[Ginger]

Emberlight

"In the darkest times, hope
is something you give yourself."

It was a good day to train. Leafbare had not been terribly hard on RainClan this time around, but that never stopped a great deal of the water from freezing. Newleaf, however, came with new promises. Everything was beginning to melt, and the morale of the clan was noticeably higher. 

It was a good time to get uncomfortable. To learn.

Emberlight waited by the entrance of the camp, as usual, for his apprentice to join him. Once he saw the ginger form appear from the apprentice's den, the older tom smiled and called Sunpaw over to him.

"Today, we shall graduate from learning about RainClan's complex territory. Today, we begin your battle training."

With a little pep in his step, Emberlight got up and ducked through the camp's entrance. As he walked towards the sand bar (which was beginning to slowly thaw), he looked to his apprentice. He would lecture on the way to the site.

"Fighting is more than getting a few hits in. It is about patience in order to get the right hits in." He approached the water to reach the sand bar. The ice was thawing, making the river a bit of a slushy mess. Half trudging, half swimming, the tom made his way over to the sand bar. When he reached the sand bar and got out of the water, a shiver ran through his entire body. It may have been Newleaf, but it sure was still cold. 

"What do you think is more dangerous, Sunpaw: a strike of lightning or a constant attack of waves?" 

59 Moons. Warrior. RainClan

Notes.Taxx.261 words

[Taxx]

Sunpaw

I'm gonna take this itty bitty world by storm

Emberlight's call immediately drew Sunpaw's attention to him, and the younger tom's tail went up as he trotted toward his mentor, eyes bright and body a-twitch with energy restored by the night's sleep. He was thrilled to learn of the deputy's plans, burning off some of his exuberance with a frisky step and a few playful bats of his paws at the reeds as they passed, before darting ahead of Emberlight and flashing grins at him over his shoulder.

He heard the words, if he didn't exactly stop to let them sink in- not until he reached the river and slid to a halt. Emberlight padded past, calm as ever, and with a quick little intake Sunpaw followed, suddenly stiff-legged as he took his first steps out onto the slushy surface of the melting ice that clung to the bank. Rather than swim, as Emberlight did, the younger hopped from one chunk of ice to the next- a slower method, as each hop sent the ice wobbling with his weight as he landed and he had to judge the distance to the next, but he managed it without getting anything more than his paws wet, the last spring putting him on sandy ground again.

He sat, looking up at Emberlight, ears flicking back for a moment at the question. The fur down his spine ruffled and his front paws shuffled as the memory of his experience in the flood rushed back: the grip of the current as it clutched him and dragged him downstream, the burning ache of his lungs and the utterly useless flailing he'd done in his panic. If not for Gorgeleap... "Waves," he replied, unable to help a shudder at the thought of being at the mercy of such ruthless water. The river was calm, for the most part, but he'd learned the hard way that it could be dangerous too. "I guess lightning would be just as dangerous, but..." His shoulders rolled in a shrug and he looked up to meet Emberlight's gaze again. "Why?"

Ginger

[Ginger]

Emberlight

"In the darkest times, hope
is something you give yourself."

Emberlight smiled sympathetically at Sunpaw's response. The flood had greatly affected the young of this clan, and the deputy hoped dearly that they would be fully able to recover from that trauma. 

"Both are equally dangerous, Sunpaw. That's the beauty of this world. There are so many different ways to go about doing something, and every difference can teach you a great lesson." 

The small tom walked away from Sunpaw for a few steps before whirling around to face his apprentice. "Today, you will learn to be strong and relentless, like the waves. Another day, you will learn to be precise like lightning. Silent like a shadow. Steadfast as stone. As patient as a tree."

Every clan had different methods of fighting. Hopefully Sunpaw would have an open mind to learning how to fight like each one, so that he could one day protect his clan if absolutely necessary. But first, it was time to fight like a RainClanner. 

"What makes waves so powerful is their ability to exhaust those subject to them."

Despite being the ever-friendly tom, Emberlight took battle training seriously. Sunpaw was about to be in for a long day.

"Your first assignment is to evade each of my attacks. Think of ways to tire me out. We will discuss the next step after this."

With that being said, Emberlight launched himself at Sunpaw, keeping his claws sheathed.

59 Moons. Deputy. RainClan

Notes.Taxx.231 words