Attitude City (Closed for Ink)

It had been a few days after Crowstar had been announced to be missing by Rippedsky. Ever since then, he had been too busy for Dandelionpaw. She had been pouting around camp, halfheartedly doing her apprentice duties for the queens (since they had no elders) and the medicine cat. She'd talked some more with Lion's Eye when she went to see him and that was nice, but she wanted to train. She wanted to become more useful to her Clan, and she couldn't do that without training. So she'd went to Rippedsky and demanded a training session. He'd looked into her defiant eyes and told her that he needed to lead the Clan. But there was someone she could go to to be properly taught while he had his paws full.

Dandelionpaw nervously approached the warriors' den, dragging her paws in the dirt. She had never talked to this warrior before in her short life and she was afraid of what he'd be like. What was his name? Hawkstrike? That sounded scary, but Rippedsky had told her he was able to be trusted. She hoped she was right as she finally reached the den and poked her head in, blocking the early dawn light.

"Hawkstrike...?"

Hawkstrike was resting on one of the darkest corners of the warrior’s den, his body almost completely hidden by darkness. The few that could still be visible blended in perfectly with some branches of fern that grew behind him and the somewhat dry moss he preferred over the fresh one that most nests were made of. It was somewhat odd on the eyes of the other warriors, but he found comfort on the prickly branches, and the fresh moss reminded him too much of his past on ShadowClan, causing him to reject the more comfortable choice of bedding over the crunchy one that was the brownish one he slept on. The only thing he could never let go of were the shadows that had become a huge part of him, the darkness that had taken him in when everyone else turned their backs at him.

He wasn’t asleep, just…resting. He wasn’t assigned to any patrols at the time and having to keep up his act became tiring at times. It was true that the shady cat had grown used to carry the friendly mask of the hawk, but deep inside him, the owl was still alive and itching to spread its dark wings, talons sharp and ready for the war it longed so much to bring upon those who abandoned him only to later come back and tear down the few good things he had managed to gather from the broken shards of what once had been a happy life. It was at times like this, when the owl felt especially strong within him, that he liked to spend some time on his own and let it spread its wings deep inside his mind and soar through the twisted images that his imagination gave to him. Images where he was victorious and shady cats with ghostly pelts and red eyes stood at his side, glancing at the forest from the top of the Great Rock.

It was then when a young voice reached his ears, his eyes opening from one second to another. The green glow coming from them was unsettling at first, as the warrior wasn’t expecting anyone to come in looking for him and he hadn’t managed to put on the mask of the friendly hawk on time to hide the vicious owl from sight. Like green eyes belonging to an unnatural predator or a hostile spirit wakened from its eternal rest, Hawkstrike’s eyes locked on the apprentice for a couple seconds.

The chocolate tom blinked a couple times, the glare turning into a gentler gaze as he got up and stepped out from the shadows with the mask of the hawk on once more and a soft smile on his muzzle “Dandelionpaw” He greeted politely “I wasn’t expecting to see you here, is there anything you need?”.

"Rippedsky sent me here to you. He's been super, super busy lately and can't really train me. I've heard you're a good warrior..." she trailed off shyly. Dandelionpaw felt claws of anxiety grip her heart. She didn't feel comfortable meeting new cats, although having Rippedsky as her mentor eased her fears somewhat. When she was alone, however, she was petrified.

Training?

It was fairly surprising for Hawkstrike to hear the request. He had never had an apprentice before, yet the younger she-cat was asking for her advice AND Rippedsky approved of this? He could feel a huge smile forming on his muzzle at the thought. Not only was the deputy willing to trust him with this kind of responsibility, but the apprentice thought that it could be a good idea too, the clan was truly accepting him. It was a funny feeling the one he felt deep inside his chest, not the rage he was used to feel all day, but…was it happiness? Maybe even joy? It has been so long since he felt anything like this…

He shook the thought off before stepping towards Dandelionpaw and pointing towards the entrance of the camp with his muzzle “If training is what you want, that’s what you’ll get. Let’s go to a less crowded place so we don’t risk injuring somebody by accident” He wasn’t even done talking when he started to head out and towards the entrance of the camp that led to the rest of the territory. He never had an apprentice before, and even if he was only aiding Rippedsky for the time being he still wanted to do it right.

His mind went over and over the lessons Amberclaw gave him so many moons ago, completely unaware of the fact that such ruthless training wouldn’t be accepted by any cat that wasn’t loyal to the Dark Forest. He was about to drag Dandelionpaw away from the honorific path of the warrior following the code and place her on a dark path covered in the blood of many cats, the path of a Dark Forest warrior, and she was completely unaware of this fact while he considered this the only right way to go.

Only once they had reached a good enough spot and far from patrols or the camp itself, quickly securing the lack of distractions, he turned around to face the apprentice “Show me what you already know, so I know what you need to learn” He got into a fighting stance, even if most basic poses like that one were quite similar, his was way more aggressive than the average one, the only reason he hadn’t unsheathed his claws being the lesson Amberclaw had taught him about keeping claws sheathed at certain times when training with another cat.

Dandelionpaw didn't even have time to agree before he whipped out of camp. She hesitated for a moment, then followed. It would be rude if she didn't follow, after all, since she'd bothered him for training.

She walked into the trees, gazing up at the bright green canopy as she went. She loved SkyClan with all of her heart, even with all of the trouble going on. She couldn't imagine pledging herself to any other Clan, or worse, showing no honor by being a rogue or a kittypet. She was tenacious when confident and her Clan gave her the confidence to do anything... even become a merciless killer, albeit, with Hawkstrike, she wouldn't know what she was being taught to do.

As he came to a halt in the clearing, his voice called out to her and drew her attention. At his command, she dropped into her own attack stance, She noticed his stance was different than hers, more aggressive, better-suited for full-out attacks. Immediately, she tried to copy it, but couldn't quite do anything other than the basic Clan-cat battle stance. Her paws were sheathed without hesitation, as a code-obeying cat would have them. Her tail was straight up in the air, a twitching mass of feathery fur, twitching with excitement and nervousness.

At first, Hawkstrike couldn’t help but feel somewhat confused by the apprentice’s more defensive battle stance that was so common to those cats that once he saw fight against the Dark Forest, as well as the lack of an immediate attack at his signal. He had to remind himself that he was dealing with what probably was only an unexperienced apprentice that hadn’t seen anything but peace her whole happy life, much unlike himself. They had a long way to go.

“You probably have no idea how real battles are fought, living without a care in the world alongside your parents and littermates. I’ll apologize in advance for popping your bubble, but this world isn’t as soft and happy as everyone makes it look and if you’re not prepared you may not survive, kit” He explained as he subtly changed his stance, losing the few defensive aspects he had in it from expecting an attack from the apprentice and making it fully offensive, muscles tense and senses alert like if he was about to pounce into a real battle instead of just training. The only difference being the fact that he was careful to keep his claws sheathed for the time being.

Without any warning, his whole body sprung to action, his paws covering the short distance between him and Dandelionpaw in a couple heartbeats. His claws were released from their sheaths on his paws as they landed on the ground less than a whisker-length from Dandelionpaw’s smaller figure on what otherwise would have been a powerful blow. The strength that he had put into the attack causing some of the grass under his paws to get ripped apart from the soil and some dirt to rise for half a second. Such strength was unusual in a cat smaller than the average like Hawkstrike was, showing one of the reasons he had earned the suffix strike over many others that could’ve easily fit him just as well “Never let your guard down in the battlefield, and always strike first with all you’ve got. Your opponent will never stop and think on your wellbeing and if given the chance will rip you to shreds, so there is no reason for you to do otherwise”.

With those words he retreated to his initial position, his pawprints now clear on the dirt at the apprentice’s side on what could’ve been a hit strong enough to potentially harm her if the warrior hadn’t miss on purpose “Your turn, hit me with all you’ve got”.

Dandelionpaw leaped backwards, squeaking in surprise as Hawkstrike's claws sent earth and grass flying everywhere, some landing on her face. She shook her pelt out to get rid of the dirt and hesitantly nodded at Hawkstrike's words. "I should hit with all I've got... but what if I seriously hurt them? What if they die...?" she said, although she doubted that she could actually hurt someone so badly.

However, Hawkstrike hadn't even acknowledged her question, so she was forced to launch herself at him with all her might, desperate to impress him. She was smaller than Hawkstrike, being a runt, so theoretically she should have moved faster, but her thick fur got in the way. Her attack ended up being less of a hit-and-run and more of a hit-and-fall-over.

“Death is a risk we all take when we chose the warrior path, and believe me, your opponent won’t care if they kill you or not. A kill, is nothing but another way to win most of the time” Hawkstrike, narrowed his eyes as he tensed, ready to receive the attack of the younger cat, but it was clearly way less that he had originally expected.

Confused by the lack of strength on the blow, he looked at the apprentice who was now lying on the ground instead of standing up. In his confused state, it took Hawkstrike a couple seconds to put all the pieces of this puzzle together, allowing an awkward silence to make itself present before he broke into a wholehearted laugh. He was sincerely expecting an apprentice who had been previously trained in any way, but apparently Rippedsky’s duties hadn’t allowed him to train his apprentice at all, or at least not in the battling area.

Taking a deep breath, he decided to take a different approach. He was trying to train Dandelionpaw in the same way Amberclaw had trained him so long ago, but he had to remember one simple thing he had said before. The apprentice had never gone through the harsh times he was forced to go through, she didn’t have the same rage that had been the fuel for his own attacks since he could remember, and he didn’t think he would be able to turn the feelings of a cat raised in such happy times to rage as well. He needed to find what Dandelionpaw could use to fuel her own attacks. It was going to be hard, but he was willing to give it a try.

“Ok, ok, get up” He meowed as he pushed Dandelionpaw softly with his nose in an attempt to help her get up. It was…weird…the warm feeling he felt deep within his chest. Could this be what it felt to bond with a younger cat as a mentor? The feeling his own father had decided he wasn’t worth of? Though true that this cat wasn’t truly his apprentice, it was the closest thing he ever had to have one…or a kit of his own. The thought immediately made him feel like if a stone fell in his stomach, painful memories of his past flooding him for a second before he forced them to retreat.

With a deep sigh, he got into position once more, but this time at Dandelionpaw’s side “Your position is unstable, any cat would be able to knock you off without trouble, and if they do the battle may be over for you. You also need to be ready to attack in it, as you won’t stay still all the time. Try to copy me again, I’ll correct you if needed” The chocolate brown warrior had decided to be more patient, and try to correct her on the basics before moving to more complicated lessons.

Dandelionpaw quickly got up, embarrassed that she had slipped like that. She quickly sprung into a proper stance, although it was a tad bit shaky and unbalanced, like she had not been trained very much-- which she hadn't been since Crowstar disappeared.