[Deleted]

BELIEVE IN STRENGTH

Pumafang

TREECLAN - WARRIOR - 45 MOONS

Pumafang lumbered through the fallen oak TreeClan called home, a panther in the shadows. The badger attack was a distant memory, though Foxfire was a constant, prodding thought. As was Lionstar. As was Timberfrost.

Surprisingly, his new apprentice wasn't.

Pumafang felt a longing last night and this morning that he had eventually been able to place. His absence as of late had left his mate neglected, but his desires were minimal despite the warmth of Newleaf. Now Greenleaf had come and it felt like an entire season of opportunity had been erased. He felt an itch at the base of his tail, a yearning that could only be satisfied by Timberfrost herself.

He was en route to Graypaw's new den, and only a few glowing eyes blinked in the hollow darkness. First awake, last to sleep. It was Pumafang's way, and every one of his past apprentices was well aware of his commitment and expectations from them starting day one. The deputy's stride was slow, cumbersome, and his words had a similar weight.

"Graypaw." He rumbled, voice deep and throttling to tired minds. A massive paw stretched out to prod her sleeping form softly.

He retreated to the den's entrance, waiting expectantly, his form stolid and still. Pumafang was not an easy mentor. He strove for perfection in his apprentices: he shaped them as close as he could to their perfect self in the time he was given, and Graypaw would be no different. Today would be arguably her hardest day: he wanted to see her shaking with fatigue by moonhigh.

Pumafang's amber gaze blinked, his entity more intense today than it had been in a while. His body was agitated and uncomfortable. He didn't want to train Graypaw. Pumafang wanted to be with Timberfrost, but he couldn't prioritize his pleasures over his apprentice's future.

Thus he waited, gaze drifting from Graypaw to the camp entrance. Today would be a difficult day for his new apprentice, no doubt.

Some already see him in a monstrous and overbearing light, but he justified his training methods as elevating his trainees closer to his status: to perfection. To outstanding levels of confidence, intelligence, and self-sufficiency. He felt obligated to provide them with a stability no one else could truly offer them: independence.

Something even he didn't even fully achieve, apparently.

Word Count: 400
Tags: @jen
Notes: xxx

[Deleted]

A simple prod had been enough.

Perhaps it had been because Graypaw was a light sleeper, or perhaps it was because Pumafang's voice had been loud enough to get through the darkness that was sleep. In the move of it all, a pair of sea, green eyes opened slightly, and blinked around at what surrounded them. The dark walls of the apprentice den, was what greeted them and a small yawn stifled out from a now parted maw, before a gray paw began to twitch. "Hmm...?" The soft mew that rang out from Graypaw's mouth was laced with both sleep and tiredness. As if she had been training the entire night, which had not been the case at all. The truth of the matter, was that she was excited, and that alone had tired her out.

Still.

Almost like a puppet being pulled on its strings the apprentice, pulled herself to her feet. Stretching, out her small, almost lithe body, large gray ears began to twitch, angling themselves towards the den's entrance. "I'm up...I'm up.." She said, now whether it was to herself or to Pumafang, it was hard to tell. Tail down and ears perked, the apprentice dragged herself towards the entrance of the den and literally propped herself in front of her deputy. Slowly, she craned her eyes up to meet Pumafang's, even still half asleep, her attention was glued on the large tom. A small, excited and very sleepy smile pulling to her lips. "Good morning, Pumafang, I haven't missed any training, have I?" Another yawn pulled from her maw, as a paw moved to swipe at the sleep in her eyes.

WC: 281
OOC: @jet - I apologize for the crappy post. I haven't rped on a thread in years and it shows lol

[Deleted]

BELIEVE IN STRENGTH

Pumafang

TREECLAN - WARRIOR - 45 MOONS

His eager apprentice did stifle his irritation slightly. Pumafang responded with a simple tail flick, encouraging her to follow him to the fresh-kill pile. It was amusing, seeing their innocence the first morning. They blinked away their kithood dreams, and what they thought was a path to their greatest desires? Pumafang jolted them to reality with a simple task: to fail miserably at battle training.

But that would have to wait. Wait for Graypaw to get something to eat at least, if she wanted it.

"Pick something from the fresh-kill pile if you feel inclined, Graypaw." Pumafang stifled his hunger, the cold prey from the day before doing little to entice him, to pull his mind from the depths of his relations with Timberfrost. "You will need it."

He waited, and in time Graypaw had made her choices. Whether she could stomach the prey or not didn't phase him. Some worked better on empty stomachs, and some gassed out early without food to keep them running. Pumafang felt complacency tweak the edges of his maw. Those cats Pumafang was able to test their perseverance early on, the ones who ran out with the whole day still ahead.

Pumafang didn't hesitate to head out of camp and into the territory when he felt Graypaw was ready to move.

"Today we will be sharpening your wits in the light of battle. You will learn how soft confinement has made you." Pumafang started, voice deep and unenthusiastic as always. He always thought six moons was far to old to start training. "TreeClan's diligent sheltering has grown you weak. It will take moons to fix. I hope you are prepared for the rigors of being the deputy's apprentice."

Pumafang had a reputation to uphold, and Graypaw wasn't going to be an exception. His ears flicked in Graypaw's direction casually. He knew it wasn't fair to compare, but he questioned whether Graypaw would be able to outshine is last apprentice, Glacierspring. The stoic tom similar to him in behavior, but more... Pumafang huffed to himself icily. More heroic and dignified, with a brighter pelt and limbs lean and swift. He always wondered what it would be like to walk in the light, but the shadow called to him like StarClan called to the righteous.

His destiny was in the dark.

"Do you have any questions for me, Graypaw?"

Word Count: 406
Tags: @jen
Notes: Sorry for the late reply!! Been a little busy with RL lately!

[Deleted]

Graypaw, turned and followed behind her mentor. As she walked, her eyes trailed over the larger feline's form, drinking in his every detail. He was huge, compared to her. A shadow of darkness seeping into the very corners of sunlight that pierced through the branches that fell upon TreeClan's camp. It was almost scary to even think about. When she had first heard that she was going to have the deputy himself, as a mentor, Graypaw had instantly had become nervous.

And why shouldn't she have been? While she knew little about the black tom, she knew that it was an honor itself to have the deputy as your mentor. It was an honor but it was also a lot to live up to. Her parents, Shrikesong and Darkscar, had been ecstatic about the news. Their kit was to be mentored by the their own clan deputy, the next leader of their clan. Oh, what a honor. Oh, yes, what an honor but it still rattled her at the same time. She was excited, happy and down right pleased with the choice but...wonder if she didn't live up to Pumafang's standards? Wonder if he didn't like her...and triangular ears twitched as her mentor's voice cut through her thoughts. She looked down at the pile of fresh kill before her. Having been completely unaware that her feet had been walking her forward, without her even realizing it. Eat, he had said, if she had felt inclined too?

Her stomach grumbled at the thought, and she nodded in response. "Yes, Pumafang" She mewed simply, leaning down to take a pick at something. A small mouse had caught her eye. While she was hungry enough to grab the biggest piece of prey in the pile, she knew that the elders needed it more. Besides, she had a feeling that her stomach wasn't going to keep down something larger than a mouse. With that she went to work and with two bites had finished her meal quickly. When Pumafang began to move, after she was finished the young apprentice followed behind him. More awake than she had been before, she parted her jaws to take in the scents and smells around them, as they ventured out of the protection of camp. There seemed to be a small silence between them, but it did not last. Pumafang's words rang carefully, in the gray apprentice's ears. A almost stoic and eerily calm voice, that held an almost cold whispering threat to it.

He believed she was weak due to the confinements of camp and she found herself surprisingly agreeing with him. Kinda. Six moons, to stay in camp and watch the world come and go as it pleased, while you were forced to wait to become an apprentice? Yes, it had been a daunting wait to get to the point, she was now. Yes, so she was weak. She knew this but she was hoping he would make her strong; stronger than what she was now. "Yes, Pumafang," She mewed again, her tail twitching slightly, "I am truly honored to be your apprentice and will do my best to make you proud of me" Perhaps it was too early for her to make such a tall order, but she wanted to please him. She wanted him to be impressed with her, wanted him not to regret that he was put in charge of her, as her mentor.

She fell silent but when he asked a question of her, Graypaw was quick to speak up once more. "You mentioned battle training, right? Will I have to fight you in that case?" The questions had the small thread of curiosity in it. He had mentioned battle training before but would there be more too it than that? Would they also be doing some hunting today or would the battle training take up most of their time? And what would this battle training involve and could she actually beat him? She held her breath then, pausing to reflect on her own questions filling her head, while her pelt prickled and itched for whatever that would be thrown her way.

"Graypaw Talking"

WC: 650
OOC: @jet - No worries at all, rl can be a pain sometimes also I edited the post because I remembered he had mentioned the battling training and her question about it was stupid and made her seem stattered brained so edited the post to fit better lol

[Deleted]

BELIEVE IN STRENGTH

Pumafang

TREECLAN - WARRIOR - 45 MOONS

"Hardly." Pumafang meowed, tone heavily tainted with his signature dullness. "But you'll learn how."

It was somewhat appealing, that first training session, but more than anything it was humbling: it was the moment Graypaw would realize how much TreeClan did her a disservice, keeping her locked up in a fallen tree without the freedom to stretch her legs. Without the freedom to run as far as her legs could take her: to jump without the limits of bark smacking her down. To experience the world like it needed to be experienced: as an intimidating whole.

The clans shelter their young far too much. Pumafang thought nonchalantly, massive paws suffocating undergrowth at each step. Feeding them tales of heroes and heroines, in a world where everyone dies twice.

It was a curious thing, how the valley looked so different in shadow than it did in light. It proved the power of perspective, and how even different views couldn't change reality. Graypaw's first experience of the territory, that he was aware of, was before the dawn: when dew and peepers reigned. It was the only time when shadows had depth and, dare he say, character.

Pumafang was living proof of that.

The massive, black tom didn't slow to accommodate for Graypaw's shorter stride. Her smaller size would likely be to her advantage. Pumafang was powerful and a truly suffocating presence, but his limbs were cumbersome and dense. Thick as trees, and as such, hard to move. He held out hope Graypaw would be a worthy counter to his brawn, though there was a concern: a concern that she would be like those before Glacierspring. That she would be easily satisfied with the simple, straightforward life of a mediocre clan cat. He wanted to know, and he would find out today.

Was Graypaw going to be second-rate like Cliffchaser and Cougarclaw? Or was she destined for more, like Glacierspring?

We are here. He noticed, the dark ring of brambles tangling ominously before them like the walls of a Colosseum. Images of his own apprenticeship soured on his tongue, though he quickly stifled his rotting insecurities. He had already given away too much in his conversation with Lionstar. That didn't stop him from telling Graypaw the bloodcurdling truth.

"Here is where you will find out who you truly are." The deputy's thick, panther-like form parted thorns, the bristling wall to TreeClan's arena. His voice was like thunder in the distance, an eerie hymn before the storm. "This is the Hidden Thicket."

Word Count: 430
Tags: @jen
Notes: I loved it tho xD yeets Puma post at Jen

[Deleted]

Graypaw was far from a graceful cat, but she was not the type to stumble easily on her feet. Yet she found herself struggling to keep up with the larger strides of the huge and more powerful steps of her mentor. While her shorter stature would have most likely given her an advantage in battle, causal steps that should have been easy to do, felt strained and tiresome as she picked up speed to match her mentor's steady pace.  Was this what it felt to be frozen in place, forced to watch the world go on around you, while you struggled to keep up? Lost in the descent in time, wondering if you would ever keep pace with those around you? Perhaps she was looking too much into the situation at hand, and the young apprentice forced such thoughts from her mind. Instead she turned her attention towards their surroundings. The comforts of the camp had faded from before to be replaced by an almost endless sea of trees. The Hidden Thicket, her eras had caught her mentor say the name of the place and the apprentice cocked her head to the side as her eyes took in the details.

Sea green orbs, drank in the thick green grasses and brambles of thorn bushes that seemed to spread out as far as she could see. The small wisps of sunlight that could reach this spot, beamed down upon the bushes, basking the the sharp ends of a few choice thorns with an almost ominous and warning edge. Graypaw, curious of what was to come, looked back to her mentor. Her ears flickering taking in his last words. This is where I will find out who I really am? Her mentor's words brought more questions than answers to the young apprentice and she stared at him in confusion in response. "I don't understand, Pumafang" She spoke softly, her tone edged with the curious light of an innocent, "How will this place, help me find out who I really am?" With no battle experience, it was hard for an newly appointed apprentice to understand how training here would help mold her into a cat worthy of his training. "Will...you help me understand? Please" There was an eagerness in her voice now, that told simply of her desire to become something stronger than what she was now. The desire to become a cat worthy of being named as the depty's apprentice. "I...I promise to train hard and do everything you tell me to do" Once more she had let such words fall from her young mouth and yet she knew she was not lying to herself. There was determination in these words and even more so stilled within her resolve. She wanted nothing more to make him proud of her!

"Graypaw Talking"

WC: 477

OOC: @jet - Sorry about that, lol, I promise not to change anything else after I post them. On that note, Do your worse Pumafang! I give permission to rough her up LMAO