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Post by cinder on Aug 21, 2012 16:43:45 GMT -5
Shadedfur rolled over and laid a paw over her nose. It was early morning and the sun was just beginning to creep into the waiting sky. Shadedfur gave a sigh and rolled onto her belly and pulled herself to her paws. It wasn't that she didn't want to go and train with her apprentice Gorsepaw, not that at all, she just wanted to stay and enjoy the heat and comfort of the other cats around her a little while longer.
As she padded to the mouth of the den, the weak light greeted her eyes. The sky was just turning a from a velvety dark blue to a silky navy color. The sun had not yet made its appearence, but it would soon grace the earth with its presence. "Good. An early start for training today will be good for the both of us. MAybe we can fit in some hunting this afternoon." Shadedfur thought to herself.
Shaddfur padded soundlesly into the apprentices den and walked up to the ball of fluff that was Gorsepaw. She stood for a moment looking down at her apprentice. Gorsepaw lay curled in a ball, all that was showing was fur and a pair of ears that stood out from the ball and twitched at regular intervals. She had her tail curled tightly around her and laid across her nose so that it covered the apprentice's face.
With a smile on her lips, Shadedfur gently nuzzled Gorsepaw with her nose, and pulled her tail away from her face gently with a fore-paw. "Wake up sleepy head, it is time for training. Come out and get breakfast and then we will go out for some training." Poking her lightly one last time to make sure that she would get up, Shadedfur turned and went out into the main part of camp. She grabbed a piece of fresh kill from the pile and settled down to eat it while she waited for Gorsepaw.
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Post by alarm '' on Aug 21, 2012 17:20:15 GMT -5
gorsepaw [/b] kill them with kindness[/center] gorsepaw speech. gorsepaw thoughts. other's speech.
The moon was high and the weather was nice, not to hot and not to cold. The green-leaf night brought prey out in ever direction and every which way. But that did not explain the feline stalking through grass, patiently stalking the creature before her. The mouse was inches away, it's tail waving back and forth taunting her, calling her name and her eyes narrowed to find the perfect pin point to catch it. Her lips drew back into a smile of pure excitement and she readied herself. The silence and patience was all she needed and for a moment she held her breath. She studied the mouse and on the count of three she would leap and catch it. But before her count down could start she heard the distant meow of a familiar voice and a gentle push against her nose.
''what is that?!''
"Wake up sleepy head, it is time for training. Come out and get breakfast and then we will go out for some training."
''Oh! I'm dreaming..''
Gorsepaw's ears perked, but her eyes remained shut as her mentor and older clan mate Shadedfur padded out of the den. It was a moment of silence all around, that the she-cat opened her eyes to a dark world and a pelt still slightly clean from her night sleep. She prided herself in her ability not to move at night and here was an example of where it came in handy, least time to clean yourself for the day.
''This will be a good day.''
She pondered as she stretched herself out before letting a yawn leave her parted lips. She smacked her lips together, eyes drooped slightly as she padded out of the den and into the cleaning.
''But by golly, I'm still tired... now what to eat?''
With another soft yawn the young female feline padded to wards the pile of fresh kill and nosed about it for a moment, trying to figure out which piece of kill would better suit her day of training. Settling on a small, but fat, mouse she padded to wards her mentor with a shy smile. Dropping the kill in front of her she settled down near her mentor, but still a few mouse tails apart.
"Good morning Shadedfur, thanks for waking me up."
''Why must I always not remember to wake up... golly this is embarrassing!''
She felt slightly embarrassed for not knowing it was this time of the morning that she had needed to be awake, so she parted her lips and tasted the air. Many of the cats in their clan were stirring, but they were one of the two who were awake at the moment. Shaking her fur she settled into her meal and munched away happily.
"M-May I ask what exactly we have planned today?"
She asked politely and poised her shoulders as a show of both pride and eagerness to get into training. But her eyes and face showed a great deal of patience which she was willing to allow both her mentor and her self some time to slowly eat their meal. She bent her head down to take in a few more mouthfuls of her meal before finishing it off completely. Licking her lips she patiently sat beside her mentor, amber eyes slowly drifting off to observe the sky and the towering forest.
''Timberclan. Such a lovely territory we have, the peaceful environment and the scents, they are outstanding!''
Her soft smile grew as she took note of the trees and how they swayed and the looming sun that threaten to peek over the horizon. Her ears perked as she took in the noises of awakening life - the mice just outside the camp, the birds singing soft tunes in the distant and even the soft mews of kittens as they searched for their mother's milk.
''I must remember to tell the kits the story of the pixie kitty... they always do enjoy that one.''
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Post by cinder on Aug 21, 2012 19:03:55 GMT -5
Shadedfur had to resist the urge to laugh at her apprentice. She could tell that she fellt awkward for not having woken up when her mentor did. Shadedfur did her best to help releve her of her fears. She flicked the younger cat lightly with her tail as she replied to one of her other questions.
"Well, I thought that we could go out and practice hunting techniques thismorning, and then something special this afternoon."
Shadedfur smiled at her apprentice, then got to her paws. After she had burried the remains of her breakfast she waited for Gorsepaw to catch up and then headed for the entrance to the camp.
As they wove their way through the forest, Shadedfur bumped into her apprentice sending her staggering into a bush alonside the path. Laughing, she trotted off down the path, tail twitching in amusement. As she came to the clearing that she had in mind for the training, she sat down and waited for the younger cat to arrive.
"What took you so long?" Shadedfur asked straight faced as her apprentice came into sight. Then broke out laughing at the look on the young cat's face. Laughter still evident in her voice she mewed
"Show me what you have for hunting moves!"
and sat back to see just what her young apprentice was capable of.
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Post by alarm '' on Aug 21, 2012 19:49:13 GMT -5
gorsepaw
kill them with kindness "Well, I thought that we could go out and practice hunting techniques this morning, and then something special this afternoon."
''Hunting, golly am I grateful. I haven't be practising my fighting techniques.''
Following her mentor's lead, Gorsepaw dug a hole, placed the remains of her meal in the hole and covered it with dirt, stomping lightly on the ground to make sure it was covered rather well. Turning her head to wards the entrance she noticed her mentor was waiting and she nodded, trotting as quickly as she could to wards her mentor paws carefully calculating each step. They were trotting through the forest, Gorsepaw's head was filtering with every noise that entered her ears. But the sudden movement from her side brought her senses back just a little too late.
''Wait wh-''
"WAH!"
She cried out as she stumbled off to the side, her paws tripping her into the nearest brushes. She tumbled a few more paw steps before coming to a stop on her back looking up into the sky. Her eyes widen in shock and her mouth was agape. She was frozen in that shock for a few moments more and her body launched forward. She gained her footing gracefully and locked her eyes back onto the path she had created with her body. Shaking her head she let an embarrassed but all around good-nature laugh escape her jaws.
''I will admit, it was quite funny... maybe I can get her back...''
She padded through the broken brushes as she got back onto the path and parted her jaws. She tilted her head slightly and gave a soft shy smile as she padded silently through the undergrowth - following her mentor's scent. She took note of the way it smelled and put it into a category all it's own. She could label it as something like ... what was that word. Her lips formed around it as she smiled to herself.
''Friend.''
"What took you so long?"
''You had the bright idea to push me into the brushes, Shadedfur.''
Her face had a deadpan look about it. She just didn't quite understand the humour of it all, but knew there was some under it. Tilting her head to the side the she-cat parted her jaws to speak a few words and soon she saw that the other she-cat was about to speak and Gorsepaw sat down, shoulder's squared and whole body ready for anything.
"Show me what you have for hunting moves!"
''Damn it, I should of practise those too.''
"Alright Shadedfur."
Gorsepaw felt her muscles tense up and she climbed to all four standing as tall and proud as she could. Her whole body shivered and her face spoke words. She was nervous. Swallowing quickly she crouched down, behind raised up a littler high and tail brushing the ground. Her weight however was evenly place and she turned her head slightly to stare at her mentor. Those watchful eyes waiting to see either disappointment, approval or a mixture. She was searching and her amber eyes scanned the other cat with calculating and curious eyes.
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Post by cinder on Aug 21, 2012 20:36:41 GMT -5
Shadedfur noticed how her Gorsepaw used her scent to track her through the trees and smiled in approval. She was rarely dissapointed with her young protege. Though Gorsepaw forgot things sometimes that was to be expected, every apprentice went through that. While some mentors used punishment and harsh words in response to such forgetfulness, Shadedfur had always believed that kindness and repetition were the key.
As Gorsepaw came into view and answered her question, Shadedfur burst out laughing. She sure was a quick witted little fluff ball, she had to give her that. Shadedfur had the suspision that she should be waiting for some form of retaliation, and looked forward to seeing how the youngster would get her back.
As Shadedfur told her to showcase her hunting moves, a change came over the young cat. Shadedfur could see the slight quivering that took over her body and the look of nervousness on her face. She felt sorry for her little fluff ball, she did not mean to make her so fearful. So she smiled encouragingly at her. After the smaller kitty had dropped into her crouch, she looked up anxiously searching Shadedfur's face to see her reaction.
Shadedfur let her pride and pleasure show on her face. Her protege had done well. All that she had to add was a reminder about pouncing, and to throw in a curve ball for her.
"When you pounce, remember to put all of your weight on your back feet. But well done Gorsepaw! Now, we are going to try some battle training. I want you to attack me, and I am going to react and we willl see how you handle it. Nothing to worry about, I jst ned to know what we need to work on."
Shadedfur padded a few tail lenghts away and sat down with her back to Gorsepaw and began to wash a paw as she waited to see what the young cat would do.
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Post by alarm '' on Aug 22, 2012 8:15:57 GMT -5
gorsepaw [/b] kill them with kindness"gorsepaw speaking". ''gorsepaw's thoughts''. other speaking.[/center] Gorsepaw's eyes scanned Shadedfur's face, eyes picking at each part of her face from her muzzle to the tips of her ears and finally to her eyes and when she saw that her mentor was prideful in her, she felt her muscles relax more and her own eyes lost that nervousness as she tilted her head in acknowledgement to the advice.
"When you pounce, remember to put all of your weight on your back feet. But well done Gorsepaw! Now, we are going to try some battle training. I want you to attack me, and I am going to react and we willl see how you handle it. Nothing to worry about, I jst ned to know what we need to work on."
''Battle Training''
She voiced her thoughts surprisingly but her eyes snapped wider if possible, her tabby fur bristled at the thought and she snapped her legs together, watching how casually her mentor turned her back on a 'pretend' enemy and she shivered, eyes closed and took a deep breath. Trying to over look ever battle tale the elder's had told her, every battle practice she had been told about as a kit and again as a young apprentice.
"All right... I can do this."
She whispered, looking at her face you could tell she was nervous but as she tilted her head to stare at her mentor she tried to pinpoint a good attack spot - it would only take a moment and as she studied her mentor, her teacher - she parted her jaws and let a sigh escape them. She turned to the trees bordering the clearing and wondered if escaping to them and launching an air attack was acceptable. She let a soft meow of laughter leave her lips and finally she choose her attack. She backed up silently, her feet leaving only prints against the ground as she slipped into the brushes.
''Now just to move from here.'' She silently moved to the left, her muscles tense and her eyes on both the ground and her mentor as she came to a much clearly opening and that was when she grinned to herself, amber eyes glittering and she tilted her head, pondered for a moment. Climbing the tree quickly, she climbed a branch that hung just near enough to her mentor that she could get at least a paw to the side. She grinned as she successfully climbed the tree without her mentor knowing, and she leap aiming for her mentor's side silently leaping from the tree. The wind rushed past her ears and as she neared the ground, paws outstretched she howled with excitement.
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Post by cinder on Aug 22, 2012 11:58:50 GMT -5
Shadedfur sat patiently and waited for her apprentice to make a decision as to how to go about attacking her. Silently she wondered what the young cat would come up with. Gorsepaw was no mouse-brained fool, she could be quite clever, and Shadedfur knew it. But even with that knowledge, she was still suprised as a weight hit her from above and to the side.
"OOF!"
Shadedfur was knocked off of her feet, but rolled over and back up onto her paws in one smooth movement and turned to Gorsepaw, pride and excitement shining in her face.
"Very good! That was wonderful! I am proud of you, not many apprentices would have thought to do that. Well done!"
After making Gorsepaw show her exactally how she had exeuted the attack, Shadedfur gave her a loving lick between the ears. Heart light with her little ball of fluff's success, she got a small spark of inspiration. Since Gorsepaw had done so well in the training, why not test her true hunting abilities as well?
"Alright Gorsepaw, how about a game? We will each go out to hunt, and meet back here in a few hours. If you have the most fresh kill upon our return, then you get to pick what we do tomorrow, deal? I will even let you pick which way you want to go first."
Shadedfur sat down and observed her apprentice with intrest to see what she would do. As Shadedfur scented the air she could smell an abundance of prey infront of them and off to the right, she waited to see if Gorsepaw would scent it correclty.
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Post by alarm '' on Aug 22, 2012 13:44:15 GMT -5
Her eyes went wide as she realized she had actually hit the mark and as she stayed in a defence mode she watched her mentor, eyes calculating any movement. When her mentor asked how she did she retraced her steps and showed her, giving her mentor and soft smile. She felt her mentor lick on her head and she smiled to herself and nodded. Looking excitedly at the thought of hunting.
"Alright Gorsepaw, how about a game? We will each go out to hunt, and meet back here in a few hours. If you have the most fresh kill upon our return, then you get to pick what we do tomorrow, deal? I will even let you pick which way you want to go first."
'Maybe.'
She felt her lips tug up. She circled the clearing, back the way the way they came she tasted the air and noticed some prey, and did the same to each direction. Settling with the left she turned her body that way and padded to the edge of the clearing. Already she could scent prey, she could hear the distant sound of mice running through the woods and then she got a clever idea, her eyes turned to the skies to wards the right side of the clearing and nodded.
"See you soon!"
With a leap out of the clearing to the left she bounded away with soft steps. She patrolled the front of the clearing before nodding her head and took off into the woods, whiskers twitching, her ears perked and her muscles ready to spring on prey. She came to a sudden halt after a few for light springs forward. With a soft smirk she stopped and lifted her head to taste the air. Above her head was a few sparrows chatting and in the brushes around her mices and other small creatures ran unaware of the danger. She prowled forward until she could claw up the tree, her body slithering up much like a snake, silently and deadly. Once she arrived on the branch, she moved forward before lashing out at the only bird on that branch and catching it, killing it before the alarm. Leaping down she buried it before continuing onward.
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Post by cinder on Aug 22, 2012 14:24:19 GMT -5
Shadedfur watched as Gorsepaw circled the clearing, her lips drawn back as she scented the air in search of prey. Good, she didn't miss that step like most young apprentices do. I always did. Shadedfur thought to herself as she looked on. With a mew of goodbye Gorsepaw headed off in her chosen direction. Scenting the air, Shadedfur could smell an abundance of prey in that direction. Mice, squirrels, voles, moles, and bird scent all assailed her senses.
After giving Gorsepaw a moment to get ahead, Shadedfur pulled herself to her feet and began to follow. She had planned on hunting alright, but not the kind of hunting that Gorsepaw was after. Shadedfur was to spend the afternoon tracking her protege and acessing her hunting skills.
As she padded along, Shadedfur parted her lips and drew a breath of air into her mouth and across her scent glands. There was a buffet of smells that met her, but her brain effortlessly separated them and put them into their categories with the ease that came of long practice. Within a second she had pinpointed the scent that she was searching for. Gorsepaw was not far away.
Shadedfur hid in the bushes down wind of the young cat so that she was not detectable in any way. She watched as the kitten slithered up the tree with a grace and ease that she didn't know if she herself posessed. As Gorsepaw stepped out onto the branch, Shadedfur held her breath as the young cat neatly snagged the sparrow off of the limb before it even had time to call out a warninf to its fellows.
Gorsepaw jumped nimbly down from her place in the tree and burried her kill as any good cat should. Shadedfur was proud of the way that things were goiing so far. She laid in wait to see just what tricks the younger cat might still have in store.
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Post by alarm '' on Aug 22, 2012 14:58:28 GMT -5
Lightly padding the ground about her prey she parted her jaws again and smirked, trotting forward, paws silent and unaware of the she-cat behind her, Gorsepaw came face to face with some mice busy gathering. She tilted her head to the side and watched, patient and studying as she was down wind from the mice. She lifted a tabby brown paw and waited, lowered against the ground and watched as one mouse moved towards him. Claws out she stuck the mice's neck cutting through and silencing it. Her eyes scanned the other mice and noticed how they had suddenly vanished. Her lips turned into a frown as she saw the mice holes and the disappearing tails.
Burying the mouse she patted the ground again before padding off in the opposite direction, to wards the smell of mole. Her lips curled up and she padded quickly after the scent. She stopped short and her head turned upward, her eyes catching sight of the bird above, and back down to the vole in the distance. She had a clear choice, hunt where she felt more comfortable - in the trees, or the ground where it felt wrong. Smirking, she climbed the tree, killing the bird quickly again, before placing it in the crook of the tree and stared at the vole, wagging her behind she leapt at the vole, her right paw connected with the vole's head and she heard a sickening noise before lifting her paw and staring at the very dead vole, and the blood smeared on her paws - both hers and the dead prey below her paw.
Wincing she climbed the tree and grabbed the bird before returning to the vole to bury both and the lap at her paw painfully. After cleaning the blood off, she noticed the small trinkle of blood before limping towards the nearest brush, tapping some cobwebs before patching up her paw. She had seen the medicine cat do this millions of times, and the cobwebs would cover her small scratch long enough for her to continue hunting.
"There."
She whispered, trotting away, a very small limp in her step.
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Post by cinder on Aug 22, 2012 22:21:50 GMT -5
Shadedfur watched as Gorsepaw caught a mouse with ease. The interesting part came when she watched her try to decide between a bird and a vole that was not far off. Shadedfur watched with interest as the young cat climbed the tree and killed the bird first, leaving it in the crook, and then sprang from there to the ground. From her vantage point she could see that it was not a clean kill, and had to resist laughing as Gorsepaw stared from her paw to the dead vole at her feet.
Shadedfur could remember doing the same thing as an apprentice and feeling horrible for having done it. As she watched though she became concerned. Gorsepaw was not moving right, she was hurt. But as her mentor watched, she cleaned the cut and bandaged it with cobweb from a nearby bush. Yes, she was clever indeed. Shadedfur watched as she limped off.
After she had caught a few pieces of prey, Shadedfur gathered her trophies and carried them back to the small clearing that they had used for training that morning. Shadedfur laid down on her belly and tucked her feet delicately beneath her to wait for her apprentice.
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Post by alarm '' on Aug 23, 2012 10:45:48 GMT -5
After a few more kills and one very unsuccessful miss, Gorsepaw was carrying a small load of one mouse, three birds and a vole. The vole's tail and mouse's tail were in her mouth along with two wings of two of the bird. Her other bird was balanced between her shoulder blades. As she padded back the way she came her scent glands - while filled with the scent of her prey - caught a waft of Shadedfur's scent and she smiled, dropping her load of prey onto the ground. She noticed she was at least a piece or two short of her mentor, but her good nature smile was on her face and not a single ounce of disappointed crossed her mind. She was proud of her catches. She lifted her bandaged paw.
"I wasn't sure if you meant land prey or air-born prey? I feel more at home hunting up off the ground."
She nervously whispered, her eyes lowering to her paws in silent worry, but the pride of her high-sight advantage. She pulled the cobweb off and tossed it to the side, her paw having stopped bleeding not long after her vole accident. Parting her lips slightly, she sheepishly looked at her mentor's slightly larger pile and watched or her to speak.
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Post by cinder on Aug 24, 2012 15:10:46 GMT -5
Shadedfur watched the smaller cat pad into view; two tails clamped between her teeth, and a total of three birds, two held by a wing in her mouth and one balanced across her shoulders. She had to try not to laugh as she looked at the younger cat, Gorsepaw looked like she had all kinds of different creatures sprouting out from her body. Shadedfur got to har paws and helped Gorsepaw lay down her bounty, taking the bird from her back, and watching as she spat the rest onto the ground.
"That is a pretty impressive catch! I can see that you are very adept at hunting things that are not commonly found on the ground." She nodded at the three dead birds that lay before them. "I am very happy with your skills, you have passed the test with flying colors. That vole was quite messy though wasn't it? You hit him just the wrong way that time, they are bad for that. Extremely small and fragile bones, thats the problem. How is your paw? Come here and let me see it, that was very clever with the cobwebs by the way."
Shadedfur peered down at the paw in question. It was a mild enough wound, but it still had the potential for a nasty infection. "When we get back to camp we are going to see Riversong, I want her to take a lok at that paw.Are you ready to go?" Turning, Shadedfur realized that she had still won the bet. "I didn't beat you by very much, only a mouse." She smiled at the young cat. "I'm proud of you Gorsepaw, you did well today."
Without another word, Shadedfur turned and headed for camp.
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Post by alarm '' on Aug 27, 2012 10:48:10 GMT -5
Relief. When the birds and mice and vole were away from her she drank in the fresh scent of the forest - loving the smell of life, and not death which had just laid in her mouth. She gave the she-cat a soft smile, friendly and filled with self pride.
"That is a pretty impressive catch! I can see that you are very adept at hunting things that are not commonly found on the ground."
She smiled, nodding her head. That was true, she felt more at home above the ground. Gaining the advantage against the enemy, against the prey and against predators. She stared at the three birds and nodded her head again in approval.
"I am very happy with your skills, you have passed the test with flying
Gorsepaw let the small laugh slip past her lips as she made a inward joke. Flying - she loved to hunt flying animals - this amused her and she zoned out thinking of more bird jokes in her mind. She grinned to herself and suddenly noticed her mentor was still talking. Her face went into a flustered look and she blinked.
- cobwebs by the way."
"Ah.. er, yes."
She felt her skin heat up and she shivered to herself. Eyes wide as she show her mentor her paw and she felt her heart beating quickly. She was piecing the words she hadn't fully heard from Shadedfur and she was more embarrassed, this meant her mentor had spied on her and she clenched her jaws together.
"When we get back to camp we are going to see Riversong, I want her to take a lok at that paw.Are you ready to go?"
She only nodded, her skin heated.
"I didn't beat you by very much, only a mouse."
Gorsepaw felt her body shiften, she didn't want to choose her next activity to learn, she didn't want to take charge, she liked to be offered and yet she picked up her catches again, shifting the bird back onto her back and stared at her mentor - making a mental note to visit Riversong.
"I'm proud of you Gorsepaw, you did well today."
She felt her embarrassment grow, but there was a look of pride as well - for doing good. She padded after her mentor, keeping her in sight, but still a good tail length away so she would not stumble over her mentor. Camp, here she comes.
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Post by cinder on Aug 31, 2012 9:32:03 GMT -5
Shadedfur led the way into camp, and dropped her klls onto the fresh kill pile and then turned to watch her apprentice do the same. She was proud of Gorsepaw for the days work, and knew that others in the clan would be as well. It sure was a respectable catch.
Shadedfur walked closer to the opening that led to Riversong's den. She had not been kidding when she said that she wanted the cut on Gorsepaw's foot checked out. She hoped that Gorsepaw would remember, and not be too proud to go to the medicine cat as she had asked, but if not, Shadedfur was prepared to make her go. She didn't need an apprentice with an infected foot.
As she sat waiting for the young cat to decide how it was going to work, she closed her eyes and felt all of the things that were going on around her. The sunlight came through the canopy above the camp and dappled her coat in spots of warmth. She let out a purr of delight. There could never be any place better than this.
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