berry and fading

[occultation]

( @squidz )

Fadingsun couldn't stop cats from dying in the war that was coming, but he could try to keep the cats that meant something to him safe. Berrypaw was a young, promising cat. Aside from the fact that RiverClan needed both of their healers right now, he didn't want to see a child lose their life.

Poking his head into the medicine den, he called, "Berrypaw! Can you come out here, please, if you aren't busy with something important? I'd like to give you a battle lesson."

[squidz]

| BERRYPAW |

small & nimble dark brown she-cat with darker flecks and light, leafy-green eyes | the collector

[ riverclan mc apprentice | she-cat | 9 moons | timid, kind, hardworking ]

—

Berrypaw had been attempting to organize herbs in the den (quickly realizing which ones stained her paws green or made them sticky the hard way) when she heard Fadingsun's call. His voice slightly made her jump — she hadn't been expecting anyone, much less the stoic leader of the Clan.

Battle training? With Fadingsun? Immediately her stomach dropped — she hadn't had a lick of battle training as a warrior apprentice, and thought she could scoot by it since her promotion. Berrypaw had anticipated tripping over her own paws and causing a mess, just like she had with the few other areas she trained in whenever combat would come. Now, she'd just get to embarrass herself all over again... in front of RiverClan's own leader.

But she still hadn't responded and didn't want to leave him hanging. Quickly swallowing her initial panic, the apprentice glanced towards the entrance, attempting to make herself sound normal

"O-Oh... okay! One moment!" She called back, trying to quickly fix a pile of sticks covered in cobwebs she just knocked over from being startled. Stars, she was jumpy! She needed to get a hold of that... but it wasn't like she could just teach herself that, huh? Maybe it just had to come over time...

Doing her best to calm down and giving her ruffled chest fur a few quick licks, Berrypaw padded towards the entrance and ducked out. She offered an awkward smile and dipped her head at Fadingsun, remembering her manners. "H-Hi... um... battle training, huh?" She echoed, her voice slightly cracking. She cleared her throat, trying to brush over the voice crack as if it were nothing. "Um... well... I never... I didn't..." She sighed, shaking her head as if to undo everything she'd just said. You're digging yourself into a hole! Get the words out!

Berrypaw lifted her chin, attempting to look the leader in the eye. But she wavered, eyes flitting around to avoid eye contact as she spoke again, more steadily. "Let me start over. You should let you know... I didn't go over anything as a warrior apprentice," she admitted quietly, a shameful expression crossing her small face. "Uh... any fighting, I mean..."

It hadn't been her fault, really — her apprenticeship was cut short for obvious reasons, and the switch in her mentorship had cause da brief lull. But something about it still made it feel like it was all her fault — or that she'd never pick it up anyway, so what was the point?

[ @occultation ]

[occultation]

( @squidz )

Berrypaw was, indeed, available. The offer of a battle lesson seemed to strike a nerve with her. One thing Fadingsun had noticed was that she was quite the nervous apprentice; hopefully, with time, her confidence would grow. She was still quite young, so she had plenty of time to learn to find strength and self-assurance within herself.

With the state of the forest right now, all of RiverClan's cats needed to believe in themselves. Everyone else certainly didn't. But, for now, Berrypaw had him, Mistyshard, and Dusklion to believe in her, and that would have to be enough.

"It's fine that you're lacking in battle training; it's what I was expecting," he assured her. "A medicine cat's primary duty is always to tend to their Clanmates, but sometimes you might be put in situations where you're attacked. ShadowClan and ThunderClan often don't fight under a great code of honor; if we're ever in combat with them, their cats may very well go after you."

He continued to talk as he lead her out of camp. "Ideally, you should run for the time being if you're ever threatened. If you can get away, that's better than fighting. It may make you feel like a coward, but the most important thing is that you stay alive and healthy for your Clan. Your job is to heal, not to defend our Clan with your teeth and claws."

Stopping at a spot not too far from camp (in case any medical emergencies arose Berrypaw needed to tend to), the black-and-orange leader turned to face her once more. "But, sometimes running isn't an option. In those cases, you'll need to fight. There's a good chance you'll end up cornered in the medicine den, so I want to practice your defensive moves should that happen."

He nodded toward a tree. "Back yourself up against that tree. When you're ready, I'll rush at you. I want you to do whatever you think makes sense to try to fight me off; remember that you're looking for a way to give yourself an opening to escape, not to fight me to the death."

[squidz]

| BERRYPAW |

small & nimble dark brown she-cat with darker flecks and light, leafy-green eyes | the collector

[ riverclan mc apprentice | she-cat | 9 moons | timid, kind, hardworking ]

—

Berrypaw relaxed a little when Fadingsun said he'd expected her not to know much — that was a relief, at least she didn't have to try to meet high expectations. The apprentice nodded and listened quietly along to his words, her pelt ruffling when he mentioned less-than-honorable cats going after her.

"Attacking medicine cats...? That's low," she mewed quietly, frowning. She would think that the other Clans would at least respect the healers and keep the battles to the warriors, even if they were more of the vicious Clans in the forest. The thought unnerved her, but she was at least glad to be mentally prepared — she hadn't thought she'd need to be so ready to have warriors lunging for her while she was just innocently healing others.

Stars... this world is a whole lot more vicious than I thought. The thought was depressing, but Stagheart had told her a few times that the world was cruel and wasn't made for kindhearted cats like her. She was beginning to actually understand what he meant now, on the eve of terrible battle.

Berrypaw followed Fadingsun out of camp, nodding her head along to his words. She bit back a little sound when he mentioned running — that option was almost immediately her go-to. She was quick on her paws, and pretty fast; even in the face of cowardice, she'd almost always gladly choose to flee. So it was a little more comforting when Fadingsun encouraged it, at least until she was able to somewhat defend herself; her duty went beyond her prowess in battle. That much was comforting.

Berrypaw slightly frowned when the leader went on, mentioning that running wasn't always an option. She swallowed against her tightening throat and listened to his fair warning. Defensive moves, okay... a little less scary than having to practice lunging for cats herself. Medicine cats should know defense. It makes sense... Her role was important, and so was her life. She needed to know how to defend it... Berrypaw nodded firmly to Fadingsun, showing that she understood and agreed, though a nervous look clearly remained on her face.

At his final instruction, Berrypaw let out a shaky breath and nodded. "O-Okay... got it..." She had to will her paws forward and turned around, backing up against the nearest tree. She inhaled deeply, attempting to settle her heart and the buzzing she could feel on her skin.

"I'm... I'm ready," she mewed, trying to look brave and prepared despite her heart thudding behind her chest.

Thoughts raced through her mind as she tensed, waiting for her leader to strike. Just focus. He's not gonna hurt you... we're practicing. Just... think! Don't freeze up!

[ @occultation ]

[occultation]

( @squidz )

Stars, seeing Berrypaw trying to put on her brave face had Fadingsun's heart cracking a little. They shouldn't have to do this. She should be able to focus on learning all about healing right now, not on preparing for a war that would very likely turn into a bloodbath.

Looking at her almost had him wanting to turn back and go home. A look of pure sadness crossed his face; when Berrypaw became RiverClan's medicine cat apprentice, he'd wanted nothing more than to protect her innocence as long as possible. It didn't seem like that would be an easy feat.

Focus! he told himself. Berrypaw's relying on you to teach her how to survive. Put your feelings aside.

Shaking his head and clearing his face of any residual grief, he re-focused on the task at hand. Taking a deep breath, he rushed forward and attempted to swat at her shoulder with a sheathed paw.

[squidz]

Berrypaw's legs were trembling when Fadingsun squared off against her, yet her tiny paws kept her in place. Was she imagining things, or was that a look of something... sad on his face for a moment there? She tilted her head ever so slightly as her keen eyes picked it up, though she was mostly concerned on if she was just seeing things with the way her mind was spinning.

But then he shook his head and his sharp gaze refocused, knocking the reality back into Berrypaw that there wouldn't be more hesitation. She had to act like she was getting attacked... and react accordingly. Even if it was training, she couldn't help but feel the adrenaline start to course through her body from mere anticipation.

After a breath, she saw the leader suddenly hurtling towards her. Berry had been prepared for him to move — she'd known it was coming and had seen it was coming. And yet, the moment he pushed off his hind legs, her body still froze. Just for a moment — enough for a sharp, brief inhale through her nose, her body gone rigid. And then her jumpy instincts took over, her paws springing to action to push herself abruptly (and sloppily) to the side, more of a nervous stumble than a proper dodge.

The good news was that her instincts had kicked in, and that she was quick enough to get mostly out of the way in time before he could fully swat her. The bad news was that due to her initial freeze of indecision, and the mere sloppiness of her hop, Fading's outstretched paw still managed to just barely graze her evading shoulder.

She landed a tad ungracefully, ducking her head with embarrassment. "Ack... sorry," she muttered quietly, averting her eyes. Why had she frozen up anyway? This was just training, nothing scary, with her own leader who was trying to protect and teach her — and yet, the sight of a full-grown cat rushing at her was enough to make her nerves kick in anyway.

Stars, this isn't going to be easy...

[ @occultation - idk how i missed this notif ;w; ]