Hone Your Claws (Quietpaw)

|| WORDS: 374 ~ TAGGED: @blacktail ||

The sunlight was high today, and the camp was busy with the sounds of cats chattering among themselves. Hiding off in the corner under a small patch of shade created by some ferns, Quietpaw was trying to stay out of the heat for a while. Her silver and black pelt was beautiful, but boy did it ever absorb warmth. She sighed, her soft ears twitching with every noise. Was it ever beautiful out today. 

She watched a couple of her Clan mates return from a hunting patrol, dropping their proud catches on the pile for the rest of the cats to see. A small smile washed over her face as she watched a couple of her apprentice mates wriggling with excitement as their mentors praised them. "I hope I don't look overly exuberant." The silver she-cat laughed to herself, quickly quieting down afterwards. 'No need to make anyone else think I'm crazy. I'm sure enough of my Clan mates already do.' Her mental voice reminded her. She smirked more at the thought. She had learned to come to terms with the fact that she was strange and cats were freaked out by it. In a way she embraced it. 

Running her tongue over a particularly rough spot on her tail, Quietpaw surveyed the camp in silence. Her water-like eyes drifted over to her mentor Blacktail, who seemed to be dipping into the apprentices den. 


"Well, it doesn't take a genius to see that he's looking for me." The slender apprentice stood up, shaking off her pelt before trotting over to her sleeping quarters as the Deputy was emerging. He bellowed her name, and she smiled. She felt very privileged to be training under the Deputy. Although she also feared it. 'What if he thinks I'm not a good enough fighter?' Her mental voice chirped as she cringed, trying to push the thought away. She hadn't had much time to train with Blacktail yet... Although her hunting skills were definitely above average. 'How do you tell a Warrior you can't fight?'

"Hi Blacktail." Quietpaw spoke softly.  dipping her head, the young apprentice curled her long tail over her paws as she sat back on her haunches. "You were looking for me?"

|| WORDS: 247~ TAGGED: @blacktail ||

Quietpaw's pretty blue eyes widened in delight at the thought of getting her paws all soaked again. She was a great runner, and an even better hunter. But more than anything she loved the water. RiverClan had always been the prettiest territory to live at, at least as far as she was concerned. Standing, she shook of her silvery pelt, purring with delight as she followed her mentor through the entrance. She watched her mentor with an unwavering gaze, thinking back to the last time she had spoken to him. She had told him she thought he was doing a good job as Deputy, and he seemed to have gotten flustered and unquestionable. 
'I hope I didn't upset him too much,' her inner voice chirped, 'He's my mentor. I don't want him to dislike me.'
She tried her best to keep up to her mentor; she was rather dainty and small, even for her age, so it was often a struggle for her to keep up with the full grown warriors. Thankfully Blacktail was understanding and would noticeably slow his pace for her. As they came upon the stream, an audible purr rang in Quietpaw's throat. Oh, how she loved the water. The sunlight gleamed over her silver pelt warmly and the pretty she-cat felt her heart race. The small voice in the back of her head warned her to be careful. 'Some mentors can't handle apprentices who aren't good fighters very well.'  

|| WORDS: 212~ TAGGED: @blacktail ||

The dainty she-cat padded behind her mentor enthusiastically, stepping carefully into the stream and smiling as the water soaked into her pelt. Her deep blue gaze followed her mentor where ever he stepped, trying to follow his lead as much as possible. The water was up to her chest by the time he stopped, and the impulse to splash about in the made her purr. She stopped as Blacktail spoke, and she thought the question over carefully. "Well, I'd say our love for water is a good start. It makes it so we can catch fish, and other creatures the other Clans don't usually go for." Quietpaw was young, but she was a smart apprentice. "We can also use the water to aide us in battle if needed.... The other Clans don't like to swim."
Quietpaw fiddled her paws, her gaze falling to the ground as she did. The pretty apprentice had spent many days squirrelled up in the Elder's den, and had heard many stories of the vicious battles of RiverClan's history; times where the river was their best defence against attackers. Their stories always filled Quietpaw with awe and hidden excitement, no matter how many times she heard them. She absorbed knowledge like dirt absorbs water. 

|| WORDS: 493~ TAGGED: @blacktail ||

Quietpaw's eyes danced happily as she stood in the water with her mentor. She watched him in a studious manner, her tail tip quivering as she listened intently. Quietpaw was always eager to learn. The concept of fighting was a tough thing for her; she never wanted to have to take someone else's life. But she was smart enough to know that the day would come where she needed to know how to defend herself and her camp. Either that or she would loose her life and possibly fail all of RiverClan. 


She shivered at the thought. Disappointing an entire Clan? Possibly two, if you took StarClan into consideration. The thought of her ancestors being upset with her in any means was terrifying. She shook herself, pulling away from her thoughts. 

The small apprentice watched her mentor raise his paw and bring it down heavily into the water, and her maw turned up in a small smile as a small spray spattered her whiskers. An involuntary giggle escaped her mouth, and she quickly bit her tongue. The last thing in the world she wanted was her mentor to think she was laughing at him, because she wasn't. She just loved water; she always had.

Her ears spun at the sound of the rodent's squeaks, and her muscles automatically tensed at the sound. She felt an undeniable urge to pounce on the small creature, but focused on her mentor instead. How mouse-brained would she look if she went gallivanting after a rodent when she should be learning something new? 

Again she watched Blacktail show her another move, standing up tall on his hind legs before bringing both paws down. She flinched, peeking through the splash at her mentor with one eye open. 'I hope he didn't see that.' She thought guiltily, trying to puff out her chest to look unwavering and strong. He showed her one final move, a sweep with his tail. And as he wrapped up his examples, suddenly her nerves began to pick away at her. 'What if I can't do it right?' Her inner voice reminded her morbidly, and she shuddered. 
 
Quietpaw brought her left paw up, recalling how Blacktail had done it. She brought her paw down hard, and was pleased with her results. That one wasn't so hard; Blacktail was right.

The second move however was a different story. As Quietpaw perched on her hind legs she felt a rock beneath her paw shift, and instead of bringing her paws down she fell clumsily into the river water. The water immediately filled her ears and mouth, and as she resurfaced she coughed and sputtered momentarily. She could feel her pelt grow hot with embarrassment. "Oh no, I can't believe I- I'm so sorry!" She hung her head, her deep blue eyes falling to her paws awkwardly. 'Great job, Quietpaw!' She hissed at herself silently, shaking her head to clear the water from her ears.  

|| WORDS: 228 ~ TAGGED: @blacktail ||

Her silver ears fell flat against her head as she took in a few deep gasps of air. Her blood boiled beneath her hot fur in awkward embarrassment. The paw that had twisted as she slipped was slightly sore, but Quietpaw ignored it. Her deep blue eyes rose slowly to look at her mentor, trying to look less freaked out. Quietpaw's pelt clung to her tiny frame, thoroughly saturated with water. 'I bet I look hilarious.' The young apprentice thought morbidly. 

Below the surface of the water Quietpaw could feel some pebbles accompanied by slightly larger rocks. Some felt stuck, like they were latched in the sand. But others felt a little less rooted. It was those ones she would need to avoid. She didn't want to make another mistake like that one.

"I... I think I stepped on an unsteady rock." She mewed softly, trying to look confident. "I can try again- or you know, whatever you want to do." Quietpaw perked her ears, attempting to puff out her chest like a proud warrior. Her pretty gaze was determined, even though she still felt like dying from embarrassment for her slip up. She would have to be more careful where she placed her paws next time. She quickly took mental note of her new lesson as she focused her attention on her mentor.