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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2013 20:21:12 GMT -5
 The evening sky was painted with colors even more brilliant than the leaves that crowned the forest TreeClan called home. Beneath the canopy, a gray tabby padded along the forest floor that was beginning to become blanketed in fallen leaves. His long, wispy gray coat was still a bit singed from the fire that had destroyed so much of their forest. He'd charged into the inferno beside his leader and saved Lionstar from the burning forest more than once. His fur was short and burned where he'd lifted a smoldering branch from Lionstar's lifeless body. It was where the worst of his burns were centralized, though his fur had taken most of the heat. Littletimber had at first put some chewed leaf poultice on it, but herbs were short, and he was far from the worst injured.
The fluffy tom was leading a younger sorrel she-cat behind him. As his apprentice, Rowanpaw was enthusiastic and talented, and becoming increasingly skilled. Her hunting crouch had become very well developed. Today, he planned to teach her new hunting techniques, and perhaps inspire her to create her own style of hunting.
Stopping near the edge of the clearing, he looked to her and mewed, "I know you can climb well, and I know you can hunt well, but today we're going to hunt in the trees." He twitched his long feathery whiskers, casting his light brown gaze to the overhanging branches. "When you're ready, climb into a tree. You may travel from tree to tree, but you aren't allowed to touch the forest floor until you are pouncing on prey, or if you can't make it safely from one tree to another." The tree life was becoming less active in the fading light, but he would leave it up to her to connect to dots, so to speak. She was a bright young thing, and he was sure that she'd find the countless nests and perches of diurnal prey.
Word count; 324
Character; Thunderclaw
Notes; Meep! Amber |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 31, 2013 18:45:15 GMT -5
&& who will remember our last goodbye
Leaf-fall was quickly becoming her favorite season, with the large oaks, birches, rowans, and aspens turning their leaves into beautiful and vibrant colors. Slowly, the leaves were beginning to fall, and she couldn't help but to spend some of her free time playing, trying to leap up and catch them before they hit the ground. They crunched softly beneath her paws as she followed her mentor. Every now and then, a leaf would fall upon the ground, and she would make a point to swiftly pounce on it, unable to surpress a giggle at the pleasant crunch that each leaf made.
Rowanpaw was close to the end of her apprenticeship, but that didn't stop her from being a highly energetic ball of fluff. Her coat was still soft, though not quite as fuzzy as it used to be, not like it mattered to the she-cat. She was far more interested in the world around her than in the way she looked to others. She wasn't completely certain what they would be doing today, nor where exactly they were going. The apprentice probably should have been paying attention to the forest around her, but she trusted Thunderclaw, and was content to bounce along in his wake, just eager to be out and about and moving and doing things.
Watching the leaves fall down around her, she almost didn't realize that Thunderclaw had halted. Just before she would have run into him, her mind processed the fact that the pad of pawsteps had silenced, and she flipped her head around and stopped just a mouselength from her mentor's hindquarters. Surprise lit her face for a brief moment, before her expression turned to an eager interest.
"I know you can climb well, and I know you can hunt well"--Rowanpaw's chest swelled slightly with pride at her mentor's confidence in her--"but today we're going to hunt in the trees." The sorrel apprentice's ears perked forward. Tree hunting? That was going to be fun! "When you're ready, climb into a tree. You may travel from tree to tree, but you aren't allowed to touch the forest floor until you are pouncing on prey, or if you can't make it safely from one tree to another." Rowanpaw beamed with excitement.
Ever since her first tree climbing lesson, which had been an utter failure, she had been working on getting better at it. It wasn't very much fun being fished out, but she had learned how to get up and down by herself, and now navigating the branches was one of her favorite things to do, beside catching leaves and watching bugs and splashing in puddles and chasing tails and flinging mossballs and--
Oh wait, what was she supposed to be doing again? Oh, right. Tree climbing. With a happy hop, she darted up the nearest tree, quickly reaching one of the lower branches. She paused for a moment, her green gaze scanning the limbs above her. She scurried up a few more branches, then decided it was time to start her hunt. She glanced down at the ground, knowing her mentor's eyes were on her.
Rowanpaw took a deep, calming breath, pushing down her excitement, knowing it was time to be serious. This wasn't just a regular training session; it felt more like an assessment, and in a way it was. Thunderclaw had specifically chosen this challenge in order to test her abilities. She was determined not to let him down.
She crouched down on the branch and crept forward, all senses alert. With her eyes scanning the branches around her, jaws parted, and ears pressed forward, the apprentice stalked along the branch. Before long, she reached a point where the branch she was on became too thin to solidly support her. Rowanpaw cast her eyes forward, pinpointing a branch growing from the next tree. The trees were close enough that she only need to take a small hop down and to the side to land on the next branch. She traveled to the next tree, still seeking her prey.
While navigating between the twisting branches of a trio of close-knit trees, a large raven swept through the tree mere mouselengths from her face. She bit her tounge, startled by its sudden appearance. It came quickly, not noticing her, seeking a prey of its own. The bird shot downward, seeking a mouse on the forest floor. Rowanpaw gathered herself and stared down as the raven fell closer to the ground.
Rowanpaw began a swift decent downward, hoping to get low enough to pounce on the raven before it took off again. The sorrel cat stopped on the lowest branch of the tree, which was still a dizzying height above the ground. The raven had wrapped its talons around a mouse, and Rowanpaw knew she needed to act fast. Bunching her hindlegs, she dropped from the tree.
The distance to the ground felt a lot longer than it looked, and everything slowed in the few heartbeats it took to fall. Her body twisted enough so she would land forepaws first, extended claws aimed for the back of the raven. She just needed it to stay put a moment longer...
Rowanpaw landed hard, on a squawking pile of feathers. The large bird attempted to take flight, but Rowanpaw's paws had trapped one of its wings against its body. Shaken by the bird, she clamped her jaws around its neck, ending its life. The body went limp beneath her, and she released it from her jaws and moved off it.
When she moved, her foreleg crumpled. She toppled over, her sides heaving. Her landing had been hard, from a great height, the highest she'd ever leaped. It wouldn't be surprising if she had somehow injured her shoulder, which she probably had, judging by the throbbing pain and the fact that she was on the ground instead of her paws. She lay for a moment longer, before carefully pulling herself into a sitting position, moving her right foreleg as little as possible, keeping her right paw from touching the ground.
A smile grew on her maw as she looked down at the great raven. It was quite a kill, as this was one of the largest birds she had seen in TreeClan's forest. And still clasped within the bird's claws was the mouse that it had killed, prior to becoming prey itself. Rowanpaw couldn't help but swell with pride, her smile broadening. Sure, she may have injured herself, but this was a kill that she could be proud of. She hoped that Thunderclaw would be proud as well, and even Lionstar. She wanted to make them all proud. She had a legacy to live up to, after all.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2013 4:50:11 GMT -5
Rowanpaw was a young and energetic soul, but Thunderclaw didn't mind her, well, fluttery demeanor. He wasn't one to stifle a cat and try to dictate their every pawstep. As long as she did her job, he saw no reason to ask her to behave any differently. She'd been his first apprentice, and in the beginning he'd tried to rein her in a little, to perhaps bring her energy down a notch. But he wasn't a slow cat, and he quickly found that she was happiest and learned best in her usual, bubbly state of mind. And, though some might find cause to criticize him for it, he was content in knowing that Rowanpaw was a capable warrior. Since when had diversity ever made a clan weaker?
As the sorrel she-cat launched herself into the tree, the larger gray tabby maneuvered himself into the undergrowth, so that his presence wouldn't disturb his apprentice's hunting. From his position, he could see the huntress move through the canopy with impressive ease, somewhat quicker than he would generally travel. Good, focus. He silently praised the she-cat for her obvious skill, leaping from branch to branch quietly.
The long-furred tom thought back to the fire, and the hideous flames that had destroyed so much of their forest. Rowanpaw had gotten caught in the flames, and Lionstar had lost a life saving her. He remembered the brief moment of terror as the smoldering branch crashed down upon his leader, and then heartbeats that followed as he and his apprentice, the leader's own sister, had worked together to get him free. He could still feel the smoke filling his lungs, the burn in his throat equal to the havoc the flames wrought, and the hot branch hoisted upon his weakening shoulders as he lifted it from his unconscious leader. The warrior had been terrified, unsure if Rowanpaw would be able to pull Lionstar the mouse-lengths to safety; he'd been unsure if he could hold the branch long enough. Eyes stinging, heart pounding, fur burning...
Thunderclaw was still young and somewhat experienced, and though he didn't like to admit it, he'd been growing more humble by the day. Though his ego was still intact, he learned much through teaching. At the ceremony, he'd been so confident, almost cocky. Days later, however, he found himself struggling. First, he'd nitpick and over-correct. Then, catching himself, he'd be too lax. Sometimes worried he was being too critical, others worried he wasn't saying enough. Together they'd found the happy medium, and the russet she-cat had proved herself a smart, if not sometimes air-headed, student.
Observing the she-cat's paw placement, he noted approval. She'd improved significantly, from their first, admittedly discouraging exploit in the trees. He watched passively, waiting for her to locate some prey, to drop into a crouch. Suddenly, a huge black bird swooped through the trees. His eyes widened, fur prickling as it narrowly missed her. It's not hunting her, thank StarClan, he thought, relieved, his fur still bristling. But as she turned, rocking back onto her haunches, then leaping off of the branch, Thunderclaw's stomach twisted, a feeling of despair washing through him. He rose, trying to speak, but no words emerged. Was she honestly hunting a raven? Heart pounding, he began to bound forward, time passing in slow motion as he watched her land atop the glossy black bird.
She managed her balance with skill, then began to fall as the bird tried to take flight. Another stride. The bird threw her off, but she managed to clamp her jaws around its neck, killing it. Thunderclaw's world sped to its normal pace once more. Great StarClan.
But it was not yet over. The gray striped tom watched as his apprentice tried to rise, horrified as her leg gave out. "Stay still," he managed to croak, but it was clear she was already doing just that. She rolled carefully to her paws. Adrenaline still pumping through his veins, he stood frozen as he watched her. Was she okay? As her face lit up, his whole body relaxed, and he laughed, still somewhat nervously, with relief. He glanced to the huge, lifeless bird, then back to his apprentice, pride equal to hers filling him. "I..." he started, then glanced up to the sky, a bit breathless. "Great StarClan," he finished weakly, moving to sniff at her shoulder. It was clear she needed to see a medicine cat straight away. Then there was the matter of getting the bird back to camp.
"Good... job?" he began again, amused at his own speechlessness. The TreeClan warrior nodded to the bird, "I suppose I question your judgement, but certainly not your ability." He purred, still inflated with pride. "We need to get you to Littletimber right away. Can you walk?" A twitch of his whiskers preceded his next words. "Or hop, if you must."
He rose to his own paws, inspecting the great bird. Thunderclaw carefully took it into his jaws, determined that he'd be able to drag it, then set it down again. He nodded to Rowanpaw, confirming that he'd be able to manage. That hadn't exactly been the point of the exercise, but it was sign enough for him. Rowanpaw's training was coming to an end. It was high time he let Lionstar know she was prepared to take her warrior name.
Character; Thunderclaw
Word count; 893
Notes; ~ |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2013 13:58:38 GMT -5
&& who will remember our last goodbye
Her head turned as her mentor arrived, standing by her side and staring down at the bird. "I...Great StarClan." Rowanpaw couldn't surpress a lighthearted giggle at her Thunderclaw's reaction. It seemed that he was just as proud as she was, though still in a state of disbelief. She beamed up at him, her entire being filled with a warm glow. She felt like she would explode into a ball of light at any moment, such was the extent of her joy.
"Good...job?" She giggled again, softer this time. "I suppose I question your judgement, but certainly not your ability." Right paw still lifted off the ground, her smile faded a little, as she voiced a verbal defense. "It didn't see me, though. It was hunting, too, but not me." She gestured to the bird. "It caught a mouse. And I figured that I would let it catch the mouse, and then I would catch the bird."
She looked up from the bird, to the branch she had leapt from. It was just as high up as she thought it was. "It was the highest I've ever jumped. Have you ever jumped on the back of a raven? It's pretty fun." She beamed again, a laughing purr punctuating her sentence. "I know it was dangerous, but this could feed two, maybe even three cats. And the mouse is ours, too. And it was distracted, so it wasn't focused on me. I saw an opportunity, and I took it."
Rowanpaw gazed up at her mentor. She knew what she did was risky, but that hadn't been on her mind when she was hunting. All she had thought of was what was best for the Clan. And if that meant she would suffer a few days to feed several cats at once, then so be it. Though she was still as bubbly as she had been as a kit, she had also matured. It wasn't about herself anymore. She had learned to put the Clan's needs ahead of her own.
"We need to get you to Littletimber right away. Can you walk?" His whiskers twitched in amusement. "Or hop, if you must." Rowanpaw's mouth dropped in mock indignation. "Of course I can walk. I just took down a raven, after all." She burst into a fit of giggles, showing there were no hard feelings, and her words were said jokingly.
Rowanpaw rose unsteadily on three paws, her right foreleg tucking close to her chest. She hobbled forward, testing out a three-legged technique. A few steps in a small circle, and she felt she would be able to make it back to camp. She nodded to Thunderclaw, signalling that she, too, was ready. Before he took the great bird in his jaws, she hobbled to it. Using her mouth, she pulled the dead mouse from its cage of talons. Gripping the stolen kill in her jaws, she looked to her mentor.
Together, they slowly made their way back to camp. The weight of the raven slowed Thunderclaw's pace, but that just made it even easier for Rowanpaw to keep up, not that he would have left her behind. They were two proud cats, secure in the knowledge that they had both succeeded. Rowanpaw had succeeded in a huge kill, and Thunderclaw had succeeded in taking her from kithood to warriorhood. It was clear that they were both ready for that next milestone.
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