[PRP] Apprentice Training - Sunseer x Skysong x Duskpaw

[Blinded By Silence]

Sunseer and Skysong had very different ideas of what 'first light' meant, the white she-cat knew this well. For her, it meant the pre-dawn moment when the sun's sleepy light yawned into the night sky, softening the horizon and summoning the first string of birdsong. The second in command would typically rise dutifully, nudging awake those picked for the dawn patrol, checking the state of the fresh-kill pile, so on and so forth.

Today, however, Skysong was hesitant to rise from her nest. A long sigh blew a loose piece of moss from the edge of her nest. Her throat felt raw from so many words she had choked down last night. Why hadn't she just done as he bade her? She missed the earlier days of her command. Before Morningsky had died and taken their leader with her. After that... It felt selfish to burden Sunseer with her concerns when he had so many of his own to carry. And now that he was finally feeling like himself again, she was afraid to weigh him back down again. She stood at last, shaking the misty thoughts from her mind. She had things to do, many, many things. She could deal with that later, surely.

And so, by the time Sunseer declared as 'first light', which to him meant when the light first began to peek through the lichen curtain that shielded his den, Skysong had already organized the dawn patrol and the first hunting group of the day. She frowned at the fresh kill pile. It was lower than she'd like... If Sunseer didn't feel the need to prove his point, she could have been out hunting.

"Everything in order this morning, Skysong?" Sunseer's familiar voice pulled her attention away from her worry and back to the present, "Did you sleep well?"

"As well as I always do, sir. And yes, we're ready to head to the training hallow once your apprentice wakes."

"Have patience," The older tom chuckles, "It was an exciting night for him. All that attention, and so much information all at once. Life changes are quite exhausting, we both know."

"Mm, yes, sir. That we do."

@belloblossom

 

[belloblossom]

Duskpaw had woken to darkness and unfamiliar scents. He didn't feel the hay under his paws and he couldn't scent his mother nearby - where was he? Raising his head and blinking his eyes he felt sleep clinging to his fur, trying to pull him back under. Twitching his ears and his tail, he let his nose twitch until he could pick up the scents of moss and lichen and beyond it, the smell of water.

I'm not home - well, not at the barn. He recalled, memories of the night previously coming back to him. He should get up, stretch his legs and go seek out other cats - Sunseer. Maybe I've made a mistake, this all happened so fast. Will I never see Barb or Hunter again? He thought and then shook his head. He was just tired, he needed some more sleep before he could greet the day and all the feelings that came with waking up. Thus, he'd gone back to bed, curling more nightly around himself and trying to envision the comforting sounds of the creaking wood from the barn and the constant skittering of mice.

He woke up again when the sun had lit the entrance of the apprentices den aglow with its warm light. He stretched in his nest - new and uncomfortable to him. Many of the other nests were empty at this point and he hurried outside without trying to look presentable.

My mentor is blind. He's not going to notice if my fur isn't perfect. He thought as he trotted out and looked around for the black and spotted tomcat. Finding a particular silver she-cat beside his mentor, he found himself regretting not smoothing out his fur before he left the den, but he - oh feathers and feces, did he catch her eye? - well, no turning back now.

"Good morning, Sunseer!" He mewed as he approached the tomcat, dipping his head before - wait, no he didn't need to do that, or wait, did he, if Skysong was there? Was she going to report back to Sunseer and tell him that his apprentice did or did not bow his head in greeting? Was she always going to be there in the morning? Surely he would get some time alone with his mentor, like if they were training?! He hoped so. What was the name that had been mentioned in his ceremony - StarClan? MoonClan? SunClan!

SunClan, I just came into your fold, but please let Skysong leave me alone today. I want to impress Sunseer, not fumble in front of him because she pins her stone-cold look on me. Wait, is that why it was named StoneClan? Because its warriors had hard stares and harder claws? He gulped and bowed his head to Skysong, too. "Good morning Skysong. I hope you slept well?" Was that an adequate greeting? He had so much he wanted to prove, so much desire to get everything right the first time. After his first meeting with Skysong he was worried that she wouldn't accept anything less from a 'stray' in the Clan. His fur threatened to bristle at the very thought of the nickname.

"So, Sunseer, what will I be learning from you today?" He asked eagerly, trying to shove his worries to the side. @Blinded By Silence

 

[Blinded By Silence]

Skysong flicked to movement; Dusk -- Duskpaw, rather -- had at last crawled out of bed. Once more, the grey tom would find those icy eyes of hers picking apart his ruffled appearance. Rather than comment on it, she simply nodded her head to him, returning his greeting.

"Hm. Well enough, I suppose." Was all she said. This was Sunseer's training session, after all.

"Good morning, Duskpaw." The older tom purred, "I hope the little ones let you sleep. The paws are always excited when we add another to their fold."

"Typically, I start my apprentices off slowly. Walking the borders, lessons on various codes and such. But, Skysong seemed a little concerned about your fighting capabilities yesterday, so I figured we gather a bit of information, see where you are so I know how to instruct you best." He smiled, "It should be quite beneficial to us all, I think. Come now, follow me."

And the spotted tom stood and began walking away toward the now-established Training Hollow. Skysong gave a flick of her tail tip. She'd much rather be out fishing, but she followed Sunseer like a proper shadow. In the earlier days of their leader's blindness, she had been a crutch, guiding him with her voice and her presence. But those days were fading fast. Sunseer knew the camp nearly as well as his own pelt by now and could move quite freely, to both cat's relief.

After a short walk, the trio of cats ended up in an open thicket of tall oaks, nicely dappled with sunlight and shade. The grasses here were already starting to thin after moons of paws running around through here.

"This," Sunseer explains with a sweep of his tail, "is the Training Hollow. As the name implies, this is where most training occurs, whether it be paws and their mentors or Warriors keeping their own skills sharp." He padded to the center and gave his back a nice stretch, his sharp claws digging deep into the earth. Flexing his long legs, he continued, "As I said, today we will be seeing just what skills you have, Duskpaw. Skysong will act as my eyes, observing how you move and react. Once I know what kind of fighter you are, I can better guide you." He shook out his fur and settled in the grass, seated, with his long tail flat along the ground. He turned his sightless eyes to where he could scent the white-she cat, "Do not intervene." And then to Duskpaw, "When you are ready, try and come at me. No claws, no fangs, no blood. Understood?"

@belloblossom

 

[belloblossom]

Duskpaw repressed a sigh at Skysong's mild acknowledgement of him, choosing to shake off her reaction and focus solely on his mentor. He followed him, walking on the opposite side of him to keep as much distance between him and Skysong as he politely could.

His eyes were round and his ears were alert and straight (as straight as they could be anyway) as he looked around the oak trees and the new territory that was his now. He tried to take it all in, tried to memorize it all as quickly as he could, but there was so much to track and follow. At least he could scent familiar prey scents, between the smells of mice and the voles and shrews that he'd come across on his way into this territory as a... He glanced over at Skysong. As a loner, he thought. But I'm not alone now, Sunseer is with me.

He wasn't thrilled that Skysong had come along but as they reached the Training Hollow, as his mentor called it, he was quick to understand why she was there. To be Sunseer's eyes and guide the blind cat in fighting training. When Sunseer asked Duskpaw to come at him - to attack him, Duskpaw hestitated.

The way that Duskpaw had learned to fight was purely a defensive method. His siblings would attack him and he would learn how to twist out of their way and escape to his mother, who would attack him verbally for being such a cowardly kit-brain. Yet now he was being asked to go on the offensive and it was against a blind old cat? He backed up, towards the outline of the hollow, glancing over his shoulder, as though expecting to see other cats creeping out of the shadows, even on a morning as bright as this one.

Then turning back to face Sunseer (and trying not to acknowledge the still form of Skysong nearby) he took a running charge, ducking his head and preparing for the headache of trying to headbutt the leader off of his paws. @Blinded By Silence