Stormpaw's Training

"Stormpaw, let's roll!" Frozenflame sat near the apprentice's den, calling in for his apprentice and best friend. "I need to teach you how to hunt, so hurry up!" The grey and ginger warrior turned away and started for the entrance of camp, eager to get out and catch prey. The crisp air signaled that it was time to start leaf-fall, and Frozenflame saw that some trees were already turning to shades of red and orange.

The young female apprentice lazily rolled onto her back in her nest, stretching her legs and tail before rolling onto her paws. Stormpaw crawled out of the shadows and exited the den, then padded over to Frozenflame and stood next to him. The pitch black she-cat smiled when she saw him; she had made a habit of smiling every time she looked at him. It just came naturally. Frozenflame made her feel different then all the other cats in the clan. "So, what are we doing today?" She asked.

Frozenflame returned his apprentice's smile, gazing fondly at his friend. "Well, I'm going to teach you how to hunt and show you around the territory at the same time." The warrior padded out of camp, walking towards the Thunderpath. "I'll take you around the borders of Thunderclan territory and show you the best hunting spots. I'll also teach you how to do a perfect hunting crouch and how to catch certain prey."

Stormpaw listened as she followed behind Frozenflame. "Okay, sounds good! Where are we going first?" She asked, having never been outside of camp before. The black apprentice wrinkled her nose at the stench that lingered around the area. She could hear the growling of something in the distance, and remembered stories from when she was a kit to figure ot where she was. "Are we at the Thunderpath? Am I going to see monsters?" She asked.

Frozenflame waited to answer his apprentice's questions until they were at the edge of the black Thunderpath. "Yes, we are at the Thunderpath," Frozenflame said as a monster drove by. "And yes, you are going to see monsters." He laughed and padded along the side of it, heading towards Fourtrees. "This thunderpath is the border marking our territory from Shadowclan's," he informed. "It is very dangerous and many deaths occur here. Never cross it unless instructed to do so, understand?" He warned.

Stormpaw nodded. "Yes, Frozenflame," she purred. The black she-cat had a bit of trouble keeping up with her mentor at first, but she soon learned that her long legs were fast and good for running. Soon, she was easily able to run beside him. "Is part of the stench I smell Shadowclan?" Stormpaw asked with a curious flick of her ear. "Because I heard that they are cold and dangerous."

Frozenflame nodded. "Yeah, that's Shadowclan. Don't be afraid of them, they are just a bunch of crowfood-eating cowards who don't know how to fight." He chuckled and ran along the border, stopping to mark his scent every so often. "At Fourtrees, I'll show you how to do a proper hunting crouch, then we'll check Riverclan's border of the river and hunt at Sunningrocks. After that, we can check the Twolegplace border and hunt along the way." Satisfied with his training plan, Frozenflame picked up his pace and entered Fourtrees. "Maybe if we have time, I can teach you some basic fighting moves at the Sandy Hollow."

Stormpaw nodded and followed her mentor into the clearing surrounded by four big Oaks. The black she-cat's paws were already starting to hurt, and she had just barely gotten out of camp. The thin apprentice sat down, waiting for Frozenflame to give her instructions as her shining green eyes rested on him.

Once they were in Fourtress, Frozenflame stood underneath the big rock which the leaders stood on and faced his apprentice. "What you want to do is crouch down, keeping your body low, and keep your tail tail low without it touching the ground. Your hind legs have to be ready to leap and your front legs have to be ready to tackle and kill your prey." He demonstrated by dropping down easily into a perfect crouch. "Let's try that first before I teach you how to stalk prey." he flicked his tail, motioning for Stormpaw to give it a try.

Stormpaw nodded and awkwardly hunched down. She tried to mimick Frozenflame by crouching down and just barely hovering over the grass. She kept her tail as low as possible without touching the ground, but it ended up falling. She bunched up her leg muscles and her hind quarters somehow managed to stick in the air. "Am I doing it right?" The sleek apprentice asked with green eyes trained on her mentor.

The grey and ginger warrior couldn't help but laugh at Stormpaw's attempt. He padded over to help her out. "First of all, keep your rump down." He placed a paw on the black cat's rear-end and lightly pushed down. "Second of all, straighten your back a bit and stiffen your tail so it won't fall down." he pushed up her tail from off of the ground so it was behind her in the air. "Also, don't bunch up your muscles like that. Relax and take a deep breath...if you were stalking prey, you'd want to stay calm and focused." Frozenflame went back to his place and demonstrated the crouch again, waiting for Stormpaw to use his tips.