling the she-cat to the ground or just barely missing, Mudpelt collided with her. Thistlepaw had thrown herself upwards just as the brown tom leaped towards her, a direct hit into his stomach. Batear’s mouth physically opened in shock, watching as both cats fell to the ground.

The area grew quiet. Blinking multiple times, the slender black Warrioress emerged from the grasses and into the clearing with Thistlepaw and Mudpelt, shock still on her face. Suddenly, her gaped mouth formed into a giant smile as she leaped forward, nuzzling the side of Thistlepaw’s face and a loud purr rumbling through her chest.

“That was amazing! You did perfectly!” She took a step back, stopping herself from the continuation of nuzzles and praises that she wanted to shower Thistlepaw in. For a moment, she almost felt the pride of a mother kicking in, but that quickly faded into the pride of a teacher who was accomplishing their goal and watching their student succeed.

Her gaze turned to Mudpelt, giving him an inquisitive look to make sure he was ok. He nodded to her, so she turned her attention back to her Apprentice. But she couldn’t say much more before the young she-cat asked a question. How could she learn to do what they were doing? Batear took a moment to think before she answered.

“You have to merge yourself with the grass. Let the grass form around you, follow you, and push you forward. Use the wind and the pressure to give yourself more speed.” It was a basic and small lesson, but it was something that many Lightningclan cats had the ability to do once they learned. It was also something that Thistle would need to learn. Though, if she was anything like the other Warriors, it would take her hardly any time to learn. “Would you like to take a turn, then?”

The wheel in the sky keeps on turning

483 | Ginger | Notes

Finish?