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Post by twilightclaw on Jun 27, 2011 17:12:35 GMT -5
It was day, almost sundown, and the massivly huge tom's sadny brown fur mixed with the grass under him. The ingulfing sound of crashing waves of the river before him unfazed him, but to cats who were afraid of water or the river itself would be terrified to be on its edge. That river is gone today, but we're not in today.
Twilightclaw had layed his ears back, not that it was not normal for him. The massive tail curled almost neatly around the great paws, claws unsheathed like always, giving off the faint hint of ultraviolet shine. It was why they called him "twilight" and "claw".
Nearly enough to ensure no safety near him. He was as bad as Honeypaw or Shadowstalker; just near demonic; not as much over drowning his apprentice at the chance.
But that was not Twilightclaw's interest. Not today, anyway. He wanted to test his new apprentice's strength. Though even he wondered why he had gotten an apprentice, a small cat he was at least four times bigger and stronger and faster against, one he could kill with the swipe of his great paw and gleaming-violet claws.
His dark blue eyes flashed that sharp shade of blue, the colour of eyes his father had had.
Though he and his sister had been place to place together, Twilightclaw had never had his own apprentice. He felt somewhat cold about it all. If he taught the small kit to do something bad like he does it would be all over, for him and Brushfire, and Brushfire's kits. If he could avoid doing that, avoid Dapplepaw's gaze, and avoid talking to him as much as possible, if it were possible.
Twilightclaw was a bad influance and he knew it. Which is why he feared doing something wrong while training Dapplepaw, if helping the kit understand did not drive his little patience off and end up in hurting, drowning, or killing the apprentice.
Finally Twilightclaw heard the faint pawsteps of a cat much smaller than he, even though most all cats were smaller than himself and Brushfire; and being half-lynx did not help the fact that they were already massive.
His eyes narrowed and his ears layed back more. Twilightclaw did not look back to meet the gaze of his new apprentice, but simply muttered from the side of his mouth in a cold snarl; "You're late." [/center] |
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Post by eveelution on Jun 28, 2011 0:34:06 GMT -5
A shadow flashed through the forest, sending mice scurrying away. Birds chattered at the Tom that disturbed their daily rituals, safe in the highest branches. Dapplepaw paid them no mind, yellow fur ruffled by the wind. He was late. He was late to the first training of his apprenticeship. Dapplepaw leaped through the gap between the two trees looming in front of him, skidding to a stop at the edge of Rush River. "You're late."
Dapplepaw cringed, crouching low, but couldn't resist looking up at his mentor. That cat is a giant! It was true. Twilightclaw was a huge, with gleaming claws and ragged, sand brown fur. The Tom stared into the river, and Dapplepaw assumed his mentor was just hiding a scowl. Gathering up his courage, the young apprentice blurted out, "Sooo, why did we come to Rush River?"
The river roared with anger, as if it disapproved of a lowly apprentice questioning his mentor.
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Post by twilightclaw on Jun 28, 2011 13:36:57 GMT -5
Twilightclaw swiftly turned away from the very edge of the river, only to sit back down and face the other way, to his tiny apprentice, his dark blue eyes gleaming a bright blue shade in the sun. The gleam only lasted enough time to notice the differance but then was gone.
Twilightclaw's lips parted in a smile. It was either of sarcasm or wickedness, it depended on how one saw it.
"Dapplepaw..." Twilightclaw's voice had grown suspisiously gentle. "We're going to go to slower part of this river and we're going to teach you how to swim. Don't worry, I'll be right beside you the whole time."
With that, the massively huge tom circled his apprentice, herding him up, and then nudged him to the left, singnaling the apprentice to follow in that direction. |
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Post by eveelution on Jun 28, 2011 14:06:06 GMT -5
In a sudden flurry of movement, Twilightclaw turned from the river, then whipped his head to face Dapplepaw. The young tom looked into the blue eyes for a moment, his own eyes tricking him. Making him believe that his mentor's eyes had suddenly changed to a lighter, airier blue. Dapplepaw mentally shook his head, focusing on his mentor's words; "We're going to go to slower part of this river and we're going to teach you how to swim. Don't worry, I'll be right beside you the whole time."
Trying to quell the fur rising on his neck from his mentor's suspiciously gentle voice, Dapplepaw instead focused on tracking his mentor as the burly tom circled and herded him up the river. Slowly gaining confidence, Dapplepaw rose to his full height. Still only reaching his mentor's chest, the younger tom curled his tail in excitement. "The rivers calmer up here! Is this where we are gonna' practice?" Inwardly, Dapplepaw was bouncing like a kitten, enamored by learning to swim. Wait till I show all the other apprentices what I can do! I bet they can't swim.
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Post by twilightclaw on Jun 28, 2011 16:54:19 GMT -5
Destroy.
Twilightclaw's ears flicked a bit at his own thought process. He head the faint babble of his apprentice's words.
"Is this where we are gonna' practice?"
Twilightclaw blinked before answering.
"Yes..." He began as gently as he could, "It is. Not far up ahead is the shallowest part of the river, but the current is still rather strong. But not strong enough for you, Dapplepaw."
He met the gaze of the smaller tom with a gaze that was soft, too soft for Twilightclaw as they knew him. For once his eyes were not narrowed, and he had pricked his ears forward.
"Once we're done with your swimming lessons, not even the deepest part of Rush River will be able to stand your strength, Dapplepaw. I grew up in a very harsh place, and my sister Brushfire was with me. We got through by swimming across a very dangerous salt lake, when we were just kits, so you should be able to do this."
Not soon after Twilightclaw stopped leading Dapplepaw, and the small boulders of the riverbed were visible at last. The current was not so fast, it was like a swift stream almost, but much wider across, like a huge watery path.
"Here we are," he purred. His purr was deep, almost like a lion's cold warning growl, shrunk to cat size.
He cast another glance at his apprentice.
"Ready?" |
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Post by eveelution on Jun 28, 2011 18:24:43 GMT -5
Dapple leaned over, staring at his jumbled reflection in the water. Ears perked, he clearly heard his mentor say "Yes... It is. Not far up ahead is the shallowest part of the river, but the current is still rather strong. But not strong enough for you, Dapplepaw." The young cat swelled with proud at his mentor's trust. Glancing up, Dapplepaw met the gentle and encouraging eyes he had always expected from a mentor.
Instead of following a kit-like impulse to jump into the water headfirst, Dapplepaw listened to Twilightclaw's mews; "Once we're done with your swimming lessons, not even the deepest part of Rush River will be able to stand your strength, Dapplepaw. I grew up in a very harsh place, and my sister Brushfire was with me. We got through by swimming across a very dangerous salt lake, when we were just kits, so you should be able to do this." Eyes wide with wonder and sympathy, Dapplepaw returned his gaze to the river with even more focus and drive then before. After my training I'll be able to swim across an entire lake, too!
A growling purr cut across the apprentice's thoughts, forcing the young tom to turn his ears to focus on his mentor's words; "Here we are... Ready? Dapplepaws only response was a flick of his furry tail, and a tensing of his haunches before springing forward.
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Post by twilightclaw on Jun 28, 2011 19:37:28 GMT -5
Twilight crashed into the river after his apprentice, taking the side of Dapple in which the tint apprentice might get swept away if he were wrong and it were too strong.
Carefully, and without a single word, Twilightclaw led the apprentice slowely into deeper water while getting closer to the center of the riverbed. It was hard to believe that the massive tom kept his enormous tail out of the water of the current easily.
It seemed like Twilightclaw had gone cold again. First, before they entered the water, he was encouraging, now his buisness was correcting and snapping, "Keep your head up!" and "Keep your tail from dragging you - you're suppose to drag your tail!"
He helped the apprentice stay above water, paws and tail and head. |
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Post by eveelution on Jun 30, 2011 17:47:41 GMT -5
Swinging his legs wildly, Dapplepaw relaxed when his mentor blocked him from being swept away. Focusing on following Twilightclaw as the cat led him into the river, Dapplepaw was taken by surprise when his tail was tugged by the current that had been relatively gentle so far. With no bottom the apprentice's legs could reach, Dapplepaw glanced at Twilightclaw and tried to imitate the burly cat.
Head dipping, Dapplepaw stretched his neck up as his mentor reprimanded him; "Keep your head up!" Once more, Dapplepaw felt his tail try to drag away. Twilightclaw growled furiously, saying "Keep your tail from dragging you - you're suppose to drag your tail!" Cringing, Dapplepaw corrected himself, and saw that he was starting to propel himself forward.
Feeling a rush of courage and pride, Dapplepaw turned into the current. Making sure that Twilightclaw was behind him just in case, the young apprentice felt a purr rising in his throat. "Is this right?"
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Post by twilightclaw on Jun 30, 2011 18:11:50 GMT -5
"Perfict! You're doing really well!" Twilightclaw felt a chuckle of dark sarcasm rumble in his throat, that only he could hear over the crashing of faint waves.
(Sorry for the short reply, I'm braindead after working on another thread with someone else)
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Post by eveelution on Jun 30, 2011 18:20:07 GMT -5
(I noticed ;D. (If I was a cat there would be a mrrow right there.) Anyway, if you want to wait to reply until you get back your inspiration that's perfectly fine with me.)
Emboldened by praise, Dapplepaw leaned forward trying to gain speed. Suddenly noticing a flash of silver, the apprentice couldn't resist the temptation of catching a fish with no training. I'm definately going to be the best warrior ever! Wth a splash, Dapplepaw dived towards the fish mouth open. Feeling it brush against his jaws, the cat bit. That's when Dapplepaw realized he couldn't breath under water. Crashing into Twilightclaw, the apprentice dug his claws into his mentor's fur, and pulled himself up. "Caughn Breeaudgh!"
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