Training with a shadow

[ℓυиαя]

Reaching the top of the steep climb, Ashnight's eyes wandered over the abandoned lookout situated above Talonclan's camp. The view up here was amazing and a slight wind buffeted the ashen grey tom. This would be the first training session with his new apprentice Duskpaw and while the tom was excited, he was also apprehensive. Ashnight didn't socalise a lot.. ok well at all really and now he needed to not only teach but also interact with someone else? He'd do it but it would be a change of pace for the normally reserved seemingly absent warrior. On reaching the top, his first instinct had been to dissapear into the shadows but he had stopped himself, just, as he wanted Duskpaw to see him. So instead he had settled on a patch of overgrown grass near the shadows so he was still visible. He wondered how this would go.


Lightningtrail

[Lightningtrail]

((ℓυиαя I deeply apologize for this being so...late. I think that the tag did not work, but I may have just checked it and then forgot. Either way, I hope you are still wanting to do this thread.))

Duskpaw had been stressing all day before her training session. What if Ashnight did not like her? What if he thought she was too weak, or too shy, too dumb? What if she could not learn fast enough? Doubts clouded the small she-cat's head as she climbed to the top of the Abandoned Lookout. She had remembered that this was where she was supposed to meet up with Ashnight, and just hoped that she remembered correctly. There was no way she would ever find the skill to tell her mentor of how she went to the wrong meeting place. She shuttered at the thought.

The she-cat's head peeked over the edge of the lookout, and relief filled her grey tabby body as she saw the dark tom. She heaved herself up onto the top of the lookout, and she turned to Ashnight. "Um, hello, Ashnight," She mewed apprehensively,"I am not late, am I?" She shuffled her paws into the dirt with nervousness. If only this was like it had been when she had first met him at the ceremony. Then, she was surrounded by others greeting their mentors. but now, she was alone, and had no background noise to hide behind.

[ℓυиαя]

OOC: Yeah, that's no problem at all ahaha. It's easy to lose track of threads.

The slender tom sat incredibly still, his eyes closed, his breathing even. He heard his apprentice long before she crested the rise and he made a mental note to work on that with her. She would be a much more deadly warrior if she could fight with a lethal precision but also be unpredictable and untraceable. Even before he opened his eyes he could tell she was nervous, he didn't blame her. He had been nervous and battling an injury on the day of his first training. The younger Ashnight had expected the worst but what his mentor had taught him had surprised the young tom. Duskpaw's training would be slightly different as she wasn't battling an injury to the best of his knowledge but he would teach her many different styles to many different things. He would also teach her how to adapt on the spot. An injured warrior was something the clan could not afford during battle and if she could learn to cope, she would be even more of an assest to Talonclan. Yes, that would work very well.


A breeze blew past the tom, ruffling his fur, just as those golden eyes opened to pin on the new apprentice. While his gaze was intense in it's focus, it was friendly and the slender tom gestured with a subtle sweep of his tail that she should join him. No she wasn't late, actually slightly early. He himself always liked being the first anywhere in particular as it meant he could scope out his surroundings. Ashnight knew that he could be intimidating, not only to younger cats but warriors also. He pinned it down to his silence and ability to not miss anything. Taking a breath, the warrior finally spoke, his voice curt and rough around the edges. Golden eyes scanning out over the view before him he asked her, "Tell me what you see." Personally he wanted to see how observant she was. It was a useful tool to have.

[Lightningtrail]

The tabby she-cat eye's must have displayed her anxiety, despite her best effort to keep it hidden. She hated the skittish jitter of her tail, and the shuffle of her paws, but it was so difficult to contain the nervous energy. She noticed his stunning eyes open, and for a second, she could have sworn that they were cutting holes in her fur. She soon noticed the friendliness in his golden gaze, and it helped a bit. but even so, she had to admit that she liked the tom better with his eyes shut. She also noticed the sweep of his tail, and she padded towards him. She tried to seem confident, but her legs still wobbled with each step. She eventually reached the tom, and her eyes ducked down to her toes before she sat. Hopefully, her legs would not wobble so much if she were sitting. She also wrapped her tail around her paws, hoping to disguise it's shaking.

She was a little taken by surprise as Ashnight spoke. Why won't he tell me if I did anything wrong? Maybe she had not done anything wrong yet. She refused to believe that this was the case. It was a harsher voice, one that nipped lightly at her ears. It demanded attention, or at least that was what she thought. A cat that was not constantly chatting was probably not as worthy to listen to as a cat like Ashnight.

"I see a long patch of field, and a while away, there is a stretch of woods. I think I see a great pool of water back there, to the side of the forest. Oh, and there is a river running in between what I think are pines and some other kind of leafy tree. And there is another, smaller pool of water between us and the forest," Duskpaw mewed. but that was all obvious, and she needed to impress her mentor, even if it was just by naming a couple more things that she saw off in the distance. " I think that there...no, I know that there is a couple of hawks flying over the field," She added, her eyes squinted," And I can see that most of the leafy trees only have some of their leaves. It would make sense, it is Newleaf. And, really far away, there are some more...mountain things. They come up off of the ground, and are the same colors as the mountain when it is bare, but they are kind of little for mountains." Her head stretched forward as she tried to make out what those things were. She had never even heard of twoleg nests, but she would not have been able to name them even if she had heard of them. They were just...too far away. "Um, it's a bit cloudy,"She added. She knew she was reaching to add things to her list. but everything else was just too hard to see from her perch among the mountains.

[ℓυиαя]

The grey warrior did not comment on her nervousness, instead he waited for her to answer his question. He did see her quivering legs and shaking tail, he always saw, but he didn't comment. Instead, his yellow gaze panned out over the view and mentally checked off what she noted: pool, woods, water, forest. Good. At her description of the two-leg nests, Ashnight let out a little chuckle to himself which came out more like a humorous purr. Looking at the little tabby out of the corner of his eye, Ashnight nodded in encouragement."Good" came that harsh reply. "Those... mountain.. things" he said with a rare grin that transformed his normally stoic face, "are two-leg nests."  That intense gaze swept once more out over the land below them. It was one thing to observe, it was another to point out potential hazards. He could see a few below them but would be interested to see what she saw as a hazard and what she didn't.  "Point out the threats, go." His voice was filled with the usual gruffness but his ears twitched in encouragement, she was a smart and clearly observant cat and for that he was grateful.

If she proved herself in this task they would move on to something else but it was important that she underwent this first. He was not sending out an apprentice without her being able to be independent. Too many warriors were too reliant and while it was good to work with others, they also needed to be able to stand on their own 4 paws. She would be able to do both by the time he was through with her training.

[Lightningtrail]

Duskpaw flinched slightly at the sudden noise coming from Ashnight. She tilted her head slightly. Was...was that a laugh? I made the stone cat laugh. She thought proudly. but...was he laughing at her? She hoped not. She could not dare to be that apprentice that everyone chuckled at, made fun of, and took advantage of. Maybe he was laughing at something else...

She perked her ears as she heard Ashnight's voice again. The she-cat breathed a silent sigh of relief. She had done well. Her head turned to look at the tom as he began to explain what those 'mountain things' were. "Twoleg...nests?" She asked to herself, trying to force the name into her head. She had no idea what those things were, but hopefully she would see them up close one day. She had to remember the word at least until then. Her paws shifted as she turned back to the forest, the fields, and the pool. She noticed the tom's ear flick encouragingly, and was grateful. This was much harder.

The main issue for Duskpaw was that she did not want to seem like a weakling who was scared of everything. She wanted to name everything she saw that could possibly hurt a cat, but the list was lengthy. The pool was dangerous if a cat did not know how to swim, the trees were dangerous if a storm pushed them over, the ledges were dangerous if they were too weak to stand on. but all of those were dependent of chance. On the storm hitting the tree, on the cat being unable to swim, on the ledge being to weak to hold a cat's weight. And the cat could not think of anything that did not rely, at least partially, on chance. Her eyes squinted as she searched. She was taking too long, and she knew it. "Um, the hawks could be a danger to kits," She blurted out. but only if they are hungry. "And the mountain side is dangerous," She mewed, turning her head downwards to look at the rocky surface below her."...um, and the..." She did not want to seem stupid, but she refused to be thought of as weak. "The water could be dangerous if a cat could not swim, the ledges below could be dangerous if they could not hold a cat, the trees could be dangerous too, if they caught on fire or a storm pushed them over. The field looks like a perfect place for foxes, and they can be dangerous. And you could be dangerous, Ashnight, if you decided that you did not want me around anymore." She gasped for a breath, having said that all without pausing. "The thing is, anything could be dangerous under certain situations, and I just don't know what kind of situation you want me to speak about." She admitted, her head falling to stare at her feet. "I am sorry, Ashnight," She murmured, her voice hardly audible.

[ℓυиαя]

Finally, she was opening up to him and being honest rather than nervous all the time. With another of those amused rumbles, Ashnight spoke in the gravelly voice, "Oh, I'm always dangerous, I just happen to like you, keep you around a while longer." He slide his gaze to her to let her, he was joking but the look could have gone either way, how sly of him. He happened to quite like the little she cat and she made him laugh, that was a challenge for anyone and she had managed to twice in a matter of an afternoon. Ashnight himself was a humorous cat but because of his silence, this was rarely visible, in fact only a select few had suceeded - his little apprentice and another she cat that was very special to him. 

The grey tom waited patiently until she had blurted out practically everything in the surrounding scenery and his golden gaze stayed on her in silence, watching waiting. After what probably felt like a long time but in reality was only a matter of seconds, Ashnight cleared his throat and turned his gaze back over the land before them. "Good." Golden eyes narrowed as he raked he landscape with a trained eye. "You missed the fox but that will come." Overall he was impressed with the little apprentice - she would go far and be a fine warrior. She at least got the message that anything was a potential threat. This wasn't a lesson to be wary of everything but to be aware and able to handle anything that the world threw at her. Because of her potential shown in the first exercise, Ashnight decided to be a bit lenient with the lesson plan. Standing to his full height, the lean warrior, walked around in an arc, gesturing with his tail that she follow him. "Fighting or hunting?"

[Lightningtrail]

Duskpaw clenched her teeth as she waited for Ashnight's response. Would he be angry? Luckily, his reaction came swiftly. This time, she was not caught off guard by the tom's grumbly laugh, though she still found it unusual sounding. It hardly sounded like a laugh at all. but it certainly added to the list of uniquities that created the tom she knew of as Ashnight.

A small grin appeared on her face, and she relaxed slightly. At least he liked her. And, although he was a bit peculiar and unnerving, she had to admit that she liked him too. And, finally, he approved. A sigh escaped the small she-cat. Yes! She had done something right! If only she could keep that trend. Her gaze flickered to the fields, her eyes wide. She thought that! She did! Why didn't she say it!? Duskpaw mentally swiped herself over the ears. Great job, Duskpaw. She turned back to the now standing Ashnight, and hurriedly stood to match him. Her thoughts churned. Fighting or hunting? Fighting is important, but there are no eminent battles waiting to happen. On the other paw, TalonClan can always use more hunters. "I would like to start with hunting," She mewed, fairly confident of her decision. "If that is fine with you."

[ℓυиαя]

OOC: SORRY FOR THE LATE POST! :c Not really much more I could write either until you reply c: Hope you are feeling better!

"Hunting, if that's fine with you."

Those golden eyes bore into hers and he saw that she felt confident about that decision. Good, he enjoyed hunting and it had less variety than fighting. Hunting was about the hunters ability to carry through, it wasn't dependent on another cat also fighting for their life, prey yes, but if the hunter was skilled enough it shouldn't matter. Flicking his ears in a silent response, Ashnight gestured to her to follow his lead and the slender cat lowered himself into a hunting crouch: stomach flat almost to the ground, paws light, tail low, head down. He didn't expect her to get it right on the first go. Sure, the kits practiced in the camp all the time between themselves so they had the right idea but it was tricky to get right, especially under his mentoring. 

A dull ache started up in his hind leg as he crouched there waiting for her to join him.

He didn't make a sound, didn't move a muscle as he crouched, encouraging her to do the same. To be a successful hunter you had to learn when to communicate. You may not have prey in your sights but they could see you before you saw them - that could be an opportunity lost. In times of hunger for the clan that was not acceptable.