Teaching a Rogue [Closed]

It went as quickly as she expected. Her kits were all grown up now basically, Thawpaw and Nettlepaw were on their way to becoming warriors. Leopardkit was going to be getting his apprentice ceremony soon, so it was alright for her to go out and stretch her legs.. Well As much as she could stretch her injured one. She didn't want to push to hard but she knew that she needed to start getting it back into working order, and she had a responsibility to the rogue she promised to teach.

She stood up out of her nest, limping a little as she nudged Gingerstripe harshly for the tom to wake up. "We are training, lets go." She said to the tom, before padding out of the den to go grab a fish to eat. She needed her energy for today. She was going to need it all for walking around with an injured leg, and fishing.. Oh man this was going to be a challenge. Hopefully the rogue wasn't going to make fun of her for it. If he did, she was going to claw his ears off.

Gingerstripe woke up with a start, somewhat dazed and confused. Who was this she-cat, and why was she waking him up now?... ShadowClan didn't get up this early in the morning. And then he remembered that he wasn't in ShadowClan. He was sleeping in the RiverClan warrior's den, and this she-cat, Viperstorm, had promised to train him in their ways. Sleeping in a comfortable, mossy nest had made him forget where he was.... he hadn't slept in a warrior's den for moons. Small moment of confusion over, the thin tom stood up, stretching his long legs, and carefully padded out, avoiding stepping on any cat's tail- especially Stormstrike's. He had learned the name of the angry cat who seemed to have a vendetta against him, and he knew that a single accidental step out of line would likely drive the off-balanced tom to attack him immediately. The ginger tabby followed his "mentor" out to the fresh-kill pile, but didn't take a fish. He knew cats weren't supposed to eat until they hunted- especially him, who wasn't even officially part of the Clan. Once he learned how to be RiverClan, hopefully he could change all that. The tom sat silently, waiting for Viperstorm to finish her meal, then asked quietly, "Where are we going today?"

Viperstorm shoved a fish over to Gingerstripe. "Eat, you are going to need the energy. I don't want you collapsing on me in the middle of the day." She took another bit of her fish before speaking again. "We are going to cover the territory, to make sure you know every corner. We are going to fish a bit and then I'm going to teach you to swim as well." She knew that was a lot to do in one day but she didn't want to waste a single second of the day. Plus she was trying to make up for the time she spent in recovery and in the nursery. "We have a lot to cover, and I want you up to par by the time your kits get here." Viperstorm informed the tom. "Also you never know when Stormstrike will try to follow up on his threats in some form. The further you are away from him the safer." She understood the tom's anger but even it was too extreme for her.

Gingerstripe regarded the fish with some amount of skepticism, but at the look in the warrior's eyes he immediately bent down to take a bite. Once the flavor hit his mouth, he almost gagged. Slimy and pungent, the distinct odor of fish stayed in the back of his mouth even after he hastily swallowed. It took all his self-control not to make a face of disgust. Well, this was what he'd be living off of, so he'd better start getting used to it. He took another mouthful, then another, slowly getting used to the taste. Eventually, swallowing the revolting mouthfuls became slightly easier. As a rogue, he'd learned not to refuse to eat what he was given. He nodded at Viperstorm's words, agreeing even with her statement about Stormstrike- the tom had definitely seemed unhinged at the meeting, and he wouldn't put anything past him. Once he finished scarfing down the fish, he sat up straight and nodded. "I'm ready. Teach me whatever you can- I'll do my best." For his mate, for his kits... For his Clan. He would learn a completely new way of life.

She almost wanted to laugh at the tom's reaction to eating fish. She knew that a lot of the other clans didn't like the taste but he would have to get used to it. It was their main food. She finished her fish quietly enjoying the silence of the early morning. As soon as she was done and Gingerstripe was done she stood. "Let's get going. We are going to start on the far side of the territory close to Windclan and work our way back to the river." She flicked her tail for the tom to follow her and headed out of the camp.

It took a bit longer than she would have liked to get to where she wanted to be but that was because of her leg, but as well as letting Gingerstripe take in the territory. Of course the gorge was near by but she decided to keep her distance this time. "You know the gorge. It looks different close up but there is lose ground around it so I wouldn't suggest getting to close." Viperstorm padded closer to the marked border, which was a part way into the old Windclan territory. "This is our border. Its a bit on the moor, so if you wanna hunt something other than fish, then this would be a good spot. Any questions?"

Gingerstripe nodded silently, and followed the she-cat out of camp and across the territory. He hadn't seen much of it, only the parts he'd crossed over to get to the Beech Copse, and to Dewshine. He'd seen a lot while he was a loner, but the full extent of RiverClan's territory surprised him... as well as its beauty. It was definitely nothing like the marshy pine forests of his birth Clan. The ground was mossy and soft, pleasantly springy under his feet, and the trees he saw scattered throughout the area seemed to be thinner than those he was used to- trees like aspens, ashes and birches. The sunlight through the thin, delicate leaves left a beautiful dappled pattern of light on the ground, and the distant sound of a river mixed with the airy songs of birds. It was nothing short of beautiful. He appreciated Viperstorm going slower so that he could take it in, but once he was used to it, he picked up the pace a little bit so that they could really get going. He had a lot to learn.

When they stopped at the Gorge, he took a bit of time to look at that as well. He'd traveled along it before, in order to cross into RiverClan territory, but actually seeing it was quite a different thing entirely. He did, however, take Viperstorm's advice and stayed away from the edge. Judging by the she-cat's twisted front leg and the hesitance in her eyes when she looked at it, she knew what she was talking about from experience. It took him by surprise that RiverClan's territory extended into the moor- he had definitely been out of the know for a while, but as far as he knew WindClan hadn't lost any territory recently- but it was nice to know that he wouldn't have to eat only fish if he was good enough at catching other prey. He did wonder about the border, though. "Um, Viperstorm," he asked tentatively, "how did RiverClan's border get into the moor? I've been a loner for a while, so I've obviously... missed things."

Viperstorm flicked her tail for the tom to follow her once again. They had to move if they wanted to make their way to the river. She could explain on the way. "I don't remember the exact details of it since it's been a while, but Windclan had damanged one of our own pretty badly again. In response Ivystar took the Lone Stump and the Gorge in Riverclans name. Since then we had given the Lone Stump back, but the gorge has remained ours and such a decent chunk of the moor." The blue gray she-cat explained, as she walked.

Soon enough they reached the twoleg bridge. "This is the twoleg bridge. We take this to the gathering so we don't show up soaking from crossing the river. Its not really the best place to fish in my opinion, others might have better luck than me though." In the distance just across the bridge the fourtrees sat. Blue eyes looked at the giant rock and the trees. How would they explain Gingerstripe to Shadowclan? She couldn't help but sigh a bit. There was going to be a lot of drama..

Gingerstripe nodded, taking in the information with nothing more than a slow blink, and followed the she-cat as she began to move again. There wasn't much of an explanation there- perhaps he could ask Dewshine about it later. Assuming he was allowed to see her, that was. He looked in interest at the strange contraption of wood, obviously built by Twolegs, wondering how on earth the clumsy-looking things managed to be so delicate with their giant, weird paws. He'd seen Twolegs quite a bit during his time as a loner, and hadn't really thought too much of them. He didn't want to be a kittypet, so of course he stayed away from them- everyone had heard the tales of what the large creatures did to wild cats. It was interesting that things created by the Twolegs were even here, in the forest.... His green eyes, as well as Viperstorm's, stared across the bridge to where Fourtrees lay, tall oaks reaching towards the skies above. His white paws itched to run across the bridge and be there, be somewhere familiar. That place held memories... going to the Gatherings with the rest of ShadowClan, sitting with Firestone, laughing at the other leaders, nudging his kits with his tail when they spoke too loud but smiling to let them know he didn't mean it.... Part of him longed to go there, but he knew that there were more important things that he had to do first. So, he followed his honorary mentor, waiting until she showed him what to do next.