Start Somewhere [Closed]

Rippedsky padded over to the edge of the clearing where Jazz slept. The clan had not quite accepted her yet. It would certainly take some time. Unlike him, the rogue she-cat had never been a part of any clan. There was no warrior blood in her veins. However, he saw potential. Thankfully, Crowstar had allowed her to stay. The black and white tom couldn't have brought himself to simply leave her out there. Besides, Skyclan needed more warriors and the rogue had shown promise in her fighting skills. She could be a valuable asset to the clan.

"Jazz," He meowed softly as he prodded her with one paw, "It's time for us to begin your training." It was weird to be training such an old cat. His last apprentice, the now deceased Kestrelpaw, had been of a normal age. But due to the fact Rippedsky had brought her in and his position of deputy, the responsibility now fell on his shoulders. His black and white tail flicked patiently as he waited for the she cat to stir.

OCC: crappy post srry

Jazz was sleeping at the edge of camp, near the ring of foliage and trees that covered the perimeter of the camp. She felt like an outsider all the time, feeling other cat's stares behind her back and their murmurs of how she was in Bear's Group. Quite a few kits had "attacked" her with kitten soft paws yelling about how they would take down the "evil rogue invading the camp". Many times she had considered simply leaving before remembering she had no place to run to, no family waiting for her. Besides, this was the best anyone has treated her. Even Bear didn't give such luxuries that Clan life did. But it was a tiring cycle- waking up, pretending not to hear everyone's whispers, shaking off aggressive kittens, and going to sleep only for it to continue.
When Rippedsky woke her up her first thought was that she did something wrong. "I-I'm sorry!" she stuttered before she was fully awake. When she deciphered the Clan's deputy's words, she shrank a little in embarrassment. Shaking off stray pieces of moss out of her large fur, she stared questionably at Rippedsky. "I ain't getting why I need to train," she admitted, "I lived in much rougher enviroments than this forest. I came from the City, ya know. Cats there would kill ya just for lookin' at 'em funny. An' the only prey around is th' humans- er, twolegs- half rotten food. I can fight, too. What you saw during the battle was only a portion of the fighting tactics I know."


OOC: I hope I did a western accent correctly

The deputy nodded his head with the former rogue's words. It did make sense that she thought the training would be pointless. But clan technique was vastly different from what you would be forced to learn simply for survival. He began to pad towards the entrance and flicked his tail for Jazz to follow. They would be able to talk as they walked. Rippedsky's mind swam with the possibilities of what to teach her. Tree climbing would certainly be something different. It had taken the former Windclan tom quite a while to pick it up.

"I understand your frustration. But there is a lot to learn." He began, trying not to sound patronizing. Rippedsky simply wanted her to understand that he had a desire to pass on all of the knowledge he had. Jazz already had a lot of fighting promise. However, her tactics were based more on brute strength, as was the way of most rogue or city cats. The deputy was here to teach her specifics, alongside both clan and Skyclan basics, "While fighting is part of what I plan on working on, that is not all. Clan life is far different from what you have lived in. Don't worry, I don't plan on training you like some young kit straight from the nursery." A soft purr of laughter rumbled in his chest as he lead her outside of the camp walls.

He padded along, glancing around the territory as if it were his first time. Rippedsky was constantly in awe of how amazing the forest was. To grow up in a city instead of the forest sounded insane to him. The black and white tom didn't even know what a city was. His knowledge of twolegs was limited to the few of their nests he saw over the fence. The prospect genuinely confused him. After a brief paused of silence, the Skyclan deputy cocked his head and asked, "So how are you getting along so far with the clan? How different are things here?" There was so much he didn't know about the strange she-cat, but they would be spending plenty of time together and he was determined to learn.

Jazz suppressed a sigh as Rippedsky insisted that they train, but brightened some when he assured she won't be treated like a kitten. When the black and white cat asked her about the differences, it was easy to say."Well, for starters, cats here are n-nicer," she choked on the last word, small tears filling her eyes as she remembered her worst memories, ones that would haunt a cat for years. "I wasn't in Bear's Group for long before the battle came," she said, "For most of my life I lived n' the City. What you see over that fence at the edge of your domain is nothing compared to it. Once you get deep inside, there are towering buildings- dens, I heard someone call them- that make th' clouds look small. It's very crowded, and rats and disease are everywhere. For some reason, the housecats- er, kittypets- are treated like they just saved the world by their twolegs, and then loners like me are kicked and chased. But sometimes the scariest is what happens to the cats themselves. For some cats, not all of course, but for some cats all of the struggle to survive gets in their head. They sometimes go insane, or super aggressive and will kill you for looking at them. Some kittypets will taunt you, and fight you for sport." Before long she found herself rambling. "You see this ear?" she flicked her mangled, skinless ear to show, "I was born with this. You probably didn't notice, but I can't hear out of here. Some cats will consider my parents cowardly for protecting me when I had such a disability. This one gang... they..." her voice was small all of the sudden, "They killed my parents. After that, I was forced to be tough, to fight constantly to keep myself alive and away from the gangs of... messed up cats. But the catch was that it was like you can't escape that pit of doom. It's so large n' expansive that it ain't possible to escape. It took me years, years of memorizing the streets, running away from cats, and climbin' up anywhere I can to see where it ends and how to get there. As soon as I got out, I ran as far as I can go, ate as much fresh prey I can find, and ran into Bear."
Realizing that she rambled off, she looked away in embarrassment, and asked just in case, "Did I ramble off too much? Man, I should really control my mouth."

OOC: Don't mind all the dialogue

As she spoke, he nodded in understanding. The tom tried to picture the life she was describing, but a lot of the things she spoke of seemed almost unreal. His knowledge of twolegs and their dens was limited to the small cluster of twoleg nests that edged the territory. It was far different from the world she described. His heart wrenched as she told the horrific account of her life there. Understanding and sadness shined in his deep blue eyes. Rippedsky's gait slowed as he was drawn into her life story. Everything for her had been so vastly different from what he had ever experienced. As the she-cat finished, he opened his mouth slowly, searching for the right words to say.

"I'm glad you have gotten away from that and now you have found us. That sounds like no way for any cat to live." Rippedsky started, locking eyes with her. He wanted this former rogue to know that she finally had a place. Being a part of a clan was something much more amazing than the lonely life of a clanless cat. Jazz needed to know that. The deputy was also impressed to find she was deaf in one ear. Despite her disability, the she-cat had proven to be a fair opponent. In only a few moments, he had learned so much about her. It felt like they had only been walking for a bit, but they had managed to reach the border already. The rancid smell of Shadowclan caused his nose to wrinkle. Settling back on his haunches, Rippedsky waited for Jazz to sit down as well. Then the real fun would begin; this would be a whole introduction to clan life.

Jazz gave a small smile as Rippedsky comforted her. "Thanks," she said, "But I don't deserve it. I fought for Bear and enforced his ways simply for food. As far as I could tell, that will earn me a place in the Darth Forest, or whatever you call that." As they walked on, she wrinkled her nose at the awful scent of frogs and swamps emitting from the north pines. "Ugh, what's that smell? Is there a twoleg dump somewhere?" she gagged as Rippedsky sat down, laying down next to the tom.

OOC: Short
DARTH FOREST
I also gave up on the Texan accent

"You did what you had to in order to survive." He had shaken his head at her statement about earning a place in the dark forest. She was far from that level of character. Only a cat with the heart of Bear would be able to earn a place there. Jazz had turned against Bear almost as soon as the battle had started. Rippedsky hoped to give her something more to fight for instead of just a next meal. Now that she was with a clan, things would be far different. The deputy hoped to show this cat a whole new side of life. His ear twitched with amusement as she made a comment about the stench of Shadowclan.

"We call it Carrionplace. For the most part, only Shadowclan cats that live in that piece of the territory are doomed to deal with the smell. However, they are also rather unpleasant smelling. But they're skilled fighters, especially at night time, and make a good opponent. Remember the flame orange tom that killed Bear? He is a Shadowclan warrior." Rippedsky once more gave a brief run down of the pine forest dwelling clan. This time, however, he was able to give an example of their skill. Flamestrike had been present and killed the rogue leader. He was sure Jazz remembered it all. The horror of battle certainly still troubled him.

"None that I have." He chuckled softly, glancing back over his very Windclan frame. Talking about this with a non-clan cat made him remember how vastly different each clan really was. It was probably obvious, mostly when hunting or climbing, how different he was from the rest of the clan. Rippedsky brought his gaze back to meet hers, "But to answer your question, yes. A Skyclan trade mark is the powerful hindlegs. Tree climbing and leaping our two of the clan's special skill. However, being a full-blooded Windclan cat, my frame is much thinner and adapted for running the moorlands." A through explanation felt necassary. Jazz had come in knowing nothing. It occurred to him as he spoke that she probably did not know about where he had come from. If she asked, the tom would share, however it didn't really matter to him.

"Cool. But whaddya mean about being full-blooded Windclam? Winclan? Windclean?" she fumbled around with the word in confusion, before getting back on track and asking what she wanted to say, "Anyways, aren't these Clam thingies supposed to be enemies? How does this work? Did ya, betray this whatever-clan-you-said?" leaning forward like an excited kit, a curious expression on her face. "Please, tell me."

It had escaped the tom for some reason that she had no knowledge of the clans, other than the few night she had spend with Skyclan. Now seemed like the perfect time. Settled down near the Shadowclan border, Rippedsky's thoughts were a bit of a mess as he tried to think of the best way to describe it all. There was so much to clan life. Having grown up it in, it had never occurred to him how different it could be from another cat's life. Pride lit up in his chest as he thought about the great clans of the forest. He was glad to be a part of them. Rippedsky took a deep breath before launching into the tale, "Countless seasons ago, cats came and settled in the forest. They split up the territory, taking pieces of the land best suited to their skills and liking. Shadowclan, like we've already talked about lives within the pine forests and has a specialty in hunting during they night. Riverclan is the clan or the river. They swim like fish and eat prey from the river. In the dense, green forest lives Thunderclan. Those cats are skilled at navigating the undergrowth. Of course, there is Skyclan. And then... Windclan."

He paused. It felt strange to be explaining this all to someone. Even stranger so would be sharing his past with Jazz. Most cats in the forest knew of Rippedsky and where he had come from; Ashstar had made sure of it. Uncomfortably, the deputy flicked his ear. This would be different. Once more, he prepared to speak, but this time of his own story, "I was born into Windclan, the cats of the moorland. That's why I have the leaner and smaller frame, it allows up to run faster than the other clans. Clan life wasn't much different there than it is here. However, our deputy Smokepelt, and another warrior named Lionfur attacked and maimed a couple apprentices from Riverclan. One was left with a variety of scars, and the other a useless jaw. The leader, Fishstar, demanded justice for her clanmates. She asked they be exiled, and Smokepelt demoted from his position. When Ashstar refused, Riverclan attacked our camp." His eyes squeezed shut as he remembered the battle. It had been so long ago, but he remembered it like yesterday. Many writing masses of cats further flattening the camp floor. Blood staining the earth. A chill ran down his spine.

"We were forced to fight, the whole clan, because Ashstar refused to demote her son. Lionfur was exiled, but nothing was done to Smokepelt. We were forced to fight another clan who only wanted justice for their injured... it all felt so wrong. I once looked up to Ashstar, but I couldn't bear to serve under a leader who would allow that to happen. Or under a deputy who was willing to senselessly hurt a young cat. I fought alongside my birthclan that day, but after I told Ashstar I couldn't stay anymore. Thankfully, Crowstar allowed me to stay here." As he finished the story, Rippedsky's eyes began to shine once more. The fluffy black leader had done so much for him. He was constantly honored to serve underneath him and for the adoptive clan. Glancing at Jazz for some response, he patiently waited for her to process it all.

"No, no." He shook his head quickly at her question, "They've just made some mistakes. They're not much different from Skyclan." The question had thrown him off guard. Rippedsky had never thought of his birth clan as evil. It never occurred to him that other cats might see it that way. Windclan wasn't bad. Ashstar and Smokepelt were simply misguided at times. They had different values that was for sure. It wasn't a bad place; Rippedsky owed his existence to them. But he would have never been able to stay or grow there. Skyclan was his home. Her second comment made him laugh lightly, "Yes. It's always like this. I cannot imagine being able to sleep without the sounds of the forests." He had never thought about how different twolegplaces might be. Jazz had definitely come from an interesting place.

The tom chucked in amusement at her excitement. Now that their history lesson was over, training could officially begin. With some adjustment to clan life, Jazz would fit in well. This city raised cat, who had once served under a vicious rogue, was now here to be a part of Skyclan. Somehow Starclan had worked it out, despite all odds of this ever happening. The deputy leaped up onto his feet and fixed her with sparkling blue eyes. As he meowed an answer, the worlds with filled with a bit of his own excitement for their training. There was something refreshing about training with an older cat, "Starclan only speaks with clan leaders an medicine cats. However, we can certainly begin training. If you're ready of course." There was a bit of a challenge to the words. He launched himself at the she-cat as soon as the sentence left his maw.

Instead of trying to leap onto her back, Rippedsky slid underneath her belly and pushed up of the ground to throw her back. While Jazz clearly already had some level of fighting experience, he wanted to channel that into a calculated fighting skill. He could also teach her some of their clan specific moves. Rippedsky wasn't the best at executing them because of his Windclan frame, but he had the motions down well enough. Windclan fighting moves were still his strong suit. However, Jazz could probably pick up on them fairly well. He stared at her frame on the forest floor, waiting for her to jump back up and counter-strike.


OCC: do you have a warrior name planned for her someday? Or would I be allowed to come up with one for her in ceremony? I love her and I can't wait for her to become a full warrior :D I'm probably gonna see if Ripped can do her ceremony.