Learning Never Lost [Closed]

Time passed slowly on the murky, muddied shore of this dismal and unkempt place. Brookclover had quickly grown sick of the temporary arrangements and found herself almost immediately homesick. If it weren't for the lost of Finchhbreeze, perhaps the sensation would have been quenched. But it ran rampant through the forefront of her mind at any given moment. The discomfort of the over crowded, crumbling and foreign structures caused her teeth to clench so tight she thought her jaw would bust. Without the wind nagging at the fringes of her coat, the russet warrior felt incomplete. Others had suggested they stay inside for protection against unknown predators that lurked. And despite the utter disdain for sharing close quarters with other clans, Brookclover could not deny the sensibility in briefly abandoning their true nature. Nevertheless, sleep was still a fleeting memory. By dawn, she had given up and become consumed with the memories of early morning patrols with Finchbreeze. Her heart ached at just the thought of his name.

Rising quickly to her paws, she come to a conclusion at once to remedy the restlessness of her troubled mind. Training. Given Windclan was gathered together, finding Grousepaw and Ravenpaw had proven easy. She hadn't yet trained the pair of them together but was sure her elder apprentice would have much to offer his peer. Hopefully there would be no troubles. After prodding each with a paw and turning towards the entrance, she flicked her tail for them to follow after. When they were finally out of earshot, Brookclover turned with a business-like expression to the pair, looking over them with narrowed eyes. It was silent for a moment before the faintest hint of a smirk flashed across her maw, "Although the situations have been... unfavorable lately, I don't wish to see this stall either of your trainings. Grousepaw, as the elder apprentice, I except you to help show Ravenpaw all the skills you've leaned over these moons. Today, we will do hunting and fighting basics. If you're lucky, I might even teach you a few Windclan secrets." While Grousepaw would likely be disappointed by the thoughts of things he had already learned, she hoped that the responsibility of aiding in another's training would help to quell that.

As of late, sleep had gotten very stubborn about arriving when Ravenpaw wanted it to, and had taken to showing up just as the sun began to rise; when it did appear on time, it was fitful at best. More often than not, he woke trying to talk himself out of running for his life, water roaring in his ears. Getting those images out of his head didn't help; by then, he'd usually found real things to worry about—which, as Ravenpaw had never thought himself to be the worrying type, was both strange and deeply unpleasant. One of these gnawed at him sharper and more insistently than the others: Yet another sundown come and gone without so much as a trace of his mother's scent.

Really, Brookclover couldn't have walked in at a better moment. Ravenpaw had been awake—begrudgingly—when she'd appeared, poked him in the side, and whisked off in a way that suggested important business on the horizon. His sleep deprivation notwithstanding, he'd been eager to follow, ready to prove himself the expert on all things apprentice. In his haste to find out what Brookclover had planned, it'd been easy to forget Grousepaw's presence. Now, as the two of them waited before their shared mentor, it weighed on him like a pelt soaked through with floodwater. Ravenpaw eyed the other apprentice—the older apprentice, a voice in his head reminded unhelpfully—with apprehension. Impressing Brookclover when it was just him would have been easy (at least, that was how he'd imagined it; in retrospect, that was awfully optimistic). Next to Grousepaw, though... Ravenpaw was sure he'd pick up the finer aspects of warrior life in time, but he knew what he didn't know, which by extension meant he knew the odds of making a fool of himself. Learning how to hunt and fight had seemed so much simpler without a partner guaranteed to outshine him. Even the prospect of secret WindClan knowledge wasn't enough to ease his nerves.

One white paw tapped against the marshy ground in an uneven rhythm; though he was standing, he couldn't quite keep every part of him still. Quick to learn, he thought. Hopefully Mosspaw's offhand comment would prove true. Sneaking another not-at-all subtle glance at Grousepaw, Ravenpaw took a deep breath and held it. He'd just have to amaze them both.

'Well, things could be worse.' Grousepaw followed his mentor away from the gathered WindClan cats. Their flimsy and temporary home seemed inadequate in many ways. Too close to twolegs, too far away from the stars. His grey ears flattened as he thought about home. There the grass would be gently swaying in the breeze. The moors full of green and prey. His mother would be in the clearing, staying strong as she deligated the clan's duties with precision. Here, there was no such thing.

At least there was his mentor though. The red she-cat seemed to be undaunted by the challenge presented to the WindClan cats at present. He shook flies away from his face as he followed the black tom with a high step. Pride in every pace as they reached a spot for Brookclover to begin the lesson. Only to find it the same repedative things he had already learned. With a heavy sigh, he stepped forward. It made sense... Ravenpaw was less experienced. Had a lot less training, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

"Just do what I do Ravenpaw." Grousepaw ordered curtly as he slipped into a familiar crouch. "This is the first crouching position. We use it to stalk upto prey unnoticed before we run them down." He turned over to Brookclover with a proud smirk. "Even though we're not at home, we're still the fastest."

At Grousepaw’s sharp tone, Ravenpaw couldn’t help but wince. Though he’d figured Grousepaw was moons ahead of him training-wise, it hadn’t occurred to him that Grousepaw might not be excited about retreading old lessons. The image of his Clanmates’ impressed faces inched further out of reach. But he wasn’t giving up yet, of course not, they’d barely begun the lesson. Everyone had to start somewhere—including Ravenpaw, unfortunately.

Letting the breath whoosh out of him long and slow, Ravenpaw studied the older apprentice, who had adopted a pose he’d called “the first crouching position.” Well, that was…boring. How hard could it be? He sank into a crouch that he hoped resembled Grousepaw’s, tail barely brushing the ground. ”Like this,” he said, not quite hiding the question in his voice. It wasn’t as if he could compare his stance to Grousepaw’s without any reflective surfaces around. Would there be a sign if he got it right? A spark? A voice in his head, maybe? Convenient as those would’ve been, none of them happened, so Ravenpaw simply remained there and tried very hard not to fidget.

OOC: oof finals post + wasn't sure if i should post yet, just tell me if i should delete it!