Awaiting the Beginning (Neraven!)

[ηight]

Mothice paced back and forth in the ShadowClan camp. Excitement throbbed in her chest as she awaited the arrival of her new apprentice, Marshpaw.

She had been slightly surprised when she'd been chosen as Marshpaw's mentor. Mothice never would have considered herself mentor material. What did she know about teaching younger cats? She recalled her own warrior training, and wondered if it would be strange to be placed in the mentor's paws instead of the apprentice's.

Mothice had heard that Marshpaw was infuriating. She was called rude and unpleasant by other cats, and many insisted that agreeing to mentor her would be the worst mistake of her life. However, Mothice had scoffed at their warnings.

She may be a little difficult, but it's nothing I can't handle, she silently decided. After all, Mothice had been the exact same when she was an apprentice, and the ways of her youth still occasionally flared up. If anyone could understand Marshpaw, it would be her -- at least those were her hopes.

Mothice eagerly glanced around for any sign of her apprentice. If Marshpaw wanted to, she was going to give her a training session. It would be the very first for both of them, and her pelt itched with anticipation.

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[Neraven]

Marshpaw was curled up in a fuzzy ball at that moment, sulking a little, but also eager and feeling vicious at the thought of finally getting to learn how to truly fight. She knew the basics, as she had taught some to herself from watching the strong cats kill relations in front of her blue eyes.
Quickly she unfurled from her position, leaping up with fur bristling, wanting to feel her claws sink into something, taste a little blood.
She hurtled out of the apprentice den, running a full circle around the camp before she stopped in front of Mothice, breathing slightly laboured, fur slightly bristled and eyes hungry for fighting.
God, she wanted this so bad.
"Hello," she said stiffly, dark blue eyes narrowing. She took in the cat's appearance, and put her nose into the air. She thought this she-cat not attractive. Of course, she was really the only one who did look good...though looks didn't matter to her much, unless she looked stronger than she was, and sometime that might help if it ever happened.
She shook her fur out as if there was water in it, and looked at Mothice with narrow slits of sapphire.
"So we're going to do a training session today, right. Fighting, I'm guessing?"

[ηight]

"Hello," was Marshpaw's simple greeting as she padded towards her.

Mothice was almost unnerved by the she-cat's icy calmness. She struggled for words as Marshpaw's eyes cut into her.

"So we're going to do a training session today, right? Fighting, I'm guessing?"

Relieved that Marshpaw was acting like a regular apprentice, Mothice let her bristling neck fur lay flat and sunk into a sitting position.

"A bit eager for the big steps, aren't we?" she purred. A grin upturned the ends of her maw. "We'll get to fighting when it's time. This is your first training session, so we're just going to cover scents and borders." That's what she'd seen other mentors do, wasn't it? On the day they were to begin their apprentice's training, they showed them the territory and laid down the basics. However, noticing Marshpaw's readiness, she hoped that she wouldn't bore her. First things first, she thought to herself.

"If that's all right with you, we can leave."

[Neraven]

Marshpaw was very happy to see the older she-cat unnerved by her. She hissed with pleasure at this, a low hiss barely audible to the other cat's ears.
But as soon as she got the notion she wasn't doing fighting today, and they were goping over things she already knew, she exploded.
"WHAT?!" she raged. "What are you talking about! I already know all of that stupid stuff! I've started on the basics of fighting on my own, furball! I wjust want to get into more details. I already know scents! You think I haven't been out of this camp!? You think that I haven't seen my family murdered and mimicked their fighting moves!?"
She hissed with fury, fur spiked up and blue eyes narrowed and looking like she wanted to kill Mothice.
"I'm going to be bored out of my mind, fo one. And I simply don't think much of all that, seeing as I already know it!"
She forced herself to calm down, subsiding into a calm, dangerous mood, eyes still narrowed dangerously, tail puffed out behind her and claws out.

[ηight]

Mothice remained calm as Marshpaw threw a fit. She'd been expecting the young she-cat to be infuriated. After all, what apprentice didn't want to skip the basics and get right to hunting and fighting?

"I already know scents! You think I haven't been out of this camp!? You think that I haven't seen my family murdered and mimicked their fighting moves!?"

Her heart ached for Marshpaw. She knew that she'd been scarred by her past. In a way, Mothice could relate.

"I have no business in your personal matters," she replied quietly. "I know you're expecting to be bored blind, but if you want to be a warrior, you have to learn that you don't always get what you want. It's necessary that you learn and memorize all the right scents." Turning briskly, she padded to the camp entrance. "Now out you go," she growled.

[[Sorry that it's short.]]

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[Neraven]

(It's okay lol)

"You actually do," Marshpaw hissed. "Because you're my mentor, because I don't care who knows about my 'personal matters', and because I'm going to use them if they apply to the subject!"
"Noiw out you go."
She hissed again, flicking Mothice sharply with her tail as she went past.
After a few moments of silence, Marshpaw had forced herself to calm, knowing she wasn't going to get what she wanted no matter what she did. Except run away maybe, but she was too lazy for that.
"Where are we going then. I told you, I already know the scents. WindClan is up by the WindClan border, ShadowClan by the ShadowClan border. They both smell different than our's, and I can tall the difference. And I know where the borders are because there's usually either ThunderClan and the other clan scent mixed, or it's just the other clan. What more do I need to know?"
She had actually been told some of this when she was younger, but she would never admit that. Ever.
Her paws were quiet on the pine needles as she walked, waiting impatiently for an answer.

(sorry mine's short too XD >_<)

[ηight]

At first, Mothice was frustrated. Any mouse-brain could see that Marshpaw was convinced she knew all she needed to. However, as an idea sprouted in her mind, she simply purred in amusement.

"Well, I have to say, Marshpaw, I'm impressed!" she mewed. "Not many new apprentices are as knowledgeable as you are." She gave the she-cat a congratulatory lick across the ears, though she knew it would irritate Marshpaw. "I think I need to see more of this so I can tell Raptorstar all about it. If you wouldn't mind, I'd like you to lead. Bring me to each of the borders, and hunt along the way. There's no doubt that you can do that."

She kept the most convincing grin she could manage pasted on her muzzle. If Marshpaw wanted to be in charge, then fine; she would do everything without Mothice's help.

[Neraven]

She snapped her teeth at the cat's face, ears back, when Mothice licked her ears.
Suddenly, something she had forgotten came to her. She was horrible at hunting! How could nshe have forgotten that! She knew how she was supposed to do it, but she never seemed to have gotten the hang of it. Well, she would do something that would suprise this she-cat. She would do her best to put aside her pride for a little bit. She wasn't sure how to go about it though, seeing as she'd never done it.
"Mothice," she said, turning around to face the cat, "I can do the borders, but I forgot to mention that I'm not too great at hunting. I. can do it, but not very well. I frankly don't know how I forgot that I guess I was too eager,"
Marshpaw winced and shuddered a little as she turned away, heading straight for the WindClan border. She had an idea what it looked like, but once she got to it she would have to sniff around.
"But I'll still do it, I'm not looking for pity, and I'd doubt you'd keep from trying to humiliate me even now," she added, a bit of a hiss back in her voice.
She opened her mouth, then crouched, her eyes riveted on a bush in front of her. She doubted Mothice would make this hard for her, but she might.
She crouched, knowing her butt was probably up too high, and slowly, paw by paw, she crept up on it, placing her foot very lightly at first to make sure there was nothing that would make noise under it.
She sprung, but the mouse scurried away. She was about to leap after it then, but somehow she tripped and fell. Quickly she got up, though her leg was smarting, and looked on the ground. There was a small rock. How had she missed that? She hissed at it, batting it across the ground with a paw, then once again headed towards WindClan.

[ηight]

"Mothice, I can do the borders, but I forgot to mention that I'm not too great at hunting," Marshpaw confessed. "I can do it, but not very well. I frankly don't know how I forgot that. I guess I was too eager."

Mothice chuckled softly. "You learn fast," she murmured, following her apprentice into the territory. She was led towards the WindClan border, but before they reached it, Marshpaw stopped to hunt.

As Mothice had expected, the she-cat was too heavy on her paws, despite her obvious attempt to remain light. Marshpaw stumbled when she pursued the frantic mouse, and she fell awkwardly on her leg.

"That was a good try," Mothice praised. "If you hadn't concentrated so much on your paws, you would've caught that mouse. Here, watch me."

She slipped into the hunter's crouch and stalked an invisible target. At first, she focused only on the weight she was putting onto her feet. Instinctively, her muscles tensed under pressure. But when she began scenting the air and trying to determine where she could leap, her body relaxed.

"The more you try to make yourself do something perfectly, the more sloppy you'll be at it," she explained. "While you should always keep it in your head that you need to be light on your paws, think about everything else you'll need to do to make the kill successful. Take into consideration your distance from the prey, which direction the wind is blowing, and what comes easily to the prey depending on what kind it is."

Abandoning her hunting position, she rose and padded to Marshpaw's side. "Mouse feels you first, rabbit hears you first." It was somewhat awkward repeating the infamous rule that all new apprentices learned as the mentor instead of the trainee. "Because you admitted that you were shabby at hunting, I'll help you. But since you know how to do everything else so well, I don't think you'll need me." Mothice grinned with the slightest hint of sarcasm. "Scent for some more prey and try again," she instructed. "Once you've made your first catch, we can continue on to the WindClan border."

[Neraven]

(Augh she's so horribly mean I can't imagine being mean to Mothice right now seeing as she's helping Marshpaw XD)

She would have to be stupid to refuse that Mothice was indeed right. But Marshpaw wasn't going to let that get to her. She did want to get better at these things so that she could become a warrior, so she did have to pay attention and follow the older she-cat's instructions.
The black cat didn't like it, but...oh well, she could deal with it.
"Mouse feels you first, rabbit hears you first."
That certainly made sense. Rabbits did have those huge ears after all. So her technique would have worked, if at all, better for a rabbit than that mouse she had just tried to catch.
"Of course I won't!" she hissed at her, all the more angry now that she did have to do exactly what the cat told her to. And she wouldn't. She might not be able to find the borders right away, but she had a good memory and a good nose, It wouldn't take her too long.
She moved further on, quietly as to not scare off any prey in the area. She could very faintly hear the stream in the distance; she knew they were getting close to the border.
Marshpaw scented the air, doing her best to think about the prey instead of her paws. It was mouse again.
This time she caught it on her first leap, pinning it down with her left paw, then biting it's neck. Hungrily, she let a little blood seep into her mouth, then quickly looked around for somewhere to bury it.
There was a small patch of non-marshy land, with an oddly shaped tree on it, and she hurried over to that, quickly burying the dead muse next to the tree.
She was proud of herself, but she had expected nothing less. Like Mothice had said, she was a quick learner.
Marshpaw glanced at Mothice as she went past on her way towards the WindClan border, then focused ahead of her, keeping her mouth open to see if WindClan scent came to her.

[Neraven]

Please reply?

[ηight]

[[Sorry for the late reply!]]

Mothice watched, giving a pleased purr when Marshpaw killed her second target. "Good work, Marshpaw!" she meowed delightedly as the apprentice buried her catch. She followed Marshpaw, continuing in the direction of WindClan.

Before long, they'd reached the border. Mothice was hesitant to admit that she was impressed; she'd expected Marshpaw to have no idea where to find the borders, but that her senseless pride -- much like what Mothice harbored -- had caused her to lie and insist that she did. Now, they were standing at the exact place Mothice herself had intended to lead her apprentice to if Marshpaw hadn't done it on her own.

"Well done," she finally mewed, trying not to stammer. "Remember this scent well. WindClan have had an unfortunate past of thievery." With a scornful growl, she turned. "Ready to lead me to the ThunderClan border?" she asked more cheerfully.

[Neraven]

(Oh lol I just noticed I said dead muse instead of dead mouse in my last post
I'm glad I don't have that! XD)

Her eyes slitted in pleasure at the older she-cat's hesitancy and her suppressed amazement.
"Ooh, this is great. I proved her so wrong. Hah!" the black apprentice thought, shivering with malign pleasure.
She did want to learn, and no matter how little she liked it, she would admit to weaknesses in order to learn those skills. After all, she needed to if she were to become leader one day.
"I have," she replied, glancing, still slit-eyed, at Mothice. "And yes."
She was beginning to get more used to her mentor.Didn't mean she liked her; she didn't like anybody. But she was gradually starting to accept her. She had to, really. So it was out of necessity, not her own free will.
She sat for a moment, closing her eyes, remembering the scent and the location.
Then she stood back up, impatient to get this borders thing over with. She would catch something else now again, on the way to ThunderClan, then on the way back to her own camp. Obviously, Mothice would have to carry one or two of the items of prey.
They went past the Lone Tree, and as they drew near the stream and the other clan border, she crouched, sighting and scenting a shrew hidden in the grass. She kept her mouth open, her eyes trained on the little brown speck of fur on the one part of it's body she could see. It moved a little farther away from the stream, poking around, still having not seen her.
She readied, and sprang, landing on it with claws out.
Perfect.
She killed it with a bite to the back of the neck, and left it under her paw, opening her mouth.
"The ThunderClan border. Can we get back to the camp now?"
She picked the shrew up in her jaws and started walking back towards the tree closer to the WindClan border where she had buried the mouse.
"Mothice, please carry the shrew and the mouse, if you can. I'd like to grab one more before we get back to the camp."
Having said that, she headed back to the ShadowClan camp.

[ηight]

By the time they'd made it to ThunderClan's border, Mothice had given up on the challenge she'd created for Marshpaw. It obviously wasn't much of a challenge after all.

"The ThunderClan border," Marshpaw snapped. "Can we get back to the camp now?"

However, Marshpaw didn't give her time to respond. She padded back towards the tree where she'd buried the mouse, and Mothice had to run to catch up.

"Mothice, please carry the shrew and the mouse, if you can. I'd like to grab one more before we get back to the camp." Without even waiting for her mentor's agreement, she whisked around and headed off in the direction of camp.

Growling to herself, Mothice scooped up the prey. But as she began to follow her apprentice, she stopped, lightly placing the prey back down. She was in charge of Marshpaw, not the other way around. As she watched the young she-cat's hind legs, a sly smirk upturned one end of her maw. She crouched low to the ground, making sure to be heavy on her paws; even risking slamming her hind feet on the dirt. Anyone would know that this was the exact opposite of what one is supposed to do when stalking, but Mothice wanted to make her sneak attack as obvious as possible to test Marshpaw's skill.

Her apprentice remained oblivious. Chuckling quietly, Mothice moved quickly across the ground like a spider. Giving a hiss to alert Marshpaw, she sprang, aiming a paw at her legs to trip her and preparing to land on her side. This would teach Marshpaw just how dangerous the world could be while giving her what she'd wanted from the beginning: fighting practice.

[Neraven]

(Yay!)

Marshpaw continued, then twitched her ears back, not yet having heard her mentor following. She hadn't gotten far, which was fortunate. She blinked,
A hiss, a whoosh of air and her claws came out, her eyes slitted and fur bristled as she tried her best to dodge away. But she did land up on her right side, yowling, blue eyes wide, pinned down by an attacker's paws, and without thinking, she bit her mentor's leg, panicking, and squirmed violently, thrashing Mothice's legs with her paws so that she may fall off of her and let her get back up.
She hissed, yowled again, and kept hitting the she'cat's legs with her large paws.

(UGH that is extremely short...it would be longer if she got away, but that wouldn't be very fair for her first time being ambushed now would it? I really can't think of anymore to say, so...one sucky reply coming right up, sir!
>_<)