Training Session

[Darke]

That sounds like a lot of practice... But it'll be worth it! Darkpaw imagined himself fighting in a glorious battle matching the strength and speed of Coilsnake's moves. Someday... he hoped. Darkpaw crouched again, spreading his weight out on his paws. He kept his ears pinned back, but lifted his tail to increase his balance. With a strong back kick from his back legs, Darkpaw soared through the air, and landed with much better balance then before. It was nothing compared to Coilsnake's pounce, but Darkpaw knew that with more practice it might be close, some day. I'm gonna practice everyday! he decided. "Coilsnake, you're the best mentor ever!" Darkpaw let out a loud purr.

[Brambleclaw]

Coilsnake turned and looked away in embarrassment. He probably wasn't the best mentor ever, but he was slowly changing. Coilsnake knew that he had remained a mystery to hide his secrets. Now he had let them be known to the whole Clan. And life was strange with no absolute need to hide. And Darkpaw was slowly helpind him overcome the quiet faze he had been before.

[Darke]

Darkpaw continued practicing his pounce, not noticing Coilsnake's embarrassment. He would do his best for Coilsnake and the rest of his Clan. Darkpaw's eyes picked up movement behind the bush. It doesn't smell like prey, or another cat... Oh, it's just a leaf! Darkpaw felt a little foolish, but he didn't let that hurt his practice. The leaf was floating around, caught in the breeze. Darkpaw snuck closer to the leaf, pretending it was an enemy warrior. He quietly bunched his back legs up and sprang, with his front paws spread in front of him. He clawed the leaf with a swift motion, and became distracted with pride Yes! Unfortunately, Darkpaw wasn't paying attention to landing and he ended up tumbling head over heels. Mousedung! He snuck a look up at Coilsnake, hoping his mentor hadn't seen his fall.

[Brambleclaw]

Coilsnake had luckily been looking out longingly at the open fields. However, he soon realized that he had heard something. He looked at his apprentice and saw the gla de Darkpaw gave him. Shaking his head in confusion, he tilted his head ever-so-slightly and frowned.
"What?"

[Darke]

"Nothing!" Darkpaw quickly meowed. Phew! "So," He said curiously, "What do I get to learn next?" Darkpaw began to bat at another leaf floating around, when he realized that Coilsnake was watching. Mousedung! I bet I looked as foolish as a kit! "Um, I was just... practicing my fighting moves?" Darkpaw smiled, trying to get away with his lack of maturity.

[Brambleclaw]

"How about we practice some hunting skills instead? Real stuff, I mean. We'll go hunting. I want you to catch as much as you can, at least two things. Report back to me here at Sunhigh." He said with a smile. He could use a nice walk, a nice hunt. And then he'd return and see how well his apprentice was doing. After all, he had to remember - Clan comes as much as an apprentice. So Darkpaw should help his Clan occasionally, too. It was only a piece of the Warrior Code. And maybe then they could have lunch.

[Darke]

Darkpaw was excited about this hunt. It would be the first time he had gone hunting on his own, and it felt to him as if Coilsnake had given him a very important mission. After all, the Clan needed to eat! "I'll do my best!" Darkpaw took off through the bushes trying to be as silent as he could as he searched for prey. He spotted a frog hopping near a small stream. Like Darkpaw, he was looking for food too; the only difference was that the frog wasn't trying to catch Darkpaw. He maneuvered himself so that he was downwind from the frog and slowly crept forward. He strayed closer and closer to the frog, being as silent as he could. Darkpaw leaped onto the muddy bank, and quickly grabbed the frog with a swift bite to the neck. A good, clean kill! That's a good start... Darkpaw padded back onto the grass, and quickly buried his prey. Now if only I can catch something else that quickly! Darkpaw continued along the shore hoping to find some more prey. He hoped to impress Coilsnake with his hunting skills because he knew that hunting was a very important part of becoming a successful warrior.

[Brambleclaw]

Coilsnake trotted easily through the marshes. He caught two voles, an old toad and a strange-looking bird he hadn't recognized. Around its foot was a yellow band of soft rock with strange black marks, and smelled faintly of twolegs. He shrugged and made quick work of burying the prey in various odd locations. Then he continued well into ShadowClan territory. It was there he soon found the border, the places that were technically ShadowClan territory but were always forgotten about. He walked a ways into that land and soon found a charred oak. All that remained was the stump, but the front half was missing. Because of this, it made a large needle up into the sky. The hollow inside was a soft spot to rest awhile, and Coilsnake stared out at the marsh and emptiness in sad longing.

[Darke]

Darkpaw trotted through the forest silently, glad for the carpet of needles on the ground that cushioned the impact of his paws and allowed him to make less noise. He saw a vole picking at something on the ground. Balancing his weight evenly, he lowered his head, and snuck closer toward the prey. He made pounced on the vole and finished it off with a quick bite to the neck, burried it and continued on his search for prey. He trotted along happily, scenting the air for more prey until he came to a part of ShadowClan territory that wasn't visited often. Darkpaw could tell immediately that there was no prey here, but there was a cat... Coilsnake? He snuck back into the bushes and looked back at Coilsnake. He looks so sad... Darkpaw was tempted to walk up and ask him what was wrong, but he guessed that he would hear Coilsnake tell him 'Not for apprentice ears...' Which was making Darkpaw wonder, Are my ears going to change when I become a warrior, or something? He walked along distracted and practically tripped over a toad, finishing it off quickly and burrying it.

[Brambleclaw]

Coilsnake scented Darkpaw and sighed.
"You given up already? Was the task too hard?" He teased, hoping his apprentice would object and leave. He didn't need any cat to pry into his personal life. Right now, that was a wreck. But it was all he had left.

[Darke]

Darkpaw heard Coilsnake taunt him. "No way! I'm gonna be the best hunter in the whole Clan, you just wait and see!" Darkpaw shot off and continued his search for prey. I wonder if he said that to purposefully make me go away? Darkpaw wished that there was something that he could do for his mentor, but he knew that asking questions and prying would be disrespectful and the last thing he wanted right now was a fight with his mentor. Darkpaw trotted quietly underneath the large pines and stopped for a moment to lick out a pine needle that had gotten stuck in his pad. He heard an odd slithering sound and whipped around, trying to find what was making the noise. He spotted something slithering through the undergrowth. Snake! His first instinct was to run, But what if I caught it? Coilsnake would be so impressed. He padded quietly after it, having some troubles slipping through the small spaces that the snake could fit through. This is one thing apprentices can do that warriors can't! He thought as he wriggled through the small spaces. Soon he realized that he had lost the snake and was quite turned around. He slowly made his way back to a more open path. The sun beat down on his dark coat. Darkpaw looked up and realized that the sun was gradually climbing higher and higher into the sky. Mousedung! I shouldn't have wasted all of that time chasing the snake... He quickly spotted a shrew and pounced, finishing it off. Satisfied with his hunt, he decided to try and catch one more thing before meeting back up with Coilsnake.

[Brambleclaw]

Coilsnake dragged his several pieces of prey back to the clearing to wait for his apprentice. It was almost time for Darkpaw to be back, and he needed to have enough to rival his apprentice. After all, Darkpaw was a promising hunter. ShadowClan would be eating very good that night.

[Darke]

Darkpaw pranced through the forest with an air of confidence. He had hunted well that day, and was quite please with himself. He spent some time looking for all of his prey and when he had gathered it all he was quite satisfied. A frog, vole, toad and shrew! Darkpaw hoped that this would impress Coilsnake. He carried his prey to the clearing where Coilsnake was waiting patiently. Darkpaw looked up to the sky to make sure he wasn't late. Just on time! He glanced down at Coilsnake's catch and noticed that Coilsnake would be adding more freshkill to the pile than himself, but Darkpaw was still proud of himself. "Hi Coilsnake!" He waited for Coilsnake to comment on his catch.

[Brambleclaw]

"Nice catch. This is good for Newleaf. It only gets better." Coilsnake said with a friendly smile and a nod. He picked up his prey and trotted away, heading for camp. The Clan would eat well that night, every apprentice seemed to be out hunting. It would be great relief from the frigid cold and surprising heat. The seasons had balanced out and now all seemed to be ding very well. It was sweet relief from the painful previous weather. But the warmth had yet to bring rain. That would've been so perfect.

[Darke]

"Thanks!" Darkpaw was pleased with Coilsnake's praise. He followed his mentor back to the camp, looking forward to the bragging rights he had earned through his successful hunt. I wonder if the other apprentices did this good... He hoped they did, for the sake of the Clan.

OOK: sorry 'bout the short post

[Brambleclaw]

[[We done here for now?]]

[Darke]

OOC: Ok, sure

[Spottedleaf ~Dapps]

[[Locking!]]