Perfect Breeds Perfection - The Hazelstripe Collection

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Hello and Welcome to "The Hazelstripe Collection

In this series of VAs (as of yet undetermined length) I will be covering a significant portion of Hazelstripe's background and backstory to give a bit of insight to why she is the way she is, and why she does things the way she does. Hopefully, this will give a bit of insight into her and help flesh her out more as a character.

Disclaimer: This entire thread will feature subjects of abuse (physical, mental, emotional), dissociation, extreme duress and fear, PTSD, and potentially self-harm and suicidal thoughts. Please be mindful of that as you read. If such content and/or subjects make you uncomfortable, please stop. If you, yourself have had such thoughts, remember that you are loved and I suggest that you seek attention to get those resolved.

I . Perfect Hunting

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I . Perfect Hunting

WHAM

Hazelkit was knocked across the forest floor, gasping for breath as she scrambled for her paws.

“Again” A voice rang out in a disgusted tone. She started to protest but a sharp hiss interrupted her the second she opened her mouth. “Get your sorry ass off of the ground and try it again!” It yelled.

The voice belonged to her mother. When one thinks of mothers, the first thought that comes to mind is someone who would nurture their young, encouraging them along the way. No no no, not her mom. Her mom was different. Very different. Her mom beat her when no one was watching, forced her to accomplish impossible tasks, and demanded “perfection" -- whatever the hell that was. Hazelkit didn’t know any better. She just knew that she wasn’t matching up to her mother’s standards, that she wasn’t good enough, and that she needed to try harder. She saw how the other mothers treated their kits while in the nursery and figured if she did a good enough job, her mother would treat her the same way. It was a silly hope, but she could dream that if she made her mother proud, then maybe she could get a bit of what the other kits were having.

Maybe if she were perfect.

“I said get up!” The queen said, rising to her paws. Fearing the wrath of her mother, Hazelkit scrambled to her paws quickly. Her mother never beat her so badly that it was noticeable, but after each of their sessions, it always left her feeling battered and bruised. She didn’t dare complain. The she-kit knew that if she said something to Elmshadow or Dawnstar that only more trouble awaited her. So she kept her mouth shut and put up with it. If she could tough it out long enough and get things right, then things would be so tough.

She had to be perfect.

Growling, she crouched down once more, body low to the ground and tail held just above the ground. “Cut the growling out.” Weaselfang (her mother) reprimanded harshly “A real ShadowClan warrior doesn’t growl to alert everyone of their frustrations. Get over it, and do what I told you right. Make it perfect this time or you will suffer a worse punishment.” Hazelkit nodded stiffly. Honestly, the thought of disappointing her mother once more terrified her because she wasn’t quite so sure what was worse than getting smacked two tail lengths away. “Yes mo-” “Don’t you dare call me that. I didn’t give you permission to speak either. Do. It. Now.”

Biting back the whimper in her throat, Hazelkit stalked forward, slowly but confidently. This was her fourth try, and each time her mother complained about something new. The first time her tail was too high, that mess-up had received a verbal tongue-lashing. Then there was her steps being far too slow, a heavy cuff around the ears for that one. Then her most recent mess-up was her pounce. It had been far too sloppy, and well… you know how that went.

Her target on this occasion was a leaf. The leaf itself was inconspicuous and unassuming, but Hazelkit knew that it was the target. As she approached it, she fought to keep the fatigue out of her limbs. It was so very hard to keep this up, and she was so tired. She had been sleeping in the nursery when her mother dragged her out of her nest and told her they’d be going to practice. That had felt like forever ago, the sun was now starting to set and she hadn’t been able to fight the sleepiness off completely yet. Despite that though, she never once complained about being tired. She knew better. She knew what her mother would do to her if she did.

Once the leaf got within a certain distance of her, she stopped. Lowering herself down further, she wiggled her hips slightly before jumping upon it, capturing it in her paws and delivering a swift bite to its stem just as her mother had shown her earlier. She wanted to play with it – bat it up into the air and run around with it, but she didn’t. ‘No kit of mine will be playing like a softy. You will do as I say and nothing more.’ Her mother had said the very first time, making it very clear that she was not to be caught playing once more. Despite the itch in her paws, Hazelkit released her grip on the leaf, stepped back, and stared ahead. Standing there in silence, she waited for the sharp blow or angry words, but they never came. “Acceptable.” Weaselfang said after some time passed, causing her to flinch at the suddenness “Do it again. I want three more times, just like that.”

So she did. Hazelkit performed the act three more “acceptable” times (the second time in that set she messed up, and boy was she in a world of hurt), and when she was done, Weaselfang told her to stop. “Eat.” Weaselfang instructed, pushing a long since cold mouse toward the tabby kit. Nodding weakly, Hazelkit ate the food silently. She also had to be perfect while eating. She had to eat in silence, eyes not wandering all over the place, ears trained on her surroundings. It was hard to do when her small stomach rumbled in a dull ache and she wanted little more than to ravenously tear the mouse apart, but she fought the urge.

Once she was finished, she stepped away and the older of the pair shook her head disapprovingly. “We’re going back to camp, we will pick this up again tomorrow and I expect it to be better than today.” An order, Hazelkit had to improve more if she wanted to get some sleep. She had to do it perfectly. “Come,” Weaselfang said with a flick of her tail, walking away “You will walk. Keep up unless you know the way back to camp.”

And that was the way Hazelkit’s first day of hunting training ended.