Sometimes learning is hard. (Semi-Closed)

Stabbing claws tore into his fur. Every twist he made, every movement was met with sharp claws that raked into him, that left his grey and black pelt bloodied. Exhaustion crept through his bones, even as he lunged for his enemy. His claws slashed out into the perpetual darkness around him, one which spoke of his loneliness and his isolation. The situation that he caused.

Grey paws met the edge of one of the bramble thorns with a hiss. He hissed and choked out a snarl before his eyes in the real world snapped open. There was only sleeping apprentices and a quiet camp. He looked down, green eyes staring at dead brown brambles that lined his nest. Sedgepaw looked at his coat. It wasn't covered in blood, there were small specks from where his fitful sleep had him pressing into a thorn, but nothing critical. He growled in discontent and stood. It was strange, seeing his nest the only one so different than the others. His pelt pricked with unease. Why?

Because he had been a fool.

There really was no other way to look at it. He tried to paint Rippedsky as the antagonist, but what had his mentor actually done yesterday? The thought irked Sedgepaw. It made his pelt prickle in a way he was unfamiliar with as he stalked out of the apprentice's den and into the snow covered camp. He trekked over to the fresh-kill pile and grabbed a skinny finch, then settled down near one of the farthest corners of the camp. In the pale dawn light, it was easier to see how messed up his coat was. Far from impeccably cleaned the day before. His eyes threatened to close as he felt relief in the softness of the snow. Despite his attempts, he found himself sound asleep before he noticed any other cats awake.

Mumblepaw had been awoken by the restless of the apprentice next to him. His eyes immediately shot open as a tiny sound left the other tom in his sleep. Orange-brown eyes stared into the darkness, finally adjusting to the tiny bit of light that began to creep through the entrance. As Sedgepaw growled, he flinched. His denmate most certainly hadn't been happy. The black and white tom had failed to notice the unique appearance of the younger cat's bedding. When his father's apprentice finally got up to leave the den, he slowly rose to his paws and padded after. There was a bit of hesitation, but he kept going.

He poked his head just outside the den and landed his gaze on the silver apprentice. It looked like Sedgepaw had gotten hungry and passed out again. Whiskers twitching slightly in amusement, Mumblepaw slowly tread through the snow, shaking his tiny paws off with each step he took. Once he stood just in front of his denmate, he stopped once more. The fear of making him upset was a bit overwhelming, but he had to talk to cats sometimes. And Sedgepaw would freeze just laying out here alone!

"S-sedgepaw? A-are you okay?" Mumblepaw finally dared softly, starting at almost a whisper and slowly gaining confidence to speak louder. He considered prodding him as well, but decided against it. Maybe, they could just go back into the den and catch a few more warm moments of sleep before a long day of training. Well... he'll have a long day of training, The black and white apprentice's expression wavered for a moment as he thought, Dad probably does incredible things with him. I'll just be stuck in camp...

His muzzle was pressed into the snow, but the sound of Mumblepaw's voice dragged him out of the comfort of sleep. His green eyes blinked in tired confusion before reality sank its teeth into him. The cold of the snow sinking deep into his ungroomed fur. He would freeze if he stayed like this, but as he looked at the prey that had been only partially devoured he realised that he had been caught. By Mumblepaw. He growled, pelt immediately prickled in irritation.

"Of course I'm okay!" He spat grumpily at the timid black and white apprentice. "Why wouldn't I be?" Sedgepaw stood, then winced immediately as his scratches began to sting at being away from the cold. "Stupid Rippedsky. Rippedpelt will be more like it. I should put the brambles in his nest." He spat angrily as he began to brush his fur with long swipes, memorizing the scratches. There was a lot of them.

"What's with you anyway?" He asked a bite in his tone that was openly mocking. "You're always so pathetic around camp. Does Rippedface not take you out of camp enough?"

The tail-less tom nearly jumped back at the sharp response. It only took seconds for him to internally berate himself. Sedgepaw had never been known to be the kindest of cats. They most certainly hadn't bonded as denmates, to say the least. His claws dug into the snow. While the little apprentice was not the biggest fan of his father, or rather the shadow he cast, Mumblepaw loved him a lot. Hearing Rippedsky's name spat stirred something in him. But, no matter how hard it tried, it could rouse him enough to stand up to other apprentice and defend his father's honor. Instead, he took the much calmer route.

"W-what happened with Rippedsky?" He dared to asked, voice shaking slightly and betraying his his lack of confidence. Sedgepaw was just finished speaking and Mumblepaw caught his mocking tone. His ears burned hot and he took a step back. The other apprentice just continued to clean his pelt as if he had not just teased the little cat. Mumblepaw wanted to sink to the ground and disappear into the snow. If only that were an option. All of his doubts about his training and his mentor instantly came flooding back. Again, he rationalized it as not being Hawkstrike's fault. It was no doubt his for being a less than impressive apprentice. His mouth opened slightly, and closed, before finally forming words, "Hawkstrike's my mentor... he's great. He's just... busy, I guess."

"That flea-bitten birdbrain told me to get moss. MOSS." Sedgepaw spat bitterly. "I looked, but it's leafbare, so I brought back some bramble branches instead." He growled and gestured to his coat with his tail. "Now I get to sleep with a bramble patch in my nest. It's not fair. So what if the brambles scratch the elders, at least they're useless anyways."

Sedgepaw listened to Mumblepaw about Hawkstrike with a glare. Honestly, the little apprentice was just so pathetic. "I can see why he wouldn't bother though. You can barely talk to me, you'd be eaten by an eagle in no time." He added, not caring that his taunt was quite cruel to a timid cat. "I'd be surprised if you can scale a tree with no tail."

"I-I'm so-" The tiny apprentice had been prepared to stutter out an apology before Sedgepaw spoke up again. At first, he had felt a prickle of sympathy for his father's apprentice. He knew Rippedsky to be a clever cat. Whatever his apprentice, no matter how difficult, threw at him, Mumblepaw would not be surprised to see his father strike back harder. It made sense. But, having to sleep in brambles still did not sound like a good time. Before he could finish his sentence, before he could truly feel for the other tom, another wave of emotions came crushing over the sensitive young cat. Guilt, shame, and a barrage of other emotions washed over him all at once.

Mumblepaw looked down at his paws. All of his worst internal fears, the ones he tried to push away while he sat uselessly in camp, were addressed all at once. His orange-ish gaze fell to the ground and his maw faltered. Sedgepaw was wrong about a lot of things, most certainly a lot of things, but he was right about this. What had first brought him out of his nest in the early morning cold now made him want to retreat to the den and never leave. There had been a protest in the back of his throat, although that too fell away in a moments notice. He had nothing to say, he could not defend himself. His ears fell back against his head with discomfort. If he had a tail it would have been lashing. He was prepared to turn around and hide before a tail fell across his back.

The deputy had caught enough of the conversation to understand what was happening here. Mumblepaw's crestfallen expression said it all. His over-protective and fatherly nature threatened to kick in as he heard the way his apprentice spoke to his son. But, if there was anything he could tell about Sedgepaw, it was that the words would fall on deaf ears. Actions and consequences spoke far louder to the bull-headed tom than he ever could. Besides, this offered up a prime opportunity for something he had wanted to do for so long and his duties had continued to get in the way. The black and white tom stuffed back any angry words he so longed to spit at Sedgepaw and settled for something far more civil.

"Good morning to you both." He meowed evenly, blue eyes burning into his apprentice as he managed a half smile, "I trust you slept well, Sedgepaw. The elders certainly appreciate your willingness to try out the new bedding you found." While it was so easy the way the words fell from his lips, the deputy could not help but admit to himself that there was a prickle of guilt for the rather unconventional training methods he had been forced to take. He found himself silently begging Starclan that the much younger cat would quickly come to see the error of his way of thinking. But, in the meantime, it was left up to him to patiently work through the issues that arose. Very patiently.

Without breaking the apprentice's gaze, he continued on, "Speaking of the elders,
they will be needing you today, so unfortunately our training session is going to have to be put on hold. One of the warriors will make sure you're helping them properly. In the meantime, it appears I have missed out on assessing a certain apprentice's training. Mumblepaw and I have a lot to get done today." Once he was finished speaking, Rippedsky flicked his tail in dismissal to Sedgepaw. He had already considered such a thing, it just so happened to work that Mumblepaw needed to get out for some training. One of the warriors already knew of their unfortunate task of keeping an eye on Sedgepaw for the day.

As his father joined them, Mumblepaw's eyes widened. He still had such a commanding presence, something the tiny tom had both admired and despised since kithood. Regardless of his mixed feelings towards Rippedsky, he did appreciate how unashamedly he stood up for his son. Sedgepaw's sharp tongue did not even seem to touch the seasoned warrior. His jaw nearly dropped as his father offered to take him out for training. Of all the things to happen today, he did not expect to be training with the deputy. For a moment, he tried to forget that his deputy and father were one and the same and allow himself to be excited by the prospect.

Regardless, the situation allowed him a moment of confidence. Before turning away, Mumblepaw meowed quickly, "I'm sorry." There was no stutter this time. He turned back and quickened his pace as he followed after his father.

Sedgepaw was fully prepared to keep ripping into the older apprentice until he saw Rippedsky approaching. He glared at his mentor coldly, his tail twitched angrily at his mentor's comment about trying out the elder's bedding. He huffed angrily and was ready to retort until the larger tom continued. What? The thought rankled the silver tom, his mouth opened to spit out cruel words, but Rippedsky closed the deal by saying that he was taking out Mumblepaw instead. Infuriated and angry, Sedgepaw surged to his paws and pointed at Mumblepaw angrily.
"WHAT!? I'M your apprentice! Not HIM" He yowled, his fur bristled and green eyes narrowed. The look of a cat merely an inch from attacking the older apprentice while his mentor seemed to completely dismiss him. Mumblepaw's apology was met with a snarl, the finch's remains thrown at him with bitter fury as Sedgepaw trudged off and pointedly sat in his nest.

His day didn't get any better. He was roused from his nest and what little sleep he could get in it, to take mouse bile to the elders. It was disgusting. The bile made him want to throw up, but he swallowed back the temptation as he treated the elders roughly. Even when they griped and complained, he barely listened until the warrior keeping an eye on him interfered and forced him to do it properly. When he ran out of tasks there, he was evicted swiftly. Angry and upset at being left behind, he stalked around camp in a downright vicious mood as other cats avoided him. Sensed his mood and left the prickly apprentice well alone.

As dusk approached, the snow gave Sedgepaw an idea. He had the brambles in his nest, but Rippedsky hadn't said anything about putting snow in it too. The soft substance was wet and uncomfortable, but it was tail lengths away from being stabbed in his sleep. Confidently, he piled up the snow inside his nest. Pressed it firmly against the sides until it covered as much bramble as it could before he allowed himself to settle down. The relief was immediate. He would at least get a decent sleep. When Mumblepaw returned, Sedgepaw treated him coldly with a growl and turned back.

It was only after night fell that the cold of his new nest really sank in. He woke, shivering and freezing in the apprentices den a couple hours before dawn. His fur was soaking wet, the snow having melted from his cozy nest and causing a small puddle in his section of the apprentices den. With a grimace, he stood and immediately choked back a yowl of pain as stiffness lanced up his spine. His muscles felt frozen from the cold as he slowly made his way to the center of camp, then abruptly left before he could even look at the fresh-kill pile. Instead, he walked to try and get some feeling back in aching limbs.

"This wouldn't be happening if stupid Rippedsky hadn't taken out Mumblepaw instead." He griped to no one, though he was near the warriors den. "I'll show you." He hissed, fangs bared at the entrance of the den before he stalked out of camp. His fury rekindled as he thought of the dismissive way Rippedsky had spoken to him. It was enraging to think he was so easily passed up on. What was wrong with him? Nothing.

He was strong. He was fit. He was far superior to the other apprentices. He just had to show it. He made his way in the dark to a large tree and looked at it, observed it, then when all was quiet, lunged. His claws scored marks into the bark. His gave a powerful rake with his back claws as though the tree was an enemy cat. The silver tabby worked off his anger on the trunk of the tree for nearly an hour before his muscles felt warm but tired. His paws bled slightly from the assault on the rough bark. He smirked proudly at his work, then yawned as exhaustion caught up to him. He looked around the snow with a dismissive look, then launched himself up the trunk of the tree, scrabbling to a thick low branch and shook out his fur. It was large enough that he could curl up comfortably if he was careful to stay near the middle of the tree. His small nap was only supposed to last until dawn.[/i][/color]

While the session had been short, it had gone well. The deputy spent what little time they had together teaching his son how to hunt. Leafbare had been keeping most of the warriors busy, and unfortunately that included Hawkstrike, meaning that Mumblepaw had fallen behind in his training. Both toms had focused intently on the task at paw, nearly forgetting the confrontation with Sedgepaw that had started the day. By the time they came back, the tail-less apprentice's body ached more than it ever had and he had quickly fallen into a deep sleep in the den, missing Sedgepaw's obvious disdain. His father checked quickly in with the warrior assigned to the less than exciting day of making sure his apprentice did as told. Satisfied with the answer, the deputy retreated to his own den to dose off.

It wasn't until the next morning that Rippedsky noticed anything was wrong. He stretched out his somewhat stiff limbs to loosen them for what would hopefully be another good day of training. Whether it would be or not depended on Sedgepaw's attitude. The deputy had hoped that being forced to miss out on training and focus on dull in camp tasks might humble him a little. That slight hope caused him to grin as he trotted towards the apprentice's den. However, when he poked his head in, he was met with disappointment immediately fell away. The remains of his apprentice's nest appeared to be a frozen puddle, and the tom himself was no where in sight. Whipping around to allow his blue eyes to scan the clearing, a flash of frustration his the warrior. Of course Sedgepaw would pull something like this.

The black and white tom immediately rushed for the entrance. Thankfully, the night hadn't brought more snow. While the scents were dull and most certainly faded given how long they had set there, Rippedsky was able to pick out Sedgepaw's scent. His tail lashed in frustration and he bolted through the heaps of snow that covered the entire territory. It did not take long at all to discover Sedgepaw, asleep, in a tree. He suppressed a growl that threatened to fall from his lips. For this alone, not to mention the rest of what the prickly young cat had pulled, he should have had training further delayed and not be allowed to step foot from camp until the youngest apprentice had been made a warrior-- moons from now.

Taking a deep breath, Rippedsky narrowed his eyes up at the tom. What to do with him? He wondered. Flicking his tail as he thought, the deputy ran through several ideas. Sedgepaw had only proven to be more and more of a challenge, what could be best? After a few moments of debate, he silently hauled himself up the frozen bark of the tree. Given its leafbare stiffness, it was harder to dig his claws in, but nothing too bad. His whiskers twitched in a momentary amusement as he wondered what Crowstar would have done if he had found himself in the same situation. But, this wasn't Crowstar's problem, this was his.

"Were you finally able to get comfortable?" Rippedsky meowed, rather loudly, to Sedgepaw's still sleeping frame.

The sleeping tom's ear flicked at the sound of Rippedsky's voice. His eyes closed and he curled up his body a little tighter on the branch. At first, he simply continued to sleep, but something nagged at his conscience. It pulled and finally he opened his green eyes warily to meet the black and white paws of his mentor. He looked at the tree bark behind them, and the events of the day before, and even that day came crashing down on him. Suddenly, Sedgepaw surged to his paws with a yowl of surprise as his hind paws slipped and sent him falling into the soft snow below. Luckily, the patch was deep enough to avoid injury. Still, Sedgepaw found himself wincing as he stretched his sore body, then tucked tail around his paws as he waited for Rippedsky to descend with embarrassment. He saw the scratch marks he had made earlier in the trunk and smirked proudly. They were deep, he hoped that they proved he needed to do more than just sit around camp.

Was that really best though? Sedgepaw felt something, an odd flicker of emotion. Doubt for once made him question his choices as he stood defiantly.
"I didn't do anything wrong." He declared. "I did those disgusting tasks at camp yesterday. I slept in my nest, I deserve the right to climb a tree if I want." He glared at his mentor, daring him to say otherwise. None of it was a lie, he considered himself to have done his time. That he slept outside of camp had been a mistake, but he swallowed the apology back with force. There was no way he'd apologise when he did nothing wrong.

As he watched the apprentice slip from the tree branches, his heart raced and he lunged forwards. It was Elmcloud all over again. It was Addergaze all over. Panic rose in the tom's heart for a split second before he saw Sedgepaw's head pop back up out of the patch of snow as he stood up. Relief was quickly followed by anger and frustration. His claws dug into the bark of the tree as he gritted his teeth together. All of him wanted to yowl at the younger cat for being such a mousebrain. It took every ounce of his will power to allow the much calmer side of him to handle this, to remind himself that shouting at Sedgepaw would not end in anything more than a one-sided conversation. His words would fall on deaf ears as they normally did. He had to speak with action to catch the apprentice's attention.

Leaping down gracefully from the branch, Rippedsky shivered softly. The cold was less than welcome on his pads. Despite the relief it caused for his leafbare cracked pads, the chills it sent down his spine were worse. He did not want to get sick again. His ear twitched as he narrowed his eyes at the apprentice. Without saying anything quite yet, he turned and flicked his tail as a silent signal for Sedgepaw to follow. As he slowly began to pad away he meowed, "You keep mentioning deserving things... and it makes me wondering, at what point a cat could decide his own worth?" As he spoke, his voice lowered into a hiss and his tail lashed, "Show me what you're worth." The deputy whipped around quickly, his black and white body almost a blur. Before Sedgepaw could even twitch, Rippedsky was on him in a flash of sheathed paws. Despite the lack of claws, each blow was sharp and calculated, enough to leave a cat as young as Sedgepaw stunned for moments.

This was a first.

Sedgepaw followed Rippedsky with a huff. He glared at the back of his mentor, ears flat and grumbled derisively under his breath. When his mentor spoke, he looked up with an angry expression. Of course he deserved things! Why wouldn't he? He dragged his paws over the snow for a moment before he flicked his tail in clear dismissal of Rippedsky's words. His mentor was just going crazy, maybe he should think about asking a different cat, a better cat, to train him.

Those thoughts went out the window when the large black and white tom turned on him. Words that brought arrogant delight to Sedgepaw quickly became dreadful ones as he realised his mentor was serious. Sedgepaw tried to clumsily block each blow, but every one of them came down and got him in a spot he didn't defend or was foolish enough to believe his mentor wouldn't go for. Even though the claws were sheathed, even though the physical blows didn't threaten him, every single one was damage to his ego. He stood there, half-crouching under the blows, stunned and confused for several moments as his mind caught up with him.

He couldn't have this. He couldn't stand it. There was no chance, no way this ripped up old tom was going to get the better of him, mentor or not! Sedgepaw glared venomously at his mentor and tried to strike back, but instead of claws meeting fur, his head crashed into Rippedsky's chest mid-lunge and he found himself on the ground. Snow covering his back as his tail lashed against the white substance, he bared his teeth in a hiss at his mentor.
"Cheap trick!" He spat, "You should have warned me!"

Rippedsky's eyes blazed with a blue fire. There was a mixture of excitement and satisfaction there. Hints of a breakthrough were palpable in the air. Sedgepaw just set himself up more and more perfectly for his own lesson. His whiskers twitched in amusement as the young tom crashed into his chest, but he kept a straight face. Admittedly, due to the fact his lungs were recovering and the burst of speed behind the apprentice's attempt, the wind was briefly knocked from his chest. He quickly and silently sucked in a breath of air as the other tom fell to the ground. There was no way he could allow himself to become exhausted now; he still had so much to teach.

While Sedgepaw was down, the deputy tensed his hindlegs and sprang over the younger cat's frame while he was still sprawled on the ground. It only took a moment for him to pin Sedgepaw to the ground, with his paws on either side of the apprentice. In a similar manner to the prickly tom, he hissed a low response, "I'm sorry, should I go talk to the enemy cats of every clan and beg them to warn my apprentice before they attack? Do you think they will heed my word and tell you before they attempt to land each blow?" His words were raspy and low. The black and white warrior had force a bit of intensity into his voice. There were rare times he even allowed himself to get worked up, but with the looming responsibility of leading a clan, he knew it was necessary to force a bit of this into himself.

Without waiting for Sedgepaw's imminent protest, or some attempt at defending his actions, Rippedsky continued his attack. He was able to pick up on the fact that his apprentice could feel the blows, more than just on the surface. If he let up or slowed down, this could loose it's momentum. Besides, he needed all the power he could behind this next move. Utilizing his Windclan speed, Rippedsky side stepped and lunged forwards to catch Sedgepaw's scruff in his teeth. Once he had a decent grip, the tom used all of the weight he could to throw the younger cat across the clearing towards a snow drift that wasn't but a few taillengths from where they stood. As soon as the other tom landed, he stood straight up and fixed Sedgepaw with a stone cold stare.

"You claim I should make you a warrior of this clan without so much as a day of training, and yet, you have proven your value to be no more than that a maggot-ridden bird carcass, " Rippedsky once more forced the steel into his words, as he continued to maintain a neutral expression, "And even that would probably be more willing to learn."

Sedgepaw hissed in Rippedsky's face at his words. For a moment, this didn't feel like a spar, like a lesson from mentor to apprentice. It felt like a threat. Without thinking, he slashed unsheathed claws across Rippedsky's forehead as he scrambled out from beneath the pin. Fortunately, his claws didn't do much damage. They were still small enough that it left only thin lines, but the satisfaction he felt from giving them was short-lived. Sedgepaw had no idea how to read his mentor's movements. He didn't understand or know how to figure out where Rippedsky was going to attack from next. All he knew was that he needed to do something. Get away from the threat that suddenly loomed over him. Try as he might to dodge the attacks however, his words were unavoidable.

The silver tom glared at Rippedsky with bitter anger. His pelt fluffed up from embarrasment and more than a little bit of shame as the last sentances cut deeper than any wound. His green eyes widened at disbelief that his mentor would see him as that useless... but... Sedgepaw felt something in him flicker uneasily. A small prickly feeling that hurt worse than the shame.

He had spat much more hurtful things at Rippedsky. Even at the weak Mumblepaw. How many times, had he considered them to be useless? How many times had he said as such without so much as a thought towards what wounds it could cause? He couldn't count them. His glare at his mentor faltered as he stood up slowly in the snow he had been thrown into. It was oh-so-easy for Rippedsky to do that. The embarrasement of it was lessened by the fact that no other cats had seen it, but even still. The moment he stood, he took a breath, prepared to spit out more venomous words though his mind this time stopped him first. For once, the tom was thinking before he spoke. A lesson so many kits learned earlier, yet he had neglected.

Instead of biting words, and a hostile glare. Instead of turning around as he felt impulsed to do briefly, to get away from his angry mentor... he stopped, then laid back down in the snow. His mind raced with thoughts that he never really considered before. Full of things that he was only now realising. That this was his fault. With the shock of the initial and follow-up attacks having waned, he could finally make that connection. Rippedsky wasn't the Deputy for no reason... even if he had been ill recently, even if he was thin and looked more frail than the other clanmates... he wasn't. Sedgepaw looked at his silver paw, the scant traces of blood he had drawn by scraping Rippedsky's head in blind anger. How stupid was he?

"I-" He paused. His tail flicked in agitation as he lamented over not knowing the words to say. Over not knowing how to even begin repairing the amount of damage he had caused so easily. His frustration made him clench his claws, his body tightening in agitation that he didn't know what to say. How to apologise. To all the world, he looked angry and bitter... except for the tears the tom tried to hide by shoving his head in the snow. Warriors. Don't. Cry.

The stinging sensation on the tom's forehead was quickly forgotten with little more than a soft hiss. Scars that marred his face bore witness how use to such wounds he was. He managed to keep his expression hardened, not letting Sedgepaw's response even cause him to flinch. There was a silent tension between the two tom's for a moment. The deputy did not move a muscle as he awaited a response from the silver cat. Although, curiosity about his response did dance in the still cold stare. How would he react? His sides rose and fell softly, slowly regaining the air that he had lost during their scuffle, as he attempted to control his breathing instead of showing how much his sides wanted to heave. But, the effort of challenging the sharp apprentice had been a lot right after his illness.

As he watched Sedgepaw crumple to the ground of his own accord, Rippedsky's face fell. It broke his heart to watch the obvious confusion and pain in the young cat. He couldn't help but consider if fate had been different and given Sedgepaw living parents, the same opportunity his kits had, if things would have worked out easier for the apprentice. The deputy had to use every ounce of his being not to rush forwards and comfort the silver tom. If he did, there was a chance they would immediately go back to Sedgepaw seeing him as a weak and useless deputy. He could not risk that chance quite yet. Instead, he took a step forward, but stopped just to stand over Sedgepaw. For a moment, he allowed the silence to crackle in the air. The apprentice needed a moment to sit and think.

"I've been ready to train you since day one, Sedgepaw," He finally meowed lowly, pausing only for a second, "Are you finally ready to train as my apprentice?"

His head breached the snow in a bid for air, only to see the shadow of his mentor looming over him. His muscles tensed, ready for more fighting. Ready to be beaten up again and tossed aside, but the words he meowed promised different things. He sniffled before looking up at his mentor's tall figure. From below he looked utterly intimidating, the determination in his gaze a frightening thing to Sedgepaw with all that he had said and done. At his words, the impulsive side wanted to stand up an yowl 'FINALLY', but he choked it down. If he did that, if he started pushing again, what would it accomplish? Probably nothing.

"I don't know." He whispered honestly. His confusion becoming more clear by the second as he blinked back more tears as they dripped onto the snow before he could look away. He tucked his tail close to his side for comfort, trying to not seem weak yet understanding for once that he is weak. For now. He wouldn't be strong until he had been properly trained... and he wouldn't completely blame Rippedsky if he had him hunting the forest for imaginary moss for moons after this. "I want to." He meowed more firmly, though this time there was a lack of arrogance. He looked towards the clearing he had been brutally tossed from. Standing made his limbs feel as though they were burning, but he managed. He couldn't let his banged up emotions stop him from training, there would be a lot worse on the battlefield and if he couldn't handle this, he wouldn't be able to handle enemy warrior jeers. He looked back at Rippedsky. His words indicated that he was going to be trained, but he could tell that it was only if he didn't continue to mock him. His mind racing alongside his worry that perhaps Rippedsky would change his mind suddenly.