Apprentice Training

[Guest]

Grimclaw, a warrior of Dewclan, led his apprentice, Brownpaw, through the marshes. The young cat had been complaining about wet paws, but Grimclaw had merely stated that sacrifices must be made for the good of the Clan - you know, like dry paws.
Now they had reached the middle of the marsh, and in the distance, the dewy trees of the forest could be seen (OOC: I imagine this place as half dewy forest, half twisted/forest marsh.)
"Here's the best place to begin - do you know why, Brownpaw?" This was Brownpaw's second moon of training.

[Meany]

Brownpaw glanced at Tigerpaw and his brother, Bramblepaw. The two brothers had come out with them, as well as Foxclaw, Bramblepaw's mentor (Tigerkit's mentor, Windblow, the deputy, had recently died).
Brownpaw looked up at his mentor then at the terrain. He finally mewed,
"Because... The birds come here for fish and bugs?" He hoped he was right.

[Runfast]

OOC: Irony

IC: That was only part of it, but the cat would learn.
Foxclaw looked down at his own apprentice, waggling his eyebrows.

[Longstorm]

Tigerpaw was thinking hard.
Well... There's a lotta bugs... But I don't see a lotta fish... I think there isn't enough water, he looked to the west where he could see that the water was a little deeper. So what would be here?
He was thinking so hard that he shut his eyes, scrunching up his little face. Stupid frogs. They're so loud I can't think... Tigerpaw's eyes flew open.
"We don't eat frogs," he protested.

Firepaw, there with his mentor, Dewdrop, looked over at Tigerpaw in surprise, wrinkling his nose.
"Yuck," he spat. "Who'd want to eat those slimy things?"

[Guest]

Grimclaw looked down at the other apprentice and said,
"Actually, when the going gets rough, Dewclan has eaten frogs."

Dewdrop nodded, looking down at her how apprentice. She wished he'd been able to answer it first... Maybe they'd all think she wasn't being a good mentor...

Grimclaw continued,
"Today we are going to be learning how to catch frogs. They are tough little things, but if you know how, it's pretty simple. Bramblepaw," he looked at the brown apprentice. "You'll go first."

[Guest]

Bramblepaw pricked up his ears at the thought of going first. It sent shivers down his spine. "But Grimclaw! I-" he cut himself off when a thought burst into his mind. "I...will do my best." he finished, a cunning smile appearing on his brown tabby face, hidden by the shadows of the trees. His plan was simple. As the rule stated, the Elders, Queens and kits came first. What better than to give the captured prey to them? it would make him selfless, and he wouldn't have to place his tongue on those disgustingly slimy things. He approached a frog, and then began to enter the hunter's crouch. Ready, set, go! he counted in his mind before leaping, landing on the frog. However, when he looked under the mass of his body, there was nothing. What was worse, but he had splashed into mud, and was now completely brown and mucky. "Ew!" he whined, trying to shake off the mud on his right fore paw.

Meanwhile, a peculiar ginger tom with black ears and muzzle, with a scar running down his right eye was watching from the shadow of a tree. "Clan cats, huh?" he remarked to himelf, chuckling as he watched the little tom failed to catch a frog, not that he'd want to eat one anyway. However, little did the Dewclan cats, nor Typhoon, knew about the relationship between one of their Clanmates and the loner.

OOC: As you can see, I've improved the RPing skills. That's the entire reason I was absent for a while.

[Guest]

OOC: I noticed - cool!

Grimclaw chuckled, padding up to the apprentice.
"I admire your enthusiasm, Bramblepaw, but let me explain what we're doing first, yes?" He looked to the group of apprentices and began to explain. "When it comes to our hopping friends, the traditional hunter's crouch and leap rarely works - but, your form was good, Bramblepaw," he added, nodding to the apprentice shortly. "Frogs' eyes are set just so, and they can see a cat leaping towards them from behind, so in turn, they leap away themselves. You jump, they jump, and the like. You can jump a frog when you have the element of surprise which is best done at night in bushes. But here in the bare patches of the marshes, in daylight, we must use a very primitive tactic: Running." He looked at the apprentices and gestured with his tail, pointing out another frog. "Watch me."
Grimclaw lowered himself slightly and crept forward, quietly moving through the water - he was approaching the frog from the side - then, when it seemed too early, he broke into a flat-out run. The frog croaked in surprise, but it was too late - Grimclaw was upon him (quite literally), stomping his front paws down on it. He picked the dead frog up in his jaws and carried it back.
He spat the frog out then mewed,
"Of course, there is one other way to catch of frog, but we'll cover that later. Now, can any of describe what I did?"

Dewdrop nodded to the warrior,
"Well caught."

[Guest]

Bramblepaw, who had just barely scratched the surface of his mud-soaked fur, answered Grimclaw's question, with a hint of nervousness in his voice. "Well, you first did a crouch, so the frog thought you were gonna jump, but when you ran when it was too early, you caught the creature off guard. So, in it's state of shock, you were able to capture, and kill it." the brown tabby tom began to use the water from the marsh to clean himself off, first rubbing his other paw onto his dirtied and in-the-water paw, effectively cleaning off the mud.

The loner began to lie down and relax, instead of stand on all fours, and keeping his senses alert. Apparently, the group had not heard, scented or saw him. "Hmph. Catching frogs. What a strange diet they have." he muttered to himself. He had already watched these cats, learning that they were from what they called a 'Clan', more specifically Dewclan.

[Loki]

Daystar, the slender leader of Dewclan; steadied himself as he looked through the pond weed.
Warriors were teaching their apprentices and their eagerness amused him. He came through and
stopped at the scent of something or someone odd and narrowed his eyes staring the loners way for a while before
the splash of another failed attempt distracted him and he flicked his tail angrily.
"Ah, Grimclaw?" He purred coolly.
OOC: I wonder when Flame is going to come back... Shall I send him an E-mail?

[Guest]

Grimclaw had been nodding to the apprentices, saying
"Good, good - what else?" when he heard Daystar. His ears flicked first before he turned to face him. He dipped his head and mewed, "Hello, Daystar-" he stopped when he noticed the loner in the distance. "Mouse dung," he cursed softly.

Dewdrop turned around as well, taking in the sight of Daystar then the ginger cat.
"Why didn't we notice him before," she hissed.

[Longstorm]

OOC: @Admin - that'd be best, I think - It's SO GOOD TO HAVE YOU BACK!!! *hugs*

IC: Tigerpaw turned, looking at what the big cats were looking at.
"Is that an intruder," he hissed, his fur bristling. What was an enemy cat doing on Dewclan turf? Were they going to do something about it? How!?! Tigerpaw didn't know many battle moves! He wasn't ready yet! "Daystar, are we going to do something?"

[Loki]

Daystar licked his lips, "Yes, we can't have him flattening our grass now can we?"
Daystar turned, feeling a bit of blood under his claws will be very stress revealing indeed.
"No, questions asked, lets shred him up."
Tawnyclan were too cocky. Abbysclan think the world of them selves and Darkclan... they just get on my nerves!
He felt a surge of energy flow in his veins and he charged, like a wild bull at the loner.

OOC: YAY I IZ BACK!!! lol

[Guest]

Grimclaw looked at the apprentices and hissed,
"Tigerpaw, Bramblepaw, stay back - everyone else, follow me." There were two reasons Grimclaw took control right now; One, he was almost a senior warrior. And two? Well...
Secretly, Grimclaw wanted the role of deputy. He wanted it so bad he could feel the ambition burning in his veins.
Time to show Daystar I have what it takes, he thought as he led Dewdrop, Foxclaw, Brownpaw, and Firepaw towards the loner.

Dewdrop let loose a fearsome screech, unsheathing her claws as she ran with the toms.
Yes! This was her chance to show that she could do what was required of her! She could be deputy!

OOC: I thought it would kinda make sense if the Dewclanners had a bit of a secret contest going on - who will be chosen as deputy? The race is on!
You know, because they have a different look on Clan life... I think?

[Runfast]

Foxclaw quickly caught up to Daystar, his own russet-colored tail streaming out.
See, Foxclaw wasn't just named 'Fox' for his color. Foxclaw had proven again and again that he could run as fast as a fox, and easily catch rabbits.
I wonder why this tom is even in our territory, he thought.
Suddenly, like a rabbit turning around, Foxclaw's intentions towards the rogue changed. Foxclaw strained to outpace his leader, even cutting in front of him abruptly so he would get there first.
"Why are you in our territory, rogue?"

OOC: I edit because I not feel the emotion...

[Longstorm]

OOC: Very nice, very nice.

IC: Tigerpaw hissed in frustration.
I guess it's for the best, he thought sadly. He looked at his brother and mewed,
"Wanna try to catch a frog?"

Firepaw tried his hardest to catch up to his mentor. His cousin had always been a fast runner, but Firepaw was coming into his own.
To be a warrior was Firepaw's dream. And soon, that dream would come true, and he'd be the very best! (OOC: like no one ever was...)
He was still a ways off, just behind Dewdrop.

OOC: Firepaw, Shadowpaw (the user-less cat who now has a user) and Mistpaw should all be getting their respective names soon (warrior and med. cat). Brownpaw as well, but a little later. Then the newly named Firepaw and Shadowpaw could take on Riverpaw or Sunpaw (or whomever you wish for them).

[Guest]

Bramblepaw turned his gaze to where the rest of the patrol were looking, at first not seeing anything, before a ginger cat blurred into view. With his black ears and muzzle, alongside ginger fur, he almost looked like.......Hollypaw? Nope. He's bigger and more muscular, and with a scar. He's a tom, too. Coincidence. he thought, then nodding to Grimclaw's orders, not really that frustrated to stay behind, unlike his more battle-ready and spunky brother. Sometimes, it was hard to acknowledge the fact that they were siblings. "Catch a frog? Sure." he mewed in response to Tigerpaw's question. "I mean, we've got nothing to do anyway." Bramblepaw remembered what Grimclaw had told them, storing it in his memory for further use, even though the brown tabby tom would rarely hunt down such disgusting creatures.

Even though the small group noticed his presence, Typhoon kept his composure, still sitting in the shade. The older cats padded up to where he was, hissing. One inquired the reason h was there, and the loner narrowed his lapis blue eyes at the russet-colored tom. "I'm not obliged to answer." he said, still calm. The ginger tom flexed his claws in anticipation of a fight. "And I prefer the term 'loner'. Besides, don't you have loner or house cat blood? I heard from some other loners." he added.

[Runfast]

OOC: Time to get fancy.

IC: Foxclaw's eyes narrowed.
"Actually, it's a matter of association. Now, if you haven't a fair reason to be here," he unsheathed a single set of claws, but he was looking back at his fast-approaching Clanmates, "I suggest you head back to wherever it is that you came from."

[Loki]

Daystar, who had stopped next to Foxclaw hissed angrily; "Then get out of our territory!"
His fur stood on end. His blue eyes were cold and he was spitting as if to pounce at any moment.
"You have no business here, none!"

OOC: dun dun duuuHHH!!! Mudblood kitty!

Ice. Proud general of Mudbloodclan sat watching. His ears pricked with eagerness as he watched hungrily at
the 'clan' leaders prickly fur. He came here in attempt to find some 'yummy' females for the boys back at home but this is better! He looked down at the loner. I'v never seen him before... he thought eagerly.

(Yah, We'll do their naming stuff... which names do you want for them?)

[Longstorm]

OOC: I'd suggest Shadowspot for Shadowpaw and Firefeet for Firepaw.

IC: Firepaw soon caught up, breathing harshly while unsheathing his claws. He snarled for good measure, backing up Daystar.

Tigerpaw nodded to his brother and spotted another frog.
"Hey," he whispered, gesturing with his tail. "... We're upwind of it... Do you think frogs can smell?" It didn't seem too likely, seeing as Tigerpaw had never seen a frog scent for prey.

[Guest]

"Of course frogs can smell. They have those little holes on their muzzles for smelling!" Bramblepaw hissed, rolling his light green eyes to Starclan at his brother's terrible observational skills. "But maybe they don't use that sense much?" he wondered aloud, still whispering. He crept further towards the small brown creature, crouching low. Then, copying Grimclaw's demonstration, he bounded forward prematurely, snagging the frog, but at the same time, sliding in the mud, scattering mud everywhere. It was a spectacular sight, the mud arcing up like a wave, and finishing with Bramblepaw flying, rolling, then landing SMACK!, face-first, on the ground. The slimy prey in his paws was stunned with fear and shock, and died of suffocation due to Bramblepaw's tight hold on it. "Ow...." he muttered, getting back up, dazed. "Let's not do that again...."

The loner narrowed his icy blue eyes more, if that was possible. "Sorry, but I live here. I don't cause much trouble. As you can see, you're well-fed, I'm well-fed, it's all good." he attempted a compromise. "Besides, you-" he was cut off, by two things in particular. The first, was a flashback. He found himself younger, and an older she-cat telling them about the Clans that lived away, and his sister was beside him, more visible now. She was ginger with a black muzzle, like him, but with black paws instead of ears. Then, he was back to the present, keeping the memory intact, and now with fresh knowledge of a Clan. The other, was one of the younger cats sprawling on the mud, scattering the substance everywhere, like a wave. "Um, besides, you've got your little friend there." he finished, flicking his tail at him/her.

OOC: I can't believe even Daystar doesn't see the resemblance! He doesn't know his apprentices well, it seems. His very own, in fact. And Loki, please do. I think Flame needs a reminder.

[Loki]

OOC: Daystar isn't in his right mind. He doesn't care for much at the moment but for showing his clan are strong.
IC:
"You can find living elsewhere!" Snapped daystar almost too quickly to be a sentence.
"Dewclan don't need termites like you on our grounds." His icy eyes narrowed. The very laid back attitude
of the tom in front of him mad Daystar bristle.
"I don't like you, I may as well let the apprentises test out their training on you." He didn't mean it at first
but then his tail curled up and he thought it was a good idea. "Firepaw, Brownpaw! Get rid of him, show him
how Dewclan treat intruders!"

Ice watched happily from above. This is Dewclan leader? I like him, he thought casually. I must speak to the
lord and tell him of a possible ally!
Ice turned and leaped from the soddenpond weed and slipped through the grass and out of sight.

[Meany]

Brownpaw exchanged a look with Firepaw.
Daystar's word is law. He nodded and unsheathed his claws, bearing his teeth and letting loose a shattering, shrill screech - this battlecry had earned him a reputation amongst the apprentices.
Brownpaw leaped forward, his large claws flashing out at the tom's face.

[Guest]

"Hmph." The ginger tom reacted quickly to the attack, sidestepping to evade the young cat's flashing claws. However, not before Typhoon scored a blow onto his opponent's flank as he flew past. "You seriously want to let the young ones fight your battles?" he asked with a smirk. "How pathetic. I thought you were better than that. Daystar. Leader of Dewclan." he kept his stance, ready for another attack from the other name he mentioned. Hm. A fight won't really help anyone. I'll be driven away by a larger force anyway. But, where in the world can I live? he thought, disliking the prospect of being driven away from his home. Perhaps he were better off away from here? No. It was risky to go live somewhere he was not familiar with.

Bramblepaw, meanwhile, was splattered in mud, almost looking non-feline. He was just a blob of mucky mud, with green eyes staring out. To a kit, he was a monster. To older cats, he was a hilarious sight to behold. "Great. I probably scared all of the prey here away." he meowed, gazing down at the frog in his paws. He dipped it in the water to clean it after giving thanks to Starclan. Great Starclan, I don't want to clean this mud with my tongue! he then embraced himself to dip into the water, knowing fully that he hated going into water.

[Longstorm]

Firepaw glanced at his mentor, Dewdrop, then to Foxclaw, then finally Daystar. He looked at the rouge, sizing him up, watching him dodge Brownpaw. Firepaw leaped at Typhoon aiming behind him, but planning to to snag the back of his neck with his claws.

Tigerpaw laughed.
"You look like a scruffy rabbit," he purred.

[Meany]

Brownpaw rounded on the rogue, claws flashing out, feinting, the jumping over the tom cat, hitting the ground back-first to bit and tear Typhoon's soft stomach.

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