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Post by Fawn on Sept 28, 2012 23:48:19 GMT -5
[style=font-family:Almendra SC; font-size:54px;]Lionstep Lionstep's heart nearly burst out of his chest as both Noblepaw and Dawnpaw did exactly what he'd told them not to do. Dawnpaw's claws had come out first, he'd been able to tell that much when he'd purposefully let her fall victm to the root that protruded at the edge of the training arena, and that small instinctive reaction to pain had been what set off the other apprentice. Even though he'd unintentionally been provoked - there was still no excuse for lashing out with that kind of strength and malice. "Enough!" growled the TreeClan deputy, his steps heavy as they impacted the ground beneath them, standing in between the two apprentices, fur raised, hackles up. "Noblepaw! Get a hold of yourself, she's not your enemy." The big golden warrior's mane bristled with his fury, his head swiveling to look from Dawnpaw to Noblepaw. "This fight got way out of line -" Lionstep looked to the scratch-marks on Dawnpaw's muzzle and the way the blood was now staining her delicate white fur. His ears pressed flat to his skull, and his eyes narrowed as he looked to Noblepaw with something like frustration and disappointment. "You should've known better! Where's your self control? From someone who's been training for several moons longer than her, I expected a better handle over your emotions, Noblepaw. This was just supposed to be a training exercise."
Lionstep shook his great golden head, his shoulder blades slicing upwards as he paced between them - seemingly deliberating whether or not to punish either one of them based on the outcome of this fight. At last, the golden tom let out a sigh. "Remember this, Noblepaw. A warrior who can't think clearly in battle is a warrior who could find himself attacking his own Clanmates by mistake, and that isn't a true warrior at all." His tone of voice had lost some of the fire from earlier, the Deputy apparently getting a grip on his own emotions. He glanced at Dawnpaw - he didn't want to leave her with such an awful memory on their very first day of battle-training, so he'd have to make it up to her through a hunting session. He couldn't let this accident undermine her confidence. The deputy lashed his tail. "This lesson is over."
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We are born with a DNA blueprint into a world of scenario and circumstance we don't control |
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Co-Captain
INVENTORY
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Post by Phoenix on Sept 29, 2012 0:25:40 GMT -5
[atrb=border,0,true] | sincerely, noblepaw
the road i walk is paved in gold to glorify my platinum soul | [CS=2] Satisfaction at his success coursed through Noblepaw, and he wanted it to continue. It should not have taken this long to feel it. Having finally gotten the clingy pest off of his neck, the larger apprentice whipped around, teeth bared. Jaws lashed out on their own accord. He no longer saw Dawnpaw, the weak apprentice he was training with. He recognized his own failure in this fight; he should know how to shake a cat from his back, and if it had been a warrior on him, he would already be dead. How could he let this weak, little thing best him before? His anger fueled his attack, and he lashed out blindly.
His teeth made contact, a mixture of surprise and cruel pride cutting through the vibrant anger that had taken hold of him. Her screech rang in his ears, shocking him to a stop. Paws flailed, and they hit him in the face, no stronger than a kit's strikes. It was pathetic, but all the same, Noblepaw backed off. Green eyes locked onto Dawnpaw's cowering figure, and contempt overrode the slight regret he felt at injuring her. So weak that she could not handle a little pain. That she would give up the instant she was hurt. It was pathetic. The whole display was sickening. This would be a warrior who would fight for TreeClan in their battles? This would be a warrior who would train future generations?
However, Noblepaw did not have long to glare at Dawnpaw, for the large, angry form of Lionstep blocked his view. Uh-oh. He had forgotten the deputy's presense until now, and he could feel the grown cat's ire flowing off of him in waves. Noblepaw raised his head and resisted the urge to back up a step, put more space between him and the danger. More space meant reaction time. And he needed it, for Lionstep's angry words came at him quickly. The first few he let wash over him, shaking them off easily. His anger had faded into the back of his mind, leaving room for self-depricating thoughts.
But they were not remorse for his actions; no, in his opinion, Dawnpaw had gotten exactly what she needed. A lesson that the world wasn't fair, the world wasn't kind. It was full of pain, and one needed to learn whether they could handle it; if they couldn't, then they needed to learn how. Obviously, Dawnpaw had a long way to go. No, Lionstep's question about his self-control penetrated deep into Noblepaw's mind. Where had it been? He should have been able to think clearly, to plan rationally, like he had started out doing. The deputy's later words strengthened that train of thought. He needed to find out how to control his temper in the heat of a fight. And now he knew it.
Humbled slightly and lost in thought, Noblepaw nodded to Lionstep, regarding the older tom's final words as his dismissal. Green eyes avoided Dawnpaw's figure, though not out of guilt; he had thinking to do, and did not want to get caught up in another mental rant over the weakness of his denmates. But Lionstep did not need to know that, for Noblepaw was willing to let him believe that it was out of remorse. "Thank you for offering me the chance to fight," He meowed out of courtesy, hoping he sounded sincere. "I'm sorry that this happened." Pointedly avoiding both cats' eyes - fearing that Lionstep might see his true thoughts - Noblepaw exited the clearing, appearing for all the world a guilty cat. But on the inside, his mind was churning with thoughts.
| [CS=2] Words: 673 Notes: Noblepaw out. | [CS=2] i am the closest thing to god so worship me and never stop [style=font-family: palatino linotype; text-transform: lowercase; text-align: center; font-size; 5px; margin-top: -20px;]credits: don't stop by innerpartysystem cat: here |
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Post by eli on Sept 29, 2012 13:12:29 GMT -5
[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 340px; background-image:url(http://i56.tinypic.com/20gfl1v.jpg); padding: 30px; border: #2D2729 solid 30px; ]just keep following But in order to get to the heart, I think sometimes you'll have to cut through. Dawnpaw could hear Lionstep's fierce growl as he intervened, calling Noblepaw back to reality, but she could hardly pay attention to the stern lecture he was giving. Her mind was awhirl. She'd just been attacked by another cat...and not a stranger, or a rival warrior. No, she'd been stuck by a Clanmate, and the very concept disturbed her so much she began to shake. She'd seen the fiery hate in his eyes when he'd turned on her, and for one terrifying heartbeat, she'd truly feared for her life. The new apprentice felt a shudder move down her spine. Would he have killed her if Lionstep hadn't intervened? The fact that she honestly couldn't say he wouldn't have unnerved her even more.
Like every other Clan cat, she'd heard the stories of Brokenstar and Tigerstar and Hawkfrost and other murderous traitors of their Clans. They had no regard for the instinctive loyalty not just to their Clanmates, but to life; their own ambition, their twisted concepts of right and wrong, had left them with no remorse when they turned on their Clanmates and slaughtered them like prey. As her haunted blue gaze finally turned on Noblepaw again, Dawnpaw didn't see the remorse that he was trying to convey. He was thinking, processing. No grief for his actions emanated from his pelt. In fact, for the briefest moment before he refused to meet her eyes, she could see contempt there. He thought she was weak for being frightened by his eagerness to harm her. Could he not see the traitorous nature of his own actions? Did he truly think he was a loyal apprentice because he would not hesitate to attack, even if it was his own Clanmate?
As Noblepaw turned and left the training area, Dawnpaw felt her hind end give out under her. She sat there for several long moments, limbs shaking, head hanging between her shoulders and eyes fixed on the dirt. She could see splatters of her own blood in the dirt there, and it made her feel ill. That blood had been drawn by a cat she should have been able to trust. How could she ever trust her Clanmates now? Even Lionstep, who was standing across from her, could turn his wide, strong paws on her at some point with the intent to harm and kill. Suddenly, Dawnpaw felt as though she were all alone in a forest full of bloodthirsty enemies. Helplessness drowned her in fear and anxiety. Could she ever find a way to trust her fellows?
She finally looked back up at her mentor, and her eyes were no longer struck with blind terror; instead, they were dull, and there was a degree of mistrust in the way she eyed him. "Do I go back to camp now?" she questioned flatly, no interest in her tired mew. She just wanted to curl up in her nest and turn her back on the cats around her for a while. Suddenly, they all looked deadly rather than trustworthy. One day they too might show their fangs.
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Post by Fawn on Sept 29, 2012 13:32:47 GMT -5
[style=font-family:Almendra SC; font-size:54px;]Lionstep The TreeClan deputy had not been born yesterday. He could read body language, he could sense the truth in someone's words - particularly someone younger than him, someone whose ability to hide their emotions wasn't on par with some of the senior warriors just yet. Watching Noblepaw slink away with the look of a remorseful cat, the deputy's golden eyes stayed pinned to Noblepaw's back, until he could no longer see the battle-thirsty apprentice. Lionstep glanced at Dawnpaw. This was a disaster. I never should've let Noblepaw just jump in, I should've known better than to pin an experienced apprentice against a brand new one. Feeling infinitely sorry to the exhausted, emotionally drained she-cat, Lionstep almost let her go without a word, but the compassionate part of him just wouldn't let him do that. The deputy leaned over and gave the top of her head a few licks, feeling far more remorseful than Noblepaw ever had.
"I'm sorry, Dawnpaw." Mewed the deputy, wrapping his plume of a tail around his paws. "It was my mistake that got you hurt, I should've never let Noblepaw fight you - I thought he would be good practice, and that he had a better handle on his emotions." Lionstep could see the mistrust in her eyes, and he felt like his heart had been plunged into a frozen river during leaf-bare. He didn't want the battered she-cat to go back home and turn her back upon the world, frightened of everyone and everything because of what happened. "I'm sorry you had to feel terrified of your own Clanmate, Dawnpaw. I'm going to ask you not to hold Noblepaw to the same standard you hold the rest of the Clan to," meowed the deputy, his voice calm and soothing. "Your fight with Noblepaw was a bad choice made by your mentor," the deputy gave the top of her head another lick in regret. "I know you aren't interested in hearing this right now, but I thought you fought well, Dawnpaw. You have the talent to become a great warrior."
The golden warrior studied her, hoping for some kind of glimpse that she'd bounce back to her old self.Fox-dung. Just how badly has this messed her up?
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Post by eli on Oct 4, 2012 19:09:03 GMT -5
[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 340px; background-image:url(http://i56.tinypic.com/20gfl1v.jpg); padding: 30px; border: #2D2729 solid 30px; ]just keep following But in order to get to the heart, I think sometimes you'll have to cut through. Dawnpaw let out a sad sigh, her shoulders slumping down further. Her body trembled as she recalled the malice in Noblepaw as he attacked her, the contempt he'd shown that she was upset by being struck so violently by a Clanmate. Halfheartedly the little she-cat began to groom her lacerated face, running her tongue over her paw before swiping it over her muzzle. The coppery taste in her mouth made her shudder, but she kept cleaning, desperate to remove the stains of the battle from her snow-white fur. She glanced, shyly, up at her mentor; her pale blue eyes were once again frightful as a thought occurred to her. "Will...will I have to train with him again?" To be honest, the very concept of even sharing a den with him disturbed her, but it was far less frightening than facing his unbidden claws again.
She'd thought she was safe. How wrong she was. A realization began to dawn over the young TreeClan apprentice: she was never safe. She would always have to be guarded, for the minds of her fellow warriors were as clouded as a sky before a storm. She could never know their true intentions, and that thought alone disturbed her beyond everything else. Could Dawnpaw ever trust any cat? I mustn't be cruel, though, she told herself; her Clanmates could be innocent as much as they could be guilty, and she couldn't treat them foully. StarClan, how horrible that'd be! They'd be just as upset and confused as she was right now. No cat deserved that without reason. Staring down at her tiny white paw, now streaked with pinkish-red from her grooming, she let out a slow sigh.
"Lionstep, I'm afraid," she admitted softly, though the words were hard to muster. Surely he wouldn't think her foolish for this? She'd just been attacked by a fellow apprentice, and not even one from an enemy Clan. He must understand. "How can any cat just...turn on their Clanmate? How can they hurt someone they're supposed to protect and trust? And...and how can I be sure that I can trust my Clanmates, when so many cats turn on their loyalties?" It was a thought that had crossed Dawnpaw's mind many times while hearing stories of Tigerstar in the nursery, but it was nothing but reinforced now over such a traumatic experience. Noticing her fluffy ginger tail was trembling, she curled it close around her dainty paws, resuming the grooming of her face with renewed vigor despite how the slash burned with every swipe of her tiny forepaw.
His name is Noblepaw, she thought wryly. What a mistake it was, naming him that.
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Post by Fawn on Oct 4, 2012 19:24:37 GMT -5
[style=font-family:Almendra SC; font-size:54px;]Lionstep Dawnpaw's trembling combined with the quiver in her voice, and even the question she asked him seemed to cut the golden tom's heart like the claws of a TigerClan warrior. There was no excuse for Noblepaw's behavior, Lionstep knew that, but he could at least explain, as best he could, that the Clan was not filled with cats like Noblepaw, far from it, really. Alright, Bloodtalon's a little questionable, but he wouldn't attack a new apprentice when the rules clearly state no blood is to be drawn...Right? Lionstep shook the suspicion from his mind, knowing now was not the time to sink into the same pool as Dawnpaw was currently drowning in. Instead, it was time for him to offer a paw and pull her out.
"Sometimes, Dawnpaw," began Lionstep, doing his best to keep his tone even, voice controlled - strong but firm, as if she would have no reason to doubt his words. "There are cats who are born with a different idea of what true strength and loyalty is. There are cats born who think weakness and even acknowledging those weaknesses is the ultimate sign of worthlessness. Sometimes those born with such natural talent come to despise those who take a little longer to find themselves and develop at their own rate." Lionstep recalled with a slight shudder the complete look of disdain he'd given Dawnpaw during the course of their fight, as if she wasn't worth the ground he walked upon. "They may think this way of thinking is the right way, but they're wrong on every account," turning his burning amber eyes to the scratched she-cat, Lionstep closed them a moment, leaning forward to press his nose comfortingly into Dawnpaw's shoulder once before straightening. "Being weak does not make a cat worthless. Power does not make a cat great. Compassion, Love, Loyalty - the kind of loyalty that doesn't endanger the lives of others, the kind of loyalty that views all Clanmates as all worthy of their trust and protection, and doesn't single them out as worthy or unworthy, these are the things that make a cat great."
Lionstep this time, spoke with a deep sense of pride, at last able to fill his chest with warmth, lifting his head up as though he could picture TreeClan now, going about their duties, Lionstep having the full confidence that they were all cats he could trust, who deserved his respect, and cats he would die to protect. "There are a few cats like Noblepaw that sometimes crop up in various Clans, but I can assure you, Dawnpaw, that there are very few, if any at all, besides Noblepaw would ever even think of harming you." The golden warrior let out an encouraging purr from deep within his chest. "You were born into a Clan of some of the most honorable, intelligent, faithful and compassionate cats I've ever had the privilege of knowing, don't shy away in fear of them, Dawnpaw, get to know them, and you'll understand what I mean." The TreeClan deputy had spoken from his heart, and he believed every word he had said to his young, frightened, exhausted apprentice, hoping with his entire being that she would not shut down and become a mistrustful, scarred shell of her former self because of this one incident. Please StarClan, don't let that happen. Her future is too bright to let a cat like Noblepaw darken it before she's even begun.
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