one step at a time } training thread !

[x - - glass w i s h]

The sun filtered down from the leafy canopy in glowing shafts, illuminating patches of the floor. Prey was abundant, and Whitepaw could hear the scuttling near tree roots and in the branches of the oak trees above her. It was such a nice day. The small white she-cat padded along the well-worn path, enjoying the warmth of the sun. She had training today, and though she didn't know if it was hunting or fighting, or some other variation, she was to meet her mentor, Crowdancer, at the sandy hollow. It was the place where cats usually trained in battle techniques, but, she assumed, Crowdancer could also send her off hunting from there.

Honestly, Whitepaw hoped that her mentor had hunting planned for today. Although she knew that claws were kept sheathed during battle practice, she still didn't particularly enjoy it. Yes, she knew that every cat needed to know how to defend themselves, but what she really had a problem with was the idea of attacking and injuring, or, StarClan forbid, killing, another cat. Some of her clanmates might call her scared, but it wasn't because she was afraid of getting hurt. It was more that Whitepaw was afraid of hurting another cat. She preferred to dart around in the battlefield to confuse her opponent.

In that aspect, Whitepaw excelled. She was an extremely fast runner for her age, and used her speed to her advantage. This meant that she could dodge blows more easily, her small size helped as well, and hunt. Though she didn't think so, she was actually a very good hunter. Her speed made it easier to catch prey, and she was observant. In all honesty, she would take hunting over fighting any day. Although she knew, somewhere, that she did need to learn how to fight, she had a mental block about it.

Whitepaw was sure that her mentor, Crowdancer, knew about her reluctance to fight. After all, this wasn't their first training session. However, whether or not Crowdancer had her fight or not, she didn't know. Part of her wanted to get over her fear, but part of her just wanted to not fight, period. Whitepaw was approaching the sandy hollow now, and the ground beneath her paws was shifting from grass to sand. The sand felt good on her paws.

Whitepaw entered the training hollow and called tentitively, "H-hello? Crowdancer?"

[{ Warzie }]

It was the perfect day for training. The sun was shining brightly through the leaves, causing dapples of light to dance across the forest floor. Times were good for ThunderClan, with plenty of prey and no troubles from the other clans. A dark thick coated tom padded silently through the undergrowth until he reached the sandy hollow. It was empty, which he expected. His apprentice should be getting here any moment though. He continued in, his large paws making soft thuds in the sand. He made it to the middle, and sat down, wrapping his furry tail around his paws. His cold ice blue eyes scanned the surrounding forest, his ears pricked and listening for any movement. He could hear prey scuttling around, looking for food. And the frequent bird song from above. He was quite hungry, but he would have time to hunt later.

He decided today would be a good day for hunting training. He had noticed Whitepaw wasn't that into battle training. She seemed almost afraid of it, as if she would hurt him. He knew it was his duty to get her over that fear, but today he decided to give her a break. She was an excellent hunter and it wouldn't hurt for to build on her technique more. She was his first apprentice, and he wanted to make sure she turned into a fine warrior. He still had alot of work to do before that day came though.

His eyes refocused as he heard someone close by. He parted his mouth slightly and inhaled the scents around him. He smiled as he recognized Whitepaw's scent. She was early today, but that was great. He stayed completly silent as he heard her get closer and closer until he spotted her on the edge of the clearing. She looked slightly nervous as she entered and called out his name.

"I'm here, young one." He said in his deep voice. He stayed still until she was closer to him. Crowdancer stood up, shaking the sand from his thick coat. He circled his apprentice slowly before speaking. "Today we'll be doing something I'm sure you'll enjoy," he stopped circling her and sat before her. "Hunting training," he grinned as he saw her eyes light up. "I want you to go anywhere in the territory you like. I'll give you until sunhigh to catch as much prey as possible." His cold eyes watched her, and he gave her a moment to let all the information sink in. "Now go, and remember, I'll be watching."

[x - - glass w i s h]

Whitepaw glanced around the training hollow for Crowdancer until she heard him say, "I'm here, young one." The ThunderClan apprentice turned towards his voice and saw her mentor. She quickly padded over to him and waited as he began to circle her. "Today we'll be doing something I'm sure you'll enjoy." He announced as he sat before her. Whitepaw looked quizzically at her mentor, but her unspoken question was answered soon there after. "Hunting training." Whitepaw couldn't help but feel relieved. She was sure that he could tell by the grin he wore.

"I want you to go anywhere in the territory you like. I'll give you until sunhigh to catch as much prey as possible." Crowdancer gave Whitepaw a minute to think. She was excited, and eager to do well. Her mentor's cold gaze rested upon her, but she didn't mind. "Now go, and remember, I'll be watching." Whitepaw nodded, then turned and trotted out of the hollow. Whitepaw thought about where she was going to go for a moment before deciding she would head into the forest.

Whitepaw walked for a little while before stopping. She opened her mouth to take in scents. A mouse was nearby! She dropped into a hunter's crouch and stepped very lightly so the mouse could not feel the vibrations of her pawsteps. When she was a tail length away, she darted forward, catching the mouse under her paw. With a quick bite to the throat, she killed it. Silently thanking StarClan for the prey, Whitepaw burried the mouse to reclaim it later.

Only a few steps away, a little sparrow hopped about. Carefully, Whitepaw crouched and stalked forward on light paws. Then, she ran forward, pinning the bird under her claws. She disposed of it and burried it. She went on in the same manner for two more mice, though she missed a squirrel earlier. As she killed her fourth mouse, she looked up into the sky. It was nearly sun high.

The white she-cat continued onward, alert for any movement. Suddenly, she stopped. From behind her bush, a long feather of a tail was visible. She could hear the pecking. Curious, Whitepaw carefully looked around the bush. A roundish bird with many colors stood oblivious to her presence. 'It must be a pheasant,' she thought. Slowly, she approached the bird. Unfortunately, she was upwind and it noticed her. The phesant took off running, quite fast, actually.

Whitepaw dashed after her prey and caught up to it in a matter of heartbeats. The bird began to take off, and Whitepaw hissed softly. She bounded up a nearby tree while it was attempting to take off. It got into the air. She only had one chance at this. Whitepaw crouched on a lower branch, then sprang into the air, catching the pheasant with her claws. Bird over cat, they tumbled down until they hit the ground. Winded, Whitepaw sat up. Luckily, her paw had the bird's wing pinned. She ended it's life with a quick bite to the neck and smiled. It was hard earned prey, but victory was hers.

It was about sun high. Whitepaw glanced around for Crowdancer, the pheasant hanging limply in her jaws.

[{ Warzie }]

The dark tom watched silently as his apprentice dissapeared into the forest. She seemed excited for training today, and that was a good thing. He just hoped she could stay focused. He gave her a few moments to get ahead. Silently, he yawned, his white fangs shining in the early light. He stood up slowly and stretched his front paws forward, his whole back arching up in the air. After shaking his thick pelt, he started to exit the sandy hollow. He could follow Whitepaw's scent easily, but he had to keep quiet. He didn't want to alert her where he was, or scare off any prey that she might catch. Using his best stalking techniques he began to pad silently into the forest. It didn't take long for him to spot his apprentice, and he smiled as he caught her just in time to see her kill a mouse. He grinned, and continued to follow her. He began to make a path to the left, then circling around slowly. He wanted to keep an eye on her, but not be directly behind.

Her stalking was quite good, though she put too much pressure on her front paws. He'd have to teach her how to be just a bit more light on her feet. Though she was doing excellent right now. The scent of a sparrow reached him just as Whitepaw spotted it. His cold eyes were amused as he watched her crouch down and speed forward, killing the bird quite quickly. He looked up, it was nearly sunhigh. She had about enough time to catch one more thing. He stayed quiet, following her more closely now. He nearly ran into a phesant, but froze and hid behind a bush, luckily not alerting the bird, or Whitepaw that he was there. He peered out of the bush, watching the bird looking for food. He noticed Whitepaw stalking close by. She was really focused. Phesants were very quick though, he doubted she would be able to catch it.

Suddenly she took off, going in for the kill. The bird noticed her at the last second and began to take off. 'Better luck next time' Crowdancer thought as he saw the bird start to fly away. To his amazement Whitepaw didn't give up. She climbed the nearby tree, up to a low branch. With a mighty leap she caught the phesant in mid-air and brought it down to the ground. His ice blue hues opened in shock as she gave the final blow. The sun was shining brightly and Whitepaw seemed to realize that. She lifted her head, the bird hanging from her jaw.

Crowdancer padded quietly out of the bush and into her view. He smiled and nodded his head in approval. "Very good, Whitepaw!" His voice was full of praise and happiness, which was rare for him. "You surprised me with that last one, I thought it was gone for sure," He chuckled and waved his tail at her. "Come on, let's collect what you caught and take it back to camp." He began to walk away, and looked over his shoulder. "Tomorrow, we'll be doing some battle training."