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Post by Fawn on Mar 23, 2013 21:02:53 GMT -5
ÐARKCLOUD 63 Moons || Tom || Senior Warrior
LightningClan
The seemingly ever present milkscent clung to Firebird's soft ginger and white fur, though it had been almost 6 whole moons since their last litter had become apprentices. Nuzzling his mate gently, Darkcloud spoke brief but warm words of parting, sharing shorter, curter ones with the other queens, careful not to tread upon any wayward kits as the black and white tom took his leave. Having brought them an early morning meal, Darkcloud had been content with sharing a short but pleasant moment with his mate before he intended to devote the rest of his time with his latest, if not brand new apprentice, Owlpaw.
Being a frequent visitor to the nursery on Firebird's behalf, Darkcloud was not at all oblivious to the she-kitten's particularly high intelligence, and was inwardly pleased that Redstar had chosen to assign him a creature who would undoubtedly excel in areas at a much quicker rate than the rest of the flock. Making his way to the apprentices' den with purposeful strides, the shadowy and white feline loomed in the entrance way, Darkcloud having always been slightly taller than his more lightweight, smaller-built Clanmates, the tips of ink-black ears brushing against the roof of the den, Darkcloud feeling no such urge to lower his voice lest he might rouse the den's other occupants.
"Owlpaw, wake up. It's time to begin."
Pivoting, the distance from the apprentices' den to the entrance way of camp was broached in a few more long strides, lean muscle rippling beneath his pelt - a fond nod in his daughter Brightpaw's direction when he saw her carry back a shrew - eerily pale green eyes directed skyward as though he might be able to view the weather patterns.
No rain again today.
He could feel the dryness in the air like a secret no one wanted to talk about, and subconsciously felt the urge to take a drink as though it might be his last until the rains came again. Attempting to pull his thoughts away from fretting over the weather situation, Darkcloud settled on organizing his plans for Owlpaw this morning. With the early glow of the sun resting against his back and shoulder blades, Darkcloud could easily recall the familiar faces of so many apprentices, having trained enough that they took his whole right paw to count, Owlpaw now the sixth. Though Darkcloud's first and foremost obligation was to his family, he would be lying if he said he wasn't invested in the young toms and she-cats he trained into warriorhood.
Let's see if this one can give Venomtongue a run for his whiskers. A smirk flitted across the dark, handsome features of the senior warrior, tail-tip twitching at the tip in a leisurely sort of manner, as if he were listening to birdsong and punctuating particular notes with a faint tap in mid air, thoughts referring to the last apprentice he'd ever trained. It would entertain the tom immensely if Venomtongue ended up having competition for his 'most successful apprentice' thus far.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2013 18:20:39 GMT -5
~~Owlpaw~~
Waking from her dreams by the call of her new mentor, Darkcloud, wide amber-yellow eyes blinked open before the silver-gray she-cat rose to her paws. With a quick lick of her tongue, her fluffy fur lay flat and she was able to remove the strands of moss that slipped into her pelt during her sleep. Following the scent of her mentor, the wise she-cat made her way over to the dark pelted tom and took a seat infront of him. Her wise looking eyes followed his gaze to the sky before she spoke to him.
"Still no rain?" She asked, though it sounded more of a statement than a question. "At this rate, Lightningclan will end up having an awful drought..." She said thinking. Owlpaw was always like that, it was if she had been reincarnated from an older cat with the way she spoke or acted. She was wise, bright and very smart. Her amber-yellow eyes turned from the dry sky towards Darkcloud as she examined him. A strong warrior, older and a good warrior from what she gathered from the nursery when she cat watched.
She stood up, she was not a small nor a large cat, but average size for her age, but of course smaller than her large mentor. "Well, shall we get started. I'm sure you want to see how i'll do against your previous apprentices." She meowed calmly, almost emotionlessly as she turned her eyes towards the Lightningclan camp entrance. "What will we be doing today?" She asked an acutal question this time, curiousity entered her eyes. She was one that wanted to know as much as she could, to keep that knowledge. After all, knowledge was strength, was it not. |
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Post by Fawn on May 11, 2013 19:25:21 GMT -5
ÐARKCLOUD 63 Moons || Tom || Senior Warrior
LightningClan
The tall male feline's left ear swiveled towards Owlpaw, recognizing her perceptiveness, Darkcloud's unnaturally pale green eyes glancing over Owlpaw's form before starting. With a soundless, purposeful stride, Darkcloud made it clear that they were to head out of camp before he would bother to discuss today's objective. "Hunting." The tom mewed at last; considering Owlpaw's thirst for knowledge and the recognition that knowledge wielded a certain amount of power in of itself, the short territory tour yesterday had not been enough to satisfy the she-cat. All angles considered, Darkcloud had a suspicion that whether she went out with a sibling, a relative or even an older apprentice, it was likely that Owlpaw had completed a more in depth examination of LightningClan's territory, learned the proper names and gathered a more comprehensive understanding of their home then the average apprentice.
Of course, if Darkcloud's assumptions were correct, then that already put Owlpaw 'in the lead' as far as properly beginning her apprenticeship with him; not very many of his apprentices knew to take such initiative right from the start. Leading Owlpaw towards the flooded grasses, Darkcloud could taste the moisture on his tongue - a welcomed reprieve from the dry atmosphere surrounding both LightningClan cats; despite this, however, it was obvious that the terrain had suffered from the dry spell. Rainwater normally collected upon the surfaces into little puddles, turning what should've been a grassy patch of land into something similar to marshland, but this time around the usual marshy consistency was much dryer than usual. There was still water to be found, the mud taking the shape of Darkcloud's paws as he left a small trail wading through the tall grasses, but it was noticeably less than what it should've been.
"Tell me what you can smell, Owlpaw." Mewed the senior warrior; if she was going to impress him, then he was going to have to give her the opportunity to do so. To push her harder then he normally did his apprentices. She had the ambition. She had the intelligence. He just needed to cultivate this young cat into someone worthy of being noted as "A warrior trained by Darkcloud."
Who knows, mused the cunning, snake-like feline, maybe she will make a decent future mate for Nightpaw?
Darkcloud knew he wasn't really going to have too much of a paw in his son's love life, and nor did he want to be that kind of overly involved parent. However, if he saw the opportunity to direct his son's attention towards a she-cat actually worth the effort, then Darkcloud would certainly take it. |
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Post by Deleted on May 29, 2013 21:05:41 GMT -5
~~Owlpaw~~
With a simple nod, the younger she-cat followed her mentor through the camp and out onto the dry territories of Lightningclan. Moorlands, usually dry anyways, due to the lack to trees and rain, but more dry because of the drought, driving away any scent of prey that may have been lingering but was now long gone and stale. The dry stalks of grass crunched under the silver paws of the apprentice as she made her way after Darkcloud, amber-yellow eyes keeping a constant watch around her, ears atop her head rotating to keep in any sounds that may have past her.
With Darkcloud's pawsteps halting, Owlpaw brought herself to a stop infront of her dark furred mentor, her tail wipping around behind her. After a moment of glancing off towards a border, she brought those emotionless yellow orbs to settle on Darkcloud's face, taking in what he spoke before she turned her ears, listening to differnet sounds that could throw off her count as she stood there before her mentor, letting the scents settle in on her nose and throat before she decided to speak her anwser to him.
"Well. First of all, downwind from me," She paused, her ears flickering behind her before continuing, "There wasn't much of any scent except for stale rabbits and a couple of field mice who were searching for fresh food and probably water." Owlpaw flicked her ears to fan out over her head, "Around us there seems to be a few fresh scents of rabbits, a couple of mice, and a eagle or two passed by overhead, looking for food of there own."
Moving her ears forwards, Owlpaw's attention moved from Darkcloud to the far border. "I'm not sure about that scent. A fox or a badger, I presume. He was wandering around, probably last night or early this morning, but his scent says that he is long gone." She stopped talking to turn her attention back towards Darkcloud, she had probably done more observation and a fuller anwser than any of Darkcloud's other apprentices had given.
Tilting her head, Owlpaw caught a look in Darkcloud's eyes before it disapeared. "Are you thinking of Nightpaw?" She asked, she had seen that look in his eyes before, always when he was talking to his son. Yes, Owlpaw was that observant. Her tail flickered slight before she spoke again, her voice still a cold, emotionless tone, "He seems like a smart cat. I think he will make a good warrior." Her ears twitched slightly, fur prickling at the dry wind that made it's way accross the moors.
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Post by Fawn on May 30, 2013 0:54:04 GMT -5
ÐARKCLOUD 63 Moons || Tom || Senior Warrior
LightningClan
The bi-colored tom listened with sober pallid green eyes and an expression of stoicism, as if his emotions had temporarily been tucked away into some pocket of his being and wouldn't be accessed again unless necessary - intent upon her every word. Even if Darkcloud had already been prepared, or rather, hopeful that she would indeed impress him, now that she had impressed upon him the full measure of her observation skills, Darkcloud had to resist the urge to chuckle.
Never before had he been given so thorough and precise a report from a cat as young as she; oh yes, she had promise, and as long as she allowed him to cultivate her into a cat more than worthy of the title of warrior, Darkcloud would mark this apprenticeship as one of his most enthralling yet. Venomtongue had excelled in battle more than anything else, but he'd be incredibly sharp and adaptable, with a natural instinct for footwork most cats were even a little bit jealous of. Though Venomtongue's hunting had not been quite as high, it had still been satisfactory - though his powers of observation as well as eloquence had been a bit... lacking.
The comment about his son, however, caused the black and white tom's tail to twitch slightly at the tip, accepting her words with a curt dip of the head, pale eyes refocusing on the smaller, highly intelligent she-cat. "Yes." Yes Nightpaw was a smart cat, and yes he would make a great warrior, one of the best, even. Darkcloud didn't just feel like bragging because the tom was his own flesh and blood, but because he knew his son to be incredibly talented, seemingly having inherited both he and Firebird's best possible traits. True, Nightpaw had a few flaws....but what was a few rocks in the river, anyway? They didn't count against him - at least not in the eyes of his father.
"Select a scent to follow, and mind the tunnels. I will monitor from a distance." It might seem rather preposterous to have a small hunting assessment after only the third day of training, but Darkcloud was not your typical mentor. He did not coddle, but nor were his methods so harsh that a reassignment to a gentler teacher was necessary. If Owlpaw was successful, then great, that meant the Clan could be fed - and if she wasn't, well that gave the senior warrior something to work on, didn't it? He was more interested in her process and correctness of posture than of Owlpaw actually catching a rabbit or hare. Would she incorporate the tunnels on their territory into her hunting plans? Or perhaps it would be wiser to avoid the tunnels, ever since the horrific injury Frostpaw had sustained to her eye?
The choice was hers. He would simply watch and wait for her decisions. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 24, 2013 2:26:25 GMT -5
Owlpaw
The Goddess of Knowledge
Be careful making wishes in the dark, dark
Can't be sure when they've hit their mark
And besides in the mean, mean time
I'm just dreaming of tearing you apart
The young she-cat was wise, she knew better than the travel into the tunnels, especially after the unfortunate accident of Wolfpaw, who was moons older than her and still sitting with his apprentice name inside the Elder's den as he recovered along with Frostpaw and her damaged eye. The only question was, would there be more prey underneath the moorland with the lack of rain, or would they be out looking for a nice spring to drink from during the rather humid part of the day.
There was always the question of weather or not the tunnels were safe, Owlpaw had been keep as a kit, listening to the older warriors and elders talk of the dangers that lurked among the underground caverns that ran all along the moorlands. She had also heard that it was a great way to catch several hares since they preferred to live down there on hot, rainless days. However, foxes liked to live there as well, and Owlpaw was to keen on getting caught by one of those. She was smart, and she knew how to fight, but she was prepared to fight nose to nose with a fox twice her size.
After a moment of thinking, Owlpaw's amber eyes turned towards where she had scented the field mice who's scents mixed with a couple of rabbits, that would probably be the best bet. If she caught a couple of things, brilliant, if not it would be disappointing and a knock against her pride but practice makes perfect, does it not?
With her mind made up thoroughly, the long legged, silver-gray she-cat trotted off in the direction, careful to make her paw steps quick and quite before slowing down to a pad as she scanned the area with her bright, observant orbs. This would be another good chance to show her mentor, Darkcloud that she was a worthy apprentice to him and his good apprentice track record. Perhaps, with her competitive personality, she could knock Vemontongue off his pedestal and replace it with her. A plan such as that would take time and practice...
I could do it.
With cunning and patience bright in her eyes, she caught sight of a small moving mammal, brown in color and nibbling on a blade of grass. Perfect, a small field mouse to take back today, maybe she could catch a couple of those and a rabbit or two. If the odds and Starclan were in her favor. Crouching down, Owlpaw fell into a well practiced crouch, something that she had watched from older apprentices when she was a kit and perfected well before her sixth moon living.
She crept forwards, making sure she was light on her paws and that her breathing was steady, while she made her way towards the small prey. Her eyes narrowed on the mouse, as it's back was towards her, she stepped forwards before pulling her paw back, the ground underneath her paw wasn't to steady, she'd have to go around. With ease, Owlpaw shifted her course to where she was coming towards the prey at a different angle, but still downwind of the mouse.
After a couple more paces forwards, she leaped, pinning the prey to the ground and cutting off his breath with a bite before he could let out a squeal of pain or fear. Lifting her head, letting the mouse stay at her paws, Owlpaw turned her orbs towards her mentor. "That went as planned." She spoke in her monotone voice as she glanced at the prey, "Perhaps a few more and the elders and queens should be fed. Don't you agree?" She asked.
My songs know what you did in the dark
So light 'em up, up, up
Light 'em up, up, up
Light 'em up, up, up
I'm on fire
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