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Post by Cloudbat on Jul 12, 2011 13:59:21 GMT -10
Juncopaw was nervous.
What a laughable understatement. Nervous? She was darn near ready to explode from sheer tension as she bumbled through thorny vines and tripped over pebbles, tasting her salty fear as she bit her lip. As anxious she felt, though, she couldn’t help feeling bad for Aspenheart. Why had Gingerstar given him her as an apprentice? He deserved to be training someone so much better, like Willowpaw.
Willowpaw…Juncopaw thought longingly of her dear friend. If she were here things would be better. But the little gray apprentice was off hunting with her mentor, Ashstorm.
They finally arrived at the hollow, a mild breeze blowing dust around their paws and ruffling their fur.
She stopped, and looked with hesitant blue eyes at her gray tabby mentor, unsure of what to do. “A-Aspenheart?” She asked timidly. “W-what should I do n-now?”
Immediately she cursed herself. Stupid! This was battle training, she should get into position. Wasn’t it obvious? Even she knew that. But she was so desperate to not mess up, she was messing up already.
Sparing a moment to be amused at the grim irony, she spoke again. “W-well, g-get into p-position, r-right?” She managed a weak smile, hoping he wouldn’t think she was too stupid.
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Post by Pyro on Jul 12, 2011 14:39:28 GMT -10
Aspenheart tried not to laugh as he accompanied his apprentice to the training hollow. She had been walking on eggshells from the moment he told her they were going out to train. Or perhaps that was just the way Juncopaw was. Ashamedly, he wouldn't know, having been a bit lax with her training. He couldn't recall the last time he brought her out of camp himself, instead of letting her tag along with other warriors. He glanced at the timid apprentice, guilt filling his eyes for a moment. She deserved a more attentive mentor...and he questioned why Gingerstar would give him an apprentice. As deputy, he needed one, yes...but still. His own apprenticeship had been short as he had come to ForestClan as an older, more experienced cat. Aspenheart's exposure to teaching hadn't left him with much to go on as far as training his own apprentice went. He'd been able to dodge getting an apprentice there, but it seemed that PineClan was intent on having him teach someone.
And that someone was Juncopaw. He sighed. 'An' sucha bouncey lass she is. I must feel stifling, to her.'
As they entered the hollow he tried to think about how to go about teaching her to fight. The best way seemed to be by trial-and-error: give an example an then enact a fight, practicing until the apprentice got it right. He had too much pride to ask any of the other warriors how they trained their apprentices. What would his clan think if they knew their deputy was at a loss? “A-Aspenheart? W-what should I do n-now?”
"Oh! Ah..."
“W-well, g-get into p-position, r-right?”
Good lord, could she sense that he didn't have a clue? He sighed again. "Yes, tha's right, lass." Alright. How was he going to do this? Well. He supposed the best thing to do would be get a rough assessment of what she knew, or at least, what she might instinctual know. From there he could brush up on things and figure out what would be best to teach her. "Let's see what you know, Juncopaw, and what your reactions are like."
Without warning, because of course, to him mentioning that her skills were going to be tested was enough, he lunged forward. At the last moment he veered off to make a swipe at her hindlegs, with the hope of catching her unawares. |
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Post by Cloudbat on Jul 16, 2011 10:13:21 GMT -10
Well, at least he didn't seem mad at her. Yet. Urf, what she knew? More like what she didn't know, that would fill a book or two.
You'd think after four moons or so she'd at least be fairly good at fighting, but all the silver apprentice knew was basic technique and rules. Even when she remembered to practice on her own time (rarely) she didn't have much of a clue.
Though it always vaguely tormented her conscious that she wasn't working hard enough, it was painfully obvious when her mentor suddenly swiped at her legs and her instant reaction was to yelp and jump up, tail bushed out like a squirrel's as his paws smacked against her hind limbs.
When she landed, Juncopaw grinned painfully. This was going about as well as she'd feared. Taking a deep breath, she bunched her haunches and sprung up and over, hoping to make Aspenheart think she was aiming for his face and legs, when she actually meant to land on his back and imitate a grip hold, where a smaller cat would cling to a larger opponent safely out of reach and rake their claws down their sides.
Except of course her claws would be sheathed.
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Post by Pyro on Jul 19, 2011 18:15:57 GMT -10
Aspenheart started a little at Juncopaw's yelp. not exactly the reaction he was expecting. He looked at her, slightly puzzled, as she grinned. There was no time to ask if she was alright though, as his apprentice sprung up like a snake to jump at his face. He prepared himself to lunge at her inturn, a move that would end with him pinning her if all went well. The deputy had misunderstood her actions however, and grunted as Juncopaw landed on his back.
Clever Corvid.
He smiled. Perhaps his negligence hadn't been too hard on his apprentice. She was certainly capable of using her head in a fight. However, he wouldn't be beaten quite so easily. The tom let himself pitch to the side, falling to the ground with a soft thump. He then proceeded to roll over on his back, an action that would surely cause Juncopaw some discomfort if she didn't move. |
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Post by Cloudbat on Jul 22, 2011 9:48:23 GMT -10
Yay! She'd done-
...it. And her mentor had simply rolled over and squashed her flat. Duh. Stupid, stupid, stupid. She should have done the exact reverse of the move she'd tried. Struggling to breathe, the silver tabby pawed at her mentor's sides and squeezed her head and a paw out, gasping.
"Good jeezum, Aspenheart, how many mice do you eat?" She grumbled, then regretted it, squeaking "Sorry...I'm just too w-weak...er, do you mind getting off me? Sorry..."
He did not oblige, so she gave an almighty heave and half-tipped him off, her tail still stuck, smelling the pollen in the air and looking at the bugs that buzzed by just out of reach, almost as if they were taunting her.
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Post by Pyro on Aug 7, 2011 21:53:37 GMT -10
"Good jeezum, Aspenheart, how many mice do you eat?"
"More than you, I think, lass."
Aspenheart allowed Juncopaw to push him off her, getting up when he realized that her tail was still stuck. The warrior was laughing good naturedly, and his apprentice's jibe didn't seem to bother him. All the same, she had taken her words back, going as far as to put herself down instead. As Aspenheart's laughter slowly died, a frown grew on his muzzle. That wasn't right. Why should Juncopaw be saying she was too weak? He was a warrior, she was an apprentice. She still had much to learn and many moons to develop her strength. There was no pressing need for her to be at warrior level.
"Juncopaw, you are not weak. You are an apprentice." he chuckled. "And as you suggested, I eat many mice."
He walked a few paces away, staring absentmindedly around the training hollow. He wasn't sure how much concern he should give to Juncopaw's words. Apprentices said things like that all the time, didn't they? And yet...He glanced at his apprentice. He didn't know her well enough to be jumping to conclusions, and that was his own fault. But from how she had been acting the whole time, he got the distinct impression that she was prone to timidness. Timidness would not suit a warrior in the long run. Compassion, yes. Hesitance to start fights, yes. But timidness was becoming of a queen or a wee lass looking to attract a mate.
"Juncopaw, come at me again."
He paced closer, his steps loose and easy. "I don't want you to stop until I say. Timidness will not serve you well in battle. An enemy will not wait for you to catch your breath or smell the roses. D'ye kin?" This time he did not lunge, but rather circled her; his pale green eyes watching her every move.
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Post by Cloudbat on Aug 9, 2011 7:59:55 GMT -10
Though getting her tail out hurt a bit, she couldn't help but grin a bit as he replied, though it soon faded as she looked away, remembering her place. Mouthing off to the deputy! Was she mouse-brained? At least he didn't seem to mind too much...still, she should be more careful.
But then her sapphire gaze grew wide with disbelief and relief. Her head cocked to one side, an ear flicking as a fly tried to buzz into it. "I guess that's true...but I feel like I should be doing better, after almost five moons of apprenticeship..." She trailed off, looking down at her paws.
"I know I don't practice enough...but I will now, I promise." The silver tabby looked back at her mentor's green eyes, desperate to please, her black-tipped tail waving nervously.
And then her ears flattened and her whiskers drooped as Aspenheart told her the truth. He was right, and she knew that he was right, but fear was so strong in her, the weakness stronger than the strength. Kittypet, her conscience whispered. Weak, lost, stupid kittypet, who thought she was a warrior.
No, thought Juncopaw quaveringly. I am weak, I am stupid, but I won't give up. I won't give up on my...and it clicked. Juncopaw realized why she relaxed a bit around Aspenheart, yet why she was even more desperate to please him than any other warrior. Because with the exception of his eye color and the shape of his face, he was almost a carbon copy of her father. And always she wanted to be as brave and mighty as Leaf...but she had no father now. She had only her mentor. And she would not let him down.
"Okay." She mewed, her voice quivering, but her face was set and her muscles tensed, watching as the gray tabby circled her, watching how he watched her. She watched the pace of his steps, the way his eyes automatically flicked toward any movement, no matter how small, how his ears seemed always alert for any noise. How to attack, then?
She smiled as it came to her: she didn't. Appearing to relax, though she was actually wound as tightly as a coiled spring, she nonchalantly lifted her paw to her mouth and began to wash, her pink tongue flicking back and forth with the tempo of her mentor's steps, hoping to deceive him into thinking that she was just as foolish as before. Well...she was, but maybe her ploy would work.
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