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Post by Jaecarys on May 7, 2023 23:40:58 GMT -6
#s://i~imgur~com/uDMcZn9~jpg | ✹ dawnclaw, So if you look back and you hate my past, just know I'm doing everything that I can. I'm doing everything that I can. I told you that my whole life, could have sworn I would die young, my last words, twenty two years on my tongue—I'm bad luck, I'm bad luck, I'm bad luck. |
Large paws reached high up on a pine tree, stretching Dawnclaw's back while he popped his claws in the soft, rough bark. He glanced over his shoulder to the fluffy apprentice he'd brought with him, and he flicked his tail as he dropped down to four paws. "Battle training at the Lightning Tree is all well and good," he said, continuing his explanation as to why they weren't practicing hunting out here. "But you won't always have soft grass and clear vision."The fog hung low this early in the morning. He flexed his claws into the pine needles and damp earth as he paced in a half circle around Milkpaw, eyes on the forest, ears flickering to and fro at every sound. He half expected the shadows of RidgeClan to materialize from the mist, pulling out from around the nearly formless shapes of trees. All the more likely, after what had happened. He avoided bringing Milkpaw anywhere near the bridge now — he wouldn't put her on the front lines. "You should favor every terrain. No root, mole den, or stone should hinder you." He looked back at her, and then raised a brow. "Milkpaw, do you understand?" |
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Post by Erose on May 22, 2023 11:56:40 GMT -6
#s://media~discordapp~net/attachments/988871489275195432/988871551631892590/milkpaw_forum_img~png | milkpaw, everything moves, everything pulses
everything lies in the eyes of you |
It was a gray morning—not unlike many of the mornings in MistClan. Not for the first time, Milkpaw found herself envying the sleek gray coats of so many of her clanmates, instead of this fluffy white fur that seemed to cling to all the dampness in the woods. She grimaced and shook out her pelt, but any hint of dourness was quick to fall off her shoulders as she put on some speed to trot after her mentor. Oh, her mentor. Dawnclaw. He was such a fierce warrior, so hardworking and admirable. Milkpaw was positive Hailstar had assigned him as her mentor to instill some responsibility. Pfft. Like she wasn't totally responsible already.
Lately, though, the tune around her mentor had changed. She hadn't been with him on that fateful border patrol, but since the last gathering, everyone knew: he'd taken a life from Mushroomstar, the leader of RidgeClan. The urge to ask him about it crawled like beetles through her fur. Before a question could pop out, though, Dawnclaw stopped to stretch, claws sinking into bark as the muscles in his back pulled taut. "So we're not going to the Lightning Tree?" she asked, her own thoughts derailed by the detour. Disappointment flashed through her; all the other apprentices were training at the Lightning Tree today. Well, not all of them, but her brothers at least were going to be there. Dawnclaw started to circle around her, and Milkpaw quickly dropped back on her haunches to watch him; was he about to test her reflexes? What kind of training was he going to spring on her today? Two moons into apprenticeship and she'd already found him to be a bit of unpredictable mentor. At his expectant look, she returned a cheeky grin, tail flicking. "Yeah, I think so! Watch where I step, right? It'd be pretty embarrassing to trip while I'm chasing a squirrel. So are we doing training on the ground today?"
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Post by Jaecarys on May 27, 2023 12:16:58 GMT -6
#s://i~imgur~com/uDMcZn9~jpg | ✹ dawnclaw, So if you look back and you hate my past, just know I'm doing everything that I can. I'm doing everything that I can. I told you that my whole life, could have sworn I would die young, my last words, twenty two years on my tongue—I'm bad luck, I'm bad luck, I'm bad luck. |
Milkpaw flashed a grin at him with a flick of her tail. “Yeah, I think so! Watch where I step, right? It'd be pretty embarrassing to trip while I'm chasing a squirrel. So are we doing training on the ground today?" Dawnclaw sighed, short and soft. “We are.” He himself was still getting accustomed to all the different ways a tree could be used. He sent a silent prayer to StarClan that he wasn’t putting his apprentice at a disadvantage because of it, and tried to recall what Stoatfang taught him to be wary of. “Dropping down on an ambushing party would be most useful against PrairieClan, but RidgeClan..." He tilted his head. "They are accustomed to looking up for threats.”He surged toward her. Long strides marching him across the space between them. His nose wrinkled in a snarl. There was no attack, no raise of his paws, but he was there in an instant, right in front of her. He didn’t stop pressing her, aiming back her toward the tree behind her where a tangle of roots waited to snare her paws. He hoped to catch her off guard, trip her in the roots. If she caught herself or evaded him before getting stuck, all the better — his approval would show. “This is about more than tripping when chasing a squirrel,” he rumbled. “This is survival. If battle finds you, fighting on the ground is inevitable. What will you do if your paw is caught in a hole or root when an enemy lunges, or if the difference between your clanmates survival and death is making it there in time?”Some part of him wondered if he was getting too serious with the enthusiastic she-cat. But stars — war could break any moment. He needed her ready. |
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Post by Erose on Aug 15, 2023 13:11:47 GMT -6
#s://media~discordapp~net/attachments/988871489275195432/988871551631892590/milkpaw_forum_img~png | milkpaw, Everything moves, everything pulses
Everything lies in the eyes of you |
In one moment, Dawnclaw was telling her about RidgeClan's instinct to look up. It made sense; all the cats in the valley had heard about the eagles and hawks that haunted the northern skies. Sometimes they even struck in PrairieClan, but not nearly as often. Milkpaw was just glad that MistClan had such a protective canopy. She didn't get much further in her pondering, however, as in the very next moment Dawnclaw surged towards her. All the fur on her body fluffed up as she reeled back. He was her mentor and she knew he'd never hurt her (right?), but that didn't change the fact that Dawnclaw was big and bulky and coming right at her. Her squawk was not at all dignified when her back paw caught in a cluster of roots. All at once she knew that was planned; of course it was! He'd just been talking about ground obstructions! Her shoulder hit the ground, but remembering a battle recovery move they'd drilled before, she tucked in and rolled with the movement before springing back to her paws on the other side of the roots. Panting, she stayed poised on the tips of her toes, watching Dawnclaw with wary eyes and a twitching pelt. The way he was talking... did he expect RidgeClan warriors to swarm into camp tomorrow? Was that really something she should be worried about? Thoughts of her family, her siblings, flashed through her mind. She'd always been the kit of the family; everyone else always protected her. Was that going to change? Did it need to? Would her family be okay if she wasn't good enough to protect them? Would they die? Would she die? "I don't know!" she yowled, back paw slipping on a leaf patch as she scrambled away from her advancing mentor. She didn't fall this time, but she was now keenly aware just how cluttered the forest floor could be. She couldn't look behind her without giving Dawnclaw and opening, but how was she supposed to tell what was on the ground behind her without looking? "I don't know what to do!" |
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Post by Jaecarys on Aug 17, 2023 11:42:11 GMT -6
#s://i~imgur~com/uDMcZn9~jpg | ✹ dawnclaw, So if you look back and you hate my past, just know I'm doing everything that I can. I'm doing everything that I can. I told you that my whole life, could have sworn I would die young, my last words, twenty two years on my tongue—I'm bad luck, I'm bad luck, I'm bad luck. |
Milkpaw scrambled, but she stayed on her paws — barely. Still, it was something. He kept his ears flattened, his snarl as convincing he could make it. She slipped, her eyes round, her breath coming fast — “I don’t know!” she cried. She regained her footing, kept moving back. “I don’t know what to do!” Dawnclaw paused, ears slipping forward. Panic gripped her voice, her face. She was afraid of him. It sent a lance through his chest, and he took a full step back, lifting his head to end his advance. He tried not to show how much his heart quickened. Was he to teach with fear, as Sunstorm did? What else was there? “You take caution when you can’t see,” he said. “You touch without putting your weight down, not until you know what you’re stepping on.” He softened his eyes. “RidgeClan is angry, Milkpaw. Tensions are high. We teeter on the edge of another war, and your clan must be able to count on you. You must be able to count on yourself.” This time one of vindication, a fire he just stoked. He circled around his apprentice, keeping his eye trained on her. “Shut your eyes,” he instructed, and waited until she did. “Now walk. Don’t trip.” He had chosen this spot full of tangled roots and holes for a reason — her footing would one day be impeccable. |
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Post by Erose on Oct 20, 2023 20:22:42 GMT -6
#s://media~discordapp~net/attachments/988871489275195432/988871551631892590/milkpaw_forum_img~png | milkpaw, Everything moves, everything pulses
Everything lies in the eyes of you |
Just as quickly as he'd begun his advancement, Dawnclaw suddenly drew his head back and halted, ears swiveling forward again as the snarl disappeared from his face like mist at sunhigh. Adrenaline still made her limbs trembled, but Milkpaw slowly drew herself back up, forcing the fur on her back to lay flat again. Suddenly feeling a bit silly, she gave her chest a couple quick licks, ear angling sideways. In the moment, it had all felt very intense—but Dawnclaw wouldn't actually hurt her; he was her mentor! He was part of MistClan now. And he was just trying to train her to be a good warrior. Self-doubt wiggled at her; was she even capable of it? No one ever seemed to take her seriously. Milkpaw was the silly kit of her litter, childish and immature. Just a jokester. But Dawnclaw took her seriously.And here she was, balking in the face of it, like she was afraid to be. Milkpaw jerked her attention back to him when he spoke again, deep voice quiet in the still forest. He gentled, only to tell her something she'd been afraid to hear. RidgeClan is angry, Milkpaw. War is coming, Milkpaw. You need to be able to count on yourself, Milkpaw.
She took a slow breath and nodded as her mentor stood. He began to circle her; she straightened, bracing her paws firmly against the forest floor. Shut your eyes. Milkpaw did, the forest blinking into darkness around her. Now walk. Taken aback, she almost opened her eyes again; seriously? How was she supposed to walk around blind without tripping? But she swallowed her doubt and nodded again. Slowly, Milkpaw started taking little steps. Her paw brushed something and she jerked back, before nudging it cautiously forward again; okay, just a leaf. But when she put her weight down, her paw plunged down into a hole and she squawked as her nose collided with a root. Eyes watering, but kept firmly closed, Milkpaw hauled herself back up and continued. She'd never considered herself anything less than a graceful cat before, but certainly now she felt more like a bumbling kit; her paws caught on too many roots, too many mole-pits. Every time she twisted her paw, bumped her nose, or scraped herself on a root, a complaint sprang to her mouth, poised and ready. And every time, Milkpaw bit it back; if Dawnclaw was going to take her seriously, she needed to act like she deserved it. But, after one bump too many, she crumpled and pressed her paws to her stinging nose, eyes watering and a whine escaping her. It wasn't fair! Dawnclaw was such an amazing warrior and fighter; he was smart and strong and knew everything! Why did Hailstar have to give him her as an apprentice? She was just a runty stupid furball of a little sister! "I'm no good to be counted on, Dawnclaw!" She sniffled, ears flattening. "I can't get it right!"It was childish and she knew it, but she didn't feel like she could control the watery despair that flooded up inside her. Her own paws felt stupid and clumsy now; she couldn't trust her own senses to tell her if she was in danger or not, so how in StarClan's name could she protect someone else? "I don't want anyone to get hurt 'cause of me..." |
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Post by Jaecarys on Oct 21, 2023 16:11:13 GMT -6
#s://i~imgur~com/uDMcZn9~jpg | ✹ dawnclaw, So if you look back and you hate my past, just know I'm doing everything that I can. I'm doing everything that I can. I told you that my whole life, could have sworn I would die young, my last words, twenty two years on my tongue—I'm bad luck, I'm bad luck, I'm bad luck. |
A paw in a hole. A trip over a root. A stumble over a stone. A fall into the dirt. A fumble over a tangle of roots. She kept going, and he watched with utter silence, keeping out of her way. She was growing frustrated, he could see it mounting and mounting until finally— Milkpaw dropped to the forest floor with her paws covering her newly bumped nose with a pitiful whine. “I’m no good to be counted on, Dawnclaw,” she sniffled with ears drawn back. “I can’t get it right!” His brows drew together. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt ‘cause of me…” “Milkpaw—” — get to your paws, you aren’t a mewling kit. He held his tongue. She had a soft heart, one he didn’t want to see her lose. He couldn’t see it beaten down the way his and Duskfang’s had been. He was scaring her, and it wasn’t working. He was the formidable warrior he was today because of Sunstorm and Stoatfang’s training, but who was he beyond that? Broken. He was broken. His mother would have been good for Milkpaw. Patient, tender, firm. He took a deep breath and padded to his apprentice, halting just before her. ”You will get it right. You will not only because you must, because you care.” He crouched low, so that he might be eye level with the little fluff of a she-cat. He offered a smile. ”You love your Clan, your kin, and that is the greatest mark of a MistClanner warrior’s heart, don’t you think?” Dawnclaw straightened and flicked his tail. ”No one gets anything right the first time, little one. No one can ever be perfect at this. But think of the advantage you’ll have, knowing your terrain so well that you don’t even have to look at it. Now get up. Try again.”He rose and stepped back. ”Before you step, gently feel first—no weight on your paw until you know how to balance it, until you know it’s solid ground. Go slowly. Doesn’t matter how slow right now. Raise your paws high so you don’t catch on the roots.” |
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