talons can be surprisingly sharp

[occultation]

( @Ian )

After the meeting, Fadingstar decided to take Talonpaw out for some training. The tom had been an apprentice for way too long at this point; he needed to be warrior-ready as soon as possible. Starlingflight had let him down as a mentor, but he had no intention of repeating the same mistake.

On top of that, this was a good opportunity for him to get a proper read on Talonpaw. The two hadn't interacted in quite a while, so he wasn't entirely sure if he still held the same anger and hate within him that he'd shown previously. His suspicions were that he did, but this would help confirm it.

The leader wanted to start trying to coax Talonpaw's paws onto a better path, where he had better coping strategies than just yelling and insulting. Stars knew both of them would be better off for it, in the long run. And, of course, if he wanted to actually make a difference with RiverClan's youth, he had to dig in and get into the hard, uncomfortable parts of it.

He took Talonpaw down the mountain, to where the land went from rocky to relatively grassy. Here, injuries would hopefully be less likely. His gash still ached dully, but it was healing well. It would likely leave a scar, but it wasn't one he'd be ashamed of. Rookpaw had wanted him to feel shame in it, but he just saw it as a badge of honor, one that said he wouldn't tolerate the murder of his Clan's children without retribution.

Turning to face Talonpaw, he gave him a simple, blunt instruction: "Attack me. Claws optional, I'll follow your decision."