Cloudy Skies[C]

Gender: Male
Rank: Apprentice

("Feral Language")
("Forest Language")

Wigglepaw stumbled out of the camp, the thorn barrier catching on his thick fur and tugging him back, almost as if telling him not to go. He huffed and tore himself free, ignoring the sharp twigs as they pricked at his skin. There! Free at last! The young apprentice turned his attention to the forest after a moment of glaring at the barrier and hesitated. All mirth and excitement left, draining from his body as if being leeched into the earth from his paws. Cloudychase had shown him around Thunderclan's territory yesterday, but he'd not gotten a chance to really examine everything.

The forest looked so vast and there were so many twists and turns - he wasn't really sure how to get to the fallen oak from the camp. Sure, they had passed by there, but not after touring other parts of the forest first. Luckily, he didn't need to rely on his memory, just his sense of smell! A hint of the white tom's scent hit Wigglepaw's nose and, with a purr of delight, Wigglepaw lowered his muzzle to the ground, inhaling the somewhat familiar scents. He just needed to follow his scent-trail!

The heaviness in his chest eased a little and Wigglepaw set out on a somewhat slow journey to their meeting place. He made mental notes of his surroundings as he went, trying to remember this in case Cloudychase asked him to do something similar in the future. Though the trip was longer than expected, Wigglepaw finally reached the fallen oak and Cloudychase, a sheepish smile on his face. He glanced up at the sun, thanking his luck for getting him here just in time!

Gleefully, he trotted up to Cloudychase, curious and excited to finally start his formal training. "Hi! What training today?" Wigglepaw, unfortunately, still hadn't quite gotten the hang of the language Thunderclan spoke. His sentences were usually choppy and worded oddly but, generally, not hard to understand. Hopefully, his mentor wouldn't mind. Cloudychase didn't seem the type to complain about heritage or that sort of stuff. To Wigglepaw, he was a perfect mentor - if a little strict.

Gender: Male
Rank: Apprentice

("Feral Language")
("Forest Language")

Wigglepaw ducked his head to deliver a few embarrassed licks to his chest fur. He hadn't realized that some warrior's would care so much about proper pronunciation of the forest language. His dad, siblings, and much of the other kits and queens all spoke in feral most of the time. Only now was he realizing that the rest of the clan was so much different from how he expected. None of the older cats understood a word of their language. He murmured a quiet apology and settled down to watch Cloudychase demonstrate the proper hunting technique used by Thunderclan's apprentices and warriors.

He observed each move and pawstep, noting that every movement was deliberate and controlled. Not a whisker was out of place as Cloudychase's claws met the tender flesh of a nearby mouse which he killed with ease. The white warrior made it look so easy...it was almost a little daunting. The young apprentice straightened his back as Cloudychase turned back to him, waiting for more advice. However, Cloudychase clearly had a different idea in mind. "O-Oh! Okay..." He kept his response simple, not wanting to upset Cloudychase further with his ineptitude of Thunderclan's language.

Wigglepaw hesitated before getting to his paws, his dark gaze sweeping over the ground in search of movement. He lifted his nose into the air, testing the stagnant currents for the scent of prey. Something stirred deep within the spotted tom and his pupils dilated. Ears twitching, he stalked away from Cloudychase, following the trail. Though, his entire body vibrated with nerves and made him tremble slightly, keenly aware of his mentor's gaze on his back.

A red-breasted bird, fat with the abundance greenleaf brought, pecked at the ground not far away and Wigglepaw licked his lips with anticipation. It was a robin - that much he knew. Those bright feathers would certainly make the kits happy...if he caught it that is. Wigglepaw crept closer and closer until finally, he was close enough to pounce! Wigglepaw burst forward with the grace of a fish on land and without even laying a paw on the robin, crashed to the ground unceremoniously.

The bird let out an indignant squawk of alarm and lifted off into the air before finding sanctuary in the trees. Wigglepaw watched it flutter away, more amused than upset, and let out a soft purr of laughter as he got up and trotted back to Cloudychase, empty-pawed. "Not go so well, maybe we try again?" He smiled, a little embarrassed, but mostly unscathed by the unflattering display. "Oh, can see...err...hunting crouch again?" He fumbled slightly for the words, but wanted to try harder to speak more clearly. If nothing else than to make his mentor proud.

Gender: Male
Rank: Apprentice

("Feral Language")
("Forest Language")

Wigglepaw shrank back slightly as he noticed Cloudychase's stormy expression. Oh - he was mad. Thankfully, the white tom didn't comment on his failure, a kindness the spotted apprentice was thankful for. It was his fault he'd missed the bird; if he hadn't been so distracted, he might have actually been able to catch it. With the near-to-bursting apprentices' den that was filled with him and his kin, Thunderclan was surely struggling to feed everyone. His kin had voracious appetites - ones that far surpassed that of the clan cats'. So, with a meek nod, Wigglepaw mimicked Cloudychase, determined to succeed this time.

He pricked his ears and sniffed the air, nose twitching almost like a rabbit's. The forest was empty though, the bird's call of alarm had probably scared everything away. Then, a faint scent caught Wigglepaw's attention. He glanced back at Cloudychase, wanting to make sure that the warrior also noticed it, before stalking toward the scent. He passed a few trees, traveling further from the fallen tree with each pawstep. He didn't want to stray too far - but if he was going to catch anything, he needed to move! Surely, Cloudychase would understand his reasoning - right?

As the young tom edged closer and closer to the tantalizing prey scent, he slowed down, placing his paws carefully and keeping his tail just above the ground like Cloudychase had done. Then, just as all hope seemed lost, he spotted it! A brown and white Squirrel with dark, beady eyes. It was facing him but was so focused on digging that it hadn't seen him. Wigglepaw froze until the squirrel turned away, then continued on his journey. Mouth watering, the tom snuck closer and closer until he couldn't stand to wait any longer - he had to pounce!

With a clumsy leap, Wigglepaw shot over the leaf-litter, his belly fur just barely touching the ground. The rustle of movement frightened the squirrel, but he was already upon it by the time it realized it had to run. He stared down at the squirrel in his paws, tense muscles relaxing at having finally succeeded! Though, what was he supposed to do now? The squirrel wriggled in his grip and almost got away before he realized that he actually had to kill it. Swallowing, Wigglepaw dipped his head and bit into the squirrel's neck until it finally stopped moving.

He hadn't made a clean kill - that was for sure, but it was a kill nonetheless! He'd just caught his very first prey! Head held high, Wigglepaw lifted the bushy-tailed creature and trotted back to Cloudychase before depositing it on the ground at his paws. "Did see! Got a..." He paused, searching for the forest words for 'squirrel' for a moment, before continuing. "A squirrel! Do eat now? Looks tasty!" Wigglepaw had made the mistake of skipping a meal that morning and was regretting that immensely at the moment. There were rules about eating - but it didn't hurt to ask.

Gender: Male
Rank: Apprentice

("Feral Language")
("Forest Language")

Wigglepaw dipped his head awkwardly. He had heard something about the 'warrior code' before, but Hank had never really spoken about it before. He often overheard some cats muttering about it in vague terms, but never in detail. Bashfully, he shook his head. He obviously wasn't an exception, that much was clear, he'd just wanted to see what his first catch tasted like. "No. Sorry Cloudychase." It was good that he was apprenticed to the white warrior, though. Now, he would learn everything he needed to in order to fit in. Gone were the ridiculous notions of exploration and adventure - he had better things to focus on.

All Wigglepaw wanted now was to make his mentor proud of him. There was, thankfully, one thing he was always good at and, with any luck, it was something that would impress the stern tom. Straightening, the Wigglepaw peered up at Cloudychase, tail lifting. "Oh! Can teach fighting? Am good play-fighter!" Smiling, Wigglepaw lashed his tail behind him, eager to see Cloudychase's talents for himself. Mottlestar herself said that Cloudychase knew a lot of stuff and she was the leader of Thunderclan! Surely, being praised by her meant a lot.

Besides, Cloudychase seemed pretty upset with him. Maybe, if he got on his good side by proving that he wasn't completely useless, they would start to get along better. With that thought in mind, Wigglepaw lowered his body into a crouch, tail lashing playfully behind him. As far as he knew, fighting involved rolling around on the ground with his littermates until one of them gave up. Of course, that wasn't what a real fight was like, but it still seemed like a fun idea.

Gender: Male
Rank: Apprentice

("Feral Language")
("Forest Language")

Wigglepaw smiled awkwardly, but Cloudychase's mood was starting to get to him. Regardless, the spotted brown tom blinked up at his mentor, waiting expectantly for a response. Surely, even strict warriors like him enjoyed a little fun once in a while, right? Wrestling around always seemed to bring a little light to the nursery when the mood was down - or that's what Wigglepaw thought at least.

Eventually, Cloudychase relented, and the apprentice let out a soft purr of excitement - this would be fun! "Yes, yes! No claws, promise!" Wigglepaw watched with bated breath as Cloudychase moved to the center of the clearing and stared at the white tom with big, dark eyes, wondering who was supposed to make the first move.

It seemed customary to allow the older, more experienced cats the first blow, but perhaps Cloudychase wanted to see his skills in action? That made the most sense. So, with his mind made up, Wigglepaw allowed Cloudychase a moment to prepare himself, and launched himself towards the older tom. It appeared as though he would bowl right into him, but at the last second, Wigglepaw veered to the side and rammed the flat of his head against Cloudychase's flank, attempting to knock him off balance.

Wigglepaw used Headbutt on Cloudychase, dealing 4 HP at the cost of 5 SP

Wigglepaw:
20/20 HP
(-5) 55/60 SP

Cloudychase:
(-4) 26/30 HP
80/80 SP

Gender: Male
Rank: Apprentice

("Feral Language")
("Forest Language")

(OOC: I don't know how I forgot about his disadvantaged stats! Thank you! <3 )

Wigglepaw pulled back, his heart racing. This was fun! It was going to be just like when he and his littermates play-fought! Just as the idea ran through his mind, Cloudychase's paw slammed into his muzzle, the force of it almost knocking the apprentice off balance. His head swam for a moment, pain clouding his vision. Ow! That had...that had really hurt! Dark eyes wide, Wigglepaw stared up at Cloudychase, shocked by the strength he'd put behind the blow. Biting back a complaint, Wigglepaw regained his balance and winced at the taste of blood in his mouth. He must have accidentally bit his tongue when Cloudychase hit him.

Then, it suddenly clicked that this wasn't just some play fight - it was a mock battle! Cloudychase was showing him how to fight like a real warrior! The thought soothed Wigglepaw's indignation and he pressed off of the ground with his hind legs, launching himself at the white warrior, pushing him to the ground. With his paws pressed into Cloudychase's back, Wigglepaw tried to get a good grip on the older tom's pelt, but he wasn't sure what to do now, he'd never really fought before.

Lowering his muzzle slightly, Wigglepaw peered down at his mentor, concerned. "Are okay Cloudychase? Did...did push too hard?" The young tom's ear twitched uncomfortably at the thought of having hurt his mentor on his very first day of training. What kind of apprentice managed to do so poorly? He'd already failed at hunting earlier, he didn't want to make Cloudychase even angrier than he already was.

Wigglepaw used Leap and Hold on Cloudychase, dealing 6 HP, costing 15 SP
Cloudychase is pinned for one turn!

Wigglepaw:
12/20 HP
(-15) 40/60 SP

Cloudychase:
(-6) 15/25 HP
80/50 SP