[Jos]

[attr="class","round-presto"]

CLOUDTAIL
Gorgeclan Deputy

The clan meeting had been a blur. First, Whitestar had announced that Cloudtail would be the next deputy of Gorgeclan and then, giving Cloudtail barely any time to digest the information, gave him a new apprentice. It seemed he had just finished training Ashtail and now, there he was, touching noses with a brand new apprentice. He was always surprised at how small the fresh apprentices seemed to be, even the big ones. But this Coyotepaw… he had heard things about this kit. There must have been a good reason for Whitestar to assign him such an interesting personality, or perhaps no other warrior was willing to take him and Whitestar had to choose some cat. Might as well be his newly appointed deputy, who couldn’t possibly decline.

Cloudtail sat with his apprentice until the meeting was adjourned, his head reeling. Cats swarmed him, offering their congratulations. Some were sincere, others were hesitant, and a few were even down right rueful. Had Whitestar made a mistake? A rare feeling came over the newly appointed deputy: self doubt. Had he been made deputy of Stoneclan he might have considered it as his Starclan given right, but things had changed. Not just in the clans, but he had changed. Now he saw his past self the way others must have seen it—a jerk. Did a jerk deserve to be deputy? Come on now Cloudtail, he thought to himself, you’ve never doubted yourself before and now is not the time to start. Besides, he had an apprentice to train now.

When the crowd had dispersed, Cloudtail looked to his new apprentice. “Well,” he began briskly, “Now is good a time as any. We always start with a tour of the territory. You’ll be expected to know the borders and where we mark those borders and with which clan we share those borders. You’ll also need to know the warrior code, by heart. It’s the most important thing that separates us from loners and rogues.” He stood and beckoned Coyotepaw to follow him out of the camp, “We’ll talk while we patrol.”

Cloudtail had chosen the quickest route, knowing that new apprentices didn’t have the stamina for a long patrol on the first day. As they walked he pointed out the borders, different scents and sounds of the territory, and talked about the warrior code. “The first rule of the warrior code is to defend your clan, even with your life. That being said, the clans need to respect each other’s rights to exist. No one clan should claim dominance over another. The clans have borders that we have agreed upon, and these borders help us co-exist. It’s important that you respect those boundaries, Coyotepaw. The second rule in the warrior code is to never hunt or trespass on another clan’s territory.” He brought them to the border with Galeclan. The scent markers were strong here, and the stench of Galeclan wafted over to them.

“Do you smell that? This is the border we share with Galeclan. Commit this scent to memory.” He went over to the bushes and marked them, refreshing Gorgeclan’s markers. “Now, what do you do if there is a cat waiting at the border?”

Tags: Aqua
Notes: 1st post of August HR Check. Coyotepaw will be an interesting one for Cloudtail  

Made by Riley at THQ!

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[Aqua]

After what seemed like AGES of being stuck in the nursery, Coyote had finally been promoted to an apprentice. With this new rank and change of name came even more opportunities to expand his "horizons." Rather than keeping his experimenting confined to the walls of the camp, he was now able to wander the lands of Gorgeclan until his heart was content. No mother to snap at him. No father to push him to be all high and mighty. No one to block the way out into the territory away from camp. He was finally free of that metaphorical, baby prison and ready to learn. Now whether he was willing to learn what his new mentor had to teach was another issue entirely.

The ruddy colored tom had already stepped up to do the strange touching noses tradition he had been told about. A strange thing really. He didn't see a reason to physically touch his new mentor just to make his ceremony all official. It was kind of silly if he was being honest. Whitestar made the official call under Starclan's eyes so why did he need to touch anyone? Let alone Cloudtail. He almost wished he could question Starclan on why in the world he had to be physical with anyone at all just to break free of the nursery. Not that he could actually do that but he sure thought about it in that moment.

"“Well, now is good a time as any."

Coyotepaw's thoughts had overshadowed all the hustle and bustle surrounding his new mentor and deputy. He didn't even budge as some cats accidentally bumped him in passing. He had managed to totally drown out all the congratulatory conversations going on before his mentor had spoken up. The tom's ears perked atop his head in curiosity as Cloudtail went on about some sort of tour of the territory. The gears of his brain started turning as he thought of potentially meeting opposing clans that he could "play around" with at some point. It was an exciting thought that put a bit of pep in his step as he followed quickly behind his white mentor.

Cloudtail seemingly led Coyotepaw along the beaten paths that weaved around the territory. Each new border and scents piquing the young tom's interest immensely. The continuous droning of Cloudtail's lecture, however, warned him against crossing these borders. This only meant that he would have to be more creative if he tried to dabble with cats from other clans. He was sure he could figure a way to keep on their side of the pond while testing the other side for any weaknesses or interesting ticks. Not that he would voice these little ideas around the deputy but still.

Soon the white tom brought Coyotepaw to the border that lie between them and Galeclan. The breeze blowing across the moors was filled with a totally different scent from the buff and rocky terrain of Gorgeclan. Coyotepaw tilts his head trying to learn the new smell wafting their direction. So this was the smell of Galeclan huh? It wasn't anything to go on about being the land seemed so open and empty. Maybe that's how he would remember them in the future, emptiness. Probably not the greatest comparison but it was an easy one to remember.

“Now, what do you do if there is a cat waiting at the border?”

"I'm going to assume they're waiting on their side of this unseen border, correct?" Coyotepaw asked before continuing. "Simply stay on our side as you approach, then question what it is they want. Perhaps keep any hostilities to a minimum until you establish what they are waiting there for." He tried to sound all official with his reply, probably using a much more intelligent answer than the situation called for. But anyone that truly listened to what the older tom had said this whole walk should have enough common sense to know that you do not cross the border, even with someone waiting there.

^{Made by Aqua || Tagged: Jos || Words: #671}

[Jos]

[attr="class","round-presto"]

CLOUDTAIL

Gorgeclan Deputy

"I'm going to assume they're waiting on their side of this unseen border, correct? Simply stay on our side as you approach, then question what it is they want. Perhaps keep any hostilities to a minimum until you establish what they are waiting there for."

Cloudtail had never thought of the scent markers as being unseen before. Could this new 'paw not smell the strong reek of Galeclan? Perhaps Cloudtail should have a talk with Ebonyheart. "Correct. But you need to be able to visualize the border, Coyotepaw, even if we can only smell it. As for visitors to the clan there are a few that we will almost always allow, that being medicine cats and deputies or leaders. They'll often have something important to tell us or may need our help. Your average warrior or apprentice should never be looking to cross clan borders. If you come across a cat within our borders you are to drive them off, but only until they cross to their side of the border. Never attack a medicine cat." He flicked his tail, "Come on. Plenty more territory to see."

He took Coyotepaw to the narrowest bit of Gorgeclan territory where the Mistclan, Gorgeclan and Galeclan borders met. He directed the young apprentice to scent the air, "Do you smell that new scent, neither Galeclan nor Gorgeclan? That's Mistclan. You see, Gorgeclan is between Galeclan and Mistclan. That means we have two borders to worry about whereas the other clans have only one border. We need to be vigilant to make sure no cat decides they need more territory." he went to the border and refreshed the scent marking where it had gone a bit stale. "We call this Trickling Ledge. It's a great place to catch prey like mice and voles because they come to drink out of the stream. You have to cross up here though because the rest of the ravine is too steep."

He paused, signalling Coyotepaw to stop. There was a mouse who, just as Cloudtail had said, was coming to the little stream to drink. Cloudtail dropped in to a hunting crouch and deftly dispatched the mouse, saying the prayer to Starclan, "Thank you Starclan for this prey." he said solemnly. The white warrior turned to Coyotepaw, his green eyes deep with sincerity. "It is important that you give thanks for every kill. Prey do not give their lives up willingly, and we must honor their sacrifices so that we may survive. A warrior never kills for sport, and when we hunt we make sure that elders and kits and queens eat first. Gorgeclan is only as strong as our weakest member, so we must take care that we do our best to take care of our clanmates." he began to dig a shallow hole to store the mouse in, "We'll pick that up later. Do you have any questions so far?"

Tags: Aqua

Notes: getting all philosophical haha

Made by Riley at THQ!

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[Aqua]

Coyotepaw stared at his mentor as if the white tom had said something off-the-wall in reply to him. Did this tom not understand the term "unseen?" They were discussing borders that were only made by scent. There was not like a physical mark made in the dirt to make these borders seen to the naked eye. One could not just "see" a scent in front of them, that wasn't how the senses worked unless this tom had some super-feline powers no one knew about. "You only stated that a cat was waiting at the border, not that they were looking to come to our side of this boundary you're marking. It would only be common sense to not let any cat cross unless it was of importance from the higher ups of the other clan. Or else what would be the purpose of a border at all?" Coyotepaw gives a smug smirk at this as the older tom pushes forward.

As the ruddy colored tom follows after the deputy, the land seems to conjoin into a clash of different smells. The apprentice wrinkles his nose as a totally different scent lingers in the air. "You mean that musty smell? Like nasty water that has been sitting in the sun for too long? That's really hard to miss honestly. At least the empty ones do not smell half bad." Coyotepaw meows in slight disgust, not putting two and two together that Cloudtail probably wouldn't understand what he meant by "empty ones." He shakes his head a little, wondering how the cats of Mistclan were use to the smell of stagnant water on their terrain.

Coyotepaw shakes his head, trying to clear his nose of the new smells as his mentor went on about making sure no one tries to steal land. The white tom suddenly freezes, signaling to the apprentice to follow in suit. Confused a little, Coyotepaw eyes his mentor as he sneaks forward. It took only a moment for the young tom to spot the rodent his mentor was going after. He sits himself down, watching the tom intently to see how he took out this mouse. It was going to be fun studying and learning his new mentor, finding his ticks. The ruddy tom found joy in the little things like learning how other cats handled their hunting. But he also found amusement in testing other cats and getting their reactions as well. Two things that could prove difficult for the new deputy to handle if he wasn't careful.

The ruddy tom watches as the white warrior goes on to catch the mouse, give thanks to Starclan, then bury it. Coyotepaw didn't quite understand the purpose of giving thanks but he allowed the warrior to drag on about it anyway. Starclan were the ones that helped them find and catch prey in the first place so he saw little reason to give thanks every time a mouth needed fed. "Don't cross borders. Refresh marks on the imaginary borders. Watch out for other clan cats. Feed the clan. I think I've got it so far." The tom says nonchalantly in reply to his mentor.

^{Made by Aqua || Tagged: Jos || Words: #525}

[Jos]

[attr="class","round-presto"]

CLOUDTAIL
Gorgeclan Deputy

"Don't cross borders. Refresh marks on the imaginary borders. Watch out for other clan cats. Feed the clan. I think I've got it so far.”



The cheek! Cloudtail stopped and whipped around to face his apprentice. He had been patient so far but he could not abide his apprentice taking his training so lightly. “They are not imaginary!” he snapped, his tail lashing madly behind him. “And if you’re not going to take this seriously then I’ll put you on tick and bedding duty until you do take it seriously! Just because you cannot see the borders with your eyes does not make them any less real. Warriors are not just groups of rogues who happen to live next to each-other, we have agreements and meetings and we make laws so we can live in harmony. Our laws and our customs are what gives us strength and security, without them we may as well be no better than badgers and foxes.”



The white warrior could feel his pelt prickling with anger which could easily become unchecked. He turned away from his apprentice and took three deep breaths. “This lesson is over. I suggest when we get back to camp you make your nest and while you’re laying in the apprentices’ den you take a good, long think about how you want this apprenticeship to go. I will not suffer any backsliding or anymore talk of borders being ‘imaginary’. Keep up.”



And with an annoyed flick of his tail, he led a straight path back to camp. He would definitely be talking to Whitestar about this apprentice. Something needed to be done, some plan needed to be thought up…maybe the apprentice’s parents would be able to shed some light on him. Of course Cloudtail had heard things about the kit but he had never had one act so nonchalantly or not take the discussion of borders so seriously. Or maybe he, Cloudtail, was taking it too seriously? No…that didn’t make sense. Borders were a serious issue! And this kit needed to learn early on that his mentor, the deputy of the clan at that, would not take anything less than his best!



When the entrance to camp came in to view Cloudtail stopped and turned to face his apprentice. “Coyotepaw,” he began, a bit more calmly now, “You need to take this seriously. I need you to show me that you take this training seriously. This isn’t just an obstacle placed in your path for the sake of placing obstacles in your path, these lessons are meant to keep you safe and to help you learn how the clans work. It’s more complicated than you might think, and even the smallest misstep can get your injured or even killed. Do you understand why this is so important?”



Tags: Aqua



Notes:

Made by Riley at THQ!

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[Aqua]

The ruddy tom's ears perked atop his head as his mentor suddenly cracked. That seriousness he held all this time being tossed right out the window due to the use of the word imaginary. Coyotepaw did not bat an eye as the white tom went off about how serious the borders were. Going on about how they were a very real thing. "They are indeed imaginary. Real but based on the imagination. You cannot physically see them, you can only go off of scent. Meaning that you have to imagine where the border ends based off of the scents you pick up on." The tom answers with no emotion back at the fuming deputy. For a cat much older than himself, he didn't seem to be thinking in this moment taking full offense to a single word. He also jumped right to the conclusion that Coyotepaw was not taking this lesson seriously despite the fact he had showed up, participated, and never once made remarks that could be deemed as out of line. Coyotepaw almost found himself offended in that moment but a little lightbulb went off inside that head of his instead. So using intelligent wording to describe things during these lessons were a way to anger the tom. The younger tom took full note of this, wondering how far he could truly push the deputy by merely being himself. "If my astute brain is proving to be an issue, then I shall accept any punishment you want to put on me out of your spite. The elders would be very interesting company after all." The tom gave a very suspicious smirk at the deputy before they pushed on.

The apprentice followed behind his mentor but kept enough distance that the older tom couldn't reach him if he chose to really lash out at him. "Do not worry about where I sleep dear mentor." The tom replied still seeing the tension all over the deputy's body. "I can figure that part out on my own accord. And I will be oh so sure to keep the more complicated words to a minimum so you do not lose your temper." While the tom did not give away any hints of emotion with his words, he most definitely was dropping hints that the worse was yet to come if it would continue on this way every time he spoke with the white warrior during these lessons. While Coyotepaw was not the disagreeable sort, he had no issues playing on a cat's weaknesses if he was pushed to do so. The fortunate perks of loving to see the reactions of others. He could find the little things that could cause a cat to act out of turn, as Cloudtail did in this case. Coyotepaw's curiosity about the minds of others could either prove a good thing for the deputy or a very bad thing. It would all depend on how these future lessons would go.

The ruddy tom stopped once more to eye his mentor just ahead of the camp entrance. His amber eyes watched the white tom expectantly, knowing he would get another cross lecture of some sort out of the older warrior. And just like clockwork, Cloudtail went on again about being serious. Coyotepaw wasn't sure whether his mentor was just this dense or if he had some tick where he had to make another cat look bad to keep his reputation. What part of him stating facts was not being serious? He made it very clear he understood the full lesson and he had answered every question posed to him during that time.

"I've taken this lesson very seriously the whole time, despite the angry outburst you demonstrated just a moment ago. I showed up to the lesson and have answered every one of your questions in a timely manner as you wanted." The tom meowed. "I learned of the scent markers that create an unseen but very "REAL" border between the clans. As well as learning that crossing borders is only meant for serious business. Thank you so much for this wisdom you have shared. I will take my supposed tomfoolery to the apprentice den now. Good day." The young tom turns tail and slowly makes his way towards camp, not wishing to argue this any longer.

Just as he reaches the entrance, he turns back his head to call to his mentor. "If I thought these lessons weren't important, I never would have showed up." With this the apprentice disappears into the camp.

^{Made by Aqua || Tagged: Jos || Words: #756}