[BlooRey DVD]

[smear:000000]Nightstep[/smear:6f6f6f]

~~~~~~~~~

The light was casting weird shadows across the camp as the sun began to set over LightningClan's territory. He'd just been conversing with his sister, Kindleflare, who'd been in a panicked flurry upon hearing that Nightstep was planning on taking his apprentice for a tour of the territory at dusk. She didn't like the idea. He was fairly certain that she was still scared of the monsters that lingered in the darkness. In the yellow eyes of the tuxedo tom, however, it was difficult to be afraid of those monsters when the white devil who'd been your mentor was far more terrifying than anything you might ever imagine.

Nevertheless, the black and white tom had stayed with his sister until the ginger she-cat had panicked herself into a comatose state. He figured she'd be asleep until the morning light woke her again. And by that point? He'd long since have returned to her side to appease any further panic, or perhaps even anger, that she might have once she learnt that he'd taken his apprentice into the falling night regardless of her warnings. Night wasn't scary to a predatory force who's strength involved moving through darkness.

The shadows fell across the tom's coat, cloaking the white that stained his fur. Encased in darkness, he was nearly invisible, invisible to those who weren't looking for him. Yellow eyes scanned the clearing, which was mostly empty now, as the sun's rays sank further and further. Stepping out of his shadowy kingdom, the lean, powerful tuxedo tom padded to an area that was a little more open. Eyes shifted to glance at the apprentice's den, ears pricked for any sign of Blazepaw's approach. If the young tom waited any longer, he would be late for a meeting with his mentor.

Taking a seat, the silent tom's thoughtful eyes turned to the sky with an oddly... Bored air. His tail twitched, ears moving with ease, having abandoned searching for his apprentice. If the tom was worth Nightstep's time, he would show. It was much more interesting so see what... Challenges might await them in the oncoming blackness. It crept forward, slow, careful, a hunter searching out the last bits of light, ready to extinguish them. A bizarre excitement littered through him, watching as light died out. Night was such a brilliant time. Only the strong thrived then. The predators, the monsters. Those who didn't fit the bill...

Well they made for excellent prey, now didn't they?

[Fate Admin]

Today was his first day as an apprentice! His, and his brothers’ ceremony, had taken place only that morning. He was Blazepaw now. The excitement took away some of the sting of bitterness and pain from the loss of his mother, father, and sister, but also brought forth fresh anger that they hadn’t been there to see him receive his new name, that Galekit would never become Galepaw beside them. Redstar had named the young tom Nightstep as his mentor. Blazepaw knew well enough he was Firebird’s son; the ginger she-cat that had taken to looking after he and his siblings in Dovesong’s stead liked talking about her kits. It made them kin, he and Nightstep, for Firebird was kin of Dovesong. It made him somewhat more subdued when the older tom had padded up to touch noses with him during the ceremony.

He had barely contained himself as the ceremony had gone on, his brothers receiving their mentors and new names, and finally it was over and Nightstep informed him their first lesson would take place at dusk. His tail had lashed impatiently. He wanted to start NOW. But he’d been left to his own devices for the rest of the day and some warrior had finally told him to help clear out old bedding from the elder’s den. More than a little annoyed by how his first day as an apprentice was shaping up, he’d slunk off to the elder’s den. It had to be better than doing nothing, right? He’d ended up making something of a mess as he tried to entertain himself with the task, but hey, he’d gotten it done. If they didn’t like how he did it they could do it themselves.

With that stupid, boring task finished he had plodded into the apprentices’ den and fixed himself up a nest, flopping into it and heaving a dramatic sigh. He’d fallen asleep as he lay there, sprawled out, and only woke when some other apprentices pushed into the den, talking about their day as the sun began to set. He sat up, his ear twitching to flick off the moss and long grass that had gotten stuck there as he slept. The sun was setting! He leapt to his paws and tore out of the den, pausing to look around for his mentor. It took him a moment to spot the black tom in the gathering darkness. Puffing out his chest, he padded toward Nightstep. He was an apprentice now, not some silly, over excitable kit. He couldn’t keep his excitement from his voice, however, nor from his twitching tail, “So what are we doing?” His claws flexed into the ground and back, betraying his impatience to finally do something… something fun.

[BlooRey DVD]

[smear:000000]Nightstep[/smear:6f6f6f]

~~~~~~~~~

One black ear pivoted backwards at the sound of a smaller set of approaching pawsteps. Without glancing over his shoulder, the tuxedo tom knew that Blazepaw had managed to make it on time. Nightstep's tail moved like a snake in the darkness, slowly, precisely as it wrapped over his paws. He waited until his apprentice had made it to his side before turning his gaze away from the stars above. Sharp golden eyes locked with Blazepaw's momentarily as the older tom listened to what the apprentice had to say. With a sound similar to a chuckle, the tuxedo warrior let himself rise to his paws, signalling with his tail that Blazepaw should do the same.

He could see the younger tom doing his best to contain the excitement that plagued any apprentice on the day of their ceremony. He'd noticed the tom's disappointment when Nightstep didn't lead him out of camp right away. Instead, Blazepaw had been stuck doing chores around the camp for most of the day. And then, judging by the way his fur still seemed to lay flat on one of his sides, the young tom had gotten some sleep. Good. Maybe then they could begin some actual training at a somewhat normal time tomorrow.

For now, it was time for the first step in any apprentice's training. "Tonight, we will go for a tour of LightningClan's territory. I chose this time so that you might really get a feel for the way our territory sits. Any kit can wander around in the day's light, staring at everything there is to see. In the darkness, you must pay attention to your surroundings." His tail moved them, flicking Blazepaw's whiskers. "Use you whiskers. Use your tail. You have more than your eyesight. More than your hearing. Each one is important, but if you are able to use them all at once... Then you will truly see."

Nightstep signalled for Blazepaw to follow him. Leading the younger tom out of the camp, out into the territory, the new mentor moved with confidence, ears attentive, jaws parted ever so slightly to draw in the scent of any threats that might be nearby. He led Blazepaw for a couple dozen tail lengths, until he figured they were far enough from the camp for this exercise to work. Pulling to a stop, Nightstep waited for the apprentice to make his way over.

Keeping an eye out on how the young tom was handling moving through the dark, the lithe tuxedo tom turned his focus downwards to consider Blazepaw. "First thing is first. What can you detect. Use you nose and your ears. They'll give you an idea of where things are in respect to you. Even things that do not move give off a scent. Try not to rely too much on your eyes in the darkness. They'll see things that aren't there, shadows from the light of the moon that trick you into thinking there is something there."

And then he waited for his apprentice's response.

[Fate Admin]

Pale olive green eyes settled on the larger tuxedo tom as he began to explain just what their first day, or night as it was, of training would entail. His tail still flicked behind him with his impatience and excitement and he kneaded the soft ground beneath him in order to stay relatively still through his mentor’s words. He shook his head as the other tom’s tail brushed his whiskers. Honestly most of Nightstep’s words had gone in one ear and out the other, as eager as he was to get going.

At long last his mentor motioned for him to follow and he kept close to Nightstep’s heels, each heartbeat urging him to just bolt ahead and explore. Stupid Gustpaw had gotten some apprentice to take him out while he was still a kit and hadn’t even invited his brothers along. And then all three of his brothers had gotten to go out on their first day while he sat around camp cleaning up after everyone. But then, they didn’t get to see the territory at night like he did. His tail curled smugly over his back as bits and pieces of Nightstep’s previous words came back to him. Yeah. His brothers were just like kits… but he was a warrior, stalking through his territory in the darkness.

Nightstep came to a halt and Blazepaw nearly collided with his hind legs, plopping onto his haunches to avoid it and looked up at the dark tom, his white markings standing out spectacularly against the darkness. His ears angled forward as his mentor asked him what he could detect and he turned his head, for a moment forgetting the shadows that cloaked the world and therefore rendered sight all but useless. Nightstep had an answer for that as well, telling him not to rely on his eyes.

He stood again and closed his eyes so as to be less tempted to use them. Nightstep said they would play tricks on him, and he wasn’t about to make a fool of himself on his first night out. His jaws parted and he drew in the cool night air. Everything seemed so crisp and fresh in the night, even the scent of grass and heather seemed different somehow. A strong, musky odor hit him and he wrinkled his nose. There was no mistaking that scent. Weasel wasn’t entirely common on the freshkill pile, but when it was there it was hard to miss.

“There’s a weasel…,” he angled his ears, straining to hear any signs of movement, and turned slightly toward a faint scuffling sound to his right. He opened his eyes, “That way.” He shook his head. He really hated the scent of weasel. And it didn’t taste very good either, drenched in that awful scent. And now it was all he could smell. He rubbed his paw over his nose as if that would help, “Ugh. Why do weasels reek so bad?” He shook his head again, “It’s the worst thing I’ve ever smelled in my life!”

[BlooRey DVD]

[smear:000000]Nightpaw[/smear:6f6f6f]

~~~~~~~~~

Intrigue was pricked the moment Blazepaw chose to shut his eyes. It was a wise decision, if you asked the tuxedo tom, because the eyes could play tricks on you if you weren't careful. The darkness was a trap that played on every flicker of movement or flash of light. The older tom had already assessed the area as they had wandered in, and he had continued to monitor the placement of each element. He made a soft sound of agreement as Blazepaw mentioned a weasel in fairly close proximity. Of course, it had a very distinctive scent.

He was more impressed, however, when Blazepaw managed to pinpoint just where the weasel was too. He waited until the younger tom was finished speaking, a hint of a smile gracing his features as he dipped his head. "Very good, Blazepaw. Weasels are easily identified because of their pungent odour, but there is a reason behind that as well. Weasels rely on that stench to drive off predators, though not quite as successfully as a skunk. When prey is plentiful, many cats will avoid catching weasels. However, when the cold begins to set in, and prey becomes more scarce, a wise warrior would never turn down the option of catching one, and neither should you."

His black tail curled behind him as he turned his attention away from the weasel, back to their surroundings. "A perfect example, however, of why you should rely on more than a single scent when out in the forest. If you happen to pass by a weasel, or a particularly strong smelling herb, it may block out important things. But your ears can make up for what your eyes and nose miss. With this in mind, push the thought of the weasel behind you and tell me what your ears pick up. What are the sounds telling you?"

Fate Admin