Let's Go Already!

It was a chilly morning, just before sunrise. Greenleaf was drawing to a close and a few clouds scuttled across the pink and orange swirled sky as if trying to evade the cool breeze. A few bold larks twittered to themselves from the tree-branches, sharing their thoughts on the sleeping clan below.
Deep in the forest a fox yapped sharply and her three adolescent cubs trundled clumsily out of their makeshift den. The vixen could feel the rain in the air, and rain means cold. She had to move her family before the rains came. Slowly she leads the way out of the forest, skirting around the humans and trotting off into the unknown with her cubs at her heels.


Despite all the commotion, Sharppaw was fast asleep. She rolled over slowly, her gangly legs hanging out of her nest. Groaning unhappily she rolled yet again and opened her bright green eyes lazily. Give it a few moons and she'd be too big for the den.
She grumbled to herself, stretching slowly. Her ceremony had happened a few days ago, but Leopardclaw still hadn't taken her into the territory yet.
She huffed and slowly got to her feet. If he didn't take her into the territory, she'd just have to take him out instead.
The fluffy she-cat squeezed out of the den, falling over clumsily. Someone should really make that entrance bigger...

Disgruntled, the awkward apprentice strutted towards the Fresh-Kill pile, picking out a squirrel with a flourish. Sharppaw flounced towards a flat spot and tucked into her meal with gusto.
A short while later the squirrel had disappeared, and all that was left was a pile of bones. Her hunger satisfied, the she-cat padded determinedly towards the warrior den.
"Leopardclaw!" She hissed, stepping over and onto warriors. "Leopardclaw, I'm taking you hunting. C'mon."

(occ: AHK, I'm so sorry for my lateness Dx)

Leopardclaw was sleeping soundly in his nest at the center of the den, his mate Lichenfang at his side.  His paws twitched slightly as he dreamed, probably running after a tasty mouse or squirrel, but that fantasy would not last long.  A loud voice in his ear startled the golden spotted tom into consiousness, bolting upright in his nest, his hazel eyes wide with shock.  Heart beating fast, Leopardclaw turned with bleary sight towards the brown tabby blob that had rudely awoken him, and it took several blinks before he could make out who it was.  "Sh..Sharppaw?"  It took a few moments for all the facts to settle into place, but soon enough his face became alert with annoyance, and his voice - though lowered - radiated with anger.  "Sharppaw!  Out of the warriors den, come on, out!"  Nudging the she-cat roughly towards the entrance, he took a moment to glance back longingly at his warm nest before emerging into the chilly morning.  Gazing down angrily at his apprentice, he began to let her have it.  "What in StarClan's name were you doing?!  You do not just go tramping into the dens and waking cats up unless there is an emergency!  Many cats in there who were on the evening patrol last night would not be gracious to be waken up by a raucous apprentice, including me!"

Sharppaw huffed indignantly as she was ushered out of the den.
"But I have to impress Specklefang! How am I going to earn her respect and lead the clan if I can't even train?" She shook her head. "Besides, Specklefang said that a good warrior should be up before dawn! I'm not going to disappoint her so soon after becoming an apprentice."

She fluffed her fur. "C'mon- I wanna go see if I can catch a badger!"
She took a step forward and tripped, stumbling over a stick.
Clearing her throat a little she flicked her tail. "Who put that there? Were they trying to make me fall?"
With a haughty glare at the offending twig she took another step forward.
"I wanna learn how to hunt AND fight today, okay?"

Hiding a yawn by - barely - managing to turn it into a long sigh, Leopardclaw glared down sternly at his energetic apprentice, his irritation steadily growing. "Just because Specklefang does things a certain way doesn't mean that everybody does Sharppaw, and besides, this isn't about working to impress your mother! It's about training at your own pace and to the best of your abilities. If you overwork yourself just to look impressive that doesn't make you strong; it makes you reckless, and foolish." While he knew Specklefang was certainly an impressive warrior, he didn't really agree with some of her...methods, and habits. The pressure she put on her children seemed more like a burden than encouragement, and he was still quite annoyed concerning her blatant attack on his former apprentice, Blazingwing. Long story short, Specklefang wouldn't be getting much sympathy from him.

Leopardclaw shook his head slowly as he watched Sharppaw's display, though against his best interests he was a bit amused. The young she-cat certainly had a lot of enthusiastic energy, and if he was able to channel that into a tame, productive measure, she would definitely be a force to be reckoned with. A hint of a smile on his face, Leopardclaw purred; "I don't think there are any badgers out there waiting to be caught, but we can definitely work on the hunting and fighting." Even though his body screamed against it, Leopardclaw signed and began to lead the way to the camp entrance, glancing over his shoulder to meow; "Well...since I'm up now we might as well go. Follow me" Putting on a small burst of speed, he jogged out of the camp entrance and out into the forest.

OOC: Sorry I'm so late!
IC:
Sharppaw grunted, tossing her head slightly. Leopardclaw could say whatever he wanted about her mother, but that didn't mean she had to believe it.
"If you overwork yourself just to look impressive that doesn't make you strong; it makes you reckless, and foolish."
She had to admit there was definitely some truth to that. How could she protect Thunderclan if she didn't have enough energy?

She padded towards the camp entrance, blinking in surprise as Leopardclaw easily overtook her. She grimaced and ran after him, her muscles already screaming in agony.
She certainly had a lot of work to do.
"Alright. Are we gonna hunt or fight? Or both? Can we do both?" She gasped. Her legs were much shorter than Leopardclaw's and she had to take three steps for every one he took.

Leopardclaw noticed that Sharppaw wasn't quite as fast as he had expected; the long-legged tom tried his best to keep up a brisk pace while also making sure she didn't get left behind, which was harder than it seemed.  Going fast had always come naturally to him, he was adept at running and swerving through the trees, which also made him good at overtaking and overwhelming enemies, and dodging most attacks.  He definitely wasn't the strongest cat around - that prize easily went to Specklefang - but he made up for that by using his knowledge and good reflexes; if you know in the beginning how an enemy attacks, it makes it much easier to dodge and find their weak spots.  That was what he hoped to teach Sharppaw eventually; strength is only as good as the brain put behind it.

For now though he would start with the basics, give her a bit of a warm up.  Once they reached a nearby clearing, Leopardclaw stopped and looked around, scent the air.  He could smell a few prey scents nearby, but he didn't go after them.  "Let's start with some hunting.  I can smell plenty of prey around here; I want you to scent some out and try your best to catch some."    He didn't want to bore her with rigorous instruction concerning her hunting crouch first thing; he felt it best that he allowed her to learn those things practically, through a trial and error method.  After this attempt he would examine her technique and see what would need to improve.

Sharppaw gasped for air. More running?
Still, orders were orders.
Obediently, she lifted her nose, trying to smell any nearby creatures. Something wafted towards her- a warm, meaty smell that she recognized from the Fresh-Kill Pile, only stronger, and less stale.

She crouched down, her rump in the air, and half-ran towards it. The creature, whatever it was, leapt up and ran before she had even started to unsheath her claws. Disappointed, she turned her gaze towards the skies. Yes! A small bird was perched recklessly on a branch, with it's back to her.
With a grin she clawed her way up the tree clumsily, grunting.
Closer, closer...
The bird turned to her and tilted it's head, giving a small, confused chirp before fluttering a few branches away. Sharppaw grimaced and turned, her eyes widening slightly. She was rather high up.
She swallowed and began to slowly claw her way feet-first down the tree, slipping a few mouselengths every now and again.
A few foxlength away from the ground her back legs slipped. With a yelp she fell the last few feet, landing with a humiliating thunk.The bird began to sing cheerfully above her head, looking down at her with an amused expression.

With a groan Sharppaw got to her feet, glowing at the bird. Giving her coat a shake she turned to look at Leopardclaw. She wouldn't be getting any help from him today.
She sat down again. There was no way she could fight her way through this. What had she learned so far? Falling hurt? She couldn't climb trees?

Her ears pricked as something skittered behind her. Slowly, slowly she turned to see a bright red, albeit elderly, squirrel who was chattering to itself in the undergrowth.
She quietly lowered herself to the ground and stalked the squirrel. She'd need to get closer to it before she pounced.
She inched closer and closer, her tail high in the air.
Finally she pounced on the squirrel, scrabbling forward awkwardly. With a soft growl she bit it's neck, like Specklefang had told her to.
How long was she supposed to hold on? Surely that was enough, right?
Gently she loosened her jaws, padding towards Leopardclaw. She spat it at his feet, puffing out her chest.
"See? I'm already an excellent hunter."

(occ: sorry for how terribly late this is Dx)

Leopardclaw watched Sharppaw's various attempts to catch prey with a stoic gaze, nit-picking her mistakes in his mind and reminding himself on what would need to be corrected.  Soon she had managed to nab an elderly squirrel, and he could almost chuckle as she spat it at his paws with a triumphant purr.  It was a fairly good catch, but he knew that the apprentice could do better; now was the time for corrections.  "That was one good catch, but you have a long way to go until you're going to be called excellent."  His tone was a bit scathing, but he didn't try to change it.  "First of all, you need to work on your hunting crouch.  Stalking off lopsided and clumsy like that is basically the same as you yowling out your location.  Also, you need to have more patience when stalking prey.  You must concentrate on your surroundings and making sure that you're as quiet as you can possibly be."

"Second, tree hunting is an advance technique that you're not ready for yet; stick to hunting on the ground for now.  Climbing that high without experience is only going to lead to disaster, and I don't think Specklefang - or I for the matter - will be pleased if you end up in the medicine cat's den with a broken leg."  Finishing his rant with a sighing breath, Leopardclaw pushed aside Sharppaw's squirrel and stood up, stretching out.  "Okay, knowing all that, let's go back to the basics.  Copy my crouch the best you can."  Lowering himself into a perfected hunter's crouch, he kept his eyes on the tabby apprentice to see how she would perform.