[training] i like happy songs with titles that don't match at all

[seeingstars]

Wormpaw • He / It • Shadowclan Apprentice • 8+ moons
{ Post 7 / 100 }

Finally. The smoky black-furred tom breathed a heavy sigh as he rose to it's paws and exited the apprentices' den. It now was confident that apprenticeship did not equal freedom, it never did, and it never would.

Wormpaw glanced around the clearing, it was fairly early so he didn't necessarily expect anyone to be up. He padded towards the fresh-kill pile and picked up a frog. The shadowclan apprentice made his way over to a shady spot near the apprentices' den and settled in to eat his breakfast in peace.

After finishing what he could he disposed of the remains, then sat in camp, enjoying the warmth of the rising sun.

{ @idia }

[idia]

SQUIRRELRISE
she/her. 16 moons. small, scarred russet molly with brown markings and yellow eyes.
[ chill of death, hulk SMASH ]

squirrelrise is almost certain that her sanity is crumbling away with every piece of bad news she receives. or maybe it's the lack of sleep - maybe both. alas, she'll have to focus on that in the future so she doesn't fall behind on her duties as a warrior. as she usually is at this time, she's stretching her limbs and getting out of her nest. after a quick grooming of her pelt, she's padding out of the warrior's den.

yellow hues dance around the camp, eventually landing on wormpaw. or, kit? she knows the tom was demoted but.. she isn't too sure if it's been promoted back to a -paw or not. she supposes she should ask...

making her way towards the apprentice, the russet molly paints a grin on her maw. "hi, worm...paw..?" the last part comes out much more hesitant sounding than she would've liked. "did..d-dawnstar..promote you..? if s-so, we..can s-start on training..if you're up..for it."

[ @seeingstars usually I'd start with a territory tour - but since this was made after the lockdown, I'll start with stealth o7 ]

[seeingstars]

Wormpaw • He / It • Shadowclan Apprentice • 8+ moons
A smoky black tom with white flecks throughout his pelt and pale yellow/blue heterochromatic eyes.

Wormpaw's ears perked up as he noticed his mentor, a smile crossing his maw as he nodded enthusiastically "Yeah! Just this morning" He said, puffing his chest up.

"I can't wait- I gotta work twice as hard to catch up with all my friends" He shot a sad glance to the ground, wishing that he would be receiving his warrior name next to his best friend Wildpaw, but with her missing there was no chance of that happening.

He quickly forced a smile, his gaze resting on Squirrelrise "What are ya planning for today?" It said with a friendly purr, it's tail swaying behind it excitedly.
{ @idia }

[idia]

SQUIRRELRISE
she/her. 16 moons. small, scarred russet molly with brown markings and yellow eyes.
[ chill of death, hulk SMASH ]

so, it was wormpaw again. "that's great," she responds with a pleased nod. she doesn't miss the quick, sad glance from the apprentice. a part of her wants to reassure him, while the other part wants to remind him that - for whatever reason he got demoted, she's not too sure - it could've been avoided, that she's certain. the latter makes her think that she really is getting older.

"training...passes by..much quicker than..you realize. you'll..catch up in..no time." squirrelrise comments. when she thinks back to her own training, it seems like it really wasn't that long. maybe that's a part of growing up.

...onto the topic of training. "well..." she pauses, glancing away thoughtfully. with the lockdown, there isn't a whole lot to do. unless she pesters a high rank or an enforcer which..absolutely not, she doesn't want to come off as annoying. "we'll s-start...with s-stealth.." she decides. stealth would be easiest to start with, considering they can't exactly leave camp. "first...what do you..think is most important..when it..comes to s-stealth?"

[ @seeingstars ]

[seeingstars]

Wormpaw • He / It • Shadowclan Apprentice • 8+ moons
A smoky black tom with white flecks throughout his pelt and pale yellow/blue heterochromatic eyes.

Wormpaw nods in response, relieved to at least have his rank returned, if he had to find a silver like it guessed that was it. He hoped that he'd at least be able to get his name at the same time as Mosquitopaw at least.

Okay, back to training. He listened carefully, excited to see what his first training session would be. His tail swayed excitedly behind him as it listened to her speak. The smoky black tom's ear flicked as he hummed in thought "Being... quiet?" yeah, obviously being quiet Wormpaw, what are you thinking? It scolded itself in it's mind before thinking again

"uh- Light pawsteps... sticking to the shadows..." He listed off a few other things, thinking out loud. Finally, it turned it's gaze back to Squirrelrise, wondering if any of the answers it'd spouted out were even correct.

{ @idia }

[idia]

SQUIRRELRISE
she/her. 16 moons. small, scarred russet molly with brown markings and yellow eyes.
[ chill of death, hulk SMASH ]

squirrelrise listens, nodding once wormpaw finishes. he had the gist of stealth, at least. "well...those are..important..yes," she confirms, moving on soon after. "..but, you also..have to be..aware of your su-surroundings, like..the direction..the wind is blowing, and..yourself." there was no point in sticking to the shadows if you ended up stepping on a twig, or running into something.

"basically, you..just don't..want to be..detected. more importantly...if you're crouching..make s-sure your belly..is just above the ground..but doesn't brush against it. keep..your tail low..and paws..sh-shoulders width..apart. like this," she says before dropping into a crouch. now, onto actually testing wormpaw's skills..

usually with stealth training, she'd have the apprentice use their surroundings to their advantage and sneak up on her. there were, of course, the large cedar trees in camp, along with thicket. though, it might just be easier if she comes up with another idea. she thinks she'll take inspiration from hawkbite's event from a pawful of moons ago. hide and seek!

"to..practice..we'll play..hide and s-seek." now that she's actually saying it aloud, she feels a little childish. "th-three rounds. you just..have to..win two..rounds, though." squirrelrise explains to the apprentice. "if you..don't have any questions..you sh-should probably..go hide." she advises.

[ @seeingstars
I'll be doing a dice roll for the hide and seek if thats good with you! o7 ]

[seeingstars]

Wormpaw • He / It • Shadowclan Apprentice • 8+ moons
A smoky black tom with white flecks throughout his pelt and pale yellow/blue heterochromatic eyes.

Wormpaw nodded, listening carefully to her words. hide and seek? I don't even think I played that as a kit- He'd always been more of a 'hit really hard' fighter than a stealthy fighter.

He obeyed though, darting off in the direction of the warrior's den, he slipped around to the back of the warriors' den, trying to keep track of everything she'd told it to do. After it thought it was safe, it stayed completely still, keeping it's breathing slow and quiet.

(Works for me! sorry this reply is short I promise next one will be longer lol)

{ @idia }