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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2013 0:03:33 GMT -5
Goldenpaw actually had to stop and listen to Cherrypool’s words, planting his rump on the ground he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. After his breathing was under control Goldenpaw was then trying to calm his racing thoughts. He wasn’t by the border of a scary clan, and honestly he wasn’t by the Stoneclan border anymore so soon a calm washed over him. He couldn’t help but slowly open his eyes and flash his mentor a big smile, “Okay, let’s go catch one of these voles!” He said flashing his biggest smile to the white and cherry eyed she-cat. He skipped off happily in the completely wrong direction unaware that he wasn’t going towards the destination that his mentor had set out for him. He skipped on oblivious to the error of his ways, he was skipping right back towards the Stoneclan border and without intervention would cross it in just a few more bounds.
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Post by Fawn on Feb 5, 2013 2:14:23 GMT -5
“Okay, let’s go catch one of these voles!”
Cherrypool's ears flattened in surprise at Goldenpaw's sudden 180-degree mood swing, the previously frightened pale tom-kitten with the low self-esteem had turned into a happy-go-lucky apprentice that was literally skipping towards the StoneClan border. What's up with him? Cherrypool could worry about the younger feline's strange mood swings later, as of right now she could do nothing but react and lunge forward to stop a potential disaster, her ivory teeth clamping down onto Goldenpaw's tail to give it a gentle but firm tug backwards.
Releasing the fluffy appendage immediately, Cherrypool released a low chuckle. "Not so fast, Skippy. You're going the wrong way. It's over here," She gestured with a casual flick of an alabaster tail-tip, equally pale whiskers twitching as the albino spoke.
A fresh kind of worry flitted across the she-cat's mind as she recounted her own actions. Had he thought she was attacking him? Most cats did, even when she was just trying to pull them out of the way. Cherrypool could spend an entire afternoon discussing why she did the things she did when neither gratitude nor friendship nor compassion was given regardless of how much of it she showed her Clanmates.
Silently grateful there were no other prying eyes to watch her take her new apprentice through the territory, Cherrypool could scarcely imagine what their behavior looked like to a stranger. One minute he was happy, the next he was sad and fearful, and then he was happy again, before she went and pulled his tail. If she'd been the witness and not the mentor, then Cherrypool likely would've thought that the mentor was being almost abusive, and that Goldenpaw was trying to make the most of a scary situation.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2013 22:30:12 GMT -5
Goldenpaw was yanked out of his trance when his mentors teeth clamped round his tail, and the motion stopped his forward momentum and made him drop his rump to the ground. He looked at the border, then behind him, then the border again and back behind him before replying softly “Oops.” He giggled as he looked a Cherrypool, “I’m sorry…” With that he stood up and flipped himself around starting to walk in the correct direction at least so he thought. He was much more quiet and soft after the whole ordeal, each step was gentle and precise as he obviously wasn’t a cat for brute force. “Sorry Cherrypool.” He said not really as down as he was before but more a happy medium from the spectrum of emotions he had displayed throughout the trip. “So how do you catch this things, I would really like to get one my first time out of camp.” He said keeping his voice level.
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Post by Fawn on Feb 7, 2013 18:58:36 GMT -5
“So how do you catch this things, I would really like to get one my first time out of camp.”
More than a little relieved that her emotional roller-coaster of an apprentice had at last stabilized, Cherrypool was able to respond to his question with a slightly more upbeat tone. "You have the mist on your side, as you'll have to rely on your sense of smell and your hearing. Fortunately for us, bank voles smell particularly...well, they smell a little musty, like dried out or wet lives. You're probably already familiar with the scent and don't even know it, once you were able to start eating solid food."
As Cherrypool spoke, the mist began to settle a little lower and their easy going pace carried them all the way to the crystal creek, the albino feline stopping just three or four foxlengths away from the actual creek itself, the groggy gurgling of the newly-melted flowing water caressing her ears even from this distance. "Concentrate, I want you to tell me if you can smell anything." Having already picked up on the faint but fresh traces of a bank vole scuttling around perhaps trying to clear the snow out of it's den beside the creek, Cherrypool waited in silence for Goldenpaw's observation skills and instincts began to kick in, intending to show him a hunting crouch next.
He was a light weight tom who appeared to have a soft step, which would be perfect for this hunting exercise. It was a bit risky, asking him to hunt in the mist when most apprentices usually didn't get to that until their 5th or 6th outing, but Cherrypool was taking a bit of a gamble. She wanted very badly for him to be just a little bit...better than the other apprentices. Just enough to be noticeable, just enough to believe that karma actually existed, and would present the emotionally battered feline with an apprentice she could be very proud of. Though her motives were a little bit selfish, Cherrypool in earnest wanted the young Goldenpaw to succeed. It was a bit stacked against them, but somewhere in her core, there were a few shards of optimism, a tiny part of herself that still tried to have faith that good things could happen.
ca0505.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2013 18:36:49 GMT -5
Goldenpaw stopped and listened to his mentor, watching her with wide eyes as his whiskers twitched whilst he concentrated on the information she was giving him. At her command he closed his eyes and started to sniff the air softly, he then stopped and focused on listening to the sounds of the area around him. He could almost smell something old and watery, and he wondered for a second if it was a vole but found himself disappointed as everything smelled wet and soupy in their territory because of snow melt. So instead he focused hard on listening, and he was in luck as a small scratching sound caught his ears. He lit up and looked at his mentor with excitement, he was afraid to say anything and potentially scare off what could be prey as he pointed in the sounds direction with his tail. His visage was the look of a cat very pleased with himself, and he could barely contain his excitement.
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Post by Fawn on Feb 13, 2013 17:04:37 GMT -5
"Look near that branch sticking out of the bank," Cherrypool mewed with a voice so quiet it was practically a whisper, the alabaster feline having closed the distance between them in a heartbeat, wanting to keep the scuttling bank vole unawares for as long as possible. "Copy my hunting crouch, be mindful of where you step, then I want you to try and catch it."
Was she asking too much of him too soon? Cherrypool felt a pang of cynicism towards her own teaching abilities. One moment it was 'the mist is too thick' and the next minute it was 'here, go catch a bank vole in it even though visibility is bad'. Still, the excitement in the light-furred tom's eyes did well to wash away any lingering self-doubts. Obviously he was eager to do this, so there was no going back now. Shifting into a hunting crouch, the white warrior looked like a colorless panther as she posed in the mist, bloody pools staring through the obscuring weather to spy a chubby brown body rustling around near the branch she had indicated. It was a good 6 foxlengths away from them, and Cherrypool crept a little closer with silence and stealth being key, trusting that they could be within greater proximity thanks to the mistcover.
After giving her apprentice substantial time to see what a proper crouch looked like, Cherrypool shifted into a sitting position, gesturing with a single flick of her alabaster tail. "Show me." If it was announced as satisfactory, then he could proceed with hunting the bank vole before it scuttled off into the safety of it's den.
ca0505.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2013 0:12:12 GMT -5
Goldenpaw nodded as he scanned the branch near the bank, he deduced that his mentor was very correct and that was the source of the scent and sound he had identified. He was mindful and attentive as she instructed him to emulate her and watched her with keen interest as she dropped into a hunting crouch. He tried to attain and store everything he could from the demonstration, the low posture, the silent movements as she walked and even the motionless tail that was dropped to ground level. He watched silently until she instructed him to do as she just had and he excitedly dropped into his hunters crouch. He picked little notes out of his mind that he had stored away from watching her, correcting his tail among other things, then looked at his mentor to see if she approved of his form. The apprentice was getting so excited now he was on the verge of exploding into a cloud of air and golden fluff.
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Post by Fawn on Feb 15, 2013 17:21:55 GMT -5
His form was surprisingly accurate in comparison to her own, particularly after he had made the little necessary corrections himself, and Cherrypool could only nod in acceptance - though the quiver of excitement that threatened to make her apprentice explode put a note of apprehension in the back of her mind. "Not quite so low to the ground, and remember to be patient, Goldenpaw. You can be excited after you've caught it." Say it like that, furball, and you're going to make him think he can't miss it. The alabaster she-cat flicked a single white ear in coincidence with a sharp nod, her signal that he was to attempt hunting down the bank vole.
Good luck.
Whiteshade had his own apprentice by now - a tom called Nightpaw, a promising young mind that Whiteshade could all too easily imprint in his own methods and mannerisms upon, like ink before a canvas. Cherrypool made a brief mental note to remind herself to go and speak with her deceptively charismatic brother, the second half of the albino litter likely to have more advice when it comes to... all of this. She couldn't be sure she was even doing this right, at 44 moons she hadn't been given the opportunity to mentor anyone until now, and the surprising amount of pressure to do well was staggering.
Briefly, a glimmer of fondness hit her square in the chest at the inner suggestion that she go and ask Sunblaze's opinion too. But no, she could never do that. That wouldn't even..why would he talk to her? Why would he even care about her mentor-troubles? Ridding her mind of such thoughts, Cherrypool sobered up and reapplied her focus to the young, enthusiastic Goldenpaw, finding that she wanted him to succeed possibly even more than he himself did. Oh StarClan, do me this one thing and please let him catch it.
She had gotten over her beef with StarClan moons ago, but if there was ever a time to call in a favor from the ones who had made her like this in the first place, now was it.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2013 16:29:44 GMT -5
Goldenpaw looked at his mentor as she approved his stance, and started talking near silent calming breaths. The excitement was still inside him however he had used the breaths to cram it down deep into his stomach, perhaps even into his legs or toes where it wouldn’t get in the way of his hunt. He tested his new stance by stepping softly in the direction of his prey, he found it a bit odd when moving but he was able to maintain the stance whilst moving on near silent paws. Step by step he would get closer to his prey, he was no so close he could start to see its form through the thick fog. Soon he was so close he could taste it, and he launched after it each bound becoming closer and closer to the kill. He was almost upon it then he found a hole hidden in the thick fog with his front right paw, it sent him tumbling rump over teakettle. His prey would obviously have escaped, and he laid there with his paw feeling nothing but pain. Goldenpaw could do nothing else but lay there and mewl like a kit as his hopes and dreams shattered.
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Post by Fawn on Feb 16, 2013 19:13:53 GMT -5
The image of Goldenpaw's near somersault after stepping into a hole was imprinted on Cherrypool's mind even after, out of fear that he had gotten himself hurt, the she-cat bolted after the fluffy white tom-kit. Hearing his pitiful mewls, Cherrypool's stomach twisted into knots. You inconsiderate half-witted mousebrained lizardhearted sorry excuse for a mentor! Screeched her inner critic, Cherrypool feeling as though she had plunged right into an icy river with no possible way of getting out. How could she possibly explain this to his sister? To his parents and to the rest of the Clan? 'oh hi, my name is Cherrypool and I got my apprentice injured on his very first day out of camp.'
Whiskers trembling, the she-cat gently nudged Goldenpaw with her pale nose, vermillion gaze filled to the brim with worry and apprehension and most of all, the deepest regret imaginable. She shouldn't have made him try to hunt in the mist! She should've just rescheduled the rest of the territory tour or later, they could've practiced hunting and crouching back at camp! Mousebrain mousebrain mousebrain!
"Are you alright? Please tell me you're a-alright," hissed Cherrypool, voice quivering in the middle where her resolve had cracked just slightly. Did he twist his paw? Did he break his leg? Was he crippled for life? What if he would always walk with a gimp now? Her head swam with all of the horrific possibilities that had resulted from her recklessness, and she could do nothing but nudge him again gently, feeling numbness in her paws and a buzzing in her ears that just wasn't going away.
Please don't be crippled for life.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2013 20:01:32 GMT -5
Goldenpaw mewled softly for a bit longer as his mentors voice tuned in and out, his head was spinning and he felt like he was going to lose the lunch he didn’t have. It was obvious he was in shock and he wouldn’t be able to respond until he got over it so he laid there for a while before he started to come out of it. “I don’t know…” He admitted as he picked up his paw with a soft mew, “Ow…” He then started to move it of his own accord, “I couldn’t move it like this if it was broken could I?” He asked as he moved it again with a gentle whimper. “It just kinda hurts when I move... maybe it’s sprained.” He said as he rolled over onto his side revealing something he hadn’t know before. He had caught his prey more or less, more accurately he crushed it when he was sent tumbling. The vole was under his form and as he moved off it one of it’s back legs twitched and it tried to crawl away.
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Post by Fawn on Feb 18, 2013 17:46:57 GMT -5
“It just kinda hurts when I move... maybe it’s sprained.”
Oh thank StarClan, nothing was broken! Though Cherrypool wouldn't actually feel her jittery, frayed nerves return to normal until he had gotten a complete health assessment from their resident patron saint of the dead healer, her alabaster jaws parting to release a small sigh of relief. He wasn't bleeding, he wasn't unconscious, he wasn't blaspheming her for being such a careless, awful, mousebrained mentor - so far so good. "If you can walk alright, let's get you to the Medicine Cat's den. And I'm sorry about-"
Oh? Cherrypool's blood red eyes glittered against the framing mist as she looked down to see the bank vole Goldenpaw had, er, caught, instinct taking over as the warrioress leaned in to sink her teeth into the struggling prey animal's scruff, putting it out of it's misery from it's previously crushed, battered state. "Well done," the warrior found herself saying, tone taken aback but not altogether unfriendly. "it was a bit...unusual for a first catch, but you may add it to the pile when we get back. Can you carry it on your own?"
Though she wanted him to have that proud moment of being able to carry back his first ever fresh kill - a right of passage in of itself - Cherrypool had now become hyperaware of Goldenpaw's every move, ready to intervene the second he looked like he couldn't handle walking on a sprained paw and carrying back his vole. Not wanting to make any present injuries worse, Cherrypool waited with both patience and impatience to have him in Rookfrost's den already, allowing him to collect himself before they started on back to camp.
This had definitely been anything than what she'd planned or perhaps fantasized about her first day as a mentor being, but, if she were to stifle her inner cynical self for a moment, it hadn't been a total disaster. It had been...successful in an odd, rather backwards sort of way, and Cherrypool was actually rather grateful he had been able to catch that bank vole after all.
Having discovered him to have a little bit of a fragile psyche, she knew first hand how little moments of victory like this could be the difference between happiness and misery until the next opportunity presented itself.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2013 1:29:50 GMT -5
Goldenpaw seemed a bit aghast as Cherrypool told him it was unusual for a first catch, “Nobody has ever squished their prey before the first time? Like, ever?” He asked incredulously, “I caught a vole on my first time hunting and set a whole new record in Lighteningclan! Probably in any clan!” He was surprisingly pleased with himself, in his mind this was better than if say, he had actual caught the vole like a normal cat would. The key word there was the problem, normal something Goldenpaw would never be. So with as much pride as he could muster, which happened to be quite a bit, Goldenpaw rolled completely onto his belly and attempted to stand up. Immediately after he panted his rump with a soft thud, “Ow, that hurts. I don’t want to do that.” He said sounding like a robot as if he was truly incapable of experiencing pain and had only heard about it and figured under the circumstances he should be feeling it. Turning to his mentor using his best injured apprentice look he begged Cherrypool if she would carry him back to camp and even though it shouldn’t have worked, it did. The denizens of Lighteningclan camp would be in for a treat as the white and red eyed warrior emerged through their pristine entrance with a small golden tom in her jaws and an even smaller vole in his. They would chuckle as he extended his paw outward as if calling start to a conquest his battle cry being “To Snowpaw’s den!” Yes everyone was in a for a show that day.
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