A Breath of Fresh Air [Closed]

Rippedsky allowed himself to relax and simply smile. The past moons had been filled with the stress of losing his family, as well as the new weight of his position. Taking on an apprentice could only serve to add to his busy schedule. However, he missed having a younger cat around to train. His own kits had been given different mentors who kept them always working. Clan life was moving on rapidly and he as simply along for the ride. Well, that used to be the case. Now, he helped to lead the whole thing. He was constantly thankful for the peace Skyclan seemed to have for the time being. Other than Bear giving all of the clans trouble, and Ashstar and Crowstar's constant non-violent feud, not much was happening with them. A contented smile crossed his features as he padded to go wake his new apprentice for the first time.

Inside the apprentice's den, Gorsepaw's lightly snoring frame rose and fell with the rhythm of sleep. A light chucked left the deputy's throat. He remembered fondly his days as an apprentice. He had been just that same way at first, when he was in Windclan. Heatherstripe had woken him up early and shown him the whole territory. I hope Starclan is treating you well, He thought, glancing upwards for a brief second before coming back to reality. Padding forwards the black and white tom stretched out a paw to lightly prod Gorsepaw. His blue eyes looked down at the younger cat, expecting him to still be groggy with sleep.

"Gorsepaw. It's time to begin your training," He meowed softly, with a bit of a purr underlining his words. The Skyclan deputy was beyond excited to be training again, even if he wasn't as externally enthusiastic as some may be.

Gorsepaw gave a soft trill in his sleep. The usual dream of chasing rabbits... His whiskers twitched, and his nose quivered as he lie asleep in his nest. The prodding of a paw shocked him from his sleep, and his fur stuck out in every direction. His claws were unsheathed, and his tail was stuck straight out like a stick. He looked up to see who had disturbed his sleep. He recognized his new appointed mentor, Rippedsky. His fur settled down. "Wh- Oh, Rippedsky...?" His eyes adjusted to the light of the sun filtering into the den. He'd almost forgotten his training.

The apprentice hopped to his feet. "Gorsepaw, reporting for duty, sir mentor!" His chest fur puffed out as he straightened himself out. Inside, his body ached for more sleep, and his eyes began to droop. "What are we doing first today?" he asked. His mature disposition had gone as quickly as it had come, and the tomcat was eager and curious once more as his tail began to swish with excitement.

A soft chuckle left the black and white tom's throat. Gorsepaw certainly had much more enthusiasm than his last apprentice. Before his untimely death, Kestrelpaw had been rather serious and disinterested. There was a brief pang of sadness in his chest as he remembered his former apprentice. However, it was replaced with excitement at the prospect of training up another young Skyclan tom. He turned to lead the way outside of the den. On the way out, he carefully picked his way around the sleeping frames of other young cats. Despite having just come from outside, the early morning sun was strong, and caused him to blink a few times. Rippedsky headed straight to the entrance. The older tom was careful to keep a slower pace so Gorsepaw's shorter legs could keep up.

His pace was casual, reveling in the beauty of such a perfect day to start. Rippedsky padded along, glancing down at his apprentice as he spoke, "First, we're going to show you the territory. I'll take you along the Shadowclan border as well. Have to make sure they're not up to anything." His tone was light and joking. With everything being calm for Skyclan right now, he wasn't worried about finding anything there. Other than a tussle with Mudfoot back when he was an apprentice, Rippedsky hadn't dealt much with the pine-dwelling cats. Hopefully, things would stay that way. The deputy looked at Gorsepaw, hoping the answer was satisfactory. If not, he had planned to surprise the younger cat with a bit of hunting training as well.

Gorsepaw was not as graceful in avoiding to disturb his denmates. He stepped on a fellow apprentice's tail, and received a swipe to his leg. He rushed from the den, gazing up at Rippedsky. Hopefully he didn't see that... He straightened himself up and perked his ears to listen. "Okay!" He secretly hoped that a border skirmish happened. Clan life was so dull in camp! Gorsepaw could rough someone up if he tried.

He followed his mentor as they headed toward the camp entrance. "What is ShadowClan like?" he asked absentmindedly. What kind of cats were they? What was their territory like? He wondered why Rippedsky would know, but then he reminded himself... Rippedsky knew everything.

"You may have heard a few stories in the nursery... but they are the masters of the night. Shadowclan cats are awake during the nighttime, while the rest of us sleep. They specialize in both hunting and fighting at night, which makes them deadly opponents. You need to watch your pelt at night near the border." The deputy began, launching into a full explanation of Shadowclan. His last comment was mostly teasing, but there was a serious note to it as well. Everything the tom had shared was true, Shadowclan was a force to be reckoned with. Mudfoot, the only Shadowclan cat he had ever tussled with, had been a skilled warrior, "Despite they're reputation for being a bit harsher than other clan cats, they're not bad. I fought alongside one of their warriors recently."

He hadn't meant to bring up the battle, but Flamestrike had been one of the only Shadowclan warriors he'd ever met. Hazeflight had been another, but their encounter had only been during the birth of her kits. Otherwise, Rippedsky didn't know too many personally. His tail flicked back and forth as they walked together. It occurred to him at some point that it would take forever to get make it to the border. A light smirk appeared on his maw. Let's see how fast you can run. The deputy suddenly bolted off. He weaved through the trees, which was easy to navigate due to his thin, Windclan frame. It was after a few moments that he slowed to see how Gorsepaw was faring. And they were finally at the border.

Gorsepaw stared up at the warrior in amazement. He actually met a ShadowClan cat and fought with him? "Wow!" he marveled, nearly tripping over a rabbit hole. He closed his eyes and drank in the scents of the forest. SkyClan's territory was so rocky and hard to maneuver. He was glad he had strong legs to get around the craggy area.

Gorsepaw's eyes fluttered open as Rippedsky bolted away. "Whoa, hey!" the apprentice blurted. Did the deputy see something he didn't? A fox? A badger? His heart beginning to pound, he rushed forward, finding it a bit difficult to keep his balance over the rocks and through the trees. He lost his footing once, bruising his cheek on a large tree root. He gathered himself once more and followed Rippedsky's scent trail. Tired, he was relieved to see that his mentor had stopped. He dragged himself next to him, blood coursing wildly with energy.

"Uh-- Mentor... sir," his voice trailed off as the ginger tabby stopped to catch his breath. Was this the ShadowClan border?

The deputy settled back on his haunches as he waited for Gorsepaw. When the young tom finally arrived, he smiled down at him. Despite being a new apprentice, the ginger tom had kept up fairly well. It was also impressive considering that Rippedsky's Windclan blood made him even faster. He nodded for the apprentice to take a seat. After the trek, Gorsepaw deserved a bit of a rest. Here they would be able to see the other clan's territory.

"This is Shadowclan," He started, casting a glance over the pine forest. Even in the daylight, there was a darkness cast over the territory. The dense pine trees kept light from warming the marshy lands that dotted their territory. The deputy suppressed a chuckle as he remembered the old nursery tale of how all Shadowclan cat's had chilled heart. Part of him wondered if Gorsepaw had heard the same tales he did as a young kit. Even though the tom had kits of his own, Rippedsky never had much time to spend there, "Taste the air. The have a rather... unique smell. It will do you good to remember that."

The red tabby obediently inhaled through his jaws, tasting the scent of the unfamiliar territory. The musky air of the swamp was not too pleasing to his senses. He scrunched his nose, curling his tail in disgust. The thought of mud squelching through his paws was not a thought he wanted to entertain. He stared up at his mentor. "How can cats live like that?"

His ear careened to the sound of shuffling behind him. The sight of a cottontail piqued his interest, and he instinctively dropped into a crouch. Eyes slitted and muscles tensed, he hoped Rippedsky was watching. My first hunt! This oughta impress him. Gorsepaw kept close to the ground before launching forward, hissing wildly. The rabbit skittered away, kicking up leaves as it disappeared into some brambles. The apprentice lashed his tail in annoyance. He'd almost had it! He hoped Rippedsky wasn't disappointed.

The member 'Pinely' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 7

"Nice try!" Rippedsky yowled happily after his apprentice. One moment they had been staring over the border, the next Gorsepaw was darting after a rabbit. It was an impressively bold move for young cat that had no prior hunting experience. The fact that his apprentice had even tried pleased the warrior. A delighted purr rumbled in his chest, even though the catch had been lost. He padded over to Gorsepaw's side, flicking the orange pelt with his tail, "That was great. Just a little more practice and you'll be catching rabbits like an experienced warrior."

The deputy crouched down, allowing his weight to distribute evenly over all four paws. He made sure to keep his tail straight in order not to brush up against anything. He thought for a brief moment about what to say to Gorsepaw. With his lithe, Windclan frame, the deputy was able to simply chase after rabbits with ease. On the other hand, the cat he was training instead had the muscular hindlegs of a Skyclan cat. The differences between him and his clanmates was sometimes very noticeable. Rippedsky hoped to still train Gorsepaw up like any other Skyclan apprentice, though. His mentor's origins wouldn't effect his training at all. Clearing his throat to bring himself back to attention, as well as making sure he had the orange cat's focus, Rippedsky spoke once more, "You were mostly spot on for your first attempt, but it takes a lot of practice. Follow my lead, just like this. Once you're in a good range, use your hindlegs to launch yourself forwards." He demonstrated with a decent leap. It was certainly less impressive than that of a true Skyclan cat, but the form was good. He looked for Gorsepaw to follow.

Gorsepaw beamed at Rippedsky's praise. He watched attentively as the deputy demonstrated the proper hunting technique. The black and white tom had such balance in his leap. He hoped he could pounce like that in due time. My turn, he thought to himself, mimicking the warrior's stance.

He focused his strength in his back legs, tensing them. As he attempted to kick off as his mentor did, he felt his leg strain. He had been clenching his muscles tightly in an effort to leap farther. The apprentice found himself collapsed in the leaves. "One more time," he begged as he gathered himself to his paws. Perhaps he shouldn't be too focused on his hindlegs. Gorsepaw positioned himself once more and watched Rippedsky with determined eyes. He leaned back and pounced from his haunches, much farther this time. Midair, he felt a sharp pain in his leg from his earlier attempt. The orange tom landed ungracefully, glancing back at his leg. "I think I pulled something."

He stared back off at ShadowClan territory. Were any ShadowClan cats watching him from a distance? He hoped they weren't laughing at him or at SkyClan. I'll be a true warrior of SkyClan. I won't let them laugh at me.

Gorsepaw had a great crouch and stance as he went to attempt once more. Rippedsky watched with interest, noticing how much stress the apprentice put on his hindlegs before leaping forwards. Before he could interject, the ginger tom was on his feet once more. It appeared that Gorsepaw realized his mistake. However, it was noticeable when the younger cat winced slightly in pain. As soon as he landed and meowed, Rippedsky was not too surprised. He didn't want to end their training early, but he also didn't want his apprentice to be injured. His eyes shined with concern as he went to to Gorsepaw's side.

"Let's get you back to camp. No point in trying to strain yourself on the first day out." Rippedsky positioned himself at the other cat's side, propping him up. If there was a serious strain, it wouldn't be good to aggravate it further. He made sure to send his apprentice a reassuring smile. Despite getting injured, Gorsepaw had shown a lot of promise on their first day.