Mentors & Their Apprentices

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(IMPORTANT: YOU CAN ONLY JOIN IF YOU'RE MENTORING OR BEING MENTORED DURRING THIS RP. That is all.)

Smokestripe rumbled a contented purr as he sat in the Hollow's clearing; the grains of sand beneath his paws were smooth and round; perfect for cusioning a fall or practicing your stalking skills. And, what a wonderful day it was! The sun was beaming down onto his silver and gray pelt; lighting up his yellow eyes with golden life.

Stretching out from his haunched position, Smokestripe unfolded himself gracefully into a laying posture; belly brushing against the white sand; crossing his paws over eachother as he waited patiently for his arival as she was his ally.

His apprentice, to be exact. Indeed, today was a wonderful day.

...For training!

[Kiddo [le pwnsome]]

Sorrelpaw trotted between the trees, paws scraping over the cold ground. She felt the sun on her pelt though, and it was definitely warmer than it had been a few days before. She purred, pausing to stretch in the strange warmth.

She was in an unusually good mood today, she reflected, pacing farther away from camp, towards the training hollow. As she got closer, she could smell the faint scents of many cats, fresh and old, none were there now, besides her own mentor. But of course, that could soon change. She hoped it wouldn't she felt more comfortable when she and Smokestripe were alone, unobserved by the rest of the clan. She didn't like beinb surrounded by other apprentices, especially during training.

She padded quickly out of the shelter of the trees, towards the grey figure in the center of the clearing. She meowed a greeting to him, dipping her head respectfully, and sat before him, ready to begin the training session.

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Smokestripe dipped his head back, respect humming from every pore of his body. "Good, Sorrelpaw. You should know: respect all, and all shall respect you, little one." He purred, touching her forehead with his nose before retreating it back.

"The sun is warm; is it not?" Smokestripe did not wait for an answer. "Yes. Very warm indeed-- can you feel your pelt soak up it's rays, little one?" Again, he did not wait for an answer. "To prepare yourself mentally for a battle, you must soak energy from all that is around you: the sun, earth, moon, wind, trees, and prey. Meditation at it's best shall calm you, you and your mind, for battle. No matter what season, time, or situation-- you must be calm and composed durring a battle. Anger shall decieve you, and so will the rush of adrenalin-- send you to the med. cat, it shall." Smokestripe tilted his head to the side.

"Fight me." He promptly dead-panned. "Use the energy around you to focus on me, Sorrelpaw-- then attack! Missjudge and you will suffer from many wounds to come."

[Kiddo [le pwnsome]]

She tried not to look confused, though the absurdity of what had just been said made her want to ask what he meant. But she forced it back, and stood, preparing to attack.

Sorrelpaw was skeptical about his apparent belief that she could "soak energy from all around her" but she tried anyway. She felt the sun warming her fur, almost like an army of ants standing on her fur. She wriggled a bit, as if she could shake them off, but nothing changed. She focused on her mentor next, willing herself to gain strength from the heat. She tried to concentrate harder, to reach out to the wind and trees, but she couldn't see anything but the grey fur and calm face of her mentor.

Then, she charged, straight at him. But she was so focused on feeling the warmth of the sun, she had no plans as to what she would do when she reached him. She barreled forward, eyes wide, teeth bared, claws out, no clue what she was doing.

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Smokestripe side-stepped out of Sorrelpaw's path, watching with half-lidded-- almost lazy- eyes as she ran past him. He then purred with mirth. "You did not do as I told-- soak up the energy. Everything has a force-- a power; an energy. Find it-- feel for it-- then soak it up." He tilted his head again.

"You must block me out, Sorrelpaw; block me out and focus! Focus on the all the energy around you-- the power of life-- meditate before you attack." He stretched his maw, yawning as he revealed large, thick needle fangs. "Claws sheathed, little one; block me out, soak the energy, then attack me. Do block me out while attacking me." Smokestripe gave her a knowing look.

"If you block me durring that time, you will only blind yourself! Now try again, little one..."

[Kiddo [le pwnsome]]

Sorrelpaw huffed with frustration, and sheathed her claws, embarrassed that she had let them slide out, she wasn't trying to kill him, was she?

She sat this time, her gaze on her mentor, but not really seeing him. Fine,she though angrilyI'll meditate first. She felt the sun on her fur again, and tried to soak it up, tried to feel it deeper inside her, but all she felt was a small pebble sticking in her back leg. Frustration welled inside her, and she almost snarled in anger, but she controlled herself, with difficulty. Then she felt something, something she'd never felt before, like a small forest fire, in her chest. She shivered, her eyes snapping into focus, on Smokestripe's face. A quizzical look shifted over her face.

The strange sensation dissappeared. It had felt wonderful, and now Sorrelpaw wanted it back.

She was angry at herself now, for letting it slip away. And she tried again, mentally forcing the sun inside her. Her body was stiff and straight, rigid with concentration.

A small flicker, that strange feeling again. Sorrelpaw smiled, it wasn't very strong, but she could feel it, barely. Even as she sat there, it dimmed. She had to attack now, before it was gone again.

She stood now, suddenly feeling very light. She hunched her shoulders, trying to keep the small flame alive, but it died even faster, and she knew she had no more time left. Without pausing, she leapt, claws in this time, at her mentor. She felt confident now, but just as she reached him, the feeling was snuffed out, and she was herself again, attacking Smokestripe as she had always done.

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Smokestripe ducked-- Sorrelpaw's paws skimming his back like a rock across water: smooth. Smokestripe hissed but did not reply to the attack; instead, he sat straight up-- twisted around and back-pedaled away from Sorrelpaw; true awareness crossing his face.

"You did... beautifully, Sorrelpaw; for a apprentice. Well done, little one; well done! You felt it, did you not? Felt it deep within your chest; like... a fire. Use your rage, your frustration-- burn them. Feed the fire with your rage-- but do not let it control you, no. That would be your blunder of the day, yes, if that happened?"

That tilt of his head again-- was it a habbit? Or just plain curiousity??

"Now try-- one more time-- and attack me, Sorrelpaw." If cats could smile, Smokestripe would have. "You are so close-- close to absorbing the energy! If you can just hold it for a little while longer, you would have perfected in attacking me, little one!" Pride surged through Smokestripe like a roaming lion, eyes twinkling like stars as a sense of giddiness spread through his body.

Sorrelpaw would be a great warrior some day-- and Smokestripe could barely wait for it!

[Kiddo [le pwnsome]]

Sorrelpaw purred in satisfaction as his praise washed over her, and she tried again. This time, the feeling appeared more quickly, and burned a little brighter. In the back of her mind, she wondered how bright it could become, and how much was burning inside her mentor, and how many other cats burned their fury as well. But she did not wait much longer, and pounced, low this time.

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Smokestripe was promptly knocked off his feet-- doing a face-plant into the sand. It muffled his lauging yowl of surprise, raising to his paws to spit the grains of earth out, then shaking himself; a grin present on his face-- teeth slightly brown from the dirt.

"Well done, Sorrelpaw! Well done!" His wheezed, spitting some more sand out. "But you aimed lower than you should have to knock me off my paws, little one-- just a millimeter lower and you would have touched only ground; allowing me to attack your belly or face. Try aiming slightly higher-- it would do you good to aim for my ankles and not my paws."

He tilted his head.

"Though, still, you are on your way to becoming a warrior; even if you are slightly off battle tactics, little one."

[Kiddo [le pwnsome]]

Sorrelpaw purred louder than she had ever done before, her small white chest rumbling with the sound. Smokestripe was a warrior, older, stronger, and much more experienced than her, and he was complimenting her. Complimenting her!

00c//Sorry, super short. xP