Mending the Broken [Closed]

He wanted to start training immediately. Sedgepaw's had been delayed a bit due to the fact there were many things the headstrong, young tom needed to work on. The deputy was ready for something a little different. Remembering Gorsepaw, the black and white tom found himself missing those energizing sessions with an eager to learn cat. Hopefully, Brokenpaw would prove to be just that. Rippedsky finished stretching to awaken his muscles. There was a sharp pain in his side that reminded him of the badger attack not long ago. Mintpaw had been doing her best to help, but he knew it would simply take time for the injury to heal.

Once he reached the apprentice's den where Brokenpaw now slept, he just barely stepped inside and meowed softly, "Wake up, Brokenpaw. Training starts today." Rippedsky then turned back towards the center of camp. Life was already bustling as normal. He had made sure to assign all of the patrols the night before in preparation for apprentice training today. The world had heated up slightly and snow had begun to melt. This would be a perfect day for training.

Brokenpaw awoke to the sound of Rippedsky calling him forth from his new den. He had not slept well last night, missing the comfort of his mother's body and his siblings all snuggled against him. As Brokenpaw opened each eye and then began to stretch he though about how if his training was not being conducted by Rippedsky, he would assume that it would be just short of torture. However, due to his small familiarity to his mentor he wasn't quite as worried as he would have been otherwise. Although he still didn't feel all that compelled to become a warrior, why couldn't we all just mind our own business instead he believed. Oh well, if he was going to have to do this, at least Rippedsky seemed alright he thought to himself as he stuck his nose out of the den.

"Are you ready for your first day of training?" The deputy meowed as soon as the apprentice joined him. It was exciting to be able to go out with his adoptive daughter's son. What seemed like only yesterday had stretched into moons. He could not believe that Dandeliondapple had been a warrior for this long and was already on her second litter of kits. After pausing for a brief second, he smiled encouragingly down at the black tom. From his expression and body language, Rippedsky could tell Brokenpaw seemed rather laid back. Dandeliondapple had spoken well of her son's nature. This would be a nice break from Sedgepaw for sure.

As they padded out of the camp entrance together, the black and white warrior's stomach growled. His whiskers twitched in amusement. It had been quite some time since he'd eaten. The discomfort in his side paired with the number of duties constantly on his mind had made him forget the fact they both probably needed to eat, "We'll hunt while we're out. Since this isn't one of the hunting patrols, we can eat what we catch." Rippedsky explained. In case Brokenpaw was worried about eating, he wanted to still those fears. Even in leafbare, they did have to eat sometimes. He padded through the couple inches of snow on the ground as he waited for the young tom to speak, thankful for how it softened the rough territory terrain.

"I guess, I mean, yeah", Brokenpaw replied to his mentor, as he followed him towards the edge of camp. We'll be going anyway, he thought to himself. He could see on edges of the path trampled down by many other paws, that the snow grew even taller outside the camp. He really hoped they wouldn't have to climb through piles of the cold fluff.

So they were going hunting, at least they would do something fun today. Well, hopefully.

"I supposed you'd like to see some of the territory?" He hummed softly, considering their options. The snow was still rather high. It would be difficult for the younger cat who stood a bit short than him. But, tree climbing would help change that. Did he dare to start tree climbing with another young cat? Blossompaw had fallen not long before she became a warrior. Rippedsky was frustrated that he had become worried about Skyclan cats climbing. Although, the potential for teaching the apprentice outweighed his lasting fears. Dandeliondapple had likely taught him some anyway.

As they continued a short ways away from camp, his blue gaze scanned the horizon for a smaller tree to begin. One such tree finally came into his sight. If a former Windclan cat could manage, this pureblooded Skyclanner with hindlegs built for such things should be able to handle it with ease, "We'll start with climbing. After you get used to that, I will show you a couple of hunting techniques and we can see what we will bring in. What do you think?" As soon as the tom answered, he nodded and smiled, beginning to haul himself up the tree in a demonstration. His claws sunk deep into the chilled bark. Rippedsky stopped on the lowest branch and watched the black apprentice with curious eyes, encouraging him to try himself.

Climbing, something Brokenpaw was definitely eager to do. He imagined the best thing in the world was to just sit in the tops of trees and watch the world go by. His eyes sparked with interest at the words of his mentor. "I like climbing", he admitted to Rippedsky. That was the one thing he knew best about the differences between clans, he was born to be a climber, and he loved that idea.

Fairly sure that he wouldn't be much use at hunting in this heavy, deep snow, Brokenpaw decided to just focus for now on getting the chance to learn how to climb like the big cats finally. He stepped up to the gnarled tree trunk and glanced again at his mentor before attempting to follow him upward. Then he looked at the trunk in front of him and focused on his goal. He couldn't really run in the snow, so he jumped best he could and dug his claws in where he reached. From there he made his way to Rippedsky's branch with only a few slips. He looked down at the branch and then at his mentor proudly. "Was that pretty good?", he asked.

He was happy to hear that he had chosen something the new apprentice would enjoy. That was a good sign. As he watched Brokenpaw climb up the tree, the deputy found himself nodding in approval. Dandeliondapple's kit proved that he had Skyclan blood flowing through his veins. Between the fantastic leap and how quickly he climbed with little issue, Brokenpaw was going to be a wonderful Skyclan warrior. Once the black tom was settled on the branch next to him, he meowed, "That was wonderful, especially for a first time."

Rippedsky looked for a sturdy collection of branches and demonstrated leaping from tree to tree. His leaps, while impressive, were not as great as what a true Skyclan cat could do. He had only spent time practicing and learning the technique rather than having it flow in his blood. The black and white tom was made for running. Weaving through the trees was merely a practiced skill. Once more he stopped to wait, silently praying to Starclan there would be no hitches. Finally, he meowed, "We'll stop here for a moment. Raise your nose into the air. What do you smell?" The deputy raised his nose and parted his mouth slightly to draw in scents so he could have a clear picture and demonstrate.

Brokenpaw deftly followed his mentor across the trees, his light weight probably made it a little easier for him, but he was still well matched as a young Skyclan cat for the task. He laughed as he felt the limbs bouncing slightly under him when he landed and hopped again, enjoying the wind he created on his dark fur as he went. Rippedsky stopped a final time, and Brokenpaw wasn't quite prepared for that and landed a little sloppily as he started to pull his claws in and snapped them back out quick to maintain his hold on the final branch. Fortunately, his mentor didn't mention it and moved on to another topic.

Brokenpaw didn't want to stop from their tree weaving adventure, so he frowned a little. Well, I knew it had to stop being fun at some point, he thought. He watched Rippedsky's face as he lifted his nose and beckoned Brokenpaw to follow suit. He hadn't studied Rippedsky's face since some of his earliest days, and had gotten used to the strangeness of it as a kit. But now as he studied his mentor's face very closely, he began to wonder... "What's wrong with your face?", he asked.

Oh no...he hadn't meant it quite like that. He shouldn't have said anything, what had he done. He had been euphoric after climbing the trees, and bonding in something he actually enjoyed with his mentor. He had forgotten his place in the world, and how the clan demanded he behave; it was easy to forget the things you didn't like when you were flying overtop of the world.

The black and white tom held his breath for a moment as Brokenpaw briefly lost his balance. However, he regained it quickly and the deputy let out a low and soft sigh. As he demonstrated the proper way to check the for scents and draw in air to get a hint of prey, his eyes glanced around to scan the trees and pinpoint which way to go to follow the scents. He was too distracted by this to realize what his apprentice had said at first. Already prepared in the back of his throat was a list of the creatures that hid nearby in the forest. But, that quickly died away as he took in the meaning of what had been said. For a moment, his whiskers twitched in amusement. The rather mild-mannered deputy was not quick to take offense. In fact, he considered it a rather valid question. Brokenpaw's mother hadn't even been born when Rippedsky had first joined Skyclan and the series of events with Breezewhisker had taken place.

"Well, I haven't had that question in ages..." Rippedsky said slowly, thinking back to it. The pain was a distant memory, something he could have cared less about, but the situation itself both aggravated and saddened him to this day. More than anything else, he valued the respect of clanmates. In his youth, he'd struggled with this a bit when his birthclan had proven to be less honorable than he thought it was. But, in finding his place within Skyclan, Rippedsky had only renewed his devotion to the cats he had come to serve and learned to love. For a brief moment, he closed his eyes and recounted the moment. Breezewhisker's claws slashed relentlessly against his maw and face again and again. It was a miracle his eyes had been spared. Yet, cats had stood by his side. A true display of loyalty and kinship. That thought made a purr rumble in his chest.

"I'm not sure if anyone has told you, Brokenpaw, but I was not born into Skyclan. I joined as an apprentice. And there was a pawful of cats within the clan who disagreed with Crowstar's decision to take me in. One of them, Breezewhisker, challenged me in camp. But, I would never fight a clanmate. So, these scars are from him. And that's the reason I look like this." It was rather humorous, the scars he had earned in real battles were not the most prominent ones. Those Breezewhisker had left on his face would always be what cats saw when the looked at him. As he mulled over it, the deputy smiled softly at the thought. This would always be a reminder of the dangers of ignoring loyalty to the clan. He would always remember Breezewhisker and forever remember to train the future Skyclan warriors not to be like him. Although he felt pity for Crowstar's son, it was true that such actions lead to nothing good.

He let out a sigh of relief, Rippedsky wasn't mad, although he had full right to be. Brokenpaw was very interested in hearing that his mentor was not from Skyclan. He didn't know cats could come from other clans to join another, he thought everyone would be stuck living in whatever clan they had been born to. However, from Rippedsky's story, clearly it was not a favorable thing to all cats. He thought it very strange that a warrior would not stand up for himself when another challenged him. It seemed like most warriors were very full of themselves, and had to stand up to every challenge. Maybe that’s why he liked his mentor, there was more to him than just being a warrior.

“I’m glad that you came to Skyclan”, was all the little apprentice could muster the courage to reply to his mentor. It was nice to know more about his mentor, but he was still very embarrassed at the question he had blurted out.

To try and deflect his embarrassed state, Brokenpaw turned to the task his mentor had asked of him. He lifted his head, and opened his mouth just a small amount as he had watched Rippedsky do. Thank the ancestors that he had paid some attention before his distraction so he wouldn’t have to ask for another demonstration.

ooc: oops keep forgetting this

"Me too. I'm glad Starclan lead me where I am supposed to be." With that, he let the conversation be put to rest. It was refreshing to reflect on the past and share with an apprentice who was interested in that. But, there was no value in dwelling too much on the things that had happened. What mattered was the fact that he had found his place here. Now, they had a task at hand, to teach Brokenpaw. He watched with interest as the black tom followed his example. This seemed like a good first attempt. After a moment, he pressed for more, "Think of all of the things you have smelled before in camp, particularly prey and try to name all of the things you smell now."

His own maw opened once more and he inhaled deeply to get a good picture of what was around them. With claws digging into the bark to make sure he was perfectly steadied, the black and white tom closed his eyes for a brief moment. Skyclan, stale and fresh. The scent of Brokenpaw specifically. Mouse. Days old fox. And... bird. The mixture of the forest's scents flooded his glands. There would have been more, the dirt and trees and leaves, but it was all still dulled by the frigidness of leafbare. It was much harder to pick out smells when everything was frozen or stifled by the constant snow and rain that washed it away. Things were beginning to get easier with the thaw. He wondered how well Brokenpaw would pick up on things and cocked his head slightly, as if in question, while he waited for an answer.

Brokenpaw glanced at his mentor when he said his piece about Starclan guiding him, and noticing that he wasn't looking at him directly for a second, squinted his eyes at him very briefly. The souls of ancestors watching over all the cats had always seemed strange and very silly to him. If he was dead he sure wouldn't hang around the clans he would have already spent a lifetime with, but whatever, the Starclan topic was what it was among the cats.

Quickly regaining his attention for what Rippedsky asked of him he took his time and spoke, "Well, I smell you and the trees. And uhh, something very dead that's really noticeable from everything else. ...and maybe, some mouse that's close to us." Mice entertained Brokenpaw. He had seen one stupidly run into their camp once and a few apprentices had messed with it before finally killing it. He liked how dumb they were, and thought it was good for them to die in their stupidness. "I don't know, a lot of cold and moistness. Hm, and something else alive, but I haven't figured out what it is."

"Good," he meowed encouragingly. Brokenpaw recognized a good amount of the scents around them, so that caused a soft smile on the old tom's maw, "That scent is fox. Remember it well. There are a lot of dangers in the forest, outside of other clans. Badgers and foxes and hawks... always be on the lookout." The black and white tom scanned the forest below them, double-checking his senses did not betray him. Rippedsky had always had a decent sense of smell but at the idea of there being a fox around, he did not want to be too careful. When he decided it was time to move on. He led Brokenpaw in a hunting demonstration.

"Make sure to sheath your claws before leaping, similar to jumping from tree to tree, but unsheathe them again right before you catch your prey. Watch me." Rippedsky chose a knot on one of the opposing tree branches as his target. He silently leaped through the branches of their tree and once he was close enough, bunched the muscles in his back legs, and leaped, catching the target between both paws, "Now you try."

Brokenpaw took note of the fix smell. He had heard of the danger foxes posed, as vicious as they were, and had no desire to accidentally cross one. He watched Rippedsky watching the ground below them, wondering what exactly he was looking for.

Soon, his mentor looked up at him and began explaining how to pounce during a hunt. Brokenpaw thought it looked easy enough, especially as he had been practicing with his claws as he hopped from tree to tree. After Rippedsky landed on a target in demonstration, Broken began looking for a nearby spot for himself to focus on. He quickly took note of a discolored mark on the branch next to him. He stepped down to the next branch, and poised himself in front of the spot. Preparing, he stared down the spot, unsheathed his claws while leaping forward, and grabbed his target with his claws sharply sliding forward.

"Good, good." The deputy praised with a satisfied nod. Brokenpaw certainly showed promise in this regard. He paused to test the air once more. As he did so, he noted how grateful he was to have an apprentice who seemed more eager to learn than hell-bent on proving he knew everything. While he did appreciate Sedgepaw for who he was, their sessions were often strained and exhausting. In fact, they were the near opposite of the times he had trained with his other apprentice. As he remembered the task of searching for prey for Brokenpaw to target, he pushed away all other thoughts. They needed to keep up with the clan being fed. Although the season had been harsh, Skyclan had fared well. Grumbling stomachs were the worst of their problem, and even those were not awful. But, slacking would only create a problem they had managed to avoid.

"There is a sparrow nearby. I want you to track it and attempt to catch it." Once he pinpointed the scent, the deputy made sure to give no indication of which direction it was in. Brokenpaw would have to find it on his own. Rippedsky nodded to dismiss the black tom and leaped up higher into the branches. Being up so high, he could have a better vantage point from which to watch his apprentice from. His blue eyes scanned the treetops for the fluttering of wings as the bird looked around for its own prey. Now, just to see how Brokenpaw would handle this.