show me what you've got [closed]

Frigid heady winds battered the snow-speckled moorland with a ferocity that made ones eyes water and nose sting profusely. Half-frozen clumps of Leafbare brittle heather swayed precariously under the intense gusts of icy wind, filling the air with the sound of weak rattling and snapping as they were tossed to and fro within the claws of the winter breeze. Screwing up her face against a particularly harsh blast of wind, Brindlewhisker's head bowed awkwardly as she slipped from the protective gorse barrier that encased the camp, doing her best to ignore the way her teeth chattered sharply in response to the unpleasant stimulus. Oh how she hated Leafbare.

Fluffing up her short fur in a futile attempt to chase away the chill that wracked her spine, the Deputy found herself curling into the prickly barrier as she settled down for an admittedly unpleasant wait. Ever since Ashstar had given her the task of training Elmpaw, she found herself struggling with the concept of training the three-legged tortoiseshell tom- she had no experience with training cats who suffered from such an impairment, so she had no idea what to expect. Exhaling a pale cloud of steam, Brindlewhisker wrapped her tail tightly around herself as she continued to wait for Elmpaw to appear, her mind racing with more intensity than the wind that was battering the moorland.

(OOC: So sorry for leaving you hanging, I didn't mean to not reply for so long. Thanks for being patient.)

Elmpaw found himself huddled in the entrance to the apprentices' den for quite some time, occasional gusts of wind biting into his short fur when they whipped around into the den. He hated to be late, he knew Brindlewhisker must be out there waiting for him, but his fear of completely embarrassing himself out there was, for now, stronger. He would really look like a fool out there with his stupid three legs. His time alone on the moor had forced him to get better at running but he was still rather miserable at, well, everything else.

"You useless idiot," he thought to himself, squinting out into the center of the camp. "If you don't just go out there and do something, you'll never learn." With a heavy sigh, the young tom heaved himself to his paws, braced himself, and darted out into the camp towards the gorse entrance. His dark torsoiseshell pelt was stark against the snow as he struggled through the wind, his gait lopsided and awkward. Finally he made it to the entrance and found Brindlewhisker waiting there for him. Elmpaw skidded to a halt and bowed his head to his new mentor, avoiding her gaze.

"I'm sorry for making you wait, Brindlewhisker. I'm...I'm ready to go now," he mewed, stealing a glance up at her.

ooc) it's no problem, take as much time as you need~

Brindlewhisker's chin lifted as she caught sight of the tortoiseshell who was slowly making his way towards her, another partially visible breath escaping her maw as she gazed at Elmpaw. While her face remained its usual mask of friendly detachment, she couldn't help the sparks of worry that crawled down her spine as she observed Elmpaw's awkward gait. Solely going off of how he walked, they'd definitely have to figure out a better method of hunting and stalking for Elmpaw- but she didn't have the slightest clue of how to do so. Hopefully he had some ideas about how to do so. Exhaling sharply through her nose, the brindled she-cat let out a soft trill in greeting to Elmpaw, her ears perking up as she listened to the young tom speak. "It's no problem Elmpaw," Brindlewhisker gently chastised, a slight frown tugging at the edges of her mouth as she watched the young tom avoid her gaze, "It gave me some time to think of where we can go today."

Rising to her paws and shaking away the flakes of snow that persistently clung to the fur atop her back, Brindlewhisker gave Elmpaw another attentive glance, her tail sweeping in a wide arc behind her as she did so. "Are you ready to head out?"

Luckily for the both of them, Elmpaw had in fact discovered that he could make good use of his long tail for balance. His technique wasn't perfect yet and he still needed training on how to actually hunt and stalk, but this was at least a start. The tom's green eyes widened a little when Brindlewhisker replied, he was fully expecting her to be more upset than she was. He looked up at her again, blinking. Usually others were mad when he had trouble getting around. Or...that's how he remembered it.

He let out a soft sigh of relief, his breath clouding in front of him. Elmpaw was nervous for this first training session and nervous that his mentor was the Clan deputy. But as far as he could tell, she seemed very kind and patient, which was easing his nerves a bit. He shook out his fur to get the snow off of it, almost mimicking her exactly, then shifted his paws to get his pads to warm up again. The young tortoiseshell took a deep breath to steady himself one last time, then looked up into his mentor's face with a decidedly prepared gaze and nodded.

"Yes, I'm ready. Can I ask where we're going?"

Frigid snowflakes clung to Brindlewhisker's nose, the stinging cold resulting in her eyes watering fiercely. Desperately blinking away the crystalline tears that framed the edges of her vision, the Deputy's head tilted slightly as she continued to gaze at Elmpaw. The wide array of emotions that crept across the tortoiseshell's face seemed strikingly similar to those that boiled within her, which served as a slight comfort. Even though they appeared to be straying into unfamiliar territory, at least they had one another.

Reluctantly pulling away from the limited safety of the Gorse Barrier, the brindled she-cat let out a thoughtful hum at Elmpaw's question. Giving herself a vigorous shake in a futile attempt to heat her slowly cooling veins, she stepped forward a few brief paces in the direction of the well-protected camp entrance. "For now, we're starting with a tour of the territory. We'll head to the Gorge and go from there." Brindlewhisker called, face screwing as she caught a face-full of a chilly breeze.

The apprentice's whiskers twitched as he struggled to free his wet nose from the ice crystals forming on it. This cold was frigid, he couldn't remember the moors being this cold before. It didn't help that his fur wasn't as long as some of the other cats' in the Clan. His ears flicked in annoyance as he decided right there that he didn't like Leafbare much at all.

Elmpaw's green eyes snapped back up to his mentor when she hummed in thought, his gaze having drifted away while he was thinking about other things. He didn't want to miss anything she said. A tour of the territory sounded good, hopefully walking for a while would help warm them up. "Oh, okay. I can--...I can do that." he said slowly, limping after her. He wanted to stay as close to her as possible but wasn't sure how appropriate that would be. So the tortoiseshell tom settled for staying a couple pawsteps behind her and off to one side, shaking his fur every now and then to try and keep warm.

Paws and limbs quickly growing numb as she trudged through the snow, Brindlewhisker reluctantly pushed her way through several particularly deep snowdrifts. Although she found this pattern of behavior to be fairly typical with all of her apprentices, she couldn't help but absently wonder if Elmpaw would find her habit of leaving behind a trail through the snow to be coddling. Irritating clumps and flecks of frost quickly gathered atop her muzzle and cheeks, but it did little to slow her movements- even as her eyes and nose began to sting furiously.

For the most part, the pair traveled in silence, only breaking it to point out certain landmarks along their paths. The closer they drew to the Gorge, the flatter the lands became, forcing the pair of WindClanners to leave the limited protection of the hills. Wincing as the wind became sharper, Brindlewhisker forced herself to concentrate on the rapidly strengthening sound of ever-tumbling water. A terrible, jagged wound in the earth was slowly becoming more and more visible with each step the pair took, the frigid air becoming heavy with the dampness that was synonymous with the Gorge. "This is the Gorge, it's our traditional border with RiverClan- although I doubt they've come out this far from the shelter of their territory to mark the border as frequently, they're much too sensitive to the cold." She called, voice forcibly being raised due to the rumble of the waters.

Perhaps if he gave it too much thought, he would get annoyed by it. But for now, he found her way of leaving a path through the snow for him to be very helpful and much appreciated. The snow drifts were a little hard for him to maneuver, he was awkward with trying to hop through things like that. The apprentice frequently had to twitch his whiskers and flick his ears to try and keep the frost off of them.

The roar of the Gorge caught his attention, the nearer they crept, the more he rotated his ears towards the sound. It was intriguing, never before had he seen such rushing water, so far of a drop to the rocks down below. He squinted his eyes against the sharp wind and parted his mouth to taste the damp air, stopping beside Brindlewhisker in order to hear her better. "Do you know why that is?" he asked, tearing his gaze away from his mentor to peer down into the Gorge. It sure was a long way down...Surely many cats had fallen to their deaths here. "I-I mean, I would think RiverClan is used to swimming in cold water. Or just being in the cold in general." He had to raise his voice too, although it made him feel more awkward than he already did.

The choppy currents of air that rose from the roaring, endlessly tumultuous Gorge buffeted Brindlewhisker's face unpleasantly. The icy, damp air stung unmercifully- sharply tearing at the thin skin of her ears. Twisting away with an unhappy grimace, the Deputy had to strain to catch Elmpaw's words above the rumble of the waters. "I don't know exactly," She admitted, the mouthful of cool air making her teeth ache, "But I suppose that since the river freezes over for many moons at a time during Leafbare, they don't have the extra advantage of getting used to the cold through swimming. They have to adjust to the weather like the rest of us do, but they still prefer to stay in the shelter of their territory during days like this." The spray of frigid water that erupted from the spraying falls bathed her fur, stubbornly clawing its way through her tediously groomed fur and soaking the skin beneath. Backing away several paces with a violent shiver, the Deputy's gaze remained carefully trained upon her apprentice. After the fate that befallen her son all those moons ago, the Gorge still made her gut churn with a bitter fear.

"Why don't we keep moving? I'd like to try and work on some hunting before we move on to our next destination." Brindlewhisker called, ears twisting to rest against her skull as she lingered several paces away from the jagged opening in the barren earth. The prospect of hunting, however awkward and confusing it appeared to be within her mind, seemed much more enticing than just hanging about beside the wretched border.

Elmpaw listened carefully to her words, nodding with a thoughtful look on his face. That made sense to him. Although..."Well," he began, backing up a couple pawsteps from the edge of the Gorge as best he could. Brindlewhisker seemed tense, he didn't want to upset her. Plus, the snow was rather slippery. The spray coming up from the rushing water turned the snow on the edges of the Gorge to ice as it froze. That plus a three-legged cat unsure on his paws was surely a recipe for disaster. "I...I think we all would prefer to stay in the comfort of our dens on days like this." He shot his mentor a glance, a glimmer of humor in his eyes. That was meant to be somewhat of a joke.

The energy of trying to stay warm was draining, hunting sounded like a wonderful idea to him. He forgot his anxiety for a moment as he joined back up at Brindlewhisker's side, mind occupied with thoughts of sinking his teeth into a warm hare. He had minimal hunting experience, as he had to teach himself something when he wandered the moors alone when he was younger. His hunting crouch was lopsided and awkward but once he sprang, he managed to do a pretty good job of actually catching the prey. He had nice aim, luckily.

"That sounds fine to me," he agreed quietly, limping after her. "Lead the way."

Chips of completely frozen snow wedged their way between Brindlewhisker's toes, resulting in a hissing wince squeezing through her teeth with every step. Great StarClan above, she truly loathed Leafbare. With the Gorge rapidly disappearing from their line of sight, and the forsaken rumbling gradually being overtaken by the harsh whistling of the winds that whipped around them, the tension that coiled within her throat lessened. Whiskers being awkwardly ruffled by another particularly robust gust of chilly air, the Deputy's pace gently drew to a halt. Twisting around to gaze at Elmpaw, her nose wrinkled briefly before she spoke, "Our hunting lessons might be a bit different than what your denmates undergo, but that's only because you're going to be teaching me just as much as I do for you." The words were rather blunt, but she knew there was no point in tiptoeing around dead prey. "So let's just start with your natural crouch since that's the easiest way to make any adjustments as needed." Brindlewhisker reluctantly sat back on her haunches, wincing at the way the snow clung to her fur.

Elmpaw was about to ask the deputy what was wrong, as she seemed to be in pain. His own paws were tingling with creeping numbness, threatening to go completely numb soon if he didn't do something to get the blood flowing again. As he was about to speak, however, she stopped and spoke instead. He was quiet as he listened, his ears slowly rotating behind him in discomfort. He wasn't all that surprised that she didn't know what to do with him; it seemed the rest of the Clan didn't know either. He let a soft sigh escape his mouth and nodded. "I hope I can be helpful enough to you."

The tortoiseshell tom felt the thicker fur on the back of his neck rise a little from dread. He didn't particularly want to show her his hunting crouch, especially since she'd be openly judging him. But this was the only way they'd make any progress. The apprentice reluctantly gathered his front paws underneath him and crouched down, shuffling to try and center his back leg underneath his rump. His long tail swung out far to the other side, acting as a counter-balance. After a moment of wobbling a little and trying to steady himself, he shot Brindlewhisker an expectant look, nervous for her verdict.

The iced snow, which had given way beneath her weight with a slight snap, soaked through Brindlewhisker's fur and deep into her flesh. Resisting the urge to leap back up to her paws and shake away the frigid water that nipped fiercely at her, she instead focused her reluctant attention back onto her apprentice. Ears twisting down flat against her skull, her eyes watered slightly as she gazed into the wind. Although Elmpaw struggled a bit whenever initially finding his center of balance, she was pleased to see that he was able to correct himself as he saw fit.

"That's good." Brindlewhisker mewed, brief words sweetened by the soft compliment, "Now, whenever you feel ready, why don't you try to leap? Don't worry about distance, just do whatever feels natural to your body." Ideally, if they could puzzle together several fitting exercises that helped focus on Elmpaw's sense of balance and strength, then they'd have no trouble working out the rest of his training. It was only a matter of figuring out what worked best for him.

"Now, whenever you feel ready, why don't you try to leap?"

The apprentice frowned. The quiet praise helped a bit, he only hoped he didn't make a complete fool of himself in front of one of the only cats he truly admired. A cold blast of wind stung his eyes and insides of his ears and he flattened them down against his head. He would have brought his tail in for warmth but he couldn't risk falling over, he needed it in that position.

There was a rock half-covered in snow a couple fox-lengths away. He decided to aim for that, shuffling to adjust his angle so that he was facing it head on. Elmpaw inhaled and exhaled slowly to brace himself, then gathered his body up and leaped as far as he could. His tail swung wildly through the air in a wide arc in his desperate attempt to keep himself stable. The initial leap wasn't bad; his landing, however, left much to be desired. His front paws grazed the slick snow on the rock and immediately slid away out from under him. He flopped into the snow like a dead bird falling from a tree, letting out a cry of frustration.

Hurriedly swallowing down any traces of disappointment or empathetic embarrassment, Brindlewhisker kept her features concealed within a careful net of neutrality. Although she found it disheartening that her apprentice had to struggle so much in an area that his denmates would easily attune to, she knew better than to allow Elmpaw to catch wind of her troubles. The last thing she needed was him thinking that she didn't believe him. Wading back into the frigid snow, she hurriedly made her way to where the tortoiseshell tom was sprawled in the snow. Bending down slightly, so that the smoking cloud of her breath was storming across Elmpaw's slightly ruffled fur, her nose bumped his shoulder slightly.

"Your hindleg is strong, but it isn't used to bearing your weight in such a manner." Brindlewhisker admitted, attention briefly waning as she made sure he didn't end up with any sort of bruises or cuts in his less than graceful landing, "But your crouch was good- just as good as any of your denmates."