training time! [closed]

Much to Elmpaw's disappointment, Rippedsky had finally started to gradually get him on a training schedule of sorts- which meant no more sleeping in till sun-high, eating his fill whenever he wanted, or even dozing in the sunlight for as long as he wanted. It wasn't fair! His dads were both Leaders and his mother was one of the most respected Warriors still in the Clan, and yet he wasn't allowed a little bit of extra sleep? He was being treated like...a regular apprentice? Letting out a sharp sigh of amusement, Elmpaw continued to lazily trudge through the sparse forest with disinterest. Kicking a few loose stones angrily with his forepaw as he continued to slowly work his way towards the Halfstone where he was supposed to meet the Deputy, the young apprentice hardly even noticed whenever he arrived at the imposing outline of the

Stiffly halting his monotonous march, Elmpaw titled his head to observed the massive rock in front of him, only barely able to feign interest as he looked at the Halfstone. Padding forward a tentative step, the ruddy tom leaned forwards to give the stone a curious sniff. Much to his surprise, he could feel a tempting amount of heat radiating from the ancient, dusty rock. Well he was never one to refuse an opportunity. Swinging his head around to make sure that Rippedsky wasn't within view or earshot, Elmpaw quickly scrambled up the stone the best he could. Dropping to his belly and sprawling out in an ungracefully manner on the smooth surface of the Halfstone, he let out a short, contended little purr as he felt the soothing heat rise from the rock. After stretching his forelegs out in front of him so that his paws dangled slightly over the still-jagged edge of the rock, Elmpaw dropped his head down onto his front legs so that his chin was comfortably resting upon his legs as he settled down to wait for Rippedsky to make his appearance.

"Good morning, Elmpaw. I'm glad to see you've finally arrived." The black and white tom appeared from the undergrowth behind where his apprentice lay. Much to his disappointment, the younger cat seemed far more interested in his comfortable position on the rock than he was in learning how to hunt or fight. Suppressing a sigh, he added, "Are you ready to begin?" It took every ounce of him not to add to the sentiment. He had hoped for a smooth and easy training session amidst all of the chaos that came with preparing for leafbare. His early moons had been lived through the harsh cold of the off season. Rippedsky was in no way ready to face that again. But, this time around, he had to help lead a clan through it.

He padded around to the front of the halfstone and settled back on his haunches. The warrior's deep blue gaze flickered up to meet his latest challe- apprentice's gaze. Without looking away, he signaled with his tail for the tom to join him on the forest floor. All he wanted to do was get this going quickly. So often he found training apprentices enjoyable. However, the weight of everything happening and the very recent loss of Addergaze seemed to press on him and turned his usually cheerful disposition into a far more serious one. If Rippedsky spent time thinking about things, he knew it would prevent him from doing them. Now, he was stuck in one motion after another. He hoped that Elmpaw would not add to the stress of it all. Praying to Starclan for some patience, the deputy waited silently on the ground.

Just whenever Elmpaw had finally gotten into a comfortable position on the sun-warmed Halfstone, Rippedsky's voice disrupted his previously enjoyable and relaxing dozing. Had he been simply hiding in the bushes the entire time? "I suppose.." He hummed without opening his eyes, stretching his forepaws out in front of him once more as he spoke, making sure to flex and stretch his small toes as he did so. Allowing one eye to crack open slightly, the ruddy tom fixed his slow-going stare on the stern and rather unpleasant Rippedsky who was waiting for him below. "If we muuust." He managed to speak out the lethargic and rather irritated sentence, shrugging his shoulders for emphasis as he continued to dismissively glance down at the Deputy. Letting out a loud and over exaggerated sigh, Elmpaw rolled over onto his back for a few brief heartbeats as he soaked in the remaining heat from the stone, taking the time to brace himself. Rolling over once more, the young tom allowed himself to rather ungracefully slip from the side of the Halfstone and plummet to the ground.

Somehow managing to land on his paws with only a soft huff of effort and annoyance, Elmpaw took a moment to straighten himself out as he fixed Rippedsky with another disinterested glance. Why couldn't he of gotten a more fun mentor? It was hard to enjoy Rippedsky's company whenever the black and white tom always acted like he found maggots in his fresh-kill! Skipping forwards a few steps away from the black and white tom, the apprentice found himself sizing up the sparse forest in front of them with minute interest. "What are even doing today?" He questioned loudly, twisted his head around sharply to glance at the back of Rippedsky's head as he spoke.  Dropping down onto his haunches in a similar manner to Rippedsky, Elmpaw allowed his eyes to drift shut as he reached up with a hind leg to lazily scratch at one of his ears as he waited for his mentor to speak.

The deputy narrowed his eyes at Elmpaw's dramatic display. If this was how he acted throughout the entirely of his training, this was most certainly going to be a challenge. He had several fantastic apprentices before this one. Rippedsky had trained cats from being newly appointed apprentices to those who had been former rogues. This would just be another round. If Addergaze was here she would probably smack him upside the head and send him hunting for the next moon... Sadly, he was a bit kinder than the former Skyclan warrior. Her prickly attitude had kept her apprentices in line and she had trained them up well. His methods were a little bit nicer than hers given their difference in nature. His eyes glazed over for a split second as he pondered over what they would be doing today. Of course, there was the usual things like hunting, fighting, and knowing the territory. But, he wanted something a little more specific for Elmpaw.

"Tree climbing." He meowed finally, standing and spinning around to look at the younger tom, "Show me what you've got." His tail flicked towards a tall oak that stretched into the sky in front of them. It was only fitting a true Skyclan cat start off with tree climbing basics. Even though he had not been born into the clan, he had grown and learned their ways. Rippedsky was now just as good as any Skyclan cat due to his hours of practice. What good of a deputy would he be if that was not the case. He padded closer to the tree and waited for the apprentice to come over and give his best attempt.

"Treeeee cliiiiimbinggggg..!" Elmpaw echoed dramatically, throwing his head back so that his own weight worked against him and helped him fall onto his back with a loud 'thump'. Hiking his front paws into the air above him, the young tom began to strike his two small forepaws out above him in a theatrical manner as he let out an extremely loud sigh. Practice climbing trees? Even a newborn blind kit knew how to climb a tree! "Oh what would we do without our precious tree climbing abilities?! We would be nothing but weak and frail mice, unable to defend ourselves from the feral jaws of the enemy Clans who surround us! They would swoop in, raze our Clan and then steal the she-cats and kits! Our Clan would face a slow and miserable date with extinction!" He cried in a melodramatic tone, his voice filled with mock horror and fear at his own words. From there on, the rather obnoxious young tom transcended into a fit of wordless and incredibly annoying mime work that was, in his head, supposed to display Skyclan's impending struggle with the Clans. After several heartbeats of awkward struggling and swaying in an attempt to build up enough momentum so that he could actually roll over, Elmpaw finally managed to flop onto his side so that he could throw an infuriating grin towards his mentor.

The deputy simply stared at the impossible apprentice. His tail lashed silently in frustration. All he had wanted to do was get some training done so he could finish his duties, see his kits, and maybe sink back into his nest sooner rather than later. Getting up was a challenge these days. There was still so much keeping him going, but the weight of loss still kept a firm grip on him. This had left the normally cheerful tom more dutiful and stoic than before. He had no time for any of Elmpaw's antics. His blue eyes burned silently as he stared down at the lazy, young cat. His teeth ground together, trying to hold back from chewing out Stoneteller's kit. It was only day one and already Elmpaw was impossible. For once, Rippedsky wanted to yowl at an apprentice. Never had he had one so disinterested in doing or learning anything. After a moment's debate, he settled for a simple reply.

"Then show me your great tree climbing abilities." Rippedsky stood over him, managing a flat tone as he spoke. There was a slight challenge to the words. He hoped this kit would prove to be as good as he claimed. After all, the true Skyclan blood in him should make for an excellent climber. His eyes were slits as he watched the apprentice. Already he was planning some sort of punishment for the young tom in his head. If Elmpaw was not compliant, he would get more creative than snapping. No, this would be different than any other cat he had trained, and Rippedsky was willing to learn how to deal with it.

OCC; wow, i am super dissatisfied with this post, but it is done so

Once again, Rippedsky's sharp words and obvious lack of amusement seemingly flew right over Elmpaw's head as he continued to lay sprawled on his side. Taking a moment's reprieve, the young tom took a painfully long time stretching each of his legs and individual toes, throwing another infuriatingly innocent grin at the black and white tom as he took his time preparing. Finally, after what felt like moons, the young tom slowly made his way to his paws. Sauntering past Rippedsky with confident steps, the young tom made sure to whisk his long tail close to the Deputy's face as he strode by. Coming to a slow halt in front of the trunk of the massive oak tree, he paused for a moment to mindlessly size up the tree before launching himself up into the tree. Taking a moment to get a solid grip on the tree, Elmpaw dug his thorn-like claws into the soft bark of the tree the best he could before beginning in the task of climbing.

Making sure to purposely send a shower of decaying bark raining down on Rippedsky, the red-brown tom continued to slowly but surely claw his way up the smooth trunk of the oak tree. Letting out a little puff of effort, the young tom paused for a brief heartbeat so that he could crane his head back to assess the tree that he was now confidently clinging to. Even the lowest hanging branches of the tree were much higher than what he was used to, but that did little to deter him. He'd like to see stumpy-legged Rippedsky climb this high this quickly! Nimbly hauling himself upwards once more, the young tom let out a short huff of effort as he continued to hurriedly claw his way up the tree, finally in range of one of the first low-hanging branch. Tightly wrapping his forepaws around the rather thin branch that jutted out above him, Elmpaw allowed himself to dangle from the branch precariously for several heartbeats as he swung slightly in an attempt to work up the momentum to pull himself up onto the actual branch. Letting out a short little pant, the apprentice awkwardly spun around on the frail branch so that he could see Rippedsky once more. "Would ya look at that!" Elmpaw called, mimicking the Deputy's challenging tone, "A cat that can actually climb?! Who would of guessed!"

Finally, and painfully, the apprentice rose to his feet. There was a fair amount of effort as the younger tom hauled himself up the trunk. The deputy suppressed a soft hiss of annoyance as a show of tree bark fell around him. He shook his pelt lightly to clear off any debris. After, his deep blue gaze focused on Elmpaw as he hauled himself onto the lowest branch of the tree. Credit had to be given to the young cat, Despite his less than impressive lack of effort, he had a natural skill that was most likely due to Skyclan blood. But, he was far too cocky. Rippedsky immediately launched himself onto the side of the tree and was up near his apprentice in seconds. He balanced on the sturdier branch above with his eyes still trained on Elmpaw. His balance was rather disconcerting.

"Not bad for a first attempt," He remarked with a flick of his tail, "But, you need to be careful. The spot you chose is rather weak and most certainly not fit for a cat. Try something sturdier." Rippedsky's claws dug into the branch. A knot twisted in his stomach as he remembered Addergaze's fate not too long earlier. He is true Skyclan. The same fate would not befall him. Trees are his natural habit... The deputy tried to calm the anxiety within, and managed not to let his fears worm their way onto his expression. As he watched Elmpaw, the black and white warrior maintained a neutral expression.

"Oh come on! It's a tree- every branch is sturdy!" Elmpaw complained loudly, although the swaying of the branch beneath his paws contradicted his words greatly. Did Rippedsky just not know that the word fun meant? Or did he enjoy being such a buzzkill? Once again completely disregarding Rippedsky's warnings, the young tom sank his thorn-sharp claws into the soft, malleable bark underpaw as he dropped into another crouch. A branch swung tantalizingly above him and it was well within reach. Although it looked a bit on the thin side towards the end, the part of the branch that was closest to the tree trunk itself looked fairly sturdy. "See?" Elmpaw called loudly once more, his mew slightly muffled by the soft rattling of the leaves all around him.

Bunching his legs beneath him in a messy crouch, Elmpaw took a moment to carefully brace himself. It seemed like there was somehow more wind the higher he went, so both the branch he stood on and the one he wanted to get to were both swaying. Letting out a loud grunt of effort, the ruddy tom launched himself upwards towards the narrow branch that hung above him with forepaws extending. Ignoring the rather painful way that his paws collided with the branch, Elmpaw let out a satisfied yowl as he managed to pull himself up onto the branch after a moment of awkward mid-air wriggling. "I told you that it would be fine-" A loud crack interrupted Elmpaw's cocky gloating as the frail branch he had just pulled himself up onto gave way beneath his weight.

The branch beneath his paws had vanished and for a terrible moment, the young tom seemed to simply stand still in midair before he went plummeting down after the broken branch. Letting out a loud cry, Elmpaw went crashing back down towards the branch that he had just jumped from- breaking that one as well. Down, down, down he tumbled- crashing into nearly every branch and clump of leaves that the tree had to offer. A particularly painful impact into a strong branch left him winded and unable to make another noise as he continued his less than graceful descent back down the tree. Finally, after what seemed like hours to Elmpaw, he came tumbling to a halt on one of the lowest branches of the tree, only barely managing to cling to the sturdy surface as a shower of broken twigs and leaves came raining down after him.

Winded and coated in splinters and debris from his fall, Elmpaw made no attempts to even move from the branch that he had landed on- even though the lower half of his body was still dangling midair. Yep. Totally a sturdy branch.

The deputy was about to snap at his apprentice for the first time, mostly fueled by fear-filled memories of his good friend's death. A hiss built up in the back of his throat, but before it could erupt, the branch under Elmpaw snapped. His eyes widened. Rippedsky immediately dug his claws into his own branch and darted forwards to try and catch the young tom with his teeth. There was a snap as he jaws closed on air. He was too late. Elmpaw was going to die. A sickening feeling rose up from the pit in his stomach. Blue eyes watched helplessly as branch after branch snapped below Stoneteller's son. In a last, futile attempt, he propelled himself down the trunk. There was no way he could catch up. The black and white tom's heart pounded.

Suddenly, the blur of fur stopped. Elmpaw lay slumped against of of the thicker branches of the tree. It was a miracle Starclan had saved him. Relief flooded over the deputy for a second. However, it was quickly replaced with anger. Rippedsky rushed over to Elmpaw and embedded his teeth in the younger cat's scruff. With heaving sides, he just barely managed to get them both down while bearing the weight of his apprentice. As soon as they reached the ground safely, the warrior spat him onto the forest floor. While moments ago, terror was evident in his blue gaze, there was now only rage. Rippedsky found himself just barely controlling the white hot anger that came out in his voice, "What were you thinking!? You could be dead right now! If it weren't for that branch, I would be dragging your still body back to Skyclan camp!"

It was all he could do to keep himself from yowling at Elmpaw. His claws dug into the ground as he tried to control the swarm of emotions that coursed through him. Internally, his heart kept thudding. He could picture Addergaze's flattened frame as they shared tongue for the final time. That could have been the same fate that had befallen his mousebrained apprentice. Thankfully, the tom had survived. However, Elmpaw should have never gotten himself in that situation in the first place. There was no doubt his parent, nor Crowstar, would be pleased. With one last, tightly controlled meow, he said, "Training is over." Before whipped around towards the camp. He had full intentions of having Elmpaw see the medicine cats, even if he was mostly okay. But, there was no way they would be doing anymore tree climbing today, maybe not even for a while.

Everything continued to sting and ache unmercifully as the rest of the debris that had followed Elmpaw down the tree slid from his pelt. The constant little pinpricks of pain that resonated from all over his body led him to suspect that he was likely covered in countless splinters from smashing through branches. His claws had a hard time going lax against the brittle wood beneath his paws, despite Rippedsky's pulling, and they ended up nearly snapping whenever the Deputy did manage to pull him free from his landing point. Going down the tree was a painfully troublesome task that involved equal parts sliding and climbing from both Rippedsky and himself, although he was too roughed up at this point to really care.

Awkwardly lifting his front half up from the ground, Elmpaw splayed out in an uncomfortable half-sitting-half-sprawled sitting point in an attempt to cradle his battered limbs. Rippedsky's words fell on deaf ears as his head continued to ring fiercely while his ears twitched frantically in an attempt to clear themselves- although now a large, jagged gash was evident in his left ear. Watching with obviously angered eyes, Elmpaw let out an annoyed hiss of his own at his mentor as the black and white tom turned tail on him. Good, he didn't need Rippedsky to cause him more problems. Slowly rising to his paws and carefully checking out the damage that had been inflicted by the fall, Elmpaw set off at his own shambling and slow pace as he meandered his way back to camp.