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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2012 20:29:23 GMT -5
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| [bg=333245]Sleet white fur, visible easily compared to the contrasting Darkness of NightClan's foliage, slipped through the thin undergrowth. A she-cat, small and with her eyes focused only ahead, moved silently and cautiously, making her way to the pond to get a drink. The apprentice liked to avoid attracting too much attention to herself; she already had enough as it was with her conspicuous appearance. Palepaw tested the area before her, finally setting her paws down on the firm ground before leaning over and lapping up a bit her water.
Her eyes shifted, watching for any cats who would be willing to prank her by pushing her into the water. It wasn't an uncommon event; she, Darkpaw and Blackpaw had often engaged in the practice of startling cats into the murky pond. Satisfied, Palepaw stepped away from the pond, her eyes still examining the area. Somehow, she was getting the instinct that she was not alone.
"Hello?" the she-cat meowed, searching for whatever presence was the cause of her discomfort. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2012 9:52:13 GMT -5
OOC: I'm going to go ahead and nab this thread, seeing as Raven assigned Palepaw as his apprentice. So uh, have a Longstride. I'm sorry...?
So she’d sensed his presence, then? Not too surprising, as even young kits had the instincts to know when someone was watching them, but at least his newest apprentice seemed more attuned to them than some, it would come in handy for the remainder of Palepaw’s training. Longstride slid from the trees and approached the still pond, making no conscious effort to hide himself though his paws still made hardly a sound against the forest floor. It was a habit born of practice and one that came naturally to him as breathing these days.
"You’re getting better at this. " He intoned as he siddled up beside the she-cat (briefly and not for the first time lamenting the visibility of her stark white coat), a slight rumble to his voice that might have indicated amusement... although then again, Longstride did frequently seem amused by the comings and goings of his fellows. It was not endearing to some, who found it condescending or oddly detached, but it was the way he was and he was yet to change it for anyone.
"Of course, we’ll work on that some more over the next few moons. " He didn’t offer anything else for the moment, but crouched by the water and simply drank. After all, he hadn’t come here exclusively for her sake; all cats had to drink, eventually.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2012 17:29:42 GMT -5
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| [bg=333245](OOC: Perfectly fine!)
A familiar meow followed by a familiar face caused the she-cat's eyes to narrow. Her mentor, Longstride, appeared from the shadows, and her ears could barely even register the tom's pawsteps as he padded into sight. Palepaw's tail twitched in slight irritation at her mentor's words, but she didn't say anything. The apprentice may not have always been fond of her mentor's methods, but there was no denying that he was a good warrior and had every intention of making her one too.
The muscle's along Longstride's spine stretched as he leaned over to drink, and Palepaw consciously took a step away from the tom, searching for something else to lay her eyes on. Unfortunately, NightClan's territory was rather bleak, and Palepaw's gaze came back to look at her mentor anyway. She hesitated, but after the tom had finished his drink, she posed a question; "What else will we be working on this moon?" The she-cat had every intention of burying herself in her training. It would be a convenient way to get away from Blackpaw, though she knew at times the two would probably be forced to see each other. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2012 18:32:52 GMT -5
The young she-cat’s pause hung heavy in the air, and Longstride lifted his head to glance back at her expectantly, tongue swiping at a stray droplet of water before the apprentice got up the mettle to ask about their schedule. The tom seemed to take a moment to ponder his answer, giving his student a thoughtful once-over. "For now, I think we ought to focus on your hunting skills. " It would tie in rather nicely, he thought, possibly give the apprentice some focus... and a few of those skills learning while stalking prey would be useful for their combat training in the near future.
"Have you eaten this morning? This is important." He was watching her carefully as he spoke, searching for a hint of reluctance or perhaps tension. She didn’t strike him as being entirely comfortable in his presence at the moment, but then these were early days. It had taken him some time to get used to Blackthorn’s ways as well... but the bicoloured cat flicked an ear then, as if to dispel such thoughts. He could think on the past later, for now he was to attend to the future.
"Can you tell me, Palepaw, what the Code says about the relationship between a warrior and their prey?" Ah yes, the Warrior Code. She'd be able to recite that from memory by the end, if he had his way.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2012 18:51:56 GMT -5
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| [bg=333245]Hunting seemed like a good idea; it was something she hadn't much time to practice, and was very much looking forward to. With a small nod of acknowledgement, the she-cat meowed, "That suits me." She would be more than happy to follow Longstride on a hunting trip.
At the next question, Palepaw shrugged. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't." There was a bit of cheekiness left in her after her moons of kithood pranks, and she didn't exactly feel like admitting to her mentor that she had a few bites before finishing up her chores. She did take prey to the elders and queens as she was asked to, so it wasn't like Palepaw had ignored her duties. She had just... prioritized herself a little. She didn't know whether or not Longstride would punish her over the little things, but she didn't want to find out. Her gaze met her mentor's, no hint of guilt to reveal her action, but she was ready for his next question.
"Prey is killed to be eaten, and we give thanks to StarClan for its life," Palepaw recited, her memory of the rule quite vivid. She was pretty good with remembering words in little snippets, and that was one of the rules she had down. It was simple enough to remember. The apprentice's yellow eyes looked at Longstride expectantly, awaiting his next 'test'.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2012 17:00:50 GMT -5
Longstride hmmed out loud, likely not pleased with the evasive answer. It did lead him to believe that she most likely had consumed something beforehand; call him suspicious, but such vague talk was as damning to the tom as a full confession. If she had nothing to hide, after all, wouldn’t she have given him a straight answer? One might question whether or not it was the little she-cat’s dishonesty, rather than her infraction of the rules that bothered him, but whatever the case, he seemed to be feeling lenient that day and did not pursue the subject.
"You remember that much, at least. Keep it in mind." And with that small concession and a flick of his tail, he turned towards the nearby woods and briefly inclined his head, to indicate that she-cat should follow him. He started off at a brisk walk, into the tree line and away from the pond. "You might catch the occasional duck, there, if you’re stealthy and luck is on your side, but many skilled warriors could not make the catch. I’d like to see you attempt it in future, but for now we’ll content ourselves with something... smaller."
He led her some lengths into the forest, and stopped. There were no obvious signs that any Clan cats were in the area, so it should be a good spot for the two of them to train without being interrupted by one of their own. The possibility of other Clans didn’t cross his mind; they were, after all, still deep into NightClan territory. His footsteps were lighter now, ears swivelling and straining for any hint of sound. "Use your ears, nose, eyes. Can you sense anything?" The pickings did seem a bit slim today, but there was definitely still prey in the area, if you knew how to look.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2012 18:28:33 GMT -5
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| [bg=333245]Luckily for Palepaw, her mentor didn't press her ambiguous statement. Not that it would be hard to guess that she had made an infraction in the rules. Neither the white she-cat nor her jet-black siblings took much notice of some of the specifics of the warrior code. Still, Palepaw made a note not to do so again if it meant Longstride would catch her. She hadn't gotten into trouble with him yet, but she was sure if she did he would have some kind of punishment ready for her.
Following the warrior at his command, Palepaw padded just a tale-length behind her mentor, ears pricked and listening carefully to what her mentor had to say. "I could probably catch a duck if I really wanted too," the apprentice meowed in a somewhat snobby voice. What kind of warrior couldn't catch a duck? Not that Palepaw had ever actually gotten lucky enough to see one up close, but the birds looked harmless enough.
Having traveled a distance in to the woods, Longstride stopped her for a test. Pausing, Palepaw took in a deep breath, letting the thick air fill her lungs with a mix of scents. The scent of the trees was always overpowering, but beneath it there was more. "Squirrel," Palepaw meowed finally. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 9, 2012 16:03:52 GMT -5
''Do you think so?'' Longstride drawled, giving the apprentice a bit of a sideways look, remembering one memorable hunting session with Spottedpaw and another mentor-apprentice pair that had ended with both apprentices soaked to the bone and shaking like a leaf with no duck to be found. ''They don’t look like much, perhaps. Plump, silly things with no land legs at all, but once they get out on the water... well. Can you swim, Palepaw?'' He didn’t really expect an answer, but he thought that might have given the apprentice pause for thought. If it didn’t, he’d met more stubborn apprentices. It'd hardly be a surprise.
What was a bit of a startle, however, was when she picked up on a squirrel of all things. There were many scents on the ground that could be found more readily, from much easier targets – but no, she went for the tree-hoppers. Was she trying to make a point to him, or did he simply read into things too much? He blinked some, before glancing up at the tree. ''...Very good.'' He kept his voice quiet, so as not to startle the creature. ''Right then. You've identified it, the next step is to stalk and, hopefully, catch the thing. Do you remember the crouch you were shown before?''
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Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2012 18:40:54 GMT -5
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| [bg=333245] Palepaw shrugged in response. No, she couldn't swim, and she probably couldn't catch a duck either, but she liked to believe she could. Of course, she imagined showing Longstride up by doing just that, but not at the moment. For now, she should hone her skills with her mentor.
"Sure," the white she-cat meowed carelessly, though she kept her voice down as well. Palepaw's yellow eyes locked onto her target. She crouched down, her legs sinking easily, her muscles bunched up. The she-cat's belly brushed against the ground as she practically slithered up to the tree, where the squirrel was lurking, just out of her grasp.
For a moment, Palepaw wondered if it had seen her. The creature was attached to the tree where the she-cat doubted she would be able to capture it, but she decided to wait and see if it would give her any more room. Eyes willing the squirrel to move, Palepaw waited, and finally it did. The squirrel took a few steps down the trunk and the apprentice was on it in a heartbeat.
She launched herself up and knocked the squirrel down. Stunned, the creature scrambled to get away, but Palepaw cut it off by slamming her claw into its skull and then it ceased to move. Her technique was not very conservative, but success was success in the she-cat's opinion. Palepaw turned to look at Longstride, beaming.
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