Training Nightpaw

[Wildstorm]

Wildstorm loped slowly down the grassy slope towards the canyon river, blinking as a cold gust of wind stung her eyes. Leafbare is finally here now. She thought with an inward sigh. Bending down by the water, she took a few quick laps of icy cold water before sitting up and curling her tail around her paws. Nightpaw should be here soon. She thought. My first apprentice. I hope I'll do ok...

[+[{S.E.A.M.I.S.T.}]+]

Nightpaw hurried towards his new mentor. He had gotten a late start to his day, after sleeping away much of the morning. I hope I'm not late, he thought worriedly. His whiskers twitched as he identified Wildstorm's scent. My new mentor's scent, he corrected himself.
"Hello, Wildstorm," he mewed, dipping his head respectfully. Excitement began to seep through the dreary cloud of worry and tension in his mind as he mewed carefully, "What am I going to learn today?"[/color]

[Wildstorm]

Wildstorm turned her head to look at her new apprentice. "Hello, Nightpaw." She purred, rising to her paws. She streached her paws forward before replying, "Well, what do you want to do first? We can either go hunting or do some fighting practice." She wanted to keep things open to her apprentice and wanted him to have fun too.

[+[{S.E.A.M.I.S.T.}]+]

Nightpaw thought for a heartbeat, his mind moving at a million miles per hour. He probably needed to brush up on his hunting skills, but long ago, he had decided that fighting was much more interesting than feeding his Clan. "I'd like to have some battle training," he mewed almost shyly.
His eyes shone as he went on more confidently, "I wanna know how to protect my Clanmates, and fight for them! I want to know how to fight foxes, and defend our territory!"

[Wildstorm]

Wildstorm nodded appriciatively. "Thats a good decision. You're wise for such a young cat." she purred, eyes shining. Turning away from Nightpaw, she padded a few tail lengths away, then turned back towards him. "Okay," she meowed to him. "We're going to start off with something basic so I can get an idea of your skills. Then we can start at your appropriate level." Crouching down, she said "Attack me." Whiskers twitching, she realized that this was what her mentor first did to her.

[+[{S.E.A.M.I.S.T.}]+]

Nightpaw blinked at his mentor for a few heartbeats. "Just like that?" he mewed. All right then, he thought, and pounced, aiming for her face.
With hindsight, he realized that this had not been the smartest thing to do - he had left himself open to an infinitely more experienced warrior, and he had no idea how she was going to attack. He stopped short and ducked under her chin instead, trying to get at her more vulnerable underbelly.[/color]

[Wildstorm]

Wildstorm watched as Nightpaw sprang at her face. She prepared to dodge backwards, then was faintly suprised when he changed direction and went for her underbelly. That was good. He realized that his first decision wasn't a smart one. She thought as she shifted her weight and sprang over him to land behind him. Turning to face her apprentice, she purred apriciatively "That was great." she meowed. "You noticed your mistake before you made it. It takes a skilled warrior to be able to think that quickly durring an attack." Once again taking a few steps away, she said. "Ok, attack me again, except this time plan what you think would be the best way before you attack."

[+[{S.E.A.M.I.S.T.}]+]

Nightpaw's face warmed at the praise. All right, he thought carefully. If I aim down low, she'll just jump over me again.
He glanced at his mentor warily, and replayed his move again in his mind. Then, his mind made up, he charged at Wildstorm once more. This time, he didn't pounce as he dashed forwards - instead, he reared up on his hind paws and used both forepaws to batter her face. He had actually come up with his technique by playfighting with the other apprentices - he was the tallest by far when on his rear paws, so whenever one of the others aimed for his paws, he towered over them and brought his paws crashing down on their head.[/color]

[Wildstorm]

Wildstorm tensed as Nightpaw leaped at her, thinking he was going to punce on her. Bunching her muscles, she prepared to spring over him again when he suddenly reared up and started batting at her face in mid leap. He's better at this than I expected. She thought in suprise, thanking StarClan his claws were sheathed. Turning her leap into a roll, she landed on her back by his paws and pushed him back in the stomach with her hind paws. Leaping back to her feet, she purred as she shook dust from her fur. "Excellent!" She mewed, tail straight up. "Keep this up and you'll be a warrior in no time." padding over ot him, she asked "That was a good move. Did you think that up on your own?"

[+[{S.E.A.M.I.S.T.}]+]

Nightpaw nodded shyly. "I thought of it while I was playing with the other apprentices," he mewed. "Since I'm a bit bigger than them, it works really well."
He scuffled his paws bashfully. He didn't want to sound impatient or even the slightest bit bratty, but he wanted to learn something new. "Can you teach me one of your moves?" he mewed softly.
He amended himself: "It's always better to learn new things so that your enemy won't expect your next attack...right?" Nightpaw gazed up at his mentor with hopeful eyes.[/color]

[Wildstorm]

Wildstorm nodded. "Good point. I'll teach you a move I learned from my mentor." She padded a couple tail lengths away and turned to him. "Now pay attention, because this is kinda complicated." She told him, then turned to demonstrate. "The idea is to jump and twist to land on your enemy, then hold onto their haunches and use your back claws to dig into the ground. While they're stunned, you flip them over, hopefully knocking the wind out of them, then pin them to the ground. Watch." SHe bunched her muscles and leaped, twisting gracefully to land on her enemy, which happened to be a mossy piece of wood. She dug her claws into it and twisted it violently, flipping it over, and pinned it with one paw where the neck would be and one where the stomach was. She then backed away and turned to Nightpaw. "Go ahead and try it on me. It might take you a few tries."

[+[{S.E.A.M.I.S.T.}]+]

Nightpaw nodded somewhat shyly, but with a hint of determination. He certainly wasn't going to embarrass himself in front of his mentor; no, not when he had come this far. Taking a deep breath to calm his frayed nerves, he jumped, and landed with his paws squarely on his mentor's haunches. So far, so good - but that was because he favored attacks that involved jumping. Gingerly, he dug his claws into the ground, and heaved with all his might. To his relief, he managed to turn his mentor over, although he could have used a bit more power. Nightpaw pinned his paws to her neck, and followed up with a blow to the chin - with sheathed paws, of course. He caught himself attempting to take it further, and hesitated. Was this taking it too far?[/color]

[Wildstorm]

Wildstorm let out a muffled gasp in suprise as Nighpaw jumped high over her and landed on her haunches. The next thing she knew, she was on the ground with a paw to her neck and a bruised chin. "Good!" She purred, eyes shining. "I'm glad you held yourself back, or else i'd be to bruised and battered to train you anymore." Wiggling from under his paws, she jumped to her feel and shook out her fur, arching her sore back. He's really good... he'll make a fearsome warrior. She mused silently.
Turning back to him, she asked "Why don't we do some hunting? You've proved to me twice now that you're a capable warrior, and the clan is going to need fresh kill for the oncoming leafbare. Lets see what you got." She purred a little mischeviously, and flicked her tail towards the bushes.

[+[{S.E.A.M.I.S.T.}]+]

Nightpaw relaxed his tense muscles. Phew, he thought. I managed to impress her and not screw up, for once. He immediately perked up at the suggestion of hunting. "Does this mean we can explore the territory a bit more?" he meowed anxiously. He had never left the camp before, and was still such a new apprentice that he smelled of the nursery.
"Where are we going? Are you going to teach me nifty tricks? When can I go on patrol with you?" The dark apprentice pestered his mentor with questions, literally bouncing on his paws. Whoops, he thought, as he realized what a fool he was making of himself. After straining to stop himself from licking his chest fur self-consciously, he added, "Can we go now?"

[Wildstorm]

ooc - Back from the dead! D:

Wildstorm grinned at her apprentice's eagerness. She waited for him to stop talking, then she said, "Yes, lets go now. We'll patrol along the stream for a while, and while we're going I can teach you some hunting moves. For instance," She said, spotting a mouse, "when you're stalking a mouse, you must keep your paws very light on the ground. Mice can feel the vibrations of your footfalls when you approach." She demonstrated, crouching and stepping delicately for a few strides. SHe turned back to him. "Want to give it a shot?" She asked, nodding towards the unknowing mouse.