put on your war paint

[Ian]

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Talonpaw
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Talonpaw dragged himself out of the apprentices den with a huff as he scanned the clearing for Starlingflight. The only thing that Fadingsun had said that was true was that he could be training. He had mainly been worried Starlingflight didn't care—about him or about his training—but he couldn't put it off longer. He needed to learn for his own safety.

"Starlingflight?" he murmured as he spotted the she-cat, an inexplicable feeling of anxiety washing over him. She was going to yell at him. She was going to call him names. That was what he had done.

Talonpaw quickly clamped down on those feelings and shoved them as far away as he could. She was different—had to be. Tinystorm had risked his life to save him from dogs and Starlingflight had done the same when ThunderClan had attacked RiverClan. Tinystorm had been different. Starlingflight must be different. If she wasn't...

"I don't have much training. My previous mentor only managed to start a territory tour and then the flood happened. And I was gone for a while."

@Tiabirb

[Tiabirb]

Starlingflight
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She was musing over the day's plans, half-hunched over as she stared at the ground between her paws. She hadn't been...feeling well as of late. Low energy, nearly apathetic and simply...unable to bring herself out of her nest. Ever since the battle with RiverClan, she had been struggling with the notion that she had fallen so easily. She was no scrawny cat. Her skills were simply falling behind. For that, she worried about her ability to train Talonpaw, which led her to worry more and feel....useless.

But she heard her name, and she looked up slowly to see Talonpaw. She allowed just a flicker of surprise to manifest itself, before her eyes glazed over once more. "Yes?" She prompted. He spoke. He was forward and to the point.
"I've been thinking you need some proper technique to go behind that ferocity you displayed in the battle." She said quietly. "How about I show you some land and water battle moves?" It was a good chance her to brush up as well. That and the recent scolding from Fadingsun...well, she didn't think much of it. Apprentices were shifted around constantly. Or went missing entirely. She didn't expect Fadingsun to really notice or care about her wellbeing, or whether she was fit to train in the first place.

"We'll head down to the river." Starlingflight murmured, rising to her paws with a grunt of effort, padding for the camp entrance. "We'll start with some basic paw to paw techniques."

@Ian

[Ian]

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Talonpaw
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He hadn't realized his whole body was tensed until it relaxed in relief at Starlingflight's words. Talonpaw shouldn't have doubted her. She was like Tinystorm. He wouldn't doubt her again. His nervous energy transitioned into his excitement, his tail tip twitching slightly as he nodded eagerly.

"Thanks, Starlingflight! I don't want to have to be saved again. I was lucky it was you," Talonpaw mewed as he eagerly followed her. It would be good to get out of camp, too. He didn't like the feeling of being trapped with no way out and eyes on him at all times. They were always watching. Talonpaw quickly pushed away the uncomfortable feeling and instead focused on his excitement. He would not let his paranoia ruin this training session!

@Tiabirb

[Tiabirb]

Starlingflight
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She decided to quiz Talonpaw on some basics as they traveled. Mentoring wasn't the worst thing in the world for her. It was a lot like...well...nevermind. It wouldn't do to connect those dots...

"I'm going to see how your critical thinking works." She mused, "A few scenarios to see what you would do." Starlingflight slid a pale yellow gaze down to Talonpaw. "Keep in mind, there's no real wrong answer."


"Scenario one. You are patrolling the border alone, when you see another Clan's apprentice crossing the border in pursuit of the squirrel. What do you do?" Starlingflight prompted. Her personal answer, not the one she was looking for, was to watch and see if the apprentice caught the prey, or realized their mistake of crossing the border and doubled back. From there, she had a proper response depending on the severity of the trespass.

But she was an older warrior. Sixty moons to have the patience and wisdom to observe a situation rather than let her impulsiveness work her up into a fit and act rashly. She also had the emotional depth of a rock at this point in her life, and while she did her best to keep her melancholy to herself, she was still capable of a little bit of empathy and perspective.

"Answer in your own time." She murmured, "There's no rush." And indeed, there was no rush to the pace Starlingflight was moving. She was taking her time, walking, not trotting. A smart warrior didn't spend extra energy when they didn't need to.

@Ian

[Ian]

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Talonpaw
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His ears perked in interest at Starlingflight's words as he followed her. Criticial thinking, huh? Well that was something new! Her statement of there being no real wrong answers made Talonpaw want to come up with the stupidest ideas, but he would refrain. He didn't know how she would take it if he tried to joke with her. Starlingflight was nice to him, and had protected him, and he didn't want to ruin what they had just to make a joke. Last time he had said something innocent it had led to his death.

With a soft huff he tore himself from his thoughts so as not to miss his mentor's first scenario. It was interesting, and he wasn't sure if it was supposed to be a trick question or not. He'd answer carefully just in case. "I wouldn't patrol a border alone since I'm an apprentice, but I'm assuming that's not the point of the question. Since they've crossed the border I'd shout at them to get their attention and warn them to leave. If they didn't leave after my warning then I would drive them off."

@Tiabirb

[Tiabirb]

Starlingflight
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A rumbling purr resonated in response.

"A practical approach. Well done. Now, scenario two; The apprentice has noticed you. It's a young apprentice, but not young enough to be unaware of the border. However, it did not catch the squirrel, though the apprentice is holding its ground after having heard your warning. Which do you think is the reason; Pride, or fear?"

Now this one, she felt was a bit trickier. This question was to gauge one's ability to observe and understand. Sometimes mistakes did happen, sometimes mistakes had consequences. But treating every mistake with the same severity had consequences too. She had learned that the hard way.

The river was within sight, and Starlingflight felt the same familiar and dusty old mixed feelings that she always had when she saw the river. Pain and joy. Loss and comfort. A different time when it didn't mean something else to her.

Standing at the edge of the river, Starlingflight watched the water for a moment, "Listen close, Talonpaw," She warned, "Always be sure to check the water before you stick even a claw in. We sometimes share these waters with pikes, snakes, and turtles large enough to snap a cat's paw clean off. We check for bubbles; That means something is beneath the surface, releasing air. We watch for movement; A strange ripple pattern in the water could mean something is swimming in the area. Fish do not leave ripples like that."

She checked the ground, and she nudged a small stone toward him. "Toss that into the river once you are sure there's no visual signs. It's never a horrible idea to double check." She flicked her tail, though she kept her own scan of the river going, snagging a pebble of her own and tossing it into the water a fox-length down.

@Ian