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Post by Fernpaw on Jul 3, 2006 18:48:43 GMT -5
Thade skidded to a halt, screeching to a stop directly in front of the Thunderpath. Breathing out a sigh of relief for his lucky stop, the tom looked back over his shoulder at the grassy plains. He had been newly appointed an apprentice, Blackpaw. Thade was taking her to see the borders, though they weren't many borders to see. Currently, the only border that really needed patrolling was the one near ShadowClan, by the Thunderpath. A monster sped by, disrupting Thade's train of though. Spewing vile grit and small rocks at the tomcat, it whirled away.
Thade beat a hasty retreat, spitting rocks and shaking the dusty fumes from his pelt. He'd smell like the Thunderpath for days, now.
The mottled tom sat hidden in the shadows---almost invisible. Tail flicking impatiently, Thade settled down to wait.
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Post by Shadepelt on Jul 4, 2006 17:51:13 GMT -5
The ground was hot, from the intense rays of sun that had been beating down all day. Small pads, which were located beneath small paws, were already beginning to feel scorched. Taking no notice, the owner of the paws trotted at a fast pace, over the fields, toward the Thunderpath. The acrid smell burned at her nose at the first scent, making her visibly cringe with distaste. Dispite the discomfort, the small feline continued on, ears pricked for any sign of her mentor, Thade.
As the WindClan apprentice finally reached the hard, wide black path, she sat down to wait; at least ten tail-lengths away form the Thunderpath, just to be safe. After licking each paw in turn to sooth them from the heat, she lifted her head, green orbs flicked this way and that. Ears pricked, she made herself look small, and glanced all around. Blackpaw wasn't alone. Weather it was her mentor, or a stranger, she couldn't be quite sure.
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Post by Fernpaw on Jul 5, 2006 13:17:30 GMT -5
Thade waited a few moments, watching his apprentice intently. The tom knew that Blackpaw had sensed him---or someone---otherwise she wouldn't be acting so uneasy. Oh, we have so much work to do, he groaned inwardly, excited in spite of himself at the prospect of teaching his own apprentice something.
The mottled tom stepped into the dappled sunlight, amber orbs glowing softly as he mewed, "Rule Number One, when you sense a cat, circle behind till you can either hear, see or smell them so you can identify who it is." He grinned down at the black apprentice, "Why would it be bad if you just sat there and waited for whoever it was to show themselves?"
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Post by Shadepelt on Jul 5, 2006 18:14:24 GMT -5
Grinning sheepishly, the young apprenticed replied, "Well, because if you waited, then who knows who they could be? If they were an enemy, they could attack you on the spot. Then it's over, no questions asked." The young she-cat was quite proud with her answer, she was pretty sure she had given the right answers. One circle behind later, she had gotten the feeling, I won't forget that! Sunlight heating up her black fur, she tryed to shake away the clinging heat, with no prevail. It's going to be a long day. The heat wasn't Blackpaw's favorite thing, but training to become the best warrior in WindClan, it was worth it.
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Post by Fernpaw on Jul 17, 2006 17:12:51 GMT -5
Thade nodded his head approvingly. "Exactly," he mewed. The mottled tom wasn't one to lavish with praise, a short "good" or "well done" was about all this apprentice was going to get out of him. If she even got that much out, it would be a miracle. Thade beckoned Blackpaw with his tail, gesturing her forward.
The tom turned till her was looking out over the Thunderpath, but still sitting a good safe distance away from it. "Now, this is the Thunderpath," Thade glanced almost apologetically at the apprentice. "Not much, I know."
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Post by Shadepelt on Jul 18, 2006 11:42:37 GMT -5
Blackpaw nodded once at the short word of approval, and followed her mentor forward. Once he sat, she stopped and gazed at the Thunderpath. She had heard the other apprentices talking about loving going to the Thunderpath, and how it was so exciting. What's so exciting about it? Monsters run across it, it stinks, and it heats up in the sun. She knew she was jumping to conclusions, as she had never seen a monster before. All in all, anything that didn't move, you couldn't hide in or hunt, or if you couldn't chase it, was generally a bore the young she-cat. Often, she would think otherwise after watching it for several moments, but the Thunderpath was proving not to be anything great.
Not speaking her complaints, she simply sat and watched, maybe if she was lucky, something exciting would happen.
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Post by Fernpaw on Jul 18, 2006 14:53:09 GMT -5
Thade saw the confusion and disappointment on the young apprentices' face, "Boring, huh?" he asked. Suddenly he flattened himself against the ground, "Get down!" he yowled. A low rumble grew in the distance, and the ground beneath their paws trembled. The tom put a large paw on the back of Blackpaw, hopefully pushing her down into the earth beside him.
A monster came hurtling towards the two, roaring and churning up dust as it roared towards the mentor and apprentice. Gravel and rocks battered the two cat's fur as the monster spat smoke and acrid fumes. With a final cough and roar, the monster charged past.
Thade sat up, sniffing at his coat disgustedly. He cast an eye over Blackpaw, and asked, "Well?"
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Post by Shadepelt on Jul 19, 2006 18:12:36 GMT -5
At her mentor's sudden yowl of warning, the young cat pricked her ears and flicked her eyes back and forth. At the push on her small back, she immediatly sank low to the ground, as the huge, metallic monster whipped past. Wincing as gravel stang her tender skin, she coughed at snorted at the black fumes that escaped the horrible thing. The deafening roars set a picture of a lion cat of old into the apprentice's mind, and she cringed at the thought of what a man-made lion could do to a cat.
Once the monster was gone, Blackpaw rose slowly, ears pricked for any sign of another beast. Green orbs wide, she stared at Thade, and mewed quietly, "Okay, no more jumping to conclusions!"
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Post by Fernpaw on Jul 20, 2006 13:38:52 GMT -5
Thade surpressed an amused grin as he stared down at the wide green orbs. Nodding solemly, the tom got to his paws, and stretched. His lean muscles rippled smoothly over his form as he straightened. Thade mewed, "Well, that's basically the only border we have around here. Now what? Do you want to hunt? Or fight?"
The tom didn't care which Blackpaw chose, either way he'd be teaching her something. Amber orbs stared curiously at the small furball in front of him and wondered how something so small could be full of so much enthusiasm and spirit.
((Sorry, again. Aagh! Brain is dead.))
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Post by Shadepelt on Jul 20, 2006 22:10:24 GMT -5
Pointed ears shot forward, and leaf-coloured orbs widened excitedly as the tom spoke the words "hunt" and "fight". Not hearing much of the rest of the sentence, the small, young she-cat immediately meowed out her answer quickly. "Fight!" The single word make her quiver with excitement, and her fur tingled with anticipation. She had always play-fought as a kit, but now it was the real thing. Nothing better then learning how to defend her clan came to mind, besides going to gatherings. Now that was something she couldn't wait for. Blinking several times to clear her mind for the task ahead, she swiped out with a sheathed paw, quick as an adder, and grinned mischievously. "C'mon! Lets do this!"
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Post by Fernpaw on Jul 25, 2006 17:33:07 GMT -5
Thade grinned as he saw the enthusiasm bubble over in his apprentice.
"All right, all right!" he mewed, restraining a laugh. "First, we've got to scootch away from the Thunderpath. I wouldn't do for you to send me flying and have me be smooshed into crowfood." The prospect sounded horrifying, but Thade's description was so humurous, all fear and disgust at this proposition was dispelled in the humor of the moment.
The muscular tom trotted a few feet away, in safe distance from the Thunderpath. He flattened himself to the ground and commanded, "Now, Blackpaw, attack me!"
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Post by Shadepelt on Jul 25, 2006 20:15:50 GMT -5
Purring aloud with giddy amusment at her mentor's groteste joke, she trotted with paws stepping high, following her mentor away from the trecherous black strip.
At Thade's request, Blackpaw lowered herself to the ground, green eyes glowing with excitment. Trying not to allow her mentor to have any ample time to think, she quickly sprang forward, long legs uncoiling swift as an adder. Abnormally long legs stretching out with each stride, she made wide turns from side to side, working hard to confuse her opponant. Once the young she-cat was a few tail-lengths away, she gathered a riverfull of power into her haunches, and burst straight up into the air. Emerald orbs flashing, she bored her gaze into the tom below her. Confidence turned to shock as the apprentice realized too late that she had missed her mentor by at least a cat-length. Limbs flailing, she came down fast onto the ground, landing flat on her stomach.
After taking a few short moments to recover her breath, Blackpaw smiled wolfishly and raised her eyes to meet Thade's. Dope!
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Post by Fernpaw on Aug 6, 2006 14:25:48 GMT -5
((Cuteness!!))
Thade's calm pools widened slightly as the apprentice hurled herself at him with no apparent thought of caution. The warrior sat calmly, miscolored pelt making him almost invisible next to the undergrowth. The mentor didn't even move, watching calmly as Blackpaw sailed over his head and tumbled to the ground a few feet behind.
Thade was up on his massive paws in an instant, alarm showing in his tense posture and crackling orbs. "Are you all right?" he asked, then relaxed as the small bundle scrabbled to her paws, smiling widely. Shaking his head in amusement and annoyance, the tom mewed, "Now, what should you not have done there---besides attempting a suicidal jump on the Thunderpath?"
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Post by Shadepelt on Aug 6, 2006 19:14:03 GMT -5
[[Thankies! She's a clumbsy one she is! xDD]]
As to show no apparent signs of weakness, the black, leggy scrap of a cat quickly scrambled to her paws, then thought over what her mentor had just asked her. For a few moments she was silent, as the young cat re-lived the pitiful attack in her mind, and picked out a couple choice things that she thought needed work on. Happy leaf-green orbs squinted from the intense sun as she tilted her head up to look eye-to-eye with Thade. "Well, I think I should've thought over what I was doing more carefully, especially since we're so close to the Thunderpath!" Blackpaw purred with amusment at Thade's joke, then cringed as she pictured a cat actually jumping onto the Thunderpath. Blinking once, she carried on, "And I should've regained some balance when I was coming down from my jump, but I don't know how to do that..."
Trailing off with a hoping taint in the words, the young apprentice's grin grew wider as she hinted. Satisfyed that she had said enough, she stopped her meowing, and held a silent, toothy smile.
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Post by Fernpaw on Aug 8, 2006 12:36:50 GMT -5
(( Manipulative too! )) Thade remained silent as his apprentice speculated ((that's a word, right?)) on her answer. To her slowly thought out response, he nodded his approval, "Exactly. So, what you need to do is . . ." Thade's strong mew trailed off, catching the hint that was buried beneath a toothy grin. Heaving an exasperated sigh, the tom stood up, "I guess I'll have to show you how, then." Thade rolled his eyes heavenward, secretly pleased that he could show Blackpaw how to catch her balance. The mottled tom padded a few feet away, then crouched. "Now, watch what I do with my tail and my paws," he instructed, bunching his muscles. The warrior took a few giant leaps forward before hurtling himself up high into the air and over Blackpaw's head. His tail was stretched out behind him, steering him straight almost like a rudder. His paws were braced and his muscles relaxed. As he landed, his relaxed position absorbed the shock of the landing, allowing him to stick to the ground. Thade turned to face his apprentice. "What did you see?" he questioned.
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