TRAININGgrounds//VC

[LYNX ♥]

Training grounds? More like paradise. Aside from being a popular place to train apprentices in both hutning and fighting, this training area, called SoftStones, is a popular place just to hang about and socialize, though hunting is forbidden in this area, so there is plenty for apprentices to practice with. It is a small, sunlit meadow covered in soft, moss and grass-coated stones and a few small, scattered trees. The place is lush, and swarming with suculent delacacies such as hares and thrushes.

[lily ♫]

r e f l e c t e d p a w

His swift paws carried him over the territory, taking a different route to SoftStones than that of his mentor. This route was quicker, and much easier to take. His eyes spotted the tiny hills and valleys that made up the training grounds and he pushed himself harder, and faster. He raced forward onto the stones and stopped atop one of the stones. He quietly stood on top of it, and looked down at a rabbit. He tilted his head to the side and watched it for a minute. Then, he crouched down a little with his butt held high. He crawled sloppilly off of the stone and unsheathed his claws. He took them and clawed at the rabbit, and then jumped on top of it to bite it's neck. It writhed underneath him causing him problems, but his teeth caught hold of it's neck and he bit down hard to break it's neck. He picked it up with his teeth and stood there with it. He knew his way of killing the prey was a way that of a cat who did not know the proper way to hunt, and he hoped Northwind hadn't seen. He heard quiet footsteps approaching and he turned towards where the sound was coming from. "C'mon slowpoke. I got here way before you got here!" he called a little more pleasantly than before through the rabbit in his mouth.

[LYNX ♥]

n o r t h w i n d - - - [ <3 ]

Through the thin, spread out spanse of tree and rock, Northwind's bright eyes could pick out sienna brown streaks here and there off in the distance. Most definately Reflectedpaw working on building up his ego. Shaking his head slowly, Northwind snorted, and sat on a rock, twisting his muscular body around to rasp his tougue over one of the long healed gashed that streaked over his left haunch, swelling up in the raw wind blustering through the territory. He heard Reflectedpaw's still-squeaky voice echo over the stone expanse in the form of an impactient yowl, and Northwind decided not to humor himself anymore, and turned into the direction of Soft Stones and his enemy's son. "Coming you little ruffian!" He yowled gruffly back, emeraging on the other side of the mossy meadow with a chuckle. "Excuse me, thoguht I'd take a stroll. Looks like you caught something." He pointed his nose towards the carcass dangling from the tabby's jaws, then his gaze flicked to the ground, soiled and bloody. "Good StarClan, boy! That'll never do. You know how you can smell that blood thick and fresh? Well, prey have noses too, and they smell that blood too. Probably more than you do. They eat seeds and leaves, which means the smell of blood frightens them." His gaze sharpened slightly. "And now there is no prey." Northwind shook his head, and looked away from his apprentice's piercing gaze. "Nevermind that. Let us train. Battle, yes?" The massive warrior drifted back a step, and his thick body slid into a crouch, but before his belly brushed the soft moss, he was flyign through the air, forelegs outstretched and toes spread, reaching for his opponent. He landed just before Reflectedpaw, whiskers brushing the apprentice's and eyes boring into the other tom's. Smoothing, his paw came up and knocked the fresh-kill out of his teeth. "Now what would you like to learn? Moves or basic tips?"

[lily ♫]

r e f l e c t e d p a w

Reflectedpaw jumped back after Northwind knocked the prey out of his mouth. His tongue flicked over his tooth that had been sharply pulled as his mentor had performed his actions. "Not even training yet, and you're hurting me!" his voice trilled, high and shrill. He barely heard what Northwind said after he had knocked the prey out of his mouth. "Moves. So I can kick your butt for hurting me already!" he squeaked, and then crouched down like his mentor just had been doing.

[LYNX ♥]

n o r t h w i n d - - - [ <3 ]

From deep in his throat he emitted a deep groan, pupils winding in a circle as he rolled his brilliant forest eyes, kneading the stone under the moss that his long claws had sliced through. Really? The big tough apprentice was whining because he had hurt his tooth? "Oh quit whining like a kit, Reflectedpaw!" Northwind snorted, eyes narrowed as he set to his paws, slowly trodding the soft, bumpy earth in a circle around the other tabby tom, his mind taking each Reflectedpaw's every feature. He was a scrawny one, for now at least. He'd fill out soon into a large tom, perhaps just a bit bigger than his mother, smaller than his father. Smaller than Northwind, but when he did grow into his full size, they would work on using size against the usually smaller rival clans. For now they would work on tossing off a larger opponent. This struck Northwind as a heavy challenge, for he had never had to deal with larger cats, or not for a long while. MaliceClan cats, of course, were larger, but he hadnt devised a style for beating them off, only wildly flailing until he scraped away flesh and felt blood. But that didnt work too well. "Hm." He mumbled, then stopped on his second revolution before Reflectedpaw, frowning. "Let me teach you a bit of basic moves against larger enemies first, then we can work out a couple moves." He decided, having thought of something. "If you're attacking a cat much bigger, such as me against yourself, then you'll want to go for their belly, seeing as you can reach it well. And some may see it as 'cheating' but using the tail against someone is a good way of fending off someone for survival, or at your age, just to get through a battle uninjured. Remember to be swift on your feet for now, because as you grow, you'll become extremely clumsy. Watch out for when you begin to grow, and let me know, so we can work on your grace and agility." He winked and went on, prodding Reflectedpaw's nimble legs. "For now, those stilts oughta do. Your claws arent yet grown, you still have kitten claws. But that isnt a bad thing. They may not be long, but they are extremely sharp. Prick their nose, their ears, and their toes. Make them dance, make them nervous, yes? You're getting this?" The massive warrior took several large steps backwards, and crouched, "You'll need to use what I tell you in your own way. I can teach you move and I can teach you what it's like to be in battle, but when you actually get to your first battle, you'll forget everything. So practise by yourself, bring denmates out to practice on. You gotta teach yourself, too." He mumbled, then wriggled his haunches. "Now let's try that out a couple times."

[lily ♫]

r e f l e c t e d p a w

His eyes wandered to where he had killed the rabbit, and it's spilt blood. Reminded of his mentor's earlier annoyance at the mess. His stomach growled a little, but not loud enough for his mentor to hear. He looked up, hurt, when his mentor told him to stop whining like a kit, and he felt ashamed that he had acted so kitish. The thought of being a kit reminded him of Abyssbird's pained yowls and cries, and he was thankful that Northwind had brought him out to train. He remembered the day he opened his eyes to see his mother for the first time. She had begun to cry after she had seen his eyes, and he hadn't known why at the time. He learned later that his eyes were exactly like his father's, and that they completed the image of him looking exactly like his deceased father. He shook his head and looked back up to his mentor as he started talking. He listened quietly and attentively. His small head nodded to his mentor, and he took a few mental notes on what Northwind was telling him. Swift and nimble attacks, claw the ears, nose, and toes. Make them dance! He let out a quick chuckle of amusement at the idea of making another cat dance, and then turned his attention back to the older tom. "Now let's try that a couple of times." Northwind's voice rumbled out to him as a closing sentence. The idea of actually doing what his mentor had just spoken about brought a nervous edge to his spirit, mind, and body. He nodded once more to his mentor, and then crouched down low. He quickly shot underneath Northwind, and clawed at his belly a little with sheathed claws. He then dove out from under the larger tom and shot for his paws. He smacked at his back paws, and then moved quickly back under the tom back up to his front, poking at his belly the whole time he was under. He jabbed a little at his front paws and waited until Northwind seemed at least a little distracted by his jabbing at his front paws, and then unsheathed his claws and jumped up a little swatting at his mentor's ears. He missed a few times, and ended up lightly clawing his back, not knowing if he drew blood or not. He jumped up once more, but he had jumped up in a strange way, and he landed awkwardly before falling onto his face and into a pile of fur and bones. "Did I do good?!" he mumbled through a mouthful of fur making it sound as if he was talking a foreign tongue that a badger or perhaps a fox would speak. He tried to stand up, but he fell back down onto his back and flailed his paws upward at his mentor. He laid there for a moment and calmed down a little. He rolled onto his side, and then rolled back onto his belly where he could easily stand up again. He stood up slowly, regaining his balance and attempting to still be graceful. He spat out a little tuft of fur and moss that he had pulled out of his chest and the ground before turning back to his mentor. "I did okay, didn't I? I didn't mean to hurt you if I did, and I kept my claws sheathed when I was attacking your paws and belly so I wouldn't cut you, but I couldn't resist from unsheathing them and clawing at your ears. Sorry I got your back a little Northwind, won't happen again. I like battle training, but now I'm a little hungry because I didn't eat before I left camp. Can I eat that rabbit I caught? I already hunted this morning so the Clan came first." the apprentice babbled on and on to his mentor, waiting to hear his approval or disapproval. The nervous edge he had had earlier before 'attacking' his mentor came back, and he forgot about his hunger due to the wave of sudden anxiety. He hoped he had done well, and that Northwind would be happy and proud that his apprentice was learning already. He also hoped that his mentor would allow him to eat his catch, and then they would continue with their simple battle training. Maybe they would move onto hunting training. Even if their was no prey out and about near SoftStones, Northwind could at least correct his Reflectedpaw's horribly mimicked attempt at the hunting crouch, and then they could go on a hunting patrol together. His green and blue eyes shimmered with his excitement over the whole ideal of apprenticeship, and he looked up hopefully into his mentor's much more wise eyes.

ooc: now that's literate.

[LYNX ♥]

n o r t h w i n d - - - [ <3 ]

His eyes flicked about, scanning over the other tom's familiar features, watching the gears turn in his mind and seeing him calculate every word. Poor thing. If only he knew what real battle was like. The thrill, the chaos, the screams and agony. Northwind didnt bother to shake his head sympathetically, for Reflectedpaw was already diving at him with dashes and bounds, using nimble leaps to get him closer to his 'prey'. He'd be a good hunter. The thought flashed through his mind quickly, then disappeared as Reflectedpaw was upon him, rather, beneath him, as Northwind felt thrashing paws at his gut, and sidestepped slowly, just enough to get away, but made no further offences, deciding to give his apprentice the chance to get a feel for a bigger cat. He leaped up like a noble rampant, rearing in battle, and twisted his whole frame around, to face the other direction, and kicked out at Reflectedpaw, feeling his hind paws cuff the small tabby at the maw. But this slight blow seemed to cease the young tom none, as he flew up and even before his paws made contact with Northwind's ears, the warrior's senses made it known to him that the apprentice had his claws out now. Game over. Feeling blood pulsing through his listeners, Northwind knew that Reflectedpaw had dragged his claws through them, and was already leaping for his back. A snarl ripped free of Northwind's throat as he spun, whipping Reflectedpaw to the ground, then slamming his paw into his side, claws still fully hidden, just hard enough to hear all of the air in the other tom's lungs rush out with a quiet whoosh! Northwind snorted and sat back.

'Did I do good? I did okay, didnt I?'
Reflectedpaw's eager words tempted a small smile to his face. This kid wasnt like his idiot father. Not yet, at least. Thank Lynxstar he never would be, due to Northwind's guidance. "Nah. You didnt do bad. Its your first training session, that wasnt bad. I dont blame you for clawing, you got excited, and that's ok." His face twisted slightly when he raised a paw to dab at his ear. "But next time I feel your claws, I'll make sure you go home with ten more bruises than you got now. Heck, that'll be a lucky chance, if I dont lose my temper and get out my little knifies." He chuckled and winked, then his face melted into a faint frown as Reflectedpaw seemed all ready to give up. "Oh ho ho! Dear apprentice we havent even made a dent in battle training, we're not going back t camp yet. I plan on teaching you until a couple of your limbs fall off!" His deep laugh boomed across the training grounds. "You can eat that, I'm gonna go catch something for myself."

The massive, lean tabby tom turned tail and trotted off in the direction of the treeline, and after that, the lake. Glancing around, he spotted a spindly web of string, and wound it around his paw, then each ear in turn. Satisfied with his handy-work, he continued on into he heard the faint rattling of snake nearby, and the whispering sound of it sliding over the rocks. Sliding into a smooth crouch, Northwind followed the snake until he saw it, and slithered along, much like his prey, then jumped, suddenly and speedily. One of his powerful forepaws slammed into the snake's skull while at the same time, his canine teeth dove into the writhing creature's neck, sucking in the blood that threatened to seep out to eliminate mess. Proud of his clean kill, Northwind turned from the rockslide and headed back towards where he knew Reflectedpaw lay, contently eating his rabbit-mess. Paws eating up the ground and snake dangling from his jaws, Northwind emerged into the mossy rockfield, and settled down beside his apprentice to knaw on the snake's skull, only slightly smashed.

[lily ♫]

WHOOP. SUCK TIME. MY LAST SUCKY POST. EVAR. SO LIKE. THROW A PARTAY. AND HAVE A HEARTAY. ATTACKLE. I TRIED TO WRITE IT LONG, BUT EVERYTIME THE WINDOW EITHER: A) LOCKED UP, B) CLOSED, OR C) KILLED ITSELF. SO YAH.

r e f l e c t e d in y o u

He padded over and picked up the rabbit, and made his way over to what looked like a nice place to eat. He made a small pile of moss for him to lie on while he ate. He made a larger pile for Northwind to lie on. He sat down and sunk his teeth ionto the rabbit and took a few more bites. He heard the quiet footsteps of Northwind coming, and he caught a strange scent about him. Perhaps his kill was an animal Reflectedpaw had never seen before. He quickly took one or two more bites before Northwind arrived at SoftStones. His blood ran cold as he saw what his mentor had caught: a snake. He shuddered, and he was glad he had already eaten enough of the rabbit to fill him up for his fear of the snake had taken any sign of hunger away. "You're going to eat THAT?!" he meowed in a tone of revulsion and fear as his mentor sat down beside him. His eyed were wide with fear, and he stood up and backed away a few steps.

[LYNX ♥]

n o r t h w i n d - - - [ <3 ]

From the top of his head, peridot-green lights twitched upwards, staring down the younger cat before him in utter disbelief at the appalled look he was recieving. Before he could calm his bubbling amusement, a thick, rough bout of laughter erupted from his maw as it cracked open, snake corpse falling onto his paws limply as his massive frame shook and wriggled as the humorous chuckles racked his lean body, watching the expressions of disgust and horror dance over Reflectedpaw's face just tickled him. But his claws ground into the moss, scraping over the stone beneath it and jarring his senses to force his nose shut, cutting off his air for a slight moment, throwing into a small coughing fit, quickly controlled by a hasty shake of his head. A straight face masked Northwind's amusement suddenly, his brilliant eyes locking onto Reflectedpaw's as his head sunk and his chin fur brushed the scales of the snake. "Watch. This." He winked, and snapped his strong jaws around the snake's slender tube-like body, shivering with delight as tangy blood spilled over his tougue and down his throat, moving his teeth to take a small piece of meat out of the inner-snake, and tossed it to his apprentice with a simple flick of his skull. "Once you get past the scales, it's very tasty. My favorite. That just goes to show was real toms eat. You know I had badger teeth for breakfast?" He chuckled softly and tore off his own bit of sinewy meat, and gulping it down. He soon had knawed out most of the inside of his catch, and rolled onto his side, proceeding to lazily chew on the spine, waiting for Reflectedpaw to finish his rabbit. Spitting out his snack for a second, Northwind spoke. "So. I bet you're pretty sleepy now, huh?" He purred. "Well, too bad. I've got a plan for waking you up. I thought of a good move for you while you're small while I was hunting. Finish up so we can test it out." He glanced over at the other tom, then bent his neck to pick up the bones once more.

[lily ♫]

r e f l e c t e d p a w

The little piece of snake meat his mentor threw at him hit him right on his nose, and he gagged. It fell to the ground, and he felt tainted. He looked back up at his mentor and back down at the prey. He picked it up in his front teeth and bit off barely enough to taste the meat. The taste of it was okay, and he took the rest of it in his mouth and swallowed. He looked up at his mentor with an indifferent look on his face. "It's okay.." he said, and then plopped back down beside his mentor. He finished off his rabbit, and then stood up to stretch. 'I bet you're pretty sleepy now.' he heard his mentor say. "I'm not sleepy. I'm ready to train some more!" he meowed, and then sat down and licked his front paw. "Or are you the one who's actually sleepy?" he mewed in a joking tone.

[leafy]

&& we live in a beautiful world, yeah we do, yeah we do

the battle with maliceclan was long gone but dustedrose would always remember it like it had just happened. the malignant faces, scorchedpetal, who wanted to kill her and northwind. she shivered just thinking about it. no, that was not what she should be thinking about. the reason dusty was coming here was because she figured this was where northwind, her mate, was at the moment and she had something very important to tell him. i can't believe i'm having kits! dustedrose those excitedly to herself, shivering from head to tail from excitement. she still didn't know exactly how she was to word it, but just had to tell him.

dustedrose sat at the edge of the clearing, watching northwind as he interacted with his apprentice. what a wonderful father he'll be. she thought as a slight smile worked its way onto her features. she blinked in surprise at herself. these past few moons had really put life into perspective to dustedrose, who used to be lostdesire. she had attempted to kill herself because her life was messed up and now was bearing northwind's kits. he had showed her who she really was and that was the beauty of it all.

[lily ♫]

r e f l e c t e d p a w

His ears picked up the softest little sound. The sound of a she-cats dainty paws. He picked up the sweet, alluring scent that she-cats gave off, and his eyes darted around him wildly. As Dustedrose emerged, he glared at her. She's going to distract Northwind from training! he though irritably. "Company." he grumbled, knowing that his mentor would have noticed sooner or later, or that the girl would call out. A silent growl rumbled in his throat, but he didn't dare say anything. He just stood their awkwardly, waiting for Northwind to go running to his lover.

He knew he wasn't hiding how he felt about the interruption very well, and he could feel his face twisting up in annoyance. He wondered if Northwind would go and talk all lovey dovey, and leave Reflectedpaw alone and abandoned. He even wondered if he would turn out like BUZZARDSPITE. The idea gave him the chills, and made him feel ill. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't exactly felt good for a few minutes. He wondered what was wrong, and he looked at Northwind with a plea in his eyes. Don't leave me here. his eyes begged, and he stared into his mentor's eyes for a few moments.

[LYNX ♥]

n o r t h w i n d - - - [ <3 ]

Drawing his tougue over the moss, lapping up the spilt blood, forest-hued lights danced as the warrior glanced up to find challenge sparking in his apprentice's eyes. "Sleepy? Hah!" He yowled, crunching down a hunk of snakeskin and gulping it loudly. "Remember what I said, little boy! Badger teeth for brekkie!" He leaped up, massive frame quivering with a loud bark that was his laugh. "Lets do this!" He yapped at the tabby tom, pumped and energized after his meal. Grinning, he flashed bright ivories, then twirled a circle around Reflectedpaw, sizing him up once more. "So, you wanna hear my move I've got planned? Hm? Well I was thinking-" His face creased in a frown as he raised his head from the crouching position he'd fallen into. "Dustedrose?" Northwind stood up tall and flared his nostrils, then her pretty, tinkling voice sounded in his pulsing ears. "Hey there, baby!" He purred, glancing at Reflectedpaw to see the pleading in his eyes. "Just give me a second, would you? This lazy bum doesnt get out of camp for nothing!" He snorted jokingly, flicking his apprentice over the nose, then turned to the tawny she-cat with a rough purr. "What's up?" He mewed, trotting towards her to dive into her ocean of sweet-smelling fur, burying his face and nipping lightly up her neck until he fully raised his head, lips brushing her ear as he breathed lightly, half holding his breath. "Kits?" He guessed easily, as the light, cozy scent of milk radiated from her graceful form. Sleeping curled next to her delicate body would be better then ever! He inwardly laughed, as the memories of the nursery shrouded him along with her mixed smell.

[leafy]

She noticed Reflectedpaw's obvious dismay and tried her best to not roll her eyes. He needs to get over it... Dustedrose thought with irritation, but keeping it strictly off her face and out of her eyes. Hopefully Northwind wouldn't notice but if he did he would understand. "Hey Northy!" Dustedrose purred, and made a face at his next comment, "Oh please.." She laughed lightly, the noise filling the air and seeming to make the vibe very cheerful. She closed her eyes as he trotted over, purring at the presence of her Northwind and she rested her head on him as he looked at her. As Dustedrose was about to answer his What's up?, he spoke instead. "How did you-Oh. Right." Of course! Northwind could smell her fur, "I sware, I can never keep anything from you!" She said with mock experation. Dustedrose sighed gleefully, twining her tail with his and burying her nose into his fur. How Dusty wanted this to last forever, but knew an impatient Reflectedpaw was waiting.

[MiNTY♥]

Radianteclipse took the lead with Serenewinter close behind, she soon reached the training area and her eyes widened as she saw a familiar tabby pelt and emerald green orbs, but no, it was not him, it was her son Reflectedpaw. She gulped and shook her head to clear it of thoughts. She padded over to him and touched her nose lightly to his ear and turned around to face Serenewinter. "You never met any of my kits, this is Reflectedpaw." She introduced him with a smile. Just in case she made the same mistake as she did thinking it was Emeraldfire. "Reflectedpaw this is my best friend, she left before you were born." She explained softly and flicked her son over the ear. "He had better be behaving himself Northwind." She teased and padded a few steps away. "Maybe you can teach both of us something new that you learned from those scum, though I heard they fight pretty dirty." No matter what she said the white she-cat expression did not change,rather it did not show anything, expressionless, thats what scared her the most.