preparing.for.[disappointment] [Maskpaw//training]

[♫.Starredmyst]

Everything was grey in the dim predawn light. Aviansun lifted his head in the warrior den, noticing the time, and rose to his paws. He padded out of the den and stretched in front of it, graceful despite his muscular build.

Today was his first with that apprentice...what was his name...Maskpaw. The little tom looked like a handful, and a pain in the tail besides -- and he would be consuming useful time. Still, Aviansun knew his duty....and how being kind to an apprentice made you look.

The tom padded over to the freshkill pile, nosing through it until he found a smallish fish, and delicately began to eat. He only wanted a small meal for the busy day; if he got hungry during training, he could eat when Maskpaw wasn't looking and catch two extra prey in penance.

Aviansun glanced at the sky again as he carried the bones of his meal into a corner and began to bury them. He'd told Maskpaw to be out as soon as it was light enough to see by. Personally, Aviansun thought that had been when he had woken up, just as the sky lightened, but it wasn't a very clear distinction...Aviansun would give Maskpaw till the sky started to color before he woke the kit up.

[Flower]

Maskpaw woke up in his new nest, searching for the warmth and milk-scent of his mother before remembering, I'm an apprentice now! He hated to admit it, but he was missing the nursery. However, it was quickly swept aside by the remembrance of his responsibilities. Dashing to the door, he peeked out. It was still fairly dim, and he relaxed. Scanning the camp and finding Aviansun already awake, he dashed up to his new mentor. "Hi, Aviansun! What are we learning today?" Even tired, he was still bouncy and cheerful.

[♫.Starredmyst]

Aviansun hadn't been waiting too long when a ball of fur propelled itself out of the apprentice den, towards him.

"Hi, Aviansun! What are we learning today?"

Maskpaw seemed especially excited. It got under the warrior's skin. He debated his approach on the subject of hyperactivity; he knew he couldn't hide his annoyance if the young tom kept it up, but it wouldn't do to snap at his apprentice first thing. He decided he could pull of a cool-but-calm attitude.

"Good morning, Maskpaw," he answered, meeting the younger tom's eyes. He kept his voice low and very level. "You're not late yet, so don't rush so much. You'll use up all your energy before we even start training. I want you to eat before we leave -- it's going to be a long day."

He nodded towards the freshkill pile. "I'd suggest you keep your voice down, by the way. Most of the Clan are still sleeping."

[Flower]

"Oh, okay. Sorry." Maskpaw was slightly subdued, but not for long. He padded to the fresh-kill pile and selected a small sparrow. Gulping it down, he looked admirably up at his new mentor. The first day of his apprenticeship couldn't come quickly enough.

[♫.Starredmyst]

Aviansun nodded approval as Maskpaw gulped down his meal, watching closely; he was curious to see how easily the young tom would be unnerved, and if his usual careful attention would throw the apprentice off.

Finally Maskpaw finished, and Aviansun drew away a little. "Good," he meowed. "If you'll excuse my being blunt, today is going to be your first test. I'm going to assess your strengths and weaknesses, and what little you may have picked up from the nursery so far. While I'm your mentor, we will be building on what abilities you already have, working to bring your weaknesses up to warrior level, and finding the best way to suit your strengths to the Clan."

He paused a moment, to gauge whether Maskpaw had understood, then went on. "We can begin with your knowledge of the territory. How much do you know of it? Have you ever left camp? Don't lie to me -- I'm not going to tell anycat if you have. Do you think you would be able to get around our land without becoming lost, and if so, do you know it well enough to show another cat around?"

The pale tom continued to watch his apprentice carefully as he bombarded Maskpaw with questions; another test, though he didn't say as much. Even as he tested the young cat's Clan knowledge, he was also probing for Maskpaw's attitude and personality; though he certainly wouldn't change his expectations if the tom turned out to be a weakling, his approach might change depending on what Maskpaw responded fastest to.

[Flower]

"While I'm your mentor, we will be building on what abilities you already have, working to bring your weaknesses up to warrior level, and finding the best way to suit your strengths to the Clan." Maskpaw nodded. He knew all that. Did Aviansun think he was daft? However, a mentor was a mentor, and he would still show respect for the older tom.
"Do you think you would be able to get around our land without becoming lost, and if so, do you know it well enough to show another cat around?"
Maskpaw replied immediately. "Yes, I've been out of camp. But I don't know if I know the territory that well. I'm sure I can find the river, but any farther and I would probably get lost." Maskpaw ducked his head submissively.

[♫.Starredmyst]

Aviansun nodded in response to Maskpaw's reply; as the young tom didn't seem particularly bothered by his indifferent explanation and rapid-fire questions, he continued in the same style.

"That's pretty typical of a new apprentice. Today we'll go on a quick tour of Clan lands -- I'll be expecting you to memorize as much as you can -- and if there's time we can do some basic hunting lessons. Fighting is not as important in basically uncontested territory" -- unless, of course, you were ambitious -- "so that will have the back end of our training for the time being."

He nodded towards the camp entrance. "Let's head out. I'll keep asking you questions while we walk."

OOc;{We can keep the thread here so it's not like 3 posts in every section of the forum xD If they settle somewhere else later in the thread, I'll move it to wherever that is.}

[Flower]

((OOC: Gotcha))
Maskpaw nodded along until his neck was sore, doing his best to absorb every word of this rapid-fire stream of instructions. He was glad that Aviansun didn't seem to be disappointed by his answers. Although his new mentor seemed very disinterested, Maskpaw was determined to impress this stone-cold cat, or, failing that, at least be the best apprentice he could be.

((OOC: blah, no time at all, stupid homework I promise I'll try harder on the 4 day weekend I have coming up ))

[♫.Starredmyst]

OOc;{CRAP you have a four-day weekend? I was hoping people would be busy so I could catch up! xD Seriously, don't feel compelled to post right away. I have too many threads to answer straight away anyway, and anywho I'm not having much time or muse to post when I get to them. xD}

[♫.Starredmyst]

Without another word Aviansun turned and padded through the entrance, out into the world at large. The sands, of course, were very much the same as their own camp; the main difference being the vast space between cliff face and waves. On a cool spring morning like this, the sand was cold beneath Aviansun's paws, and a chilly breeze whipped across the deserted beach, stinging the tom's eyes.

"These are the Sands," he told his apprentice, turning in a slow circle. It was a grey morning; even with the sun rising there was little color in the sky, and the water was a bleak, dark blue-grey. Aviansun finished his circuit facing those waves, and as ever he felt a feral thrill of watching something truly wild as he looked at them -- one of those rare times he had a real rush of feeling. He continued to speak without looking at his apprentice.

"This is possibly the most dangerous place in Clan lands come greenleaf. Twolegs swarm during the day, with their dogs and their monster objects. But during leafbare, it is the way we stay alive. What do you know about fishing, Maskpaw?" he fired off without changing his tone a hair.

[Flower]

Maskpaw almost didn't catch the question. He was staring admiringly out at sea, plus the monotone threw him off. "Oh. Er. Not a lot. I think you have to be really still." Maskpaw was worried. There were so many questions he didn't know the answers to. He felt like he was failing and this was only his first day as an apprentice. What would happen to him later on?

[♫.Starredmyst]

Aviansun nodded in response to Maskpaw's question, barely seeming to notice the apprentice's discomfort. "Fish is one of the most important sources of prey for the Clan, particularly during the winter. We'll be having lessons in it along with hunting -- although I'll probably take you out during the night, or when it starts to get cold again. Too many Twolegs." He pulled his gaze away from the water to look at his apprentice; he shook his fur out slightly as though to reorient himself with the world, but his cold dark eyes remained steady on Maskpaw's face. "Many cats prefer to fish in camp, on Sunningrocks -- it's more comfortable, and they don't have to go anywhere. I feel that the excess of cats there scare many of the fish off, and prefer to do my fishing out here in the Sands, when there are no Twolegs to interrupt me. Regardless, I want you to spend some time watching cats fish in camp when you get the chance, to give yourself an idea of what to do."

He began to pad away, then for the first time paused, looking back at his apprentice. "We'll be going to the forest now. Do you understand me so far?"

[Flower]

"Yes, sir. I understand." Maskpaw took a last glance back at the sea and followed his mentor.
((Um, dead muse. Not much to say here anyway. Wheee.))

[♫.Starredmyst]

Aviansun nodded shortly, and continued on his way.

It didn't take too long to reach the edge of the sands, and Aviansun headed directly for a spot where roots and piled driftwood made it easy to reach the top of the cliff. Before climbing, however, he halted and turned, staring off to the west.

"You see those dens over there?" he asked his apprentice, nodding towards a cluster of oddly regular shapes on the horizon. "That's Twolegplace -- haunt of rogues and Twolegs, as dangerous as any place off-territory. Be warned, it's not all kittypets that live there, and many cats with anti-Clan sentiment have taken that place as their home."

He turned slightly, indicating with his nose a stripe of black that marred the landscape beyond Twolegplace. "That's Thunderpath. One of our boundaries. It's how Twolegs come and leave Twolegplace, in their monsters. I won't be taking you any closer to it until I know you won't take foolish risks to get yourself killed."

On that harsh note he turned around and leapt up the cliff in two bounds, not waiting for his apprentice. Aviansun despised the Thunderpath. He rarely allowed personal feelings to affect his attitude or behavior, but this was one of the rare cases in which he could not seem to help himself.

Shaking off unpleasant thoughts, the tom turned to watch Maskpaw's ascent. "We're going into the forest now," he went on as soon as the apprentice looked ready to listen to him. "There are very few places of note in this area of the territory, large as it is. Technically, we have no boundaries in the direction the forest spreads, as there's no other cats who claim it for more distance than we can patrol; however, I'd advise you not to go so far you won't be able to get back home in a decent amount of time."

He began to pad away toward the thick greenery, but kept speaking. "When we were in camp you told me you knew the area around the river. I'm taking you in that direction now. When you think you know the area, take the lead and find the river."

OOc;{Arg, I know there's a ton of flowery speeches going on and not enough openings for you. Dx I'm trying to move this as fast as I can so they can get to something where Maskpaw actually does stuff xD}

[Flower]

Maskpaw nodded along with Aviansun's speech until his neck hurt. Finally, he got to an area that he recognized. "I think I know where we are." Without waiting for a reply, he took the lead and began looking and scenting for landmarks that he recognized. After awhile, he almost thought he had lost the trail, but he heard the sound of rushing water - and something tastier too. Some sort of small creature was scrabbling by the side of the river. "Sir, should I get the prey? I think it's a vole."