Peatpaw's Training (for jenn45)

Leopardclaw still wasn't comfortable making camp at Sunningrocks; and he probably never would be. The gray stone beneath his paws was vastly different from the sandy ground that had blanketed the ThunderClan ravine, and though he had always loved to gaze at the shining river, living beside it now only reminded him of how close they were to rival clan land. In fact, Sunningrocks was technically still RiverClan's; they were only allowed to stay there until the worst of the camp's damage was repaired. As he trotted towards where the apprentices had made their nests, the young warrior snorted with contempt; the thought of their lives and home totally in the paws of another clan was beginning to fray his nerves.

Poking his head into the crevice, he called out his newest apprentice's name quietly as to not wake the others, hazel eyes searching the darkness. "Peatpaw, training!" Backing out, Leopardclaw began to pace back and forth across the stone, restless to run in their own territory. Though burnt and damaged, it was still home. He could still see all the landmarks that were so dear to his heart, and he had faith that the forest would soon repair it's self. We have plenty of time before leaf-bare comes; but if worst comes to worst we need to make sure we have all the warriors we can get.

Peatpaw awoke to the sound of his name. A heartbeat later, he jumped up, realizing this was his first full day as an apprentice of Thunderclan. Wanting to make Leopardclaw proud, he scrambled towards the opening in the rock. In his haste, he accidentally stepped on the tail of a fellow apprentice, causing that cat to yowl in surprise. Without stopping to look back, Peatpaw uttered a quick "Sorry!" and burst out of the makeshift den. "Hello, Leopardclaw! I'm ready to start training!" he meowed, a little louder than he had intended.

Leopardclaw winced when he heard the angry yowl of an apprentice, and turned with a flicking tail-tip to greet Peatpaw when he emerged, a kind smile adorning the spotted tom's face. He could tell that Peatpaw was quite a nervous young cat, if not a tad bit awkward, so he hoped that by treating him kindly and going slow at first he could help his newest apprentice gain a bit of self-confidence.

With a bit of a purr, Leopardclaw clicked his tongue sympathetically and meowed; "You always have to be careful walking in the apprentice den, I've done that plenty of times to plenty of cats, and they are never happy about it." One of those many cats had been Rockthorn - Rockpaw at the time - but he saved that small detail from Peatpaw; the memory of the scarred warrior was still fresh in many cat's minds.

"Well, at least we're both awake now. Why don't you grab a quick meal before we heard out, we have a lot of ground to cover." Waving his long tail towards the prey pile, Leopardclaw sat down nearby and finished up his grooming as he waited for the young cat to eat.

"Yes, Leopardclaw! I'll be right back!" Peatpaw scampered over to the fresh-kill pile, eager to please Leopardclaw with his obedience. He wasn't sure what to make of how kind Leopardclaw was being towards him. The warrior's actions towards him had been quite gentle so far, but there was an air of distraction about him. What was the older cat thinking about? Could Peatpaw count on the warrior always being so thoughtful towards him, or would the kindness disappear once they left the camp?

Peatpaw knew he wanted to be a loyal warrior himself, someday. But "someday" had always seemed very far away. He wished he could feel as excited about being an apprentice as his siblings did. Especially Shrewkit, who seemed to have been born ready for training. Peatpaw swallowed his last gulp of vole and resolved to do his very best to do everything exactly as Leopardclaw instructed him.

"If I always do exactly what he tells me, everything will be fine," he said to himself as he headed back towards the friendly-appearing - yet also terrifyingly intimidating - Leopardclaw.

Lowering himself onto his haunches, Leopardclaw watched for a moment as Peatpaw scampered off to the prey-pile like he had asked, pleased at the young tom's obedience. He had gotten quite lucky so far; all three of the toms he had been mentor to so far had been smart, dutiful young cats; he knew by experience some mentors didn't get so lucky. Ha, even I was a bit of a rebel when I was their age.... A faint smile on his spotted face, Leopardclaw licked his paw and gently cleaned his ears, feeling a twinge of resentment as he brushed against the torn edge Rockthorn had inflicted during their first fight.

Even though Peatpaw seems to be a good apprentice so far, Leopardclaw noticed that he seemed to lack something Blazingpaw and Hawkpaw surely didn't; confidence in himself, and self-assurance. Hesitation and doubt wouldn't do any good in the middle of a battle when every move needs quick decisions; no second chances. Seeing the tom's sibling Shrewpaw joking around with his son Reedpaw made the difference even more jarring; Darkstar's other son had too much confidence for his own good. Maybe hanging out with Reedpaw would help him with that; his son had always been a smart, grounded young cat.

As Peatpaw finished his meal and padded back over to him, Leopardclaw rose to his paws and smiled, a bit of challenge hidden behind it this time. "You ready? Good, let's head out!" Without much of a warning, Leopardclaw dashed off out into the charred forest, enjoying the breeze whipping around his ears. He didn't expect the young cat to keep pace with him - his blurry rogue origins had granted him exceptional speed - but he wanted to see how fast the tom could go. It could help him find out the best way to approach training.

"Wh-, wait!" Peatpaw squealed as he watched in dismay as his mentor disappeared from sight over the rocks.  Oh, great! he thought.  It's my first day as an apprentice and I've already lost my mentor! I'll probably never live this down, I'll be teased for moons, I'll probably never be able to become a warrior, I'll....

"Hey, Peatpaw! Better get moving now or you'll never catch up to Leopardclaw!" one of the elders yowled behind him.

Catch up!  Right, that's what I need to do.  Peatpaw shook his head and sprang into action, running in the direction he last saw Leopardclaw.  He tried to put all other doubts out of his mind and focused only on finding his mentor.  He scarcely noticed the sand and rocks under his paws as he hurtled forward, hardly registering the brambles tugging his fur or the fallen tree trunk he leaped over.   Must find Leopardclaw, must find Leopardclaw, must find Leopardclaw, he repeated to himself like a mantra.  Without conscious effort, he opened his mouth to taste the air for his mentor's scent, following the older cat's trail as it led deeper into the forest.  

Peatpaw was so absorbed in his quest to reunite with Leopardclaw that he was caught off guard when he actually saw Leopardclaw up ahead of him, still a blur racing through the trees.  Did he imagine that his mentor looked back with an expression of surprise?  

Whoa! he thought to himself. I can't believe I found him! Peatpaw knew he would not be able to actually catch up to Leopardclaw if the warrior kept going, but he felt very proud of himself for even finding him.  Maybe Leopardclaw won't think I'm a total lost cause, after all!

Hearing pounding pawsteps coming from behind him, Leopardclaw stole a quick glance over his shoulder, slightly surprised that Peatpaw had managed to catch up with him so quickly. He's pretty quick, I'm impressed! Let's see if he can keep it up. With a smile, Leopardclaw continued to run through the burnt forest, slowing his pace only slightly. He was heading for the training hollow, and when they arrived the golden tom-cat skidded to a halt, his paws spraying sand into the air. Turning, he sat down and waited for Peatpaw to appear out of the trees.

Peatpaw's brief moment of happiness at finding Leopardclaw dampened as he realized his mentor was again getting further ahead of him.  Oh, no!  I lost him again!  The new apprentice put all his energy into following the older cat's scent trail and was rewarded a few minutes later with the sight of his mentor coolly lounging in the middle of a clearing.  

"ER, hi, Leopardclaw,"  he panted self-consciously.  "Sorry I fell behind back there.  It'll happen again.  Oh!  I mean, won't!  It won't happen again!"  

Could this have started out any worse?  he wondered miserably.  I haven't even actually started training yet!  

Leopardclaw rose to his paws when he spotted Peatpaw emerge from the bushes, a gentle smile flashing on his face as the young tom began to ramble a needless apology.  "It's okay Peatpaw, you don't need to apologize.  I didn't expect you to keep up with me; not for lack of skill or effort on your part though, I've always been more of a runner than most ThunderClan cats.  You did very well"  With a reassuring wink, Leopardclaw padded away a few paces and dug his claws into the sand, steadying himself as he bent down into a perfected hunting crouch.  "Now, I'm sure you've seen apprentices practicing this in camp at one point or another.  This is the hunting crouch; try your best to copy what I'm doing and I'll give you tips as you go."