Pinepaw's Training (Closed for Steel, Fire, and Stone)

Frozenflame sighed as he sat outside of camp, all alone. He had asked his apprentice, Pinepaw, to meet him there, so Pinepaw would arrive at any moment. The deputy's dull amber eyes, roughened and dimmed from a hard life, lingered on the camp's entrance to watch for the black apprentice.

Pinepaw was out of the apprentices' den right as he woke up, giving himself no time for washing or taking a meal. He was just fighting to avoid his sister. He turned towards the camp exit and made his way outside, his piercing green eyes finding the well-known deputy right outside. The tom dipped his head at his mentor and sat in silence, studying the surroundings rather than his own mentor.

Frozenflame nodded in greeting to the young apprentice. A long time away as an exile really changed the old tom, and he was very different than before the Dark Forest took over. "Let's go," the blue and cream British Shorthair commanded as he stood up and sprinted into the forest, being consumed by the underbrush. He was happy to be back home, with all of the trees and plants surrounding him. He was feeling all of his old wild instincts kick back in and adrenaline rushed through Frozenflame. "We will be hunting today. Starclan blessed this forest with abounding prey so that we could eat, so I am going to teach you how to properly capture prey for the clan." His voice was steady and calm, but firm. Nobody would dare question his orders.

Pinepaw followed his mentor into the underbush as soon as he moved, his face blank but interested in a way that would make cats tremble. He had been like this since kit-hood, careless yet interested, as if he was planning each moment of his life, thinking it all just for the final act. His sister had been forcing him to socialize, since when they were young, she always found him, unable to leave the nursery, but now, all of the morning he woke up before her, seeing her twitch in her sleep, possibly having terrible nightmares, and left. And left, and left. Everyday, the same. No matter.

"Indeed. The forest has great prey." he said, careful not to include StarClan in his sentence, keepig his voice icy and level. He trotted nehing Frozenflame, the deputy, the cat he had to learn from about all that made his a clan cat. Even... StarClan.

OOC: I don't even know why he has a problem with StarClan...

OOC: Welp, this should be interesting

IC: Frozenflame's eyes narrowed suspiciously. Pinepaw was an unusual tom, quiet and always answering in short phrases, leaving things out and being careful about what he says. "Yes. Every time you catch prey, thank Starclan for providing it to you and the clan. They have done a lot for us, and it is when you honor them that they are the most pleased." The deputy continued forward, then stopped in a small clearing. "Pinepaw, have you ever have hunting experience before?"

OOC: Frozenflame: You must pray to Star Clan (slowly turning Pinepaw's life to hell)

Pinepaw stiffened a little at the mention of praying to Starclan after each time he caught prey, a subject that clearly did not appeal to him, thought he did his best not to show it. He gave his mentor a cold look as he observed the way he was being stared at, and he didn't take time to change the subject as the next question went by.

"No, Frozenflame, I have not had training in such thing." he answered sharply. What was the question for, anyway? He was a barely appointed apprentice.

"Is that how you talk to your elders?" Frozenflame barked back viciously, eyes narrowing. "Because the last time I checked, I was your deputy and you are hardly anything more than a kit." Then, he turned away and sniffed the air for prey. "Tell me what you smell," Frozenflame ordered, trying to move on.

Pinepaw's eyes flared and the green seemed like ferns caught in a rainstorm, but his face remained as calm and dark as ever, despite the tone of his mentor towards him.

"I believe the sweet scent is prey. Now, if I must guess, I'd say it's a rabbit, Frozenflame." he said, his head high as he sniffed the air, feeling the juicy scent of prey into his lungs.

Frozenflame nodded, his cream-patched blue fur dull and faded with age. Would he retire soon with the elders? Or continue to lead his clan under Darkstar? Starclan blessed Frozenflame with strength and endurance besides his older age, so he was still fit to help lead. If all the future warriors were like Pinepaw, then Frozenflame sure wasn't retiring any time soon. Thunderclan was dead, and he had to do something to revive it, starting with the youth. "That is correct, Pinepaw. Rabbits will smell and hear you before they see you, so stay downwind and keep light on your paws as you stalk toward it, then pounce as soon as possible and kill it before it gets away." 

Pinepaw nodded and quickly positioned himself downwind from his possible first prey, his face set as he crouched down, trying to stay light on his paws, as his mentor had said. He took a few silent strides towards the rabbit, keeping low, then he quickly pounced on it, feeling his claws sink in meat, yet the rabbit gave way to a few more hops. Pinepaw growled and followed the rabbit, pouncing on him again as the critter was struggling to move away. The tom didn't move this time until he felt the breath of the bunny stop moving it's chest, and he picked it up, returning it to Frozenflame.

"It did put up rather a fight." he said, something that might have been a joke that now sounded bone-chilling from his cold and emotionless tone. He placed the rabbit at his mentor's feet, his emerald, piercing eyes searching the dead body with blank interest, as if he was learning, studying.

Frozenflame watched his apprentice silently, noting how cold, emotionless, and intelligent he was. Red flags went off inside of the deputy's head. How could Darkstar entrust Frozenflame to mentor such a cold blooded, hard hearted tom? Did she really believe that Frozenflame could change Pinepaw, and transform him into something with at least a speck of emotion? "You're learning fast, Pinepaw," Frozenflame growled coldly, matching his tone to the look in Pinepaw's eyes. "Let's move on, shall we?" He disappeared once again into the thick forest, expecting Pinepaw to follow.

Pinepaw stared at him mentor as he spoke, no hint of emotion in him. As Frozenflame disappeared once again in the underbrush, the young tom hurried to bury the rabbit he had caught and ran behind him, his slender frame covered in brown fur almost one with the tree bark.

OOC: Change Pinepaw? Oh please, don't joke. ;p

Frozenflame stopped in the middle of the thick forest and sniffed the air. "There is a thrush over by that rock. Go and catch it." He gazed at his apprentice suspiciously.

Pinepaw sniffed the air as he reached the clearing and nodded, despite the look on his mentor's face. He crouched and reached the rock stealthily, but as he made a daring leap, the bird flew away over his head and he scratched only ground. Pinepaw lifted his face. There was nothing short of disappointment nor sadness on it, simply... nothing.