[Fawn]

---

All was right in Blackwolf's world. A heavy toss of the pelt, the jet black warrior spattered dewdrops in all directions, pink tongue roving over pearly white teeth as he strode back into NightClan's camp. The dark surroundings suited him just fine, the panther-like feline stalking through the shadows with a sense of purpose - arrogant stride carrying the battle-scarred tom over to the apprentices' den.

"Starlingpaw, wake up! Hunting."

The tom's teeth flashed in a quick grin; how good it felt to be working with an apprentice who actually wanted to learn, and had, as far as he knew, no confusing gender issues of which Blackwolf would rather pretend didn't exist. He hadn't known life could be so complicated until he'd started mentoring Applepaw, and he was wholly embracing the normalcy a regular she-cat pupil brought to the table.

Starlingpaw wasn't just any typical apprentice, however. Likely with a sense of entitlement to match his own, the daughter of the Clan's deputy already had a reputation by way of her father's credentials, and therefore failure was not expected, nor was it even an option.

Having already spent the morning hunting, had his first meal of the day and spent a small portion brushing up on his tracking skills, the warrior was wholly prepared to teach the dark-hued she-cat a thing or two about warriorhood. Spotting Roughthroat out of the corners of his eyes, Blackwolf gave a curt dip of the head, a small gesture of respect he rarely gave to anyone - but if any cat deserved it besides Ravenstar, it would be the Clan's deputy.

That was a job Blackwolf was certain he didn't want; it came with too much responsibility for him to be comfortable with. It required him to be a 'model Clanmate' when he was much too settled into his bigoted, aggressive, slightly disabling ways of treating those few he deemed freaks or beneath him. He wouldn't make a very good deputy at all - though maybe all of that stress and responsibility would be worth it, if he could convince Ravenstar to chase TreeClan away once and for all?

Occupying his time with thoughts of fleeing TreeClanners, Blackwolf waited with an impatient twitch of the tail, claws flexing in and out of their sheathes as he counted down the heartbeats until she arrived.

Because she was the deputy's daughter, he would not be going easy on her throughout their apprenticeship. Roughthroat may feel particularly protective over his litter, but Blackwolf was confident that the storm-gray tom wouldn't want any of them coddled.

Coddled kittens did not become warriors.

OOC: Hellion Here ya go!

[Hellion]

Starlingpaw

You can't take away my strength
Fix these broken veins
There's nothing left to fight Live free or let me die
You can't take away my pride, I won't be denied.

She had lightly sleeping, curled up beside Featherpaw her newest friend as she doze off, but the quick jarring voice of Blackwolf had her head up quickly, her blue eyes bright in alarm. It took a moment for her to realize, just what was going on before she got up to her paws, ensuring her pelt was presentable by giving it a quick grooming, she wouldn't dare look disheveled on training days.

Exiting the den with careful paw placements, she didn't want to wake up her siblings or any other apprentices, her thickening pelt kept her warm in the crisp air that she didn't notice it's slightly chill until her breathe caught in the air.

With eyes like the sky, she looked out to see Blackfwolf, who appeared to already by upset with her for being late and quickly the she-cat covered the distance between him and her. Clearing her throat slightly she mustered up courage to greet her mentor head on, his was intimidating no doubt, but she wouldn't show fear not with him not with anything.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Featherpaw and I were up a little late I was helping with her hunter's crouch." Starlingpaw explained briefly to her mentor as she remained standing and waiting for his instructions.

Insects walk below, I'm on a wire
Fire will burn below, but I am higher

Tag for Fawn to reply
for nimble to lurk

[Fawn]

---

"Don't stay up late with pointless exercises. Worry about your own training first - leave Featherpaw to her own mentor." Blackwolf was normally all for camraderie amongst NightClan's youth - when he wasn't mocking them for their failures, that is - but that singular name, Featherpaw had rubbed his fur the wrong way.

Was it just him, or was this once proud, powerful Clan now breeding a bunch of weaklings? Ratfur, Applewhisker, Hazepaw, Oakpaw. Disgusting.

It was insulting to the Clan to allow so high a number of incompetent felines call themselves NightClanners. If it were up to him - and thank StarClan it wasn't - those that could not pass apprenticeship earned themselves immediate banishment from NightClan. They could take their disgraceful bloodlines elsewhere. Like StoneClan.

Fixing a critical gold eye onto Starlingpaw, the black tom rose to his paws in one fluid motion, the agitated flick of his tail conveying a little of his internal state - but he was quick to brush aside any more rousing thoughts. The last thing he wanted as an upset stomach because he was having trouble swallowing the truth.

NightClan was getting weaker.

But all was not lost; keeping up with the aggressive, war-mongering tom was a very very bright flame, hope for a better, stronger, smarter NightClan - and it was his job to encourage that fire until it was an inferno, one that could possibly make up for the bunch of wet logs that were certain members of the Clan.

"Since you've decided to take up mentoring, let's see your hunting crouch in action, Starlingpaw." How a cat could teach what she had only herself just learned, Blackwolf would never know.

Instead, he led her into the tall black pine forest, opting to present the she-kitten with a little more of a challenge by being in an area with scarcer prey. "Tell me what you can smell."

While he would put his apprentice to work - regardless of how late she'd stayed up teaching Featherpaw how not to be Featherpaw - Blackwolf was already planning on having a discussion with the deputy's daughter. It was important that his apprentice didn't find herself hanging out with the wrong crowd.

[Hellion]

Starlingpaw

You can't take away my strength
Fix these broken veins
There's nothing left to fight Live free or let me die
You can't take away my pride, I won't be denied.

Ever since she was given to Blackwolf as his apprentice, Starlingpaw made it her duty to learn everything about the black warrior with the strange eyes, while she learned a lot both good and bad, it caught her off guard as to how he felt about her teaching Featherpaw.

Hiding the flinch at his words well, Starlingpaw took his words half-heartily, Featherpaw was her best friend nothing would change that unless Featherpaw tried to hurt her but her friend's usual gentle and sweet manner kept Starlingpaw's mind at ease. While she pondered with the idea of confronting Blackwolf to understand his feelings, she knew it would be pointless and might end up with her upset and afraid of her mentor, something she didn't want. Instead she kept her mouth shut and followed him out of the camp, her pace brisk and slightly faster to keep up with his full grown strides. Starlingpaw was still close to her kit size, not yet hitting her growth spurt that would have her growing quickly to her full height, it wasn't anything to be alarmed by, just a reason she kept up a fast pace.

Once they reached the pine trees she was faced with the challenge, she had been gifted her mother's good hunting abilities and her father's brains, but they were terribly under practiced, but she was still an apprentice and still learning so no reason for him to be upset, but Starlingpaw knew better, she wasn't a fool and Blackwolf would already be upset once she showed him her crouch.

Taking in a deep breathe she slipped into her crouch, her rump too high and front legs a little to far forward. A good crouch for a beginner but no where near perfect and mentally Starlingpaw was prepared for his reaction. Blackwolf wasn't some unknown cat, everyone knew about his temper and while she was young and hadn't faced it before, she was prepared.

Insects walk below, I'm on a wire
Fire will burn below, but I am higher

[Fawn]

---

40 Moons - Senior Warrior - NightClan

Blackwolf spat on the ground. ”And you're trying to teach another apprentice with a hunting crouch like that?” He crowed, regarding her with surprise as though unable to grasp how senseless she'd been. ”Bring your front paws back and your haunches down, or else you're going to telegraph to every creature in the forest you're getting ready to pounce on them.” The nature of stealth was to not let your prey see you coming, or to see you hunkered down into an awkward crouch, if you could help it.

Blackwolf supposed he could forgive her just this once, and he was inwardly grateful he hadn't thought to bring along any other apprentices on this little hunting trip of theirs – because the mistakes of the pupil always looked like the mistakes of the teacher, and Blackwolf was never in the mood to be branded incompetent. Of course, it was bad luck for Starlingpaw that his last apprentice had frustrated and harried him so much that he had become stricter on those he deemed actually worth his time – that, combined with her father's superior status, would leave the poor kitten going back to her den long after her denmates had, a little sorer but a little more skilled than the rest.

Regarding the fluffy kitten with a critical eye, he circled her much like the wolf part of his suffix, ready to point out further error and prevent them from happening again – at least on his watch. Speaking of the other apprentices... Perhaps it would be worth asking Ravenstar if he could take all the NightClan apprentices out to the battle-training area and brush up on their standard moves. It didn't make him look very good if all he ever did was (inwardly) complain of how weak the Clan had become and yet did nothing about it.

Of course, Blackwolf was also conscious of the fact that he was only one cat, and couldn't possibly be responsible for every youngster in NightClan, even if he was a senior warrior. So with that in mind, wouldn't it be better to have a bit of a talk with some of the more 'esteemed', preferably like-minded warriors who wouldn't shirk their duties and maybe go that extra mouselength if it meant a stronger NightClan overall.

[Hellion]

Starlingpaw

You can't take away my strength
Fix these broken veins
There's nothing left to fight Live free or let me die
You can't take away my pride, I won't be denied.

She hid he flinch well, his tone startled her for a moment but she was quick to recover and even quicker to hid he faint fear growing within her. Blackwolf was intimidating but she was the deputy's daughter, her father's wrath would be on his ebony pelt if anything ill happened to her. Starlingpaw expected him to treat her harshly, he held her to standards that she held herself, but she wasn't going to be his attack dummy, she'd expect him to treat her decently.

The corrections made to her hunting crouch had her paws moving to their places, her tail tucking under her rump, ears twitching as her eyes followed him, around and around he went, it made her uneasy, as he paced she grew tense awaiting a strike to her in an attempt to correct a fault with a heavy paw.

She remained in her corrected stance until her muscles started to scream in protest, her legs were getting tired but she dare not remove herself. "Why can't I help Featherpaw?" She asked innocently enough but without moving anything but her mouth.

Insects walk below, I'm on a wire
Fire will burn below, but I am higher

[Fawn]

---

”You can relax,” mewed the warrior, his tone gruff to convey that he wasn't at all completely forgiving of her poor hunting crouch earlier, but had thus far given his attention to something else. Starlingpaw's question wasn't unexpected, and it was something Blackwolf could answer without hesitation. ”Because she's only going to slow you down. If you take the time out of your busy day where you could be training and proving to the Clan how great you are, to train an apprentice who should be learning at the same pace you are, then what do you get?” Though the question was rhetorical, the jet black tom stopped his circling right in front of her, their gazes hardly level given his significant height difference, mismatched eyes burrowing into hers.

”Before you know it, you're falling behind and your siblings are being made warriors ahead of you. Occasionally helping out a Clanmate is good, but never do it at the risk of it negatively impacting you. NightClan is a Clan that fends for itself and keeps to itself; you don't want to be like TreeClan do you?” He spat the name of the Clan he detested, no, not detested – loathed beyond a shred of reasonable doubt.

They were not worthy of his ire, but they were getting it nonetheless, the tom quick to accuse them of crimes he considered the worst – the greatest felony being their cowardice and 'let's be friends' attitude.

Blackwolf could already picture the cycle of events if Starlingpaw continued to train Featherpaw; the apprentice would be missing sleep, arriving late to her training sessions, lagging behind due to tiredness, growing irritable – all while Featherpaw, who had nothing to teach in return, would only get stronger at the sacrifice of Starlingpaw. If Featherpaw had been a sibling, then Blackwolf could understand the innocent wish to help out the weaker apprentice, but when that was hardly the case at all – and he was already picturing great things for Starlingpaw, with her ambition and natural talents properly managed – he wasn't about to allow anything to get in the way of his apprentices' success.

He would've preferred a rivalry with every apprentice in the den currently, but Starlingpaw seemed to be wanting to go down a different path...

When they returned to camp, Blackwolf would have a word with another mentor about a 'friendly' competition between apprentices later.

Flicking aside a fly that had landed on his ear, the shadowy NightClanner gestured with a sharp jab of the chin in the direction of the tall dark pines. ”Let's get on with hunting practice.”

[Hellion]

Starlingpaw

You can't take away my strength
Fix these broken veins
There's nothing left to fight Live free or let me die
You can't take away my pride, I won't be denied.

She wanted to say something to him, prove that he was wrong but Starlingpaw knew that confronting him would only bring more trouble and the young she-cat wasn't about to start it. Her mouth was shut tightly and while heart protested and begged to be allowed to defend her best friend, it remained under lock and key. Storm blew eyes watched her mentor, careful to keep her face plain and void of anything that would show she was upset with him, don't upset the wolf the she-cat repeated to herself over and over.

He had told her to relax and while her body quickly moved to a more comfortable standing position, she remained ridged and curt with her movements. He mad the effort to explain to her why she should help out Featherpaw, but despite his valid points, Starlingpaw wasn't going to give up on her friend. Her tail flicked back and forth, quick and harsh movements until he was finished.

Her eyes were fixed on the tree bark behind him, actively avoiding any eye contact until he spoke again, this time requesting a actual hunt. Nodding and without words, the black she-cat walked toward the intended direction, awaiting further instruction.

Insects walk below, I'm on a wire
Fire will burn below, but I am higher

[Fawn]

41 Moons - NightClan - Senior Warrior

---

It wasn't as though he spoke without experience. In all honesty, Blackwolf had been very much in her position some 30-odd moons ago, a brand new apprentice whose training was overseen by the heavy-pawed Tigerscar, only Ratpaw had been in place of Featherpaw, and he was arguably a lot worse than Featherpaw could ever be. His skinny brown posse member was the epitome of failure, and it wasn't as if he hadn't received help from numerous outside sources besides his own mentor, and Blackwolf had been one of them.

As an incorrigible, hot-headed youngster, he swore he could fix Ratpaw's particular brand of loser, but no amount of late night training in which he bullied the skinny brown tom into the right hunting stances and pummeling him to call it battle practice could possibly hope to cure Ratpaw of his total lack of talent. In the end, Ratpaw had stayed as skinny and weak and useless as he always had, and Blackpaw had wasted serious time and effort into something that just wasn't meant to be fixed; intending to stop the same thing from happening to his own pupil, Blackwolf had every intention of speaking to Snowlark.

Obviously Snowlark wasn't doing a very good job if Featherpaw was falling behind in apprenticeship and Starlingpaw felt the need to help her out.

Intending to get his mind off of the subject of failing apprentices, Blackwolf finally turned his attention back onto his student, repeating instructions from earlier. "Tell me what you can scent, and then I want you to pick the strongest scent and track it. You can eat whatever you catch." That was a suitable reward for what was likely to be a day spent tracking and focusing on scent work; considering they lived in a marshy area of the forest, it was crucial that she be able to recognize the different scents. The scent of fox, the scent of raccoon, the scent of swamp muck that was deeper than it should be, which had something of a fermented stench to it, in order to prevent her from placing a paw where it didn't belong.

And, as was necessary of all apprentices, Blackwolf intended to get her acquainted with the stench of demon and the instructions that she was to run should she ever come across such a potent musk while out providing for the Clan. He had no intention of sending the deputy's daughter to her death with stories of bravado or the like. Demon was a danger to them all, and had killed the last deputy, so Starlingpaw of all the apprentices should know to be extra cautious.

[Hellion]

Starlingpaw

You can't take away my strength
Fix these broken veins
There's nothing left to fight Live free or let me die
You can't take away my pride, I won't be denied.

Ebony painted and blue eyed her nose twitched at the mention of tracking a scent. She knew smells and understood the idea of tracking, but putting it into practice was a different story. Whiskers twitching side to side, Starlingpaw opened her mouth to taste the air, a bunch of scents filled her mouth and she had a difficult time to pin point which one was stronger.

Rotting wood was strong and she avoided that direction, a mouse was scented and so was the cold smell of wet skin, most likely a frog or lizard. That idea of hunting a jumping frog wasn't going to be easy, they were wiggly and hardly stayed in one spot for long. The lizard was a decent choice but they could climb and fairly fast, the black she-cat hadn't gotten the hang of hunting lizards. The next and final scent was that of old feathers, a bird or flock was near by. A better bird hunter, Starlingpaw headed in the direction, but the tracking wasn't easy.

She had to go back twice and find the scent again, the muggy smell of the swamp did not make the task easy and it was after some time she was able to locate the flock. It was a small one just over 6 birds, but it was spread out enough for Starlingpaw to pick one or two off. Sinking into her corrected hunting crouch, Starlingpaw made her way toward a single bird, which had started to peak at some fallen seed, after a few well placed steps, Starlingpaw lunged for the bird and caught it within her paws, but she wasn't fast enough. The bird let out a screech and Starlingpaw stumbled with surprise to kill the bird, but by then the entire flock was up and out of the way, hiding in trees. With a pout, Starlingpaw gathered her small ruffled feathered of a catch and looked for Blackwolf, unknown to her the ground was terribly weak and at any moment could give way under her weight.

Insects walk below, I'm on a wire
Fire will burn below, but I am higher

[Fawn]

41 Moons - NightClan - Senior Warrior

---

As true to his prefix as a cat could be, Blackwolf stalked along the edges of Starlingpaw's hunting radius, keeping silent and keeping watch as the warrior noted the kitten's progress and her failures. Not fast enough, he'd thought when she'd finally located the dinky flock and singled out one feather-brain in particular, startling the whole group minus one into the skies by allowing her prey to utter a warning cry. As she gathered the feathery carcass of her sloppily done kill, a sudden jolt to Blackwolf's system told him something was off, scenting and stepping out of the shadows, the jet black warrior suddenly stiffened, and then lunged towards her.
”You're in the marsh, Starlingpaw. You may be stepping right into a sinkhole.”

If he hadn't reached senior warrior status and had taken her on as his new apprentice, Blackwolf might've been panicking – but maturity and the mental clarity that came with it was allowing him to keep his cool in a potentially horrific situation. Ears pricked forward, he instructed the deputy's daughter with sharp, clear words, leaving no room for doubt that she would make it out alive as long as she obeyed. ”You see the clumps of grass? Step on those and slowly make your way towards me.” Pausing only a split second, Blackwolf added ”And drop the bird if it's too heavy.”

All it took was a little extra weight to send her sinking. Dearly hoping that she was more fluff than flesh, judging by her long silky fur, Blackwolf waited with baited breath, his heart freezing it's tense pounding to watch his apprentice struggle with the more hazardous parts of their natural environment.

Just a bit further.

[Hellion]

Starlingpaw

You can't take away my strength
Fix these broken veins
There's nothing left to fight Live free or let me die
You can't take away my pride, I won't be denied.

Her mentor's word had came to her ears in a calm and collected manner but the she-cat that heard them was far from that. Panic rose up in her entire body, the hammering in her chest grew louder and harder, her black fur bristled in fear as she looked down. She had heard of cats being eaten up by he sink holes and their bodies never found, she liked the swampy ground but she didn't want it to become her death. Biting into the dead bird with such force she broke it's wings and possibly ruined the meal, but it was either the meal or her life.

A fault of the she-cat was that she was too prideful and despite her mentor's options she held tight to the bird in her jaws. His instructions were given and she followed them carefully and with careful precision. Despite the fear that was written on her face, Starlingpaw didn't venture too far from Blackwolf's instructions and after five careful steps she was right in front of Blackwolf her shoulders painfully tense. Side stepping her mentor she slummed down into the marshy grass and breathed in the sweet scent of grass and mud, the bird still in her jaws. She didn't look up to her mentor but simply enjoyed the feel of solid earth versus the death trap she was in moments ago.

Insects walk below, I'm on a wire
Fire will burn below, but I am higher

[Fawn]

41 Moons - NightClan - Senior Warrior

---

Blackwolf breathed a sigh of relief when Starlingpaw finally reached stable ground, the small fluffy she-cat slumping with her catch down beside him, the jet black warrior making no move to comfort her beyond simply staying nearby. She's got a stubborn streak, or a lot of pride. For a cat her age, he had a feeling her pride was either an inherited trait from her father, Roughthroat or was the result of being Roughthroat's daughter, Starlingpaw subconsciously unwilling to give anyone any reason to doubt her abilities – and that included her own mentor.

Fully aware of the dangers pride could cause in a cat, Blackwolf regarded her wearily, allowing the kitten to catch her breath, say thanks to StarClan – whatever she needed to do in order to regain a state of calmness. ”Though you mangled that bird, good job. And at least I don't have to tell Roughthroat I lost his daughter to a sinkhole. We're going back early.”

Tapping her shoulder with a thick jet black tail, the warrior licked the fur down over the heavy scar that ran it's course along his chest, an old wound from a badger that should've killed him – a calming gesture of his own whenever faced with a situation to which he had little to no control. Blackwolf was a strong believer in their warrior ancestors, and he accredited them with perhaps more power than they actually possessed, their abilities almost god-like in range for the NightClan warrior; if they had chosen to take Starlingpaw early, then there was nothing he could do about it.

He would've felt sorry to lose her, but if StarClan had wanted her, then who was he to interfere? Of course, Blackwolf always preferred to give the endangered Clanmate the benefit of the doubt; if StarClan wanted to stop him from saving them, then he fully believed their ancestral watchers capable of sending a sign. Any sign. A purple and green-spotted toad that croaks 'Don't you dare' could be a sign for all he knew; as of right now, Blackwolf was mostly sending up a small prayer of thanks to his predecessors for not stealing away his apprentice too early.

Making sure she was following, Blackwolf set off on a much safer course for home.