Rosepaw's slightly curly fur was floofed up in an attempt to combat the freezing temperature. Her white underhalf made her look as if she were a brown tabby that has been dipped in snow. Quite appropriate for the season, mind you. Her blue eyes were looking down at the frosted ground as she walked.
The cold had been making her think about death a lot more than usual. Nothing to remind you of ever-approaching demise like all of nature dying around you. Of course, after so many brushes with death, this didn't affect her as much. Funny how perspective worked. Some cats would consider it good luck that, after everything, the universe never quite killed her. Others considered this tortured existence a fate worse than death.
The apprentice had no time or energy for defiance and had merely followed along with the warrior's training opportunity. She was aware many cats viewed her as useless and a burden, which she did not blame them for. She'd been sent out of camp on multiple occasions, just ordered to do something. Recently, she left on her won. It made the warriors think she actually did something useful while bringing collateral damage from her bad luck to a minimum.
The small cat raised her head quietly, letting out a small, short breath. She didn't have anything to say as usual.
This one was quite peculiar, truthfully. She was known for... Well, her peculiarity. But Nectarflame cared little for either superstition or gossip. All she wanted was to fill a belly today, and for Rosepaw to do the same.
"We are not mentor and pupil, so I must ask; How much hunting training do you have, Rosepaw?" She decides to keep it simple, and propose the inquiry early on as opposed to assuming and finding out.
The she-cat was gratereful for a second to have the awkward silence be broken. She'd been intently staring around and honestly itching yo break it but she also knew she was unloving social interaction as she was unlucky with everything else. However, once the question was asked, she started contemplating if maybe the silence were preferable.
"Uh, um, well, none, really. My mentor isn't here amd he never trained me so um...none." she said. Her tone was worrier amd awkward but not overly do as there was an overwhelming flatness when Rosepaw spoke that tended to drown out whatever emotion was being expressed. And not the cold, formal flatness. It was the sort of tone you had when you'd lost everything and wanted to make a self-deprecating joke that, in the end, didn't help at all.
The subject of mentors and training was awkward. She felt like, once again, she'd failed. From what she knew, it was an important part of clan life. Not doing it properly amplified her feelings of being an outsider. She was already aware some clan cats did not approve of her heritage. She had trouble feeling like a part if the team. The only time she'd been explicitly labeled as a ThunderClan cat was when a RiverClan apprentice terrorised her at the gathering. That wasn't a good memory but, then again, few of them were.
Should Nectarflame have expected this answer? It was a shame that Rosepaw had no one to hunt with, to practice with. But with the state that their Clan had been in for much too long, the warrior barely expected anything else to be the case. She sighs and nods. "Of course," the cat says. "Well how about we begin. Let us keep our voices soft, our bodies low to the ground, and our pawsteps light. Tread carefully- Do not brush over any twigs or underbrush. Make it so you affect the earth as little as you can, because while our prey are small and cannot always outwit us, they can feel the ground shiver when you walk even though you are not big. They can sense you, and their ears are sharp. They are prey, so they are always on alert. Show me how you will stalk."
Flicking her tail, the Bengal urges Rosepaw to do as instructed, studying the she-cat closely. It was not that she did not know of this sullen scrap, moreso that superstition and misfortune was not something to be displayed the way Rosepaw felt- Surely everything was coincidental. And because the apprentice felt so strongly that it was somehow, some way her own doing, that was her truth.
Rosepaw was glad no further questions and complaints were pressed at her lack of training. She didn't quite know why it was like that, but, honestly, she wasn't surprised something went wrong. She'd never hunted before so this was new to her. Honestly she was pretty nervous expecting to mess up spectacularly.
She listened to Nectarflame talk about prey. Rosepaw tended was very clumsy and had little hone that she'd be able to pull it off. And apparently prey was always alert. Huh, just like her. Rosepaw was always looking out for something bad. Did that make her prey? The universe certainly seemed to think so. It was always out to get her.
Rosepaw crouched awkwardly. She moved forward and honestly made just about as much noise as she did when walking normally. If she dropped any lower her legs wouldn't be able to support her weight. It was going to make her muscles hurt. This was one of the times she was grateful she had a bob tail. She didn't have to worry about it. She also thought about that when she remembered the possibility of someone stepping on it.
Clearlight beamed, her mood brightening. Of course, most cats wouldn't want to be coached by another cat, especially an apprentice, but Clearlight didn't mind. After all, rank really didn't matter much to her. She'd grown up without them, so to her, still, all cats were equal.
"That's wonderful!" Clearlight meowed. She then frowned in worry as Cloverpaw walked over to the stream and back. Cloverpaw's expression wasn't the happiest. "Are you alright?" Clearlight asked, her motherly instinct kicking in.
-->Cloverpaw<--
She tried not to look upset, but it didn't really work. She wasn't sure if she should say anything or not. Maybe she could go hide somewhere. No one would be able see her ugly face. She let out a fake smile to pretend she was alright. She wasn't actually and thought herself as a monster.
Feeling comfortable around this cat she stopped pretending. Cloverpaw lowered herself to make herself look smaller. "I saw my reflection thats all. I've never seen it before and I'm not sure if I want to see it again.", she meowed. She did not make any eye contact. She was so caught up in what she just saw. She was embarrassed.
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Barleypaw is my main character and is currently a Windclan Apprentice if anybody wants to roleplay with her or has a small plot they need an extra cat for. If you do just mention me in a post no need to ask and I'll reply whenever I can. Also if its a plot vm me what it is, so I'm not confused.
She tried not to look upset, but it didn't really work. She wasn't sure if she should say anything or not. Maybe she could go hide somewhere. No one would be able see her ugly face. She let out a fake smile to pretend she was alright. She wasn't actually and thought herself as a monster.
Feeling comfortable around this cat she stopped pretending. Cloverpaw lowered herself to make herself look smaller. "I saw my reflection thats all. I've never seen it before and I'm not sure if I want to see it again.", she meowed. She did not make any eye contact. She was so caught up in what she just saw. She was embarrassed.
--Clearlight--
The queen watched every shift in Cloverpaw's expression intently. She could see the disgust Cloverpaw had with her own appearance as easily as Clearlight could see her own fur. Clearlight padded forwards, licking Cloverpaw's cheek in what she hoped was a comforting manner.
"You're just fine the way you are." Clearlight said, trying to project all the sureness she could into those words. But even Clearlight knew it wasn't enough.
She stepped back a bit, flicking her ears. "See my ears?" Clearlight said. "They look normal now, but they used to be deformed. I'm sure it's nothing compared to the story you have to tell, but the kits around me used to call me 'Eerie'. They thought it was so hilarious. Ny ears were still folded, like I had just been born. And they stayed like that, all the way until I was apprentice-aged. The other cats thought I looked scary, hence 'Eerie'. I could never hear things that well. Still can't." Clearlight smiled tightly, reliving her kithood.
Clearlight gave Cloverpaw another lick. "But you know what one cat told me? He said I was special. Every cat is special, but some cats show it on the outside, not the inside. You're special too, you just show it on the outside." Clearlight smiled. "You may not think it now, but someday you'll see that really, there's nothing wrong with how you look. You're just special in a special way."
With that said and hopefully over, Clearlight pushed on. "Now, would you like to teach me how to hunt?"
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•-----------------------⋅☾☼☽⋅-----------------------• Tracker - Finder - Site
Nectarflame shakes her head, moving to correct Rosepaw while sparing the disappointment or aggravation. She did not feel such things now towards the apprentice, who did not know better.
"When we walk, we do not consider the process. It is natural, like breathing, normally. We move by instinct. For hunting, one must be aware of these otherwise automatic motions. When you move, you think of your paw and where it must go and how. You must. So, rather than simply lowering your body to the ground and walking all the same, crouch and hold yourself still. Plan what you do with every part of your body. Look at where you must set your paw before you set your paw, and do so gingerly in case there are unseen obstacles such as twigs, loose stones, leaves."
The Bengal watches Rosepaw, deciding that that would be enough to say for the moment, as to not overwhelm the apprentice. "Try again now."
Rosepaw was used to failure. She failed times and times again. It's what she expected. The criticism came to no surprise. She was glad there was no yelling so far, no frustration in the warrior's voice, no affirmations that she was useless, a dud and a lost cause. She was all of that, of course, but it was more pleasant when others kept their composure and were calm about it.
She tried following the instructions, standing still. She spread out her toes and feet a bit, trying to get some semblance of a good balance to stop her from wobbling. Once she stopped trembling, she lifted one paw and felt the ground forward awkwardly, flailing it about a little, as if trying to catch an invisible bug. That was because she wasn't quite sure where to put it before setting it before her and awkwardly shifting her shoulder to accommodate the change. One small step...
The apprentice was still a bit down about her appearance. She most likely would avoid her reflection altogether, so she didn't feel bad about herself. Cloverpaw listened to her try and comfort her. It felt nice to know how nice some cats were Thunderclan or not.
"Everybody's special I guess. Maybe I'm a lot more special than most. Most cats missing limbs and have deformities are due to something like a battle to serve their clan. While mine is there since birth.", she meowed. Soon she wanted to drop that conversation, especially since she was excited to be showing someone how to hunt that was older than her.
Cloverpaw let out a genuine smile. The once depressed face that showed on her was replaced with excitement. "Yes definitely! First of all, you want to do a crouch like this!", she meowed. Cloverpaw got into a neat hunter crouch, her tail was at a perfect height where it was touching the ground, not even too high either. Now her paws weren't too close together and she made sure to not let her muscles go stiff. She kept her head low. Turning to the queen she hoped she'd do the same thing.
Barleypaw is my main character and is currently a Windclan Apprentice if anybody wants to roleplay with her or has a small plot they need an extra cat for. If you do just mention me in a post no need to ask and I'll reply whenever I can. Also if its a plot vm me what it is, so I'm not confused.
Re: Sunkissed Creek
