Are You a Leader? (Tagged)

[Lionhearted]

Tagged: Midnight [Ivypaw] 

OOC: Since we're skipping the training sessions, I've decided to have Foxsplash take her on a patrol. Hopefully there won't be too much tension ;3 

The dark russet-and-white tom scanned the camp through narrowed eyes. He was supposed to take Ivypaw out on a patrol to teach her leadership skills, but seeing as Ivypaw was extremely stubborn, he could sense he was having a hard time. StarClan, don't let her wreck my day. "Ivypaw?" he called out, frisking his tail in anticipation.

[Midnight]

After a night of solo adventuring, Ivypaw slunk into the camp, slowly eyeing the clearing. She'd left the camp in the evening, and while most cats probably thought she was going out to the beach for one last hurrah before the sun set, the apprentice had actually been in the twolegplace. It turned out to be a very bright and very hot place, but the streets and alleys were interesting. Ivypaw had met several kittypets, and a few vicious foxhearts who underestimated the ten-moon-old cat, and she had a lot of fun overall. Life as an alley cat wasn't Ivypaw's thing, as it turned out. Clan life was more organized.

Ivypaw's eyes stopped dead on her mentor, and she gulped. Mousedung. The she-cat panicked, looking around in what was a futile attempt to find some cover story. Ivypaw flicked an ear before padding toward Foxsplash, paws sore, legs moving slowly. "Hey, Foxsplash," Ivypaw greeted, yawning in spite of herself, "what's up?"

[Lionhearted]

Foxsplash frowned as Ivypaw yawned. "Have you been fighting?" he mused, looking her over. She looked pretty exhausted, but Foxsplash dismissed it. She was probably just practicing. "We'll be going on a patrol today," he said, flicking his bushy tail. "I have Cloudbreeze who's going to be joining us. Now, I want you to try and lead this patrol. You will need to use your leadership skills and direct us to do what we need to do on this patrol, which is hunt and check the borders. This is Cloudbreeze." he pointed his ears towards a white, purple-eyed cat approaching them.

"Hello," Cloudbreeze said pleasantly, dipping his head. "I take it that you're Ivypaw? How are you doing? Are you ready to set off? You are nearing your assessment. How you lead this patrol will show how ready you are for it."

[Midnight]

Ivypaw opened her mouth to answer, suddenly defensive again, but Foxsplash changed the subject before she could say anything. Sometimes it was relieving to have a mentor who was assertive enough to press on with what he wanted to say, rather than bother listening to a mere apprentice.

She listened carefully to her mentor's words, and nodded when he was finished speaking. She could do this. She could... wait, what was she doing? Oh, right, leading a patrol.

Wait, leading a patrol?! StarClan, this was going to be an adventure. Ivypaw's whiskers twitched in amusement. Her, leading a patrol. Haha. Hahahaa. Funny stuff. The apprentice yawned again, her eyes slowly moving to where Cloudbreeze entered. Boy oh boy, he was chatty. "Hi, yes, I'm Ivypaw, I'm well, ready to start, how are you?" She asked.

After a few moments, Ivypaw took a deep breath and slowly stood up. Okay, uhh... patrol. Yeah. Hunting and border, was it? She thought, glancing up at the sky as though it would whisper instructions in her ears. No, that was going to work. Hm. So much for StarClan answering prayers.

"Okay, well, I think we should go to the LeafClan border first and hunt on the way. Prey is scarce and whatnot. Actually, no, wait, I only really like fish, so maybe we should go fishing after we check the border? After that, we can bring our prey back to the Clan. Ooorr, maybe we should bury it? Can we risk burying it, or is there a chance some loner might steal our food? If we go back to camp, then maybe we can split off to our nests and take a little nap," she yawned at the thought of sleeping, then continued, "and, uh... where was I? Oh, right! Then we can go out to the border with the twolegplace and hunt along the way. Actually, I know some really good hunting places in the alleys-" She stopped, jaw dropped, eyes wide. And there it went. "I-I uhhhh... see, I spotted some kittypet when I was checking the borders on my own. I threatened to kill it for being in our territory, so it gave me some information on the twolegplace in exchange for its life," Ivypaw's excuse tumbled out of her mouth, and although she knew it was beyond rough, it was the best she could do on-the-spot. She cocked her head, looking hopefully at Foxsplash and Cloudbreeze.

[Lionhearted]

"Okay, well, I think we should go to the LeafClan border first and hunt on the way. Prey is scarce and whatnot. Actually, no, wait, I only really like fish, so maybe we should go fishing after we check the border? After that, we can bring our prey back to the Clan. Ooorr, maybe we should bury it? Can we risk burying it, or is there a chance some loner might steal our food? If we go back to camp, then maybe we can split off to our nests and take a little nap," said Ivypaw.

Foxsplash tilted his head and exchanged queer looks with Cloudbreeze. The white warrior looked slightly amused, but Foxsplash was far from it. The apprentice seemed rather disturbed, and even tired. He flicked his ears, but before he could open his mouth to ask what was up, Ivypaw continued.

"And, uh... where was I? Oh, right! Then we can go out to the border with the twolegplace and hunt along the way. Actually, I know some really good hunting places in the alleys-" suddenly, she broke off, and Foxsplash's suspicious look intensified. A guilty look stretched across Ivypaw's face, and then she babbled onwards: ""I-I uhhhh... see, I spotted some kittypet when I was checking the borders on my own. I threatened to kill it for being in our territory, so it gave me some information on the twolegplace in exchange for its life."

Foxsplash paused. "And you took this information. Very well... then. but I can assure you it will be useless, for we Clan cats do not and will not hunt in Twolegplace, er... alleys, or whatever you call them." It sounded like a dreadful excuse (that was made up on the spot), but he decided not to push it now. "And please remember that we do not threaten to kill, or execute the threat. You must respect the warrior code as an apprentice, and a future warrior. We are provided with claws and teeth to defend ourselves and attack others, but we must not exploit our weapons gifted to us each time we see a possible enemy.

"but I agree with you that prey is scarce. However, saying so, you must appreciate all prey that you come across and capture- fish or not. but fishing sounds good right now. Do you think the lake's frozen?"

[Midnight]

"Hey, you never know," Ivypaw growled, "SunsetClan could be starving and the information about the alleys will be useful if we ever desperately need the food! Prey is prey, right?" She lashed her tail a few times before realizing that she probably shouldn't be treating her mentor in that way. Ivypaw decided to conveniently not reply to the scolding, and simply looked away. She glanced back at Foxsplash when he mentioned a lake, her eyes widening. Was he crazy, or just testing her? "Lake? You mean the ocean? That's never frozen!" The she-cat kneaded the ground, "Okay, like, so we'll be going off to... the LeafClan border, right? Everyone okay with that? And we'll hunt on the way and then, uhhh, like... off to the ocean, I guess? Yeah! And then we can stop back at camp with everything we've caught, and then go mark the twolegplace border! Then we can call it a day, right?" Without waiting for an answer, Ivypaw whipped around and waved her tail for the two toms to follow. She felt a wave of pride, feeling for the first time what it was really like to lead something. She'd bossed her peers around before, especially when they were all kits in the nursery playing games, but Ivypaw hadn't felt like an actual leader during those times. Now was different, now she was telling the warriors what to do, and it felt great.

Ivypaw bounded toward the LeafClan border, slowing to a stop when she saw a bird in the distance. The older apprentice crouched and stalked, and eventually pounced. By the time her forepaws hit the ground, the bird was at least a tail-length away. Shoulders drooping, Ivypaw cast a glance over her shoulder and asked, "What did I do wrong?"

[Lionhearted]

Tagged: Midnight [Ivypaw]

OOC: I meant ocean, sorry ^^'

"Then we can call it a day, right?" Ivypaw said. To Foxsplash, she sounded rather hopeful. He frowned, but kept quiet.

"We can call it an end to this patrol," Cloudbreeze replied, still amused. "but the day isn't finished. You can sleep when the sun does."

but she had already gone. Exchanging looks, the two toms headed after her. The large white warrior shrugged. "She's doing fine. Just a little over-excited, I'm sure. Listen to her, haha. She's still new at this."

"I wouldn't call it that. She looks exhausted," Foxsplash said in a low voice. They watched Ivypaw stalking a bird, but to his surprise, she pounced and missed. He had always known her as an excellent hunter.  

Her shoulders sagged, and Foxsplash could feel her disappointment. He flicked his tail; had she not been practicing like he told her to? Or was something else up? Maybe it's just a one-time mistake. "You misjudged the distance," he said. "You should know, by now, how far you can leap, and how much power you have in your legs. I didn't see clearly what you did, but you probably crouched too low, too. Remember, if you get too low to the ground, you are putting more weight on your legs. You then have to use more muscle to first lift more of yourself up, and then launch yourself.

"And be sure to anticipate your move, too. Don't just randomly pounce. Consider where you are, and where your target is before taking action. Doing things on impulse is risky. If you've adjusted and feel ready to strike, double-check everything. I'm not sure if you did all of that. I want you to practice your hunting after this patrol, Ivypaw, okay? If you felt like this was just a small mistake, show me later that it is.

"So now to the Twolegplace border. What do you think we have to watch out for?"

OOC: I didn't want to assume Ivypaw did anything, so that's why Foxsplash is always saying "probably."