the power that's inside [training topic]

Emberheart made her way to the apprentice's den slowly, fondly recalling the days she'd slept there herself and assuming her new apprentice would appreciate the small mercy of a little more time to sleep. The days where she had been Emberpaw seemed so long ago, and everything was different now. Some of those she'd known then were still present. Leopardstar, for instance, though he'd still been deputy when she'd first joined ThunderClan. Then again, at the time she'd barely been more than a terrified kit, half-starved and half-frozen. She'd like to think a lot had changed since then.

There were many, however, who were gone: she was surprised to find she even recalled Specklefang's training with a hint of fondness, but more than anything she still missed Dawnpetal. Remembering her own apprenticeship brought with it memories of them together, of hunting and laughing and fighting side-by-side. They were memories she was quick to shake off: she wouldn't wake her apprentice feeling saddened if she could help it.

Instead, she turned her thoughts elsewhere. Thinking of Specklefang and her training methods, she remembered that Mosspaw, much like herself, wasn't born into ThunderClan. Mosspaw had been luckier, however: found at a younger age and taken in by Falconwing. She'd still have to take that into account, she supposed: much like she had once been, Mosspaw was still at a slight disadvantage. Still, she couldn't put off waking her new charge forever, and she'd finally reached the apprentice's den, so she gently nudged Mosspaw awake. "Mosspaw, it's time to start your training."

The young apprentice's dreams had been filled with her ideas of what the forest looked like outside of camp. She padded through trees that reached all the way to Silverpelt, hearing the occasional noise from bushes that she couldn't pinpoint. Her excitement to finally learn and explore had wound its way into her dreams, and she wouldn't have it any other way. A gently nudge suddenly forced her out of her dream, and she blinked her eyes open, focusing on Emberheart after a brief moment. Recognizing her mentor, she jumped up, stifling the yawn that threatened to reveal itself and made her way out of the apprentice's den carefully. Once out of the den, she stretched her legs and shook her pelt out, freeing the small scraps of moss that clung to it.

"Good morning, Emberheart!" She greeted her mentor cheerfully, which quickly shifted to nervousness. "I.. haven't kept you waiting, have I? Her paws shifted under her, hoping that she hadn't already disappointed the other she-cat.

"No, not at all," Emberheart assured her. After all, if either of them should be asking that, it was her. Her one still-intact ear twitched with amusement, and a smile crossed her face. "Good morning, Mosspaw."

She waited a few moments before speaking again. "Follow me. We'll go around the territory and I'll show you where all of the borders are, and we can go from there." That seemed like a safe enough bet. This was far from her first apprentice, so why was she still nervous? If she had to guess, she'd say it was just one of those feelings that never went away. She was afraid she'd fail them, and determined not to.

Relief crossed Mosspaw's face, and her shoulders relaxed a little as she was reassured she hadn't kept her mentor waiting. She sat, licking her paws and running them over her ears quickly in the short pause before hearing what they were going to start with. Her eyes lit up with excitement upon hearing that they were going to see the territory. I'm finally going to get to see what the trees look like, and the river, and everything else that I keep hearing about! She stood up again, her tail tip twitching with barely concealed glee and she nodded. "Which border will we go to first, Emberheart?," she asks as she begins to follow her mentor out of camp, trying desperately to control herself so as to not burst out of the camp ahead of her.

"The Thunderpath," Emberheart decided. "Stay close to me. Don't take one step further than I do, we're not going close," she added as they walked. The Thunderpath was dangerous, and she wasn't going one pawstep nearer than she had to with Mosspaw. Just close enough to see, and hopefully understand. "Do you know anything about it? What Clan it separates us from? Or why it's dangerous?" It was unlikely that Mosspaw knew much about it, but Emberheart wanted to be very clear on what Mosspaw already knew, however much or little that was. "What you don't know already, you'll learn with time."

Mosspaw nodded solemnly, sensing the serious tone in Emberheart's voice. She took up a position slightly behind and to the right of her mentor, ignoring the itch of her paws to sprint through the forest. After a moments hesitation, in which her memory shifted back to the thoughts of her kithood, she responded, tail lowered to the ground.

"Isn't that near where Falconwing found me? It's hard and flat, I think... Her face screwed up in thought as she struggled to remember what it had been like. It had been several moons since her discovery there, and she had tried to forget the ordeal that brought her here. "The mean, hairless things travel on them in loud, shiny creatures. Is that why it's dangerous? She stopped, looking to her mentor with mild horror, vaguely recalling the trip inside the loud creature, the feelings of confusion and fear and betrayal slinking its way back into her head. She shook her head, struggling to push the emotions aside, and started to walk behind her mentor again. In a meek voice, almost a whisper, she speaks up again.

"They won't be there, will they? The mean hairless things?...

"They might, but I doubt it. Either way, we're not going anywhere close enough for the monsters to see us. Everything will be fine." She paused, giving Mosspaw a smile. "And yes, that's exactly why it's dangerous. The shining things are called monsters. But the Thunderpath is dangerous for other reasons, too." It was within sight now, and Emberheart slowed, her steps coming to a halt. "It separates ThunderClan from ShadowClan. Sometimes cats will cross it, chasing prey or just looking to pick a fight, like with any border. Just remember, the borders are there for a reason, and you should never cross them without reason. Especially this one."

Visibly relaxing, Mosspaw released the breath she didn't realize she had been holding. Embarrassed by her fear, she returns the smile with a small one of her own, nodding in relief. "Monsters..." Her voice trailed off as she spoke the word, committing it to memory. She stopped next to Emberheart, peering through the trees at the Thunderpath before turning her attention to the area beyond it.

"ShadowClan lives over there, then?" She looked over to her mentor for a moment before looking back, eyes peeled for any sign of movement as she smelled the air. Her nose wrinkled as the harsh reek of the Thunderpath filled her nose, and she coughed in an attempt to expel the stench. "Why would they risk chasing prey over it? Don't they know it's dangerous too? What do we do when they cross it?"

"Yes, that's where ShadowClan lives: in the marsh, led by Scorchstar. And should any ShadowClan cats find themselves on the wrong side of the border... Well, we defend ourselves and our territory. We fight the intruders off and send them home, hopefully having learned their lesson," Emberheart explained, seeming eager to be done with the Thunderpath. She was fairly certain by now that it was simply impossible to get used to the stench, and wasn't in the mood to see any monsters passing by. "And, should any ThunderClan cats trespass on ShadowClan land, they'll defend their own territory, just like we do. Of course, our Clan is the best of them," she added with pride. "Never let anyone tell you otherwise."

Mosspaw listened intently, although her eyes seemingly never left the Thunderpath and the territory beyond it. After a couple moments, she shook her pelt, floofing it out as she stood a little straighter, pride filling her for her adopted clan. She raised her head to look at Emberheart as the desire to be able to help the ones she cared about lit inside of her. "I don't really know any fighting moves yet... Will I learn any today?" She tilted her head to the side, as she turned to the side, facing her mentor entirely.

"I think you will, yes," Emberheart told her apprentice with a smile. "But not just yet. There are two other borders left."
~
"The Fallen Oak," Emberheart declared, gesturing to the structure with her tail. "Past here is SkyClan's territory. They live in the forest, like we do, but they spend most of their time in the trees. They're led by Tinystar, who... Certainly does live up to his name. I'm certain, however, that he is a capable leader for his Clan. Like with the other borders, tread carefully here, and never cross without reason."
~
And, lastly, they reached Emberheart's least favorite of ThunderClan's borders. She was nervous being close to the Sunningrocks, the battle that had cost her part of one ear distant but impossible to forget, but forced herself to continue anyway. "This is Sunningrocks. Rightfully, this place belongs to ThunderClan, and we have fought great battles to try and reclaim it," she explained, sitting a ways away to do so, and trying not to think about the last battle they'd fought to try and reclaim this place. "But RiverClan has claimed it for the moment, though it lies on our side of the river. Still, I wouldn't recommend contesting that, or spending any time here - especially alone - if you can avoid it. Across the river is RiverClan, led by Jaystar. They swim in the water and eat fish," she added, making a face that made her opinion on their lifestyle clear.
~
As she led the way to their final destination, a clearing that was calm and empty, she spoke of the last Clan, the one ThunderClan shared no borders with. "Lastly, there is WindClan. Though we share no borders, ThunderClan and WindClan are allies. They live in the moor, and their leader is Brindlestar. You'll meet cats from each of the other Clans at your first Gathering, I'm sure, and possibly even make friends with some of them. That's fine, but remember that your loyalty should always be to your Clan first," she finished as they reached the clearing. "And here is where we'll begin your battle training."

At her mentor's words, Mosspaw's eyes lit up. Her tail lashed in excitement as her mind wandered to thoughts of what all she'd learn as she followed her mentor to the remaining borders.
~
The... trees? Mosspaw peered up into the branches of the trees on the other side of the border. She watched as the wind moved the branches, shuddering as they swayed in it. Smelling the air again, she got a whiff of what she could only guess was the scent of the border markings, wrinkling her nose against the smell. At least it wasn't as awful as the Thunderpath....
~
Mosspaw followed her mentor wearily, stopping beside her as she explained the situation at Sunningrocks. They had traveled quite far, much farther than she had ever traveled before. As Emberheart spoke, however, she nodded, listening intently. Stretching her nose into the air, she sniffed again, almost gagging as the smell of fish and Riverclan filled her nostrils. Shaking her head to try to rid her nose of the smell, she looked to her mentor. "If fish taste as bad as they smell, I don't ever want to try them."
~
Walking into the clearing, the young apprentice's tail had drooped and her paw steps were more clumsy than usual. Her ears swiveled towards Emberheart as she described the last clan, Windclan. "They're our allies? What does that mean? As her mentor continued, she nodded, a flicker of excitement in her eyes. "So it's okay to have friends in the other clans? When will I get to go to the Gathering? Do you think it will be soon? Her tiredness seemed to dissipate like morning dew on a sunny morning as she asked her questions, and by the time Emberheart said they would start battle training there was no trace of the exhaustion she had felt just moment ago. Mosspaw looked around the empty and quiet clearing, taking it all in. She then turned to her mentor and sat facing her, her tail tucking over her mud-stained paws the way it always did, waiting to learn what her mentor would teach her first.

"It means that we help each other when we need it," Emberheart answered. "Our Clans get along, for the most part. And yes, as long as your loyalty remains to your Clan you're very much allowed friends in other Clans. The Gathering is the night when the moon is full, and there is peace between the Clans are Fourtrees." Pausing between answers to catch her breath, she smiled. "I'm sure it will be soon, yes. But right now we're training. I want you to attack me. Don't think, just use your instincts. Show me what you can do."

Mosspaw nodded thoughtfully at her mentors explanations, committing it all to memory. I wonder what Windclan smells like... she wondered, before she heard Emberheart tell her to attack. She looked at her mentor silently for a moment in shock, and blinked slowly. Her mouth suddenly dry, she realized just how much bigger the warrior was, compared to her. She remained still for a moment, still staring intently at her mentor before crouching down, staying low to the ground. She moved around to the side of Emberheart before suddenly rushing in and attempting to jump on her mentors back, landing square on her shoulders. Keeping her claws sheathed, she pummeled her hind legs into her mentors back.

________________________________________________________

Mosspaw used Leap-and-hold, dealing 6 damage and costing 10 stamina.

Mosspaw:
20/20
70/80 (-10)

Emberheart:
74/80 (-6)
240/240

Emberheart is pinned for two rounds!

The member 'Mosspelt' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Effect Dice' : 5