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Post by Nighthunter on Apr 12, 2013 17:53:54 GMT -5
Tornpaw
Eager paws danced across the forest floor brimming with energy as the young tabby tom raced to follow behind his mentor Rushingtar. The sun was setting, and its colors lit up the leaves and surrounding foliage casting shadows of reds and purples to illuminate the ground. Vibrant green eyes took in this picture with gusto, not wanting to miss a single detail of the beauty surrounding him. It amused him so much, that he nearly stumbled over a root sticking curling up off the ground slightly. Sliding to an abrupt hault, he blinked at the root and skirted around it, giving it a look like it was its fault for being in his way.
Kicking up dirt and twigs he hurried on having been momentarily distracted and scolding himself for not watching where he was going. Rushingstar was further ahead of him now, her red pelt trotting up ahead. When he came to an Oak tree, he waited ready to jump out of his fur in anticipation of the training session. Would they be hunting, or climbing perhaps? Either way his eyes focused on his leader, and grinned thinking about when she had mentioned battle training as the focus of the session. Being the apprentice of the leader, had so far kept him on his toes, and he had a feeling that this training wasn't going to be lax at all.
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Post by ottie on Apr 16, 2013 14:59:10 GMT -5
A gentle breeze swept through the forest, following the two Thudnerclan cats on their short journey. The sky's colors were changing as the sun began to set. Her paws lightly carried her through the trees, over the roots and twigs that covered the forest floor. She made little sound while moving about. Her ears twitched back and forth, listening to the sounds of the forest. Also listening to her young apprentice following her. Rushingstar had set a steady pace and expected Tornpaw to keep up with her.
As fun-loving as the leader could be, she took training all of her apprentices seriously. She took note of him stopping, but did not break her stride nor did she look back to see why he had stopped. Seeing the Oak tree up ahead, she chanced a glance back at her apprentice with a small smile. He was a distance behind her, but Rushingstar kept a mental tally of how quickly he caught up with her.
Sitting up straight with her tail wrapped neatly around her paws, Rushingstar's mind ran through her training plans for tonight. She had already discussed with the young tom that she wanted to enhance his battle skills. She knew that all of her warriors must be trained to fight when the time came. As she was thinking about it, Rushingstar wondered how the other mentors were doing. It was possible that they could put all of the apprentices together and see how they fought against each other. She would have to bring it up to the others soon.
Her apprentice was now waiting for further instruction. Standing up and stretching so her butt was in the air, she sheathed and unsheathed her claws. The ground here was soft. The dirt felt cool and almost damp, there were patches of moss that also covered parts of the surrounding area. Taking a deep breath Rushingstar stood up straight and decided to ask her apprentice a question. "Alright Tornpaw, I want you to tell me a rule about fighting. Pick one that you think is of the most importance." The leader waited for the orange tom's answer. She knew that he was eager to begin with the physical aspects of training, but Rushingstar also knew that he could take away knowledge from listening as well.
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Post by Nighthunter on Apr 20, 2013 22:37:16 GMT -5
Tornpaw
Tornpaw sat up smartly nice and straight once they were ready to get started. He felt a little lacking since he had almost fallen flat on his face because he let his excitement get the better of him. He decided to try and focus more on running and not on how much he felt he needed to impress his mentor and leader. Rushingstar's movement had been so precise and careful, it made him seem like a lumbering badger smashing his feet about the ground. It reminded him just how much more experience she had then him. His belly stirred in excitement again in awe of the strength that she had, and would hopefully manage to pass on to him through his training.
Her questions were not unexpected, but it wasn't as easy for him to answer this particular one. There were many rules about fighting, the ones of the warrior code were the ones he was familiar with because of the stories he had been told as a kit. It was hard to chose between several of them, but once he remembered a particular lesson from his father, he knew it was what he believed to be most important as well. With confidence he spoke to Rushingstar." What's most important in my opinion, is to never kill without extremely good reason. That's a cowards way out of a fight that they aren't confident they can win and its very dishonorable." He sat proud of his answer because he did feel that to him that was something he would never do, he would never take a life if it was in his power to prevent it.
These were things that were important for warriors to know, and he hungered for knowledge as well as fighting abilities. Sure he wanted to be able to fight to survive and defend the clan, but he also wanted to make his family proud of his mentality along with impressing his mentor. Tornpaw was still in awe that she had decided to teach him, it was an honor he would not let get to his head. He wondered what else she would teach him.
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Post by ottie on Apr 21, 2013 0:55:08 GMT -5
As she stood there in the woods, waiting for her apprentice to answer, she began to think of what he might say. The question could have a range of answers. She thought of what she might've said if her mentor asked her the same question. After a few moments of contemplation, Tornpaw gave his answer. What's most important in my opinion, is to never kill without extremely good reason. That's a cowards way out of a fight that they aren't confident they can win and its very dishonorable. It was not what Rushingstar was expecting at all. The leader had not realized how level-headed Tornpaw could be. Many times apprentices would answer with the complete opposite of what he said. They might say to kill traitors on the spot or other such things.
Rushingstar was extremely impressed with his answer. It was very righteous and she wasn't expecting such a sophisticated answer from him. It was the right way to be thinking, being from Thunderclan. "What a noble answer, Tornpaw. I'm proud of you for thinking that way." She meowed with a smile. In no way did she wish him to become arrogant from praise, but she found it important in her training. Happy with his answer, she didn't feel the need to add anything else. He had done just what Rushingstar had asked of him. She would definitely use that answer in the future when training others, or maybe even speaking to her clan.
Sensing how eager Tornpaw was becoming, Rushingstar slowly began to circle around him. She wanted to see how he would react and how quick his reflexes were. The two of them together had not done a lot of battle training. They had already focused a lot on hunting. Sometimes it was easier to teach battle techniques once an apprentice understood the element of surprise.
"Now Tornpaw, can you tell me a tip that I might tell you to help prepare you for fighting?" Her body was sinking lower to the ground, but not completely touching it. "For example, always expect the unexpected." She meowed softly. Letting out a low growl she continued circling around her apprentice. Suddenly, her front paw darted out with her claws sheathed, attempting to strike the young tom. Rushingstar's tail was twitching back and forth and her ears were half-flattened to her head.
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Post by Nighthunter on Apr 21, 2013 15:10:11 GMT -5
Tornpaw
The slender tom cat waited patiently under the gaze of his mentor. Had he answered wrong? Would she be satisfied with his response, he had no idea. As soon as she responded in praise to him, he couldn't suppress the grin that he displayed. Usually he didn't want to come off as being pig headed but he couldn't stop the smile from showing on his face. Rushingstar was known for being strict, and he couldn't help being pleased that he had impressed her, that and she called him noble. Male ego threatened to cloud his head as he noticeably puffed out his chest a bit more in his pride, his golden fur ruffling up to accommodate his mood.
Blinking he was aware of her mood change, as she spoke another question to him, this one about how he might be better prepared to fight. Tipping his head to the side in thought, he almost missed her change in stance. Threateningly she yowled at him and crouched down hissing and spitting with all the fury of a leader in a fight. She swung a paw out at him with a strong arc. He heard her words of "always expect the unexpected" ring out to his ears as he felt her paw batter into him knocking him of his paws and to the ground to stare up at her. Frowning and standing up, he answered her question." How about move so you don't get flattened." He knew he was being a little cheeky but that had caught him off guard and he thought she would have warned him or something, that was a cheap trick. It was dishonorable to do something like that wasn't it? Confusion warred within him. " Its ok to attack like that?"{/b] He gave her an innocent look, Tornpaw was not really a huge advocate of fighting. The excitement from before was being replaced with a calculating stare and intensely searching green eyes. He was not stupid enough to be off his guard after that and he wiped his tail around to show his annoyance. He didn't dare attack her first since she was more experienced and he would likely end up in a bind. He was better off trying to anticipate her movements which was more than a challenge for him in itself.
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Post by ottie on Apr 21, 2013 17:46:11 GMT -5
The leader wasn't surprised when her hit knocked Tornpaw off balance. It was her goal after all. She wasn't intending to injure the tom, just surprise him. Rushingstar knew that any cat could attack at any time. If there was a confrontation at the border, there was bound to be tension. Tension could lead to fighting. If a cat didn't stay on his or her toes then it was possible they may be taken by surprise. Rushingstar gave her chest a few licks, waiting for her apprentice to stand back up. Her ears perked up as he spoke. How about move so you don't get flattened.
She gave a little chuckle. " Well, if you were paying more attention maybe you would've seen that coming." She added, with a little flick of her tail. Rushingstar knew how frustrating it could be for an apprentice to being pushed down, both physically and mentally. This was her job though. If Tornpaw wasn't taught these things he wouldn't become the great warrior Rushingstar knew he could be. She was to educate and train him in all the ways of the clan. Including the warrior code into all of this training was also essential, especially for this Thunderclan leader. This is why, when the tom spoke again she had to stop and really think about how to answer him. Its ok to attack like that? Rushingstar took a minute to think of a proper answer. They had just used the words noble and dishonorable. It was her job now to explain to the young apprentice the meanings of those words.
She sat down before speaking, "It all depends on the situation, Tornpaw. If there is no valid reason to attack someone then you should never do so. However, there are some that may not think this way. There may come a time where you will be attacked for reasons unknown to you. That is why it is always important to stay on guard, in any kind of confrontation. Being on the defensive, instead of offensive, may help you more than you think. Do you understand what I'm saying?" She asked, watching for the apprentice's reaction to her words. She was starting to realize that Tornpaw may not enjoy battle training as much as some of the other apprentices. She didn't have a problem with that, but she knew that he would need to learn all of this either way.
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Post by Nighthunter on Apr 21, 2013 18:38:04 GMT -5
Tornpaw
The sandy gold colored tabby watched her movements carefully, his content atmosphere now at the ready. It felt weird to him, having to be on guard like this. Why did the other apprentices like battle training if it would be unfair? It was just another small thing to add to his list of things he would not understand, or so he thought. Tornpaw frowned at her chuckle, but didn't keep it up for too long since she could have taken his comment the wrong way and he could have been in trouble just then. Watching her he realized that maybe she was taking it easy on him still. Of course she was, she was the leader after all, and he knew without a doubt that the pressure for him to learn the moves and to fight well was on him now. Her comments about him paying attention made his point of that for him. It was true though he had been caught unaware and that was deadly for a warrior. He needed to try harder to be better at fighting.It all depends on the situation, Tornpaw. If there is no valid reason to attack someone then you should never do so. However, there are some that may not think this way. There may come a time where you will be attacked for reasons unknown to you. That is why it is always important to stay on guard, in any kind of confrontation. Being on the defensive, instead of offensive, may help you more than you think. Do you understand what I'm saying?
He thought hard about what she was saying to him. His face was impassive and he looked dazed for a moment while thinking it over. He glanced at her to determine whether she was going to hit him again before he could sort out what she had just said, raising his one eye brow to search out her eyes. Noticing her paws were on the ground, he continued to think it over satisfied that he wasn't about to get his ears batted off.
It made sense that the situation dictated the reaction, he supposed that was true enough. He never really thought that other cats would purposefully straight out attack another clan cat. It was against the warrior code to, he was sure of it. If what she was saying was true then did that mean that he needed to watch his tail from now on. It irked him that he might get attacked for no reason though, to him there needed to be a reason for it, otherwise why should he knowledge it? Still he guessed that she had a point, it was better to be on alert then to not know what could happen, but he was still against the whole thing of attacking without reason. "Yes Rushingstar I understand, but what kind of cat would do that? Surely a clan cat wouldn't fight like that would they?" Maybe fighting wasn't so bad, if it was for a noble cause, but he needed a good reason to want to have to fight, he didn't hate it, but he would if he were forced to like it for the wrong reasons.
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Post by ottie on Apr 21, 2013 23:47:14 GMT -5
Rushingstar could tell that her small apprentice was trying to wrap his head around her explanation. She understood that being so young meant that he would be naive. However, she could tell that he was very intelligent for his age. He seemed like he would be an easy apprentice to train. He was already catching on with his hunting skills; quicker than most did, Rushingstar thought. He was also eager to learn. That would be obvious to any cat. The way he asked his questions though, there was something there that really impressed Rushingstar. Seeing him watch her with intent eyes made her wonder how badly she had scared him with her earlier attack. Frowning a little, she tried to relax her body more to put him at ease. She wasn't going to try and hit him again, not until they really began with the physical part of this training session. It was good to see that he was looking for signs of another attack though. Giving her chest a few more licks, Rushingstar listened as Tornpaw began to speak. Yes Rushingstar I understand, but what kind of cat would do that? Surely a clan cat wouldn't fight like that would they? Rushingstar let out a sigh. She hated to blacken the young tom's view of the world. But she had a duty as not only his mentor, but also his leader, to tell him the truth. " Unfortunately Tornpaw...Yes, they would and some do. Clan cats fight with each other over very petty things. Some cats enjoy fighting others. Many believe they are brave to defend their territory in such ways. They think it proves them worthy of being a warrior... Seldom it does." Rushingstar meowed with a hint of sadness to her voice. She sat up straighter with her tail wrapped neatly around her paws. The darkness was starting to set upon them. As much as she wanted to begin with the physical part of the lesson, Rushingstar knew how important this discussion was. She was actually glad that they were talking about things like this. It was all a learning experience. " Tornpaw, I want you to understand that upholding the warrior code is what makes one worthy of being a warrior. It is not weak to show compassion or forgiveness. If you find yourself struggling to share either of these, then allow yourself tolerance. Even though there may be hateful, wicked cats out there, I want you to always remember who you are. Thunderclan cats are the strongest for we are fair to all cats, as we should be." Rushingstar was known for instilling great respect into her apprentices. This was an example of how. Although it was not only her doing. The apprentice must take the words spoken to heart. It was their choice to live their lives the way they wanted. They could choose to be civil and decent or they could choose a darker path. Rushingstar wished that all cats thought this way, but such was not the case. She could only hope that her words would mean something to little Tornpaw and that he would succeed in the ways Rushingstar knew he could.
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Post by Nighthunter on May 16, 2013 22:29:52 GMT -5
Breathing in evenly, he tried to mentally and physically settle down his nerves. The young tom wasn't really nervous per say, he was on guard, and at the ready for Rushingstar. Even though she was making it quite clear to him that she would be teaching him a thing or two, she was also showing more relaxed signs to him once he started questioning her. This gave him a glimmer of hope that perhaps her real goal was not simply to give him more bruises to take back to the camp in order to teach him the skills he needed to know. Tornpaw didn't exactly expect that sort of training from her, but he knew of apprentices that were rumored to have gotten knocked about a bit, and he wanted to keep his wits about him, and not lose any brain cells.
He scowled visibly at her response to his question. She really meant it, there were cats that enjoyed killing. He supposed that it was brutes like that, which make it a priority for warriors to have to know how to fight in the first place. If he thought of it like that, then fighting didn't seem without a purpose to him as much. Tornpaw also guessed that protecting loved ones from other clan cats obsessions was something worth fighting for. It certainly wasn't his idea of a solution, but it satisfied his young mind for the moment. Nodding to her, he listened as she carried on, absorbing her words and sorting them out himself, to see how they might change his view on the world.
It made sense, that he should try and be fair and forgiving, he could agree with that. What he didn't understand was that if Thunderclan were such noble cats, then why weren't the others? Did Starclan get them wrong or something? He kept such thoughts to himself, but decided to ask her more questions. " I suppose I understand, but doesn't that mean that we can't have friends in the other clans? Why aren't they as noble as us?" He wondered how she might answer that, in a way it was an unfair question, but he was going to see what she said anyway. His muscles were finally starting to go lax, he felt that as long as she was in a questions mood, that he would ask them, and that the bruising would hold off a bit longer If he was lucky.
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Post by ottie on May 18, 2013 23:32:58 GMT -5
Her pale, yellow-green eyes were slowly adjusting to the darkening sky. She sat comfortably relaxing on the soft ground. Listening to her apprentice ask such intelligent and valid questions forced the Thunderclan leader to come up with honest and proper answers. Their training session wasn't turning out to be the way she expected, but there was no problem with that. Rushingstar actually preferred to have an apprentice, such as Tornpaw, who was willing to delve into the deeper meaning of being a warrior. Most apprentices would focus on fighting and the physical aspects of training. Many didn't want to have to listen, they just wanted in on the action. In Rushingstar's experience, apprentices who were more like Tornpaw were the ones who ended up being the better warriors.
A soft breeze ruffled the chocolate and orange torti's fur as she noticed her apprentice relaxing a little more. She silently chuckled to herself. Tornpaw was obviously not going to be a fighter. That didn't mean she thought he would never fight to protect his clan or that he wouldn't be good at it. It simply meant that she thought he would enjoy hunting more than fighting, it was pretty apparent already. And there was nothing wrong with that. Every cat had a preference.
She was excited to be training again, it was something that felt natural to her. Sometimes she could get carried away imagining what her apprentices would turn out like or she might think ahead to their warrior ceremony. She could get as excited as apprentices got when she thought about things like this. When Tornpaw's voice began, Rushingstar focused her thoughts back to the present. I suppose I understand, but doesn't that mean that we can't have friends in the other clans? Why aren't they as noble as us?
Rushingstar smiled. "Of course that doesn't mean we can't have friends in the other clans. Not all cats are evil, Tornpaw. There are plenty of Riverclan and Windclan cats that are noble. They fight for the cause of the warrior code and they follow the guidance of Starclan. There are even some noble cats in Shadowclan." She said, knowing that there was truth in her words. Even if Shadowclan cats were labeled as spiteful and unpleasant, Rushingstar herself had a few friends from that clan, with whom she enjoyed speaking to. "I just want you to be prepared and understand that some day a cat may come along and cause problems for you or your clan. It may be someone you know or a complete stranger. Your duty as a warrior is to protect the members of Thunderclan, no matter what. I'm here to help you prepare for that day. In an ideal world, that day would never come. But we don't live in that perfect world, Tornpaw." She finished, wondering if any of this was actually making sense to the little tom. Rushingstar awaited the next question from her apprentice, almost positive there would be more to come.
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