Training in the Shade {RC/Burnstar}

Burnpaw stood in front of her mentor, barely able to keep in her excitement. She loved to train! Then maybe after this she could check the elders for ticks, anything to benefit her clan. Burnpaw never wanted to start helping her clan, always wanting to work. She shifted her paws with excitement. "I don't care how long we're out here," Burnpaw mewed, keeping her emotions bottled up. She didn't much care letting her excitement show, it was too kit-like. "So what are we gonna do today?" Burnpaw asked.

A purr thrummed in Panthershade's chest as he noticed his apprentice's enthusiasm. "I'm glad you're excited." He rumbled fondly, emerald eyes twinkling. She will make a fine warrior. I can tell she has all the determination she needs already.

"We usually start with basic hunting techniques." Panthershade told her. "It will tell me what you know, and what I need to teach you yet." He observed his apprentice curiously. Her strength would suit her well chasing down prey, and defending herself when needed. "Tell me, what do you know of the hunter's crouch?" He ventured, an amused tone to his voice. "I know it's frequently toyed with among kits and proud apprentices. Have you tried it?"

Burnpaw nodded her head. "I used to practice all the time but then Moonpaw would force me to play," Burnpaw said bitterly. She would've rather worked on her hunter's crouch. Burnpaw crouched back to show him, making sure to lower her hindquarters as low as she could. She tucked in her paws and her tail was straight out and not moving, lifted slightly from the ground. Burnpaw prayed Panthershade didn't want to see how she stalked in this crouch. That was the part she was bad on. She couldn't walk quietly in the hunter's crouch and was clumsy not only in her walk but in her leap. But at least Burnpaw was confident in her crouch.

"You should play while you can." Panthershade suggested. "Your warrior duties will always be ahead of you; the chances to play dwindle as you grow older."

He observed her as she dropped into a crouch. Impressive, for her first lesson. Panthershade noted that her paws were tucked to spring, and she made sure to keep her tail from disturbing the ground. "Very good." He purred. He brushed the tip of his tail lightly on her back. "Try to relax. You have good form, but being stiff will make it difficult to move when the time comes." He demonstrated, dropping into his own hunter's crouch. "It's important to be in the correct position; you have that down perfectly. Just make sure you will be able to move from that position without difficulty." He crept a tail-length, and pounced a short distance.

Straightening up, Panthershade hooked a leaf on his claw, dropping it a few paces ahead of Burnpaw. "Try stalking to this point." Pathershade told her. "It will make it easier to balance out both position and mobility."

"Thanks," Burnpaw purred at his suggestion. "Where were you when I tried to stalk." Burnpaw did what he suggested and tried to loosen up. Still she found it hard, since every time she practiced her crouch she had always stiffened up, trying to hard to remember the perfect position. Burnpaw looked to the leaf began to creep up on it. Her tail was rigid but still off the ground and didn't even twitch. Burnpaw's legs were stiff when they tried to move, but believe it or not, Burnpaw was looser. Burnpaw looked very much like a lizard trying to walk with its legs directly under it instead of splayed to the side. Leaves crackled loudly under paws and then when Burnpaw wiggled her hindquarters to leap, she paused trying to get as much strength into her hind legs. She finally leaped after long seconds of waiting there and her leap went high up before Burnpaw crashed loudly onto the leaf, hooking it with her claws and pinning into the ground. When Burnpaw looked back at her mentor her head was bowed, knowing it was awful. How could she have the crouch down perfectly, but her stalking was the worse! She bet Panthershade never seen someone so bad! Burnpaw scolded herself in her head. If she was going to be the best warrior she would have to practice her stalk.

Panthershade paid close attention as Burnpaw began to ease forward. The ginger apprentice was clearly having trouble moving, but she did well for her first try. Panthershade could see the visible effort she put into relaxing her stiff form, and smiled.

"Well done." He nodded, smiling. "Moving while maintaining your posture is always difficult; it just comes with practice. You've done very well for your first try." He approached her, examining the partially shredded leaf. "You also kept a hold on your 'prey' with your claws. That's a good instinct to have. If your prey were to flee from your paws, it would scare off every other creature in the area."

He flicked his tail toward the crushed leaves on the ground. "It's always a good idea to pay attention to your surroundings, the terrain in particular. Stepping on leaves will instantly alert prey to your presence. However," He cleared the leaf away, pressing his paw onto the spongy moss below them. "Places like this are perfect. If you can concentrate on avoiding the leaves, you can travel silently over moss. Not many places in our territory have this much moss, but the idea is the same."

Panthershade eyed the ground. It was a blanket of moss, spotted with fallen leaves from above and residue from the undergrowth. "Imagine it like crossing a river." He demonstrated, placing his paws carefully between noisy obstacles as he walked forward. "You would stand on the stepping stones, but avoid the water."

Burnpaw nodded her head in understanding. Maybe she wasn't as bad as she thought she was. Burnpaw perked up easily, basking in his praise. She crouched back and tried to loosen her muscles even more. Her tail started to fall on the ground or twitch in excitement and Burnpaw tensed up again in an attempt to keep it still. She took in a deep breath and began moving again, watching the ground carefully. She carefully placed her paws down on the ground, making sure not to step on anything loud. She then took in a deep breath and bunched her haunches. She knew one of her mistakes was hesitating for to long, having to bring up the courage to leap and risk missing the prey. Burnpaw just leaped, determined not to wait. Her leap went long, Burnpaw sliding through the air and then crashing to the ground with her legs stretched outward from the clumsy leap. "Mouse dung!" Burnpaw cursed. "My jumps always mess up."

Panthershade ran his tail consolingly along her back. "Don't trouble yourself too much, Burnpaw. This is your first lesson. There is always opportunity to improve." He examined the spot where she had landed. "While you can't dawdle during a hunt, rushing is even more likely to scare the prey." He looked at her as he spoke. "Timing is important, and one of the more complex hunting skills, as you will discover. You need to take it slowly enough that you can control what you are doing, and truly focus on your plan of action. In contrast, you cannot wait too long, lest the wind shifts and gives your scent away, or the creature wanders out of range." He smiled sympathetically. "It's a difficult task to master, but I'm confident you will excel in time."

"As for your leap," He continued, "The best way to ensure accuracy is to keep your eyes on your target. It will improve your aim. And," He leapt at the leaf, overshooting, and landing a pace behind it. "If you are concentrated on its location, missing your target won't make a difference." With speed that seemed to surpass his older age, Panthershade whirled, hooking the leaf in his claw.

Burnpaw watched Panthershade closely. She could do this. Burnpaw took in a deep breath and crouched back down. She made sure to tuck in her paws and kept her tail very still. She then took care to loosen her muscles and her leg muscles loosened. Burnpaw then moved forward, her legs looser and moving more fluidly, though her tail was still kept pretty stiff. She bunched her hindquarters once more, shaking it to build up power.Then she leaped quickly, paws outstretched to catch the leaf, she slammed down on to the ground a mouse-length from the leaf. Burnpaw spit in disgust, leaning back on her haunches. She looked to Panthershade to see if he had any more helpful advise.

Panthershade watched as Burnpaw prepared for the leap. Her form was perfect, and Panthershade was rather surprised when she came up short on the leap. Still, his apprentice had made good progress.

"You executed the move perfectly." Panthershade commended her, smiling. "It will take practice until you can perfect it, but you've gotten very far for your first day."

He glanced up at the sky. Through the thick Greenleaf canopy, Panthershade could see the sun was getting low. "We can try a few more things, if you like." He turned back to Burnpaw. "We could work on climbing, which is an important part of hunting. Or, if you would rather, we can start with a few basic battle moves."

Panthershade wasn't too enthusiastic about the battle moves. It was necessary, of course, for his apprentice to know how to defend herself. He despised the idea of her going into battle so young, however far-fetched the idea was.

Burnpaw purred at his praise. "I bet I did better than Moonpaw," Burnpaw bragged. "I used to practice it all the time till I got it right." Burnpaw perked up when he mentioned battle moves. She always wanted to learn how to fight and when she was a kit the only battle moves she learned, were the kit moves other warriors would show her. "Let's do battle moves!" Burnpaw cried excitedly. She rolled over onto her side and held up her paws in a defensive posture.

"Practice will certainly give you an advantage." He replied, amused. "I'm sure you and Moonpaw will have the chance to practice your skills together."

He chuckled at Burnpaw's antics. "We'll start simple. The front paw blow and slash." He walked over to Burnpaw. Lifting his forepaw, he struck it forward, pausing before he hit the apprentice on the head. "The difference is that one is claws sheathed, the other unsheathed. Of course, your claws will always be sheathed during training." He backed up, sitting down again. "It's the most common battle move, and arguably the most simple. You simply strike out at the face or ears of your opponent." He hesitated. "Avoid the eyes, however, unless you are fighting something that wishes to take your life, like a rogue or badger. Blinding should be a last resort."

Burnpaw nodded her head, taking it all in. She rushed at Panthershade and slashed out with her claws sheathed. She held back here hitting her mentor's head lightly with her paw and jumped back. "How was that?" she asked. She was sure she did good, it was a simple easy move. After all, how hard was it to hit someone's head.