everything the light touches [training for Bearpaw]

A light drizzle had followed Sunfire and Bearpaw out of camp on their first ever outing as mentor and apprentice. The warrior had been surprised to be named Bearpaw's mentor, but not displeased in the least. Sunfire loved all his children equally, of course, but there was something about this particular kit that had caught his eye... something that the yellow tom saw in himself, too, almost uncannily. As they walked, he glanced down and across at Bearpaw, blinking slowly once before slowing to a halt. Just before them lay the border between SkyClan, and Twolegplace. A strong SkyClan scent line ran parallel to the twoleg dens, past their line of sight and towards the river. Sunfire inclined his head towards the scent marker, beckoning Bearpaw to investigate it.

"This is a scent border - our scent border. SkyClan shares borders with ThunderClan, ShadowClan, and RiverClan... and each border smells very, very strongly of the clans that mark it. Take a smell, there, and tell me - which border do you think this is, son?"

It was a trick question... perhaps an unfair one given his son's limited exposure to the scents of other clans. But it was a good test, and a good place to judge the level of training to even start with. That was a mistake he'd made with Rosepaw, one he didn't intend to repeat. Shaking his head to clear the image of the ginger tabby from his head, Sunfire focused on the smoky tom in front of him, watching, and waiting for an answer.

Bearpaw

Gender: Male
Rank: Apprentice

Bearpaw followed his father - his mentor now - out of the camp, icy blue eyes scanning their surroundings as they went. Sunfire was a loving father and a fun parent, but that wasn't what excited Bearpaw about his father being his mentor. Rather, he knew how serious Sunfire was about training and the safety of Skyclan. If any cat was fit to be Bearpaw's mentor - it was him.

As they came to a stop, the young tom cast his gaze up toward Sunfire, curious to see what his first lesson would be. Not a tail-length away was a scent line so powerful that Bearpaw could envision it being an actual wall between him and the land beyond. At Sunfire's inclination, he padded forward and inhaled the scents.

Ears angled back to hear what Sunfire was saying, Bearpaw closed his eyes and let his other senses do the work for him. It smelled very strongly of Skyclan, almost overpoweringly so. Yet, beyond the smell of his clanmates, Bearpaw caught the scent of not just unfamiliar things, but other cats too.

However, the cats he could smell had such unique scents - almost as if they weren't around each other at all. One faint scent was sharp and tangy whereas another one was light and almost obnoxiously sweet.

With a sneeze, Bearpaw rubbed his nose with a paw before backing away to look at Sunfire, his expression stony. "I don't know." Admitting his confusion was difficult for the apprentice, but Bearpaw knew that pretending to be knowledgeable would get him nowhere.

Though, at the very least, he could explain his reasoning. "It doesn't smell like any particular thing. There's cat-scent here, but it all smells different. And there's other weird smell too that I don't recognize - not like the forest at all."

Bearpaw narrowed his eyes and glared across the border, unimpressed. If a clan lived across the border, they were a lousy one. They didn't even mark their side...not often enough for him to discern it that is. "There's not any distinct line on the other side either. Whoever lives there seems more like a batch of rogues."

Did Bearpaw have an inflated sense of pride for Skyclan and himself? Yes, a little bit. But that was because Skyclan was the best, most honorable clan out there.

Rather than guessing, Bearpaw flat out amitted that he didn't know, and Sunfire nodded his approval, gesturing for him to move closer again for another sniff as he did the same, flaring his nostrils and bringing in the scents from beyond. "Well done. This particular border is one not shared by any other clan, and it was good of you to recognize that rather than guessing. This is SkyClan's border with Twolegplace, and the cats that live beyond." Yellow eyes stared out, down the long, stone pathway, but no cat-shapes appeared, no threats, no one to warn off. "The cats that live beyond this border belong to no clan. Some did, once... sometimes, a cat leaves their clan to live in Twolegplace." He didn't hide the distaste from his voice when he said this, going as far to even turn away with a disgusted look on his face.

"But mostly, it's rogues and kittypets. Cats you can't, and shouldn't, trust. Ever." He met Bearpaw's gaze with a serious stare, but softened it once he was sure the message got through. "Come along... I'll show you a real border."

Heavy paws carried Sunfire through the forest, down one of the many trails carved into this forest by SkyClan. As they walked, Sunfire kept a slow, manageable pace so that the new apprentice could keep up, but as they got deeper into the trees, Twolegplace disappearing behind them, a flock of birds up ahead took flight. Sunfire instantly froze, holding a paw out to stop Bearpaw, too. He sniffed, but couldn't discern anything for certain... which meant it wasn't something smelly like a fox or badger, but also wasn't a SkyClan hunting patrol.

Intrigued, he moved forward, beckoning to his son to follow, slowly. Together they crept through the underbrush, until they reached a small clearing, littered with feathers. "Ah," he said, straightening up. "Looks like there was a hawk, or perhaps an owl. That's what spooked the birds." He padded forward, pawing at the feathers on the ground and sending them scattering to the wind. "This was one unlucky starling, hm?" Fully intending to continue on until they reached their destination, Sunfire moved past the clearing to the other side. As he turned to call for Bearpaw to join him, the slightest movement in the branches above the apprentice drew Sunfire's attention, and there sat the hawk in all its glory, the remains of a very young starling strewn across the branch at its feet.

He wasn't concerned, at first... the hawk had seen him, right? It knew it was far outmatched... right..? But the subtle shift in the bird's demeanor, the way it was looking at Bearpaw intently, wings raising ever so slightly... "Bearpaw!" Sunfire snarled a warning, whipping around and sprinting across the clearing as the hawk dropped forward off the branch, wings outstretched, taloned feet spread. The warrior and the bird reached Bearpaw at the same time, and with little time for being preparation, the yellow tom unceremoniously kicked his offspring out of the way, taking the claws that had been intended for Bearpaw, down the side of his neck, instead. He snarled, lashing out with a paw but only catching tail feathers.

Hawk attempted to use Swoop on Bearpaw. Sunfire used Blocking Leap to take the damage instead.

Sunfire
41/50 (-9)
115/120 (-5)

Hawk
40/40
110/125 (-15)

Bearpaw
20/20
60/60

Last edited by GravisCordis on Sat Aug 05, 2023 4:14 pm; edited 2 times in total

Bearpaw

Gender: Male
Rank: Apprentice

Bearpaw listened to Sunfire's explanation, a little annoyed that he'd been tricked. He hadn't even known that Skyclan's territory bordered the twolegplace - that would explain the unusual smells. However, the older tom's praise softened his irritation. "The twolegplace..." Bearpaw grimaced.

He nodded along to Sunfire's explanation. Cats who deserted their clan were the lowest of the low, but Kittypets and rogues couldn't help not being born within a clan, so Bearpaw saw no reason to look down on them. Though, Sunfire's repulsion was evident. There was probably a reason why they couldn't trust outsiders. "Of course. Skyclan are the only cats we can truly rely on. We're kin and clanmates."

The brown and white tom nodded firmly as Sunfire went on. A real border! That was more like it! Silently, they turned and padded away from the border. Bearpaw looked around curiously, his frosty gaze bright with well-concealed wonder. He'd never really had a chance to leave the camp before today - much less time to really look at the forest Skyclan called home. It was beautiful with towering trees and colorful undergrowth scattered around.

The scent of prey was thick in the air, but Bearpaw couldn't place where the little creatures were hiding. Not that it mattered, they were exploring - not hunting. Sunfire came to a sudden halt, stopping Bearpaw as well, who looked up at him with confusion glittering in his eyes. Slowly, he crept after his father, eyes narrowed.

Eventually, they came upon a clearing with feathers scattered every which way. "What the?" He padded after Sunfire, watching as he swept the feathers away. "Huh? Birds eat other birds? That's weird." Sunfire continued on, but Bearpaw stayed behind a bit to watch the feathers skitter across the forest floor, carried by the wind.

Hardly a moment passed between Sunfire calling Bearpaw's name and the young tom looking up before, in a burst of movement, Sunfire was at his side. Shock overtook the peaceful expression on the apprentice's face as Sunfire kicked him away and he landed with a whump and rolled away.

"Dad!" Bearpaw lifted his head, brows furrowed, but any anger quickly fizzled out at the sight of a massive bird tearing its talons down Sunfire's neck. He wasted no time in getting back up and running back to Sunfire, fangs bared. Though he was usually a cautious tom, Bearpaw never had and never would take kindly to an assault on his family. So, before the hawk could fly out of reach, he bundled up his legs beneath him and pushed off, leaping higher than ever before!

In a stroke of luck, Bearpaw's claws dug into the hawk's wing, his added weight bringing the both of them back to the ground with a heavy, graceless thud. He hadn't really though about that part. "Foolish bird." Bearpaw muttered as he repositioned himself to pin the dangerous creature.

Bearpaw used Leap and Hold, dealing 6 HP and costing 15 SP!
The hawk is pinned for 2 turns.

Sunfire:
41/50
115/120

Hawk:
(-6) 34/40
110/125

Bearpaw:
20/20
(-15) 45/60

The member 'GravisCordis' has done the following action : Dice roll

'Effect Dice' : 6

» Are You Ready (Bearpaw)
» Everything the Light Touches is Our Kingdom (CLOSED)
» Training in the light
» A Spark Of Light [Training topic][Closed]
» as a light is lost in light [closed]