School of Hard Knocks [Closed]

Ashpaw felt the sharp beast's talons piercing her skin.  She also felt the warm crimson blood flowing down and getting caught in her fur.  She leaped back, dodging one of the owl's many strikes.  Dawnhawk told her to kill the owl.  She did not need that instruction.  Her eye gave off a threatening look as the owl began to get closer.  The large bird was about to strike again when Ashpaw felt rage boiling up inside of her.  She rushed at the owl and continue to scratch at it's stomach, until she felt the life drain out of it.  Even after that, she continued scratching.  This owl hurt both her and her brother and, even though the owl was dead and she knew it could not feel anything, she could not stop because of the rage she felt.  She jumped back, away from the dead prey, and surveyed the bloody mess before her.  She smirked in enjoyment.

A moment later her eyes softened and her smirk dissolved.  She realized that because of how hard she was trying to please her brother, she was turning into what she thought of him.  She was being fueled by rage, anger, and vengeance instead of using the wit she knew would be better.  If she was going to be a good warrior she needed to be strong and fierce, but also loyal, compassionate, and know when it was too much.

I will still try to please him, she thought.  Her yellow eyes gave an intense look at her bother.  But I will never, ever become him.


Ashpaw used Front Paw Strike, Dealing -6 in Damage, Costing -10 in Stamina

Owl
Dead
0HP / 90SP (-6HP)

Ashpaw
10HP / 50SP (-10SP)

Dawnhawk
45HP / 110SP

As Ashpaw killed the owl, tearing into it with a vengeance even after it had drawn it's last breath, Dawnhawk only stared at her. A small, half smile spread across his face as he observed her rage and the fury that she took out on the owl. Nothing like a good injury to make someone serious about fighting. Once she was finally done and made eye contact with him, he gave her an approving nod.

"You have done well, and proved that you won't be another useless waste of space like certain other clan members." Like Sunflower. But he didn't say the name. He wouldn't have to if Ashpaw ever met him. Dawnhawk got to his feet and stared down at Ashpaw, noting that there was indeed a bit of... intensity in her gaze. A little bit of defiance? Dawnhawk's lips twitched and his tail flicked. Good.

"I have one final test for you Ashpaw. No other apprentice has to do this one, but I require it of you because you are mine and I expect any cat I train to have a number of talents." His eyes then held their own level of intensity as he stared into her's. "I know you have just been hurt," He nodded at the puncture wounds from the owl on her body. They weren't life-threatening, but he knew too well how much wounds hurt after the adrenaline from battle wore off. Ashpaw was about to learn a number of things disguised as only one.

"Sing for me." He ordered. "I want you to sing convincingly. No matter how bad your pain gets or how out of breath you are, I want you to sing while I drag this owl back to camp. If your tone fluctuates too much and I can tell you're in pain, I will consider this whole day a failure." He wasn't kidding. He didn't expect her to be amazing at singing like he was, but he expected her to at least hold consistent tones while they walked.

"I want you to do this because sometimes you have to act stronger than you really are. Sometimes you will need to put on a performance that you don't necessarily want to do. Sometimes Ashpaw... you have got to learn how to lie. So sing for me. I don't care about the words as long as your pitch is reasonable and your voice flows." He was very curious to see how she would pull this off. Her blood flowed from her punctures and he knew the first bit of cold wind that kicked up would sting the fresh wounds. With the morning winds approaching soon, there would be wind... and there were no trees to give his apprentice any mercy from it.

"I'll give you a minute, but I won't pick up the owl and start walking until you start singing."

When Ashpaw heard of the one final test, she felt slightly uneasy.  She did not know what could be harder then that.  She hoped her brother would not put her against something more dangerous.  What are you going to have me fight next?  A dog? she thought.  At first her thought was meant to be a joke, but if he had her fight an owl after just catching a squirrel it could be a possibility.

She listened carefully to his next words and debated whether she heard him right.  Sing, she pondered.  Of all the things she could have guessed him asking her to do, this was definitely not one of them.  "Um, okay?" She replied.  She did not know why this was the next thing she had to do.  It certainly seemed easier then battling an owl.

She was happy to be given a moment to prepare.  The hardest part must be coming up with a song and a tone.  She paced for a moment thinking.  She did not really know any good songs.  Trying to come up with a fast song meant that the lyrics where not the best, but he said he did not care about the words and with such short notice he must know that it would not be great.

"Sky-" she started to sing, realizing how tired she was.  She cleared her throat and took a deep breath.

"Skyclan warriors are coming," she sung,  "They are coming to save the day.  They are coming to fight, for what they know is right.  The warriors.  The warriors.  The warriors.

The first time she tried to keep the notes steady, but the morning winds came, making her wounds sting and reminded her of how much her jaw and paws ached, so some of the notes went slightly higher than she was expecting.  She decided to embrace this and kept it about the same in those certain places for the walk.  Walking did not make singing easier.  It was a constant struggle to try to not collapse from pain, as well as trying to not show her pain.  She thought she did sort of well.  After all she needed to hide the disappointment of her name, after she realized what ash meant, from Bloodstrike.  She repeated the same lyric over and over again all the walk back.  She knew that Dawnhawk must be annoyed with her by the time they got back because honestly she was annoyed of herself.  Finally, she was allowed to stop singing.  She felt like she could finally breath again.  She still tried to have a tough exterior, but allowed herself to take deep breaths.

She looked up at her mentor with big yellow eyes. "So," she mumbled in-between breaths.  "Did I pass Dawnhawk?"

Dawnhawk squinted at her for a second as she started singing. Interesting... words. He picked up the owl by a wing and the squirrels by their tails like he said he would and began to walk. His ears easily picked up when she was straining and a big part of him wanted to drop the owl and chew her out for it. At the same time... he would probably have to really try to get this song out of his head now. It had been sigh-worthy at first, but the fact that she chanted it the whole way back to camp... the bounce in the tune had grown on him.

I will scream if I hear this in my sleep tonight... He thought to himself when he dropped the owl at the fresh-kill pile. Ashpaw finished her last verse of the song and he looked at her, thinking. Honestly... her voice wasn't that bad, but she was certainly untrained in the art of song. She had caught the squirrel, she killed the owl, then sang even as pain lashed through her body like he asked. She had proven to be smarter than he expected, using tactical maneuvers on the owl and picked up a hunting style that worked quickly.

He supposed... that her occasional change in pitch was forgivable. It wasn't easy to impress Dawnhawk and it certainly wasn't easy to get him to like anyone right away. She had managed the beginnings of both.

"You did... Well... better than I expected you to."He answered, careful not to give her too much praise lest it go to her head and she stop trying as hard. "I will grant you a pass for today. I still want you to practice your singing for as long as you are my apprentice, just as much as you practice your hunting and fighting skills. Maybe once you're a warrior, we'll play an entirely new game and see just how much you've learned from my training." This was a test for Dawnhawk as well. He intended to play a game of truth and lies after a good hunt and a successful sparring session. If she managed to fool him as well as spot his own lies... he would consider her training complete and his teaching abilities successful.

"You better go see Beechpaw and get that cleaned. I won't be any softer on you just because you have a painful infection." He warned, though his tone was anything but threatening. The time that he would have been able to successfully hunt was over now anyway as the sun sat high in the sky. Until there was snow on the ground, Dawnhawk was too easily spotted to hide from prey in the middle of day or the middle of night.