reap what you sow [c]

The events of that apprentice ceremony never seemed to have fully left her mind. She had mentored before. Several cats, in fact, one of them having even been her own littermate. They had gone under her tutelage, prepared more than sufficiently enough to become a warrior, then claimed by some other means. Means that she had never quite been able to decipher just why it was those under who guidance who perished to such a thing. Had she inadequately prepared her apprentices? No, they had been more than ready. The forest seemed to simply be willing to have played cruel tricks of fate on her at every turn, always pushing that niggling doubt that sometimes swirled like a feral beast deep beneath the darkest of shadows that existed within her mind.

Such mattered little, however, when it came to the present. Poppyshine had entrusted her with an apprentice, one who had belonged to Perchstar's daughter. The protegee of the kin of leadership-not too much unlike any apprentice who came under her own guidance. The thrones of which her bloodline called were in no association to her current allegiances, but it was still an act worth noting. Little to mention came by way of Murkyriver herself having been the apprentice of the river's empress, the one she bowed to. As such, when Scarletpaw had been transferred under her guidance, his outburst had stuck like a particularly angry thorn. There had been little mulling done in how she would address the situation, but much as life had proven itself to act in the past, it yet again seemed content in uprooting those plans.

Anger had welled deep within her after the wolf attack. She had little frustration when it came to the fact she had sustained a blow to her face, but it was where on her face that had caused anger. New, raw, vicious claws raked across her eye in three scarlet lines, marring the healed scar that had been given to her by her sister. It was a mark of pride, now snuffed by a beast. That was what had angered her-that they had marred where her sister had been the one to lay claim in battle.

Surmounting frustrations had worked themselves into a singular purpose: training. There had been momentary sessions here and there that she had pulled her apprentice into, the tom always seeming more than ready to simply brush off her instruction. Whenever there were group instructions given for the purpose of their travel, Murkyriver had no problem in allowing the tom to pick his path. But now? It was time to finally put his attitude in its place and show exactly why she had the accolades that she did.

Her gaze of amber and embers searched out its target, Scarletpaw's pelt easily identifiable amongst the snow. After all, she was more than adjusted to finding calico or tortoiseshell pelts. Honed into a lethal warrior of purpose, she stalked forwards, her ears pricked directly towards her apprentice. "Scarletpaw," She spoke, quick and sharp as an asp. The bark at the back of her tone gave no room for arguments, and if she had to speak with more authority, Murkyriver was more than prepped to do so. Arrogance could only go so far, but when confronted with undeniable fact, it had nowhere else to go. "Battle assessment. Let's go." She was a born commander, and such came out as she gave the order. A jerk of her head indicated the direction that they would hold the spar at, and she wasted no time in going exactly where she planned.

It was a patch of snow that no cats had seemed to tussle too harshly in. Powdery, but clumped in some places. While they were not in the forest or at the lake with terrain that more closely matched that of the three other seasons, it would provide enough difference to properly assess just where Scarletpaw was. "No claws. Teeth only to pinch. Begin when ready." Again came the short, clipped commands. She wouldn't fully pummel him into the snow--not yet. She'd give him a chance to prove himself first.