~Listen to Teacher~ ((Mountainfang & Autumnpaw))

[Shadow]

ooc:// Open to any other mentor/apprentice pairs

Thread starts in camp but will move to the forest.. okay if I keep it here for the whole Roleplay?

ic://

Autumnpaw woke to the sound of drizzling rain. She cracked her eyes open slightly, stretching the length of her spine as she took in her surroundings. Still somewhat groggy, she blinked in surprise as a rain drop seeped through the den ceiling and plopped itself on her nose. She gasped quietly, scrambling to her feet and fluffing up her pelt.

It was raining, all right, but not too heavily. Autumnpaw glanced around the apprentices den, glad that she had not woken anyone up with her unneeded overreaction. Mountainfang had promised her her first training session today, and he didn't seem the kind of cat that would postpone it just because of a little rain. Still, she sighed sadly, glazed over eyes looking out at the dreary clearing.

"Good morning, sunshine," came a quiet voice, and Autumnpaw looked down to see Crimson slithering up to her. She scolded herself once again for forgetting that he was there. When was she ever going to remember that she had a companion now, a lifelong friend who she needed to take care of?

"Hi, Crimson," she greeted him in a whisper, lowering her body so that he could climb up to sit atop her shoulder. "Do you remember.."

"Yeah, we're going training today!" the small snake finished for her. "I can't wait to see what Sasori will teach me."

The little she-cat smiled at his enthusiasm. "You don't think that they'll hold it off because of the rain, do you?" she asked.

Crimson snorted. "Nah, I don't think so," he said, not hesitating. "But we should go see if they're up yet."

Autumnpaw nodded before padding outside. It wasn't that wet out, but some scents were partly smothered by rain's cool smell. She scanned the clearing and smiled when she spotted Mountainfang sitting under a nearby tree. "Morning, Mountainfang, Sasori!" she spoke up, making her way towards them. She could just make out the small scorpion's shape nestled in his fur. "We still get to train today, right? I'm so excited! I mean, when I was in ValleyClan, I never got the chance to go training with my mentor.. so this is still my first time!" She forced herself to stop talking, and sat down in front of her mentor, smiling shyly up at him. Crimson lifted his head too, his tongue flicking in and out as he took in both of their scents.

[Z]

((I don't really know if she needs to learn the boundaries or not... so... I'm just kinda... ... yeah... skipping it for now.))

Mountainfang jumped at his apprentice's sudden appearance, and, rather, hyperactive manner. "Of course we're still going..." he mewed awkwardly. "It's just a bit of water." His tail flicked back and forth, almost seeming to have a mind of it's own dodging the water drops that dripped off of the trees. He still wondered how the apprentice had so much energy on such a groggy day, but he wasn't complaining... Something needed to keep the day interesting.

Sasori glanced up at the small snake and just curled and uncurled her tail in a short greeting. She knew she really should have said something, but she didn't have the /energy/ to do anything. She let out a short sigh, and stood to climb from between Mountainfang's shoulder onto the top of his head.

Mountainfang glanced up to see the tips of Sasori's claws come into view, and was releived she was actually moving today... He turned back to Autumnpaw. "Well, what do you want to learn first, hunting, or fighting?" He asked suddenly. He never had an apprentice before, so it was a little strange for him... He didn't really know what exactly to do, except what his mentor had taught him... What was it that he taught him...? Mountainfang tried to think about the different skills his mentor taught him... But they all came so naturally to him, he didn't know how to teach another cat...

((Sorry for a rushed post... I have to go to guitar lessons.))

[Shadow]

((ooc:// Well, she's never been in the forest of HorizonClan in her life before, so she probably needs to learn the boundaries more than any cat. XD But we can do that later.))

Autumnpaw tipped her head slightly to the side, listening to Mountainfang. She hoped she wasn't bothering him... or scaring him... or whatever it was she was doing that was making him act sort of funny. She remembered her mentor in ValleyClan. He had been as energetic as she, but Mountainfang's calmness wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. He could probably teach her important things in silence and patience.

She jolted herself out of her daydreaming and blinked as Sasori climbed onto Mountainfang's head. She couldn't suppress a small giggle, but it was so quiet only Crimson could pick it up. "She looks so at home there," she whispered to him. "Are you... are you comfortable on my shoulder?"

The little snake nodded. "I bet we'll find all sorts of ways for me to sit on you soon," he laughed. "But here's fine for now." He shifted, pressing himself tighter against Autumnpaw to hold on.

The she-cat was looking back up towards her mentor. "Hunting or fighting, hunting or fighting..." she pondered, eyes gazing far off at nothing in particular. "Hunting would be really cool to learn, and I could help the Clan sooner by bringing fresh kill... but if we're attacked, I should know how to defend myself.. and Crimson.."

"Don't worry about me," Crimson spoke up from her shoulder. "I don't think that any cat will be brave enough to try and touch me, anyways." As if to prove it, his bright scales shone in the muted light.

"Let's do hunting, then!" Autumnpaw decided. "Are there... are there any rabbits here, do you know? I love running, and I'd like to try to catch one..." she trailed off.

[Z]

Mountainfang grinned a little as the apprentice debated back and forth with herself and a bit with her companion. When she finally decided, he nodded, making sure not to tip Sasori over. "Then we'll hunt... Yes, there are some rabbits around here," he meowed. "Along with mice and other animals." He bit his lip awkwardly; he really wasn't into talking. He finally stood up and jestured with his tail towards the camp entrance. "Let's head out... I can show you some of the boundaries while we're out there."

He padded towards the camp entrance, his fur was already getting damp from the light rain, and he felt Sasori twitch when a rather large raindrop landed right on her. He led Autumnpaw into the forest, making sure to step lightly to listen for prey. Finally, he stopped.

"Okay," he sighed, turning to her. He has his ears pricked while he sat down. "There is prey around here," he mewed quietly. "Can you tell what is is, even in the rain? It is harder to tell the difference between preys in the musty rain..." He sat down quietly to let the apprentice try to figure it out on her own.

[Shadow]

With an excited little squeak, Autumnpaw eagerly followed her mentor out of camp. She flicked her tail energetically back and forth, taking a huge sniff through her nostrils and smiling as the damp droplets seeped in through her sick coat and the undersides of her feet. Though it could be annoying at some times, Autumnpaw loved the rain. There was a certain feeling to it that made her feel like she could catch any prey, run any distance, defeat any enemy. "I hope I don't ever mess up the boundaries around here," she had told Mountainfang. "I don't want to be embarrassed.. or attacked by rogues or loners."

But with a shake of her head, she had put her thoughts aside. She sat down beside Mountainfang and Sasori, pricking her ears and taking another big sniff through her nose, this time opening her mouth as well. She would have thought that the rain would add a certain sharpness to smells, but it seemed to only take it away. "It smells like a rabbit and a squirrel," she mewed, confused. She sat silently for a few moments. "But the rabbit smell is staler, and it just... stops."

Crimson lifted his head. "Does that mean that another cat killed the rabbit earlier, and now it's not there?" he asked.

Autumnpaw nodded. That sounded right. She smiled slightly, glad that her companion was learning with her.

[Z]

Mountainfang nodded. "Good," he meowed. "Either the rabbit was caught earlier by another cat, or it may have had a den here and moved out..." He heard Sasori click her claws in a small agreement movement, though she still said nothing. "Alright, as for the squirrel," he continued, pricking one of his ears in the direction the squirrel was. "Squirrels, you have to be extremely light on your paws and make no sounds. Stay in a low hunters crouch, like this." He demonstrated how to crouch down low on his paws with his tail just barely lifted to keep his balance.

Sasori continued to shift her balance on Mountainfang's head to keep herself steady. "You must move with your warrior..." she said quietly.

Mountainfang froze and looked at the tips of Sasori's claws with his jaw dropped. She talked! He stood frozen for a moment before eventually turning back to Autumnpaw with a slight dazed look. He stalked forwards a couple of steps without a sound. "O-once you get close enough to pounce, you have to get squirrels the first shot or they'll run away faster than you can catch them." He finished quickly, falling back into a sitting position. "Now you try," he mewed, still slightly dazed.

[Shadow]

Crimson blinked. Why did Mountainfang seem so surprised that Sasori had taught something to them? Wasn't that what they were supposed to do- both teach together? Crimson didn't know. This whole "life" concept was fairly new to him, he didn't even remember being in existence before he met Autumnpaw. He sighed, confused, and turned his attention back to the real world.

Autumnpaw was concentrating hard, for once not making a sound as her mentor talked. She nodded to show that she understood. "Is this right?" she asked in a whisper, dropping down to copy Mountainfang's pose. She was concentrating so hard, she didn't notice her tail flicking back and forth against the leaves. "What's that noi-" she started to mew irritably, then realized it was her doing. "Oh. Sorry." Clamping her mouth shut, she stilled her tail so that it hovered over the dry leaves.

She took yet another deep breath, trying to pinpoint exactly where the squirrel was. Her amber eyes flitted back and forth as she tried to spot it, a flick of movement or a spot of color- anything that would alert her to her prey.

Crimson followed Sasori's advice and stretched out, melding himself into the same shape as Autumnpaw's shoulder. He was looking, too. There, he thought as something moved in the distance. I think that's it. Silently he pressed the tip of his tail into Autumnpaw's shoulder and inclined his head.

The little she cat followed his gaze, and then the movement came again. That has to be it, she thought. Thank goodness for Crimson. She slowly looked up at Mountainfang, waiting for his approval.

[Z]

Mountainfang noticed the slight movement that Crimson had made, and a small grin appeared on his face. "I'm glad you two can communicate silently and work together," he meowed quietly. "It is a skill that will help you out greatly in the future." He glanced at Sasori's claws again. "But then again..." he continued, "You will also need to learn to pick details out on your own, in case you two are separated in any way..."

He glanced at the squirrel, nibbling on a small nut a short ways away, and nodded. "Remember, silent steps, keep yourself low." He scooted over a few mouselengths so he could keep an eye on Autumnpaw's movements to help her out with any mistakes she was making.

[Shadow]

Autumnpaw nodded, moving forward very slowly. She concentrated hard on letting her paws down gently, watching out for any twigs that would betray her presence to the squirrel. Closer and closer she stalked it, her pawsteps getting a little faster without her noticing. Suddenly a twig snapped slightly, and the squirrel's head shot up.

Autumnpaw froze, her amber eyes locked on it from her hidden position. Her breaths were slow and shallow, and she felt Crimson tense next to her. She glanced at Mountainfang quickly, but the squirrel started to move away. No! She couldn't lose it! On a split second decision she sprang out of her crouch, paws reaching out in front of her. The squirrel turned and ran, and Autumnpaw pushed her back paws hard off the forest floor as she sprung into a chase.

"Whoa!" Crimson completely lost his balance at the apprentice's sudden take off and slipped off Autumnpaw's shoulder, landing with a thump in the leaves.

Autumnpaw had quickly caught the squirrel and ended its life with a quick bite to the neck. She was about to turn to Mountainfang to ask for instruction on what to do with her prey when she realized that her companion was not on her shoulder anymore. "Crimson!" she gasped, turning and trotting back to where she'd been stalking. "I'm so sorry! I should have told you, given you some warning.. are you okay? I'm so sorry!" She apologized profusely, leaning down so that Crimson could once again climb onto her back.

She glanced up at Mountainfang and Sasori, ashamed. Now she had dropped her companion, killed her prey the wrong way, and left it without doing anything. Wasn't she supposed to thank StarClan for it or something? "I.. I'm sorry," she whispered, hanging her head.

[Z]

Mountainfang felt Sasori click her claws in slight amusment as the apprentice stumbled about and managed to catch the squirrel, but lost her companion in the whole situation.

Mountainfang sighed. "Well... you caught it..." he looked at the small bright side. "As for the way of catching it..." he hesitated, trying to think of the words carefully as to not offend the apprentice. "You have to watch your prey, while watching the ground in front of you..." he meowed quietly. "As you can see, prey have a very acute sense of hearing... and even if you shuffle a little bit they'll turn and run."

Sasori nodded her small head, agreeing.

Mountainfang watched as Crimson climbed back onto Autumnpaw's shoulders. "You did good with the hunter's crouch, except not watching your step," he finished that subject rather suddenly. "Along with that, you must keep your companion on your mind..." he mewed. "There are many things you must focus on all at once... And if you lose sight of one, it may throw off your entire catch... and that goes for anything, really."

He stood and padded toward Autumnpaw, and paused, but stepped past her to pick up the dead squirrel that she left laying on the wet ground. He padded back and dropped it at her paws, then sat down calmly in front of her. "Don't be ashamed of yourself, Autumnpaw..." he whispered. "Just thank StarClan for the prey they let you catch, and try to do better next time." He nudged it towards her another mouselength toward her, then mewed quietly, "It was good for your first catch."

[Shadow]

((ooc:// My cat is walking around the house, holding a giant stuffed mousey-thing and meowing at the top of her lungs. It's hilarious. XD))

ic://

Autumnpaw nodded after each bit of information, doing her best to store it away in her mind. She could tell Crimson was starting to have a hard time keeping up, he was shifting around a bit on her shoulder. She rolled her head slightly into a more comfortable position, trying to soothe him.

"We'll practice, I'm sure we can get better," Crimson said softly, surprising Autumnpaw. He sounded very confident, and that gave Autumnpaw the bravery to look up as her mentor padded towards her and laid the squirrel in front of her.

She suddenly felt her throat tighten up, and she nodded again. She was so lucky- for everything. A supporting mentor, another chance at Clan life, a companion... she shouldn't be disappointed. Sitting up straighter, she held her head high and let a small smile lift the corners of her mouth. "Thank you, StarClan, for letting me catch this squirrel on my first try," she whispered, closing her eyes quickly. She opened them and looked at Mountainfang.

"Thank you, too," she meowed, louder. "For everything." She awkwardly buried her squirrel for later, taking note in her mind where it was so she could pick it up before they returned to camp. "What should we do now?"

[Z]

((My cat does that ALL OF THE TIME... But only when she can't find a person.. We look over the arm of the chair and she'll stare at us like a deer in headlights for a moment before dropping the toy and waddling away...))

Mountainfang felt a twinge of proudness come off of himself. His first apprentice.. on their first practice was already thinking him for everything he's done... He felt Sasori shift on his head; she had obviously felt the emotion flash off of him.

When Autumnpaw asked him the question, he suddenly snapped back to reality. "Uhmm..." He suddenly felt stupid, feeling proud and all when he was still a clueless rookie mentor. "I-I guess I could show you the clan boarders... and if we catch scent of something I can teach you how to catch that... Does that sound okay...?" he asked awkwardly.

[Shadow]

((XD Sounds EXACTLY like my kitty.. why do they DO that?))

"Sounds great!" Autumnpaw mewed cheerfully, her disappointment over the squirrel already forgotten. "Err... are we going far.. should I leave the squirrel here, or take it with me?" she asked, her gaze shifting quickly from prey to mentor, back and forth. She jumped up and padded around quickly, her energy making her movements quick and spastic.

Crimson curled himself tightly around Autumnpaw to keep himself from falling off again. "Sasori?" he called quietly. "How do you stay on when they move so fast?" She, of course, had legs, unlike him, but she was small, and he hoped that she had experience with these sorts of problems. His muscles were already starting to ache, and he didn't want to fall off the excitable little apprentice again. That was just plain embarrassing.

"Oops, sorry Crimson!" Autumnpaw squeaked, slowing down to a walk. She craned her neck to make sure her companion was okay before speaking again. "I hope I don't ever mess up with the borders. I don't want to make rogues or loners hostile with HorizonClan.. that would be horrible.. and my nose was never that good. What if I can't tell where the borders are? I hope I'll be able to, and maybe there will be visual markings there too.." She forcibly shut her mouth to stop herself from blabbering on more. "Sorry," she giggled quietly. "I'll wait until we're there."

[Z]

Mountainfang glanced at the squirrel, then back to Autumnpaw. "Just make sure you can remember exactly where you left it... if you don't, that would be a squirrel lost for the clan..." He gave her a slightly sly look, since he knew where it was, but it was still her responsibility.

Sasori clicked her claws in amusement as the apprentice jostled her companion around. "I don't really know," she said quietly. "Mountainfang doesn't jerk around quite as much..." Mountainfang flicked his ear in agreement. "Your warrior has to help too, but you may want to spread across her back lenghtwise, so you have more time to catch yourself if you do slide... But not too much as to slow her movements..." she tipped her small head to the side. "Otherwise, your warrior must learn to give small signals to help you get ready, since it doesn't seem like she will calm down..." she drifted off, watching the apprentice try to keep her body still.

Mountainfang sighed at Autumnpaw's spaztic movements and talkitiveness. ((is that a word...?)) "You may just have to use small visual aids, if you cannot scent; but your sense of smell is extremely important..." He tipped his head, and Sasori nearly fell off before catching herself. "We'll see what we can use once we get there..." he mewed, finally standing up.

"Well," he mewed. "Shall we get going?" Before she could even answer, he started padding off, towards one end of the border. He knew she would follow, so he didn't bother looking back. They eventually made it to one edge of the border, and he finally turned. "This is the borderline..." he mewed, finally turning. "The scent marker is pretty strong here, anyways..." he muttered. "And-" he stopped, glancing off past Autumnpaw toward the base of a tree. "Hunter's crouch... Mouse... Light paw steps, keep low, they'll feel you coming." He said quickly and to the point, nodding in the direction of the mouse.

Sasori also saw the very slight movements. Though her hearing was poor and she didn't really have a sense of smell, her eyesight was very acute, and she spotted it the instant Mountainfang tensed up. "Keep your balance, Crimson..." she said quietly.

[Shadow]

Autumnpaw nodded solemnly. She would remember, she was sure of it. Her first squirrel- she would never forgive herself if she lost it. "I'll keep track of it," she promised him with a nod.

"Thank you.." Crimson replied quietly, spreading himself out at Sasori's direction.

"I'm sorry, Crimson!" Autumnpaw blurted out. "I'll try to help you more.. and keep myself stiller..." She tensed up, then relaxed. "What if I just flicked my ear.. like this.." She flicked her ear before jumping up again to run after her mentor. But Crimson was ready, and he clung tightly to her dark, thick fur. "Yeah!" he cried, his voice taking on an excited note. "That's good."

Autumnpaw nodded happily, trotting faster to keep up with her mentor. When they arrived at the border she bent her head down, taking a couple of sniffs. "I can smell pretty clearly," she mewed, relieved. "But I think I'll also be able to remember where this is." She stopped talking as soon as Mountainfang alerted her to the mouse. "Okay," she whispered, flicking her ear again to Crimson before dropping into the crouch.

With slow, steady movements she slunk forward, her gaze never leaving the tiny creature. She froze when she was right in front of it, unsure of when to pounce.

Crimson blinked. Why wasn't she going? She could get the mouse right now! He shifted his weight a little on her shoulder. Come on, Autumnpaw...

With a tiny gasp, Autumnpaw sprang forward, closing her paws down around the mouse before giving it a quick bite to the neck. After a few seconds of silence and a prayer to StarClan, she looked up at Mountainfang. "I.. I did it!" she meowed.

[Z]

Mountainfang smiled, and his tail swished back and forth in proudness. His first apprentice was hunting brilliantly, even if she was a rather loud one. If her training kept up like this, she would be a warrior in no time at all. "The clan will eat tonight," he purred.

Sasori clicked her claws in agreement. "And she didn't even lose her companion," she said quietly to Mountainfang. She shifted her weight on her claws, then crouched down. Even if she wasn't moving, she was getting very tired very quickly.

He nodded, and Sasori slipped off his head, and bonked his nose on the way down. "Oops... Sorry Sasori," he meowed, feeling rather mouse-brained to have dropped his companion after telling Autumnpaw not to.

Sasori landed flat on her back, and she eventually rolled back upright. She said absolutely nothing while she climbed back up Mountainfang's leg. She decided to stop at his shoulders and rested there.

Mountainfang tried to turn and look at her, but she sat down right where he couldn't see her. Great, he thought. Now she's not going to talk anymore... He turned back to Autumnpaw, hiding his disappointment with himself. "You did great," he mewed, still smiling proudly. "Come on, bury it and I'll show you the rest of the borders.

Mountainfang led Autumnpaw around the border, though he didn't scent a single peice of prey at all, and didn't even hear any rustling in the grass... He sighed. This clan was changing... Normally the prey would be scuffling around a little more than this, even if it is leaf-bare... He tried to look at Sasori again, who he could feel was still between his shoulder blades, but she wasn't speaking again.

He turned back to Autumnpaw. "Do you think you can remember where the borders are?" he asked her. He had to keep his mind on being a mentor, not what was going on right now. He had to.

((Writer's block, sorry if it's a bit jumpy in my writing today.))

[Shadow]

Autumnpaw nodded, and straightened herself up. She closed her eyes, and dramatically swept her tail in every direction before settling on one. "There's one that way," she murmured, then moved her tail slowly. "And that way..." she trailed off.

Crimson blinked. "And that way," he said, pointing his tail in another direction. "Right?"

Autumnpaw nodded. "I think so.." she mewed. "Boy, this is really confusing. Who are we protecting HorizonClan from, anyways? I didn't think there were any other Clans out here.. oh, but maybe the rogues are hostile. I don't know. Sorry," she mewed, realizing that she was blabbering again. "I'll stop now," she ended in a whisper.

Inside, her mind was racing. She hoped she wasn't forgetting anything. It was so much to take in, and all at once! How to hunt, where to look, what to do, every second of every minute of every day. Not to mention she had to keep track of Crimson, to avoid trampling him or worse.

The small snake seemed to read her thoughts, and laid his tail back down reassuringly on her shoulder. "It's oookay," he hissed smoothly to her, so that only she could here.

Autumnpaw smiled. That was Crimson. Always trying to cheer her up. She had a feeling that they would have a very strong friendship soon.

ooc:// Sorry for the horrible post, and after so long, too.. XD *feels bad*

[Z]

Mountainfang turned back to Autumnpaw. "Yes, there are rogues that we need to protect this clan from..." he murmured. "If we don't, rogues may move into our territory, and there won't be enough prey to support us and them, so we set off some territory just for us, and they can have the rest."

He glanced at Sasori again, who had gradually made her way back up to his head. "We realise it is a lot to put on you two..." she said, clicking her claws. Mountainfang glanced up at her. "But you can handle it... just take your time to take it all in." She settled onto the fur on his head, and started to ruffle it forwards with her claws.

Mountainfang rolled his eyes at Sasori playing with his fur, then turned back to Autumnpaw and Crimson. "Would you like to learn some basic fighting moves or wait until tomorrow...?" he asked quietly. It would be a lot to put onto her in one day, and the sun was starting to lower. "It's up to you."

[Shadow]

"Err..." Autumnpaw lowered her head to think. Her mind was racing already, she had so many things to keep track of, and her limbs felt heavy with tiredness. She would hate to look weak by giving up, though. With a quick glance back up at Mountainfang and Sasori, she turned to Crimson. "What do you think?"

The little snake yawned, his white teeth glinting. "Maybe we should turn in for the night," he said quietly. "I don't know about you, but I could just fall asleep right here." As if to prove his point, he nestled in closer in her fur.

Autumnpaw turned back to her mentor. "Is that okay?" she asked him. "I mean.. I'd love to do it tomorrow.. but I don't want to lose any information I can actually already remember," she laughed. She turned, scanning the ground for her prey, and scooped it up. "Should I give this to an elder?" she asked, her voice muffled by the fur.

[Z]

Mountainfang nodded silently, making sure that Sasori didn't fall off. His own limbs were growing numb from going around the entire territory in a day. "That's fine," he purred. "We'll just stop by to pick up your other prey, and head back to camp." When she picked up her prey and asked about giving it to an elder, he nodded again. "Give that to one of them, and have one yourself. You've worked hard today."

Sasori nodded her small head. Though she wasn't as tired as she had been for a many sunrises now, she, too, was getting tired. "We can head back and start up fighting training tomorrow," she said quietly.

Mountainfang stood and padded back the way they came, leading them back to their fresh-kill, then made their way back to camp.

((ooc://Should we have a time skip or make a new board?))