sun it rises [wolfie]

[LYNX ♥]

he smiled a little bit to himself, looking around this wild and treacherous land, so alien and unforgiving. and yet, it was so new, so full of potential, so untamed and free. he and helped decide on this temporary home, and was extremely nervous about it of course, for would the blame be placed on him if something about this rocky terrain went horribly wrong? he could only hope it went okay, and even despite these slightly negative thoughts, and the light mist spiraling down from the sky on that dreary afternoon, his hopes were high. a brand new life sounded splendid- not that there was anything wrong with his old life, and in fact things already weren't looking too well for him as far as his love life, but he chose not to think about that at the moments. he was just doing the best he could to stay cheerful. after all, he had gone long enough neglecting the training of his apprentice, wolfpaw. of course, he had been busy with the honor of being one of tempestclan's scouts, and his young apprentice had to understand that, tidalhaunt was disappointed in himself for not making more time for the younger tabby cat.

making his mind up, and in that moment snapping out of his reverie, the black-and-white warrior stood abruptly and ducked inside of the cavern where cats were just waking up after the journey to this place. wolfpaw surely would still be tired, but it was high time he learn discipline anyway. not that he had misbehaved around his mentor yet, but they were still new with one another, and tidalhaunt thought a cat should be prepared no matter how tired they were. twitching his long, feathery black tail, the warrior looked about for the striped form of the younger cat, and found him immediately. he gently placed a forepaw on his apprentice's shoulder and shook lightly, hoping to wake the cat as pleasantly as he could. "wolfpaw, it's time for some training, wake up." his voice was quiet, but stern, and he left the cavern once more to allow wolfpaw to gather his bearings.

outside, he settled in the light rain and curled his tail around his paws, waiting for his apprentice to emerge.

[Wolfie]

The grey tabby apprentice was slowly creeping on a mouse in his slumber and just as he was about to pounce on it and catch it, a shake had awoken him. He faintly heard his mentors voice. "wolfpaw, it's time for some training, wake up."

The young tabby open his open green eye and his one sightless eye. He looked up and glared at his black and white mentor. He let out a grunt of annoyance of being woken from his slumber. He quickly gave his pelt a shake, before following his mentor out of the cave. For now this was his temporally home. He didn't like being away from his home, but he had no choice, but to come along. He let his tail drag against the ground. He padded up to his mentor and gave the tiniest of nods.

"Mornin," Wolfpaw grumbled. He sat down and wrapped his striped tail over his white paws. "Why are we up this early when we all just made a big journey from our homes?" Wolfpaw asked in annoyance at the fact he was exhausted and had to train still. "All the other apprentice are still asleep. It's not fair," He growled. He turned his face away from his mentor and uncurled his tail from his paws. He lashed it back and forth angrily. The more he though about it the angrier he got. He wanted to rest up. What did it matter anyways, he was just a worthless apprentice that only had one good eye. He couldn't even see danger from his right side.

[LYNX ♥]

the tom was pleased to see his apprentice so abruptly awake, rather than dawdling about like a fool. apprentices got lazy fast, he had once observed, and it had taught him to be cautious and forgiving with them. though tidalhaunt had not mentored many, he had trained enough to know the general nature of young cats, and he knew know to be lenient with them, especially in this clan. starclan only knew how snappish and disrespectful felines of tempestclan could so quickly become, especially the youth. he turned his head to face his company and greeted wolfpaw with a warm smile and a nod, "good morning wolfpaw, did you sleep well?" his salutation was returned with a rather groggy question, he thought, but he answered it as cheerfully as he could. "well for one thing, you're young! you should have plenty of energy but if you waste it sleeping around all the time, you'll only become more tired. I know you're probably aching from the walk, but we haven't trained in a long time." tidalhaunt meowed reasonable, ignoring wolfpaw's sour expression. at last he added sagely, "and a good warrior should be prepared for anything, regardless of the circumstances." the warrior's eyes were twinkling a bit, flicking an ear at wolfpaw's complaining. "hasn't anyone ever told you that life's not fair? if you keep complaining about fairness, you'll hear that an awful lot. and anyway, now you can just consider yourself one step ahead of those other apprentices."

motioning the brown tabby tom along behind him with a wave of his tail, the black-and-white cat began to pick his way gracefully down a trail of rocks, "careful, there's not much traction on this slate. actually, this journey is very good for you. all the cats of your age. most will never get another opportunity to see so much of the world. you'll make a very wise elder." tidalhaunt purred, moving slowly, and carefully, until he reached a more level trail. his paws made very little sound against the stone terrain as he kept his claws in, since they would make no difference anyway. he was happy to be somewhat familiar with the area as the first to have scouted it out, for it meant he already knew where he was headed, and there would be no getting lost in the twisting caves and mountainous chasms and the like. at last, he led wolfpaw to a flat stone area, where walls rose at a sharp angle all around them. the only way out was the way they came, which posed a bit of danger should an enemy trap them there, but was idea for training with moss growing there thanks to the copious amounts of shade. it was soft, cool, and dry. perhaps. tidalhaunt made a note to tell the other mentors about this place when they returned to the temporary camp. "listen, quit with the long face. we'll do some quick, brief battle tactics, scout out the land a little more and try and find some prey. then I'll drop you right off at camp in time for my sunhigh patrol and you can nap some more. sound good? now, battle training."

tidalhaunt took his position a few foxlenghts away from wolfpaw, and then turned to face the younger tom. "copy this pose, will you? we'll work on the very basics first, then modify them to suit you." he meowed reasonably, hoping not to sound too obvious when he meant his apprentice's half blindness. the long-haired fellow took a firm grip on the earth, balancing his weight between all four paws, and lowered his head slightly for the best vantage point. he made his spine rigid, ready to spring. expectantly, he looked at wolfpaw.

[Wolfie]

Wolfpaw let out a small growl at Tidalhaunt's hyperness and perkyness. He flickered his tail back and forth in annoyance. When he said to drop the long face, he looked up at his mentor and glared, but then dropped all emotions from his face. He might as well try and please his mentor.

"That sounds okay, I guess," Wolfpaw mumbled. He watched as his mentor backed away from him. He knew his mentor was about to teach him some moves. He knew Tidalhaunt was talking about his blind eye. He let it go, although it frustrated him. He held back his snarl at that.

Wolfpaw dug put all his weight almost equally on all four paws, he put more weight on his blind side. He lowed his head and made his spine rigged as well. He knew this move was gonna require him to pounce or jump or whatever his mentor wanted.

"Like this?" Wolfpaw mewed. He looked at his mentor with his one good eye, hoping to please someone for once. He wanted to get something right and now be so much of a burden to his clan. He never understood why they kept him.

[LYNX ♥]

he sent a speculative glance toward the much younger tom, almost quizzical. wolfpaw was so brooding, he thought, or that was his most prominent impression from the other cat anyway. whether it was true or not, only time could tell for tidalhaunt, but the black-and-white warrior wasn't one much for passing judgements anyhow, and thought it best left to more vindictive felines. so he dropped the speculations and instead focused on the lesson he was readying himself to teach, and how exactly to overcome wolfpaw's partial blindness. tidalhaunt had, in his days, known many a crippled warrior who could fight with the fury of starclan on their side and it was only a matter of teaching wolfpaw to be hyperaware of his vulnerabilities. however, the warrior wasn't concerned with this, but more the tactics with which he would instill confidence in the apprentice- for that was what he needed most. tidalhaunt was most cautious of how touchy wolfpaw would get about it, as anyone could see that having only one functioning eye was a weakness, and few were happy to own up to weaknesses. especially young cats.

tidalhaunt grunted, trying to keep a grin off his maw when he caught the younger casting him a faint, brief glare. he didn't mind, as long as wolfpaw stayed obedient since that was the most important quality in an apprentice to the tom. his teal-green eyes shone when the other cat mimicked his stance, and he nodded, relaxing in order to walk over to wolfpaw and evaluate the way he stood. nodding, tidalhaunt noted the slight shift toward his vulnerable side, and circled him completely without seeing any particular errors. after all, wolfpaw knew his own body better than his mentor could guess, and he knew what was comfortable. "this is basically your typical 'battle stance', interpret that how you will, but you'll find this is a pretty comfortable way to stand when confronted in order to be ready for anything. from this, you can spring," tidalhaunt fell into position once more, then made an example of leaping forth, forepaws outstretched threateningly, as if to tear into an opponent before him. he landed and swung around to face the direction he had just come from, and did the battle stance again. "or dodge," he let his body crumple to the ground as he rolled away from an invisible attacker, "it can even come in handy for stealth. the more evenly distributed your weight is, the less noise you'll make." he then demonstrated using the position to move forward slowly and steadily, his movements slow and precise. "practice this stance all the time, since it will be the most useful in any sort of conflict. why don't you give this a shot?"

tidalhaunt fell into position beside the brown tabby tom with smoothness that held countless moons of experience with it. it was natural for him, and he hoped that by constantly reminding wolfpaw of it, it would become just as natural to his student. he then leaped forward as he did before, showing wolfpaw how to spring with claws beared, slashing before tucking in and landing in the battle stance again, then rolled away, showing the dodge one more time, and when he had picked up his muscular, lean frame, he was again in that familiar position, sneaking forward like moments ago, when he was being stealthy. after a few silent steps with his weigh evenly distributed, he stopped and stood straight, then turned to look at wolfpaw, "can you manage that? let's practice it a few times. go ahead."

[Wolfie]

Wolfpaw watched as his mentor assessed his stance. He looked up at is mentor and searched his mentor face for disappointment or distaste, but found now. He let out a relieved sigh. He wasn't judging his skills like other cats do. He watched his mentor note his stance with him leaning to one side. He raised his self up quickly.

"I thought putting a little more weight on that side would be helpful. If I'm attacked from that side I would have more weight on that side," Wolfpaw mewed for once without a whine, complaint, or a mop in his voice. "That way it would be harder to knock me over."

Wolfpaw watched his mentor spring, dodge, and use stealth. He kept his one good eye on Tidalhaunt. He watched mentor repeat it again, all nice a smooth. He looked nervous when Tidalhaunt told him to try it. His ear flatten to his head and let out a small sigh. He lean go back down into the crouch and then sprung forward. He held out his beared claws, but when he landed, he landed on his front paws and tumbled forward. He let out a growl. He shook his head in anger and lashed out his tail in anger. He was angry and embarrassed. He turn and looked at his mentor with sorrow and disappointment glaze. "I'm no good at any of this! I'm useless, I can't even pounce at something without tripped up!"

Wolfpaw walked slowly back over to Tidalhaunt. He let out a sigh and quickly mewed, "I'm sorry you got such a worthless apprentice." He looked down at the ground and dug his claws into the ground in anger.

[LYNX ♥]

tidalhaunt grinned, pleased, and nodded vigorously. "I like that! that way if someone comes up and you can't see them they still have less of a chance knocking you off balance." he commented, though he felt a bit awkward still about the other tom's partial vision. "see, the problem wolfpaw, is that I have no idea what it's like to be unable to see out of both eyes. in that regard we'll just have to help each other. I still forget sometimes about it, but hopefully in time I'll start thinking naturally about it like you do, and it'll be easier to incoorperate it into basic moves. now go ahead."

wolfpaw prepared himself to obey his mentor's instructions and tidalhaunt himself sat, several paces away like a quiet shadow, with his feathery black tail wrapped firmly around his forepaws, placed close together. he wanted to be small, and watch wolfpaw train as an insect would- that way, the young cat wouldn't be so nervous, or frightened of messing it all up. tidalhaunt knew the feeling- everycat did, since there was no way to go through an apprenticeship without screwing something up surely at least once a day. it was a learning experience, but it was a bit mortifying sometimes, and the warrior always pitied his apprentices knowing that if he were in their place he'd rather not be watched. still, tactics had to be corrected, practice had to be encouraged, drills had to be taught. it was all just part of the warrior experience. still, he now sat as still as he could, hardly blinking with wolfpaw swooped forward but landed a bit too hard and took a tumble. "ahh," the black and white warrior meowed at once, moving to meet wolfpaw with a sharp nod, startled to see the tabby's reaction so vehement. he frowned disapprovingly, "now you cut that out, you have no reason to be upset and no reason to depreciate yourself like that. pick yourself up and listen to me, please." he meowed, his voice warm but stern. no, that sort of behavior simply would not do. he had a feeling that was just wolfpaw's way of dealing with things, though. "of course you're going to make mistakes, wolfpaw. you'll make so many you lose count, but hopefully you'll learn from them. did you expect to come out here and know it all? if you did, I wouldn't be very useful now would I?" he broke a smile and nodded again, "now, watch this."

he sidestepped and, all of the sudden, copied the very mistake that wolfpaw had made only moments ago. falling into the stance, he jumped forward and landed roughly, but instead of crumbling down, he rolled with the motion and with fluid ease, found himself on his paws again. "I just rolled. now's a good time to teach you. I want you to keep what I just did in mind- it'll be very useful as well. you saw- I just fell. but I fell well. use the momentum of your messed-up move or lack of balance and just roll with it. do whatever you can to get back on your paws without getting tangled up in your own fur." tidalhaunt purred, "we'll practice falling and tumbling more later. how about you try again. the stance, spring, stance, dodge, stance, sneak. it's going to take plenty of practice, of course, so you'd best get started." dipping his head, tidalhaunt retreated to his former place and sat tightly again, beckoning wolfpaw to have another go.

[Wolfie]

He let out a small smile at Tidalhaunt words. 'He was pleased' he thought about his eye in advance. He nodded his head. "Yes, Tidalhaunt." Wolfpaw nodded his head in agreement wit his mentors words.

Wolfpaw stood up after Tidalhaunt showed him how to fall. He gave another nod as in saying he understood. He tried not to let his fails get to him but it's kinda hard not to. He felt so useless. It as clear h was continually watched by his clanmates even some of them harassed him about it. He felt like a burden and a waste of tie to Tidalhaunt. He was a great cat and well respected by others, why did Wolfpaw get him and not some other apprentice.

Wolfpaw crouched down into the stance. He he slowly tightened his muscle and he prepared to spring again. This time he jumped he land and staggered a bit, but didn't use his balance. He let out a small hiss, but didn't stop the move. He crouched down ad then rolled to the side to dodge his attack. He rolled towards his blind. He landed that one perfectly. Then, as he did the stance again he crept forward, but he was keeping more weight on his blind side. He stood and looked at his mentor.

"I'm still not getting it right," He mummbled, "But I'll work on it!"

[LYNX ♥]

immediately, the tom was pleased and gratified to see wolfpaw's slight change in demeanor. what a relief! tidalhaunt flicked his tail patiently and dipped his head, signalling that he was ready to watch, and was happy to see the other tom taking his instructions in tow and really listening, perhaps really learning. from his previous attitude, the warrior thought wolfpaw might prove himself to be a continuous problem, but it made tidaulhaunt's heart glow to see the tabby pick himself up and give it another shot. this time, he did it well, and his mentor knew he would get it in time. he smiled serenely and dipped his head, trotting over to touch his nose to wolfpaw's, "good job wolfpaw, I'm sure you will, now that you've got the hang of it." the black and white tom mewed, curling and uncurling his tail in his contentment. "the movements should become fluid, and as natural as running or walking. however, when you were a tiny baby kit you weren't so hot at either of those things, I'm sure. it takes time and experience, both you'll have when you're ready to earn your warrior name. that's moons away though," he added with an almost sheepish smile, getting ahead of himself, "should we give it another go? one more, and then I'd like you to practice what's usually referred to as 'tuck-n-roll', or something along those times. in other words, falling well." he flicked his tail, "watch,"

like before, he fell into the crouch, and then sprung. unlike before, however, he did not look awkward at all, and this was on purpose. rather than mimicking wolfpaw's earlier mistake, tidalhaunt aimed to teach the other tom how to fall well in any situation. when his forepaws touched the ground where he leaped, the black and white tom rolled with it, tucking his body in, in order to perform something that looked a bit like a somersault, and ended up back in his paws, at the ready. turning back to face wolfpaw, he meowed, "it'll take much more time than the battle stance to perfect, and even more time before it becomes natural. this is because your body doesn't want you to fall, and rolling around isn't really natural for cats. however, you'll find it very useful when you get knocked off balance. it serves well as an evasive tactic. how about you try the battle stance practices once more, and then try tucking and rolling a few times? then we'll scout a bit and I'll drop you back at camp, just like I promised." flicking his long tail, the older tom disappeared into a corner to watch once more.

[Wolfie]

Wolfpaw nodded his head. He looked up at Tidalhaunt, he would not fail him. He was determined not to him. He didn't see him as a failure. He crouched down into the stance and sprung. This time the tom landed much more evenly then before, of course he was still a little better. He let out a small squeak of excitement. His ears shot up and look around n embrassment, hoping Tidalhaunt never that. Then, he quickly dropped into the crouch and rolled to his blind side again and sprung to his paws. He crouched down and and slowly crept forward. He kept more weight on his blind side. He didn't even notice this. He then, turned and face Tidalhaunt, before crouching again, but this time he made sure the spring made him fall. When he did he quickly rolled himself back onto his paws. It indeed did feel awkward to him, like his body couldn't roll like this.

He looked up at his mentor, hoping to please him. He sat down and wrapped his tail around his giant paws. "Was that better? What did I do wrong?" He asked.