What a party (Closed Patrol)

OOC: Takes place right after the adjustment topic

IC: Specklefang led her clan-mates through the barrier and into the territory, her paws scrabbling against stones as she climbed up the ravine. Barely out of breath if at all she turned to see if the others were following, Specklefang wasn't going to pass up a training opportunity either. "Emberpaw! I know you're small, but if you can't climb this ravine faster than Reedheart then I'm making you run the moors! Until moon-high!" Specklefang called, a 'cruel' sneer on her face, though it only seemed cruel if one didn't know her. She was more amused than anything, her eyes crinkling.

"Okay!" Emberpaw, not about to test that, did her best to out-climb Reedheart, scrambling up the ravine - not that her best was that great. Still, it was something - climbing was one of the few skills she did possess, and one she had worked to improve at that, so the ravine wasn't as much of a challenge - she was satisfied with herself as she reached the top, though she tried not to show it (and failed spectacularly).

Heatherpaw dug her claws into the earth as she struggled up the ravine, panting and puffing with the effort. She was worried Specklefang may scold her if she ended up lagging behind, so she scrambled her hind paws beneath her faster, loosening dirt and rocks that tumbled down to the bottom of the ravine. She lost her grip and began sliding back down with a yelp, coating her already sandy-colored pelt with light brown dust and dirt.

Reedheart followed Specklefang and soon noticed how strict she was to her apprentice. That’s why when she told her she would punish Emberpaw if she wasn’t faster than him, the warrior moved slower than usual so the she-cat wouldn’t get on troubles. Then, he climbed to the top but when he heard his apprentice falling, the tom didn’t hesitate to came back and help Heatherpaw. ”Are you okay, Heatherpaw? You didn’t get hurt, right?” The tom searches for wounds but it wasn’t a bad falling at all so he sighed relieved. Turning his head back to the top of the ravine, he nudged the apprentice with a paw, encouraging her to stand up. ”Do you think you can go on? This time I will help you, all right? Follow my lead and you’ll do it just like Emberpaw did.” Saying that, the tom gradas to the wall of earth and smiled confidently at the sandy colored she-cat. ”Dug your claws deeper in the ravine and don’t move up until you’re sure you’re well grabbed to the wall. Use all your strength in your four paws, not on only the front ones.”

Specklefang watched Reedheart and Heatherpaw's interaction, the large she-cat frankly puzzled at how lax the tom was. "You're not mentoring a kit Reedheart, you're teaching an apprentice. Don't be so soft. Not only that but Heatherpaw should know how to climb the ravine by now, she's been an apprentice for a moon? Two moons?" Specklefang snapped, rouges and outsiders deserved no mercy.

"You're too young to have started mentoring apprentices, Reedheart. You're going to ruin her." Specklefang spat, her tail lashing as she began moving once more. "When we finish the patrol, let's see how our apprentices do in battle." The large she-cat ordered.

Heatherpaw shook out the grit from her fur and nodded, climbing up much slower, making sure her claws dug deep into the earth before hauling herself up. Before long, she reached the top and sighed with relief.

At Specklefang's comment, she flinched with a soft squeak, then looked down at her paws in shame. She really thought she was being a good apprentice, but it seemed she was still soft and weak after all. She heard the strict she-cat's mention of battle training and a bolt of fear shot through her. She stared up wide-eyed at Reedheart. "B-But I've barely had any battle training! What if I mess up and Specklefang gets angry and yells at me, or worse, convinces Blizzardstar to kick me out of the Clan? I can't go back out there, Reedheart, I just can't!" She trembled heavily, beginning to panic.

Reedheart heated stunned all the words of the aggressive she-cat. Digging his claws on the ravine upset, he looked at her feeling how his face started to heat up because of the humilliantion and anger. However... he wasn’t so angry about her saying he wasn’t ready to be a mentor. He was pissed off because she said Heatherpaw was a bad apprentice for not being able to climb like her apprentice, who was clearly older and more experienced. But what really drove he mad was that Specklefang made her panick for no reason.  ”Even if you’re right about me being too young for being a mentor, don’t say anything about what Heatherpaw should know or not by now. If she doesn’t climb like Emberpaw is because she was resting from a fight we had against Shadowclan. You say I’m going to ruin her but I honestly believe you’re wrong. She had trained hard, knows everything about hunting and she had developed strong moral codes because of my way of teaching. Heatherpaw was brave enough to fight a full-grown warrior just to protect me even when I did not ask for that. She’s an exceptional apprentice for her age, even if she couldn’t climb a dumb ravine in her first attempt.”
Reedheart climbed quickly the wall after Heatherpaw and gave Specklenfang an angry look. Looking back at Heatherpaw with sorry eyes, he flattened his ears but kept his tone of voice passionate and strong. ”You’re right about one thing: is my fault that she doesn’t know to climb yet because I decided to focus her training on hunting and battle before going on climbing. But what you call softness I see it as empathy and comprehension that would help her to be a better warrior gaining confidence on herself and becoming a she-cat with a good and noble heart.”
The golden tom walked back to Heatherpaw and let his tail touch her paw to calm down. ”Don’t listen to her, Heatherpaw. I am your mentor and even if you haven’t been training battle skills so much I trust in your abilities. Don’t understimate you ever. You fought against a warrior and wounded him to be with me. Don’t doubt your skills and what you know. Blizzardstar would never kick you out because of not winning a battle; just give everything you got and everything will be okay.”

Heatherpaw felt herself beginning to calm down as Reedheart chewed out Specklefang, and strong emotions of joy rose in her chest, so touched by her adopted brother's standing up for her and his own mentoring abilities that she choked on a sob. "Thank you, Reedheart. Even if I may not be the best warrior in ThunderClan, I'll still do everything in my power to be the best warrior I can be. And for what it's worth, I think you're an amazing mentor and brother." She affectionately licked his shoulder.

Emberpaw watched Reedheart with Heatherpaw from the top of the ravine, surprised. She wasn't surprised to see Specklefang's response to Reedheart, not really, but she was definitely surprised at Reedheart's response. Impressed, even. As Heatherpaw reached the top of the ravine, she nodded in friendly acknowledgement, but quickly turned her gaze back to their mentors. As Specklefang continued moving, though, she followed silently, hoping that the others would follow as well.

"Those moral codes, Reedheart, will kill her. She will die one day because her empathy will cloud her mind and stop her from performing a duty which will quite possibly cost her life or other cats lives. I don't think you were around for Rockthorn, but I was, and I saw that countless times several cats did not put him down when they should have. Now look at the forest, we are going to starve for Leaf-bare and die because some cat couldn't kill him." Specklefang spat, beckoning her apprentice forwards.

"Emberpaw, you should know the borders by now, take the lead. One paw step over and I'll pluck your tail from base to tip." The she-cat spat, her tail giving a lash as she refused to wait for the other two members of the patrol. Moving her head slightly so she could be heard quickly, "It will do Heatherpaw a world of good if you taught her that kindness and wisdom will not solve everything." She snarled, turning her head so she was facing forwards once more.

Heatherpaw tried to pay no mind to the ill-tempered warrior as her mentor suggested. However, she still felt curious as to who Rockthorn was. However, she was too scared to ask, so she looked up at Reedheart instead. "Were you ever told who Rockthorn was?"

Emberpaw nodded to her mentor, surprised at being told to take the lead. Still, she did so, leading the way to the nearest border as precisely as possible. From the cats behind her, she could hear the name Rockthorn, but brushed it off when it didn't ring a bell - she had a task to focus on. Specklefang may not have been the worst cat ever - the fact that Emberpaw remained in one piece was proof of that much - but she was still quite intimidating. "...Rockthorn?" she asked, allowing her curiosity to get the better of her.

Reedheart let out a small growl as the patrol continued. Even before Heatherpaw asked him who was Rockthorn he already knew what to say back at the scarred she-cat. ”Even if I’m not old enough as you to have met Rockthorn properly, Specklefang, I can assure you that I know who was he and I was around when he was alive. That murder wounded badly my littermate, Cherrykit, and in a short time after that she died.” He spatted angrily and hurt, walking next to his apprentice. However, the young mentor wasn’t angry at Heatherpaw. She had no fault.
”I disagree with you. Empathy and comprehension can avoid a lot unnecessary bloodshed when it’s necessary. I’m not dumb to not see that sometimes that’s not the right path but I believe that’s is also an option. My father wasn’t a clan born but stil he had served the clan with diligence and wisdom. Now all his efforts brought him to be the deputy, the future leader. All because a Thunderclan leader was kind hearted and let him in even with his origins.” He mewed more calmes and with a proud voice. He was proud of not being a pure blood. He was proud of having Leopardclaw as his father, the cat that taught him the moral codes he now followed and those he wanted to teach to Heatherpaw. He knew that honesty, empathy and comprehension would guide him in the right path to be a warrior if he used those codes when they were necessary.