The Dark Forest's Rule

The warm breeze flew through Amberclaw's fur as he sat silently in the field beside Owlpaw. "Owlpaw, please tell what you know so I can then train you from that." He said simply looking down on his apprentice. He wasn't the best at expressing emotion but he was very excited to have his own apprentice. After all, he has lost everyone he loves.

Owlpaw looked at the field, wondering what they would do first, after all, his father never took him out training before the whole Dark Forest thing, forcing him to train completely on his own. The chocolate tabby tom frowned a bit at the thought, the usual questions that roamed around his head since he was told that Mudfoot had decided to leave him, his own son and apprentice, behind without a second thought, returning to his head as a crashing wave. The feelings inside his chest mixing and fighting for dominance, the two most powerful ones being sadness and anger.

He was pulled out from his own thoughts by the voice of his new mentor, a mentor he hoped that wouldn’t just leave him behind like Mudfoot did. He shuffled his paws a bit when the question was asked, he knew that lying in an attempt to impress Amberclaw would only cause more harm than good, so he just sighed and decided to be honest and hope for the best “I…well, I think I know a bit about fighting? But I’m not really sure of how good or bad I am compared to other apprentices, since I always had to train alone. I have serious troubles at hunting as well” His voice was low and clearly upset, how he was going to achieve his dream of becoming a great warrior if he never got anyone to compare his abilities with or get feedback from to improve at all?

His hope-filled eyes landed on Amberclaw’s, he was going to help him to become better quickly, right? He didn’t care how he planned to do it or for how long they would need to train. All he wanted was to be the best warrior that ShadowClan ever had, and any method he could get to achieve that would be gladly welcomed, especially after he lost so much time thanks to the lack of a mentor to guide him.

Amberclaw listen intently on what the apprentice had to say as he brooded his thoughts. Amberclaw saw himself in Owlpaw, abandoned by his loved ones and now only wanting strength and power, that is what he would help him achieve. "Worry not, I and the Dark Forest shall train you to the best of your abilities no matter how long it takes, you will be a fine warrior in no time. We shall go on a short patrol but before we do..." He paused for a moment and rose to his full height, "Take a hard swing at me."

OOC: Should we use the battle system here or not??? (I will edit my post of you think it’s necessary)

Owlpaw listened to Amberclaw’s words carefully, for the first time since the gathering where his father had decided to leave him behind e no longer felt angry or sad, but hopeful and eager, finally feeling that his dream wasn’t out from his reach anymore.

The young apprentice was taken by surprise by his mentor’s sudden command, but after he recovered from the initial shock he decided to do as he was told. He had a quick flashback from when he was training alone, trying to mimic other apprentices he had managed to spy on before while they trained with their own mentors, and his blows against the trees, blows driven by raw sadness and anger.

Owlpaw acted almost without thinking, the same feelings of anger and sadness filling him as he unsheathed his claws without really realizing it, if he hadn’t been under such feelings he would never had attacked a clanmate, and even less his own mentor, with unsheathed claws. He rushed forwards, all those heavy feelings turning into fuel for the blow as he tried to hit him with his best move, or at least the best move he thought he had.

OOC: We can skip battle training as you already know how to use it

Amberclaw was ready for Owlpaw but didn't think of dodging to see his current strength, only at the last minute he saw his apprentices claws shimmer in a glimpse of light and topple forward onto him. Amberclaw muffled a few words followed by some groans before smirking at Owlpaw, "When I came here I didn't expect to leave with a scar." Ignoring the blood that was staining his fur he continued lecturing his apprentice.

"I get the feeling that was unintentional. You have a lot of strength and you must channel that during battle and hunting, but only then. Still angry and hurt I presume?." Amberclaw paused to examine Owlpaws facial expression to make sure he was not treading on private matters, "Whoever hurt you can be forgotten, with the new rein of the Dark Forest, they will pay deeply."

As soon as he realized what he had done, Owlpaw lowered his ears and looked down, clearly ashamed and regretful, sheathing his claws immediately and internally scolding himself for allowing his emotions get the best of him and not being careful enough to notice something as obvious as having his own claws unsheathed before hitting his mentor “I-I’m sorry Amberclaw…” He lowered his ears and head respectfully, expecting an all-out scolding from his mentor, reason why he couldn’t help but feel surprised when he didn’t…or at least wasn’t even near to be as harsh as he expected him to be.

He raised his head and looked at his mentor as he calmly spoke to him, looking away as soon as he mentioned his feelings. Yes, he was feeling awful on the inside, and all the time that he spent training alone with only those feelings and the dark thoughts fueled by them as his companions didn’t help much. It wasn’t a deeply personal thing, but he didn’t want to have all the clan pitying on him day and night just for that, reason why he rarely talked about it.

With a deep sigh Owlpaw nodded, he wouldn’t mind talking about the subject with another cat. He probably needed it, to feel better, know that he had someone that supported him, but he couldn’t find the words to express how he felt correctly, so instead asked the only thing that came to his mind at the moment “Should I try again? I promise to keep my claws sheathed this time” He quickly added the last part, he didn’t want to hurt Amberclaw after all, especially after he already did it on accident.

OOC: Sorry! Mobile on the bus

"Okay, I do need to see the way you distribute your weight, hit me once more as if I was an enemy cat." Amberclaw said, trying not to make Owlpaw feel too sensitive or regretful due to the incident. He understood his apprentice and Amberclaw knew that this was something special. The same flame burned inside of him.

Owlpaw nodded, deep inside him he was still trying to figure out how he could talk to Amberclaw about his feelings, about how he felt, and why he felt like this. He just wished he could find the words to describe the thoughts and the feelings, but doing so was so hard for the young apprentice…this would keep him up at night unless he managed to explain it to his mentor correctly that day, he was sure of that.

He took a deep breath as the still gathered feelings inside his chest once again started to fuel his strength, making him feel like in if his veins he no longer had blood, but a raging fire. He, however, was careful to not unsheathe his claws this time, not wanting to trip twice over the same rock.

He used the same move as before, rushing towards his mentor to hit him with what he considered was his best move, wondering how good or bad he was really at fighting. It was like if all the fire on his body had gathered in his paw, ready to be released as soon as it impacted the older cat’s body.

Amberclaw was once again pushed back, surprised about Owlpaw's strength. "I didn't expect you to have so much strength and balance, I will have to advance you most likely." Amberclaw was proud about his apprentice knowing so much as he could  be as strong as a warrior in little to no time. "It is getting late, how about next time we do a hunting patrol." Amberclaw said looking up at the setting sun, feeling the breeze slowly cooling down. "And Owlpaw, you are always free to speak to me whenever you want, maybe we should have a chat next patrol?" He said once more looking affectionately down at him.

Owlpaw puffed out his chest with pride with Amberclaw’s words, apparently his training from before had been successful, even if at some extent. For the first time in a long time head felt like he was in the right path again, it was like if he had finally managed to overcome the obstacle that had been hindering him for so long.

The apprentice soon showed signs of nervousness when the hunting patrol was mentioned. He was terrible at hunting and he knew it, and he wouldn’t help but wish that Amberclaw would be able to give some advice to him. Geez, even catching a stupid frog would make him happy, even as a kit he never could catch a stupid beetle.

His gaze went from his mentor to the sunset, though he still was listening to him, a chat during the next patrol? Well, at least that would give him time to put his thoughts in order and know what he would like to say to him “That would be really nice” He meowed, as a small smile made its way to his muzzle.