I Demand That You Train Me (Lion)

[Deku]

Tag: Lionhearted 

Cloverpaw dragged her paws as she entered the apprentice den. It had been a terrible day. Her mentor hadn't complimented her skills once even though she was positive she was the best hunter in the clan. Then again, they had been battle training, not hunting. Now all she wanted to do was sleep. Her ego and pride had been chipped at a little bit, and she needed the rest to repair it. At least her puny brother hadn't been apprenticed yet. She doubted he would never be apprenticed with how small and sickly he was. WhisperClan needed strong apprentices, not ones that got sick every time his name was mentioned. To be honest, he wasn't even supposed to be alive. That mouse-brained apprentice shouldn't have saved him from what he had deserved. He had deserved to die with their other siblings. She should have been the only one to survive. She was the largest and the healthiest. Apparently her mentor didn't think she was as amazing and talented as her mother said she was. 'Hmph! She's just jealous of my skills!' She thought, cursing Snowhare silently in her mind. 

The large she-cat flopped herself into her nest, making quite a bit of noise as she fought to get comfortable. She stared at the ground as she could feel her denmates sending her the nastiest of glares. So what if they didn't like her? They were just jealous too. She sighed softly as she thought about that. They were all jealous. Them, her mentor, she even bet her weak excuse for a brother was jealous too. Maybe she should just talk to Thrushstar about getting a new mentor. Yeah, that's what she needed. She needed a new mentor that appreciated her skills. One that would compliment her during training.

[Lionhearted]

Tagged: Deku [Cloverpaw]

OOC: Sorry for the late reply! I had too many tests this week ;-;

Also, I'm gonna assume she's dreaming right now?

The small black tom crouched in the shadows, waiting. His heart pounded for the first time in ages with excitement. I'm acting like a kit, he thought to himself with disgust. but he had found a worthy apprentice to train. Finally. He'd been waiting his entire lifetime in the Place of No Stars. He had scoured the living Clans for someone to manipulate, to nurture into a minion of evil. And finally, the cat had arrived.

And it was in the Clan he hated most. WhisperClan.

"Perfect," he whispered to no one, unable to hide his glee. The wretched Clan had taken his life; it was in a border skirmish with WhisperClan that he'd been killed, dying slowly, in a pool of his own blood. The warriors had the nerve to sit down and watch, as if he were an amusing toy. Well, he would not be a toy. Starting tonight, they were the toy. He doubted that the mangle-pelts even remembered him, but he knew one cat well.

Thrushstar. The pathetic tom had been a fresh warrior then, the one who had dealt the death blow to the black tom. He gnashed his teeth as he thought of the ginger-and-white warrior, and his tail lashed angrily, the urge for vengeance burning inside him like an eternal craving.

Quietly, he slipped out of the trees. A dark meadow not unlike WhisperClan's own (minus the rotting stench and the colorless sky) appeared before him. Closing his eyes, he willed the scenery to change. He had not left the Dark Forest, but he had turned the place into a dreamworld, a dreamworld perfect for a WhisperClan apprentice.

Reaching out, he sought out the young cat's spirit, and spiritually pulled it towards himself. "Wake up," he whispered to the spirit. "Wake up."

[Deku]

OOC: It's fine. I've had boatloads of Pre-AP homework and then out-of-school band rehearsals on top of that, so I feel your inability to reply.

Her sleep had started off as dreamless as any other night would have brought however she soon felt a prodding in her side. "Rainkit, I swear if you're waking me up to play I will personally kill you..." She groaned softly. The last part was no lie, for she didn't believe a cat as weak as him should be alive in the first place. When she opened her eyes though she didn't see the familiar walls of the apprentice den, but instead her gaze found a beautiful meadow and a small black tom standing over her. Was he the one who had woken her up? Was he a StarClan cat? She doubted that a field this beautiful could be found anywhere other than StarClan. Maybe StarClan had heard her wish for a superior mentor!

At this thought she bolted up, a wide and seeming greedy grin spreading across her face. "Who are you? Are you here to train me? Are you better than my mentor? If you are, I demand that you train me! I will be the best WhisperClan has seen! I can't risk my pathetic excuse for a brother pass me up in the future now that he's getting better!" Her gaze was almost threatening as the large she-cat stood straighter. She wanted to seem worthy of training from a stronger cat.

[Lionhearted]

The black tom smirked. This cat was better than he'd estimated her. She's probably not one of those butterfly-chasing cats either. Closing his eyes, he willed the scenery to melt away, and reveal the true Dark Forest. The rotting breeze blew by again, but the tom's nose smelled nothing. The only source of light was the glow from both their eyes, and the faint emission of starry light shining from their holy neighbors the StarClanners. The tom showed his claws, and they gleamed dangerously.

Eyes glittering, he nodded. "Welcome to the Dark Forest, Cloverpaw. As you can plainly see, this is far, far, far from the safe haven of StarClan. but you don't want to be there, do you? Only the strongest can survive here. StarClan is half full of 'noble warriors,' warriors who haven't done anything 'wrong,' or haven't done anything. They're weaklings. Here, you aim to survive. And that will very soon become first nature. So what do you say, Cloverpaw? Want to go above and beyond? Want to show everyone true strength? We are independent, strong cats who chose our own life paths. We dictated ourselves. StarClan is haredung. They cannot control us. WE control us! And join me, and my Clanmates... I'll make you strong.

"My name is Blackhail. Now... this is your only chance to flee and never come back. Otherwise... you swear your loyalty to the Place of No Stars in exchange for power."

[Deku]

To say she was shocked when the starry meadow disappeared was an understatement. As soon as the light faded she felt a sense of dread that could only come from a place where evil cats were meant to rot. However, maybe the Dark Forest isn't evil. They were just being independent. They were following their own path of life instead of one that was set in stone with the warrior code. She didn't want to be weighed down by a bunch of rules.

This tom was right. The strongest cats were these living in the Place of No Stars. Not only were they strong physically, but mentally as well. They were able to see past the rules and strict life of clans. She didn't want her later life as a warrior to be restricted by rules. This was the best choice. She felt it in her gut, but somewhere in the deepest corner of her mind lay a sense of reason. Surely StarClan was better than what he was describing it to be. She wanted the power he promised. Her body seemed to ache for it.

"This power..." She trailed off as she thought about what this would mean in her daily life. Not only would she be trained by a superior mentor, but she would be able to always be the best of her clanmates. "I want this power very badly." She paused again. She was honestly not one to wish to choose her words carefully, but in this situation it was probably best. Here she was, standing in front of a dead cat in probably what many are led to believe as the worst place to end up. Here she was, considering the idea of going against all she had been taught up to this point about the warrior code for the power a stranger was offering.

"Blackhail, I demand that you train me. I will be forever loyal to you and the Dark Forest in return for the power you promise."

[Lionhearted]

Deku [Cloverpaw]

Blackhail grinned crookedly. Perfect. She was willing and strong, and he would shape her into the perfect little minion, just as he himself, and just as he would promise her. Nodding, he held his head high. "I promise I will train you to the best of my abilities, or else you may leave." The last part was a total lie. No way could she leave once she learned the secrets of the Dark Forest. Those secrets died with the cats who held them. And it was the duty of all Dark Foresters to ensure that. "Let's begin. I'm not going to waste any time re-teaching you anything. So, show me what you know already. Just, you know, some of the best moves you've been taught."

[Deku]

Cloverpaw nodded in agreement with his conditions. It seemed reasonable enough. If he trained her well, she wouldn't leave. When he asked her to show him what she had already learned her face fell. Her real mentor had only taught her one move and hadn't wanted to move on until it was perfected. Should she just improvise? The large apprentice decided that was just what she would have to do. She leaped at the tom, flinging herself to the side at the last moment so as to roll out of the way. At least, that had been the intent of the move. Instead, she stumbled on the forest floor and she tripped into a clumsy roll. This made her hit a rotting tree, but she quickly stood up again as she hoped to at least impress Blackhail with her perseverance and determination.

OOC: Sorry. muse is quite low. Homework/Band/Choir takes up a lot lately, but I will attempt to post more on the weekends.

[Lionhearted]

Tagging: Deku [Cloverpaw]

OOC: Sorry for the delay ^^' muse stopped for a short while.

Blackhail narrowed his eyes slightly as Cloverpaw tripped. This would take more work than he'd thought. Well, okay, one step at a time, right? That was something he'd carried over from his life. At least he wasn't completely crazy. The small black tom blinked as the she-cat stood up again, brushing herself off. Hm. She's willing to get up-- that's a good thing.

Standing up and walking over to her, he patted her shoulders with his fluffy squirrel-like tail. "Good try," he said in an encouraging voice. "I can see by your move that you are working on it, yes? Well, let's give it a twist. I think what you were trying to do was to strike the opponent, and then roll out of the way? Here is a more powerful way to do it: you jump at more of an angle, and then strike the opponent from the side. At the same time, you could bite them if you have the chance. Then, roll away. Why don't you try it?"

[Deku]

OOC: It's fine Lionhearted

When she glanced over at Blackhail, he didn't seem disappointed. At least, not from what she could see. She also didn't see as much of a reaction as she would have liked when she stood without hesitation.

It was surprising was that he attempted to comfort her after failing. She hadn't imagined a dark forest cat would ever do something like that. 'He better not turn out like my weak mentor Snowhare.' She thought bitterly. This would all be a waste of time if she was being trained by another weak cat.

She nodded when he mentioned she was working on it. Well, it was true. When he had guessed her motives of attempting the move she nodded once more. Cloverpaw listened intently as Blackhail described a better way to perform this move. A more powerful way that sounded much more enticing than what her mentor had been trying to teach her.

When he finished explaining she took a couple of steps back so as to create some distance between herself and the black tom. Only moments later she leaped, aiming herself off more to his left side and then struck out with a paw before rolling away. She had kept her claws sheathed, unsure if dead cats could get hurt any more.

[Lionhearted]

Blackhail stepped aside as Cloverpaw's paw lashed out. "Too slow," he said, flicking his squirrel-like tail. Hm. Were her reflexes all that good? "Your move was right," he began in his gravelly growl, letting go of the sugar-coating voice, "but you didn't act quick enough. You have to anticipate what you're doing first, before you do it. That way, there's less of a chance of failing, and you're more sure of your moves.

"Now, in battle everything happens extremely fast. Sometimes you have to improvise a bit. but if you knew your moves well enough, then you don't have to use your head to try to plan everything. You just do it. So what will you do if I do... this?" Blackhail's outstretched claws went for Cloverpaw's head, his eyes gleaming. Letting go of his facade, he let out a manic grin.

Tagged: Deku [Cloverpaw]

[Deku]

Cloverpaw stood, confused momentarily when she realized her blow had not met its target. Had she missed? Blackhail affirmed her question as he accused her of being too slow. She was disappointed to say the least, but that disappointment was dissolved as he said that the move in general was right. She just didn't act quick enough. Probably because she was thinking too hard about it now that she looked back on her attempt. She listened intently once more to his explanation. She had to anticipate it before doing it? How was she supposed to accomplish that? She could believe that there was less of a failing chance, but she didn't believe that she could be more sure of her moves if she could somehow anticipate it before it happened.

"Now, in battle everything happens extremely fast. Sometimes you have to improvise a bit."

What? Now he was telling her to improvise? So first she was supposed to anticipate the move she planned to use before she did it, and now she was being told to improvise it as well? Maybe being trained in the Dark Forest hadn't been a good idea. She wasn't ready to give up completely though. Only a split second after he finished his statement he leapt towards her with outstretched claws, aiming at her head. Her eyes wide with alarm, she ducked and rolled away from the black tom to avoid his claws.

[Lionhearted]

Tagged: Deku [Cloverpaw]

Blackhail nodded, but smiled on the inside. It was easy to see that the cat had gotten scared, and the old glee that'd rise from triumph began to show again. Eyes gleaming, he slammed his claws down, letting them dig into the dirt.

"Good," he growled. "Nice instinct. Now, you couldn't think much when that happened, right? but you need to get up fast!" The small black tom threw himself towards the larger she-cat, his claws outstretched. If I harm her, she'll be scared away. I'd better take this slowly.

[Deku]

There she lay on the ground, breathing heavily. She had narrowly avoided the small tom's claws and it was definitely hard to get right up after that. Especially since that had been her real taste of what a battle would be like. However, Blackhail seemed to approve of what she had done, so that must mean she had done something right. He was right himself when he said she hadn't thought much about what she had done to get away. She had honestly just rolled to avoid getting hurt. No thought involved.

Slowly she tried to stand, but when she looked up her new mentor was already sailing towards her once again. Stumbling now, Cloverpaw stepped off to the side while still attempting to stand as well. She waved her tail as she frantically tried to regain her balance that had been lost when sidestepping.