Unusual techniques (Closed)

The soft glow of fading twilight flitered through the leaves that protected the ThunderClan camp. Cats milled about as they finished their duties and retired to their dens. Marshstorm on the other hand, was wide awake. His amber eyes stared towards the camp entrance, white paws itching to pad along the moonlit trails. Yet he waited. As Leopardstar bid him goodnight, as his kin retreated to the dens, he remained awake.

Tonight was important. He stood in silence and padded to the apprentice's den where cats were preparing their nests after a long day of lessons. Some bearing the scratches of battle training, a couple tired out from their hunts.
"Bearpaw." He mewed sternly. "Come with me." His eyes caught those of his large apprentice, before he nodded and dipped away just in time to be met with the wide innocent hazel eyes of Ridgekit.

The tom sighed as she immediately descended into questions as he ordered her into the nursery before padding towards the camp entrance with a flick of his tail towards Bearpaw. The overgrown kit muttering in discontent the entire time. He resisted the urge to sigh. She'd be an apprentice if she stopped the antics already. He shook his head and focused on his apprentice, leading him out of the camp boundaries and out of the security of the ravine.

"Bearpaw." He called his apprentice's attention with a small smile. "I've brought you out here for a lesson." He gestured towards the growth of forest. It looked vastly different without the sun, and the moon was covered, deepening the dark depths. It was hard for even him to see this night. "Tonight, we will be navigating in the dark. I am aware that this is unusual, but it's important." He looked his apprentice in the eye, meaning behind his words the young tom probably didn't understand. "Learning this, you will never be lost."

Bearpaw had kept himself busy. Whatever time he was not patrolling, the tom was visiting with and caring for the elders regardless of whether or not it had been tasked to it. He enjoyed the time he spent with the former warriors and it gave his massive paws something productive to do instead of just tearing out the eyes of Shadowclan warriors. This particular evening Fogeye [the NPC] had been telling stories and tales of the Dark Forest. Although they were the bringers of chaos to the forest, he could not help but find himself enthralled by the tales of good and evil battling for power. It was thrilling to listen to. But all good things had to come to an end and the elder had fallen into sleep as she finished the last one. He had cleared their bedding long ago and was just preparing to tuck into his old den when he caught sight of Ridgekit. The apprentice stopped to speak to his lovely adoptive sister but was interrupted but the urgent meow of his mentor.

Something seemed off and his ear flicked in response to the rough tone of Marshstorm. Before he could dwell on it for too long Ridgekit had piped up to question the deputy. For a moment, Bearpaw considered trying to appeal to his mentor and asking if she could come along. But he did not know the nature of their meeting and settled with shooting her an apologetic glance before obediently padding after the deputy. In the silence of the night, he found himself flinching at his heavy pawsteps and tried to walk a bit lighter to little avail. His mass simply did not allow for that. Despite this, the apprentice kept a decent pace with Marshstorm. At the back of Bearpaw's mind, there were questions about what they were doing out so late. None of which he brought himself to ask. And so the silence continued. Until a voice finally broke through it. Bearpaw's head swung in the direction of his mentor and he listened intently. Navigating in the dark?

"Like Shadowclan." His fangs grazed the hardened scars on his maw, now with very limited pain as he spoke the small thought. Unlike Thunderclan, the pine-dwelling clan would be rising from their nests into the emptiness of the night. Like he and Marshstorm were doing now. Although his body screamed for the comfort of the warm nest, Bearpaw nodded in agreement. This would be interesting for sure. Few other apprentices were learning this and he felt honored to be learning such a skill. So he simply waited for further instruction.

Marshstorm didn't dismiss the comment. His head tilted obligingly as he acknowledged that normally, this was a Shadowclan trait. He padded away from Bearpaw nearly half a tail-length before he turned around, letting the shadows obscure him slightly. His amber eyes reflecting the dimmest light that barely whispered through the cloud cover briefly.
"Well, yes. ShadowClan does like to operate at night." He acknowledged verbally "However, it's important for any cat to know. If something were to happen... a fire, or an attack, being able to know exactly where you are even in this level of darkness will give you mobility and strength." He shifted uneasily at the mention of fire.

He heard stories of when ThunderClan burned down. Even now, some scorched trunks bore the scars of the last year's fire. Though the mosses and grasses had grown steadily, the foliage wasn't as thick as it could be at this time of year. He wondered briefly how many lives were lost, then shoved the thought aside forcefully. Then there was the fox problem early in newleaf, luckily they had won that time, but next time... if foxes followed to camp... he swallowed and padded away into the darkness of the forest.
"Wait there for 40 breaths. Then, come find me." He ordered as he padded into the thickest and darkest area. "Do not worry about stealth." Not this time, he added mentally as he padded away steadily.

He stopped only when he reached the hilltop where he went nearly every night. Where he met Dustcloud and where the stars seemed to shine their brightest, even when they were covered. It was a small clearing, surrounded by dense bushes that the apprentice might have a hard time navigating, but part of the excersise was seeing what Bearpaw could do before instruction.

His head nodded as his mentor explained, hanging onto every word as if it was the very air he breathed. Being an apprentice who took his position so seriously, it practically was. Exhaustion gnawed at the edge of his brain and Bearpaw fought to keep it at bay. A rustling from behind, likely just some small ground animal caused his mind to sharpen and become more alert. His claws extended into the ground. This was important. Marshstorm would not be teaching him this is it was not vital. As the deputy explained, the tabby only further understood his intentions. If anything were to happen, he would be a more capable warrior and better able to handle it. This was what mattered. Claws dug deeper into the ground. Another nod complimented what his mentor was telling him. Stay awake.

There was a brief pause as the older tabby padded away. Bearpaw strained to keep himself clinging onto the vision of the cat training him. Finally, a direction came. Follow him? He stared out to where the tom had stood only moments prior before being swallowed by the pressing lack of light. His light green eyes caught what little light was given off by the moon and he could just faintly make out some of the shapes around him. He was more alert now given his lack of confidence out here in the midst of the forest with no clear sense of direction. It was all as foggy as his eyes. The apprentice set out with an increasing urgency, wanting to prove himself. He could hear more clearly than see and was distracted by the continued crunch of his paws. Where was he going? No clue. He stopped. Frustrated by the confusion.

With a deep breath, Bearpaw opened his maw to drink in the scents. He could taste Marshstorm on the air. There. Sight was unreliable right now. Instead, he continued to inhale the unseen map of every creature that had passed through this way. He widened his eyes ever so slightly in an attempt to allow for more light to enter them. Between continuous scenting, an unguided attempt at straining his ears for guidance and allowing his eyes to adjust to navigating the world, it was an arduous process. Time and time again he tripped over his paws with a growing aggravation. But he pressed on. It seemed like moons later when he finally stumbled upon Marshstorm. Seeing the deputy was comparable to the feeling of a bit of mouse after a long day for neglecting to eat. With a sigh of relief, the tom steeled his resolve and made it the final steps, "I made it, Marshstorm. Finally."

With his eyes closed, Marshstorm listened calmly to his surroundings. He could hear the subtle shifts of mice scurrying under the cover of darkness. A flap of wingbeats, a scratch on bark. Likely an owl. Since they were usually more quiet, he figured it must have it's talons full of prey already. His ears twitched behind him, the scents of the forest seperating on his tongue as he opened his maw and caught the faint scent of his apprentice. Breaking twigs and rustling bushes confirmed his suspicion as he waited in silence for his protoge to approach him.

"Good." He rumbled, his eyes were still closed. Hiding the bright amber facets that would have been more visible in the clearing. Quietly, he stood and padded towards the bushes on the edge of the clearing once more. His movements deliberate and unhindered, head slightly lowered as he approached, then stopped abruptly. A leaf brushed his muzzle. His amber eyes reopened, and turned to Bearpaw with a clinical eye. "Come over here, but close your eyes this time."

"Use your whiskers, the fur around your ears and the pads of your paws." He instructed, his tail twitching casually. "In darkness, the important thing is to feel more than see. Take a moment to figure out where a breeze is coming from, in a large gap of trees it would be stronger than the surrounding narrow area. Here there is little to trip you, but bushes will meet you." He paused briefly, a smile on his maw. "You're doing well."

The night was still. Bearpaw found himself focusing on his own breathing as is slowed and he became more aware of the things around him. When Marshstorm spoke, he drank it in and focused in intently on the deputy's actions. The much older tabby's eyes were closed, the glisten in his gaze had disappeared and the apprentice was shocked to see how well he still navigated the land. With confidence. Another nod confirmed his understanding. However, when he closed his eyes everything became directionless. Bearpaw stayed still for a moment, doing as he was told. Under his paws, the earth was hard, dry. He could hear every slight noise that seemed to reverberate through his ears. Everything felt strange but not wrong. He padded forward, hesitantly. Large paws felt out each step slowly.

He continued towards Marshstorm, faltering a few times yet generally managing to keep upright and from running into anything massive. From scent, he could easily pick out the position of his mentor. A few more steps, Bearpaw reassured himself silently. Almost there. The apprentice stopped just short of running into his kin. Now his eyes snapped open. Relieved, he had made it. Bearpaw smiled out of the corner of his maw, as much as he ever did, causing his fangs to shift under the faint moonlight, "Was that alright?"

Marshstorm opened his eyes and watched as the young tom came to grips with the lesson. He waited patiently for him to walk the distance with an approving nod. Noticing the small corrections and hesitations, but he didn't call him out on it. This was new, strange and possibly unnerving. He looked up at the starry sky above them. The moon was a long ways from setting, they could afford the time. He pondered briefly, it was possible his apprentice was also tired. He did haul him out the nest after a long day. His attention returned to the tom making the distance, paying closer attention to each step.

He was definitely tired. His tail flicked in contemplation before he came to a conclusion and stood as Bearpaw made the final steps and smiled towards the edge of the clearing.
"That was very good." He praised. "Speed will come with practice, we'll go across the clearing once more. Then we'll return to camp." He padded over to Bearpaw. "I'll excuse you from morning patrols tomorrow, get some good rest after this. I'm sure your paws are sore." He moved away, then paused. His gaze travelled upwards once more as thoughts flew through his mind.

He shook his head, then closed his eyes and padded off once more. Navigating the clearing uphill this time to it's highest point with confidence. His paws taking him to a small ledge that was barely half a tail length down. He set himself in front of it to stop Bearpaw from falling before he tilted his head in the apprentice's direction.
"Come Bearpaw. Once more. Tomorrow, we'll begin a new excercise." He hoped that would be something to keep the tom driven in the effort.