Duskpaw's training

So she was the mentor to all those with some sort of disability or origins that were not of Thunderclan? Alright then, if that was her role as a mentor than that was that. With two apprentices to train, and many others under her belt that have grown to be strong respectful warriors she had grown used to her early morning regimes. She'd have to do something that Duskpaw would have some talent in, she saw Sunpaw's strong legs used in action so perhaps Duskpaw had the same ability?

With a partial plan established she pushed herself begrudgingly once more into the apprentice's den, her eyes immediately seeking out her kits. Taking a quick moment to give them each a lick and a nuzzle before turning to her new apprentice, her ears pressing against her head. "Duskpaw, get up. You have training." She spat simply, her tail giving a lash and shaking the den. Without hesitation, she pushed her paw lightly onto the tom-cats head before stepping out of the den and waiting.

As an early riser, Duskpaw was half-awake by the time Specklefang can into the den. Slightly intimidated by his mentor's size and notorious reputation, the tom wisely chose to keep his eyes shut until she nudged for him to awaken. Only then did he bolt up out of his nest, briefly grooming his fur and then licking his paws to clean his eyes before trotting out to meet the warrior. "Good morning, Specklefang. What are we doing today?"

"Good morning Duskpaw, I figured I'd break you in before we get to the real training. You were born in the caves so you haven't been born into clan life properly. You've proven that you're certainly.. different. With this information, I want to know what you can do before we begin. Think of it as like an assessment but for me alone." Specklefang coolly meowed as she swiftly led the tom towards the sandy hollow, her fur only briefly getting stuck on the bramble thorns. Fluffing her fur out against a brief draft she turned to look down at her sleek apprentice, hoping that this abomination might just be worth something to her.

There was no doubt that Specklefang was a very strict mentor, her need for perfection for her apprentices great. Cherrypaw was blind but Specklefang had been able to make her see exceptionally well with her other senses, for that it was almost like Cherrypaw was a normal cat. Boarpaw was growing strong and would have definitely made the other clans quiver in their pelts but he had gone missing. Emberpaw she wasn't sure about, but with the results, she had been able to produce she could see that her training was doing her good.

Now it was Duskpaw's turn. Time to whip the brown turd into shape. Once Specklefangs paws touched the sand she turned to face her apprentice quickly, looming over him. Specklefang spent no time standing around, swiping her paw she aimed to take out the young toms legs whilst kicking up dust with her tail. "Let's have a spar, Duskpaw! Show me what a cat born in caves is capable of!" Specklefang jeered, leaping back.

There were words of protest that hung just at the tip of his tongue, but there was nothing really to protest. She was right, he was a cave-born half-blood that only got to remain in ThunderClan due to the generosity of Blizzardstar. The wide open sky and the rustling of trees still startled him at times, and he wasn't used to all this endless green. But one thing he knew for certain was that he wasn't going to let this pull him down, he wanted to be a son that Umberflame would be proud of.

So when Specklefang took a swipe at him, trying to take his legs out from under him. Unexperienced, he fell predictably into the sand but he was quick to get up again, shaking the sand from his pelt before bracing himself. Taking in a deep breath, the tom leant down before pouncing with all the strength in his tiny legs.

Specklefang met the tom in the air, wrapping her large paws around the lithe body of the brown apprentice. Falling forwards, Specklefang unwrapped one of her paws and lowered herself to the ground whilst holding the little scrap in another paw. "You need to learn how to attack your opponents properly, and to size them up. I'm very big and strong, while you're quite tiny and weak. The imbalance won't work out and you'll end up costing your life. So come at it differently, I'm very big, but I'm slow. You're small but you're very fast. See? There's always an opposite that will work, but you have to find it first." Specklefang meowed sternly before pushing herself up and settling Duskpaw back onto his paws.